Peaked?!

I think I’m past my peak. I analysed my SimCAT3 paper n’ realised I’d done worst in DI. Confirmed it by taking a 30-min sectional test today n’ screwing it up! Attempted 13/40 q’s n’ got 4 wrong! Most of my mistakes are not to do with Interpretation, but in reading the question and choices. For eg: I got an answer just over 10% n’ so marked choice 3- 10%, without noticing choice 4 wuz 11%!!! Another time, I didn’t read ‘amount’ n’ answered for ‘%age’! Did a DS/LR test after that to pick my spirits up.

Ironically, DI was the section I did best in, last year. Damn, I hope CAT ’05 will be just as easy. I’m thinkin’ of signing up for TIME’s mock series also, after RG suggested it. SimCATs are quirky n’ demoralising. Btw, I’ve put up important stuff on Mensuration, Trigonometry, Co-ordinate Geometry and Modern Math. Also, herez a good tutorial on my AOI!

Update: Just took another DI sectional test in which I did quite well! Phew, what a relief! :p

Meet Voldemort and Rita Skeeter!!

A1 Grand Success..

but today also brought my worst test experience ever. I don’t usually put up sad things on my blog, but this I had to, to remind myself (and all the world) of SimCAT 3, which was, in one word, a DEBACLE! I just want to forget it all, but I shouldn’t. The test had two 1-hr sections n’ after phod-ing the first (verbal), I went on to the 2nd 10 min. early, so that I wouldn’t f*** up Quant as usual, but it was not to be. :-((

As if that weren’t enough, I made a colossal screw-up of Anals too, which was s’posedly easy! I didn’t attempt a single q. in the last 20 min.! To make things worse, at 1 p.m. (when I was thanking God for putting an end to my misery), the guy calls out ‘5 minutes more!‘, as if we’d all jump with glee at the prospect of extra time. On the contrary, I just wanted out..

Enough is enough. The A1GP race was spectacular, though most of it was run under the safety car, thanks to the many retirements. One of them (predictably) was Karun Chandhok, but I did not expect him to be the first one to go. He seems a jovial chap, poking fun at Mikola (INA) saying ‘He’s a liar!’ in front of the TV cameras. But a one-to-one interaction with the drivers seems hardly the right time to do it. Trust an Indian to be diplomatic :-p

Well, the drivers are smart chaps, especially Adam Khan (PAK), who has a pronounced English accent. (Talk about poaching drivers! :|) Nelson Piquet Jr. won the Sprint Race earlier, followed by Frenchman Alexandre Premat and my dude Matt Haliday! I loved all three chaps. Premat is a Kimi look-alike and talk-alike!

Nelson lived up to my expectations to win the Feature Race also, n’ took MAX possible points (21) for Brazil, though Premat stalled on the grid. Haliday went off-track and rejoined at the end of the car-train later, but thanks to the SC, he climbed back up the order to eventually finish in 4th place!

The A1 website got updated with the Feature Race results only now! Nothing like F1 for promptness! Talkin’ of F1, Alonso was crowned youngest World Champion after claiming the third step of the podium at Brazil just a while ago. Though McLaren leapfrog Renault in the C’structors’ table with their first 1-2 since 2k, it is still bittersweet for me n’ Ron.

I guess JPM deserved to win, after having qualified well and led the race from start to finish. I wish he’d done this earlier and oftener though. Kimi matched his pace, converting his lowly 6th grid slot into 2nd place. SimCAT3 results for B’lore test-takers are out n’ junta have genlly done badly in Section 2 like I did, but their scores have improved from last time’s, so I really need to work hard n’ improve. Tomorrow is the first day of retribution..

[Listening to: Bruce Springsteen – The river (acoustic live) – (11:35)]

Tomorrow’s Geometry

So Kimi made an error, they say. But I don’t think it will prove costly. Though he will line up tomorrow to start on Row 3, next to Klien, the first corner definitely won’t be for the faint-hearted, and I hope Monty gives Alonso the scare of his life 😀

Nelson Piquet Jr. did his dad proud by grabbing the first A1 GP pole today! He ‘piqued’ (pun intended 😉 Speed, who did only marginally better than our own Karun, so I’ll happily place my bet on Matt Haliday driving ‘Black Beauty’ to mount a challenge instead.

[Listening to: Lightning Crashes – Live – Plugged Up & More (6:06)]

Its great..

..when you find people who can put their thoughts into words so well; and even better when their thoughts are yours exactly! Its happened before.. n’ its tough to remember, so I’m not missing this one. She‘s just 16 yrs old.

Rahul (my best pal) and Siddhu (close to that) celebrate their birthday tomorrow. I musn’t forget to wish ’em.. 😐 n’ finally, the kitchen sink area is done! Phew!

A1GP

This F1 off-season is not gonna be as boring as usual…

This Sunday, switch your TV sets on to STAR Sports at 6 p.m. to witness a different sight- The very first A1GP race!! Here’s the lowdown.

The test times paint a pretty picture of things to come. Unlike F1 which has no American representation, I’ll wager Great Scott will be upto Speed here at Brands Hatch (GBR), to secure a win for the US of A in their drab blue car. The ‘Sheikh of Speed’ page on their website talks about how A1 will feature identical cars, hence highlighting only driver talent (Ooh! I love that!!). However, the example of the Pakistani driver overtaking his Indian ‘rival’ on the last lap is a most undiplomatic one. (FUME!)

25 countries will participate this season, and though prospects look bleak for India as usual, it promises exciting racing, with famous names like Nelson Piquet Jr. (Brazil), Ralph Firman (Ireland) and Jos Verstappen (Netherlands). The Australian driver is named Will Power (!!!). Hope he shows stuff to match his name 😉

Speaking of the cars’ looks (for that was what made me start to love the McLaren team! ;), GBR‘s is not as attractive as I expected. The Maple Leaf looks great on Canada‘s machine, but its nowhere as flashy as the orange ‘thing’ Netherlands will sport! China‘s regal-looking charger is a lighter shade, with an inscribed dragon n’ another which deserves mention is the sleek red n’ white Mexican car. But the best-looking of ’em all is undoubtedly New Zealand’s ‘Black Beauty‘, which is an awesome sight to behold indeed!

I can’t wait to see what our very own whiz Karun Chandhok will be piloting, and how they do, but folks, don’t forget to catch the usual F1 action at 10 p.m. I’m hoping JPM helps Kimi secure McLaren’s first 1-2 since Hakkinen & Coulthard did it half a decade ago..

[Listening to: Green Day – When I come around (2:47)]

Cochinisthebest

Went to the new branch of Sangeeth Mahal today to change my 1st guitar string, ‘cuz it was sorta rusty, but they sandpapered it. I espied my Johnson electric guitar there, selling for just 6.5k. F*** Reynolds (they don’t even have a website), who charged me 1k more than that for it! I’ve decided to stick to these folks for all my music needs in future. The B’lore people are cheats, d*mn ’em.

A week ago, I went around trying to get an overgrip for my tennis racquet. Planet Sports at Hyd’bad (where I bought the racket) didn’t have Wilson overgrips n’ neither did Yonex @ RSC, so I went around town trying several sports shops all the way to the end of MG Road. None of them had what I asked for n’ they all tried to palm off badminton grips. I got back to RSC frustrated, n’ took what they had. Its pretty good n’ my thumb is no longer abraded. So folks, if you want specific stuff, don’t waste your time.. make a beeline for the Yonex shop @ RSC– its the best! Btw, I found a great tennis gear site.

[Listening to: The river (acoustic live) – Bruce Springsteen – (11:35)]

Tennisthebestgame

Today was my 1st day of coaching. I learnt a few things, not least of all that I shouldn’t have abused my previous coach, ‘cuz the present one thinks my technique is very good overall and just needs some fine-tuning. Thats all thanks to Benny of course! Well.. otherwise, today’s coaching session felt like it started just where I left off a decade ago. Its awesome to have a coach all to yourself! n’ Mr. Rashid Shah is a wonderful man!

We worked only on my forehand n’ backhand (latter mainly) for close to two hours. The main things that are to be drilled into mind (for the benefit of other right-handed guys out there who’ve lost touch like me):

1. Read the ball n’ Ready to receive.

   Your left hand is very important. Use it to support the racquet while you run (often out rather than in) to place yourself.
Turn to the right for your forehand (left for backhand).

2. Fast with the feet and Slow with the arms.

   Run into position early. Be smooth.
Your racquet head’s motion should be continuous, steady, non-jerky, and fluid.
Start your swing as you stop running, i.e. pull your racquet head back.

3. Do the fine adjustments with your feet.

   Place yourself so that you get to hit the ball in your ZONE, i.e. in front of your knees, in a way such that you see both the ball and where you want to hit it.

4. Stop and execute.

   Get your left foot forward while you hit your forehand (right for backhand). This is when the weight is transferred from the back foot to the front foot.

The Backhand is what most people have a problem with. Put your right foot forward and lean for the backhand. Change your grip to close the face of the racquet, Follow through with a back, down, accelerate (another oft-misspelt word!), and up, away action. Make contact with the ball so that it falls into the court. I strongly advise studying the Federer backhand.

When I put all this into practice, my Wilson Hyper ProStaff Zone came alive!! I’m not kidding, but never have I felt a racquet actually try hitting balls an inch above the net. I also got some mean pace into those Slazenger Championship balls.

Try these tips out yourself!!

[Listening to: Everything (acoustic) – Anouk – Update (4:45)]

A pre-nuptial SimCAT and some surveys!

Y’day’s mock CAT was timed. I couldn’t devote more time to quant like I would’ve liked to, n’ ended up screwing it again. I wonder when the day will come, when I’ll score 10+ marks! :`-(
Everyone at the center (S.H.College, Thevara) took it in one big hall, unlike last time when we were seated in separate (Incidentally, thats among the most oft-misspelt words in English) classrooms. I was surprised to see quite a few babes here in Cochin, though my being ranked in the City Top 10 a second time (in as many mock CATs) revealed that a majority of the folks here are dumb. All the same, I wish I could emulate my pal Subhash, who’s gonna marry, in a month’s time, a femme he got to know courtesy SimCAT..! Well.. maybe he didn’t make it to an IIM (he almost did!), but he sure did make it big otherwise! 😉

Btw, I took this Personality Disorder Test today. It sorta confirmed my fears. Frankly, I got a High rating in Antisocial as well, but I went back n’ changed some answers after more deliberation. And I took some more tests..

Disorder	Rating
Paranoid Personality Disorder:	Low
Schizoid Personality Disorder:	Low
Schizotypal Personality Disorder:	Moderate
Antisocial Personality Disorder:	Moderate
Borderline Personality Disorder:	Low
Histrionic Personality Disorder:	Moderate
Narcissistic Personality Disorder:	High
Avoidant Personality Disorder:	Low
Dependent Personality Disorder:	Moderate
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder:	Moderate
— Take the Personality Disorder Test — — Personality Disorder Info —

Your Final Quiz Score: 24 right out of a possible 60
The Monkey’s Final Score: 17 right out of 60

Congratulations on defeating the lowly monkey, yet it would have been nice had you crushed him in battle more definitively. Not a bad showing overall, however one would have expected the human score to far exceed that of the ape. You have represented your species not excellently but competently. Good job overall. You have delt the monkey a blow to his confidence.

You scored in the 48th percentile.
(48% of quiz takers scored worse than you)

Geography Your score: 5 Monkey’s score: 3 — Not your finest performance.	History Your score: 6 Monkey’s score: 2 — Not too bad.
Science/Technology Your score: 9 Monkey’s score: 5 — Well done.	Random Trivia Your score: 4 Monkey’s score: 7 — Awful, just awful.

Link: Try to Defeat the Monkey

The Dante’s Inferno Test has banished you to the Third Level of Hell!
Here is how you matched up against all the levels:

Level	Score
Purgatory (Repenting Believers)	Low
Level 1 – Limbo (Virtuous Non-Believers)	High
Level 2 (Lustful)	Moderate
Level 3 (Gluttonous)	High
Level 4 (Prodigal and Avaricious)	Low
Level 5 (Wrathful and Gloomy)	Moderate
Level 6 – The City of Dis (Heretics)	Very Low
Level 7 (Violent)	Low
Level 8- the Malebolge (Fraudulent, Malicious, Panderers)	Moderate
Level 9 – Cocytus (Treacherous)	Very Low

Take the Dante’s Divine Comedy Inferno Test

You Are A: Monkey!

Monkeys are intelligent and agile, well-adapted for jungle life as they swing happily from tree to tree. As a monkey, you are a social animal who eats a wide range of food, is quick to learn new things and loves to climb. A monkey’s tiny primate features are irresistable, as is his gregarious personality!

You were almost a: Squirrel or a Puppy
You are least like a: Turtle or a ChipmunkDiscover What Cute Animal You Are!

Spiders

can’t climb tiles
(recent observation)

What a couple!

On 31-Jul-04, Kimi Räikkönen married Jenni Dahlman, Miss Scandinavia 2000.

Just got reminded, after attending Vineetha’s wedding today. She was my best ami féminin in school, and I’ve her to thank, for introducing me to her best friend, someone who turned my life upside-down forever.