FOOTBALL FEVER !!!!

The monsoons have just started and the monotony of everyday life is slowly setting in. Just as how the first Crocus flower breaks through the blanket of snow at the break of spring, inspires the artist, nothing inspires the football fan more than the moment when the two teams walk out onto the green, proudly donning their respective colours in front of their roaring fans. It is a most indescribable feeling. Adrenaline races through the veins and the weight of expectation sets in. Breathing is suspended for a brief moment in time. A look of consternation masks the 22 on the pitch. The referee pulls out his whistle, acknowledges the crowd, and raises it to his lips and then a kick on the ball! This is the onset of a disease, and the one that is good for soul – Football Fever.

In fact, according to FIFA, there are 265 million football players around the world making it the single largest sport across the globe. Yes indeed, football is big business. As with all high profile, extraordinarily expensive events, much controversy surrounds the event. But love it or hate it, for me there is something wonderful about seeing teams from across the globe descending in a single location and playing a game that they love. Perhaps football is the great equalizer especially, the World Cup, the granddaddy of football, occurs once every four years.

Football fever has struck throughout the world and am not an exempt. And during the World Cup, it is all that everyone here is talking about. At Brazil, this Game draw mobs of often unruly spectators all rooting for their hometown team and for those who can't secure tickets like us, we watch these matches in a different time-zone only just because of the pure passion towards it. We've even joined friends and been a part of the crowd cheering on the game. It seems as though everyone is either playing or watching the sport.

From day I started  watching football I started liking GERMAN team the most and i would always say they are in fact the best in the world. Living in a mixed community of fans of different Football teams, I am feeling and seeing the sense of excitement on a daily basis. In the weeks and yes, even months leading up to the World Cup, people were talking about the big game and SPAIN/BRAZIL's chance of winning this world cup. I honestly have no idea on other team’s stands at winning but regardless of this, GERMAN support has been prominently displayed by me. I always wish to be in the crowds roaring and cheering when my Team is playing.

Facebook pages are filled with commentary about good and bad plays and calls. Even those countries without low FIFA rankings have fans and these teams really surprised their fans by awesome game and classic wins over the biggies. I must admit, it is all kind of exciting. While we haven't been staying up into the wee hours to watch the games, and we have been catching as many as we can.

Do you have any favourite team?

For all non-GERMAN matches, I have a tendency to root for the underdog but I guess it all depends upon who is actually playing at the moment. And the fact is that it really doesn't matter. Because at the end of the day it is the excitement of the game that is so contagious.

PAY IT FORWARD !!!

The blogging world has been both fascinating and overwhelming to me.  I hesitated starting a blog for years.  I had difficulty overcoming the thought that it was self-centered to assume that people would want to read what I have to say. And especially the language barrier, hindered me in expressing my thoughts. But thanks to the invention of apps that are interactive, I’m now a member of Words with Friends and one other interactive game. The first one is fun, allowing me to use my  word vocabulary to impress my friends with words along the lines of ‘some’ and ‘other’. Let me point out, I have never won with big scores though.

I am so grateful that I finally overcame my fears and entered into this arena – and a huge thank you to the friends... It has already been a wild ride. I had received comments to many of my blog from my family & friends.The comments, though not on the post itself, but by emails, text, verbally, in person, etc. truly touched me to my core..

As I read all of the comments, though, I was extremely touched by them.  The act of commenting alone, is a kindness (someone is taking time out of their busy lives to show interest in what I said); but it is also the nature of the comments.

People offer interest, sympathy,  concern,  support, encouragement and love.   And these people are not only my immediate family and core group of friends – they are my extended family, with whom I have reconnected in significant ways; they are acquaintances, with whom I have forged tighter and closer friendships; they are total strangers, with whom I want to become friends and, really, consider friends already.

It is easy to get bogged down in the depressing aspects of our world right now.  That so many people are willing to take the time to offer encouragement and support is a huge reminder to me about the basic goodness of human nature.  And also how incredibly important it is for us to reach out to one another.

It has caused me to reassess my views. I have been reading various blogs and facebook posts for years but rarely commented.

Why?

When I was in my busy and stressed out phase of my life, I think it was a time issue.  I see the absurdity of that now.  How much time does it really take to reach out and pat someone else on the back (actually or virtually)?

I also struggled with feeling as if I was an intruder.  There is a sense of voyeurism when reading people’s posts and, by commenting, you are admitting to being a voyeur (or so I thought at the time).  I realize now how wrong that is.

I am reminded of the movie ”PAY IT FORWARD” which was remade as "STALIN" in Telugu and "JAI HO" in Hindi, in which a favor for someone to be paid forward by doing a favor for three persons, rather than returning the favor to the same person.  It was a bit of an odd movie, but the concept of paying it forward is a strong one.

So please consider this my way of paying it forward in the social media arena, motivating the budding bloggers like me...

For those of you considering a blog, go ahead and try it.  It has been one of the more rewarding experiences of my life.  I feel as if I am finding my voice and living a life more authentic to me.

For those of you who read blogs, please consider commenting on posts that you enjoy.  Understand that by commenting and showing interest in a post, you are showing kindness to the author.  Now when I read blogs and posts, I make the effort to comment on ones that I find interesting.  And when I do comment, I feel very positive about it.

And then on a more personal level, for those of you who have commented on my posts or offered me encouragement on my blog, I give to you a huge and heartfelt thank you.

Is it true that you want it?

I know I have not been updating more often and I am trying harder to keep on track with it! But I am not abandoning this beautiful but awkward mind-space that I have created.

So, if you know anything about my life right now (my Facebook statuses will reveal it), you’d know that I am having a heck of a time sleeping. It continually evades me. Which is weird, because usually my relationship with sleep is usually very copacetic? But I guess I get much like an overly attached girlfriend to my sleep and sleep decides it has to be a jerk.

So, I tried to calm myself by thinking nice thoughts, but they usually get away from me too. Finally decided to use my second girlfriend "Ïnternet" to update myself on the FIFA 2014, and ended up listening to Shakira's FIFA song.

Is it true that you want it?

Then act like you mean it

With everyone watching

It's truth or dare, can you feel it?

These lines caught my attention..  and started my butterflies of the thoughts on them... This reminds me of an article which i came across, it says,

"Whatever your bigger goals are in life, what are you willing to do achieve it? Are you willing to make sacrifices? Work when others are sleeping? Eat only particular noodles? Breakup with a girlfriend/boyfriend who is holding you back?"

Many times we may think we want it so bad, but do we really? Most people aren’t willing to make sacrifices to get what they want. The successful ones do what the unsuccessful ones aren’t willing to do. Those who like the idea of doing something will quit after failing once or twice. They will say, “It’s too hard. It’s not meant to be. Oh well I tried.”  But the committed ones don’t stop.

However this commitment alone is no longer enough unless you face the Battle between making choices (Easy vs. Hard). I still remember the nursery rhyme "Inky Pinky Ponky" which we used, to make the choice during childhood (in-fact even during our university exams) to choose the answers. But this methodology will no longer work out for these situations !!! It is a tough battle when deciding between the two. They don’t get along. They’re like the angel and the devil that sits on your shoulders talking to you. Each one wants you to listen to them.

When I think back over my life, I’ve found that time and time again, the hard choices I’ve made were the ones that provided lasting positive change in my life. When I took the easy road, it didn’t have any impact – it was only the hard choices that really brought about change. I’m where I am today because I’ve had to make hard choices the past years. They weren’t the most fun at the time. I would have rather been goofing off, watching movies, whatever was on TV, reading magazines. But I knew I had taken the easy road before that and it led to a life I didn’t want.

Hehehe ... I'm pretty much guaranteed to achieve my goals and I'm actually going mad coz of that and I didn't think of it sooner. I don't really know where I was going with all of these thoughts.  LOLz.. It is probably best to stop now. No more ADVISORY INJECTIONS  !!!!!!  Catcha soon !!  Bye Byee !!!