Going home, Pune trip and more

                Hola! Long time since I wrote anything, and here I am writing two posts. With so much happening, I have barely had time to breathe, least of all write a blog. Even today I just found time, because I am in a train, bound towards Kalyan, taking me away from Hyderabad for a deserved break from the mundane.

                I had to make an extremely difficult choice, one that I did not want to nor that agrees with my nature. But facing the truth is better than being under a delusion, only to be disappointed at the end. I cannot give keyboard exam this time. L (Sobbing inside) I am just too underprepared, and frankly, I have heavier things on my plate. The teacher thought 3 months would be enough, even I felt so. But it wasn’t meant to be. The exam comes too early for me, and I, despite wanting to, cannot practice and perfect the syllabus on time to pass the exam. Accepting this is really painful for me, especially when I don’t like giving up. What other choice do I have? The pressure was just too much. I was practicing at every available moment, yet it isn’t enough. Maybe I can go and just give the exam, while not being prepared, which is not something I would do. It is insult to the examiner, and music itself. And mostly a waste of time. Why would I want to do that? (Maybe I am rationalizing here?)

                I finished learning the French course on Duolingo! I achieved what I had set out for a year ago. Two foreign languages in one year. Not advanced levels, but enough to communicate basic stuff. Now I can understand Italian radio well, and French radio to some extent. And unwittingly, I even learnt Malayalam! I am going to say that, since I understand most of the words used in daily conversation. It helps when you play badminton with Mallus :P. What next, I ask myself. Telugu? Or German? Or Arabic? Or some other Indian language? One thing is certain: learning a language is fun. I plan to continue doing it. Hey, I should update my resume! List of languages I know: English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Italian, French (Malayalam, once I learn it a bit more :P).

                This is probably the first time I am talking about work. Normally I don’t, since I think work is something that is best left behind at the office. But this time I feel like sharing some stuff. I have been under some pressure lately, but I am enjoying it! Not just the work, the coffee breaks, the table tennis games, organizing fun activities, and helping others. I want to learn a bit more, but you can’t have it all right?

                The Olympics are going on, and I have yet to start following any sport seriously! I will probably start from tomorrow, which is when badminton starts. Then come the more interesting competitions: sprint, tennis, football finals, and many others. The United States have already bagged 10 golds, the Chinese are not too far behind with 8 golds, and India is yet to open their account across gold, silver and bronze. I do hope Indian athletes do us proud.

                Football fever begins this week with the Premier League kicking off this weekend. UEFA Champions league qualifiers will follow, and then La Liga will also start. Not to mention the special Tuesday and Wednesday nights. Manchester United fans can sleep tight on these days, but they have to stay awake on Thursday nights, courtesy Europa League football. By the way, Manchester United broke the world transfer record, by re-signing Paul Pogba from Juventus for a reported 110 million euros. I don’t know what to make of this signing. As Arsene Wenger said, it is not crazy if you can afford to pay it. I guess only time will tell. Arsenal are not in a very good shape for the start of the season with 3 of our senior center backs unfit. Midfield is okay, striking is a department where there is room for improvement. Will there be any new signings? Again, only time will tell.

                Did I mention I went on a short weekend trip to Pune? Two or three weeks ago, I went to all these wonderful places among the clouds. We were literally among the clouds! It was misty and foggy and cold and rainy, but it was marvelous. We went to Mahabaleshwar, Satara and the Pratapgad and Sajjangad forts. We rented two Zoomcars for three full days, and went to all these exotic places. I am getting a feeling I won’t be able to describe it in words. Pictures might do the trick. Overall, it was a nice short trip, not too hard on finances as well.

                That is it for now. I am going to enjoy being at home. Ciao!