You

Clouds rolling on moving shadows
Over the countryside
A ray of light descends from the heavens
Your presence fills the sky

I can't deny what I'm seeing is true
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is
You

You're the love I have always known
And it's You
I will never be alone

You're all I desire You're all that I choose
I guess that explains why I feel like I do
I cannot deny what I'm falling into
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is
You

The earth declares Your glory
There's nowhere it can hide
And still You let me in
You draw me to Your side

You are my hope and I know that it's true
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is

You

You're the love I have always known
And it's You
I will never be alone

You're all I desire You're all that I choose
I guess that explains why I feel like I do
I cannot deny what I'm falling into
When all I can think of and all I can dream of is
You

- "You" by Kutless

Spam Comments

.. are absolutely the best!

Despite me hardly blogging of late, the spam-bots have been busy at work, flooding my inbox with anonymous comments and retarded attempts at sounding ‘human’. I’m still at a loss to know how anyone could fall for a spammer, I mean, how stupid must you be to click on a link for “magic penis enlargement – REAL!”? It’s just beyond me.

While I understand how companies out there need to use whatever methods possible to get people to buy their products or visit their websites, I’m somewhat confused as to why they can’t design them better. The English is just atrocious, the grammar is non-existent, and – well, see for yourself.

“good morning fellas. I’m honestly into shoes and I was looking for the sake of that exact brand. The prices as regards the shoes around 300 pounds on every page. But for all I base this location selling them for half price. I in reality like these [fake link here]. I will definitely purchase them. What can you say about it?”
- This was for “Love Hurts”. Clearly, the connection between music, Incubus and feet is obvious to everyone except me.

“I congratulate, an excellent idea”

– I really wanted to put that up, but it was for “Blog Action Day ‘09” and I really had nothing to do with it.

“You have tested it and writing form your personal experience or you find some information online?”

– This was for “I Could Use A Hand Right Now”; so apt, don’t you think?

“Hello. And Bye.”

– One of my favourites.

“You are not right. I can prove it. Write to me in PM, we will talk”

– This was again for “Blog Action Day ‘09”, so I’m assuming he/she/it means I’m wrong about global warming. Well thank goodness for that!

“Exceptional site! Nearly everyone needs to acquire insurance at one time or another, whether it is auto insurance, life insurance, health insurance, or homeowner’s insurance. These times it is more painless than ever to find complimentary insurance quotes for several businesses in order to find the optimal deal. You can also see how to save oodles of money in free gasoline when you acquire your insurance price quotations. [link to insurance site] [link to wedding rings site] [link to site to discover family tree]”

– I have absolutely no idea why after a huge comment about insurance, they include links to wedding rings and family trees. But points for using the words “oodles”.

“You must have seen Ranbir Kapoor’s wonderful chemistry with Katrina Kaif in Ajab Prem Ki Ghajab Kahani. Katrina is really exited to romance Ranbir, obviously in reel life. Katrina is really eager to be a part of Ashtvinayak’s next film that casts Ranbir. However she is well known to this fact that her looks as well as accent can not relate. [link to bollywood blog]”

– Posted in “The Basketball Analogies”, one of my favourite posts. How Bollywood and Basketball are related, or how Ray Allen points to Katrina Kaif, is yet another mystery that only the spam-gods can understand. On the other hand, I’m SO excited about Ranbir Kapoor’s wonderful on-screen chemistry though, and I can’t WAIT to see his next project!

“Naja, ob das alles so richtig is...”

– Posted on “My Reason For Blogging”. All I have to say to that is: “Arschloch! Heil Hitler!”

“高松宮記念の最新予想！オッズ、厳選買い目は？！レースの鍵を握る馬は裏情報を特別公開”

- And then I get spam in Japanese. Apparently this is about horse racing or something. Sheesh.

Of course spam is not restricted to my blog; twitter gives me enough and more headaches on a daily basis. I just have to tweet about something remotely popular to have all these bots following me. Sports, music, movies – anything is a trigger for a spam-bot. Of course, the most annoying are the bots which add you for no particular reason, but have some half-naked women as a display picture and a handful of tweets, all linking to her “private webcam”. As I delete them, I just wonder what are the odds that perhaps one of them is actually a real person? Just my luck.

However my favourite has to be the MSN spam messages I get from infected contacts. I sign in and I get a list of offliners from different people, earnestly telling me that “Bob” has been using some secret pills to enhance his sex life so they stole a few to check, and lo and behold, they actually WORK! Just $5 too, how could I resist?

How could I indeed. The moron that falls for that should be given a special prize, like a live chat with a call-girl of his choice.

A call-girl that’s a 29 year old guy sitting in a cubicle in India.


Feel free to add on any interesting spam comments you’ve come across!

In Loving Memory

No, this isn’t an obituary to my blog, though considering the level of inactivity this year, I suppose you could declare it brain dead.

Did that metaphor make sense? No? Good. I’ve still got it.

But yes, I’ve been just a bit stressed for time these days, especially now that my training is done and I’m officially on permanent status. My restricted time on the internet is spent either reading blogs, sports news or chatting with people in time zones that really mess with my sleep cycle, none of which inspire a blog post.

And then I went to church.

It was one of the weekends that I was at home, and as usual I was busy trying to cram in all the things that I missed out during the week, i.e. dongle-free internet, movies, home cooked food, and driving (I really, really miss driving!). However, in an attempt to infuse my short weekend stay with more ‘family time’, my parents decided that I should come with them for a memorial service. You know what they say; nothing brings the family together like a corpse.

So I swing by, reluctantly, while pondering the appropriate ‘game face’ to put on while at a memorial service. Not too sad (it’s not the funeral) and not too relaxed (you’re supposed to miss the man). It was the 1 year death anniversary of a family acquaintance, an old planter that used to come to our church, and as I sat in the pews reading the order of the service, I realized that this was actually the first time I had attended a memorial service.

It was rather awkward for me personally, watching this little parade of children and grandchildren telling the assembly how much they miss this man. It seemed unnecessary to me; surely this would be better suited for a more private and personal gathering. However, the best was definitely saved for last, when the widow and the pastor got up to tell what a fantastic, god-fearing, church-loving man he was. How they could do so with a straight face, heaven only knows. They might as well have told me he was the antichrist's secretary.

After ensuring I had indeed heard this right, I started to wonder how people could be so forgiving of those that have passed before us. It’s almost as if insults are forgiven by the time the body hits the floor, debts are forgiven by the time of the homily and extra-marital affairs and murder are forgiven by the time the sand starts piling up on the casket.

So is it only in death that we activate our ‘human spirit’? Do we have to wait till our last breath has come and gone to see compassion, concern and selective amnesia in our fellow man? I’m reminded of Mark Twain’s “Tom Sawyer”, when he and his friends staged their own funeral to milk the sympathy that they knew would be overflowing for them, despite them being a public nuisance.

When I was very young, I didn’t see much of my father as he worked late, and so my five year old brain devised a way to ‘check’ how much I missed him. I would imagine him dying, or imagine hearing of his death, and then if I felt immensely sad about it, then I knew that I really did care and I really did miss him.

Silly, stupid, terrible – and yet, perhaps apt.

Bottom line: make sure you tell your friends all the things you hate about them right now! You never know when they may drop dead and put you in the unenviable position of having to lie through your teeth at church.

The Vendetta Against Valentines Day

Valentines Day. Just saying the words brings up a look of slight revulsion in most people's countenance. Valentines day is about as appreciated as the musical talent of the Jonas Brothers or Megan Fox's Golum-ish thumbs. The Twittersphere is rather full of V-day bashing, and no doubt as I type this post there are couples being assaulted and set fire to in India, Hallmark card shops being stoned and loud angry men marching in the streets denouncing 'Western' influences on their great country and vowing to make India a land without any form of expressions of love; unless of course it's in the form of two people running around trees and bushes in various locations around the world. (For more details, click here to read a full detailed report about why Valentine's Day is evil). No doubt, our local riot and protest 'organisers' will catch on to this spectacular idea and try in the near future to emulate their Indian counterparts in an attempt to rid this great land of 'Western' influence, while driving Western cars, dressing in Western clothes and buying Western appliances.

But I digress.

Yes, it's Valentines day, but it seems rather ironic that there is so little love for this day which celebrates love, especially among people my age. Why all the hating? Girls especially seem to be offended by Valentine's Day, saying it is unnecessary and commercialised and pointless. Most of them are single though, but I'm sure that has nothing to do with it. Apparently due to media pressure they are made to feel alien if they do not have a date for Valentines Day, but really that's like accusing Chuck Norris for promoting exercise equipment that makes men feel inadequate about their bodies. And who on Earth would accuse Chuck Norris of anything?!

The men in general that I have observed do grumble a little bit about having to step up to the plate and make this one day special for their girlfriends, lovers or whatevers, but otherwise are not too affected by it. By now we've gotten somewhat used to every other day of the year being meant for something or the other. Pick a random date and you'll probably find it's World Panda Day or International Day of Remembrance for Bambi's Mother (everyone makes Bambi eyes at each other and scampers away at the sound of loud noises).

As for me, well, I've had some disastrous Valentine's Days in my life. I was telling one particular high school incident to someone last night and she literally covered her face in horror. (Yes, it was that bad. Not her face, my story. Err.) And yet, I'm really not that affected by this. In fact, I find myself rather happy for the people out there who are willing to take the time to make one day especially great for the people they love. Sure there are the odd couples here and there that make you want to yell "GET A ROOM! AND A LIFE!! AND SOME PRACTICE COS WHAT THE @$%! ARE YOU TRYING TO DO TO HER?!" - but all in all I don't mind seeing the sea of red in shops, malls and restaurants, nor do I hate on the people that actually enjoy this opportunity to openly express themselves in ways that might have been considered corny or over the top any other day of the year.


So to all the haters - just calm the heck down. Don't make me come over there and force you into diapers at arrow-point.


Happy Valentine's Day!

Life And Basketball

(Sort of continued from here)

I vividly remember the nights playing basketball in college. The sweat, the lights, and the heat emanating from my body mixed with the cool night breeze that blew across the floor of our outdoor court. Most of the time we played in the evenings from 530pm till about 8pm, but I often found myself on the court either before or after this period, usually due to some personal issue that was weighing on my mind.

You see to me, being on the court was always therapeutic. When I was angry, alone, frustrated or depressed, stepping on the court never failed to fix my mood. Those of you that know me or have been reading this blog should know by now that I have a passion for basketball that borders on obsession. Perhaps that was why some of my best and worst memories from college all involved the court in some way; the highs being reflected in soaring through defenders for a basket, the lows in the taste of blood after hitting the merciless concrete floor. But it wasn’t just the triumphs and failures of my sports life that were affiliated with the court; even my personal struggles were somehow intertwined with it. Often I have paused at the court when walking back towards my hostel after a lonely day and smiled as I watched some kids playing under lights, just chucking the ball around and falling over each other in laughter. Other times I’ve waited there for a special someone to meet me for a nice late dinner, nervously checking to see if I was presentable or not.

To me, basketball and life are very similar. I was never very good at the game, despite my passionate love for it. I have thrown up many ‘Hail Marys’ from beyond the three-point line, missed tonnes of assignments on defence due to lack of concentration, made terrible decisions in transition and watched several of my not-so-clever passes being intercepted by the opposing defence. Yet such is the game that there is always a way to redeem yourself somehow. I’ve played in tournaments filled with personal failure that still ended with a performance that saved the team, mainly because the opposing team didn’t think I could play due to my lack of scoring, and so, much to my great pleasure, left me relatively unguarded through the finals while I hit mid-range jumper after mid-range jumper. ‘Player of the game’? Why thank you very much.

Life is not too different either, for despite my love of life and everything that it symbolises, I have proven to be rather bad at living it. I’ve made so many wrong decisions, foolish choices and missed opportunities due to my lack of focus and direction. It seems that my 25 years on this earth has done nothing to remedy that.

Yes, life is a lot like basketball, but it isn’t; the difference being that this life isn’t a game. Second chances are hard to come by, and the odd ones that do come our way are very few and far between. Plus, how many times have we buckled at an opportunity to make things right simply because we couldn’t face what was wrong in the first place?

So here I am, looking back at things that I wish I could change, things I wish I could do over and make up for, and I realise that as much as I want that, perhaps I would have more luck lacing up my sneakers and looking for my jersey.