STAY AWESOME

Be careful what you wish for,
'Cause you just might get it all.
`Chris Daughtry

A few weeks ago I had this sudden urge to play Frisbee. For anyone reading this who doesn't know what Frisbee is: Frisbee is an awesome sport that most people instantly fall in love with because of its simple yet exciting game play that they can pick up very fast.I missed it so much that I decided to stop felling sorry for not being able to play  it and to look out for opportunities where I can play this sport. Although, I knew that it is rare that any sport gets recognition in this country where Cricket is almost a  religion(&
Cricketers are almost demi-Gods) and anything other than Cricket is unpopular, I kept hoping that there would be some peeps who have picked up this sport from somewhere and play it in Mumbai.
So I did the first thing that anyone looking for something does-- Googled it..and I wasn't disappointed.After a bit of search I came to know about this professional Frisbee team from Mumbai who call themselves "Storm Chasers". I called them up and the guy on the other end was kind enough to let me know more about their training schedules and even invited me to join them for one of the practice sessions.I planned to go check out this team on Saturday as I was packed with lessons till Friday.
I was really happy that day. I was so happy that I made plans of getting back into shape (upgrade my stamina, sharpen my flicking skills,etc). I woke up early next day to run, which not many people do around here. I could hardly see anyone around on the streets or in the park when I was out running. I saw a couple of old folks walking around and being the only one running through the deserted park in the early hours seemed quite weird.And just after I had made all the plans to go play Frisbee that Saturday, I got to know that we would have regular classes Tuesday through Saturday that week. I thought it was just that week because we missed a few lessons due to the Swine flu scare. But, next week too, same story-lessons all week long. And week after that and the week after that....Weeks passed and  I am still longing to feel that awesome disc in my hand.I want to chase it, grab it, flick it and score-the ULTIMATE way.

PS: I miss you Frisbee and can't wait to lay my hands on you once again.

Labels: Frisbee

The swine flu scare has JUST entered Mumbai with 2 deaths in the last few days and people are already panicking. People are so worried they might contract the disease that everyone is masked up hoping to keep the virus at bay.People from taxi drivers to corporate officials seen masked up to prevent H1N1.I see a wide range of masks-from the handkerchiefs tied up around their faces(in a way that they resemble the terrorists that reside in Borat's homeland)  to the usual anti-dust mask and the high end surgical masks(I must say people who go to this extreme really lack some guts).I don't think many people know this over here in Mumbai that none of these masks that people use here can prevent viruses.I repeat....none of the masks used by people here can prevent viruses. The only form of protection these masks provide is from bacterias.The media, due to lack of meaningful news, sensationalizes "Swine Flu" apart from other meaningless news like noob students getting mugged in Aussie.Seeing the heightened media hype, the locals tend to panic when all one needs to do is lead a healthy lifestyle.Where Monkey See Monkey Do phenomenon has caused the whole of Mumbai to mask up, the media hype is forcing schools and colleges to shut down completely for a week or two. Didn't anybody think of a more efficient plan like "self-quarantine" for those with flu like symptoms.


PS: The opinion in this post is that of the blogger and readers are advised to follow at their own risk.The writer has clearly no fear of losing his life to Swine Flu and he is happy leading life on the edge taking as many "calculated" risks as possible. Also, he can't wait to fake a cough(of course he will follow basic courtesy of covering his mouth while in the act) in a crowded train compartment in front of masked up people.He thinks the people around him will throw him out of the speeding train for sure.

Dear Awesome Friends,

Fate brought us all together, one way or another. Some of us go back a really long way and some of us may have only known each other for months. However, trust me when I say it makes no difference in the friendship and bromance that we have forged within the walls of our beloved sanctuary, 102-C (: The memories that we made will go down in the history of awesomeness! We will never forget the times when we had our usual Sunday Lurves, enjoying the comfort in the place we happily call HOME nor will we forget our mini outings around the island, embarking on great adventures. Now, however, the time has come for us to walk our own paths to follow our own dreams. These paths may be tough; these paths may seem deserted at times; these paths may not even be the most conventional of paths. But they're the paths that we've chosen to walk nonetheless. So do allow yourselves to create new memories in whichever part of the world you're dwelling now, and continue to persevere in order to achieve your respective dreams. Fate brought us all together, one way or another. It will do so once again, my awesome friends. And when it does, mark my words; it's gonna be LEGEN*wait.for.it*DARY™! Till then, take care and all the best (:

Love,
Aravind
The Awesome Bro
P.S. Kannan, you should put up this awesome picture on your blog :D



PS: For those who don't know the inspiration behind the name of this blog came from the quote above

The Monsoon season just started here and has brought with it heavy downpour.Although the monsoon season is pretty dull but it brings with it interesting chain of events-flooded streets, water logged areas, trains moving through pools of water with the tracks nowhere to be seen.While I'm enjoying all this watching it on TV in the comfort of my home, there are people who are struggling to get to their workplace and back home after work.

A bit of background info:The Mumbai Local train-its like the MRT in Singapore but with open doors and it stops for less than 10sec at a station-is the lifeline of this city. More than 6 million people take the local trains daily in Mumbai to make their way to school, college or workplace as it is the only reliable means of transport in this congested city where traffic jams are very common. 8am-10am and 5pm-8pm sees the bulk of passengers[During this period you can witness people travelling on the train hanging from doors and windows or on top.I didn't know India still has people travelling on top of trains till I saw it].

Imagine this service which connects almost everyone in Mumbai/nearby areas from their Home to Workplace(or School or College) stops for a day due to rain.All services in certain routes "Cancelled" due to knee-deep-water on train tracks. People couldn't get to their workplace in the morning and got stuck on their way and those who made it for work couldn't come back. If you think the train service had taken a blow,trust me the roads were worse.Cars and buses floating in pools of waters.[When I say pool its really a pool- water is about a metre and half high on road with kids swimming with the help of water bottles tied to their shoulders to keep them afloat].So the people who went to work got stuck at train stations unable to get back home and had to spend their night sleeping at the stations itself. Some offices like my dad's arranged for their employees to sleep in the office itself - I'm guessing they used meeting rooms, conference halls and whatever space was available to sleep...almost like a refugee camp.If you are wondering why people did't go for Hotel rooms to stay for the night,it is because most offices are located in the business district and the hotels in that area are freaking expensive 5-star or 7-star hotels.If they go there they will end up spending the whole month's salary for a night's stay. And those who were stuck on the road ended up making their way through flooded streets to find a suitable spot to spend the night.I heard my dad's friend who was travelling by bus, was forced to spend the night in a temple as it was the only shelter he could find along that road.And next morning it was almost back to normal with only slight drizzle-roads cleared, trains running on time, water-logged areas no more and everyone went to work.By mid-day heavy rain started again and flooded streets, delayed/cancelled local trains, people stranded on stations until trains start running again,people reaching home past midnight,some haven't seen family for 2 or more days spending their nights at random shelters and the cycle continues.Whatever happens, life still goes on. And that is the story of Monsoon in Mumbai.

Life's a struggle, but that only makes it much more worth living.

PS: I felt you guys would find it interesting to hear about life at this part of the world. The floods that I've seen on TV looked pretty fun with boats running through roads and all.But I realised it is not funny when u can't reach home after work to your loved ones and are stranded on a flooded road for hours with nowhere to go. And I'm sorry for not having any pics to show u guys. I didn't want to risk taking my camera/phone out of the ziplock in the rain. I will put up some as soon as I have them :)

Labels: Monsoon in Mumbai

4 and half years ago when I first landed on Singapore soil, it was a totally new experience for me coming from India. Not just the language(Singlish) and culture, but also in school-the teaching techniques were very different. I got used to using the scientific calculator and was pretty hooked onto it as it simplified a lot of tedious mental calculations that I was used to doing back home.In JC the GC was introduced. GC was a great friend, helping out in times of need. It even helped store Formulas for some of us who weren't sure we will remember all the necessary formulas during the examination(: And just when I was well-adjusted in the Singapore society and its education system I had to leave s'pore to come back to India.

Now I am having trouble 're-adjusting' back into my own country's social, cultural and most difficult of all- educational ways. The difference between living in an almost first world country and in a third world country is evident everywhere but the one that affects me the most now is the primitive methods of education here.Nobody's uses calculator and I don't think they've even heard of a Graphic Calculator. So, Goodbye my calculators. There are worse things like Log tables and Chemistry.

Basically I'm just tired of moving from one place to another, adjusting there, making great friends there just to go back to another place and adjust all over again.I guess I'm stuck in this cycle of moving-->adjusting-->leaving from place to place. I hope that if I'd ever have to move again, I'd move to a place where I can meet my friends. Moving to a new place sucks!!!

PS: Sorry for whining so much in my posts.I will try to write about awesome stuff soon.

14 years in India : Montfort School, Orissa
4.5 AWESOME years in Singapore : St Joseph's Institution; Catholic Junior College; Outdoor Adventure Club; 102-C ; Frisk and Romp
Now: Back In India, Navi Mumbai to be exact.
Future: Wanna be an AWESOME Computer Engineer who builds cool,intelligent robots which can follow me on my expeditions to the farthest corners on this planet.
Interests: Mountains; Nature; Frisbee; Soccer; Running.