waves

(... went to imf on saturday: too bad i forgot that sunday was the comp day. anyway had a good session on saturday mostly by myself. was more focused than usual, and had enough calorie in stock :-) )

On sunday evening we decided to check the apparently nice restaurant around the corner: Waves. We were quite impressed by the getup, the place was decorated in style (leaving out the tv-screens), and looked cozy. The service was good, and the people amiable. We liked the ambiance. Things could have been a bit better, if they had a separate bar section: but at least on that evening it was mostly families having dinner.

All good until now. We decided to order some food, since that's why we were there. The descriptions looked tempting, and may be even raised our expectations. We started with soup -- when the soups arrived we had to look around for a while before finding some vermicelli (vermicelli was highlighted in the description in the menu-card). Overall it wasn't bad, quite reasonable infact.

It went downhill from there. Being a place which highlighted Indian food, the choice was obvious -- biriyani and kebab. The quality was ok, but the taste was -- lets just say highly unsatisfactory. The only good part was small portion sizes, saving grace ..

Rating 1.5/5 for food. (damage pp: 410).

Minar

Minar, or the pillar in English, is apparently an old hangout place in Connaught Place. Located in the L-block, its close to the Shankar Market. After a bit of wondering we finally managed to find the place. It was crowded even on a week day, which gave us some confidence about the place. We were hungry, and promptly ordered food. The kebab (kalmi) was really good, and the m. rarra was rich but very tasty. It seem like a place out of the 80s, with lots of nostalgia in the ambiance. The service was prompt and polite, so nothing to complain there. They had some classics on the menu, items that are gradually fading from most places -- we had casatta ice-cream after a long time. Overall a nice place, but given there are so many other places to try out, its unlikely we will head back there soon.

imf

Went to imf yesterday: good company and some basic climbing effort. I felt quite weak and could only pull off a few moves. The bouldering section was ok, but i failed in the rope section. I should get some chalk soon, and definitely make sure I have a few calories in stock before I reach there :-)

Went for a shortish run (7k) on Sunday.

longer run ..

13.65km in 1hr 29mins .. so 2hr 20mins for half marathon; sloppy time keeping from my side so may be a bit better than that. but overall it felt good and relaxed.

kwality (cp, delhi)

bathura -- one of the best in town, simply amazing. also the special pudding is worth a try (if you have someone to share, else its too big).

improved timing

2 laps - 8.4km in 48mins -- looks like under 2hr half marathon might happen! lets see. i need to get myself something for my knees.

ran again

big loop -- once -- 4.2km/23mins; need to be faster!

united coffee house

Nice place, beautiful ambiance (a bit on the loud side), lovely service, great food -- all the components for a gem. Definitely worth visiting, but there is only so much time ...

can it get any worse?

I was reading http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/world/africa/02zimbabwe.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. I found it very difficult to read, I had to stop quite a few times before I managed to make my way through the two page article. The descriptions were crippling and painful to read. Its beyond me to even imagine fighting in such a situation. For the people concerned they are suffering (do we call this suffering) for no direct fault of theirs. From being breadbasket of the world, the place has been successfully transformed (yes, part of this transformation is intentional and done by only a few people in power, but then again those are the ones who count) to a death trap. Its not fair, life is hardly ever fair. In one part of the world we witness a 700b bailout, while a few thousand miles away people are struggling to get along with $1-2/week. What's the value of money in a country where the currency has failed. Does anyone care? There's two broad possibilities: everyone gets along in livable conditions with some doing better than others, or a few gets everything in the world living amidst all the glitter and joy money can buy, and for the rest -- survival of the fittest. Even animals live in much better conditions, they get a fairer shot at life. All we do is think how bad the situation is for some (some being determined by where you are born, doomed at birth), but really can we even guess what some have to go through. We get only one life, so not really that surprising that people fight on to survive just hoping that tomorrow ...

training

was a good day for my training: 3 loops, 12.66km, 1hr 23mins. need to speed up a bit, but there's more than a month to go. i hope i should be fine!

yesterday was at imf. it was so strange. it was one of those days. i reached the place, and headed over to the bouldering place. after only a few minutes i felt something wasnt right, i felt weak. the mosquitoes were also a few too many. anyway i threw myself at a few boulder problems, and roof sections for the next hour or so (didnt check exactly how long). eventually, i moved over to the rope section. unlike the bouldering wall where i was alone, the rope section has a few takers. specially a group of four training for the nationals. so what more, i joined the fun. i was definitely weaker than most days, which was frustrating. but on the positive side it was perfect for training, working on techniques, overhangs, and drop knee. we climbed for a long time, i was there at imf for about 2.5hrs. a real nice and long session, just too many mosquitoes for any comfort. on my way back got some cream which should sort the mosquito problem from next time. what remains is i should really get some chalk, and then back to basics.

the best part of imf was the mid air collision with someone taking a fall, and i trying to prevent the belayer (there was a big weight mismatch) -- in the process i got some painful memories on my left shoulder. its much better now. i was a bit worried ... good experience.

vote again

ok this is much more like what i expected -- voting again for 700b bill. this time we know whats going to happen. if there are no surprises (i doubt), then the thursday vice-presidency debate should be fun as both parties will try to claim it as their 'success'. its a bit too predictable, i mean the initial reaction -- the market (global) will surge ahead, and things will be good for a few more weeks/months. it only gets interesting after than say in 6months or 1year. will this be a long term solution, or encourage more rash investments? lets see ..