Titanic ....

heyaa people,

Apologize to be absconding for so long ... was engulfed with many unavoidable agendas viz. umpteen weddings ... a couple of friends been back home from US for vacation... and yea work as usual... Now I am a bit eased out with all the weddings done with... albeit they have left me with another agenda of losing the kilos I gained during the last 3 weeks :)

My trip to north india was a pleasant one... will try to upload some pics from the trip ... special mention for two serene places that I visited in this trip – Golden Temple and Lotus Temple ... wonderful calming experience...

Thanks to all of you who were concerned about my well being during the Mumbai mishap... by gods grace all is fine with me and my near and dear ones ... I was in Delhi during that time ... just hooked on to the news channels all the time ... This terrorist attack was surely not just another one (as we Mumbaites seem to be used to them)... this one for sure has left back deep scars which will take time to heal...

Anyway, will catch up with all yaa blogs soooon... till then check this pic out... speaks a lot about the current recession and slump...

More later, till then take care !!!

ciao,
~ hiren

the "ing" tag ...

Here is another long awaiting tag ... this one was by Solitaire... so here I am completing the impending and interesting “ing” tag ... :-p


Watching: saw "Jaane Tu Yaa Jaane Naa" today … this one gets two thumbs up from me … a cool, juvenile, invigorating and vivacious movie … liked it very much … will go for it again next week :)

Listening: Nowadays my playlist comprises of Jaane tu yaa Jaane Naaa – AR Rahman rocks yet again; Boond – Jal's new album (not very new, latest would be the right word i think; nice songs); Dus Kahaniya (not many people know that this movie actually has 10 lounge tracks as well … and a few of them are simply awesome); Khuda Ke Liye; ... and actually many others like Kailash Kher, Fuzon, Atif, Rahat Ali Khan etc

Wearing: yea I have been having a quite wearing time lately :-p okay okay I know this one doesn’t mean that …. fine… at this moment I am wearing - shorts & a white t-shirt... and a big grin :-)

Missing: a few of my naalayak friends who are all having a merry time in US summers … the worst thing is that when I was in the US … I had been missing them then too since most of them were back in Mumbai that time …

Hoping: to catch up with a school friend next weekend for sure (unfortunately for some reasons or the other I have not been able to make it for abt last 6-7 weekends in a row now … and we will be catching up after years)

Craving: had been craving for a nice cuppa tea in the past 2 weeks … spent most of my time in office and was fed up with the vending machine and my office’s canteen tea …

Reading: hvnt been upto speed with reading (outside work of course) courtesy the ultra-busy days/nights that I have been having since the last few weeks. Consequently, I ended up reading a lot of back-dated news today … naah naah …. just in case you mistake me to be one of those smart geek who are up-to-date with all global, national, political news etc or the guy who is conversant with all the latest business and economic happenings (contrary to the general belief, I am one of those rare gujjus who suck at money matters … can someone give me no fuss tricks for saving and investments ??? :))…. by news I meant Sports news :-p got to know only today that Sania crashed out in the second round from Wimbledon :) …. Abt future reading … I am starting today (most probably) Chetan Bhagats "The 3 mistakes of my Life .." and am planning to get my hands on "Watch Out we are MBA …" (this one's written by a guy from my organization) and the only other thing that I have been reading recently are most of your blogs ... they have been refreshing me .. so thanks !!!:)

Finished Reading: As described in my post a few weeks back … finished reading "God's Debris" & "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time" … I recommend the first one to those who (literally) like to get their head spun inside their skulls … very heavy but though provoking… and the second one is good too ... best i have read till date in terms of being unusual …

Thinking: at this point I am thinking about an answer for the below question ... [I have begun to get a lot candid nowadays on my blog]

Loving: For lack of a better answer; I am loving my blog … I mean both my blogs Serenity and QQ :)

Hating: the time when I can’t be in Bombay for the weekend ... [due to some unavoidable reasons] … oh yea …to give you all the background… I work in Pune; so I travel (almost) every Fri night to Mumbai and Monday morning back to work ...

ciao friends ...

- hiren

(I)ntrospection

Friends,

First of all, sorry for not visiting any of your blogs since the past few days as I have been having a torrid time at work this week; with situation as bad as sleeping for only 5-6 hrs in 3 days :) ... things are getting better now ...

And now here I am [this is me :)] breaking yet another sabbatical of sorts and taking up one of the two imminent tags ... this ones by ceedy ... and its kinda the myself essay we used to write during our Kindergarten days :) only a touch lengthier than that :) And this one also has also compelled me to come up with narcissism, self-introspection, confessions, candid avowals, immodesty, blabber etc etc :) so here I go ...

I am: a boy, my name is Hiren; I am 27 yrs old :)

I think: never consciously and never unnecessarily …

I know: that destiny has good things in store for me :) ...

I want: that all the people, whom I have acquainted with, to experience a gladdening emotion (like maybe a contented smile) whenever they think/talk about me...

I have: a bit of flab which I can and I should get away with :) [my weird habit related to gym is not helping this one though :-(]

I wish: *not able to express my exact emotion here* maybe just at a high level, I wish I can go back in time and prevent a cataclysm... [sorry peepz no details here]

I hate: people who are unkind to their parents, grand-parents, elders etc and ill-treat them or even talk ill about them.

I miss: my close friends as most of them have shifted base to Uncle Sam’s’ land ... and my maternal aunt, uncles, cousins …in the UK ... and nx nnn the most [crypted coz of the unable to express trait of me ...]

I fear: loneliness (not the literal one)

I feel: that no one can make (plan) life … it just happens !!! :)

I hear: nowadays, a lot of advice, recommendations and warnings to get married :)

I smell: scent of wet mud during the rain ...

I crave: for as much time possible (and more) with the people I care about...

I search: and hope for tranquility in life [this ones a cliché .. alright]

I wonder: how do so many people actually tolerate me and care for me :)

I regret: hmmm ... nothing as such ... no significant regrets !!!

I love: nature, adventure, serenity, get-together with friends, cricket, unix, challenging assignments, outdoors ... [sadly, none of these is the name of any girl :-(]

I ache: when I fail to live up to any expectations of anyone...

I am not: an atheist

I believe: A friend is one of the nicest things you can have, and one of the best things you can be ...

I dance: with two left feet ... :) [except for garbas of course :)]

I sing: not to please others ... :)

I cry: only from within ... hvnt seen my tears at all since the time I can go back in my memory ...

I don’t always: lose my cool ... in fact never with my kins or friends …

I fight: a lot with my younger sister :-) … but she wins most of the times :-(

I write: yes … am a literate :)

I win: quite a few awards and recognitions at work :)

I lose: not without giving my best shot

I never: express my inner thoughts/tensions/apprehensions ... very very rarely can anyone make out when I am truly emotionally down ...

I always: trust my discretion and instincts

I confuse: my friends and family members with certain decisions of mine :)

I listen: a lot [per my friends I am a very good listener and problem solver (well, I am modest too … but for this post … I have kicked my modesty aside :)]]

I can usually be found: on the phone or internet or watching cricket when I am at home ...

I am scared: about not being able do all that I want to do for me and my near and dear ones.

I need: to find a soul mate :) [many people think it’s high time :)]

I am happy about: being born as hiren metalia ...

I imagine: this one is kinda weird … I do get lost in reveries but if u tell me to imagine a particular situation I cant do that impromptu … and while I am discussing my day dreaming here let me confess that sometimes I tend to hover down the fantasy lane....and visualize myself doing heroic things :) winning the man of the series in World Cup; preventing a catastrophic terror plot etc etc ...

pooooh ... I have never ever thought about myself so much ... :)

Let me know your impression about me after reading all this :)

ciao,
- hiren

tag - a weird post ...

When i saw a comment on ma blog stating that I was tagged; i took it to be yet another invitation of that social networking site where people tag each other ... and having ignored such tag invitations umpteen times already, i was all set to disregard this one too and visited my frenz blog (who tagged me) with the intention of writing a comment on his blog in a very decent language (yea yea .. you got that right) to stop spamming. That’s when i got to know what actually this tag is all about ... trust me i found it weird and senseless to be doing this; but hell … i found it to be interesting too ... so here i am giving it a go ...

the rules of this tag are as below

-->Link to the person who tagged you and post the rules on your blog. - The weirdo who got me into this is Viral and unfortunately I don’t have the luxury to decide whether or not to get linked to him :)

-->Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself. - really doubt if i will be able to come up with 7 weird facts about me ... you know i am so close to being perfect :)

-->Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs. - Again not sure if i will be able to come up with 7 bakra/bakris to do this weird thing :) god knows why did the inventor of this tag thingie came up with this number 7; he would have been better off doing some feasibility analysis ...

-->Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog. - this one is not that difficult; if i can take care of the previous ones ...

now below are 7 weird (read as unusual) facts about me ... actually took me an eternity to think of these ...

1. Sleep has always alienated me; and i too keep the animosity burning by eluding it at every possible opportunity ... sleep is never into consideration at all in any of my planning ...

2. i despise a lot of vegetables (no hyperbole intended) and my family & roomies too have been at the end of their nerves to keep up with this peculiarity of mine ...

3. Any song that catches my attention - i can hear to it repeatedly in endless loop (rather than i can, i actually do this :)) ... and to add to the weirdosity (nice word ehh ???) even after hearing to the song countless times; i cant recollect the lyrics except for the couple of lines and the tune that might have caught my attention ...

4. i am a huge donor when it comes to Gyms; I have enrolled in gyms irrespective of my location and the gym costs (india, US etc) ... but i end up hitting the gym like a couple of days (on a higher side) per month :)

5. this one is more like a flaw in technique - in cricket while batting (of course on field and not on the comp), when i intend to hit big shots (which is almost every ball) my fore finger comes out of my grip and is stretched out on the backside handle and the neck of the bat ... (i know i run a risk of fracturing my finger like this ... but then that’s why it classifies as a weird habit) ... somehow this habit has its psychological effect on me ... (and all you buggers who are smirking now that they have got privy to this secret; they can use this to their advantage against me while bowling ... bring it on !!!)

6. my reading habit is really extreme; when i am onto it i finish a book in a matter of couple of nights ... and finish around 15-20 books in couple of months time ... and when somehow i stop reading i don’t read a book for months altogether ... currently i m into the not reading phase since last 5 months or so ... hope to switch to the other phase soon!!! Any suggestions to a good book???

7. now the last one ... and i hope ... actually, i pray … that my manager is not reading this ... i can come up with content for my blog posts only while working in office ... somehow even if i sit at home at leisure to write something i cannot come up with anything ... but while in office and amongst crunched schedule with meetings and other deadlines ... i tend to jot down stuff for the blog ... maybe stress & pressure gets the best out of me :)

now the bakra/bakris in alphabetical order ... although couldn’t think of 7 (didn’t want to tag people just for the sake of it… will add to this as and when I identify someone in the capacity to bring out his/her weird side :))

Ankush – pending
Avik – pending
Manali – pending
Kunal – pending

ciao juntaa,
hiren

Catching Up on last 3 months ...

Several times during this self exile of sorts since my last post and today ... I did put pen to paper to write something (pen/paper sounds better than type .. ain't it ?) but somehow never did manage to go farther than a couple of lines ...

Anyways, a lot has ensued during the last few months ... so lemme summarize the important stuff point wise para wise … (those who require more details can get in touch with me ;))

Let me start with something that will give most of my friends sadistic pleasure ... Yes ... I have grown a year older ... on Oct 31^st, I completed 27 years on earth (naturally of this birth ... with all these reincarnation movies coming up nowadays its good to be precise) ...

Another milestone I stumbled upon is that 5 years have gone by of my professional life ... (and also of my loyalty to Infosys:)) ... Damn … can't digest the fact that it is more than 5 years since I made the drastic transition from the enjoyable grueling of academic days to the ever demanding & competitive world of IT services ... Even in this world, all is happening seemingly too fast ... I have transitioned rapidly from a fresher to Software Engg to Analyst to Team Lead and now toddling towards managerial chores ...

Amongst all this; I earned an Excellence Award in my organization for my performance in 2007 (this is the third consecutive year that I have won this award :-) ) ... The award was presented by the Chak De India girl - Vidya (for those who just paid attention to her looks and can't recollect who Vidya ??? – She was the captain/goal keeper of the team…)

And yes how can I not mention the most prolific thing that has been happening all this while; my family members, relatives, close friends, not so close friends, neighbours, neighbours relatives and many other shubh chintaks can not stop advising (along with expert opinions, analysis, and believe it or not case studies too) me to get married and settle down in life … The pressure sure is mounting day by day … seems like some girl is going to suffer soon :-)

Lot has transpired in the world of sports too… the young Indian team won the T20 WC title :); MSD got promoted to lead the ODI team along with T20s (think of it ... he now leads SRT whom he has been idolizing all his time while growing up ... some guys do actually live their dreams...) RD was dropped from the ODI side ... Aussies continued their dominance over the rest of the world ... and Dhoni's boys swept Pak in the ODI series ... and yes this one needs a mention too ... Kimi Raikkonen won the F1 championship despite all odds (life sure is full of surprises) ...

Our very own bollywood too has some updates … RGVs aag has ceased … SLB has tried to do an RGV with Sawariyaa but he has to accept the fact that its impossible to beat RGV... OSO is just so-so … the pick of the lot in the last 3 months or so have been Johnny Gaddar, Jab We Met, Dhamaal to an extent …

Signing off for now and hopefully not for another exile … cya soon !!

Cheerio !!!

Addendum to the last post ....

Another cartoon by Rajneesh ... on the similar lines to the last post ... i wouldnt say that this one relates to me .... but its nevertheless entertaining ... :)

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P.S: - I had obtained the soft copy of the last cartoon strip from Rajneesh himself ... and today he sent this related one across to me on his own ...

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@ Rajneesh -> thanks man ... and keep up the good work of making people smile !!!!

My state of mind ... literally

An excerpt from a fundoo cartoon strip "This is our life" by Rajneesh Kapoor. I couldn't help but smile after reading this one ... relates to me cent percent :-)

Cheers !!!