My Killer serve

I feel at home on the tennis court. Never felt so passionately about anything before and it doesn't seem to dampen. My back plays nasty games with me sometimes and its a scary thought not to be able to play tennis. At the start of this summer, I had sworn to myself to get a kick-ass serve in my bag. While I have been at it all summer, I cant say I'm happy being where I am with. Was browsing through some serving tips and instruction material this afternoon at work and I guess I could collect all the stuff I find and put it here. Its a good idea to go over things you are doing and see if they still make sense; or if in the course of doing it over and over again, even the ass-backwards way seems the way to go. We should question what we're doing, all the time.

Aww, it's 5:00. I guess I'll be back. Something I surprise myself with is I have to get out at 5, no matter when I've come in or what I've been doing. Quirky!

The Glass Castle

After reading through Ian McEwan's Saturday, this was a very great read. I hate it when the authors painfully describe the details of every scene they are talking about. It much more interesting when they simply guide your main line of thought, allowing you to paint your own pictures, re-create the scenes in your head. I like page turners - and this book was very much that.

To me, reading about the lives of real people arouses far more interest than the work of someone's imagination; it seems have more authority, more meaning, more substance.

I'm not too great at telling stories, so I won't. Even this is to pass the time; have some fun with pictures and words; build a log to read some day.

One thing that comes to mind about the Glass Castle is this - Its a very real instance to which applies, the quote by Oscar Wilde - "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars."

The pursuit of happiness

Come to think of it, it really is only a pursuit. No wonder Will Smith was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the movie. While watching the movie, one thought kept haunting me - that my life is so damn easy; did I earn it? Do I deserve it? There is no struggle, basic needs are taken for granted. It was perhaps the first time that I have been consciously thankful and grateful to my parents, for raising us kids the way they did, for pursuing our education, enabling us to live the way we do.

I don't think the movie was depressing. There were moments that made you want to cry. But the movie made me think of the way I live; made me appreciate what I have and motivated me during those two hours to give everything I've got into everything I do. If a movie can evoke all that, its gotta be a damn good one!

The January Man

Watched this movie cos Suzan Sarandon was in it. I remember when - not too many years back - I thought Donald Sutherland and Suzan were a couple. I never paid much attention to her last name and it seemed to be the same as his.

The thing thats great about quotes is they are often witty, very concise - not too much bullshit around it, they are deep; they make you think. Stating the obvious doesn't have much appeal; putting it in a way that makes one think is far more satisfying - admirable.

A hundred years, and we'll all be dead!!

Now thats something - simple but surely something. We come with nothing, we surely wont take nothing off the rock - ashes to ashes, dust to dust is what it is; between them a few years of being - we shouldn't hold back; give it all you've got. Don't make a big deal of things, don't get hung up on things, small time squabbles eat into your time, eat into you; it ain't worth it. Live life to the fullest, I often think to myself. Life is about experiencing everything there is to and somehow making a difference and eventually letting it all go...

Thats the thing about quotes - no freaking rambling!

I am not your autumn moon, I am the night

The web - it truly is; wikipedia makes it even more evident. Its one of the sites I have come to like; admire even - now that doesn't happen too often! How does someone who set out searching the lyrics for a song end up reading the history of Cuba?

Audioslave, it says, was the first American rock band permitted to perform in Cuba. They never made up a video for their very kewl song - I am the highway - they just used the footage from the 'Live in Cuba' concert.


I am the Highway - Audio Slave
Pearls and swine bereft of me
Long and weary my road has been
I was lost in the cities
Alone in the hills
No sorrow or pity for leaving I feel

I am not your rolling wheels
I am the Highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky

Friends and liars don't wait for me
'Cause I'll get on all by myself
I put millions of miles
Under my heels
And still too close to you
I feel

I am not your rolling wheels
I am the highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
I am not your blowing wind
I am the lightning
I am not your autumn moon
I am the night, the night..

Yeeah
I am not your rolling wheels
I am the Highway
I am not your carpet ride
I am the sky
But I am not your blowing wind
I am the lightning
I am not your autumn moon
I am the night, the night..

Cherish

Shouldn't each day give you something to write about? Shouldn't each day be significant, be meaningful, be memorable? Its great to live each day with the 24 hours solidly packed. At the end of the day to think that we've advanced towards wherever we are headed. I guess it just wont happen everyday; when it does, cherish it.

You're Beautiful

My life is brilliant.

My life is brilliant
My love is pure.
I saw an angel.
Of that I'm sure.
She smiled at me on the subway.
She was with another man.
But I won't lose no sleep on that,
'Cause I've got a plan.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

Yes, she caught my eye,
As we walked on by.
She could see from my face that I was,
Fucking high,
And I don't think that I'll see her again,
But we shared a moment that will last 'till the end.

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.

La la la la la la la la la

You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
There must be an angel with a smile on her face,
When she thought up that I should be with you.
But it's time to face the truth,
I will never be with you.

The Gift of God

Lately, I have been troubled. I get up each morning; have a shower, get dressed, put on the cologne, put the sunglasses that I bought at a local Target store, the cap that I got at the Indianapolis Grandprix. I get to the bus stop. Sometimes, if I'm out of luck, I will have to wait for 15 minutes for the next bus. I sit down on the sidewalk by the shade of the tree. The benches at the bus stop dont get no shade - very horrible. I open up a book to read - borrowed from the local library. The bus pulls in - not missing the scheduled time by even a minute - and what's more - its air conditioned. The 20 minute cool ride is great and I get to my office. Safe and sound, ready to take down another day. I get to my private cubicle and spring my laptop to life. And there it is - on my Google homepage, I can see the headlines:

At least 117 killed in Iraqi village market blast
At least 179 people killed in Iraq's carnage
Suicide bomb kills over 100 in Iraq
Baghdad car bomb kills 17 at wedding

You know for how long the nonsense has been going on down there? About 4 long years. And it troubles me only now. Why do I get to live my life the way I do, and why is it that Iraq is a little hell?

I don't quite remember what prompted me to search for the meaning of 'Baghdad' today. But when it said, one of the meanings to be ' The Gift of God' - it went, as I always do - Ya, right!!

Why is it the way it is? Why are the US and the UK out there? Why do they want to pull out? Why can't the madness come to an end? Why can't it be like any other place? Why is it a hell?
What can I do about it? News about Iraq has become so common that it will often be discarded without a second look. Its only now that I have begun to look, begun to take interest, begun to care. What more can I do than just read about it? How can I end it?

After those 30 minutes that I spend each morning in my cube, just browsing - my ramp up time, I call it - I get on with my day. Not another thought given to it - not until dinner - watching TV, seeing the brief headlines again on TV, I change the channel!!