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Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Autograph-3

(Continuing from Autograph-2….)

May 5th 2008: I came to Chennai for 3 months and this was my longest stay in Chennai since I left on June 24th 2006. It was a special feeling and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

The three months passed very quickly and in the mean time during my stay I got my 1st semester result. I scored more than what I expected and I was indeed happy.

August 8th 2008: Back to Singapore to continue my studies. The 3 month stay rejuvenated me and I started enjoying my stay in Singapore.

Aug 9th to Oct 13th: No special events happened in my life during this period, but I enjoyed my stay as we frequently went out during the weekends. However, Sep 15th is and will always be a special day in my life.

Oct 14th: I was given an offer to join an US MNC as logistics analyst for a 6 month contract. Initially I was bit hesitant in taking up the job as I had to sign the contract the very next day. However, since economy world over started to shrink, I thought of taking the gamble and signed the contract. The pay was great so as the job profile. I was really happy as I got a job in my field of study rather than going back to Software.

Nov 25th: Completed my masters with my second semester getting over on this day.

Nov 26th: I joined the company immediately after completing my masters. The date 26th I guess is what destined to me to join organizations. Even in my previous company, my joining date was 26th. Given the fact that economy has hit rock bottom during this period and I finding a job in desired field was indeed a great feeling.

From this date, life was calm with no big events, no festivals and no outings except during the Chinese new year when we made a trip to zoo, night safari and bird park.

Around April 2009, my search for job intensified with no success, but I was hopeful of getting one.

May 14th: The Company has extended my contract to another 6 months till November 2009 with all the benefits of a full time employee.

May 22nd: Off to Chennai for a special event in my life.

June 3rd: The special event has arrived. It was my brother’s engagement. He being the eldest in our family, this is the first marriage and it was a great family meeting as well as I met my cousins after a gap of around 6 years. In mean time, I enjoyed my stay in Chennai especially with my cousin’s kids and friends.

June 7th: Back to Singapore and resumed work.

June 25th: Finally, I got the book which I wanted for a long time, rather I attempted to get it after a long time.Thanks to my friend who got it from library. "India after Gandhi" by Ramachandra Guha. It is simply amazing to know the history of this great country after 1947.


(to be continued after marriage……)




Friday, June 26, 2009

World of Sports-2009

This year has been a dramatic year for sports. So many disappointments and surprises have taken place in just 6 months starting from Australian Open.

Tennis:
• It all started with World No 1 Nadal defeating the King Federer in the Australian Open finals. Even though this is not a big surprise, it is indeed a surprise given the fact how Federer has played in hard court in the past.
• Next, the greatest upset in the world of sports. Champion Nadal was knocked out of French Open in the 4th round by Robin Soderling, who was eventually beaten by the King Federer in the finals.

Formula 1:
• Next comes the biggest of all. Formula 1 has seen the rise of minnows to the top with reigning champion Lewis Hamilton, former champion Kimi Raikonen and Fernando Alonso and other top contenders failing to make an impact in this year’s championship. However it was Jenson Button and Sebastian Vettel of Brawn GP and Red Bull, which was an under performer before are ruling the roost. Button is impressive with 6 wins in 8 races and Vettel winning the other 2. It has been a complete domination by Brawn GP which is competing for the first time under the leadership of technical genius Ross Brawn. Brawn GP was formed after Honda pulled out of F1 last season. It was a complete turn around in Formula 1 this year.

Cricket:
• In Cricket, the defending champions were beaten comprehensively in all the 3 super eight games of Twenty20 world cup. Tipped to be the favorites along with South Africa, India displayed on of its worst performance in the last 1 year and was kicked out of the tournament. Once the semi finals were decided, people believed South Africa to win the cup, however they continued their tag of chokers losing to Pakistan. The finals between Pakistan and Sri Lanka was thought be a tight one as both the teams played well throughout the tournament with Sri Lanka reached finals without losing a game. However, they were beaten comprehensively by Pakistan. It was a great moment for them given the fact that they had no international tournaments over the past 1 year and also the current situation there. The man who turned the game in their favour in both semi finals and finals was none other than the dangerous Shahid Afridi.

Basket Ball:
• LA Lakers beat Orlando Magic to win the NBA 2009 title and this is the first time, LAL has won the title after Shaq moved out. This may not be a surprise, but it was indeed a great achievement for Kobe Bryant as he proved his worthiness that he can win the title without Shaq. Phil Jackson, went past Red Auerbach for winning the most number of NBA titles as manager. This win took his tally to 10 (6 with Chicago Bulls and 4 with LAL).

Badminton:
• The greatest glory, India could ever get in badminton. Saina Nehwal winning the Indonesia Super Series beating the Chinese Lin Wang who is higher ranked than her. She became the first Indian women to win the tournament.

Soccer:
• Finally the biggest upset of the tournament. United States beat Spain 2-0 in the confederation cup in South Africa. Spain, which had a dream run of 35 games unbeaten since november 2006, when they lost to Romania in a friendly. Had they won the game againt the USA, they would have made the world record of being unbeaten for most consecutive games. Now they have equalled Brazil’s record of 35.

With so many upsets happened in the last 6 months, will the trend continue with Ashes and Wimbledon coming up? Lets wait and watch……