Mandarin Madness

Yay finally I registered for the Mandarin class. Have been thinking for quite some time but could not materialize my plan until now. Never thought that I would be going for a class to pronounce those tongue twisting, ear piercing words. Its not the Singapore which drove me to the Mandarin class; its my colleagues.

My company is Japanese by name and work but since it is based in Singapore, majority employees are Chinese. So naturally they drift into Mandarin when two Chinese talk and I remain there as a dumb head trying to decipher their conversation, which of course always results in more blankness. And don't come to a conclusion that very soon I will be understanding them. NAY I don't think so. It is REALLY difficult. Why are there so many languages on the planet!!

I don't remember the first day of my school. And I am not sure what went through my mind on that day. Sure would have been heart a wrenching experience. Poor soul. What I am sure is it would have been less doleful than my Mandarin class. Not that the class went bad. I DID follow the class. Its just that felt so strange pronouncing those words, at times feeling that someone is teaching me to pronounce my first words. FIRST WORDS. Know what I mean.

Hopefully it goes well and hopefully I can speak a word or two in Mandarin. I already can speak more than two. YAY mission partly accomplished. Would love myself if I can give a spiel in Mandarin to my colleagues. Well that's too ambitious and I am no Kevin Rudd. Nonetheless let me give a try at least.

And tomorrow by this time I would be breathing HongKong air. Cantonese this time. LOL. And I learnt in today's lesson that lai means come/coming. . I am lai lai HK :))

Random thoughts

It has been a long time since I blogged. Too many things to do and yet very little time. Yes the cliché again. Also twitter is getting the better of me. Microblogging too much. I should stop at some level and occasionally devote some time for my blogspot. Even now squeezing in some time as there was not an instance where I didn’t blog in a month since I started my blog and I see no reason why it should change.

Some random thoughts.

>> The more I don’t want too see IPL the more tempted I am. It’s bad for cricket it’s bad for other sports in India which are already over showed by traditional cricket.

>> Shocked at the sight of money snakes which Mayawati is fancying. My disgust for her grew by 50 percentage points (whatever it is).

>> One of noname13.c got married. Felt more sorry than happy. I can understand how devastating it can be.

>>Filed my first tax returns. Where can I get a money tree?

>> Haven’t seen a movie since a long time. And what’s more not even HIMYM. And didn’t read any book in the last 3 months. Less Orkuting too. Waiting for April to come (or may be to pass)

>> The softer side of me is eroding as I grow older. Don’t know the reason.

>> On the first day of my work my Director advised me not to let complacency take over me. That’s exactly what’s happening after 1+ years of work. This is despite me achieving nothing.

>> I took part in the earth hour. But didn’t understand what I achieved. It is suppose to bring awareness. I am in a place where neighbors are least worried about you. Wonder whether any one noticed that we switched off our lights. Only silver lining is that I reduced the carbon foot print left by me to a vey minute extent. But that still counts.

>> And lastly, 9 years back exactly on this day I went to Murari movie .I completed my school life just the previous day : )

Crouching Tiger and the hidden Poacher

It’s appalling when people say Tigers may not be around for the next tiger year (2022). Equally appalling is the steps taken by the Indian government to preserve its National Animal. True, the PM has a special task force to look into this and then there is this Project Tiger (PT) group that’s has been doing this ever since they felt the tigers are becoming an endangered species. What’s the point in establishing an organization when the people who are running it are nothing but wimps.

When the NGOs and environmentalists presented their own stats and raised their voices for stricter measures, the people at the PT said the figures are exaggerated. The authorities don’t like anyone who points out the flaws in the system. For the authorities it’s blasphemous. We wouldn’t have been in this situation if they had agreed long before to the loop holes in the system. And when some poachers got caught and admitted to pouching nearly 40 tigers in a year (yes gruesome!) these PT authorities have nothing to comment on.

I googled to know who was heading the Ministry of Environment before. And guess who it was. A.Raja-The king himself. How serious was the government to save the endangered species. Seriously, this guy??. I can scoff in disgust. It seems more than half of the sanctuaries during this tenure were totally uncared for. And thanks to him the problem persists. And the silver lining is the government realization that this cannot continue any longer and led to the appointment of Jairam Ramesh. Given his IIT and CMU credentials I hope he is well aware of the gravity of the situation and makes use of the gloomy conditions just to emerge stronger. No red tape, no bureaucracy; only action. Save tigers before they succumb to human wickedness. Hopefully my zodiac animal will shine for the decades to come.

What's more shocking is the use of fur by the Tibetan people. Tiger skin is popular among Tibetans with even celebrities proudly wear clothing with fur from endangered species. Outrageous. And yes, I am in ‘no fur’ bandwagon.

On a total different and happier note, yes the Tigers were extinct. Oh, I am referring to the Tamil Tigers :)

Create awareness. Save Tigers.

Federer Tussi great ho!!!

No surprises this time at the Australian open. Fed successfully snatches back his trophy. Andy Murray one time experience was no match to the Federer’s 22 grand slam final appearances. The kiddo was brutally demolished by the mighty Federer. Andy might have come to the Rod Laver with the hope of at least one set win in the final if not for making the history. Little did he have any idea of the kind of defeat he would be facing.

The game was dominated by Fed from the beginning and Andy was pushed so deep into the abyss that winning the game and stroll on the Mars would compete for the top slot on an impossible tasks list. His shots were no match to the Federer’s amazing winners. The backhand winners Federer hit were a visual treat. And this slam should be really special for him as this was the first slam as a father. And the commitment Andy shown is commendable. Wish him luck when Fed is not around.:). He should be a Federer to defeat Federer or like a rocket launcher when you serve in the match.

And so unfortunate for Henin that she couldn't have a fairy tale ending. She proved it again what a true champion is like. The title might have gone to Serena but Henin remains the true champion of the tournament. And that leaves me with little doubt about the French Open 2010 result. Watch out for this lady.

And finally about India’s prized player. Congrats Paes. You have made us proud again. Sad that this great feat will be registered in only few minds of this cricket obsessed country. You deserve more than what our so called Team India get for a 20-20 tournament win. Keep going.

Destination India

Three weeks just zoomed past me. Reckon holiday in India will always be like that no matter how long you stay there. Days are short and nights are shorter. Back here in Singapore every second is a minute and minute a mminnuutee.

Had a super time during my stay in India. After a very very long time all my relatives came under one roof. And the good thing is I broke the ice with some of my relatives. ( yeah very-very-long-time needs this breaking). Felt wonderful to be with them after this many years. Welcomed the New Year with them by smearing the cakes and eggs. Above all, learnt how very minute details do matter when it comes to relatives. Mind your tongue and greet everyone. Take some fruits or something with you when you visit someone's place. Show that manners are still a property of yours.

And coming to Hyderabad everything has gone to dogs with the brainless acts. Everyone wants to get their own share of limelight. They fail to understand that Hyderabad loss will be some other cities gain. Hmpf. Any small incident calls for a bandh. Thankfully the strike didn't put a spoke in my plans though it did effect slightly. Met most of my friends and realized how much I missed some of them so dearly.

Then there is the Goa trip with my best buddies. We had only two days at our disposal and we wanted to maximise our fun as much as possible. And yes we did maximise it. Travelling took most of our valuable time. Yet our voracious appetite for the unlimited fun didn't allow anything to take us down. Spirits were held high till the end of the trip. There were lots of skeletons in the closet ready to get unraveled. Confessions did get unfolded and the night spent was memorable for us. The recordings done on that night remains as a prized possession for all of us and as a source of laughter and a proof of our foolishness. Love you guys.

Finally back home. Yeah SG has become my home and India a visiting place. Already I have been seeing the calendar to plan my next trip. This time it may not be for so long. Hopefully would visit India within a year. Hope hope hope. And yeah I almost forgot. Yappy and Fun-filling New Year.