Life still in the Fast Lane

Going live in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 .....

  Oh you you won't believe what's going on around me. I am travelling at 340 kilometres an hour and all I can see is a blurrr. The car is vibrating madly and I feel nauseated with the sudden elevation and direction changes. I lost count of the number of laps I covered though my pit crew just signalled when I crossed the Start-Finish line. I don't even know in which position I am in. My only focus is on the road ahead, the fuel, the tyres, the speed, the cornering, the time, the gear-shift, the engine temperature, the grip, the rear view mirror, the steering, and my Paper Presentation.
  A lot of things to think about, don't you think? Surely is, and that's why i am just letting myself flow downstream rather than against it. At first, it might be like this, "Hurrah! I am giving a Paper at BITS-Goa". You give a damn about how you are going there, where you are staying, and all that Crap. A few days later when you step into reality, you find that it's a long journey to "Out there" and the tickets are not available, you gotta burn a hole in your pockets, you gotta arrange your stay, you want to squeeze time to enjoy (it's "Out there" after all), and most importantly you wanna present your paper which still hasn't been completed. Can life find a shortcut to all these? Let's just pray it does.

Life in the Fast Lane

When you're dealing in F1, everything is fast. If you are slow, Schumacher will meet you a lap ahead. Well, the latest thing that's keeping me busy is my Presentation on Formula1. And everything i see around me has a perspective with Formula1 in mind. The way all the buses exit out of Malla Reddy gives a picture of many Formula1 cars racing flat out to reach the finish line. And my driver seems to be driving like Juan Pablo Montoya. I feel sorry my Zen doesn't have a V8 engine producing 700hp... everytime, i am under a railway bridge, i imagine an F1 car driving upside-down on the ceiling, sticking solely because of it's downforce. I saw an Audi today and instead of admiring it, I started wondering how it's aerodynamics would have improved had they shaped the nose more like an F1 car (would have looked horrible). Ok enough crap i guess, but that that's how things are going with F1 around.

Work on it is going fine, but there are so many other things to do. Like the Flight Mechanics assignment (of which I don't have the questions), playing guitar, deciding on a few songs that can be played by the band, etc... and above all that, blogging! I'm off!

New News

I've been qualified to take part in my first ever paper presentation. Sounds exciting. Hope it goes well. Goa! Here I come!

Alive at last!

Today, after nearly a week of headbanging, guitar mastering, and football kicking, I woke up to a different world and thought I am alive at last. Most of last week was spent in music, soccer and rest. College brought me sharply but pleasurably back to earth. I know everyone hates college and I still do, but when something brings a change, it's always good for me.
   Classes were boring as usual and especially during the Propulsion period, my iPod helped me get some sleep. My friends were astonished I was fiddling with the pen sitting in the first bench without writing a word on the paper. I was totally lost somewhere today. Nothing affected me during the last few days, and I don't even remember what I was thinking about, but I was surely out of this world for atleast 2-3 classes. I was highly absent-minded even during our HoD's class. And that reminds me of a really crazy thing that happened today. I never saw a group of students protesting, and the CSE group showed it to me today. They went on a strike and managed to get rid of their horrible HoD. There were rumours that he was involved in a huge scandal and stuff.
  Anyway, he was a really horrible person and we Aero students had a personal experience with him in our first year. During the viva of our External Lab exam, he called Yaseen, Natarajan and me (why me??), aside and told funny things to us. He felt we were acting too smart, using our own knowledge to do C programming. I never even saw the face of the external examiner. I was called aside by a lec and was told this, "I'll ask you 10 questions. You answer 3 correctly and i'll give you 50/50. If you don't answer 3, I'll see you again next year". The exact translation from his telugu speak. The questions were sooo tough, I could answer 2. But the Aero HoD got in between and saved our butts. I can never forget that in my life. Nor will my friends.
    One more funny thing today was, a lady from 501 comes up to me and asks, "My son told me you are a guitar master. (what!!!! never knew that myself) He bought a guitar at Secunderabad, can you tell him a few things about guitar?" "Er.... ok. I'll try" "Are you free on Sundays??" "Yes, I am." "Ok, he wants to learn guitar, and he told me you are a guitar master" "Oh aunty, i am ....." "Do you know any about any college that teaches guitar?" "No aunty, I'll find out and tell you" "But why do we need it, you are a guitar master" (I was ready to jump off the fourth floor!) "He asked me to talk to you first, that's why I'm asking." "Ok aunty" "This week, he's going to Goa with his friends, i'll send him to your house next week" "Ok" "You are studying Inter final year?" "No, I'm studying Engineering 3rd Year" "Really? Very good. Ok i'll ask him to come then" "Ok aunty, bye" .... (inside my mind)"What the helll!?!?!"
     Turns out that he came to the Annual Day function last year as a friend of the DJ and was impressed by what i played that day. I thought I was really crappy. I actually wanted to get info from him about Shweth, and inturn he wanted to learn guitar from me, but both of us were so hesitant to meet each other. By the way, he's quite elder to me, and works in Dell, listens to Rock i suppose. Such weird things don't happen daily. And a blog entry is the best way to preserve them!

Favs on Song!

It maybe true that India beat Australia at Perth and made history. The surprising thing is, every time India wins something, they say it's the first time in 20 years, 25 years, 50 years, or history itself. Then what were the team doing all those years? Losing? And of course, the media hype over the win was evident with all the news channels going berserk with the Breaking News. For me, it was truly a great win (minus the media hype around it), at least judging by what the post match analysis had to say.
    So that means, India made a mark in Australia early this year. But that would have been more emphasized had Sania Mirza won against Venus Williams. At Australia!! They would have remembered 19th Jan, 2008 as the "Day when India Ruled". Mirza got off to a great start and had Williams sweating, but soon lost it. Sad Sad Sad!



    My personal favourite was however, Manchester United's win over Reading. Was an interesting match with lots of attacking play, but no one scored till nearly the end of the game. Ronaldo was the most frustrated and frustrating player with every shot of his going off target. Rooney's shots were saved continuously. Finally, when Reading couldn't hold it anymore, ManU got the breakthrough with Rooney managing to send one in with some class. Being 0-1 down, Reading tried attacking with all their might with which they almost succeeded. The fresh attack by Reading left them with only 2 defenders to stop any counter attack. Ronaldo quickly made a run all the way from his box to the other box and sealed the game to 2-0. His only shot on target was in. Great match to watch.
    But what really impressed me was ACE Untd's win over MGIT. We took back the revenge of that 7-0 thrashing and beat them 4-1. We had some good movement, which didn't involve me. I was as horrible as before with most of my work going waste. I was again frustrated and slowly, it looks like I am losing the confidence of my team-mates. I hope that doesn't happen but if my bad form continues, I might find myself on the bench. And I'm serious. Back to the match, we had 4 separate scorers, which didn't include me again. The score-line showed how we managed to open up spaces among the MGIT defenders. Overall, a good boost for ACE Untd. It was a necessary win to keep the players in good morale. Except me ofcourse coz, I think I lost my potion that gives me stamina and confidence, when I went to that Kerala Tour. Must have dropped the bottle in the sea. Maybe some Mid-East player might find it, drink it and become the next Beckham and leave me rotting... boo-hoo!!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

A mild winter morning greets the city of Hyderabad and everyone wakes up leisurely looking for a good day ahead. Even the birds are singing to welcome the little warmth that they could feel in winter. The sun is slowing rising, taking it's own time. People are already planning a nice weekend holiday. Everything is just perfect!

But hold on! The story I am talking about is not about beautiful birds singing, or the red sun rising over the city skyline. This is the story of a guy who faces a series of unfortunate events. Every step he puts, every turn he takes, always sends him down the wrong path.

He woke up to the same morning that the brids saw. Nothing was more different for him who, after taking rest for a week, was eager to see the face of his college. He woke up early, made up his mind that he is going to college at last, already feeling guilty that he didn't go yesterday. His holiday mood hadn't worn off, yet he was determined to make it to the only place he could study. He managed to catch his bus just in time thinking of the horrible outcome of missing the only comfortable means of transport to college. He got in and saw the bus nearly empty. He was mildly surprised that there no takers today, "That's a bit weird", he thought. As usual, he was lost in his world with his iPod. After a nearly sleepy journey he reached college at last. He checked his watch. 09:08am. "I'm early", he thought. He saw a friend in class and started talking to him. They kept talking till past 9:30 and there was no one else in the class, unless of course, you didn't count 2 girls sitting with their books already open. The 2 boys continued to discuss about how they spent the holidays and by 10:00, they see only 2 other boys in class. The lecturers were surprised that there are 6 people in class today. That's because they saw 1 yesterday. They left the students to themselves, who were already planning to get out. Our hero was already kicking himself for coming instead of peacefully sleeping. The first unfortunate event hit him hard. Its a long and tiring journey back home. "Damn it! I should have found out from someone." Poor guy, he never knew that most of his friends wouldn't come. His friends plan out a visit to a local Multiplex to watch a movie. "Oh God! I hate movies!". No one seemed to have heard. They make a quick dash to the theatre and buy tickets for a Telugu movie. "Oh God!". None of them heard it again. He is forced to watch the whole movie, which carried a tinge of humour in it. He almost considered plugging his iPod back into his ears during the song sequences.
  "Finally!!". The movie was over. They all got out quickly. Now a new desert stood before them. They were in the middle of nowhere and transport back home is another huge problem. Yet, they somehow managed to find their way home.
  He had to stand in the public buses which were obviously crowded, and spent some good money for a 3 wheeler ride as well. He had some fore-thought and went to his mom's office first to take the keys of his house. What he hears there is another shocker. The usual lock got spoilt and his mom used some other lock and it's keys were given to the neighbour. He had to go walking all the way home because it was way too close to travel by bus, but was a bit far to walk down. Walking under the sharp sunlight, he felt it really difficult to go on without having a proper lunch. Only when he finally reached home, he heaved a sigh of relief. "Alas! I'm home!". Those were a series of unfortunate events our character friend faced. If you're thinking this is the end of the story, you're right. But then...
  "Why isn't the internet connecting? Damn!", he thought. And unlike stories with happy endings, problems have only just started for our hero...

Credits:
Hero: Johny
Friend at college: Sudershan
Other Friends: Chakradhar, Gowtham.
Inspired by: A Series of Unfortunate Events (Jim Carrey)

Can't think of a title.

Just assume this is a nameless topic talking about everything or rather, nothing in particular. This is simply because, I cannot think of a bloody title to go with. Anyway, Sankranthi holidays are over. Ofcourse i didn't think about studies, though I thought I'll study during my free time. To mark the festival, I kinda made a kite yesterday which didn't fly. But today, I made one more that was too heavy and flimsy that it could hardly catch any wind, yet managed to stay in the air. Infact, it turned out to be so stable that, one cannot manoeuvre it in any direction. It just stayed where it wanted to stay and in an awkward titled position. Just didn't budge from that place for about an hour. I left the thread fixed to a pipe and went on with other things. A point to mark is, instead of counting how many kites of others you brought down, I think it's better to enjoy it as a personal achievement to make your kite and fly it. It signifies an independence within yourself. Only when one does it, he would realise the joy of self-learning/making.
   Ofcourse, life can't move without music and I had to take up the guitar, newly but temporarily equipped with a Zoom G2.1u with the "u" signifying USB connectivity to a PC. Had loads of fun with the upgraded FX and the expression pedal. I also managed to complete a song that was half done for a long time. Maybe i must buy one soon, but only time can tell.
   Today's really abnormal thing was Barun's Dinner Bash, which was supposed to be given for his Birthday on December 10th, 2007. Well, fortunately or unfortunately, the party was postponed indefinitely and today at last, he managed to treat us all with some good dinner at his favourite resto. That was a round up of today, the dinner marking a proper end to my day.
   I just hope these Can't-think-of-a-title posts don't continue coz, what use is a post without a title?

Holy-Days

Well, we got a set of holidays yet again with Sankranthi finally here. It never felt like it at all. Till date, I don't know why we celebrate Sankranthi. It would take a few seconds to find that out, but maybe I am too lazy. Anyway, the Festival of Kites has arrived. Today morning at around 10 I suddenly remembered that people fly kites during this time. Wow, I was so stupid and dreamy. Every year, I used to be fully prepared for kite flying, but over the last 2-3 years, I lost interest completely. This time, atleast to mark the festival I thought I must make a kite and fly it. Maybe that would be an interesting task for an Aeronautical Engineer. Atleast, I can say that it works pretty much like an elevator of an airplane wing. The elevator or kite deflects the air downwards, and by Newton's Third Law, itself gets pushed upward. Lets see if I can make it fly properly, if I ever make one.

Anyway, these holidays, are not just for flying kites. Holidays for me is indirectly, more time to play guitar (especially after getting a good guitar processor from your Bro), more time to sleep and watch TV.
Happy Sankranthi to all...

Sports Quarter

As usual, when there is a holiday, there is a football match and we had one today. It was really far from home, about 20KM, near Chakradhar's house. I was determined to play this match as it was against a tough team and went there early. Again, as usual i was the first to reach the place, and found no one around. Because the ground was so close to Chakra's house, i went to his house and he just got up. I dragged him out and by then, there were a few opponent players waiting. They were from the Secunderabad Cantonment team, and were supposed to be damn good. Ofcourse, they proved it later in the match.
   When the match kicked of, we had a good game for about 10secs, immediately after that, they showed us their game and scored a goal very soon. Then there was a strong fight between both teams, but none emerged victorious. All the time, they were the better team, and due to excess power in their legs, almost every shot went out. In our case, getting a weak shot on goal was an achievement. We still need to grow up. At half time, we were trailing, 0-2, and thought there is not much left in the game. But then, I was getting late and had to rush home, half way through the second half. By then, we made it 1-2. After i left, our guys scored one goal and let in 2 more, which made it a 2-4 loss. I am not dissatisfied with our game, but again, terribly disappointed with my game. I didn't really miss out any passes, but then, i was so slow with the ball that, either the pass was too weak or it was way too far for the player. I stepped back into defence, and didn't do well there as well. Overall, it was a bad game by me again, ever since i started 3-1. I didn't score a single goal from many months and didn't make a proper pass in the last many games. I think it's my worst ever series of performances, and I can kick only myself for it.
   Anyway, the good thing about the day was, Manchester United defeated Newcastle United 6-0, with Ronaldo(3), Tevez(2) and Rio Ferdinand(1), all contributing to the win.

ACE vs ACE

If i said 2 posts ago that my game was slowly improving, then I was wrong. Today's game - ACE United (new) vs. ACE United (old) which had the new players playing against the already existing players - turned out to be a great game to watch and the worst game I ever played. Happened that Yaseen and me, were pushed into the new players' team because of no reason actually. Maybe due to lack of players in the new team. I was feeling a bit low on my energy and my throat felt dry before even starting the match.
   Well, the match kicked off very late due to some stupid cricket players (sorry cricket fans!) blocking the entire ground. We decided to play a 90 min match and stay back after the college closes. The game was great, with both teams indulging in good team work and clever passes. But when it came down to me, I was among the worst players today. First half, I got to touch the ball about 5-6 times, all of which ended up at the defenders feet. Second half, I was low on energy and played on the RWB position where i couldn't do anything other than kick the ball blindly back into midfield. I again missed out many good passes and my mistakes even cost us a goal. I felt really horrible by the end of the match, but I liked the game that others played and I must congratulate them for that. It's been a long time since I saw ACE Untd players playing with such ease and comfort. Both sides had weak defences and especially mine, with Chakradhar being able to handle 3 defenders at once and scoring. The game was atleast competitive enough and the final scoreline was 4-3, which I felt had a few lucky ones...
   There's a weird hope in me now, a hope that, all future games will be played so well, and also a hope that I must be a part of that "good game", instead of being on receiving end of hopelessness and ridicule.

Supercars 2007

I managed to get my hands on the list of the top ten supercars of 2007. Let me warn you that most of these cars are concepts or limited editions. So they are definitely rare cars and we might never find them on roads, atleast the concepts.

The list:

1. Bugatti 16/4 Veyron Pur Sang (Best Veyron, Rarest - only 5 are being made!)
2. Lamborghini Reventon (Styling Renaissance + LP640)
3. Koenigsegg CCXR Edition (1018 bhp, 1.5 million)
4. Ferrari F430 Scuderia (F430 with proper intakes)
5. Lamborghini Gallardo Superleggera (100kg CF Diet)
6. Aston Martin DBS (James Bond's Whip)
7. Mazda Taiki Concept (Most Radical Concept Ever?)
8. Porsche 911 GT2 (Most Powerfull 911 from Porsche)
9. Vector Avtech WX-8 HPV (Revival of the outrageous)
10. Gumpert Apollo Sport.

Heck-Sick !!

I don't know why, but I am ending up choosing the weirdest titles for my blog posts. My mind is going too far in search and it's coming out with something like Heck-Sick. I don't even know what it means, except it sounds close to, 'hectic'. I might be cursing at no one heck! sick!, and at the same trying to show my goings on as hectic.
   Whatever it is, life's definitely moving at 300kmph with my F1 Presentation work going in 6th gear. At the same, the satisfaction of having worked is getting marred by stuff like my HoD's assignment which has another day left to be submitted, and I didn't even see the first word of it. He wants us to learn the basics of CFD and we are in full stride comparing CFD model flows of F1 cars. Just 2 days after coming back from Warangal, I already feel like leaving town again. My only reason to go to college is to listen to my iPod in the long bus journey, talk to my presentation mates about the latest progress, and to play soccer ofcourse! Atleast my soccer days are getting better, with my game improving slowly but steadily. Yesterday I scored one and today I scored 2 and setup one. Being inspired by Mark Tremonti of Alter Bridge, I am starting a fresh attack on Lead Guitar Basics which pulls up a lot of home time. Soon, my GRE classes are gonna start with which my timetable will overflow and overlap. With all these things around, my studies are really getting hard at me. The pressure is building like the crushing force 10KM down the Mariana Trench. Someday i might just throw my hands up and say, "Enough!"

Who Where Why What When Warangal

I just playing guitar as usual on a Sunday afternoon, and Srikar's Mom, Aunt and Uncle dropped by. Then came the shocker. They were actually planning on a trip to Warangal and started asking me to check out the train timings and stuff. I was made to browse info on the Hotels and other tourist attractions of Warangal. I still couldn't believe I was also in this.

Now the time has come. We might be leaving in an hour, and I am still disoriented. I don't know what places we would be visiting or any such things. And all I need to do is travel along with them.

Time's running out and I need to leave now...

Resolutions ??

Why does everyone keep asking and talking about New Year Resolutions. Is there something I would like to change in myself? If there was, why didn't I do it before? Why the hell do I have to wait till it's the New Year? This is something that happens once in an year, and if you want to take a resolution you gotta wait a whole damn year for that.

I don't believe in Resolutions but maybe I'll just try waking up early this year (only if there's a soccer match around), and maybe I'll try doing some justice to the money i'm paying at MRCET ... Atleast I can be proud that I got no habits to change, maybe someone would like me to get fatter, but I am not gonna do that. I just wanna play more guitar, more soccer, and get along with my studies somehow. That's it, if one would ever care to call or qualify them as New Year Resolutions.