A Little Lunacy! {v2}

Me don't need no tagline!

The Week That Was

After finally getting myself a good Internet connection, the last thing I wanted was that thing dying on me. That, dear reader, is the reason for my absence from this place for the whole week. I just got the damn thing working today and now I no longer feel like I’m missing a limb. ;)

Okay, so here’s a brief recap of all the things that happened and didn’t happen during the past couple of weeks. First off, I got myself a new cellphone – the Nokia N79 that I’d been dreaming about ever since I read its review on GXSaurav’s blog. It’s a sleek petrol black model and I am in complete awe of its beauty, intelligence and all the things that a pretty girl should have. Okay, so that was a little weird, but what else did you expect from a techie? :D

My New Phone

My New Phone

Then we had a freshers party on the very same day for the latest bunch of recruits. That went well, even yours truly managing to jive a bit. Sunday was nothing special, what with all of us catching up on the several hours of sleep lost during the week. Then came Monday, and I agree with Garfield. It’s the worst day of the week. I just about managed to scrape through it, half-awake. On Tuesday, my Internet connection started acting up and wouldn’t let me log in. The same had occurred with a couple of friends who had bought theirs from that retailer. The next day I went to the retailer and told him about the problem. He asked me to fill up another CAF form and assured that the connection would be re-activated soon. But as expected, his assurance turned out to be holow. 3 days passed by without any action being taken. I’d made up my mind to get this thing sorted out myself, since complaining to the customer care didn’t help matters either.

My Internetz

My Internetz

On Thursday, I got a minor shock. I was out having a cup of tea during lunchtime when a friend called me up to tell me that the speaker from our classroom was missing and the IT guy was calling the Class Rep, which happens to be me. I frantically rushed back since the stupid thing costs Rs.6500, which would have to beĀ  borne by the scapegoat. Err, I mean the Class Rep. Thankfully, someone had casually picked up the speaker and kept it in the conference hall. My wallet could breathe easy once more and we enjoyed ‘Chak De India’ after a few initial hiccups.

My Class (With Lights On)

My Class (With Lights On)

Then came Friday. Usually the Class Rep gets bullied around by the faculty, has to be responsible for every mistake that the class makes and has to do all sorts of stupid things. But call it my luck, that I’d not been subjected to any of that. That was until Friday. It was lunchtime and I had dozed off in the class, as had most of the others. The next lecture was free since the faculty was busy in a workshop. The lights were off, a few cellphones were playing music and the ambience was highly conducive to sound sleep. Then all of a sudden I heard a call to hide the cellphone and the moment I opened my eyes, there was the director standing at the door, turning on the lights. Needless to say, his first question was – “Who is the CR?”. That was the call for me to get ready for a kicking. But thankfully, I just got to hear a few choice words and nothing much happened. My attempts to save my skin and my class, did earn me a few comments of “Well tried!” from my mates, though. ;)

These don't NEED a caption!!

These don't NEED a caption!!

Oh look! It’s Saturday already! Today I was on my own. That was because I’d been watching a movie late into the night and woke up at 11:39 AM, when the rest of my mates had already gone to the academy to play cricket. “No problem, I’ll just get the Internet connection sorted out today”, I thought. So after a quick bath, I caught a bus to the nearest Reliance Web World. The customer service rep over there was a pretty helpful chap named Santosh. It took 2-3 hours, but he managed to get my connection up and running. I was delighted! After that I just needed to get myself a blanket and a new pair of shoes. Did that, and hopped on the bus back to base. On the way I met a few of my mates returning after the match(es). They had won 1 and lost the other. No need to worry, though. Those were just practice matches. The real thing starts next weekend. My class (F) has been drawn in the group containing sections J and H. I’ll keep y’all updated on the results. :)

And I hope this time we fare better in football. Last time around, we cruised to the championship in cricket and even beat the other 2 trimesters. But in football, we were knocked out in the first round. We had put out a make-shift team and I had an absolute shocker that day. :(

And to make things better, Chelsea have just beaten Wolves 4-0 with a depleted squad. We’re now 8 points clear of Arsenal who got turned over by Sunderland. ManU are playing against Everton as I write this. Let’s hope they lose as well. :P

Joe and Flo Celebrate!

Joe and Flo Celebrate!

Oh well, I guess that’s about it. If I had to rate it, I’d give this week an 8 on 10. Bring on next week, I say! But first, cheers to Sunday!!! :D

Looking Back – Chelsea 1-0 ManU

First off, lemme tell you that this was one of the scrappiest matches I’ve ever seen and there were hardly any clear-cut chances for both sides. Still, the result is all that matters and Chelsea got the perfect result – a hard-fought 1-0 victory which leaves them 5 points clear at the top of the table! :)

No, it's not Chelsea vs Manu

No, it's not Chelsea vs ManU

I never actually expected to be able to watch the match, having been deprived of my weekly dose of the Premier League since the past three months. However, in a surprising turn of events, a couple of friends took over the common television that hangs by the poolside right after dinner and switched the channel to ESPN. A handful of protestations were swiftly silenced after a few more people joined in to watch the big match at 9:30 PM. Now the stage was set – we had 3 Chelsea fans, a couple of ManU fans and an Arsenal fan who was hoping for a draw, in addition to a few neutrals. :D

The match began in a cagey manner, typical of such encounters. Every tackle, shot on goal and piece of skill was greeted with oohs and aahs by our enthusiastic bunch of football fans. And we also had the obligatory discussions about the best players, how much ManU are missing Ronaldo and will Fergie blame the ref again if ManU lose. After the opening 45 minutes had produced a 0-0 scoreline, we awaited the second half with bated breath, hoping to see a genuine goal-scoring threat from either team ( preferably The Blues).

The second half was almost a carbon-copy of the first one, until a controversial decision to award a freekick to Chelsea resulted in John Terry putting the Blues ahead with a headed goal. 1-0 to Chelsea it was, and the ManU players on the pitch were fuming. What folowed was more than just a football match, with loads of shirt-tugging, tripping the opposition players and time-wasting being more prominent than the football itself. But inspite of United’s continued protests and frustration, as well as the referee’s erratic decision-making, Chelsea hung on to record yet another victory. We are now the league leaders with a 5 point advantage over the second-placed team. :)

Okay, so the game wasn’t a classic but it was my first experience watching a match with friends and foes (of course, with regards to allegiances only). And I gotta say, it was bloody awesome! Taunting the rival fans when we’re playing well and appreciating the opposition players when they play well is something that is usually restricted only to message-boards, forums or the stadium. But here, we enjoyed every bit of it and had a great time. And of course, the 34″ LCD TV had a big part to play as well. ;)

So a great ending to the weekend and I managed to have a good night’s sleep, which is why this blog o’ mine is alive and kicking once again. :D

Zhirkov swaps CSKA for Chelsea

Yuri Zhirkov - CSKA Moscow to Chelsea

Yuri Zhirkov - CSKA Moscow to Chelsea

Yuri Zhirkov – also known as the Russian Ronaldinho – has completed his move from CSKA Moscow to Chelsea today. The left-sided full-back/winger joins Chelsea fter a glowing recommendation from Guus Hiddink, the former Chelsea manager and current coach of the Russian national team.

Zhirkov would provide competition to Florent Malouda on the left flank as well as back-up to Ashley Cole at left-back. His stellar performances at Euro 2008 culminated in being nominated for the Ballon d’Or award.

Take a look at his goal against Hamburg to see what he is capable of:

So let’s hope he can show us some of these skills in a Chelsea shirt. Welcome to Stamford Bridge, Yuri! :)

Read the official announcement here.

Daniel Sturridge signs for Chelsea

Daniel Sturridge - Manchester City to Chelsea

Daniel Sturridge - Manchester City to Chelsea

Chelsea have confirmed the signing of 19-year old striker Daniel Sturridge from Manchester City. Sturridge is an England youth international and was a free agent after his contract with City expired. However, since he is less than 24 years old Manchester City will receive a compensation for his development costs, decided by an independent tribunal.

Sturridge joins Ross Turnbull as our second major signing this season. Welcome to Chelsea, Danny and wish you all the best. :)

Read the official announcement here.

Chelsea sign Ross Turnbull

Ross Turnbull - Boro to Chelsea

Ross Turnbull - Boro to Chelsea

Chelsea FC have announced their first signing of the season – goalkeeper Ross Turnbull on a free transfer from Middlesbrough. The 24-year old goalkeeper will contest for the substitute goalkeeper spot with Hilario who has also signed a new 2 year deal. And maybe Turnbull could even push Cech for his starting place in a couple of years.

The addition of Turnbull means another English player in the Chelsea ranks, which would prove handy with regard to the 6+5 rule in Europe. Here’s wishing Ross all the very best and a very warm welcome to Stamford Bridge. :)

Read the official announcement here.