Monday, March 29, 2010

Bringing in No. 33!

Another birthday coming up and time for another surprise party! This year, 2nd of April just also happens to be Good Friday and so the party had to be preponed! And this surprise party was the best one yet!

The surprise involved eight of us driving down to Panchgani for a weekend of beer, food and good company. The last few weeks now, I've been spending time with my brand new XBox. This weekend, I got to hang out with my EX-BOSS! According to Lisa, Tushar was my birthday gift this year! Since he's not a regular at our parties, when he does show up, things just begin to happen. At this party, Tushar, Yashwant and I tried to climb a tree...and failed miserably! Good fun for everyone else watching and bruised egos and scraped elbows and knees for the three of us!

But this year was even more special because one of my wishes from a long time came true (if you read my XBOX post, you'll realize I have a lot of these longstanding wishes!)...I finally went paragliding! The Eco Camp site overlooks the paragliding zone just outside Hotel Ravine and for a long time now I've wanted to give it a shot. The chance finally materialized this Saturday. After downing a couple of beers, Sid suggested we just go do it and since we had downed enough beers that courage was no longer an issue...we got up and went paragliding!

It took all of 10 minutes and we were back on safe ground but those 10 minutes were heavenly! Before I took off, I wondered if I would be able to handle my fear of heights...but I surprised myself. The sense of hanging in empty space with nothing below me was freaky! All I could think about was that if I did fall, there would be nothing left to scrape off the ground! At one point, we were actually hovering mid air and I knew then what eagles feel like. Soon we were back on the ground, thumping each other on the back and heading to the campsite for some beers and gloating!

Driving into office today, I realize that the experience will be a tough one to better. It was very difficult to walk into office and get back to a desk job after getting a taste of the kind of life I REALLY want to live. But for now it will have to make do! In the meantime, I have some new goals for myself before my next birthday comes up. Getting into shape has been a goal for almost every birthday but maybe this time I'll stick to it. First things first though, I've got to climb that damn tree!

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

X Marks the Box!


After making a good start with the new year, this blog suddenly hit a dry spell again! I've been stuck for ideas and, hence, haven't been able to post for a while. To some extent this dry spell has been because of some upheavels in my work life and to some extent because of mental fatigue. But I'm hoping that my posts will become more frequent now...because I treated myself yesterday to something I've wanted for a long time! The XBox gaming console!

I love gaming! For me it is the equivalent of going out to a pub and letting your hair down! This does not mean that I am some kind of an introverted person, lacking in social skills. I love games because of the different worlds that they create for you. When I play a game I absolutely enjoy the experience of being someone that I would never be in real life, like an Assassin from the time of the Crusades or...Spiderman! That's one of the reasons I loved James Cameron's Avatar: the idea of seeing a new world through the eyes of an entirely different person. One of my favorite scenes in the movie is when Sam Worthington takes his avatar 'out for a spin' to learn how his new body functions.The sense of discovery that comes with finding out what your new body can do is exhilarating! Take, for instance, the game I am currently playing, Assassin's Creed 2. I can scale walls, free run, fight, and use stealth tactics like blending into a crowd or jumping off a terrace into a cart of hay while trying to evade my enemies! In real life, I have the agility of a hippo but in a game the possibilities are endless!

But more importantly, I'm hoping that getting back to my passion will help me in more ways than one...make me start feeling upbeat again, get the creative juices flowing and help rid me of the constant irritable and tired state I find myself in these days.

Gaming frenzy...here I come!

Friday, March 05, 2010

What time is it, Beth?



This post is dedicated to my two year old daughter, Beth! Beth has begun speaking quite a bit now, although it's still baby talk. Her vocabulary is still limited but I love some of the gems that come out of her mouth! 

Last evening we were celebrating my sis-in-law Susanna's birthday with some well-deserved birthday cake. The happiest person among us? Beth, of course! The day before her own birthday, 11th of Feb, Beth was asked, "What kind of cake would you like, Beth?" Pat came Beth's reply, "Too much cake!" Saying Beth loves cake would be an understatement! But I digress...

Anyway, as Beth was tucking into her share of cake last evening, the following conversation ensued:

Beth: Is not just me!
Nana: That's right, Beth. It's not just you! It's you and Jesus!
Beth: It's not Jesus time!

Susanna: What time is it, Beth?
Beth: It's 8:45!

It wasn't, but for Beth it's always 8:45! Anyway, for whatever it's worth, Beth 'won' that conversation!