shopping spree.....

i am on a roll - shopping on the net! Beats going to the mall and trudging from one store to another. i bought 5 (yes, you heard me right) mp3 players - dainty, sleek - one casio exilim for baba (7.2 mp, 3x zoom - my current camera is a red casio exilim, his gift to me, 2mp but it is one hell of a great camera) and a nokia 7620 (or is it 7260?) phone (for my sister) off the net.

The weekend is going to be hectic - picnic on saturday, shopping on sunday and monday. We have a long weekend - thank god.

Work is killing. i have an emergency code turnover next friday. Wowie.

Do you know many pair of chromosomes a human cell has? i asked my colleagues and i got these answers - 22, 36, 64 and 2!!!! And if you are curious, of course, i got it right! Genetics was/is my favourite chapter in biology.

OK, i am going back to my coding. And hell, i am feeling so sleepy!!

did you know...

well, at least i didn't know till today - the maximum number of columns in Excel is 256. One of the juniors complained today that he ran out of columns in Excel! We thought he was joking - but we found out it was true. So many new things that we learn everyday.

i have been blogging every single day for a week now. Have nothing better to do, honey? You bet!

i am watching Frasier and coding in between. i have so much on my plate right now. And i am not even hungry!!

sore ass..

Cycled for about 8 Km after office. And more than my leg muscles, my ass is paining. i think i need one of those cycling shorts with gel-filled bottoms for my sensitive derriere!

The other night, at the dinner party, A told me i am disappearing. What?! ummm, maybe i should cut down on the physical activities. But maybe it would be fun to be invisible - i can think of so many sinfully wicked things to do!!

Work was a bit hectic today. S told me he overheard my manager telling people to assign urgent issues to me as i am quick to solve the problems. i honestly didn't know whether to feel flattered or feel like an idiot for increasing my own work load - my colleagues tell me i should be wise and take my own time to do the work assigned to me; but i just can't bring myself to rest without getting it off my back!! Maybe i should slow down....

We are planning for a picnic this saturday. It would be fun i guess - and god knows i deserve the best that life can offer!! For a person who does not believe in the concept of god, i do take his name too often! God is a nice word for me. Amen.

...touching lyrics...

After a long time i heard this song today -

hazarein rahein
moorke dekhi
kahin se koyi sada
na aaye

badi waafa se nibhaye tune
hamari thodi si bewafai

kahin kisi roz yun bhi hota
hamare halat tumhare hote
jo raat humne guzare mar ke
woh raat tumne gujare hote

tumhe yeh zid thi hum bulate
hume yeh umeed wo pukare
hai naam hotton pe aab bhi lekin
awaaz me par gaye darare

Pride and love never did mix!

the day that was....

Today has been an eventful day for me. OK, first the run.

i woke up at 7 in the morning - an event in itself! i peeped outside just to see how the world looks like that early!It was almost 8 by the time we reached the place. And we were amazed at the turn out. There was quite a crowd. We got our bibs and t-shirts, emptied our bladders and waited for the horn to sound. 1 hr 30 mins was our target. And i surprised myself by going on and on... Maybe my muscles were still groggy to protest, it being early morning and all that. In the practice run, i could never run for more than 5 minutes at a stretch. i think i walked for maybe just a km and ran the rest of the 9km! i think maybe i finished among the first 30 or so women. Will have to wait for them to put up the result. OK, the next target is the half marathon!

Was invited to dinner by the juniors. The food was OK. On the way back, S let me drive his car. It was quite late in the night and the roads were empty! Thank god for that. i got the speed upto around 50kph. It was fun. i am definitely going to drive after i go back. Maybe i should buy myself a car.

A good day. ummmmmm.....

salute the queen!!!

i did it! If my muscles were still willing, i would be doing cartwheels right now! i completed 10K in 1 hr, 21 minutes and 09 seconds!!!! i am so f******* proud of myself. Have to wait for the official result to see how well i fared but i know i was not the last!!!

Will write about it in detail later - for now, i want to soak in the tub and celebrate my victory! And today proved that will-power is all that matters. And baby, i have it - in abundance!! Hasta la vista.

in anticipation of tomorrow....

Running shoes - scrubbed clean, smelling nice
Clothes - neatly ironed
Camera - charged
Alarm - set for the unearthly hour of 7 in the morning..sigh
Energy drink - packed and ready to drink
Muscles - ready to stretch and zoom
Mind - filled with trepidation
All other organs - stapled in place

Tomorrow is the day - if only i can get up before the event starts! i am so excited - and hell, i am going to die trying to make it in less than 90 minutes! So here i come...zip..zap...zoom......

domestic violence...

This is a topic i have been meaning to write about for a long time but somehow, never got around to it. Do you know that Manipur is among the top ten States in India with the highest incidence of domestic violence against women?

Domestic violence occurs "when a family member, partner or ex-partner attempts to physically or psychologically dominate another". It could be physical violence (you know, a well aimed kick or a smack across the cheek or marital rape); it could be psychological like putting down someone, humiliating them in front of others, eroding their self respect till they come to believe they are no good.

In our society, we women have been taught from our childhood that our freedom is limited. As a child, i had "well-meaning" neighbours telling me girls should not whistle, should not do something so very unfeminine like climbing trees (and i am glad i learned how to whistle, how to climb trees - i still whistle and climb trees). So many dos and don'ts. "Good girls" don't laugh out loud. Good girls don't do this. Good girls don't do that..Shackled mind, shackled life. If you look around, you see them - wives, mothers, sisters, daughters - cowering in fear. Batterred.

Haven't we, at one point or the other, been a witness to this - a husband "punishing" his wife for disrespcting him, his family? Haven't we heard a man putting down his wife, belittling her? What is this all about? i think it is about control - the desire to control another human being. Maybe the men who indulge in this have low self esteem -they need to prove their "manhood" by lording over hapless women.

And why do women take it? Why don't they fight back? If you ask around, the most common answer is that they do it for their children, because they don't want them to be victims of a broken family. So they put up with whatever is meted out to them, all in the name of the "family peace". Some of them are financially dependent on their husbands and they don't have anyone to turn to. i guess it would be daunting to think of starting a new life when you don't have anything to fall back on. But then, even women who are financially independent put up with this. i know it is easy for me to say this, but god, i wish they would fight back for their dignity.

Surprisingly, accordingly to a study, about three out of five Indian women agrees thinks wife beating is justified! Talk about women being women's worst enemy.

And if you thought this was only prevalent in "third-world countries", you have another think coming. i saw this porgramme on one of the channels here about a women who was abused by her husband - an attractive women with a successful career...not the kind of victim you would envision. The husband even got their teenaged son to videotape him hitting her, calling her a slut. It was so painful to see her cowering, begging him.

i don't care if i have to live the rest of my life without a man, but if my guy were to raise his hand against me, god, i will be out of his life before he can say 'sorry'. i will be damned if i ever let myself be a victim of any man's ego building.

i think it is time we said 'enough', time to stop being silent witnesses. It is time we walk unfettered. God knows, we deserve it. There is no excuse for abuse.

And guys, hey, it is not manly to hit women, ever!

"Real men don't use violence"

i found the rhythm, baby..

At long last, the rhythm is with me. Hail the lord, i can run now! We went for the 10K practice after office - i know, we are such brave souls, 8 hours of office and we still had enough energy left to run!! And today, my organs stayed in their respective places and i ran for about 6K. Our ploy (?) is to run for 5 minutes, walk for 5 minutes - basically alternate between walking and running. We completed 10K in 1 hr 35 minutes today. Needless to say, i am brimming over with pride. Just two days away. And we will find out just how much will power we have. We have changed our goal from completing it to not being the last one to complete! Talk of ambition!

We will go for dosa after the run! It would be like the carrot at the end of the stick. i will run with thoughts of masala dosa, vegetable pakoras and lassi - i think that should be enough motivation to make me complete the run.

i had to get up at 8 for a meeting - who the hell schedules a meeting for 8 in the morning?! i managed to get up on time, logged in from bed and attended the meeting. Bleary eyes, tousled hair and my early-morning-still-asleep, wanne-be husky voice! The meeting lasted for 19 minutes! So i went back to sleep and got up at 9! And struted to office! i am a peacock (actually, a peahen! But are peahen vain?) with a laptop!! :)

i have been having ilish for 4 days straight! i love ilish - i can have ilish for breakfast, lunch, dinner and maybe midnight snack! Ilish - if i were a fish, i would love to be an ilish mach - silvery, tasty and with lots of bones to irk people!

i need to make my shopping list - shopping is so boring. i hate shopping. i would rather run 20k than go shopping.

good tidings on a monday..

As impossible as it sounds - i mean, how can mondays ever go well for me - i got this mail from my pm telling me my salary has been hiked! Of course, i was expecting it one of these days but hell, not on a monday. Ummm, until i get the hard copy i cannot make out anything - i don't even know exactly how much i earn now! But it does seem like a substantial increase. Good. A few more years and i should be done with this 9-6 existence.

Am i happy about it? i don't know - maybe my bank balance will grow fatter faster but what is there to it? i have a strange relation with money. i am never too worried about it, i hardly keep track of where it goes. i don't have a head for managing money, it seems. The only time i care about it is at the end of the financial year, when i need to submit my investments for tax rebate. That, apparently, is the only time i even bother about my financial well-being. i should become more money wise and start making some smart investments. But ultimately, does it matter at the end of it all? After all, it is only money.

the 10k saga...

i decided that i would break my sunday solitude and go for the 10k practice. We started off quite ok, but after 10 minutes, my stomach started paining. i thought maybe my heart had been displaced from its place and was maybe resting on my intestines or something! So we decided we would walk. And we did. It took us about 1 hr 45 minutes. At least, now we know we can complete the whole course even if we are the last to complete it. What relief!!

i decided i would like to practise driving and so i spent about 30 minutes driving round and round the parking lot. Was awfully delighted to get the speed over 20!! i think i would be a rash driver - the kind who would plow over people. Which explains why i want to drive trucks - the bigger the better! From where did i get all these sadistic traits? Must be some gene from a long forgotten black sheep of an ancestor that decided to pop up its head in me!

"Grow old along with me
the best is yet to be"
---Robert Browning

So true, so true. i still have so much more love in me left, i think..

i did a survey among my colleagues (which is one of my fave pastimes in office) how long they would like to live - my colleagues have gotten used to my crazy ways. And the answer was around 60-70. i think we are a generation wary of all the things old age is gonna bring with it - arthritis, heart problems, memory loss etc etc..i think i want to live upto 60. Till i still have my teeth and hair intact. And my libido too!! :)

orange and pineapple muffin

Muffin for a puffin (what does that mean???!). i baked muffins today. Orange and pineapple muffins. They turned out real good, as good as those ready-to-bake stuff they sell. i am confused now - should i become a chef/ranna massi or a candlemaker? Or just remain a bitchy SSE!

The muffin recipe (courtesy joyofbaking.com):

2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 large egg
1 cup melted unsalted butter
1 teaspoon orange zest
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup sour cream
1/2 lb crushed pineapple (drained)

Mix the flour and baking soda. Blend the butter, sugar till fluffy. Add the egg and blend again. Add the sour cream and orange zest. Add the flour and make sure it is well incorporated. Fold in the pineapple. Grease the muffin pan. i used butter.

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Fill the muffin cups. Do not fill it to the brim as the muffins would puff up.




Bake for about 20 minutes. You know it is done when a toothpick inserted into the muffin comes out clean. While the muffins are still warm, glaze it with orange glaze (mix 1/3 cup orange juice with 1/2 cup sugar). And presto, you have muffins for the puffins!!

bitchy friday...

The last two days have been bitchy to me. So i bitched right back. Thursday started off with someone from another group complaining i had not turned over the code that was due for friday! What the f***. i got real pissed off so i wrote a scathing mail saying they had no right to complain as long as i got everything done by friday. Hell, i have never missed a deadline ever. And everyone in my group supported me.

It was just not a good day for the group. We had so many "bad" incidents - it seemed like all the other groups were out to get us. A jinxed day. We were supposed to go for the 10K practice but we decided to forego it - you never know, with that kind of bad luck dogging us, i might have gotten run over by a bicycle and died! i came back home, watched Jeopardy, was delighted to get so many answers right. i was making candles and i got everything wrong. The mold sealer did not work and i had wax leading out from the molds. i just got so disgusted that i left everything halfway.

Wait, the day even got better. Somebody called me up to tell me one of the juniors was sick and could i go check on her? How could i have refused even though i was not too fond of her? So i rummaged through the medicines he had packed for me and went to play doctor. Stayed there till 11 in the night and i had not even eaten!

Today was no better. i released my code and was thinking i could search for some nice recipes. But wham, my lead told me i had to do an emergency fix and release it today! So i coded, tested and managed to wrap everything in about an hour. Boy, do i love myself!

i rewarded myself with a bitching session with the clients - we bitched about this new guy who has this attitude problem. He has a knack of doing just the wrong thing and putting his foot in his mouth. i am a real good one when it comes to bitching - i encourage people, keep the bitching going on--more like a bitching moderator.

We went to buy some stuffs from the asian store. And we met T-da just coming out. So we stood there and yakked on for about 2 hours-we bitched about that guy again, about other guys and went on and on. i am turning out to be an old hen. And inducing everyone else around me to be so...As i told S, hell, i am beginning to turn into a girl!!

waxy life...

Have been slogging my butt off to make the deadline. No books, no blogging. But i am off the hook now. Till the next deadline, that is. But hey, ain't complaining. i get paid for this. As long as the dough flows, baby, i am game for hard work.

i have turned to my candles again - got myself some dyes and mold sealer from ebay. i actually got an order for my candles - my first! Wowie, am i faltered. One of my colleagues asked me to make about a hundred candles to sell during the durga puja celebration over here. But since i have just about a month left here, i had to turn down the order. It is a nice thought to know i have an alternative career should i ever get sick of coding and trouble shooting. My friends have been goading me to sell my candles on ebay. But i have to work out the profitability factor before i join the bandwagon of ebay-ers.

Here are some of my new creations-



Ever the over-confident bitch, i have not gone for the 10K practice. Would do me good if i were to quit halfway - that would just do enough to bring my confidence level a notch down.

Just a month left. i sure will miss this bed, this room. i am beginning to love solitude - not that i ever hated it before. i could live like this for ever - books, a fast wireless connection, candles and TV. What more do i need? Can't think of anything.

Sex and the city is my fave thing on TV now - well, after NCIS, Law and Order and CSI. Sarah Jessica Parker as Carrie Bradshaw is so real. After the Salonis , Banis and Mamtas of Indian television, it is a refreshing change. i made a discovery while channel surfing - movies with "strong adult content"!! Since i am an adult, i decided i could watch without getting morally corrupted (actually, there is no more scope for corruption - i am already saturated!). But boy, after half an hour i got actually bored of it!! god, am i on my way to sainthood? Well, at least half an hour away!!

dolma vs dorma

So S and i had a bet. It all started yesterday when we were searching for the city of Colma yesterday during the exciting laptop hunt. The name colma suddenly reminded me of potoler dolma (It is stuffed potol or parwal) and i told him about the dish. He was like there is no dish by that name - it is potoler dorma. Now, i am someone who is never going to take somebody's word for anything esp. when i am dear sure i am right. So i started arguing about it. And we ended up having a bet on whether it is actually potoler dorma or dolma. i called up my junior who is my walking dictionary for bengali - and he said dolma. Victory dance for me. This morning, i saw this mail from S where the guy had actually googled and found potoler dorma. Eeeks..Give up without a fight? No way...So i googled and found potoler dolma! i went around taking a survey among my colleagues and found we couldn't reach a consensus - half of them said the dish is called dolma and half said dorma. Ultimately, the bet was a draw (no free dhosa at upudi...damn). It seems dolma is the colloquial version of dorma. Ummmm...i have a knack of winning bets - maybe because i only bet when i am dead sure!

Got the laptop - Sony Vaio. It is slick (but not sexy like MAC-oh MAC, oh MAC) and seemingly better than the toshiba i got for my sister. i know baba is only going to use it for watching movies, viewing pictures and playing games. And yes, show it off to everyone, much to my embarrassment!! It has even got a built-in web cam and microphone if baba would ever want to chat (as if!). Will get it set up tomorrow.

lost in the city....

We went to Best Buy to buy the Sony Vaio laptop for baba. It was not in the store we went to so we were directed to another store further away. We called up one of the juniors to look up the address and give us the driving directions. And we got lost. Somehow we missed an exit and went on and on and on till we almost reached the end of san francisco!! We never found the store and as it was past the store closing time, we decided to come back. And got lost again!! We desperately need a GPS. We are going to try again tomorrow. While on laptops, i fell in love with the MAC notebook. It is actually sexy, if you can call a laptop sexy. i am so going to buy it, when i can afford it, that is.

i did almost 8K today in about 1 hr 10 minutes! And my legs feel like wooden columns. i know i am going to limp tomorrow to work. But i am confident now that i can complete the 10K. Amen.

Have been bringing work home lately. So no crime thrillers for poor me. i need to finish coding something by next friday. But since we get paid for overtime here, hey, i am not complaining! Let me get back to work. Maybe if i work 24 hours for some weeks, i just might find myself in bed with the MAC! MAC, MAC, MAC....oh i am so besotted with it.

ek tuku....

ek tuku chhowa lage
ek tuku kotha sunne
tai diye mone mone
rochi momo falguni...

This is my favourite rabindra sangeet gaan. i would like to translate it but i am scared i might not do justice to this beautiful song. The first time i heard it was when my pranner bondhu S sang it. i love it. i love the way it touches my heart. S was the one who introduced me to the world of rabindra sangeet. She would sing me these beautiful songs and translate them for me. i always used to think it was dull. i was more into bangla rock - chandrabindu, fossils, miles, mohiner ghoraguli et al. But, for once, i was glad to have been proved wrong.

On a totally different track, why would anyone(in their right mind) eat green apple with salt? i do. Out of the blue, i have decided that i would season fruits with salt - plum, apple, cherry.. And me being me, i have induced my colleagues to do so too. You know, i am this evil spirit that roams around, inciting people to do wicked things. And i am so enthusiatic about it that i think they don't have the heart to say no. Like ema says, wherever i go i end up corrupting minds! My PM still has not forgiven me for starting the trend of walking barefoot in office. Now the silly guys and girls walk around without their shoes and i get chided for being the one who started the fire! There is something to imitation being the best form of flattery. But who wants to be imitated by anyone?

unwilling muscles and mutton...

Went for the first practice run for the 10K. God, i am growing old - at least my muscles are. After the first 1K, i was all washed out and so i decided to walk the remaining 4K - will start with 5K and move on to 10K. Took all of 50 minutes. And guess what, what pained the most was my cheekbones! i cannot, for the life of me, figure out why my cheeks would hurt rather than my leg muscles. This time i have bitten off more than i can chew it seems! Less than three weeks left. i need to build my stamina. i think i will wake up tomorrow and find that i am paralysed. oohhh...aaaaaaaaaaaaa....

And the cheesecake - i was flooded with compliments which i accepted gracefully! If i find myself axed, i know i can open a bakery. Or maybe a corner pan dukan.

OK, the mutton recipe:

i normally marinate the meat overnight with curd and ginger garlic paste, a little bit of chilli powder. Chopped onion, ginger garlic paste (since i am lazy i rely on the bottled variety rather than the fresh version - though sometimes when i want to outdo myself, i do everything from scratch), turmeric and meat masala - that is what you need. oops..forgot to mention tomatoes and green chillies. i don't like the smell of garam masala so i don't use it in my cooking (and the dishes turn out delicious just the same).

Heat oil in a kadhai. Fry the onion till golden brown. Add the ginger garlic paste. After everything looks blended, add the turmeric and masala. After the oil separates, put in the marinated meat. i normally cover it till the meat loses its "bloody" look and add the chopped tomatoes. Add salt, cover and simmer on a low flame - till the meat is done. i prefer the gravy thick. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

He says i make the best mutton curry - and i think so too. Shameless!

Here is a picture after i added the tomatoes:

chimpanzee cheesecake

i swear it is the name of the recipe - chimpanzee cheesecake!! i think the name has something to do with the bananas in the recipe - but hey, do chimpanzee really like bananas? Beats me! i got the recipe off the net. And just for kicks, i took some pictures while i was baking it.

OK, first the crust - it is 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs and 1/4 cup sugar. i used a 9 1/2 inches springform baking pan. All you have to do is blend the crumbs and sugar and cover the base of the pan (grease it well) and the sides. You are supposed to bake it in an oven preheated to 350 F for 10 minutes. Well, i did it and i got a crust that was burnt. So i just baked it for 5 minutes and let it cool down. This is what it looks like before baking -



For the filling, you have to use 1 pound cream cheese, two teaspoons of lime juice, 1/4 cup sugar, 4 large eggs, 6 teaspoons melted butter, 1 cup sour cream and 1 cup mashed banana. i used a blender to blend everything - much easier on your arms than using a whisk. Then just pour the whole thing into the pan.



Just pop the pan in a preheated oven (350 F again) for one hour. You should not open the oven while it is baking - but i opened it twice!! Oh hell, i can never follow instructions to a T. Let it cool with the oven door open.



The end product looks something like this :



And it tastes wonderful - if i may say so myself. It is moist and has just the right amount of sweetness. And the banana flavour is ummm..yummy! Will have to wait till tomorrow for the reactions of the "guinea pigs".

i also cooked lamb briyani and kaasha mangso (mutton). Will leave that for next time.

the bone collector....

This is what i am watching right now. Denzel Washington is so goddamn handsome - drooling over him. Well, it has been gripping till now - and i am not too scared to watch(oh praise the lord!). Now i have to read the book - the movie is based on the book of the same name by Jeffrey Deaver. i have never read him but something tells me he much be good. Since i don't want it to be a spoiler, i have switched off the movie.

i think i am getting hooked to crime novels - i think it has more to do with my interest in forensics than with any criminal instinct lurking in some dank corner of my subconscious mind. Maybe i have had enough of designing, coding and bug catching. i think it is time for a career change. i would like to work as a waitress for maybe a month - you know, take orders, wipe the tables etc etc. Then i would like to be a maid - mop, sweep, dust, do the dishes etc etc. Some years of hitch hiking then end up a recluse on the foothills of the himalayas - smoking pot and reading maugham! sweet lord, such beautiful years ahead!!

and so she passes the test...

Went for the driving written test and i passed - i just got one answer wrong! i would have been real disapppointed if i'd flunked again because i did put in some effort this time - i mean, i read the driving manual and all that. i have a temporary driving license now - but i have to be accompanied by another person with a license. And yes, i still have the hurdle of the driving test before i can speed and crash on the freeway!

Nothing much going on in life...the usual 10-6 at work, books and TV. i have to start my preparation for the 10K. ummm...and ummm again.

i am going to bake a banana cheesecake on sunday. i love baking and feeding people - maybe i love the compliments! Or maybe i just love being the provider. Yuck.

running for a cause

The last time i ran was two years back for a NGO i support. When i heard of the concept for running for a cause, i found the idea interesting. You would register for a fee and run – how very interesting! i had opted for the 5Km run last time - and i was not even sure whether i would be able to complete it. The first time i went for a trial run, after 10 minutes i was like a tired bitch – i was wheezing and panting like i had just completed a marathon! No stamina. i was beginning to wonder whether it had been a mistake on my part to have thought i could run 5K without disintegrating into a mass of sweaty muscles (sweaty muscles?!).

But a challenge is something i can never take lying down. Show me a challenge and i would behave like a dog running after a bone. Hours at the gym followed – running on the treadmill until i was almost about to faint. Never had i tortured my dear ol’ body the way i did then –maybe except for the time we hiked down to Grand Canyon, which is another story for another day.

So the day of the event dawned – and of course, i had registered as a volunteer too. So i had to wake up at some unholy hour, long before the sun rose. i spent some hours helping around and then switched over roles and prepared myself for my maiden 5K run. All of my colleagues were there and i dreaded the thought of having to face them if i were to be brought to the finish line on a stretcher! Bang! And the race was on – god, 5K is a long distance, i thought it would never end. After 15 minutes, i guess it was just my will pulling along my muscles – or maybe my muscles pulling along my will. i would have sold the shirt off my back (because i was wearing something underneath! – god, my sense of humour or the lack of it..) to get a glimpse of the finish line. But i guess it was my stubbornness which made me go on till the last – i did not even stop to rest. And i completed it in 36 minutes – my goal was to complete it under 45 minutes.

And now, i have put myself in the same spot again. I have registered for another race – this time, 10K. Of course, i am out of my mind. And god knows how i can pull this one off. i don’t even remember the last time i exerted any of my leg muscles! My constant itch for something to conquer is going to get me into trouble one of these days. 10K- god, i would have to run for more than an hour! But i am excited too. i want to see how much i can push myself. i just want to know if i can complete the race.

i have to start training – it is going to be tough, so tough. But god, i will see myself to the finish line. Just hope i don’t collapse into a heap halfway!!