Zen And Other Things

I had gone yesterday on a bike ride. I had made a new year resolution of sorts to go on one atleast once a month. I didnt follow it religeously but i am sure you did not expect me to!

But well i went on one yesterday. The road i took was the Pune-Solapur Highway. I went around 60km into that road (that is 120km round trip).

The highway is beautiful. It starts as a 4lane wide road which after some time narrows down into a 2 lane one. The highway here is covered on both sides by old trees which create a canopy through which you may pass. Occasionally, there were villages appearing on either side of the road which seemed to be like good places to eat especially if you are a fan of Dhabe ka Khana. Although i did not stop because it was already growing dark.

I turned back after a village called Chaufula since it was getting dark then. But i have decided to go sometime again during the day time to experience the roads better.

The entire trip took me around 2.5 hrs which gives me an average speed of 50kmph - low of course but considering that i had gone on the trip to take my time and not speed at all, its a pretty good average speed to maintain!

PlayStation Anyone?

Apart from the treasure hunt thing that happened today, i was also gifted a Sony PS3 (40Gb) for my birthday and you can already see that this birthday is just getting better and better!

While I am yet to explore all the possibilities of the PS3, i have already done a few things - like upgrade the firmware, play around with bluetooth and WiFi capabilities (although i could not for some reason get it hooked on to my WiFi network and had to settle down for the wired one), and of course try out some cool gaming.

I only have 2 games as of now - Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resident Evil 5.

Metal Gear Solid 4:
This was one game i enjoyed playing on the PC (the first part of course) when i was still in college. The PS3 version it seems was one of the best games in 2008. I liked the game well except for the fact that it is single player unless you play online and secondly that you are not exactly on one team. So the rebels and the agents are all fighting against one another and you could avoid or shoot at both! However, the graphics are very detailed and some features in the game are very good. All in all a good game to have.

Resident Evil 5:
I bought this game againts buying a GTA 4 was because this was a dual player game. I enjoyed this one a lot and it becomes more fun if you are playing with a human parter rather than the computer. Once again the graphics are detailed and all in all a good game to have.

As i keep adding new games to my colllection, expect to see some more reviews with expert comments :)

Surprise Surprise

You can never take the zing out of a good surprise...even if it is a tad late!

I realised this today when my birthday was celebrated by my friends and it was one of the best surprises I got.

An elaborate treasure hunt of sorts with gifts at every "checkpoint" was what was arranged by my friends for me. I can straightaway see the effort involved especially since many of the gifts were personalised and well thought of. The hunt ended with some good food at one of the restaurants in ABC Farms followed by a treat to one of my fav sweet dishes. There was of course the birthday cake which found more of my face than peoples mouth but that is the way it always is!

Thanks to my friends, this will be a birthday to remeber!

Happy Birthday Saifee!

This is what I am thinking right now -
...................................................................

That's right - nothing worth writing!
I once read - I am not sure if my memory is failing me or I am not doing anything worth remembering anymore!

99 The Movie - Review

In my last blog i made a passing comment on watching a movie. It is time now that i do justice to the movie and write a quick review :)

The movie i watched was 99 starring Kunal Khemu, Soha Ali Khan, Boman Irani and Cyrus Broacha.

Kunal has tried to act and you can see the effort. Cyrus thinks that it is still a TV show and tries to not act at all. Soha Ali Khan is present in the movie to strictly act as a love interest. The only bouyance that the movie gets is from Boman who once again outshines everyone else in the movie.

The humour comes in isolated parts and is sometimes too sofisticated for the average cinema goer to decipher. Especially since people generally tend to not like to be made to think before they can get the joke. In many cases, the jokes come so fast in succession that you seem to miss out on a few.

The chemistry between Soha and Kunal is incomplete. Although the end does seem to make some sense. Spoiler Alert!!! After all which female working as a floor manager of a five star hotel with a steady income of easily 50k pm would let go of her job just to be with a guy who has nada!

The movie is strictly a one time watch unless you want to see it the second time to check out all the jokes you missed the first time around.

Braking for life

I dont know how many of you have experienced this...but I sure have...and on more than one occasion.

Its a feeling you can't describe but it is also the one that urges you to describe itself - like an ice-cream which is too cold to eat but too warm to not start melting in your hands. Seems like life is not very different after all.

I want to break free. But i dont know from what! Its like the weight is pushing me down. To depths unknown. To places unseen. Where I am lost. No one to talk to and no one to speak. Yet, i feel I need time alone with myself. Time that will help me know what it is that my heart desires.

Today was one such day. For it happens rarely to me that I do not enjoy watching a movie. I might not like the movie but the experience always elevates me. But not today. All I could wish for sitting there in that movie hall was solitude. And maybe one person who would listen...It is funny how sarcastically ironical situations can be. Yet it is the undying optimism that lives within.

And while writing here i realise - it is not about finding peace, it is about stopping the search...

Linkin Park - By Myself

What do I do to ignore them behind me?
Do I follow my instincts blindly?
Do I hide my pride from these bad dreams
And give in to sad thoughts that are maddening?
Do I sit here and try to stand it?
Or do I try to catch them red-handed?
Do I trust some and get fooled by phoniness,
Or do I trust nobody and live in loneliness?
Because I can't hold on when I'm stretched so thin
I make the right moves but I'm lost within
I put on my daily fa�ade but then
I just end up getting hurt again By myself (Myself)

Pre chorus: I ask why, but in my mind
I find I can't rely on myself

I can't hold on To what I want when I'm stretched so thin
It's all too much to take in I can't hold on
To anything watching everything spin
With thoughts of failure sinking in
If I turn my back I'm defenseless
And to go blindly seems senseless
If I hide my pride and let it all go on
Then they'll take from me 'till everything is gone
If I let them go I'll be outdone
But if I try to catch them I'll be outrun
If I'm killed by the questions like a cancer
Then I'll be buried in the silence of the answer (By myself)

Pre chorus Chorus
How do you think I've lost so much
I'm so afraid, I'm out of touch
How do you expect I will know what to do
When all I know is what you tell me to
Don't you know I can't tell you how to make it go
No matter what I do, how hard
I try I can't seem to convince myself why I'm stuck on the outside