2007 - A Round Up

    For a start, this blog kicked off in January 2007 and when it is about to complete an year of posting, i should be more than delighted to have had the patience to maintain this blog. It's hard to fathom the fact that this blog has been active for nearly an year.
    As the year comes to an end, some highs and lows what I observed are mentioned below. It might be a bit long, so I put it in such a way that you can see the titles and choose what to read...

         Lows:

- My Guitar skills: My guitarring has gone down really bad and the amount of effort that I put in is an all time low as I approach the end of the year. The amount of progress that I made in a few months last year was too high and the progress this whole year has been very bad. Maybe it's time I admit that my equipment needs an upgrade and my self learning has reached a saturation point. It's ironical that I am playing guitar at the moment and I am still complaining...

- The Great Electrocution: Can't believe I saw death and escaped. The story of my electrocution spread like electric current all over the college. That happened during my Annual Day rehearsal and I cannot deny that I am lucky to be posting now. I foolishly touched an open extension box and got electrified and my guitar completed the circuit. It was then that my body got stiff and went out of control. I could not see what I was seeing and the last thing I could remember was, "Is this how it is, to be leaving your loved ones?" I don't know how i got that thought, but that was the exact thought I got. And then, I remember tripping. The trip that jerked me and forced my hands to leave the guitar and the box (which were tightly stuck to both my hands). As soon as I crashed to the ground, I came back to life, and started saying, "I am alright, I am fine", though no one asked me... got some weird slashes on my fingers, where the skin got heated and opened up .... can't forget those moments ever ....

- Mini Projects: As usual, our mini project was shelved again. Atleast this time, we made a head start and managed to make a mini model of an aircraft, with movable ailerons and rudder, but then the design was completely off and we failed to make the larger model of it. We invested lots of money in that, and it's history...

- Accidents: Well, 2007 has been a year of accidents. I heard of too many of them on the roads and every place imaginable. Infact, my friend Natarajan had an encounter with an electric hand drill which pulled out a huge chunk of his long hair. He was lucky coz the hand drill was so powerful, it could have pulled the scalp out. No injuries atleast. My eletrocution was another accident. And I heard of so many college students being killed in various cases. Too many to talk about.

- Dogs: What happened to the dogs this time? They all went berserk. For a few months, all I could see on the news was incidents of dogs attacking people madly. Sickening...

- Traffic: This year, I finally got behind the steering of my car, and this year has been one of the worst in terms of traffic snarls. Especially the main road leading towards my house was subjected to some extreme traffic problems because of pipeline laying and other junk. The rest of Hyderabad has seen similar traffic problems. This should be a lesson for all those traffic police out there.

- Terrorism: Aah. Here we go. To talk about terrorism is like encouraging a chatterbox to chat. The talk might go on forever. To cut it short, those blasts in various towns and cities, including the ones in Hyderabad that killed so many people in an instant have confirmed that no place is safe. Not India, not USA, not UK, not Spain, nothing is safe. Maoism, having close ties, takes the numero uno spot of the various problems in India. The Bastar region which was considered one of the most peaceful and beautiful places in India, is now infested with Maoists. There are gun battles almost daily, where many people are killed. The rare tribals don't cooperate and the travel routes for tourists are totally unstable and unreliable. Who knows this better than my bro, Srikar, who had a first-hand experience of this.

- West Ham: This needs a special mention as this is a football team that has managed to defeat Manchester United twice within the same year. I never understood why this happened.

- F1: The 2007 season has been the most controversial one in F1. The reputation is falling fast, and it is supposed to be the most watched sport in the world. The malpractices and Info Exchange cases and a controversy right at the death of the championship, something that could have changed the result altogether, were among those things that painted F1 in black.

         Highs:

- Results: This has been a definite high for, with an average of 81.5%, it's a result that I can cherish. The exams have been horribly bad and the results, the exact opposite.

- iPod: I bought an iPod in September 2007 and it's been one of the best things that I did. It has been my companion during my long and boring bus journeys from home to college and back. And it will still be in the future.

- More Gadgets: Well, I even bought a Canon Camera which taught me so many things about photography. Most of the pics in the blog were taken from my camera. And it wasn't just me. Srikar bought a Zoom G2.1U (truly awesome guitar processor), and an O2 Mobile, Barun Muni bought an iPod classic, Natarajan bought an HTC Touch, and this list might go on forever..

- Ambigrams: I started a weird hobby of making ambigrams which explored the inner creativity in me. This was inspired obviously by Dan Brown's Angels and Demons.

- 7777777: This year was full of 7s. With the date taking a 777 form and being the reason for thousands of celebrations, marriages, concerts, etc. My jersery no. for the soccer team being 77 and Harry Potter 7 being released and many more ...

- Metal India: India suddenly became a hotspot for Heavy Metal artists with Iron Maiden opening India to a Brave New World. This was followed by Sepultura, Aero Smith and many more. Ofcourse it wasn't only heavy metal, there was Shakira, and other Pop, R&B, Hip Hop artists, all finding India a crazy-about-music place.

- My Hobbies: They took an all time high, with my interests ranging widely. Guitar, Music, Soccer, Ambigrams, Photoshop, Drawing, Star-gazing, Photography, Travelling, and many more have all taken my life by storm.

- ACE Untd: My new soccer team which was started this year and I am proud that I designed the logo for it. We learnt a lot of football playing for ACE Untd, and though it is undergoing a crisis at the moment, I am sure it will step out in bright colours.

- Touring: I went for trips to Chattisgarh and to South India, and I truly enjoyed both of them. I captured some good moments and saw places that will stick to my memory. It's been a year of sighseeing for me.

- College: Can't believe this is coming under the Highs section. I had lots of fun in college this year. We had an equal share of academics and enjoyment, and I feel one must live like this. Dedicating life to studies is not a good option and sacrificing studies for life is not one either.


As a whole, this year was a good year for me. A few months went by in blink and a few months were slow. However they were, they were good. This year has definitely been a positive one over the last few years. I just hope 2008 will bring out something better for me.

I found an apt description for the New Year. This is a part of the song Brand New Start by Alter Bridge.

We will make a brand new start
From the pieces of our hearts
The break of day is before us;
Cast your sorrows to the wind
Let the highway take us in
As we escape the disorder


And this is from Rise Today by Alter Bridge again.

Yeah
Oh Yeah,
I want to rise today and change this world.
Yeah
Oh Yeah,
Oh won't you rise today and change this world?

That bring this post to an end. Can't really call it a post. A novel would be a better word. Anyway, it's a adios to 2007 and a hola! to 2008, Happy New Year to all!