The Birthday weekend

The last letters I penned last week were , " I hope that the next week isnt crazy " . It turned out to be true , but alas , the "weekend was bad " .

The week did not start on a bright note. Soon after i finished blogging that sunday night , I experienced severe ear pain . I decided not to go to work on Monday . Luckily , saw the doctor who diagnosed it as middle ear infection . She prescribed "amoxycillin " and ear drops . Even before I had taken a dose of the medication , the placebo effect took effect and I was busy driving to Schaumburg to get to Kaushik's place . I meandered on my way to go to Subaru of schaumburg to inquire about the vehicle title and also went to Elgin to check out an Ipod interface. All wasteful activities . I finally managed to meet Kaushik's parents around 3:00 , who thankfully were able to provide some great home food . By the time i returned home around 4:00 pm , i missed the plumber .

I managed to cook something that nite . Also i managed to hit a few balls with a guy named Mike who places great tennis .On the office front , one of my colleagues sent out a mass email , explaining how they needed to update their calendar if they were taking the day off and not put others into incovenience . Big deal i thought to myself .

The rest of the week was ok , I had a few issues from France , and had to get a critical code change integrated .

Friday was my birthday . I wore the shirt that Arthi bought for me . After lunch my friday was not a happy day anymore . Right after lunch , my boss asks me to look into yet another issue . Also our releases are blocked due to an issue. We start troubleshooting the issue around 4:00 pm and this quest for the root cause , extends well past 7:45 . Most of the day is gone . Wasted on a quandry issue. The day which was exclusive to me was frittered away is some obscure issue . The only saving grace came from my colleague who had placed a pack of chocolates at my desk . I effusively thanked him and am still surpised as he was the only guy who gifted me anything that day . I must reciprocate this act of his .



Kaushik's mom had invited us for Dinner that nite . Arthi was back home with an attack of fever and we also invite Bala .

We all meet around 8:30 at our place . Bala drives to Schaumburg . Its a great dinner . All this summer we have eaten a lot at their place. I hope that we get a chance to return the favor . we talk for a while and around 10:30 pm we decide to return home . Bala stops for a while at our place and we had some small discussions , that included some funky weird code discussions too ! End of Friday . 29 years and counting . My Birthday has ended without a whimper !


Some days are meant to be days where you personal preferences are forced out of the way . Saturday was one such day . I got up early expecting the plumber to show up . we have a bath tub that doesnt drain too well . The plumber comes , inspects it and finds that it works ok . he runs the snake and confirms the same . Arthi isn't doing too well , with her fever . I go to play some tennis and get a chance to hit with Drew. The session is good . All of the morning I have been logging into the office network to check on the issue that two of my colleagues were troubleshooting . I managed to gather the courage to ask them as to whether they were able to troubleshoot the issue . I guess , I managed to piss em off rather than help them . I really wanted to help , so was constantly in touch with the engineers all afternoon . Finally they found a possible cause . Due to this change m they needed a new build. I agreed to build . I was eager to help and this was a chance i didnt want to miss . All of the build process continued until 7:30 .

I decided to play some tennis . Guess what , amidst the bunch of people who are having a tennis gala ( ignoring the rules of the courts and not being senstive to people waiting outside ), I spot Drew who obliges for yet another session .This one is better . I am able to focus on specifics such as cross court angles and being in the rally . It all ends at 9:15 after which i had "zero" energy to do anything else . I watch some TV and was back to some browsing . I stumble upon some Indian Railway videos , especially of the Rajdhanis and Shatabdis . I am engrossed in that until 1:00 am after which I hit the sack . I get up around 10:00 am , go to DOMINICS the first thing in the morning to get some milk and raisin bread as my stomach isnt doing too well.

Kaushik's parents are leaving today . We go to Schaumburg , and help them go to the airport . While at Schaumburg , i manage to pick up an overgrip and a replacement grip for my prince OG .

return home and find someone I know hitting at the courts . I get ready and come . Its sad as I have to hit with one of these girls i see . All they know is brute power . Seems that they dont realize the nuances of the game in terms of angles , stroke mechanics , match play etc . All they do is hit from one end to the other , with all the brute force they have ( not to mention their ooooooooooooooooooooooooversize rackets ) . The girl does' nt even know who to properly feed the ball during a rally . I was pissed . wanted to blast out at em but managed to keep my trap shut and walk back home .


We decided to attend a concert by Anoushka Shankar at Millenium park . we decide to drive . While riding , we encounter a lot of congestion towards downtown . We manage to get some UG parking near MP .

We manage to get some good seats and boy , isnt MP wonderful ? Karsh Kale is in the house , spinning some tracks . Initially it was tough to recognize him without his goatee and long hair , but with the due progression of time it was certain that KK it was ! This was confirmed , once he started playing tracks from "Broken english" his latest album .

KK was amazing , engrossed in his world of mix n match .

Soon it was the time for the maestro , Anoushka Shankar to arrive . The ensemble was composed of Tabla ( Tanmoy Bose ) , Flute , mridangam , Flemenco piano , bass guitar and Laptop ( speciale electronic sounds ) . Unfortunately my man Karsh Kale didnt play with Anoushka . I was hoping that KK , being a tabla virtuoso , pitch in too . The concert was a beautiful blend of fusion , with classical Hindustani music . the Percussion was the "works " with both Tanmay Bose and the mridangam player supplementing each other .

It's a scintillating performance and we slowly leave MP . It's a quick ride back home . Nice weekend but have the grudge that my B'day and Saturday were wasted .
Finally , I dont have the guilt that I didnt pitch in when couple of my colleagues were slugging it out . Thats the only consolation this weekend . Hopefully , my ear gets back into shape . I am looking forward to the coming weekend ( I only look forward for weekends and not weekdays ) . I am travelling to Columbus and Cincinnati for the tennis open . Hopefully i can take half of Friday off . Hope that nothing comes along to disrupt yet another beautiful summer weekend !

Adios .

Being Happy on a Sunday Evening

I have been itching all day to post this but still just managed to get this in time . Its almost 1 year since I and my Arthi have joined new companies and we have managed to survive !!! I remember , being nervous about the stupid orientation I had , I took half the day off ( as orientation got over ) and i played tennis that day .

Destiny has been good . A lot of things have happenned this past year , both good and bad , but overall its been nice . I have seen some role changes @ work and hope that I get a chance to work on fun stuff , rather than the customary bug fix kinda job . Pray that I get a chance to move into newer things such as Linux and manage to keep myself satisified and hopefully I am more pleasant on Sunday evenings next year !

This weekend started off around 7 :30 pm . Arthi was home soon , and being Kaushik's bday we went to Schaumburg to wish him and also savor some good home cooked food by his mom . It was amazing with two dessert items and some good South Indian food . Unfortunately , the DVD that we burnt ( Corporate ) didnt play on Kaushik's player and hence we were forced to engage is some conversation that persisted until 11:30 pm.

We head back and I had to take a mandatory training at work which I did around midnite and then called by Baroda to speak to parents . End of a normal work day with some fun . Managed to knock myself with some Nyquil syrup and a tablet too .

Saturday : Woke up around 10:30 . Thanks to a phone call from Arthi's friend who normally never calls her on that line . I managed to get my tennis gear and I headed towards the tennis courts . Little did I know that I was about to create some tennis history . Arthi dropped me at the courts and went to the mall to do some shopping , inspired by the JC Penney Gift card that she received from Kaushik's mom .

I see the tennis prodigy (lets call hime TP ) play and he summons me inside the court as he is hiting with someone else . I wait for a little while ,after which I take a short jog in the adjoining baseball field . I finally get a chance to hit with TP . I find that I am hitting better and have better balance when making contact with the ball . TP asks me if I want to play some games . I agreed and the rest is history. The result , I defeat TP 6-2 , a result i would have never dreamed of . In fact I would have dreamed of winning 1 game from him . On the rest break , TP tells me that I have been returning serve very well and that my serve is pretty effective .

Key points to always learn from this game

1. Never admire ur opponent , however good he/she may be . Admiring = resigning to the fact that he/she is better .

2. During return of server try to visualize the swing and attempt to make contact . All u need to do is place ur racket in the trajectory of the ball . Good return of serve demoralizes TP .

3. Focus on the ball right from the point where the toss is made .

4. Try to return as many balls as possible . Go for tough returns .

I was glad that I didnt choke and finally made it . I was really elated and encouraged by this result .

Couldnt wait to tell this to Arthi .

We return home and I am delighted to see Arnold Clement "safinate" Marat Safin in the Legg Mason tournament . I take a shower and we head to Schaumburg to pick up Kaushik and his parents to the Temple . Its a standard outing to the temple . Luckily I have not met someone I know ! On the way back , we decide to go to sweet tomatoes for dinner . Pretty ok dinner . the soup was very mediocre but relished the apple cobbler and the pineapple muffin .

the day is almost over and I am anxious that I havent done anything tennis centric for the rest of the day . we return to Kaushik's house but leave soon . I head to Sportmart and find that the prince o3 tour is selling for a lot less $169 . I am hesitant to buy it , since I had already placed a bid for the same at ebay for $85 (ending sunday evening ) . we get back home . On the way back I decide to stop at the courts and am glad that I was able to hit for a little while with bare feet , jeans and a stomach filled with buffet food . Later at home , we manage to watch Ebert and Roeper ( Jay and Roeper ). The rest of the day is spent in browsing thru the tennis warehouse site and forums and wiki'ing random stuff . A big tennis day !!!

Sunday (08/06/06)
I get up around 9:30 and have to leave to the airport to pick up a colleague and his family , returning from a vacation . I drive from Ohare to Vernon Hills . On the way back I find that its drizzling . I still hope to play some tennis and when I reached the courts , I found that there was'nt anyone to play around with . I did some "wall practice " . I head back home and we plan to go the Glen , where Arthi could do some swimming and i could take a jog . Its a lovely place to do jogging but find that within jogging for 0.5 mile , I feel as though my lungs might come out and I take it easy . Still manage to complete two rounds . I spot a guy walking with "Babolat " tennis gear heading towards the courts . I asked him if he had a partner and much to my dismay he replied in the affirmative .
Later i saw this guy practise with this partner and they played like pros , hitting ball after ball , deep , with topspin .

I headed back to the swimming pool to see how Arthi was doing . We came home and I hoped that this time I could go and play some tennis . Luckily I come across a guy who was playing pretty good . I hit with him and was able to outplay him with my groundstrokes. Also , I was serving good. I was consicous of the fact that I needed to keep my racket position is a particular fashion to get that rip in the serve . Cant describe it in words though . It was very humid and finally we decided to stop . I hope to play with this guy , especially because I might be able to play with him in the winter too .

I return , take a quick shower and we decide to go to Schaumburg to pick up some food that Kaushik's mom had prepared . We pick the food up and on the way back we pick up some Indian groceries and some fruits . On the way back , i stop at the tennis courts and see TP play with another guy . I am tempted to play but decide against it as I was feeling very tired and also was planning to doing some stupid office training course .

I head back home and to my disappointment find that I have lost the bid on the Prince O3 tour racket . I was extremely disillusioned and purposefully to divert my anguish , decide to go and hit with TP around 9:30 . I reached the courts and find that TP isnt playing anymore . Felt like a jackass while returning home .

I take this stupid official training ( managed to pass the test too ) . All this gets done around 11:30 pm . Since then I ve been writing this blog .

Still am not happy that this Sunday . I am really not looking forward to the work week . Still need an extra day . Same old story of bug fixes , unneccessary pressure , arguments , politics and unproductive criticism ! Thats the way it is man . Go and enjoy the fun .

next weekend , we might have guests in Balajee and Anu . Also Kaushik's parents are leaving on the 13th , ,my birthday on the 11th of August (Friday). I want to see as to how many people remember this and wish me ! Friday might be a busy day as it is a working day , there 's a Santoor concert (features Anil Datar on the tabla ) in Lemont temple and Anu/ Balajee might arrive that same note . Also there is Anushka Shankar's + Karsh Kale's concert on Sunday evening in Downtown .

I am not sure how much tennis I can play . Will i win next time ? I would want to spend the evening of the 11th in Lemont , with Arthi , listening to the concert . Would be a better / serene way of celebrating . For a bday gift , my new found tennis vigor is perfect .Hope that it sustains . Finally hope that my work week isnt crazy !!