Mad hops !

We had our final game of the league today. The mad hops are runners up in the intermediate league. We all got T shirts to show off, and our picture will be posted on the Oracle gym walls.

Fantastic memories and friendships. Sorry to see the injuries to some of us. Very happy to have played with you all - Kathy, Rajiv, Yimin, Charles, Robin, Jen and Sridhar. And oh, Charles' daughter.

I feel a little sad it's all over. 

Madhoppers at work

L to R standing: Sri, Rajiv, Robin, Yimin, Kathy, Charles and Jennifer
Sitting: Harish and Gajanan

Robin throws himeslf at any and every ball, and loves to fall.
Yimin used to play in school, wears a wushu t shirt and has fantastic kicks when the ball is just out of reach for the hand.
Charles, is a volleyball coach. 'Nuf said!
Jennifer works in the gym, although I am not too sure about that.
G and I are supposed to be wily customers looking for empty spots in the opposite team's court.

Come watch us play! Tuesday evenings in the Oracle gym.

Universe

Thumbs down to the universe:
- for giving me a swollen leg from recreational volleyball, just when the league was about to start. I was so looking forward to it.

Thumbs up to the universe:
- for giving me free undeserving money; hopefully, I can make it worth someone's while.

Endurance, life questions.

Must be a personal record; a first of sorts. I was out playing from 5 PM to 10:15 PM.
5:00 - 6:20 : Roller blading, must have covered at least 3 miles. Touched the edge of foster city along the bay trails until I could see the bridge, and then came back to Oracle.

6:30 - 7:30 : Badminton with the regulars at the gym. Although I was a bit jaded, it felt nice to play those cross court drops and wow the beginners a bit. Heh.

7:30 - 10:15: Many many games of indoor volleyball. Like before, the last game of two on two was very fluid and had surprisingly long points. Beethoven and Ying versus me and Igor. Igor's left handed spikes from almost the second floor were untouchable. A pleasure to set to him. Igor the terrible. It was a close game though, and we won by two points to spare.

On another note, there are several couples who play volleyball; always nice to see them bond together. It seems the biggest joy of sharing your life with someone is that you have a witness to your life. Shared experiences. And when you look back, it would feel good to have the same shared memories.

I feel tired, very tired. Driving back home, I began wondering where life is going. I am already 29, and I am playing away the best years of my life. Get up, go to work, eat, play and come home. Far away from family. No real personal stake in work. Where did all those years go ? It was fun along the way, but if there is no build up towards anything significant, the journey seems quite meaningless. Maybe it is time to figure out something I can do on my own ? I wonder..

Should spent time doing more meaningful things, instead of pursuing personal happiness. A cause to dedicate life to. Will a path reveal itself ? Will I have to search for it ? If the destination itself is unclear, what path can one search for ?

On a happier note, Viji will get married in November, Venky willing. I made grand plans of spending 35 days in Bangalore. It feels nice to imagine I will never come back. Being a poojari in our temples in Tirthalli will probably keep me as happy as anything here, I suppose. Oh well.

You know your life needs a change when ...

all you can look forward to in the next week is playing volleyball in the gym on tuesday..

Indoor versus sand volleyball

Played volleyball straight for 3 hours on an empty stomach today evening from 7 to 10; never felt better !

It started out with 16 people and ended up with 4. The last two games were two-on-two. Beethoven and I, versus Tatiana and Omar. Tatiana and Omar are playing in the league and they gel well. Beethoven plays excellently and I fancy volleyball myself. No wonder the last two games were the best I have played in a long time..

I was finally spiking and setting like I wanted. What a big difference playing indoors makes! When you jump, you know exactly how high you will go. No feet sinking in the sand. Add to that the large sized indoor courts, and even wayward spikes end up being good shots. I also got in quite a few good blocks against the ballistic Omar.

While the daily sand volleyball games have their own fun, I suddenly am drawn to indoor v-ball. If only I had more time! It seems I spent as much time at work as I spent in the gym nowadays. I still want to play badminton, swim and work out!

5k run and volleyball

I ran 5 kilometers in 31 minutes at 12 noon yesterday! There were about 500 other people running / walking with me. Apparently, the first Oracle employee finished in 19 minutes !

It didn't seem as tough as I expected. The best part was that the muscles didn't get tired, I just got breathless. Now all I need to do is train my lungs to breathe deeply and I can do much more....

There was also a nice T-shirt, live Hawaian music and dance and food waiting for us at the end of the run. And of course, volleyball after the run was awesome as usual.