Finally the free-time and writing-mood axes intersect again.
A lot occured since I last wrote:
1) Celebrated my 30th Birthday
Actually, spent the entire evening preparing a presentation for my first VC pitch!
Finally, I can legally play for the over-30's the next time we play an under-30's vs. over-30's match at the FCUK. Apart from that, nothing much has changed really. I was on the right side of 30 then, and I am on the right side of 30 now :)
Cheeky, no?
Samrat, during one of those post-match cack sessions over juice, indirectly warned me about what turning 30 can do to your football: "In your mind, you have trapped the ball and turned around and are darting away, but in reality, you are still coming to terms with trapping the ball after 3-4 attempts!"
:)
2) Made my first VC Pitch
As already mentioned, made my first ever VC pitch. Fortunately, the meeting wasn't even a bit uncomfortable - unlike what Saumil had warned me of. May be there's more to come ... some reality check in line.
In the VC community, this is a famous one-liner joke, "Yeah, right ... I will fund you after just one pitch" ... so naturally, I didn't get hold of much cash - but the experience was amazing!
Remember how we would just hang around without any purpose after our seminar and thesis presentations? That's how I felt after the draining two-hour exercise. With some cash in the pocket, I ended up buying, "Calcio - The History of Italian Football" after a second recommendation from fellow FCUK-er, Samrat. Seems to be an ok book till now.
3) Manchester United lost 2 consecutive matches in the EPL :(
Boy - that was one hell of a time period for me to go through. If not for the hectic preparations for the VC pitch, I would have nose-dived into depression for sure. The league's still in control, I think, and the international break should definitely do something to the momentum - which has been Liverpool's property off-late ...
From MeraSport's point of view, ManU's defeats have made the EPL, and hence our football channel more interesting!
The best part about being in the sports industry is you get to talk about FIFA, F1, Manchester United, Mohun Bagan etc. in your daily meetings! I realised this one more time when one of the VC's I met, and me, ended up discussing Liverpool's 4-1 drumming of Manchester United ... and spent some 5 minutes discussing that - right during the discussions!
4) Kal, Aaj, aur Kal happened!
The IITB AA, Bangalore Chapter successfuly organised the Kal, Aaj aur Kal Golden Jubilee event on the 14th. We had been toiling for more than 3 months (since December '08), and till the last 3 days we were unsure about the attendance. All those worries vaporised in the first hour of the event schedule! One of the best parts was - we were 7-8 people in the community ranging from the batches of 1971, to 2003!
The event was one of the most exhilarating experiences I have had in recent times. With more than 250 IITians whom I knew by first name, all I did for those tiring 12 hours was talk, and laugh, and fart around! Not to mention the impromptu gyrations triggered by the LIVE Pan-IIT band (many of whom were IIT Kgp alumni) who played RDB and Rahman songs. Except for the noisy rendition of Jai Ho, every other song was pure bliss. Also, as happens in such settings almost always, the above 50-year olds (youngs) beat us at twisting and turning - hands down! All one can do when these oldies-goldies are 'in form' is to step back and clap :)
5) Rediscovered the joys of listening to RDB.
Infact, it's interesting. The days prior to the event were brimming with Rahmani tunes - Delhi-6, Slumdog, Ghajini etc. etc. It was a relief when the Pan-IIT band reminded me of gems like, "Meri Soni, Meri Tamanna", and "Dum Maaro Dum" ... and since then, I have been listening to RDB and Asha.
6) Sold 30 Tees!!
That's one thing that I have been able to do with little effort of late! Sold 30 tees already! I have had one of my most memorable experiences working on these tees, and things are only going to get better from here! I really wish I am able to work with my people to make this a success, instead of getting strangers onboard (atleast initially). Almost everyone I have shown these tees to have been impressed, and that's pretty encouraging!
Will build www.toubebas.com very soon!
7) Saw Gulaal
Great movie to watch - and Anurag Kashyap is definitely one of the hottest properties of Bollywood now. While a touch of Rajasthan (with all the exotic desertiness, the beige, orange and red colours, the sarangi-laden intoxicating music) is enough to enhance the appeal of a piece of art, I must admit that Gulaal is one of the better movies of recent times.
I didn't really discuss Gulaal much with Parle, but one thing we were betting on was how many songs of this movie would make it to the PAFs this year. Almost all the songs in the movie are "PAF-able".
8) Changed my nominee for the "India's Most Painu Bachcha".
Till last month, it was the guy whose "remote waali car gum ho gayi hai".
Now, it's the dumb and stupid, little, idiot kid who cribs to his dad on a toy-phone, "papa ... aap jaldi aayiye ... mummy ne mujhe daanta ... aap mummy ko daantna .... ok?"
Phew! For once, a very straightforward post on this blog-space! I have some interesting thoughts to dish out in the next couple of posts, thought!
"Sorry, no quote for today!"
