When the going gets tough !!!!!

What a Grand Finale to the F1 2007. Couldn’t have asked for more. Thrilling, gripping, exhilarating…I was on the edge of my seat right from the word GO … It was one hell of a race at Interlagos, Brazil… with Hamilton, Alonso and Raikkonen all going for the kill… the tracks were set on fire…

All thru the season, McLaren had it very much in their control. A superb car, a two time world champion in Alonso… and the Best of all, the wonder kid Lewis Hamilton, Ron Dennis’ very own boy… For a rookie (he never seemed to be one, the way he monstered his Mclaren and gave every other driver in the circuit a chill down the spine…) he did drive his heart out. He had the championship, well within reach, going into the penultimate race of the season…. So near…and then he literally drove the tires off his Mclaren to park in the gravel…at the very entrance of the pit lanes…. and later to see from the pit lanes a Ferrari 1-3… and his “Best Friend “this season ,splitting the two Ferraris. This just set the stage up for the final showdown in the “FORMULA 1 Grande Prêmio do Brasil 2007”.

Hamilton was under enormous pressure...not from other drivers… but his own teammate Alonso… In the former part of the race…he had proved that he wasn’t the one to break down under pressure…but towards the latter part it just was too much for him to handle…In the final race, he gave it his all...but was outdone by some splendid driving by Kimi, Massa and Alonso. Lewis came back strongly, and at times I felt like, he was asking too much from his car… that it almost gave up once or twice… but then he and his car fought back to the 7th position…That was all he could manage, for the drivers ahead were way too far ahead for him to catch-up with !!.


I’m a die hard fan of Kimi....yet my heart went out to Hamilton… But then there lies the beauty of Formula1. You just can’t count anybody out till the last race, the last lap….




Alonso was there, very much in the race for the championships… close on Hamilton’s tail…both on the track and the points table. Coming into the final race all he needed to do was to get to at least the 2nd place if not 1st and pray that Hamilton didn’t finish the race :-) ( and if he did, not better then 7th)….but that was not the case to be …. on RACE DAY…

Ferrari had other plans….a plan tailor made and executed to suit the very situation…starring Kimi Raikkonen, Fillipe Massa. Directed by Jean Todd, Screen Play- Chris Dyer (Kimi’s Race Engineer) and the entire Ferrari crew for support…They were just one COHESIVE unit (as Sidhu would put it)… Fighting it out for one mission…The championship for Raikkonen… and how well did Massa played his part…He was a guinea pig in the Race in Shanghai…Ferrari testing out during the race as to how the dry tries would work in the wet conditions… and then clearing it for Raikkonen to go flat out to the chequered flag. He is one hell of a team man. Without his support Kimi wouldn’t have made it…

A plan Mclaren couldn’t even think of, let alone executing it….They had the best of everything… the Car, the Drivers, the strategy, sponsors….They had it all, but for mutual respect and understanding…When you are fighting it out.. all for your glory alone…nothing else will help… It’s good to have a healthy rivalry... but not like what was there between Alonso and Hamilton…And to add insult to injury, Alonso was in war with everyone within his team… lots of controversies… Still he drove like a champion….There’s no doubt on his capabilities… But only on his attitude…

This is a lesson for all... as in how not to be within a team… Had it not been for this unhealthy rivalry, Hamilton or Alonso could have easily sealed the tournament for themselves and Mclaren…


Having said all that…let me get to my favorite driver…the ICEMAN…the FLYING FINN… After a superb start to the season, he fell back… Sometimes the car giving up and sometimes he not delivering…But he came back strongly. Did he not drive that Scarlet of his, right up to the limit.., if not over it? He gave it his all, setting lap times, each bettering the previous, lap after lap… When under pressure… he is the one… he delivers. Keeps him cool… Cool as ice…he was simply superb... “When the racing got tough…Kimi got going...”

For him to win the championship…his efforts were not merely enough…He needed the support of Massa and the rest of his team…on which he never had the slightest of doubts…But he badly needed his stroke of luck and fortune. But then fortune favors the brave… and Kimi was brave and fortunate enough……. to be the F1 Champion 2007.



Hats off to Team Ferrari and Kimi Raikkonen.They were a treat to watch… and F1 can’t get better than this…

Looking forward to the next season... India too is to have its own team… A Ferrari Engine powered Car... Thanks to Vijay Mallya…

Confessions of a moderate blogger ....

I had almost forgotten that this really existed.. No that I was too busy or anyhting...just that i forgot...

Shuld find some time ...to fill in some junk... lots of subjects around... worth being blogged about....Just cant get started...

Celebration - A joyous Diversion

Got this one as a forwarded mail... A simple explanation of how simple a celebration is !!!!

Celebration means......

Four friends.
Bahar barsaat.
Four glasses of beer.


Celebration means......

Hundred bucks of petrol.
A rusty old bike.
And an open road.


Celebration means......

Maggi noodles.
A hostel room.
4.25 a.m.


Celebration means......

3 old friends.
3 separate cities.
3 coffee mugs.
1 internet messenger.


Celebration means......

Rain on a hot tin roof.
Pakoras deep-frying.
Neighbours dropping in.
A party.


Celebration means......

You and mom.
A summer night.
A bottle of coconut oil.
A head massage.


We can spend
Hundreds on birthdays,
Thousands on festivals,
Lakhs on weddings,
but to really celebrate

all we need to do is spend a little time with our loved ones.


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A TROG# – The Road to Paniyeli -Poru

With us… nothing is planned (cannot be planed for that matter)... We are the “take the world as it comes” people. Friday evening we tentatively agreed on “Poru” as our destination for the next day...The place was suggested by Pali… None of us had heard about this place before…Only thing we knew was…. .It’s after Perumbavoor… So naturally Pali had his disclaimer well in advance… “This is supposedly a beautiful place, where we can have a bath in the river.. And ‘m okay with any other place u suggest…”

As for planning we didn’t miss out on this…. “We will buy Kallu*”. Now the problem with Kallu is we will have to buy it early in the morning, and from people whom we know…So the only solid plan we had for travel day… was to get some Gud kallu…V####h and J####n took the ownership for this task….. (Names are encrypted,for all are "Eligible" bachelors...If some one feels Kallu is not aristocratic enuf :-))


It’s said.. “The early bird catches the prey”... Same is the case with Kallu…
So “the early V#####h got the kallu”… Had it canned neatly…. Corked the can with a little hole in it.. Otherwise it will fizz out just like champagne... when u open :-)

We were a group of five…”the awesome five some”
So by about 10 AM. Pali came to my house and from there we proceeded to J####’s house where S####h and V####h were ready…


Now the million Dollar Question…”Where are we going??…. We will go to Poru…
Ok so... who knows the route.. Well err.. hmm.. no one .. That’s ok.. we will find it as we go…” After all where’s the thrill in going to a place we all know???

We didn’t think much… we all jumped in and set off... “Chalo Poru”… God knows where… and what…

All we knew was we had to hit Perumbavoor first… now that’s 40 kms odd from Kochin… All of us were proud residents of Kochin...But none of us were sure of the roads that led us to perumbavoor... We knew we had to start from Kakkanad…and we did…
But whenever the road forked… we braked…. and asked some one for “The road to Permubavoor”… When u do not know the roads the strategy is simple “Chodichu chodichu Pokam”…

So we kept going and on this beautiful little junction, where we stopped for advice on the further road to perumbavoor… A gentle man…knowing our hopeless situation told…”Don’t u worry ppl … just follow the white marker on the middle of the road… All white markers lead to Perumbavoor…”

We all thought… what an easy way to reach Perumbavoor… We thanked that gentle man for his intelligent suggestion… and accelerated our way ahead….Hardly did we travel 200 mtrs…. I thought I had become “white blind”... for I cudnt see any white markers on the road… Soon I knew… others where White blind too….for they too didn’t see any...by the time we gathered our thoughts we were into an unmarked road…and for the first time that day … we were on the wrong way…had to turn back.. and again trace the white markers… So we never really tried to follow the markers any further… Like this we drove on and finally reached Perumbavoor…and then with the help of locals finally managed to find the road... “Paniyeli – Poru “ about 20 kms from there..


Now the roads were narrow and winding… taking us to the interiors of a beautiful village… Suddenly Pali asked...” What about our food… this place looks like we won't get anything to eat…” .. So we stopped at the first shop we saw. Pali and V####h got and was back soon…Pali has some snacks… V####h… has a strainer in his had…All of us asked together…” what is this for “….A smiling V####h… said... Forgot the get the kallu strained... :-)..

In another 30 mins we were there…”Paniyeli –Poru”...




We took tickets and tried to take ourselves and Kallu inside... But the duty bound guard pointed to a board... that said... “Plastics and alcohol prohibited”… We tried to explain him that Kallu is a non alcoholic beverage…and the volume- wise percentage of alcohol per litre of kallu and all that stuff… He stood his ground… I guess he was drunk :-)…

So we turned back to the car.... one holding the strainer over each glass while the other pouring kallu…. had it as an aperitif… and left the rest... safe in the boot of the car…


We then walked a bit by the riverside and finally reached a place where the water was crystal clear and there was good shade too….




The water was cool, clear and refreshing… all our tiredness was washed off…we spent quite some time in the water..




Had some foto sessions…and the time just flew …



It was great…Nature in its pristine form…no much crowd.. No pollution… only company we had were a herd of cows…butterflies... beautifully colored dragonflies etc…

We finally walked back….decided on coming back again….a place worth visiting again…. Reached the car… finished the rest of the kallu … which was getting sour…and strong… and we started our drive back home…

It was a nice short trip… A day well spent…

♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦

#TROG – read it as a TRavel blOG
*Kallu is the national Drink of Kerala- Slightly alcoholic. A natural juice from the Coconut tree.

Give it a thought

A priest once asked a gathering...” How many of you love Jesus”, and asked them to raise their hands if they really did. Almost every one raised their hands… He continued” I’m going to prove that you are wrong”. There was a hushed resentment among the gathering as to what the priest is about to do for they all were sure they loved Jesus.

The Priest called up a young boy from the crowd who was with his father…and asked

“Who is that??” pointing to his father... He replied…
“He is my father….”

The priest then pointed to a kid in his fathers hand and asked again

Who is that???
Again came the reply
“He is my little young brother”…

He then suddenly pointed to the crucifix of Jesus on the altar and asked the boy again…

Who is that??
Soon came the reply… as if wondering what a question to ask….
“That is Jesus Christ”

He then asked the gathering again …
Who is that???The crowd replied in unison…
“That is Jesus Christ”…

The priest smiled… and declared… I have just proved you wrong!!!!


The priest continued…

You say “My Father, My Brother, My Son, My Wife, My Friend, My Money, My Dog, My car… My, My… My….”…

But you will never say “My Jesus Christ… My God “…



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Oh Shit !!!

How often do we use this 4 letter word, when desperate...when in anger..when in joy.. ….Infact... it just suits aptly for a hell lot of moods..

Ever wondered how it came???...
A Google search on SHIT revealed this interesting story behind it.

As the story goes, this word can be traced back to merchant vessels of the 17th century which used to ship bales of Dry manure from one port to another in their holds.If the bales were stored low enough, they would come into contact with water that inevitably leaked into the bilge. The water would then cause the manure to decompose, creating methane gas as well as a rather bad odor. The unlucky sailor sent to investigate the smell would of course take with him a candle or lantern to light the dark area below deck. The open flame would ignite the methane/air mixture in the confined space, causing a massive explosion and sinking the ship. When the cause of these strange accidents was discovered, bales of manure to be transported by ship were marked "Store High In Transit" or "Ship High In Transit" to remind those loading them to keep them above the bilge water. This was eventually shortened to "S.H.I.T."

Quite a shitty piece of Information :-)

Epilogue:-
I posted this blog successfully and, (I must also add that I wrote and published this from my Office PC :-) ) and I proceed to see how my “work” is from my blog home page. I expectantly clicked on the Link “Oh Shit” and SHIT…unexpectedly a window popped up….
it stated

"The url
http://scribbles-n-such.blogspot.com/2007/04/oh-shit.html
falls under a restricted category.

If you think this is an error, please log a call in helpline.XYZ.com with the above information "
"IT Management Group
Your friendly IT Manager"

I do not want to say how I felt :-(((

HABITs

hab•it (hăb'ĭt)
n.

1. A recurrent,often unconscious pattern of behavior that is acquired through frequent repetition.
2. An established disposition of the mind or character.
3. Customary manner or practice.

This is how dictionaries define “Habit”


I don’t remember where, but I happened to listen to this talk where the speaker was beautifully explaining HABITs. Quite interesting… Read on

“Habit…
Remove the “H”, “a bit” remains.
Remove the “a” and a”bit” still remains.
Remove the “b” and “it” still remains.”


So… make GOOD habits…its really tough to get rid of it… good or bad!!!.It just hangs on…and on and on ………………