Ishnap 1

I dont know if they just started it but I've only just discovered how to post snaps out here...

So here's me! (six months back)

Ishnap 2

And thats me last month at one of the local clubs (wishihng I hadn't cut me hair off!)

Water Day

Just to put it into perspective, if all of Mumbai was flat, it would be under more than 3 feet of water. 150,000 people, including my sister who hasn't gone back home since last evening (she's okay though, she stayed in her office) have been stranded. It's the worst rainfall in recorded history. For once, the people of Mumbai are asking for the rains to stop!

For those of you who aren't familiar with Mumbai rains, its not like the pleasant drizzle that you see in England. Its torrential. Its like a spitfire spewing out machinegun bullets from the heavens. Umbrellas stop being effective and the only way to escape it is to be in a car. And even then you hear the constant bombarding on your roof. Its a very peculiar thing... when you pass under a bridge, theres a short silent respite and then there's literally a waterfall cascading over the sides of the bridge! Its quite an experience actually.

I've never really been a fan of rain. The only thing I like about the monsoons is the smell of the first rains. After that I just hate it. And this just makes it worse.

Myselfius Mumbles - Random Subject 2: Lots of Time Man Had

Ever since things started getting documented, Mankind has been doing some seemingly stupid and dimwitted things. How did he ever think up these things is anybody’s guess.

Take petrol for example. I mean who’s idea was it that “Right guys… see this mucky black foul smelling substance?… lets see if it burns.” Not just that… the Petrol Hunters (or maybe it isn’t fair to call them that coz they probably didn’t know they were hunting for petrol) they had to dig kilometres deep into the earth to get at it before they could burn it to see if it burns. Can you imagine how many things they must’ve tried to set on fire before they landed on petrol? Just them and their blowtorches needlessly burning everything in sight… And 50 years later the world is fighting over this same mucky black foul smelling stuff.

Or wine… is it natural for someone to say “Lets let these here grapes nearly rot. Then what we’ll do is we’ll stomp all over them until they’re all squished. And then we shall drink their sweet juices.” I mean… who got that idea?

Oh well I guess we had lots of time and it’s a good idea to do something productive with it… and it worked out just fine so nothing to worry about.

hmm…

Myselfius Mumbles - Random Subject 1: Carry On Carry On… doesn’t really matter

No matter what happens in this short life of ours, we always seem to carry on. Some of us, friends, who pass through the worst phases of their lives, some who lose their loved ones, some who cant get any, some lose their jobs, some who cant get any, some who have one of the above but aren’t happy… and smaller everyday issues… my handwriting is bad, I never win anything, I need new shoes, howcome HE can have the Ferrari and I cant (well maybe not that one!) and I’m getting carried away here…

Point being, whatever we face, we seem to have this quality of spending some time in the dirt and coming right out of it, as if it had never happened. In most cases anyway. I think that’s a great quality that we have. We should be proud of it. I mean most of us need something to be proud of and so often, I find that, for example, he can be proud of his Ferrari… what can I be proud of? … well… I can be proud of this quality!

Oza!

Theres so many things I dindnt know about my own surname! To think Ive had it for nearly 27 years and I didnt know that its the 50,122nd most popular surname in the USA! Now how could I have missed that out?

Here's some more trivia on Oza:

1. In Japanese, Oza means 'throne'. They actually have a tournament called Oza where the prize money on offer is 14 million yen! Ofcourse, the rate at which the yen is these days it may well be about £20... but still...

2. In ancient Greece, Oza means 'flock of sheep'. Okay not that interesting.

3. Theres even an Oza in the BBC. Some weather presenter I think.

4. Theres an Oza Productions in California. Hollywood, here we come!

So the next time y'all have plenty of spare time at work and dont know what to do with it, google for your surname and Surprise! It opens up a whole new world of things you didnt know about the latter half of your own name.

London

They say it was inevitable. That everyone who supported the USA in their operations in Iraq and Afghanistan would eventually have to face their very own 9/11. And that innocent people would be condemned to die a sudden needless death because a small manic section of society is hell bent on proving their point.

I saw 9/11 on the telly and I couldnt sleep properly for days. I had my telly on til 4 every morning. But it was still far away and eventually I got over it, as did the rest of the world, and moved on with our lives. Even during the Mumbai bombing I was far away in the relative safety of Bahrain. But this happened so close to home. And the places that they showed on television, Kings Cross, Aldgate, Russell Square, were places that I would go every other weekend. And the reality of the whole thing hits me because I couldve been one of those unlucky people.

And perhaps now I have realized the true meaning of terrorism. Because the fear is almost tangible. You look at everything differently. Every car looks suspiciously parked and every garbage bin is a security threat. And the helicopters that keep hovering around and the police presence on just about every street add to the eerie and uneasy atmosphere.

And people in London, like people in New York, will never be able to forget this. They will never be able to roam free at 4am in Leicester Square and take the nightbus or tube back and not feel afraid. The world famous big red London bus will never conjure images of the English way of life. Those images have been shattered and replaced by a grim and desolate picture of the Number 30 with its top floor blown off.