Timepass at Steven's Pass

Hobbies - Skiing, mountain climbing and scuba diving.

Something like this in the hobbies column of your blog gives an impression that you are one of a freaky kind. I always wanted to do something adventerous like this. Eventually I got a chance to experiment with one of these and only then did I realize that these aren't as easy as they look. Rather a day at the mountains has really drained me off.

It all started with our division wanting to celebrate the successful launch of a few products and so the VP announced that Feb 28 will be a ski day at Stevens Pass. I was delightfully looking forward to the day. So were the other poor folks who were also first timers.

I know that its going to be bizzarely cold in the snow out there. So I wore thermal inners, a thick jeans, a woolean sweat shirt and a jacket which can withstand snow. Thinking I am smart enough to dress for the occasion, I drove down to office. When I got down from the car I saw this tall hefty man walk past me with a pair of leather gloves.

"Oops...Why am I so stupid !!! How on earth did I miss my gloves !!!" Well and it was too late for me to go and fetch them from home.

Then when I walked out a found a whole lot of people in their snow coats and skiing trousers. For a moment I thought I was out of place but my jacket which resembled a snow coat saved me some grace. At this point I realized something. Your fellow desis will never let you down. I saw a bunch of desi guys who had first timers written all over them, walking by. I can already hear one of them say Areh yaar..bahuth tand lah rahi hey. I thougth to myself "If these fellows find this cold, I am sure they are going to freeze in the mountains. I am much better!!!"

Then the long two hour journey to Steven's pass started by bus

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No sooner than we got down from the bus we were directed to go and pick up our rental equipments. It was snowing slightly and "Oh God here I am again without a cap or a hood". Then this babe comes and asks me

"First time in snow"

"Not really, I am pretty used to this"

"Oh...so you are so used that you can walk without a cap is it great"

(Me didn't want to act too much)

"Well its just with a friend of mine in his bag, just got to go and grab it"

In order to save myself, I went and bought one - at an expensive price.

Then went to pick up the equipments.

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The equipments given to us consisted of a pair of ski boots, a pair of skis with bindings on them and a pair of ski poles. Anything else like ski coats, helmets, goggles,etc was left to the individual to take care of.

The ski boots were awesome. You can do all your free weights exercises that you do at the gym at home if you have a pair of these ski boots. Trust me they were as heavy as a rock. The boots will hold you tight up to half your knee height and so you just can't move your ankle. Walking in them makes you feel as if you are a robot. But then slowly I got used to it. I then rented ski coats and trousers and it took a whole damn hour to get set up.

There were some lessons offered. I realized I wasn't the odd one out for there was too many people taking it - doing this for the first time.

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The initial skiing on a flat surface was pretty simple. But then when we got into tricks on how to climb up a slope, climb down a slope, slow down etc is when I learnt how hard it is. Back when I was learning physics in high school there used to be problems that talked about frictionless surfaces. Well the skiing surface probably came pretty close.

Everytime I tried to slow down or take a turn while skiing down hill I fell down. Standing up isn't an easy thing to do with those rocks restricking anny ankle movements. It requires an amazing amount of skill to turn around and get up with all those equipments on you. It is also a good test of whether you are starting to put on weight. For if you can't bend, hold your toes and get up you will have to remain on the ice. If you have excess fat on your belly, then you probably can't do this - made me realize that French fries and chocolates aren't all that good for the body.

Then I learnt a technique where I can remove one ski and get up. This wasn't easy either for as soon as you get up you will ski down with the other ski and fall again. So after a lot of effort the first thing I perfected is - how to get up when I fall down.

They taught us how to fall down without crashing into others and with little injuries to your body. Still It wasn't all that pleasing to fall down for it really hurted - excepting once when I fell down because this gorgeous babe skiing beside happened to crash into me. Thunbathilum inbam.

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At the end of the day when we were about to wind up, I finally managed to ski downhill without falling off. Did it a couple of times and left the place a contended man. Now when this Bandha Paramasivam (general name given to any guy who just drives an aeroplane by his mouth) caught me over chat from Bangalore I could say Well buddy I was chilling out in the mountains doing some skiing. Had a good nights sleep and until I got up from bed this morning did not know so many body parts existed for it was paining like hell.

Poovodu Serndha Narum Manakum

(The title is actually a famous tamil proverb. Literally it translates to "the twine used to make a garland smells with fragrance because of the flowers" - used to comment at people who develop certain characters by being part of a group)

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There is this geeky friend of mine. He has always been a computer geek and perhaps knows the pc inside out. This guy used to be a freak in pretty much any tool on the pc - from office to photoshop to goldwave - you name it and he would have had a funky little experience with it. So much was he into it that he chose to work in the software industry rather than making his fortunes by joining his familys masala business.

Then there is this other friend of mine who is nothing short of a cartoon character. It so happened that half a dozen of us got to get together and lived in a house in Bangalore where we were earning our bread and butter in different software companies. Well all popular cartoon characters are eccentric and so was this little creature living with us. I dont remember the last time when someone did not laugh at the funny things he did. Jokes apart, this fellow was also a geek, in his own respect. Atleast we thought so - for he spoke about Linux, open source and other such stuff - which totally sounded Greek and Latin to the rest of us. Since we couldn't make head or tail of what he spoke, but still he managed to speak on them for hours, we finally decided that this fellow is indeed a geek. Copy-paste is the most wonderful invention in computer science is something that he proved to us later.

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It was one of those typical weekends when all of us decided to leave for Chennai - where we are basically from - but the two geeks got together and decided to stay back. God knows what transpired, but on the following monday morning, the masala geek said he is going to join the cartoon geeks company. Perhaps we laughed the whole of the next week talking about it. However, it finally happened. Even more interesting, the two got together in the same team. They were trying to fit a whole damn TV cum reciever cum DVD player plus a web browser into some tiny little match box - or atleast their agenda was something close.

When our masala geek got back home after his first day of work, he was seated as if he lost his lady love in the Titanic. The cartoon geek hadn't returned home as it is his usual tendency to not return home before midnight. Not able to see our beloved roommate in such a state we started enquiring...

"Whats up dude, how was work"

"Well you know buddy, everything looks like crap..."

"Why what happened..."

"Well they gave me an old battered system..."

"okie."

"And then told me Linux works even in low end hardware...and this will be your main work computer..."

(the rest of us laugh...)

"So I thought I will explore it myself...saw this shortcut called Ximian Evolution...thought it must be the latest Linux game and clicked on it....turned out thats the de facto browser in the company..."

(by now perhaps the whole street can hear us laugh)

"Everything looks so sick man, where is the comfort of Outlook 2003 and where is this Evolution with no proper GUI, it sucks man..."

"Well dude you asked for it..."

"They use something called word processor which reminds me of Wordstar..."

Since the cartoon geek wasn't there for the next one hour we laughed to our hearts content on listening to masala geek curse all Linux and other open source stuff

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Now that our masala geek is fully engrossed with his work of trying to fit everything electronic into this tiny little match box, we as usual got into a heated argument on which is better - open source or proprietary software. For a few days the four of us (excepting the two geeks) were shooting emails back and forth on the topic. Finally our masala geek broke out. Much to our surprise, he sounded as if he was personally hurt when we spoke ill about "open source". This is what he had to say in his email..

"There is a place for open source "free" software in this world. If there are no pirated software, I am not sure if many guys would go out and buy 100$+(winxp pro) + 300$(ms office) + photoshop(300$) +....... all that many geeks here have in their comp. I know that linux, openoffice, gimp do not even compare to the above - but i have been using it for over a year now and am kinda used to it. You know they rock and do all the same things that their proprietary counterparts do man and I have no complains for the small issues I have to put up with because its free and its open. I have used mozilla for a while and it aint so bad. Its truely awesome and is much more secure..."

Well "Poovodu serntha naarum manakum"

Windies does it again !!!

This is not something new in international cricket. In recent times, the West Indies have done this time and again. But yesterday was definitely a wasted oppurtunity. They came too close and yet were too far.

The absence of Brian Lara in the middle order puts a lot more onus on the rest of the team, but certainly there were quite a few brilliant performances which eventually did not carry any value in lieu of the team loosing.

The sheer pace and arrogance of the yesteryear West Indian pacemen may be missing,but one does take notice of the way the new young guns are bowling. In recent times, Edwards and Bradshaw have done a fairly good job and I must admit that their stats were impressive yesterday as well. With Butler joining the party, it was definitely a good bowling performance to start with. They picked up a couple of wickets and kept the run rate tight. Good show by the inexperienced. But that did not take away their routine squandering of good chances - wickets of no balls and some sloppy fielding.

The show did not carry on though for a long time, thanks to veteran Astle who did what he has done many times in the past - be the spine of the Kiwi batting. He held on picking up singles and twos until the part timers came on. Its rather surprising that Chris Gayle - one of the best partimers in the business - went wayward not able to contain anything. Someone who has more than a 100 wickets and a good economy rate for a part timer of 4.78 just didn't get anything right with his bowling. Astle feasted and then the Kiwis climbed to a respectable total - rather given that the opposition is Windies, I should say its a commendable total.

The Windies needed a solid start and it looked like Gayle and Morton provided it for a moment. Given that there is no Lara and the middle order isn't in the best of their form, it was required of Gayle to play a big innings. He did create fear among the Kiwis, smacking the ball all around. But atlast fell to a slower ball trying to hit one too many - when on earth is he going to stop this. Perhaps its such silly acts which prevent such a talented batsman like Gayle from becoming a legend. For he always allows his instincts to overtake sensibility.

With Morton putting up some fight it seemed it was going good until Vettori took two quick wickets. This man is certainly not the famous "dibbly-dobbly" kinds, but he comes somewhat closer by always bowling tight without a single delivery getting the merit of a dangerous turn or flight. With Chanderpaul as usual not contributing anything, it looked like its an usual parade. But Sarwan was hanging on as if he is playing a test innings. Wickets are important - but he pushed it a little too hard.

In the 90s the South Africans had batsman - infact match winners in their own right - until no 8. So even if a few wickets have fallen, they can afford to take chances. But what on earth was Hinds trying to do coming down the ground to hit the ball. Does he ever realize that for the Windies no 11 always starts at no 8 ?

When the required rate looked unrealistic Bradshaw started to cut loose. With Sarwan picking up the momentum as well it looked like the Windies were up for a repeat of the ICC champions trophy - but then they both were back to the pavilion even before the cricinfo scorecard could refresh itself.

Please guys learn to play a bit more sensibly, atleast for the sake of ardent Windies supporters like me who remain awake in the nights to watch these matches.....

Sacking Saurav

It seems like Chappel, Dravid & co have atlast achieved what they finally wanted - sacking Saurav and pushing him out of the team. A lot can be argued about his form and fitness but no one can rule out the fact that it is definitely a case of vested interests.

Well we will have to take a closer look at the turn of events ever since Saurav was forced to step down as captain. There is no doubt that its in the best interest of the team that this decision was taken, but showing Saurav the batsman the doors, isn't justified.

Saurav has been a king in one dayers, not so a charming batsman when it comes to tests. After a slack in his form, ideally he should have been asked to step down as captain and concentrate as a batsman - more so in one dayers where many a times he has rattled the opposition and hit the ball all around the park. No one can deny that when Saurav used to stray down the pitch to lift a spinner it was a treat to watch. No other batsman after Sidhu, has in recent times, taken spinners to task as much as Ganguly. Given that, it didn't require any cricketing sense but pure common sense to make Ganguly better his current form in one dayers rather than tests. But then you dont expect the Indian selectors (read jokers) to act with some sense. He was soon dropped from the ODI home series and then a lot of controversies followed. Now the selectors had no other go but to include Ganguly in the test squad. A lot of inner motives seem to be revealed around here. Given Gangulys style of batting and his earlier track record, it will be easy for him to reestablish himself in onedayers. The first thing that the jokers and the team management together did was to put an end to it. But then they also have to cut out the controversies that follow. So they made him a part of the test squad. A couple of failures and he can be thrown out. Perhaps the most cunning move ever made in cricketing history !!!

The Indian skipper Dravid, who once famously said "On the off side, first there is God and then there is Saurav Ganguly", now talks about form, fitness and having youngsters in the side. Not long ago, when there were better young cricketers performing beautifully in one dayers and Dravid could not fit himself in, given his then style of batting in ODIs, Ganguly provided him a chance. He asked Dravid to don the gloves so that he could fit him in. That saw the birth of Dravid the one day batsman who has now transformed himself into one of the best finishers of the game. To repay it back, Dravid should have provided Ganguly a chance in one dayers, preferably at the opening slot, where Sehwag wasn't having a good time out in the middle. Sehwag has always maintained that he would like to go down the order and it would have also probably given him a chance to redeem his form. Dravid proved that he was a thankless human. Immortal souls are neverthelss always forgiven !!!

With all the hungama going around, Saurav the fighter faught hard. In the limited outings he had he did a decent job. Remember the way Saurav stood and played out the dangerous Akhtar which is very important. It is as important in test cricket to play out an innings as it is important in one dayers to steal a quick single. India found themselves in a situation where if not for Ganguly and Yuvraj there was no one else who could play off a few overs. What is the point in having falmboyant batsman who scores some pretty quick runs but can't sail the ship through. Ganguly got out only to some poor shots - pardonable once in a while - and was not beaten as used to be the case during his last few outings as a captain. Given the way he batted recently he should have been in the test squad purely on merit.

But alas,the jokers did it again !!! They dropped Ganguly. Not for an in form Yuvraj, but for the dynamic Kaif who has an impressive record of 13 runs in his 4 outings in Pakistan with a highest of 8. It is certain that Kaif will be the one who will be making it to the final 11 with the other new batsman in the squad left to handle the drinks bottles. Look at it - the places of Sehwag, Draving, Sachin, Lakshman and Dhoni are fixed. Ghambir or Jaffer will take the other opening slot. That leaves the no 6 slot open which will be taken by Kaif (and the captain on the day of the match will quote "we chose Kaif for his experience" or some crap like that). Now look back at what the jokers had to say - somewhere the argument doesn't seem to sound right.