BBC SPORT | Cricket | Aus v Ind | India rue batting collapse

Tendulkar average in this series - 16. Can India beat the mighty Aussies? Watch this space for more information. The final test starts on the 2nd of January.

10 ADS AMERICA WON'T SEE

But you should definitely see - especially the FHM image :)

Quick Note

Some ppl I know can only vegetate all day long - and yes, the Seattle sweatshirt was a fine touch...

The Last Week of 2003

Being stuck in the United States, Seattle in particular isn't turning out to be as bad as I made it out to be. Nothing matches being in Bombay of course, that city is beyond comparison, but some nebulous plans and interesting ideas are beginning to take shape that can make these next couple of weeks in Seattle very promising indeed. To begin with, Apu and her friends are coming up to Seattle to spend New Year's eve and day here in the Emerald City. We are going to this Absolut Party that has a view of Elliott Bay and all that - I think views are for birds that fly up in the air - view hua toh kya hua - jaise paed khajoor...

I am going to go visit Ishmeet and the gang in Chicago a couple of days after the New Year rings in - Chicago is a cold, cold city right now but I can weather that to hang with Ish, Shaif and Ish's buddies in Chicago. It's interesting how my friend's buddies automatically become my buddies... I want 2004 to start on a good note because 2003 started with us being deserted on a stinky pier in Bombay fighting to get on to a boat that wasn't destined for any party. Vibhas, Rach and I spent the rest of that night driving around and finally ended it with a serving of Pav Bhaji and juice - that debacle set the tone for the rest of the year but I'll reflect more on 2003 come it's last stinking day. For now though, 2004 presents many opportunities to revitalize myself... Time to send out the usual New Year's greeting - any change in fortune for me you think...

Number 1 on the Pro Club charts...

G5 kicks Opteron butt

So much for you Darwin and your Opteron fanboyness :)

Disappointment, sadness and tears...

In the past 5 years, I clearly remember the occassions I have broken down and cried my heart out. On both occassions, I cried because an important person in my life was not going to be a part of it anymore. One passed away, another moved on and got married...

And then, I cried last night... I can't find my passport on the eve of my flight to Bombay. I was to fly tomorrow evening, the 26th of Dec, at 7:25pm. It's an event I've been preparing for since the middle of August. Plans were finalized to go to Goa for the New Year's; all the shopping was complete; the adrenalin had just started surging through my system and I was getting emotionally ready to meet my parents and brother. They might be thousands of miles away but I realized yesterday that they are the most important people in my life. I couldn't stop crying while I relayed the dismal news to my mom and true to her nature, she cried too. My dad and brother calmed my frayed nerves, I'd been searching for eight hours straight before I caved in, and made me resort to reason and logic. It's time for the fire-fighting crews to step in and take care of the damage. It's going to be an expensive and elaborate operation, getting a duplicate passport will be. I need to get my US Visa re-stamped, I-94 card number (it's required for everything in the states) and that's only the tip of the ice-berg. I am also going to have to go to SFO to apply for the passport in person - how tough can they make this process!

I'm going to continue searching but I know myself - I'm organized and pay too much attention to detail - if I haven't found it after a thorough search last night, I have little hope of finding it today. But I have nothing to lose and only to gain so contrary to my own intuition and better judgement, I'm going to keep on looking...