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“I want that trophy,” RF said.
And he got it; that too, in straight sets beating 6th seeded Andy Murray! The year that didn’t start well for him, ended with a bang!
Today, Roger Federer became the first person in the history of tennis to win 5 consecutive US open titles. With this, he also holds the record of possessing 5 consecutive Wimbledon titles. The dual record of being victorious in two grand slams events 5 times is another triumph which no one holds in the tennis world. Too much talk about records, huh? Here comes another one, he is just one grand slam title behind Pete Sampras. Looking forward to him equaling and breaking the record next year and specially winning on clay! Cherry on top would be getting his No. 1 spot back :)
From the home front, Shoaib Akhtar is back in the news with his performance (not with the ball though). I wonder how come he didn’t pull a hamstring this time!
Sometimes I wonder...
What's correct? Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons or doing the wrong thing for the right reasons?
Does the end really justify the means?
Any ideas..?
And my sports streak is back again. Beijing Olympics 2008 has ended without our dear homeland winning a single medal. However, we did create a record of finishing 8th in hockey for the first time in Olympics. As the saying goes, "baad naam na hoon gaye tu kia naam na hoga." However, I think we would have all preferred the naam or in fact the inaam this time. Nations which are less then or quarter to our size such as Togo, Jamaica, Trinidad/Tobago; or war ridden as Afghanistan; or much less prosperous then us like Ethiopia have made their countries proud by winning medals. If the countries with much less resources and development can strive for glory why can’t we try and use our energies in sports department? May be if our country provides better opportunities for sports and cultivate the gaming atmosphere, we might end up having less frustrated and misguided citizens (and possibly less suicide bombers!). I loved the Olympics medal awarding ceremony where the winners’ country flags would be hoisted and national anthem played. Looking forward to seeing the “Parcham-e-sitar-0-hilal” flying high at Olympics and hearing the tune of “Pak sar zameen” at London, 2012 and beyond!
Even though I am not at all into politics but living in Pakistan you do get sucked into the political affairs drama. When I first learned about the history of Pakistan in Class IX, I wondered if any head of our state left with grace and dignity except Jinnah(who died..and while searching for a link, I realized there's no official site for our father of nation :S). Otherwise, as far as I know no government was free from controversy. Prime Minister and President either had to be murdered, thrown out from office or the army would take over and impose martial law. And adding to this list now, is our dear old ex-President Musharraf, preacher of enlightened moderation, who decided to resign (I think this has happened for the first time because no matter what happens in our country, no ones leaves the kursee!) instead of facing impeachment charges.
All his supporters thought that being a soldier; he wouldn’t give in and leave his office but defend himself! Alas, it didn’t happen. However, I am surprised about the reaction from acquaintances and friends of mine who wanted him to stay. And then there are SMSes(?) going around saluting him and his efforts and wishing him luck. According to a survey, 63% of the Pakistanis were in favor of his resignation and since Pakistan’s literacy rate is around 40%, should I assume that the educated/literate class didn’t want him to leave..?
As for me, I considered him to be a lesser evil among the leaders we have. But will never forget (and forgive) his actions in Lal Masjid case and handing of Pakistani citizens to US of A in the name of ‘War against Terror’. He is/may be responsible for other erroneous decisions and mishaps such Chief Justice of Pakistan, Iftikhar Muhaamd Chaudry suspension, Dr Abdul Qadeer case but nothing justifies killing innocent civilians or be a partner to it.
And now he’s off to Umra and may seek asylum in Saudi Arabia, Turkey, USA or Great Britain. [Source: Dawn News]. So it’s ma’as-salama, güle güle and goodbye Mr. ex-President.
I have a confession to make; I am a total sports buff be it played on ground or on paper! I am into cricket, tennis (with my heart & soul!), soccer (when it's world cup time), gymnastics, figure staking, sudoku to name a few! In my second life, I wouldn't mind being a tennis champion :)
Even though I have always watched tennis but I got addicted to it because of Roger Federer who (according to me) 
is the best sportsman I have ever seen. He has broken various records, won major titles in a row, and has been World No 1 tennis player since 2004. I won't go into details of his achievements because it can be easily googled. However, he lost three grand slams this year: Australian Open,Roland Garros French Open (oh yeah, he never was able to beat Nadal on clay) and unbelievingly Wimbledon (winning it would have resulted in amazing record of winning 6 Wimbledon titles in consecutive years). But you have to give credit to him because when asked about his failure at the end of the game, he said "I'll be back next year!!"
But now his dominating rule on men tennis world has come to an end as world No 1 spot has passed to Nadal (?..ATP Ranking still shows him as No 1!). But if you’ve seen him play, you must have noticed that he is a versatile player who makes his opponents run all over the place. And I have rarely seen him lose control of himself. And the best one is he also doesn't grunt (or make weird noises) when he serves or return a volley!
However, coming to his personal life he was born in Basel, Switzerland on 8th August, 1981 (and that’s why I am writing this on his birthday!) Happy Birthday RF :). Today he’ll also be carrying his country (Switzerland) flag in the Olympics for the second time. And for all his lady fans out there, he is dating a swiss tennis player Miroslava “Mirka” Vavrinec (who happens to be 3 years older then him :S)
Have you ever noticed females and lizards can't stay in the same room? It's like a universal phenomenon between the fair sex and the reptile where the ultimatum is always 'It stays or I stay'. So it happens that even though I don't suffer from herpetophobia, I am still not their fan and don't like to in be the same social gathering as them!
Now the other day, after coming back from work I was ready for a hot, steamy bath when I noticed a baby lizard on the bathroom ceiling challenging me to come inside!So I rushed out telling Ami to do something about it. (I have problems killing roaches, unless it’s a baby roach). She asked to me to get a jahroo (broom) so that she can bring the lizard down and get rid of it. (All of you must have seen the broom attached to long pole which is used for cleaning the fans and room ceilings). But since our ceiling is a bit out of reach because of the long walls, the task fell on poor me as Ami wasn’t able to reach it! Imagine my disgust trying to hit Lizzie Junior to get her to come down and face the music.
Well, at first I was just hitting the places in its vicinity and even then I was not technically screaming but my mouth would continue to emit noises that can be considered close to it. However, it was having no affect on LJ (the name reminds me of MJ from Spider Man!) who continued to roam freely. So after a lot of discussion (read arguments) where Ami kept telling me to beat it rather then hit close by it (I had this feeling LJ wouldn’t mind taking revenge by falling on me!) I finally struck it. And viola! LJ came crashing down to the floor. And I forgot to mention, large quantities of insect killing spray was used before all the adventure began and LJ took to the heart her fall from grace (ceiling) and kept withering and finally breathed her last.
Here ends my killing spree and finally I was able to take a bath peacefully without any reptiles around me.
P.S For all those who like/adore lizards, I am sorry for killing a member of the family. But it can surely be termed as a collateral damage! Also pictures taken from google images!
“Feeling guilty about wasting time on computer solitaire? Join the growing guilt-free multitude at FreeRice.com, an online game with redeeming social value.”
USA Today
While going through Reader's Digest Asia a few months back, I came across a small advertisement about a website called FreeRice which claimed to donating rice to feed hungry people around the world, if you play the vocabulary game on their web site. I was skeptical at first but knowing RD Asia would not print anything that they don't consider authentic, so I gave it a shot.
A bit of googling concluded that it's supported by UN Food Programme and sponsors such as Uniliver provides the rice to be sent to the needy. Also, rice is taken from the developing countries thereby minimizing the cost of reaching the famished. [Source: UN Food Programme].
The game is straightforward; you are given a word and multiple choices to select the correct meaning. For every correct reply, 20 grains of rice are donated and you can play as long as you want without the need to register and provide any details about you. It’s a great vocabulary booster and there are options to start from zero vocab level and let it judge your ranking and query for words within that range. Or, start from a specified level and proceed from there on. Also, you can set the option for quizzing you again on the words for which you answered incorrectly to assess your memorizing quality.
Killing two birds by one stone was never that easy. On one hand you are contributing to a cause, while on the other hand you are playing a game to exercise your mind and learn a few new words. So whoever is studying for their SAT/GRE/IBA and LUMS, get smart and save money (from Anees Hussain :P). And whoever tries, do let me know your vocabulary levels!
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