Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Near Death Experiences

... fill me with the desire to live life to the fullest. I had two just this evening while ensuring Gundapps gets to ride home with a familiar face after a 4 hour flight. I don't need to read about how such experiences put things in perspective because I can vouch for the fact. I am living proof that everyone needs to get a slight whiff of death in order to kick start their listless life.

Wait a moment, listless and dull - when did those become adjectives that described my life. Well, anyone whose day is made when he has had a great workout needs to get a life! :) With that being said, the endorphin rush one gets from an intense workout is akin to the post-sexual rush. Since the chemical reaction is the same, why try so hard to get into a woman's pants (and spend a whole lotta money on your way in)?

Friday, November 17, 2006

PS3 or Wii

From the commercials, I am tempted to get myself a Wii on launch day but before I proceeded down that route, I wanted to see what the industry and other, more avid, gamers thought of the 2 consoles. The results are surprisingly in favour of the new Wii. Check the link at the bottom before you decide on a console to get for this holiday season.

And for those of you who are content with your PS2, Final Fantasy XII is out and is receiving rave reviews! Off to the lines for me ...

Monday, November 13, 2006

So Tired, So Happy

I just wish I didn't have this headache and that my eyes could stay open for longer than 1 minute. The show must go on...

Sunday, November 12, 2006

I've Been Told

That I tend to use difficult words in my blog posts. In the future, if I end up using a word that's not part of common parlance, I'll add a simple English definition in brackets while reviewing the post for errors (grammatical and factual).

Thanks to Sharonyka for apprising (informing) me of this.

Intoxicated Blogging

Vista shipped this week and that's reason enough to be intoxicated everyday! Yes, I said it, EVERYDAY!!! This is the first release of Windows that I have worked on from start to finish. RMS SP1 bits were released almost as is in Vista and there is the work I put on on Security Processor that really counts in Vista. No SecProc, no ...

I've been in super high spirits since Thursday morning. Wednesday has to go down as the worst day I've had since I've been back from India; which is what makes Thursday so special because I haven't been happier! Woke up early, went to work on time, hung with the boys at work, made some contribution and then partied with the team. We started drinking at 3:30 in the afternoon and when we were done at around 6pm, I was "merry"! I had spoken to almost everyone in our party, chatted up the waitress and mooched food off every table! :) Thank God Linsley drove me home.

The official Vista ship party was yesterday (Friday) and I had to stay sober till after my squash match at 5pm. All hell broke loose after though, first in Helle's office and later in Belltown at Arjun's place. I am so fortunate to have found a great crew to hang out with - Satya, Anshu, Rajit, Arun and recently Pooja make for great company. In fact, that was the core crew this evening at Cedar's (dinner) and then Havana.

First up though, today was the second circuit of the week. I biked for twenty minutes before launching into the 8 round circuit that I've been indulging in twice a week. Today's was especially difficult and I almost didn't make it through the final round (10 reps on all 5 exercises). The utter satisfaction and sense of accomplishment when I finished the slated number of rounds is hard to describe in this medium...

I was in the mood for an omlette after the workout. I don't store vegetables in the fridge anymore so the first stop was Whole Foods Market. Groceries in tow, I drove home and listened to some great tunes as the omlette materialized - damn I'm a good cook! I didn't wanna drive tonight (my car's heater is on the fritz) and when the boys didn't call till 9, I assumed that this was going to be a night spent in front of the idiot box. They gave me 10 minutes, yes 10 minutes, to get ready (I hadn't showered after my workout) and then gave me hell for taking 15. Satya's whining stopped the instant he had eaten enough food; he had to focus on digesting instead. What followed was a great evening of drinking and dancing at Havana. Here's to many more weekends like the one gone by...

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

When the night, has come

Nip/Tuck's soundtrack is playing in the background on a night that might see me turn in before 2am. That I am listening to the show's soundtrack is a testament to how much I enjoy the show. Heretofore unknown to me, something about dysfunctional situations demands my attention. What did they say about caving in to natural instincts? "Feeding the beast", if I remember correctly!

I am finding it hard to go to bed these days, primarily because of the sudden change in season and episodes of Nip Tuck/House/Heroes/Prison Break... I expected Winter to set in but not at the pace it has in Seattle this year. We had 70 degree days only a few weeks ago; contrast this fact with the current temperature - approximately 35 degrees!

The lack of a real muse has whittled down the number of times I get on my soapbox. Glorifying the inconsequential (even petty) events in my life isn't fulfilling at this point. This blog did start out as a way for me to look back in time and view my life through a wider periscope. Nothing provides perspective like experience (age too) but would I like to remember a squash game I played or a trifling argument I had?

To continue on as if the previous paragraph didn't happen - that would make me a trooper, right? The effects of the circuit training might not be visible yet but I definitely feel stronger in the gym. The increased agility and burstiness around the squash court can also be attributed to the intense training and plyometric drills. Even if there aren't any visible changes after a few months, that I could do 90lb bicep curls last evening is reason enough for me to continue down the circuit training path!

The rest of the week looks promising from both a work and social stand-point. But if I have to "Carpe" tomorrow, it's time for me to call it a night *now*. Peace out!