definitely the curtains now ! check out PLAN B

flipside

i just feel like stepping aside and watch life go by. no, seriously i do. observe, not participate. ever felt that way? i do now. why ? i dont know. reminds me of something i came across a few years ago - All world is a play and i am merely an extra. like a substitute. on the bench. waiting. not to play but for it to end so that i wouldnt have to. life goes on, they say. i'd like to believe i can make a difference. but then i am one of those dreamer types u come across once in a while. right now i want to be on some space station watching the earth. watching life ...

bigtime reunion

everytime i come back i try to get in touch with old friends. have nuthin better to do anyway. so had bin to bangalore last weekend. was helluva reunion. met people i hadnt seen for years. most of 'em working for some IT company or other. catching up on old times never bin so good. had so much fun, am going back again. had a party with my college friends on sat'day night. one of my friends took me to his company the next day. met his colleagues. nice ppl. ended up with an offer to work with them (so the next time i feel sea sick i know where to go).
am back in chennai now attending the prep course but mostly do the sudoku or try the crossword during class. all other times, i am jus dreamin. its so good to be in love ...

motley crew

i am doing good. enjoying the company of fellow mariners at the prep course. but this time, its a little different. all of us have a decent work ex. so the average IQ of the group has shot up. its scary, the kinda knowledge and exposure some guys have had. sometimes during discussions, all i can contribute is a very embarassing "duh" or just pretend to know / understand what the other guy is talking about. during lectures, when i am bored, i just look around and observe guys. there is a guy who does the hindu crossword everyday - manages to get around 90 % of them right. there's an ex race car driver. cool chap, but busy with family commitments most of the time. he took me to a car race one weekend. had a great time. there are guys who just couldnt care less about the prep course. they only come to have a good time. and there are those who are glued onto every word the lecturer utters. i try not to be judgemental. i enjoy their company. thats what matters.

M to the rescue

ah yes, i know, a lot of stuff pending. havent been that busy. just that the nearest comp is a few hundred metres away. considering my sluggish dynamics, thats quite a distance. the mind boggles at such a thought. so what am i doing these days ? well, i am catching up on Marilyn's movies. she's another lady i am crazy about. my heart skips a beat everytime she says "thank you ever so". Too bad i cant say, she's just left the building or some such rot. anyway, havin a gala time.

back on solid ground

... almost thought it was the curtains
had thought i'd do it no more
had temporarily lost interest or was it writer's block

well, anyway i am back after a long spell of sailing.
all that time i spent at sea, i almost thought i could never write anything anymore. still fear it
am in the market for a muse. just the right kind to get those creative juices flowing. and if the muse looks something like this -- a white t-shirt with a black jacket, white & yellow floral skirt - uneven hems, brown boots, the most amazing eyes -- then a lot more than just creative juices, will flow !!!
excuse me, gotta go check that babe !

the homecoming

at last i am home
signed off at Fos, France. Marseille to Mumbai via Paris. hey, guess what, Charles De Gaule airport isnt as impressive as i had expected, old fashioned and probably needs a paint job. but its big. we had to move around a lot for our connecting flight. picked up chocs and a model of the Eiffel tower on the way. i tried but couldnt sight the real thing. and as usual, spent the time watching in-flight movies and reruns of popular sitcoms.
its rainin here and bloody humid. ( gosh, when will i stop complainin' )
anyway, my mom ( obviously misguided by some sadistic star-gazer ) has hung about the house those ... those contraptions that make a tinkling noise when u hit them ... feng shui stuff ... well i cant move about the house without bumping my head into one of those blasted sound systems. god, do i need a hard hat at home too ( i have to wear one at work, u see )
just when u think, u want to come home to place where u can rest ur nerves, recharge ur batteries, load up on the juice, the opposite happens ( that bloody Murphy )

i did it

I did it, man ... finally ... i mean, it had to happen ... i mean, not that i was desperate or anything ... like, why am i even trying to justify ... i bet u would have, if u were here ! people who know me are probably sayin " u 2 balls " i am not sure i understand ur sentiments ...

There were four of us. 2nd mate, 3rd mate, electrical officer and me. I had never done it before and wasnt quite into this group thing either. so u can imagine me being just a shade uncomfy. well, what was i thinkin anyway. too many Bond movies - was that the reason? i dont know. i guess, sometimes u do things just cos u dont wanna be left out. i mean, we guys have lotsa fun when we're together. seemed like the "supercool thing to do" for the day. It all started when we went back to Russia. To my colleagues it was the obvious thing to do. They do it all the time. "we're in Russia, man". yeah right !
I had to fight off the temptation. I refused then, but it was all i could think of, the next few days. we were anchored at Milazzo, a small Sicilian city, waiting to discharge our cargo.
6:30 pm local time. electrical officer's cabin.
Vodka Martini. I had never had it before, but sure knew what went into one. 2nd mate poured me a glass of vodka ( they probably saved a bottle from russia ) and added some coke. That drink was nowhere close to a Martini, whether shaken or stirred. End result : i was having coke that tasted sour. 2nd round i refused the coke. Ah, yes "neat". thats what they called it.
3rd round minus me. dint think it was such a big deal. gonna stick to wine. so with a new title of "boozer of the day" i went down to the lounge to do what i do best - watch TV.
u know, one of my colleagues, he only drinks tea. he is a tea-totaller.
hey man, i am almost getting sea sick. really, i am getting sick of staying at sea for so long. waiting for my sign off.
cheerio.
balls.

hakunamatata

Hakunamatata - it means no worries. i wonder whats the opposite cos that would apply to me. man, i dont wanna seem to be cribbin all the time, but this is for real. i am desperately trying to sign off from this ship. its bin too long yaar.
*flashback*
[ brisbane - brunei - mumbai - russia - uruguay - nigeria - france ]
*the present*
i am in a small town called FOS on the southern coast of France, not too far from Marseille. guess what, this small little sleepy town is net savvy. so here i am.
not that life on this ship is bad. just that i badly need a break. ran outta juice. desperately seeking land.
had i know morse code i'd have sent out an SMS [ save my soul ]. too bad huh.
but hey, i am catching up on the olympics. we got a satellite tv system. can tune into any satellite above us. cool na. this is the only thing that keeps me going. enjoyed the euro cup too.
hey folks gotta rush, my colleagues aint gonna be happy abt me causing a delay.

down under

bin a long time i know. well, i shall fill u in.
its a long story. shorter version follows. singapore - persian gulf - chennai - persian gulf - brisbane !!!
how does that sound. couldnt make it any shorter mate. AUSTRALIA IS AWESOME. brisbane is a wonderful little city. we are here on charter with British petroleum. what luck. i met my brother who is in gold coast (an hour away from brisbane), he is studying masters in financial accounting down here. had a good time. he visited my ship, had a great time.
excuse me, but i dont wanna waste my precious little time in front of the comp. i am movin tomorrow to brunei and then onto mumbai. so i reckon, i will be online again in a months time. so go on say "goodonya mate" cos i filled in a few words.
cheerio.

naming ceremony

yoohoo. our ship's naming ceremony was really tops. everybody dressed up in full blues. a little bit of trivia : though our uniform is called blues, its actually black - trousers, blazer, tie. the blazer has the decoration of our rank at the cuffs. everybody looked just fab. u gotta wait for the pics cos am boarding ship tomorrow. will post it later. the director of my company flew in for the ceremony. after the initial formalities, we had the coconut breaking ceremony. the koreans were confused. they dint understand why we wanted to do this. the director explained the significance of offering prayers and breaking coconuts. we went on board to the fo'c'sle (thats short for forecastle deck, pronounced "foxil", its the raised quarter deck right in the fore end of the ship) then the director and the top guns of my ship each had a go at it (plenty of top guns on board, but i am the only hotshot!). the director decided to explain once again the funda behind breaking coconuts. later on, the director had a guided tour of the ship. then off we went to Admiral Hotel, best in town, which had earlier catered to us during the sea trial, for the luncheon party. wonderful hotel. delicious food. what do you think the director talked about during the lunch. coconuts, ofcourse.
take a look at the menu (six course luncheon)
**
smoked salmon w/ mustard sauce [ Wine : White, Chardonnay, Prahova valley ]
**
minestrone soup
**
fresh fruit salad in season
**
king prawn and roasted halibut w/ saffron sauce [ Wine: Red, Chardonnay, Prahova valley ]
fried rice, baby corn, cherry tomato, chung kyung che (dont ask me what that was)
**
apple pie
**
coffee / tea
**

Impressed. i should think so.
well, anyway, i am afraid i wont be able to blog as often as i would like to. sailing out on 18th. next stop Singapore. estimated time of arrival -- 26th morning. am also trying to get a blogger pro account so that i can mail in my blogs. will take time i guess.
tomorrow we have an oil major survey. Royal Dutch Shell's officials will be inspecting the ship and will endorse our ship for trading at Shell's terminals. and the next day, we are expecting people from British Petroleum and Somar Elf. we are kinda busy preparing. while the top management people are discussing what to do for the survey, we junior officers are discussing what to do with the helipad. cricket is an option. my company though indian hasnt provided a bat or a ball. what a shame, my colleagues feel, cos in India cricket is a religion. i prefer tennis. yeah, there are times when i was hooked onto xtreme sports / activities. almost went for a bungee jump while in mumbai. chickened out actually cos i saw one of those "world's most amazing videos", where the bungee cord breaks and the poor chap ends up covered in plaster of paris.
whats on my mind now ? wanna go to new zealand and try out Zorbing on the mountains. thanks to lord of the rings trilogy, we had a 'ring-side' view of the amazingly beautiful countryside.
well, so long then.

a quickie

thats it.
we're going onboard tomorrow. we have a few oil major surveys for two days and finally we sail out on 18th.
oops gotta go. will post details this evening. going out for chow-chow. japanese food this time.

i am a believer

" ... then i saw her face
now i'm a believer
there's not a trace
of doubt in my mind ... "

is there anyone who doesnt believe in love at first sight. ( hey, who's the smartass who said 'the blind ones' ) i certainly do. thats what happened ...
it all started after my sea trial
just finished the sea trial of my ship. the ship's official delivery date has been postponed to feb 17 and the naming ceremony is on the 12th. this ship will be called M.T. DESH SHAKTI. now what would u expect from an indian company. the sea trial went well. ship could float. the food was good (catering was taken up by a wonderful hotel). the machineries performed well initially. the food was a mixture of korean and western cuisine. and then the problems started. the food was good though. one by one, the machineries were found to be lacking in specifications for optimum performance. loved the creamy dessert. they made me work almost 14 hours a day. i gave the chef a compliment. it was tough working after a break of 10 months. did i mention the food was good.
well, screw the sea trial, on to more important stuff ...
am now back in my hotel. korea is still cold. temperatures still in negative. occasional snow showers. if aamir khan were to be here, he'd say "thanda matlab ko ko korea". still u cant stay in all the time. sure went out to the nearby supermarket. thats where i saw her. absolutely stunning. i had never seen anyone so beautiful in a very long time. she was an indian. occasionally i bump into someone indian on the roads. but never someone so amazing. i cant remember what i did after i saw her. could feel the heart beat faster. could feel a fuckin lump in my throat. why does that happen. it took me a while. the words ringing in my head " ... you are just so good to be true, cant take my eyes off you ... " . u know, i am like that. i dont know why but most of the times i like to just admire from a distance. why am i scared. what am i scared abt. denial. maybe. had to do something abt it. thought i'd at least give her a compliment. just one problem. what do i do abt her husband and the kid in her arms.
oh man, this was just so difficult. but i wanted so badly to talk to her. at least i tried. walked up to them. as she saw me coming, there was this instant smile ( it killed me ) that lasted the whole time. said hi. they were also happy to see another indian. the husband spoke, said he worked for the daewoo shipyard. she just smiled. ( oh please say something, anything at all ) no such luck. the man started moving as we spoke. i can take a hint. i dint expect him to be happy abt meeting me. though i was talking to him, my eyes were on her. she kept smiling. how come a woman like her got married to a lousy guy like him. i was feeling jealous at the same time. they moved on. before she got into her car, she turned to look in my direction, the smile intact ...
is that a sign. i think she liked me. i want to believe that. oh so desperately. oh man, she's been haunting me all day. do u think i should go to the supermarket today. she might drop in again.
( sigh )
( deeper sigh)
( even deeper sigh )

korean odyssey

hi there, balls here, alive and ... freezin'
its minus 15 degrees here in okpo town of south korea. i am like covered from head to toe in all of the warm clothing i have. its a first for me. never bin to any place this cold. oooh.
well, i landed at the seoul airport and couldnt get a booking for a flight to jinju which is near okpo. so, guess what, we drove all the way. 10 hour drive. it was wonderful, the countryside i mean, beautiful mountains, snow covered. experienced my first ever snowfall. absolutely awesome. we got out of the car once and i opened my mouth and tried to catch some snow. did to. it was cool. pity, my colleagues and my agents were not interested in a snow ball fight. spoil sports, all of 'em. the drive was good. my company's agents had arranged for the car, a Hyundai 4x4. sexy car man. we seldom went below 100miles/hr. inspite of the deadly traffic on the korean freeway, we made it in good time. am not aware of any previous records but i know we were somewhere in the top. the freeway had traffic because of the Lunar New Year's exodus. everybody embarked on their homecoming exodus a day before SOLLAL or the Lunar new year. allow me to explain. the lunar new year holiday period is from sept. 22 to 25, sept. according to lunar calender which is sometime in jan. ( i will check up on this funda and post it later ) so lotta people left the capital city area and moved south to wherever they lived. the festival actually begins with everyone offering their prayers to their ancestors. then the younger generation gets the blessings of the older (money involved, i heard. my hotel manager doesnt like the idea cos now that he's older he has to give money to his children, not a healthy thing, he feels) followed by plenty of eating. reminds me, i am yet to try the traditional korean food, which my colleagues dint like. korean food, not a craze among indians. heard that, 90% of korean food does not make use of oil. how abt that.
korea is among one of the advanced countries and it takes pride in its tradition and cultural heritage, not unlike us indians. korean people are very polite, courteous i mean, kind, generous and u will find them to display a genuine concern for u. i am having lotta trouble cos not many speak english and my childhood experiences with dumb charades has come in handy. made quite a lotta friends, cant tell u how many, since they all look the same and i am not sure if i introduced myself to the same person more than once.
visited the Daewoo ship yard, where my ship is. i deem it an honour to take delivery of the ship on behalf of my company. feel bloody lucky. brand new ship. like a virgin, if i might add.
i am gonna go easy on her. was on her for a few hours only. felt so good.
well, going for the trial run on 27th, for abt a week and then back to the yard. the official delivery date is feb 14th. on st. valentine's day. i wonder if that is a sign ...

that sinkin' feeling

got that sinkin' feeling again.
am supposed to join a ship from korea next week. this one also is built to carry crude oil. dont know its route yet. actually its a brand new ship. am going to korea to take delivery of the ship. right now its under construction at Daewoo shipyard in south korea. will be out of the dock by mid feb. i hope it can float. got a queer sense of anxiety. quite like the expectant father pacing outside the labour room, waitin for his wife to give birth. ( sherl, i think u would understand how i feel, good luck with ur baby). i am waiting too, for the 'water to break'. the past few months on land have been wonderful. surely gonna miss the life on land. life at sea (minus the work) is also wonderful. at times i feel that there is nothing more magnificient than a ship at sea. it all comes down to grass on the other side which is a lot more greener because its astro-turf (wow! cant believe i said that) or in my case water on the other side. that reminds me, when u stand on the port side (left) of the ship all u can see is water. when u stand on the starboard side (right) of the ship again all u see is water. gives u a strange sense of deja vu. i call it deja view. is my life easier cos both sides are the same - nope. the complication tends towards infinity.
well anyway, i hear this ship has got state of the art communication system, (everything is via satellite). good news is the ship would have an email account. will post it as soon i learn about it, so that u can keep in touch. but hey, dont send forwards, pornographic images or love letters cos its a common account for everyone on the ship and hence zero privacy. of course, dirty stuff can be sent provided they are in encrypted form. send me the code first. i hope they have a violin on board. yup, i am in love with the voilin these days. u would too, if u listen to western classicals. happens yaar, u know, while i was following rock music, i was hooked onto the guitar, the g-string to be specific. but now its just 'fiddling' with the violin. pity dont have the time for these things. envy u people on land. a little spot of warning if u are interested in learning how to play the violin. u better learn it well before any public performances cos if the public gets angry things can get really dicey. look what happened to julius caesar. poor chap was fiddling when brutus stabbed him in the back. er ... i have a faint recollection of something burning in the background, just cant put my finger on it. anyway, bugger had the time to say " u 2 brute? " before he died. i wonder if he was asking brutus whether he was also using the same deodorant "brut". cant say. these romans are crazy.
my dear friends, if u have any final words of wisdom before i join the ship kindly let me know. u can mail me at u2balaji@yahoo.com
got that sinkin' feeling again.
balls.


=====
Stop the world -- I want to get off !

=====

Behind every fortune, there is a crime.
Behind every crime, there is a Fortune 500 company.

FAQ-ME

hi there, balls here, alive and hangin'
hey guys 'n gals, am gonna start a new section called FAQ-ME
u know, whenever i meet someone who is a non-sailor, one of the
questions the person asks me is abt knots & nautical miles, thought i'd post the info, thus we have FAQ-ME (frequently asked questions on marine engineering ) a nautical mile is the unit of distance over sea.
one nautical mile equals 1852 metres. the funda is like this, 1852 metres is the distance between two longitudinal minute lines measured at the equator ( minute as in the subdivisional unit of degrees, 60 minutes equal a degree ) so when u multiply 360 degrees x 60 minutes x 1852 metres u will get the circumference of the equator.
a knot is the unit of speed. one knot equals one nautical mile per
hour.
hmmm ... so whenever in doubt, just FAQ-ME. i will try to use my
resources and mail the info.
cheerio.
balls.

p.s. : oh, by the way, i cleared my exams. i am a 4th engineer now !

=====
In the adult version of Snow White ...
the wicked queen says " Mirror Mirror on the ceiling ... "

Moving out

hi there, balls here ... ( uh, u know the rest!)
i will be shifting base to mumbai next week. the prep course i am on is nearing the end. it was informative and fun.
ok, trivia for the day :
what do you get if u put 23 sailors in one room ?
seamen, lotsa seamen !
not to mention a very colourful vocabulary. had quite a few interesting characters, like Mr. D. buggerkeeps asking doubts. A conversation with him would start with a question, end with a question with lots of questions in between. if he was a cross dresser, we would have called him Mrs.Doubtfire. Sometimes, the questions are brilliant, makes u wonder, how a brain like his could come up with such a thing; and sometimes they are too fuckin' silly, again makes u wonder, how anybody with a brain at all, could come up with such a thing. Then there was this sardar. if u ask him where he's from, he'd start "actually, i ..." and give u all the places in north india where he'd resided and then finish with " am from patiala in punjab in india." our paaji was in love with a soni kudi but the kudi seems to have said ta ta bye bye to paaji and got herself engaged to another sardar, also from patiala in punjab in india. never a dull moment in the class.
well, i am stayin at J.Lo's ( not the latino babe but Jayanthi Lodge). its pretty near Parrys bus stand, a few minutes of jay-walking ought to bring u to J.Lo's. Recently, J.Lo. had an erection (ok, so whats this, Ripley's believe it or not ? ) nay, those people from Hutch erected their tower. so its easy to spot the building, sticks out like a sore dick. no point coming on weekdays, i'd be away, busy with the prep course. no point coming on weekends, i am usually away with my sailor friends. any other day, u r most welcome.
cheerio.
balls.

=====
p.s. : I must stop writing post scripts

heartbreak

hi there, balls here, alive and kinda heart broken

the other day i was hangin' around cochin. thought i'll buy a collection of short stories. i found this little library and stepped in. there was this cute girl who was asking the librarian's opinion. she couldnt decide between Sidney sheldon's Tell me your dreams and John grisham's The Brethren. wanting to help her out, i asked her to pick the John grisham book, told her that Tell me your dreams was a bad case of multiple personality disorder and if at all she was interested in MPD, she could try Primal fear by william diehl. she almost let out a scream, said "u dint have to tell me that". oh man, did i feel clumsy or what. only wanted to help her. dint realise i let out the storyline of not one but two books that she hadnt read. kept apologising till the scene got pretty lousy. we decided to step out. we got talking. told me her name was ishika. "you can call me ish" she said. reminded me of apna aishwarya who says "iisshhh" very often in the movie devdas. we talked about this and that, then got back to this [ i wonder if that proves the world goes round, food for thought, eh ? ] anyway, she told me sheldon was her favourite author, which got me apologising again. was glad when the conversation shifted to Ronaldo's haircut and why Beckham dint bend it this time. was getting to like her actually. earlier on, i had come across a coffee pub. thought i'll ask her out. i was just going to, when it fuckin' started raining.
damn, i dint even see it coming. Rain stopped play. she quickly said goodbye, got into an auto parked near us and left. iisshh ...
moral of the story : make hay while the sun shines. maybe i wasted too much time talking about football. Everybody was plotting against me -- first the rain gods and then the auto driver who seemed to me some kindof designated chauffeur, waiting to take her away. felt like Yossarian of Catch - 22. now, dont tell me there are plenty of fish in the sea, i should know that better, eh, am spending so much time at sea.
well, am now in chennai. yeah right. still on the indian coast. work apart, things are cool on board. moving to vizag tomorrow.
will keep in touch.
balls.

=====
Behind every dead sailor, you'll find a woman who had pushed him
overboard !

discovery channel

hi there, balls here, alive and hangin'

This is a sequel to my previous mail. I didn't want to feature in this,
but like the nymphomaniac screamed, i had to "come again".

last time u were watching BBC. this time u are watching the Discovery Channel. I made 2 startling discoveries.

Discovery No. 1 :
last weekend, my bro was sick and went to see a doctor. The doctor couldn't find out what exactly he was suffering from. He asked my bro,"Have u had this before ?" my bro replied yes. the doctor said," well u have got it again,". And so the diagnosis being complete, he was hospitalised for 4 days. while i was there, i could lay my hands on a stethescope. i put it on and tried to hear my heart beat. no luck. i checked all over my chest, still no sound. i even have a faint recollection of checking much lower, around my stomach. that reminds me, i am kinda hungry. i'll go grab some grub. don't go anywhere.
( i have said this before and i will say it again : scroll down )














hi, i am back. like i was sayin', i just couldn't hear my heart beat. it got me worried, it got me thinkin'. maybe i didn't have a heart. maybe i didn't belong to earth. maybe i was one of those so called "intelligent life forms" from outer space. but then, since i have contacted earth, i couldn't be very intelligent, could i? later i found out from the nurse that the stethescope was broken. so whats discovery no. 1, you might wonder. No, we still haven't found out why my bro was hospitalised and i still don't know if i have a heart. that leaves just one thing.
discovery no. 1 was that the steth had no scope at all.

Discovery no. 2 :
This discovery is much more startling. mind boggling, if u know what i mean, although it has nothing to do with the mind, more to do with the arsehole. I had suspected it all along, but confirmed it only recently. There's plenty of homosexuality on board merchant marine ships. Ten Thousand Thundering Typhoons !! i never thought my career at sea would turn out to be a big "pain in the ass". gotta be careful about leaving my rear exposed. maybe i'll wear my cap the other way round. that might confuse any funny guy with even funnier ideas. still its no laughing
matter.

Join the navy, they said.
Its a man's life, they said.
Man's life indeed.

Life don't sucketh no more. ( we got seamen to do that)
seamen ??? Too many coincidences !!

God save Balls. ( Any resemblance to any country's national anthem is purely intentional. also its kinda funny, cos i ain't religious. i guess i'll have to save my balls myself. So help me God )

luv ya.
balls.

p.s. : after i move to mumbai, i doubt i will be on the Net much. so i guess my mails r gonna get shorter. u can call them my shortcomings.

Balls Banega Crorepati

You ain't heard nuthin' yet, folks. Listen to this.

This is the STAR TV network and you are watching BBC,
that is, Balls Banega Crorepati, the game show with a
difference. You play the game, but Balls gets to win
the money. Ain't it cool.

The rules are simple. You will be asked a question,
given 4 choices -- one is correct, 3 are incorrect.

Million Dollar Question:

Balls attended an interview and medical. What happened
next.

1. Balls got recruited.

2. Balls thought the HR guy looked like a fish. You
can always hear Balls think. HR guy did. Got chucked
out, alright.

3. The HR guy made an indecent proposal. The rest, as
they say, is disgusting.

4. (censored)

5. ( tee hee hee, this is just to confuse u ) All the
above.

You don't have any lifelines. The previous contestant
exhausted your share of lifelines too. So there. Take
your pick.

U say : Choice (1) Balls got recruited.

I say : Are you sure?

U say : Yes.

I say : Confident?

U say : Yes.

I say : Tho lock kiya jaaye?

U say : Yes.

I say : Computerji, Choice (1) ko lock kiya jaaye.

After 5.678 seconds of theatrics,

I say : Hum lenge chhota sa break. we'll be right
back.

( In other words, scroll down )
















Choice (1) is correct answer. Balls got recruited.

CONGRATULATIONS. You now owe Balls a million dollars.

Wiser Counsel ( a juicy kick on the butt ) having
prevailed, Balls has decided to release you from the
debt and is also shelling out some moolah.

To get your prize money mail Balls. Of course, there
is a catch. Oh Yeah !! the Catch 22. All you gotta do
is complete the slogan " I love Balls because ... " in
not more than 20,000 words and mail it to
u2balaji@yahoo.com

Okay. Jokes apart.
I am very happy to announce ( jeez, that reminds me of
my school Princi ) that I got recruited by Shipping
Corporation of India. My training begins November 1st
in Mumbai. I will be trained for a year and later put
on a Ship. To be a Sailor was the only thing I have
ever wanted Truli, Madli, Deepli. Xcuse my spellink
misstakes, cos I am like really happy, I am jumpin' up
and down and You can jolly well imagine how dashed
difficult it is to jump up and down and type a mail at
the same time.