Come to think of it...it took me a while to figure out how to post a new post. Just makes me realise how busy life has become and the million things I always have on my mind, which hardly leaves time for things that bring a bit of peace. Isn't it a deadlock ? You need a mind at peace to do things that you enjoy, but you would get a peaceful mind only if you did the things that you enjoy. I guess I need to figure out a way to break the deadlock and bring in some sense of balance.

Lets see how the balancing act goes. If you see a bit more frequent posts here, then I am doing good, otherwise, I am still working on it :)

Relationships

An interesting quote on Relationships(picked up from Deep bhai's status message):

Relationships are like glass.Sometimes it is better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together

Bungy Jumping/Extreme Swing@Singapore

As I start packing my bags, this was one major things pending on my list of things to do within Singapore: GMAX and GX5.
GMAX and GX5 are adventure rides that are hosted next to the Singapore River in Clarke Quay.
I had gone for the rides with Niraj and at the end of the day we both agreed that it was more than we had signed for this past weekend. We took the combo that gave us a shot at both rides for $60(+$15 for DVD of GMax). Both the rides were awesome and the unpredictable nature mixed with the adrenaline rush felt left an absolutely thrilling experience. Our first ride was GMAX-The Ultimate Bungy. Think of GMAX as a giant slingshot( or catapult) where the projectile is a cage(with you in it). And you are released up into the sky at speeds of up to 200kmph. You oscillate for a while up and down, finally returning to base. The build up to the point of release itself was quite a nerve wrecker. All of a sudden you realise you have been thrown up into the sky ! But the most thrilling part was when the cage came back facing down every time it reached the top peak. You would see yourself free falling to the ground below. Even though you are securely tied to the cage you can't help but fear for the worst or, as was the case with us, laugh and shout and let the entire world know you are up there.
The 2nd adventure ride was GX-5 Extreme Swing. Think of GX5 as a giant swing that pulls you up to a height of around 40m and then released and you swing in your cage over the Singapore river. The most frightening part here was when you were pulled up to the height to be released. You could see the height you are reaching. We had 2 Nigerian on the ride with us and we all were uttering nervous comments as we reached the top. Everyone uttered "we shouldn't have done this" at least once :p And then, the release lever was pulled. And Bang ! Fly away ! We were going to the moon! But once released, it wasn't that frightening:it was fun ! We screamed , shouted, laughed, called out and waved to the onlookers as we swung. We enjoyed every bit of it :)
Surely, it was an evening well spent, and a task less on the things I have to do before I go for that 'final' ride. :) If you are ever in Singapore, don't miss it(assuming you are as adventurous as I am).

Here's a 'reality' video of how we reacted on the ride...go to the GMAX official site(links below) for a view of what it looks from ground up.

GX5 : http://www.gmax.co.nz/index.php/pi_pageid/25
GMAX-The Ultimate Bungy: http://www.gmax.co.nz/

Singapore Idol Auditions

I had been to Cathay today(Saturday 6th June) to checkout the Singapore Idol auditions. And people were crazy ! People had been queuing up from previous evening itself. I can say that because I had been to Cathay on Friday night to watch "State of Play" and the already half filled queue did surprise me. Most of the contestants were college students who had come with bottles of water, umbrellas, guitars, and a group of friends to give company. They had sleeping bags, bedsheets etc to survive through the night. They didn't want to miss their spot in the queue. I was reminded of the November 2006 when Santy, Dada(Amitabho) and me camped in the Best Buy parking lot queued through the night for the Black Friday sale that was to start next morning. Only, I was chasing some deals then, and these fellows here were chasing dreams. When I went back again on Saturday afternoon, the craze hadn't subsided and the queues were still filled up, spilling beyond the marked perimeters. The authorities extended the auditions by another day to accommodate everyone.

I was tempted to join the queue and sing a song(if you know my love for singing, you already know the song), but then I will be leaving next month and would not be able to compete through the finals. So with a heavy heart, I had to let it go. May be next time I will participate in Indian Idol :p

Susan Boyle :The Real Winner

Susan Boyle did not win Britain's Got Talent, but she is a winner, a winner who doesn't need a trophy to prove what she has won. 

Diversity were good, so were flawless and so were the other finalists. But I am not going to talk about the finals. I am not going to talk about Britain's Got Talent. I am just going to talk about Susan Boyle. 

I am 27 and I find myself old to pursue many of my dreams, many of the things that I would have wanted to do but I didn't, many things that I just gave up on thinking that I am probably too old for it, that people will laugh if they heard of me trying out these things. And I am sure I am not alone : there are thousands and millions out there who in some way or the other live a life that lets them fit in somewhere in the world that we live in. More often than not, we live a life that others have planned for us, that others approve of, rather than what we really wish to do. 

So what did Susan win? More than winning, its what she gave others: a hope, a hope that you are never too old to go out and pursue your dreams, a hope that no matter what the world thinks of you, you are what you want to be. As she stood on the stage during the auditions, pretty much everyone out there in the audience was laughing: a 48 years old lady who should be sitting home taking care of her choirs is out there on the stage thinking that she is talented. But she stood there. Even as everyone laughed, even as Simon asked questions that were pretty much aimed to break her down, even as the judges gave the expressions that clearly said that "What are you doing here?" , she stood there because she believed in herself, because she knew what she was doing there. And she sang. 

The choice of song was impeccable, for in a way it put onto everyone of us how the world shatters our dreams, how we kill so many of others dreams. The rendition was flawless: it hit the notes at the right places. 

When she had finished singing, she hadn't just given the performance of a lifetime and won millions of hearts, she has given hope to millions that its not over till you want it to be. You are what you want to be, you will be what you want to be, just don't give up. No matter how many times I listen to that song, it gives me the same feeling everytime. Everytime, I am almost on the verge of crying. And trust me: I haven't felt that way often in my life. 

So for me, irrespective of who won Britain's Got Talent, Susan Boyle will always be a winner because she has changed the way I think of life. My Life is going to be different from what it would have been because of Susan Boyle.

Terminator Salvation - Avoid it.

Watching the movie was like watching 4 fellows playing Unreal(or Quake), firing guns and ammo, killing each other, from beginning till the end. No story, just guns. This was perhaps the 1st movie of my life that gave me headache at the end of it. 

Each of the earlier terminator movies had a plot, a plot that was somewhat real. The 1st Terminator had Sarah Connor's story, the 2nd one was John's. The 3rd one was John's love story and while it wasn't as touching as the earlier two, it was still decent. But the 4th installment just screwed everything up. Well I guess the producers and Director and the script writers thought that the Terminator Movies are popular because of the blaring guns, the fire, and deaths. They couldn't have got it wrong more than that.  

Chritian Bale seemed confused as if thinking : "Dude I am Batman ! What am I doing here! And now that I am here, should I act funny and energetic as John Connor has been shown over the years, or should I be quite and reserve as Batman would be. Hell, I am Batman. Lets keep a low profile!"

I am sure there would be more terminator installments : one where they will show John sending his dad back to save his mom(T-I), another where John will send Arnie back to save his ass (T-II), another one where John will die and his girl will send Arnie to save both of then (T-III). And if all that the script writers have to offer for those installments is guns and bombs, they better stop writing those because I feel the audience is not gonna take another installment of this same crap that was served in T-IV. 

Somebody get James Cameron back on board, and if Arnie is in as well, it would surely be worth it. 

Otherwise, I probably will give those installments the same rating that I give Terminator Salvation. AVOID IT. If you can't then wait for the DVD and rent it. Its not worth spending 10 $ per head. 

My Next Phone

What’s my ideal phone like?

For a while now (which is over an year now), I have been planning to upgrade my phone to something newer, trendier and more useful. So what's delaying it? I want a (smart)phone, that would rid me of carrying any other electronic device on myself on a normal day. Here's what I think is critical for me:

1. The most basic need: It should be a phone. I should be able to make/receive calls :)
   
2. High Speed Internet support: 3G / HSDPA, so that I am 'always connected'.
   
3. Wi-Fi Support.
   
4. The phone should be usable as a modem as well in case I want to connect to the net.(I know that depends on the service provider too)
   
5. Bluetooth: for wireless talking and possibly attaching to the car stereo system
   
6. QWERTY keyboard: that's a must for me. I love the touch of 'real' keys.
   
7. (A)GPS: for finding my way when I am lost.
   
8. An expansion slot. A huge memory (think 8/16/32GB) will be a plus.
   
9. A good Camera (>3.2 mp with flash – vibration reduction desirable and so is zoom). Video recording support...I love taking pictures but don't want to carry around a camera all the time. Videos are a necessity too for capturing those 'once in a lifetime' moments.
   
10. A good screen resolution(pretty much everyone has this)
    
11. Exchange/pop/imap mail support. Office documents support. 
    
12. Support for playing videos in diff formats. Should support flash.
    
13. User Interface: Touchscreen for basic needs like dialing numbers, receiving calls, viewing pictures etc. Coverflow, multitouch is good but not a necessity.
    
14. Good Music Output with music output option(through FM transmitter, maybe )
    
15. Desirable: dual camera (video conferencing).
    
16. Replaceable battery.
    

I can add a few more, but I think this pretty much covers everything I am looking for (and that’s also pretty much the order in which I need it).
What's missing in today’s phone? A few things that come to my mind right away:

Apple iPhone: QWERTY/Bluetooth/Video/Camera resolution/expansion slot.

Sony XPERIA: RAM / Accelerometer / its Windows :( . Moreover, for some reason, I didn't find it very charming when I took it in my hands(although at one point of time, I was quite excited about it)

Blackberries: Camera/Music

Palm Pre: Closest to perfect : The best so far. I have used a Treo for 2 years, and I totally trust Palm products. However, the absence of expansion port is troubling given that I seem to exaust off memory pretty fast ( probably because of my love for pictures and videos). I will have to research a bit on the USB expansion option though.

Nokia N97: The challenger round the corner. So far, it appears to have everything I am looking for. Moreover its a Nokia, so quality should not be an issue(although Nokia isn't much present in the touchscreen world). Moreover, if it really has the FM transmitter that's being talked about, it's going to be awesome. :)


At this time, I think it will be wise for me to wait for N97. It may not be having the touch capabilities of iPhone, but as you would realize from my needs above, I need a phone that 'works' for me and not just looks good. Looks are passé.

N97: I am waiting for you.

Kayaking/MacRitchie/Bukit Timah Nature Reserve

Given that most of my plans go haywire at last moment, it was a momentous achievement for me when I finally set out for Bukit Timah today as per my plan for the weekend. However, after reaching the nature reserve, I realised that my understanding about things was slightly misplaced: I had assumed that Mac Ritchie reservoir was within Bukit Timah Nature Reserve, and while there was a trek route from the nature reserve to the reservoir, it was going to be a real long walk, almost 5 hours. I decided against going a trek that long all alone just in case something went wrong along the way. (maybe some other day). But I did spend a few minutes at the Bukit Timah Nature reserve. Its a huge natural rain forest area in the central part of Singapore. and figured out that there are a few short treks (about 30 mins to 90 mins duration) that can be undertaken within the Nature Reserve. There's one long trek that connects you to the MacRitchie Trek routes. Being a nature trek, these are going to be through the trees and so heat shouldn't really be a cause of concern (but rain can be). Its best to pack extra water and food (as needed) because there aren't any restaurants or 7/11s(chain of 24 hour convenience stores across Singapore) along the treks :) The restrooms are also at the Visitor Center itself. Maybe one of the coming days, I will go back to trek along a couple of those short treks.

Next, I took a bus to the MacRitchie Reservoir. MacRitchie Reservoir is a water reservoir built in late 1800s to cater to the fresh water need of Singapore. The

 forest around the reservoir was marked as reserve thereafter to serve as water catchment area. Today, the Reservoir serves as a picnic spot for families to getaway from the ho-hullah of the city. It also provides quite a few adventure opportunities for the daring ones in the form of treks and to some extent, kayaking.

Kayaking : well that brings us to themost interesting part of the day today :) So finally I got to do a bit of kayaking after having been planning for it for a long time. 

The boat cost me $15 for an hour (+$2 for the locker) which I felt was reasonable. There were boundaries defined for kayaking within the reservoir. There weren't may other ppl kayaking at the time when I rented the kayak. apart from me, there was a group of 8 high school kids, and a solo kayaker(who appeared to be an experienced kayaker). Being my first experience at Kayaking, I was skeptical if I will be able to kayak properly. But it turns out

 either I am a natural, or maybe kayaking is too too easy :) I tried to use the time to learn a few tricks of balancing and controlling the kayak and at the end of it, felt that it was quite a constructive effort. I kayaked around for a while but then the hot afternoon started taking its toll on me. I got out from the water and decided to call it a day. 

All in all, it was another constructive day for me, atleast by my "lazy" standards :) Some more pics are here below from the short trek and the park. 

   

    

Singapore Botanical Gardens

I had been to Singapore Botanical Gardens today. It's a huge garden that's a very popular hangout for families. With a lot of greenery and open space, it gives kids a lot of place to run around too! :) There are a couple of lakes and artificial waterfalls as well to add to the beauty of the garden. There's an open auditorium too where events are organised from time to time. But the best part of the Gardens is the "National Orchid Garden" 

National Orchid Garden has been developed as a separate sub-part of the Botanical Gardens that primarily has a large varities of Orchids. The garden has been very beautifully organised. There are a few fountains, sculptures etc that add to the beauty. There are some sections created within that highlight special kinds of Orchids: eg: the Coolhouse houses the orchids that grow in cool places.  The Mist house has the 'summary' of best orchids grown in the Orchid Garden. The ergonomics of the place are well designed to have seats/water fountains/restrooms etc within reach should you feel the need for one. There are many photo points that have been setup specifically so that visitors can get nice snaps clicked with the Orchids. 

I spent a couple of hours there and thoroughly enjoyed the time amongst the flowers, not to mention the opportunity this gave me to click another bunch of snaps :)

If you are ever in Singapore, keep the National Orchid Garden on your agenda for sure. Oh btw, there's an entry ticket of SGD 5. 

Next on the list is : Bukit Timah Nature Reserve. Let's see if I make it to the place tomorrow.