Karaoke @ Red Box (Videoke)

29th May'09...

After may be like 11 years,I think I must have sang in front of a crowd (if you can call an audience of 7 that). After having seen the Filipinos have a karaoke night every Friday, I and my friends thought about experiencing the pleasure of the same ourselves.After having criticized and ostracized the people who sang by the pool side on Friday evening's it was time to evaluate our own performance in front of the mike.

The evening actually started with a short trip to McDonald's for our daily filling of burgers and fries after which the gang headed to Grappa's (in Greenbelt 3).

After quite a few rounds of beer (Weiz) which was really good and a welcome relief from the San Migel which I have been consuming relentlessly for the past 2 weeks it was time for us to head to Red Box which was only a few restaurants away from where we actually were.

Hence after having consumed enough alcohol which helped us shed our inhibitions of singing, we i.e Harsh,Nash,Aseem,Kuru,Mac,Anna & Emile headed in to Cubicle no 32 of red box videoke.It was my first experience of a karaoke and one of the best one's of my short life yet.

After the initial trouble of understanding the video system and the mike and equipments placed in the cubicle our dj's/vj's for the night (Nash & Aseem) churned out some wonderful tracks to which the entire group sang their heart and lungs out...Ok I was the only one singing my lungs out...:)

The night was fun and I didn't even need a mike to compete with Nash and Aseem who had the control of the mike for most of our 4 hour singing session.

Mac was the truly outstanding performer of the night along with Nash and both of them set the place on fire.

Those 4 hours inside cube 32 really felt liberating as every one just let go of themselves and enjoyed the music and the fun assciated with it.

As for me after having last sung during the annual days in school with the choir group it was my first time since and I had fun, though not at singing but shouting my lungs out and jumping around with joy.

Barcelona vs Manchester United.UEFA CL finals-Afterthough...

Heart broken,frustrated, horrified and sad...These were my emotions right after the match ended in favor of Barcelona on Wednesday night.
Not that they didn't deserve to win, but the manner of Manchester United's defeat was a bitter pill to swallow.
People deserved a better final than the one at display.Barcelona were magnificent on the night and on the other side Manchester United struggled to put in a semblance of a fight.

I saw the real Manchester United play the way they do only for the first 9 mins 33 secs in which they bombarded the Barcelona goal with chance after chance and nearly scored twice in that period.

However the 10th minute goal by Samuel Etoo finished off the attacking intend of Man Utd and Barcelona dictated terms all over the pitch after that goal.

The disappointment stems from the fact that a team which had prided itself on having a great defense made a few glaring mistakes which took the game out of their own hands.

Barcelona really played like men possessed keeping the possession of the ball for long duration of time which in turn frustrated the United player's who after having eventually won the possession of the ball looked for long balls and quick attacks instead of slowing the game to their own pace.

I haven't seen a Manchester United team fare so miserably in a final ever since the time I started following the team.

I have taken a lot of shit from my friends & classmates for this defeat but after the initial disappointment, I am quite sure that Sir Alex Ferguson will rebuild this team to go on and beat the crap out of even this amazing Barcelona side next year.

Well played Barcelona...You deserved it but the Red Devil's will be back next year to fight you guys for the ultimate prize in Europe once again.
Glory,glory Man United...

Manchester United vs Barcelona...UEFA Champions League Final 09...

What a match up!!! The two giants of world football meet up in a few hours from now, to fight for the greatest glory in club football all over Europe.
The way these two great teams have played this season, their match up tonight at Rome, hopefully will be one of the best in the history of the CL in the same lines as the famous Man Utd vs Bayern Munich epic battle at Nou camp in 1999 or the match up between AC Milan & Liverpool in 2005 which Liverpool won on penalties.

Hopefully tonight's match up surpasses all these matches and the rest of the final's in the long history of UEFA champions League and sets a new standard in terms of entertainment, drama and quality of both attaching and defensive football.

However, after having watched most of the UEFA CL finals since 1999 with either my friends, colleagues or dad, tonight's match seems to be first for me which I'll be watching alone at my college's dorm at 3 in the night.
The reason being nobody here @ AIM seems to follow football that much and the game of soccer is unheard of in these parts of the world (read Philippines).

I really don't care if Manchester Unitted scrap through to a win in this one or blast their opponents off the pitch today; the bottom line should be that they win their 4th Champions League crown at Rome and complete the quadruple for the season; another first for SAF.

I just hope that all this sacrifice of my sleeping and study time at a juncture in my life when both seem to be at a high premium pays off at the End of the game...

Exactly an hour to go for the game and I am feeling the butterflies in my stomach already...

Best of luck Manchester United.Please beat the crap out of Barcelona...

Cheers...

Week 1 of MBA (main) @ AIM in progress...

After 2 weeks of pre-MBA , I thought we might get some respite over the weekend before we embark on our journey of acquiring knowledge to become managers for the future.However after the festivities of Friday nite when the bunch of us went to have a nice,quite evening at Mall of Asia (MOA), the events which unfolded during the nite more or less ruined the weekend that was to follow.Not that I didn't enjoy myself at Hoopster's and then later at Pandi's Point along with Akshel,Aseem,Nash,Harsh & Emile; however the festivities went so late into the nite that it ate into my day on Saturday.However, I couldn't have asked for a better way to unwind after a gruesome week in pre-MBA.

Another development which has taken place in the last few days is the formation of our "CAN group"...A kind of study group which will be part of my life @ AIM for the next 8 months.
Well my group consists of Dr. Preeti (our CP), Mukul ( a really chilled guy),Vivek G.(experience hand at work), Emile ( the wizard as I like to call him since he is awesome with presentations and analytical thinking) & last but not the least Mikko(Our own financial & accounting wizard).
I am quite satisfied with my CAN group (No. 8), and am looking forward to the next few terms where our collective effort will define how we perform individually in this highly competitive & demanding MBA course @ AIM.

p.s: I don't understand the fuss everyone is creating about the lack of time or the high tension & anxiety everyone in my batch is facing already.:) :) :).I guess my time still has to come...

Week 1of (pre-MBA) @ AIM...Barely survived...

Week 1 started on 11th May'09, with my first blush with a subject known as "Language of Business" or LOB for short.As I have progressed along the week, it seems more and more certain that my survival in this fiercest of college (AIM) in terms of happiness and peace of mind depends on my grasp and comfort level in this subject.
Our Professor (Hilario Tan), one of the best I have encountered till date in my short and sweet educational career has sent the shiver wave across the batch about the perils of not understanding LOB.

Next comes Economics in our pre-MBA course of 2 weeks.Our prof in economics Mr. Federico M. Macaranas is one of the most remarkable man I have met in my life yet.His insight and understanding of economics is par excellence and his way of teaching has really changed my outlook towards economics completely.The way he provides real life examples for different concepts in economics is quite remarkable.I just wonder what would have happened if my professors back home in India, were half as good as the ones here in AIM.

The 3rd and the last subject to be undertaken in the pre-MBA course is the QA, one of the few subjects I have had a prior idea about before I joined up this course.Our professor for this subject is also our program director going by the name Wilfred S. Jr. Manuela, PhD.A relative young man and one of the most friendliest professors of this college.

Well this entire week has gone within a blink of a eyesight.The daily time table has started with lectures early in the morning at 8 am till afternoon 3.30 - 4 pm. A short nap of 45-50 mins followed by self study and reading for the next day.The night ends around 4 a.m in the morning,after having spend the entire night figuring out why I have invested close to 15 lakhs for all this hardship and tension.The only saving grace in my opinion is that once and if I survive these grueling 16 months in AIM, I am sure to come out of here, a better man in every respect of the way.

Well I am off for the Friday festivities. A beer pub has been organized for us, Student of MBA cohort 4.The first official get together of our group.

Cheers...

P.S:- Have to crack LOB over the weekend + I believe the Ambani's should not pay any player in the MI team for this year's IPL. How can you loose the plot when one needs 5 runs off 7 balls with 4 wickets in hand and ends up being all out with a ball to spare losing by 3 runs.(APPALLING)

Manila Here I Am...

So finally after 25 yrs and 6 months, I finally got the chance to realize the pleasure of traveling to a foreign country.On 6th May'09 I bid adieu to my folks in India and embarked on a new journey in the pursuit of enlightenment (read a MBA degree).
So a night after I saw Manchester United butcher the Arsenal defense in the 2nd leg of the UCL semi-final at the Emirates, I was on my way to the airport and within 16 hrs was in another country.
My first impression of Manila and that of my college i.e AIM was WOW...Where the hell have I landed...This place is beautiful.
The first thing that strikes anyone who visit's this country for the first time is the smile on the faces of the Filipinos.The people of this country are extremely friendly and always with a smile on their face.
The malls are huge, bigger than any I have seen or imagined back in India.
The college is awesome & the first few days have gone down with me going of to sleep as the sun rises,having no idea what time it is...
As the first official day @ AIM comes to an end at 2.39 am (now), I am still lagging behind the schedule and work left for tomorrow morning's lecture which actually occurs in the next 6 hrs.
Anyways updates about the weekend and the first day is still to come...Hope I get the time within the next few days.
Cheers...