Sunday, March 23, 2008

My First Car

Yesterday, I got my first Car. Its a day I have waited for, for a long time, but the was worth it. Many people prefer to get a car first and then a house, but I choise to get a house first and then a car. I am now the proud owner of a Mitsubishi Magna TL ES, 6 cylinder 3.5 L VTec complete with Power windows, mirrors and cruise & climate control. In short a wonderful car.

It is not brand new. It is a 2004 car that has done 65K kms, but the drive feels just like its new. Heres a look at my latest babe :


Just about to take her for a spin after she was officially "Mine"


Doesn't she have a sexy back ;););)

I have done 200 kms in 2 days notwithstanding the fact that the country was closed today on account of Easter. While on the freeways cruising at 100 kmph, the vehicle felt amazing - smooth, powerful and very stable. Now, I cant wait to gather a group of ppl and go on long drives. Cant wait for snow time to drive it up the snowy mountains either.

Thats one more thing ticked off my list to To-Dos!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

Saala pet Jal raha hai!!

NO. If you thought I am jealous about something, I am not. If you thought I am angry about something, no I am not. I am just suffering from acidity and believe me it is not pleasant. I have forgotten how Sambar and rasam taste, I havent had milk or milk products in the last month and I have been surviving on spiceless dal and palak and boiled veggies. Oh yes Water melons and apples are my staple diet.

Acidity or "Gastritis" as the doctors like to call it is not such a grave condition as to worry but it affects what we all like the most - our lifestyle. Heres a few simple things you could do to avoid getting into the troublesome loop of acidity . before I proceed, I must say that I am not a qualified dietician or doctor. While these are basic guidelines, your doctor is better placed to tell you whats right and whats not. This article is not in anyway a substitute to a doctors visit.

1. Eat less spicy food - Spicy food tends to affect the inner lining of the stomach and promotes excessive secretion of stomach acids.

2. Eat on time - Staying hungry for long intervals forces the stomach acids to be jobless and thats when they start acting smart, too smart for us.

3. Eat small and healthy portions - Eating small portions ensures that there is no pressure on the digestive system all the time. Its also keeps the digestive system in top order.

4. Eat Breakfast like a King - Breakfast is nothing but breaking the fast. We are fasting all the time we sleep and what the system needs is a good breakfast. Skipping breakfast is a very bad thing.

5. Eat Dinner early - There should be atlest 2-3 hours between dinner and going to bed. This allows the digestive system to do eth hard work before the body decides to relax.


6. Drink a glass of cold (not fridge cold) water first thing in the morning - This helps dilute all the acid in the stomach that has accumulated overnight and works asa cleanser.


While the above are general things to be aware of as preventive steps, there are many curative steps as well. I found this acidity trigger detector while doing all the research that I have done on this topic to date. It is a very nifty tool.

Goodluck with being acid free and healthy !!!!

Sunday, March 02, 2008

Indian cricket in safe hands

Being sick is bad enough, but being sick for over a month is worse!!!! I cant let my blog be sick for over a month atleast, so heres trying to make it better :)

It was a wonderful Sunday for Indian Cricket with India beating Australia in the first Finals of the Commonwealth Bank Series Down under and the Indian Colts (U-19) winning the World cup beating South Africa (chokers again?).

Talking about the seniors first, it was a wonderful innings from Sachin, laying quite a few doubts about his game to rest, for a while atleast. On his way to his first ever century on Australian soil, in an ODI, he went on to set the record slightly right in terms of his performances while chasing; in finals; and about staying there till the end. He not only scored the century but also took Rohit Sharma along in what was a mature innings from the youngster. The bowlers had excited early on with wickets of the brittle and out of form Aussie top order and with some miserly middle overs from the spinners, it was a wonderful effort. The wickets of Haydos and Symmo going to Bhaji was just the icing on the cake. Ahead of the second final, the worries for India are in the form and consistency of Yuvrajs batting and the injury to Ishant.

A few thousand miles to the West of the SCG, the India U-19 team were facing off against South Africa for the U-19 World Cup. The Kallang cricket ground was abuzz and the youngsters were at it. The Indians were put in to bat and failed to put up a good score, falling out well short of the 50 over mark. Tanmay Srivastava, played a decent knock, but could not carry on for long to guide the team to a better score. The bowlers came out showing intent of defending the total and the team was upbeat in their effort. With 3 early wickets after an accurate and miserly spell from Ajitesh Argal and Pradeep Sangwan, the rain came in. Play resumed and the South Africans were set a target of 116 in 25 overs, with our 2 star bowlers having almost bowled out their quotas. Ravindra Jadeja, Siddhart Kaul and Iqbal Abdulla chipped in well to restrict the Proteas. A fantastic win by the Indians, especially because they were unbeaten in the entire competition.

These results brings me to a discussion of coaches for the Senior and the Colts team. A very senior and successful coach in Dav Whatmore is coaching the U-19 team, while a relatively new coach in Gary Kirsten will be coaching the Indian team. I totally approve of the approach. Dav Whatmore in the past has worked well with young teams and the proof of that lies in how he transformed the Sri Lankan team into world beaters. He then brought Bangladesh on the World Map of cricket by guiding them to more victories than they have ever had in the past. It is this very trait that will go well with him moulding the youngsters to making them ready for International cricket at the highest level. Another advantage is that as coach of the U-19 team, he will be that much away from the media glare and the politics that are so much part of Indian senior cricket. To improve the cricketing ability of a nation, you have to catch the talent young and thats where I think Dav Whatmore has been perfectly slotted.

The coach of the senior team is more a facilitator and I think the vast experience that Gary Kirsten has as a player and the experience of having played under a revolutionary coach in Bob Woolmer will hold him in good stead in his new role. Being a contemporary of quite a few of the Indian players will help as well.

I dont want to jump the gun, but it would not be out of place to say that the future of Indian cricket is in safe hands.