Well..

Well, I was driving down Mount Road on my beloved Kinetic Marvel. There is signal where the 'Woodlands Road' (the one with the American Consulate) cuts across Gemini Flyover and Mount Road. As I was waiting on the signal, I see a policeman walk towards me. My mind starts racing. What have I done wrong? Has my number plate fallen off? No it hasn't. Did I speed? Obviously not, I am waiting at a signal for christ's sake. Am I on the wrong side of the road? No I am not. If I was, so were 20 other vehicles. Ah, I got it! He must be coming to me for his new year 'bonus'! Do I have money? Yes, I do, but not really! Not enough of a 'bonus'! Hell! So, he comes up to me and hands me a white card.

'Chennai Traffic Police wishes you a happy new year!'

What has the world come too?? Not bad I say! Happy new year to all!

It's good to be back in India. Old haunts. Old friends. Old times I dare say. IIT. OAT. Go-carting. Coffee. Tennis. Time passsing. Spent new years eve watching a movie at the Open Air Theatre in IIT with Arrvindh and Vikas. In how many theatres can you lie down and watch the movie? In how many theatres can you watch the movie AND the stars at the same time? Ok ok. You got it. I like the OAT. We had gone there a little earlier, and the staff actually allowed us to enter the projector room. As a matter of fact, we were given a guided tour of the premisis. They have 2 projectors, one 35 years old and the other 15. Though I kind of expected it, it was still a bit difficult to believe.
Then dinner at Dhaba Express. Dinner for 3 for 94 Rs. Not a bad deal no? :D Then went to the beach. The beach was bad. There were about gazillion people there, each coming on the expectation that something was going to happen. Well, something did happen, there were a lot of people there with the expectation that something was going to happen. But, nothing did happen. I also found it weird that 99.99% of the population there was male!!
Today was the go-carting experience with Prahlad, Vishnu and Arrvindh. Then dinner at down on East Coast Road. I have never been on that road let alone to Mayajaal or any of the umpteen places, though I have lived in the city all my life!But, there is always a first time! I had slightly inflated expectations and I was let down. It's just a 2 lane road, and there is not even a divider between the opposing lanes of traffic. It's crazy because there are people who drive at 100 kms/hr, and if you want to overtake, you have to take onto the opposing lane, temporarily. The toll for going down that road is 45 Rs, a total ripoff. Anyway, had a great time nevertheless!
The Gold Flake Open starts tomorrow. Bought season tickets. Should be fun. Going back 'home' (UIUC) in 2 weeks looks like such a drag! But, thus is life. Last year was rough. Too many things hanging in the air. I can still see things hanging, a problem here, a pain in the ass there, disaster here, catastrophe there. Yeah yeah, I know I have to get back to you only. What will I do without you? Anyway, you will have to wait. A little while.

PS: ARGHHHH I deleted this accidentally while tooling around with my blog. I somehow managed to restore the text but the comments are gone!! Hate it!!!