Oh, this heat!

The Big Apple is amidst a giant heat wave right now, and the temperatures have been lingering around 90-100F (30-38C) for the past few days. It feels nice to be warm, but I'm not really a big fan of the scorching heat that's keeping us company these days!

But... let's not complain too much. After a dreary, cold, gray winter, a summer in any way, shape, or form is much needed!

Wouldn't it be nice if...

Life had a re-wind button?

What was said could be unsaid?

Time didn't fly as fast?

There were no such things as egos?

Some people weren't as closed-minded as they are?

Happy-ness had a permanent residency in everyone's lives?

...

I wasn't whining so much today? :-)

Off Coffee?

For as long as I can remember, I have loved coffee. I usually have black coffee with milk and Splenda, but recently, after reading about how Splenda is unhealthy, etc., I decided to give up coffee (If I want coffee, I want it my way... or maybe I'll just give up coffee altogether). Sugar was not an option, as I was on a diet, and wanted to control the amount of my sugar intake.

I was really good for about a month or so. Had completely gotten off coffee and was proud that I was not dependent on that morning Cup of Joe to get my day kick-started. Yet, here I am today, writing this post as I'm sipping my much-needed Monday Morning cup of coffee. Sigh. Self-control, out the window. Even Coffee has 'off' in it. Maybe I should give it one more try.

We are the Champions!

Saturday was a special day. Why, you may ask?

The answer is, Saturday was a very special day in India's cricket history because after 28 long years, Team India won the ICC World Cup! The final match, held in Mumbai, against Sri Lanka, was simply gripping. I'm sure many Indians had a couple of heart attacks as the Indian innings saw Tendulkar's and Sehwag's exits pretty early on. Gambhir, Kohli, and Dhoni turned the tables, though! That last sixer that Dhoni hit will be watched and re-watched for many many more years to come. Felt so good to cheer for India and see us win. Also what helped the cheerful mood of that day was to watch the match with a gang of 7-8 friends. The celebrations that followed on the streets of Newport were great! So many Indian cricket fans rooting for Team India, cheering, chanting 'We are the Champions!' - it was really quite a sight!

It's still sinking in though. I've re-watched the match highlights many times in the last couple of days, and that moment when Dhoni hit that sixer and all of us just screamed on top of our lungs is still flashing in front of my eyes!

Rock on, Men in Blue! You bled blue and won us the World Cup! :-)

De Ghuma Ke!

Oh, my, GOD! The semi-final today between India and Pakistan was something else. Mohali roared and cheered as India beat Pakistan by 29 runs. My day off from work (first time ever for cricket) was one hundred percent worth every minute!

The way India batted today... good lord! Especially Sachin Tendular... my goodness, I think 2.4 billion+ pairs of eyes were glued to him, and I'm sure many were on the verge of having nervous breakdowns during the two reviews and the ball-drops! India batted well and bowled well, so all-in-all, it was a terrific match. The Men in Blue have now paved their way to Mumbai for World Cup Finals!

I'm so thrilled for this coming Saturday. I can barely wait. But, for now, I'm happy with today. A day off from work, 5am-alarm for the match, Spending the day with a close friend (SE), Cheering for India, The feeling of winning against Pakistan and keeping the record of not losing against them in the World Cup, Celebrating by going on a nice drive and a cup of coffee! If these aren't memories to cherish 20 years down the road, then what are?

A Wednesday

What usually would have been a typical day was actually a pretty good one!

What's the kind of stuff that makes boring weekdays special?

• A great day at work and fun with colleagues
• Gorgeous weather and a walk around the corner to grab lunch
• A very very productive afternoon
• Getting an email from SE who's excited to meet me this evening
• A quiet evening out and chatting with SE over dinner
• Making it home in time to watch an episode of FRIENDS to de-stress!

One of the things that I look forward to is change, and a change in pace over the week is always welcome :-)

I'm doing the snow dance!

So, I'm crazy for doing the snow dance, but who wouldn't, with 8-14" of snow predicted overnight?! This is our second blizzard in two weeks, so... yes, winter has struck us hard. And it's only the second week of January. Good luck to us for February and March!

This week is going well, but what I'm really looking forward to is this weekend, when I'll get to meet lots of friends. I'm planning a visit to A&R's (they just got married!). Also, N and S are coming back from India, so I'm extremely excited to go meet up with them after a month. Plus, what's great is that this is a long weekend, so I'm planning to catch up on some reading, movies, and of course, sleep. It's one of those weekends where I've got no items on the 'to-do' list, so only two items I'm planning to put on there are: 1) Have Fun and 2) Do Nothing.

Toodles for now and more later this week.

Till then, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!