The Quitter - Edgar A. Guest

Fate handed the quitter a bump, and he dropped;
The road seemed too rough to go, so he stopped.
He thought of his hurt, and there came to his mind
The easier path he was leaving behind.

Oh, it's all much too hard, said the quitter right then;
I'll stop where I am and not try it again.
He sat by the road and he made up his tale
To tell when men asked why he happened to fail.

A thousand excuses flew up to his tongue,
And these on the thread of his story he strung,
But the truth of the matter he didn't admit;
He never once said, I was frightened and quit.

Whenever the quitter sits down by the road
And drops from the struggle to lighten his load,
He can always recall to his own peace of mind
A string of excuses for falling behind;

But somehow or other he can't think of one
Good reason for battling and going right on.
Oh, when the bump comes and fate hands you a jar,
Don't baby yourself, boy, whoever you are;

Don't pity yourself and talk over your woes;
Don't think up excuses for dodging the blows.
But stick to the battle and see the thing through.
And don't be a quitter, whatever you do.

ചുമ്മാ, ഒരു ജാഡ...

ജനല്‍പാളികള്‍ തുറന്നു കിടക്കുകയാണെന്ന് തോന്നുന്നു, ഇല്ലെന്കില്‍ ഈ കാറുകളുടെ ഒച്ച ഇത്രയും നന്നായിട്ടു കേള്‍ക്കത്തില്ല!

സമയം ഒന്‍പതായി എങ്കിലും നാട്ടിലെ ഒരു ഏഴ്മണിയുടെ അത്രയും ഇരുട്ടേ ഉള്ളു. ഒന്നും ചെയ്യാനില്ലാത്ത ഒരു അവസ്ഥ. ചെറുതായി ബോര്‍ അടിച്ച് തുടങ്ങി. ഇനിയിപ്പോള്‍ അതെ ഉള്ളു ഒരു വഴി, ഭക്ഷണം കഴിചെക്കാം. വിശന്നിട്ടല്ല, ചുമ്മാ സമയം കളയാന്‍. ബുഷ് അമ്മാവന്‍ ഇതെങ്ങാനും കേട്ടാല്‍ പിന്നെ, എന്നെ പോലുള്ളവരാന് ഈ ലോകത്തിലെ ഭക്ഷണ ക്ഷാമത്തിനു കാരണം എന്ന് പറഞ്ഞു അമേരിക്കയില്‍ നിന്നെങ്ങാനും പിടിച്ചു പുറത്താക്കിയാലോ? വേണ്ട, ആ റിസ്ക് എടുക്കണ്ട...!

സഹമുറിയന്‍ കിടന്നുറങ്ങുന്നത് കാരണം ഞാന്‍ ബള്‍ബ് ഓണ്‍ ചെയ്തില്ല. പാവം ഓഫീസില്‍ ഉച്ച ഭക്ഷണം പോലും കഴിക്കാതെ കഷ്ടപ്പെട്ട് പണി എടുത്തിട്ടു വന്നു കിടക്കുകയാണ്. ഞാന്‍ ആയിട്ട് ശല്യം ചെയ്യരുതല്ലോ...!

തുറന്നു കിടക്കുന്ന ആ ജനല്‍പാളികളില്‍ കൂടി നേരിയ ഒരു തണുപ്പു ഉള്ളിലേക്ക് വരുന്നുണ്ട്. എനിക്കും ഇങ്ങനെ പുതച്ചു മൂടി കിടന്നുറങ്ങാന്‍ തോന്നുന്നു. രാത്രി നാട്ടിലെ ഓഫീസിലുള്ളവരോട് സംസാരിക്കാന്‍ ഉള്ളത് കൊണ്ടു, ഇപ്പോളെ ഉറങ്ങണ്ട. ഫോണ്‍-ഇല്‍ എന്തായിരിക്കും വിളിച്ചു പറയുന്നതു എന്ന് പറയാന്‍ പറ്റില്ല... :-)

ഇങ്ങനെ ഭക്ഷണത്തെ കുറിച്ചു പറഞ്ഞു പറഞ്ഞു കുറച്ചു വിശപ്പ്‌ വരുന്നുണ്ടോ എന്നൊരു സംശയം. അപ്പോള്‍ ഞാന്‍ പോട്ടെ, ഇനി പിന്നെ കാണാം!!!

America's Pastime!

Finally, I did it. I went to watch a sporting event for the first time in US. As a matter of fact, this is the first time ever that I have been to a full fledged stadium to watch live action. And tell you what, except for most part of the game, everything else was great, just like most of the first things in life...

It was a baseball game between Minnesota Twins and Chicago White Sox. One of the client managers tried to organize this as a fun outing for her team including the contractors like us. I was not directly invited but a friend of mine asked me if I would be interested in this and I did not waste even one second before replying to count me in...

Even though only few of us turned up for the match, I was all excited because of the aforementioned fact that this was a first time experience for me. The only shadow over my exuberance was the constant waves of thought about getting a ride back home after the match. It would be around 10 and being in the downtown at that point of time is supposedly risky. But I did not want that fact to stop me from doing this one thing that I always wanted to do from the time I landed in US for first time...


The stadium 'Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome' is an amazing structure by itself. It is an Indoor stadium and the technology used in the construction of roof is something that I have never even heard about (Not that I consider myself an architect par excellence). I am just quoting a few lines from Wikipedia about this roof below:

"The Metrodome roof.The Metrodome's roof is made of two layers of Teflon coated fiberglass fabric, and is an air-supported structure supported by positive air pressure. It requires 250,000 ft³/min (120 m³/s) of air to keep it inflated. It is reputed to be the largest application of Teflon on Earth.
To maintain the differential air pressure, spectators usually enter and leave the seating and concourse areas through revolving doors, since the use of regular doors without an airlock would cause significant loss of air pressure. The double-walled construction allows warmed air to circulate beneath the top of the dome, melting accumulated snow. A sophisticated environmental control center in the lower part of the stadium is manned to monitor weather and make adjustments in air distribution to maintain the roof."

I did not notice the above said things while I was inside it. Just noticed this once I came back home and read about it...

Moreover, this roof gives a real home advantage for the Twins players. This is because of the fact that the roof is almost a light ash colour and even from my seat, I was not able to keep track of all those high balls. They just disappear once it has its background as the roof. Since the home team players practice here, it might be easier for them than those traveling team players...

About the game, Minnesota Twins beat Chicago WhiteSox which is considered as a better team. So it was a lucky night for Twins, may be because I was there to watch the game... :-)

Baseball is a game similar to our cricket, but much much boring. I would say the people who goes to the stadium should do that with a mind to wait for bursts of excitement which pops up in between long intervals of lacklustre action. But, it looks like a great game to play. What I wanted to say was that, as long as you are directly involved in the game, it is a fun game, a lot like golf as a friend of mine puts it. Baseball is boring for someone who doesn't understand the nuances of the game. For example, I love watching the game of test cricket, but most people prefer the shorter versions. Yes, you are right! I was just boasting myself! :-)

The lady who took the initiative for this, who is as exuberant as they come, told me that even though she does not know much about the game, she loves going to the stadium just to treat herself to the sumptuous food available there. And I loved the food too, mostly because I haven't had a hotdog for a loooong time...

I had to start before the game was completely over, as I had to catch the bus and I did not know the downtown much. So it was kind of an adventure coupled with the fact that it was night. Downtowns are usually notorious for crime. So that fear is always there in the mind. I did not face much issue, may be because of the fact that I was mostly running from one bus stop to the other for catching the transfer bus...

All together, it was a nice night out and I am glad that I did it...

Catch y'all later!

എന്ന് വരും നീ...

... എന്ന് വരും നീ, എന്റെ കിനാപൈങ്കിളി???

ഇപ്പോള്‍ ഇങ്ങനെ ഒക്കെ പറയും എങ്കിലും, എത്ര നാള്‍ ഞാന്‍ ഈ ഒരു ക്ഷമ കാണിക്കും എന്ന് എനിക്ക് തന്നെ അറിയില്ല. അല്ല, നിങ്ങള് തന്നെ പറ, ഒരാളുടെ ക്ഷമയ്ക്കും ഒരതിരില്ലേ???

ചുമ്മാ അങ്ങനെ എന്തിനെന്കിലും വേണ്ടി കാത്തിരിക്കുന്നത് പോലെ അല്ലല്ലോ ഇതു, യേത്? ഏകദേശം ഒരു മാസത്തോളം ആയി ഈ കാത്തിരിപ്പ്‌. ഇതു ഒരു മാതിരി ആളെ വടിയാക്കുന്നതല്ലേ, നിങ്ങള് പറ...

മനുഷ്യന് ഈ മഞ്ഞു കണ്ടു മടുത്തു. വസന്തം ഇന്നു വരും, നാളെ വരും എന്നൊക്കെ പറഞ്ഞു ആളെ പറ്റിക്കുന്നതല്ലാതെ, ഇങ്ങു വരുന്നില്ല. വരുന്നില്ല എന്ന് മാത്രമല്ല, ഞങ്ങളോടൊക്കെ എന്തോ ദേഷ്യം ഉള്ളത് പോലെ ആണ് മഞ്ഞു പെയ്യുന്നത്...

ഏപ്രില്‍ തുടങ്ങി, ഇനി ഈ മഞ്ഞു ഒക്കെ എന്ന് തീരും എന്തോ???