10:19 pm - Live from Melbourne This post was a long time coming and I just couldn't find time to do so - talk about excuses .. Yup I am in Melbourne now studying at Monash Uni, Caulfield for Masters. It is so frustrating to study after a period of 2 years of work because most of the time you never really get what you are looking for. Just studying concepts without a deep real world application of those concepts kept driving me mad for the first month at the uni. Then I decided, if they dont do it, I will. This had to take a back seat though because of assignments (which were all silly except for one related to Mobile IP) and the usual prep work that you had to do to keep pace with things. They actually finish one semester in 12 weeks !!. Can you believe that :D .. Took sometime for me to adjust to this new way of study and I guess now I have adapted quite well. Uni life was pretty quiet for this semester and frankly speaking it was boring.. I tried joining a UNIX club at the university and decided not to when I saw that the last newsletter or activity took place a year back :( .Anyways the only delight came when we had a VPN project as part of an assignment and suddenly UNIX came to the forefront.. in a frustrating way however. That was a real highlight of this semester because I got to manage a team as a team leader and also make new friends and work on UNIX .. I had the audacity to choose an electronics paper as one of my units and boy was that exam a miracle !! These are the highlights of my first sem at Uni ...
Anyways got to explore Melbourne closely after the exams and man what a city !! Melbourne is just beautiful.It is the commercial capital of Australia and also a melting pot of various cultures. The street musicians here are worth profiling. I even met one guy playing a veena ! A walk in the evening along the banks of the Yarra River with the purplish evening glow and the serenading music floating through the air is a romantic experience. One of my favourite pastime is gettng acquainted with the cuisine of different cultures and Melbourne sure is a place to do that. The architecture is beautiful and the blend of the modern with the old is captivating to the eyes. Definetly one of the best cities I have been to. The night life here in Melbourne is a roar and it seems as if the city never sleeps. And one place that never sleeps is the Crown Casino where you got to know when to stop trying your luck! I do not have a good camera and the pictures posted below are from a Nokia 6120c and its camera is poor especially at night ... So dont even bother posting any comments on the image quality ... I am absolutely sure the waterfront picture taken with a digital SLR would have been beautiful and breathtaking. The purplish hue was something I have rarely seen.
As for current activities, I will hopefully start working and start visiting places and stuff. Current Location:Melbourne Current Mood: calm
12:18 am - An inconvenient truth Saw the movie today. Did learn a whole lot of things that I didn't know. Have been striving to reduce my bit of contribution towards global warming since I entered college. But I really wonder, is this whole affair of us reducing global emissions and thus bringing back the old pattern of climatic conditions ever going to be feasible?
As millions around the globe do their bit, the sad reality is that population growth is on the rise. And as a result, alongwith comes a bundle of issues that will have a major say on the earth's destiny.
As a conservative, old fashioned Christian I believe in the bible and in it are the words: " Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, ... " - Isiah 51:6
So the only logical thing that my mind tells me is that maybe we can at least try to use the garment for a longer time. Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: lethargic Current Music: George Beverly Shea
11:17 pm - Ooh Aaah India ... Aaya India As Ayaz said on SET MAX, "This is the first time have I seen a team promise so much and deliver so little ..". That wonderfully described the Indian cricket fiasco in the Carribean last week. Even a cricket fan like myself could say for sure that India wouldn't win this year's edition. The team who bats,fields and bowls excellently should be the winner and as always I am betting on the clinical Aussies. One of the best teams I have seen in any sport. Also on the cards are the Sri Lankans. I love the way they approach their games :)
Anyway after all the hype, everybody said it was a wakeup call for Indian cricket. I guess it is for the fact that like in hockey, there are teams rising much better than your best. It was revealed to us recently by Sharad Powar that Dravid said that the pressure is huge and he was afraid what would happen if they would lose the WC 2007. What a mentality of a team captain entering into a big tournament. I dont care if you play for India or Bermuda, a captain is a leader who should have a never say die attitude and Rahul if you said that I am disappointed.The best captain I have seen in any sport was Roy Keane of Manchester United. He was a man of immense will power and a knack of leading from the front. He also used to chastise teammates for any silly mistakes they made and was the interface between the coach and the players.
Today during the pre-match discussion on SET MAX, Tony Greig made a comment, "You guys look at Jonty Rhodes even at this age ... I tell you no one in the Indian team is as fit as him " . That hit the nail on the head. Todays cricket is about power and athleticism, which I believe India is nowhere in reaching the standards in the near future even with all the money in the world.
To conclude the incident is an excellent lesson for the growing lads of Indian Cricket. So that the next time when some company lets out an ad like " ooh aah India aaya India " atleast there will be a team which will deliver. Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: calm
09:00 pm - A lady called Suja There have been a handful of people in my life who have challenged me to do better and in the process have brought out the best in me. The name that always come to my mind first of such people is the name "Suja". A Lady named "Suja".
I was always scared of subjects I never understood,the primary reason being - I never asked questions to teachers.To me teachers were people who taught.period ..you shouldn't ask them questions. If you do , you had to cope with either of the two mutually exclusive results : a) Spanking or b) Being laughed at for asking a stupid question :D. Therefore most of the subjects were quite easy to figure out but for that ever elusive monster of a subject "MATHEMATICS". And to further the agony almost all the math teachers who taught me from the 1st - 8th std were not good at all (my perspective - no offense meant). And to top it up my parents didn't have the stuff that we learn nowadays like "Linear Equations in a single variable" at their schools in their days and hence couldn't help me out. Therefore I turned to that one method of studying that students like most "mUgging Up" to learn linear equations [:D].My condition was so bad that I used to do the below:
4+2 --- 2 To further proceed, I would cancel denominator and numerator 2s and hence the answer 4 (I should have tried to prove Fermat's Last theorem those days :P)
Anyway,during that time my family went through a financial crisis and in spite of the extra burden on my parents' pockets, my mother started searching for an excellent Math private tutor.And as all good things are recommended by "word of mouth" , a friend of mine, Jansen, told my mother about a Lady named Suja.After a short discussion over phone between them, I was admitted to her class.I was supposed to go over to her house every morning at 8:00 am for the Math tuition.My fears escalated to a critical high and with knees banging and hands shivering, I rang her doorbell. What welcomed me in, put me at ease instantly.I was expecting a fearsome, strict teacher but here was a thin lady of medium height, spectacled and an aura about her that seemed to say " DON'T MESS WITH ME".
My classes with Suja madam started and soon, she found out what a unique piece of a student I was. I guess my condition brought out the best in her as she brought out the best in me. When she came across my antics with the above mentioned math problem, she calmly asked why I had done that and proceeded to teach me the basics about the operations involved. She challenged me to think and ask questions, and soon results started pouring in. I started loving (not liking) MATH. I wouldn't say, it was a 0 one day and 100 the next. The transition was gradual but not very slow.
There are some moments in your life when you look back and long for an opportunity to redo a certain class or an assignment that you knew you could have done better.But the days under her tutoring, I have never felt as if I could have done any better.My student life changed at that point.But Suja madam was not only an excellent MATH teacher, she was also a gem of a human being.As I have told earlier, due to financial difficulties, my parents couldn't afford tuitions for the further two difficult cousins PHYSICS and CHEMISTRY ( most class X CBSE students would agree with me). After my excellent performance in the class IX exams, her husband Mr. Philip offered me tuitions for the two subjects FREE OF CHARGE (under her recommendation - of course [:)]). I cannot imagine anyone doing something like that but yes she did.
To sum things up, my best gift to her and her husband was the following results for the X Board Exams: MATH - 94 SCIENCE - 92
I was never there to see their delight on hearing about the same, as I had come to India to complete my studies.But my mother said, " ..boy was she delighted, on you securing the highest in your batch [:)] ". Thereafter her private tuitions blossomed (largely due to the "word of mouth" propaganda of my results ... I am happy that I could contribute indirectly) and soon she got a position in a St Joseph school as a MATH teacher for the X girls. However they couldn't accept her strict way of teaching and hence after numerous complaints, Suja madam was back at private tutoring. I visited her when I was in Abu Dhabi for my summer vacations and the conversations were always refreshing. But the next time I was in Abu Dhabi, I heard that the Philips family left the country for India all of a sudden, for reasons I cannot write here as they are personal in nature.
I will always be grateful to GOD for people like Suja madam in my life. To me, she will always be the lady with the capital L. A Lady called Suja. Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: accomplished Current Music: Be thou my vision
09:55 pm - Dusty all the way The past two days my tummy was sick :( ... Could'nt eat properly and generally the mood was pretty gloomy. Anyway woke up today bright and early , fresh as a pie (tummy relaxed and fully functional) and heard the news that dear friend Stephen became a father of a lovely baby boy Thommen (Thomas) ... Now that sparked thoughts in my mind about me growing older by the day (note: just crossed 24 to sweet 25 :D )
So after this initial shocker, I noticed the amount of dust that was flying around our balcony. Reason: Yes, a new building coming up near our house ... and the dust from the construction is driving my respiratory system bonkers :( ... In our small area there are about 10 houses close by, all with their own borewells.Now if this building comes up there is going to be additional strain on the water table of the area.I guess we dont think about such effects in this house building frenzy of ours... Have to satisfy those pockets and people looking for houses to rent :(
Anyway found more good music .... Enjoy maadi
Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: cranky Current Music: Go like Elijah: Deep River Quartet
11:20 pm - ONGC Cup This Friday, my friend Abu and myself went to MG Road on some personal errands.Pondering over the various options that Namma Bengaluru provides, we finally decided to take the BMTC express to Madivala. So to catch the next bus we went to the "bus stop" (talk about data abstraction) opposite the Garuda Mall, where also is the Karnataka State Football Association Stadium located. As usual, we were getting prepared to wait for the bus, when we noticed two boys buying some tickets and hurrying towards the stadium. The time was 4:15 pm. We promptly stopped the boys and asked the boys "Sup?" ... They replied HAL vs GOA is LIVE here .... WE dashed to the nearest counter and got ourselves Rs 30 tickets and ran towards the stadium.
We got some chairs to sit on and voila behold ... before us was the lushest green football field I have seen in India.I have never watched Indian Football. As my passion was football even when I was 5 years old and still counting ( also after several stints in street football with Arabs in Abu Dhabi), I always usually watch the UEFA Champions League and support a Spanish Club called VALENCIA...
So this was a nice opportunity to get initiated to the Indian Football League, watching a LIVE match and not one on TV ( I hate the commentating more than anything else .... I mean come on guys I can do better than that ).. The match was between local boys HAL and the famous CHURCHILL BROTHERS of Goa... The first half was almost entirely HAL's with no adept finishing, whereas the second half was an orchestration of a football calypso by the Goan lads :) ( I was supporting them). So HAL having a toothless strike pair and CHURCHILL with all wing play and no midfield generals, played out a 1-1 draw with an exciting second half being the highlight of the game.... And ofcourse as usual namma home supporters drew out new words from their vocabulary to use against the opposition and the referee ....
At about 5:30 the saga was over and we took an auto to our home, feeling refreshed having watched a LIVE football match after a long time... Anyway I checked out the Indian football Federation's website and got the next fixture of HAL's . Looks like March 5th is going to give me a chance to meet the fancied JCT side...
Oh yes ... one more thing .. I hate to call football as soccer ... I mean it is FOOTBALL not SOCCER ... Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: refreshed Current Music: Christian Hymns
09:05 pm - Say it in a song :D I cannot remember the first time that I liked a song. But I always remember that music used to make me stop what I was doing and made me immerse in it.I have never learned how to play an instrument nor have I taken any classes ... nothing of the sort. But I do want to learn music, to read , play the guitar and the violin.
My first memories of liking music, was when we used to have an old VCR type tape recorder to play devotional songs by a Christian Group called "HEARTBEATS".My father used to turn down the volume to a soothing low and I used to sleep listening to these songs.I also remember the songs that my father used to sing in our family prayers....Boy !! He had a beautiful voice :-)
I love singing ... It kinda lets my heart take out whatever is inside and express it in singing .. though not through the lyrics.. If there is anything that I have found out that was inbuilt in this body, its gotta be a genuine love for singing.
I am in love with the four part harmony... Someday I will learn to read music and churn out some classics :-)) Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: artistic Current Music: Dogs barking (no it aint nice to hear)
10:40 pm - Teachers Teachers .... People who influence almost every person in this planet .. Its strange that the things we do in our younger years, we most often regret or crave for an opportunity to do them in a different way. In this list of things that could have been done better, myself like everyone else have attitude towards teachers as one among the list.
I have never had any problems with teachers at all. Infact unlike most students, I was always a teacher's pet (note: no proactive buttering from my side :D).Till date I never know why ... Or maybe is it because of my patience or quiet characteristics ....
Below are the teachers who come to my mind and alongside are stated the things they have added to my life. To me teachers are those who teach and also those from whom we learn. This can be with or without theirs or our knowledge.Hence in the list you will also see names of my batchmates :-).
Mrs. Susheela John (Headmistress, MerryLand) - Education Mrs. Helen (MerryLand, Junior Kindergarten) - handwriting and discipline Mrs. Rahima (ADIS, 5th std) - care Mrs. Pushpaveni Ayyappan (ADIS, 8th std) - Language and Grammar in English Mrs. Ida Mathias (ADIS, 8th std) - Love, care and responsibility Mr. Aslam (ADIS, 9+10th) - Mathematics Mr. Vishnumurthy (ADIS, 9+10th std) - A passion for languages, in particular, French Mrs. Suja Philip (Private Tutor, 8,9 and 10th std) - Patience,strictness and a love for mathematics Mr. Philip (Private Tutor, 10th std) - Hardwork and planning
Mrs. Anjana (STCS, 11th std) - Mrs. Shiela Ramachandran (STCS, 12th std) - No nonsense attitude Prof. Babu Zachariah (STCS, Pricipal) - Speech Mr. Praveen Thomas aka PTC (STCS, hostelmate and batchmate) - How to question in class Mr. Poulose C Abraham (STCS, hostelmate and batchmate) - responsibilty Miss. Susan George (STRS, batchmate) - creativity Mr. Christopher P. Thomas (STCS, hostelmate and junior) - Humility
All the world is a class. You are always learning or living out what you learn.My life has been influenced by these teachers for the better.... hmmm .. oh yes I will be posting more on these teachers, people who help you break free from that shell of insecurity. Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: thankful
01:39 am - Finally ..whew :D After 3 months of inactivity in the livejournal realm, my friend Arun got me into a frenzy about how livejournal was much better than wordpress from his experience (free speech , not free beer). Well I thought as he was revamping his blog, maybe I should spend some time too doing the same :-)
I bought an Acer Aspire 5570 recently from Abu Dhabi, where I was residing for the last 3 months. And this activity has got my hands to get to know the keypads real well. As for future activities, Perl TCP/IP openBSD Java Shell scripting ... .. .
Maybe I should stop planning and do some real work. Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: excited Current Music: Keypads clicking
04:01 am - My deepest fear I know the tone of the subsequent lines seem a touch on the negative side.But that is what I am thinking of right now ... and hey is'nt this a journal entry? My deepest fear .... aaah ... "Deepest" ... The depth of that superlative ... hmmm ... I wonder about the plight of any language if we did not have superlatives ... ooops anyway where was I ? Tossing and turning in my bed on a sleepless night, I pondered over this question ? What is it that I fear most ? Is it death ? ... ha ... My deepest fear is being "He could have been ..."
I dont know if the person reading this is on the same wavelength that I am in right now, but that is what I am really scared of and frankly have been most of my life (Though not all :-) ) . That phrase shakes up my very being. I hate that phrase. The very thought, mention or seeing it being lived out repulses me.
Aaaaaargg ... I have seen a lot of people with immense capability burn out and become living examples of the phrase.Before starting a new challenge, my mind always screams for excellence while this fear lurks from that dark attic where we always toss the uncomfortable thoughts.. This I observe kind of puts me off from taking the challenge immediately.
This is a problem that I have been trying to counter for a long long time !! Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: anxious Current Music: Vivaldi
06:07 pm - The sound of music I am listening to some violin classics. The sound is so captivating that I have forgotten that I am H-U-N-G-R-Y and am in a mood for a good post ;-) Current Mood: hungry Current Music: Menuhin
10:16 pm - Margaret Thatcher - The woman within A lady I admire. The book is a good read, focusing on Mrs. Thatcher as a person rather than a politician.I have made it a point to read biographies of a few people like Abraham Lincoln, Churchill, Dr. Benjamin Carson - people who I kinda relate to .... people who I feel were so strong within in a special way. Each of whom faced challenges in a special way. Current Location:Bangalore Current Mood: awake Current Music: John Williams
09:39 am - The Road Not Taken Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler,long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads onto way, I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence; Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by. And that has made all the difference.
Robert Frost [1916]
I have started spending time on Literature and Poetry lately.Some of them like the one above, makes me stop and let my mind soar to unimaginable heights. Current Mood: calm Current Music: Bach
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denny_mammen's journal
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hungry