You might be a penguin if...

In the running lexicon, the word "Penguin" has come to mean a person who runs more for the joy of running than for recognition and public rewards.Some mean humour I dug out from the net on penguins :D


* ...you have to politely (for the third time) tell the men in the policecar moving behind you that No you do not wish a ride.
* ...during a race, you keep turning around to see if there is still anybody behind you.
* ...the rest of the pack is out of sight before you've run 100 yards.
* ...you meet both the hare and the tortoise running back towards you doing their cool-down after a race.
* ...you recognize all the regular runners on your favorite route from behind.
* ...you get passed on the uphill by a runner pushing a double baby jog stroller.
* ...you shoot a 24-shot roll of film during a marathon.
* ...you are more worried about the porta-potty lines than the start line.
* ...your support crew talks about meeting you for supper, not lunch.
* ...the truck picking up the cones is pressing on your behind.
* ...the awards ceremony is over before you cross the finish line.
* ...you finish before the blind guy, barely
* ...you finish before the sanitation sweepers
* ...you go to the nearest print shop and have a T-shirt specially made with the following words on the back "Hey, somebody has to finish last" that you wear to all your races

Where in the World is Phil The Frog?

The name is frog.Phil the frog.
Has run 27 official international races, has hopped across 115 different cities across the world.He is 5 inch tall, has goofy eyes and a kiss on his cheeks, prefers traveling in his own tube shaped pill and has even made a guest appearance in the Sydney Olympics.

Though both Phil and Phil's pill are cute and tempting to keep, once a runner receives Phil he/she is faced with a decision to follow the rules and send him to someone else, or be socially deviant and keep him for selfish reasons.And so , from one runner to another, across the globe, Phil has been passed over for the last 7 years.


Started by 'run planet' team, as what seems like an anthropological project, the aim was to helps break down xenophobia, teaching people to live together and resulting in world peace.

So this November, be it bangkok or delhi, will Phil be Poached Salmons run buddy for the marathon?

Pehchan

Awesome production by UPenn students(Thanks chaitya ;) )..called Penn Masala.The amazing part is..its an entire song without a single instrument..all vocals.Click here to to go the link , and then click play.

On a lighter note...Skye Sweetnam is my favourite musician for today.A great reason for everyone to buy her cd "Noise from the Basement".

The song can be heard here.

And for those who are so drugged with Penn Masala that its still not hit them why this uk based singer is so special...here are the lyrics of her chart topper (hopefully)

Once upon a time there was a girl
You really wouldn't call her typical
Had her own definition of cool
She lived in her own world
She had her own style her own rules
She played along like it was usual
Nobody really even knew her name
Her life was one big game

She got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head, song stuck in her head)

Dreaming all day
That's all she did
Ever since she was a little kid
All the teacher's thought that she was slow
She was just dreaming about her show
And when they told her she's delirious
She didn't care
She's just oblivious
She likes to make everyone curious
One day she's gonna be famous

She got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head, she's got this song stuck in her head)

She got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head)

She got her head up in the clouds
Sharada, Sharada
Don't know when she'll come down
Sharada, Sharada
She can't get to bed
Sharada, Sharada
She's got this song stuck in her head
(her head, her head, her head, her head, her head)

Snapshots from the beach

One off from the list

When I was 12 years old , I had read an article in readers digest that said , "everyone should carry a list in their wallet.Of things they want to do.And each year they should keep ticking off the ones they have, add new ones.When you are 50 years old, review it and see what all have you not even tried yet".
When you are 12, life seems like an eternity.Next year seems to be too far away and the summer vacations seem never ending.So even though I had made such a list,I never carried it around.
Over the years a few things have actually been stricken off.And what happened this weekend is probably one of my most favorite ones.

Packing my bags and just setting off without any plans or itenaries ...

My Saturday started off on a bad note.A conversation on gtalk left me very low and I was angry with myself...for playing a victim to certain circumstances.I decided I would venture out of bangkok, do things that I never get to do in Delhi.

Given the rains in Thailand, the hotel staff strongly suggested Pattaya.But writeups on the net sort of put me off.I just scrapped this indian lady on orkut and she scrapped back that beaches of Hua Hin and Rayong were much better.Hua Hin was flooded with water so I opted for Rayong, which was 3 hours away from Bangkok.
Saturday late night, I surfed the net for hours, before I gave up.
Making detailed itenaries wasnt my cup of tea,I wasnt much of a planner.I decided I'd just set off for Rayong and figure something out on the way.

Well,one cannot change ones nature.I will never be a person who plans things out.But high risks have high rewards.And this weekend I discovered "Koh Samet". :D

Saturday night fever

Yeah...it was fever for sure.
Ruining my well laid down plans.Couldnt get out of the bed all day, and at 9pm I finally realised I would regret going back and not doing things I always keep cribbing that I dont get to do in delhi.Backpacking.

So I dragged myself out of the bed, went for a long walk, bought some tea at starbucks and picked up a local mag trying to figure out where I could go, for just a day.

Thailand has plenty of hills and beaches, all 1-2 hours away from bangkok.A bus ride is quite cheap, and you can leave early morning and come back in the evening.Perfect for a lonely traveller like me.All I would need would be my camera,ipod and sketch pad to have a good time.
My ideal choice would have been lesser commericalised beaches like hua hin or krabi.But its raining a lot in most places and the hotel staff strongly recomended pattaya.

sigh.what if the neon lighted bars and skinny thai women and foreigners with beer belly just put me off?What if I dont find my secluded abandoned beach where I can just sit and sketch.

But its already pretty late in the night, and I decide for starters maybe I should just make this one trip.Maybe next week hua hin-one of the oldest beach resorts and a currently abandoned small town.

Which reminds me, I need to beg or bribe someone get me a fabriano sketch pad and a water brush.Both are absolutely unavailable anywhere I look.And the crappy sketch book I managed to buy, is pretty bad for water colours.The paper just soaks up the water and messes my sketches up.I spent 30 minutes at B2S, the largest stationary shop in bangkok, spanning over 2 floors, just trying to explain what a waterbrush was.


speak softly-People will listen.Take your time-The world will wait

Sketch crawls start

I wonder why the crawling bug always bites me in bangkok.Its 11.30 pm and time for me to hit the sack.Spent the day yapping with old friends on the net (bless orkut and the likes).



Later in the day I sneaked out for a few supplies (a brand new hard bound sketch book and a jazzy pencil holder :D)
Today being first of May, was a major holiday , leading to serious traffic jams.Bangkok, as any visitor would have learnt,quite painfully, is worlds largest parking lot.

Airtel mourns the day

It didnt make it to the national news, or the major tabloids.Unknown to millions, airtel suddenly lost one of its major customer.

A slight dip in Airtel's revenue, a major dip in someones life.