It’s been quite a while since I’ve been blogging – call it a bad case of writer’s block, or so much going on in life, that its overwhelming to sit down and write about it.

So what has been going on?

Transition to Facebook

I wouldn’t say I’m hooked to FB, but it’s the way to network now. I like Orkut more still for its simplicity, but I guess it is time to move on.

MBA Dreams

It was tough to finally realize it has happened, after 2 years of long waitlists and rejections. I’m super excited and happy to be going my top choice school and to be in a city as super as Chicago. It was one my favorite cities of all the intra-US traveling I did last winter. And I am totally in-sync with my school’s motto – “To be the best business school for the world, besides being the best business school in the world”

Sports

It’s been a real case of severe up and downs for Liverpool and Ferrari this year. More on that to follow in subsequent posts.

Here’s hoping I get into the flow of posting….

One of the most exciting Formula-1 finales of my time. The rookie, the pretender and the king, all locked in a fierce battle for the crown. The pretender triumphs – and the world championship is back in the Ferrari stables.

This was the season Kimi grew up – stopped acting like a spoiled brat, and gave his machine some respect. Maybe he realized the enormity of the shoes he was asked to fill, maybe it was being associated with the most legendary name in Motorsport or maybe it was the silent practice of Omerta – he fought his battles on the racetrack as his rivals washed dirty linen in public.

Never one to talk much, couple of incidents involving him stand out:

- In Brazilian GP qualifying, his final hot lap was disturbed by Hamilton. Not a word to the press.

- Accused of being unfriendly with reporters, he said “I’m not supposed to be good at this. You are the guys with polished speaking skills. I drive a car faster than anyone else around – thats my job. If you can do my job better, do it.”

Kimi has been my favorite for a long time, and it was disappointing to see him at McLaren. When he moved to Ferrari, my loyalties in Formula-1 were not conflicting with each other anymore – and I hoped he would eventually get his deserved championship one day. In his first season with his new team – thats a fine start.  One of the unsung heroes of this great victory will be Felippe Massa, donning the role of Barrichello in hopefully what is going to be the beginning of the Raikkonen era.

Interlagos on 21 Oct, 2007  reminded me of Istanbul on May 25, 2005.  Maybe its about underdogs beating the odds , or maybe its just about painting canvasses red.

True, it was unrealistic to expect a set of very average footballers to beat legends twice, but they were clearly the better side throughout the game – and they demonstrated their grit and dedication again.

What they lacked was inspiration – what they lacked was Steven at the top of his form – and lady luck deserting Rafa. They did it in 2005, and it would be very unfair to hold them responsible for the defeat – as I’m sure many Liverpool fans might be doing right now.

Milan had a minimal impact game from their star performers, and Inzaghi – I like to call him the “wild” card, scored each time he was not offside – intentionally or not, that is another issue! Not to be hypocritical, I would not have minded the ball hitting Crouch’s head twice and going through Dida’s fingers if it meant Liverpool would have been champions of Europe again.

What was clearly evident was, Football lost and the better side did not win the game. I am a huge fan of Maldini, and am glad he won his 5th Champions League title, but his contribution was nowhere as significant as it was in the previous 4 winning campaigns. Kaka and Gattusso are the real champions of this Milan side of 2007, and full marks to them. Milan know in their hearts that they hold the trophy, but it is Liverpool’s name which is written on it.

What do I get by supporting Liverpool is a question many of my football crazy pals have asked me, and they support clubs where the weekly wages of one of the players make up for yearly wages of most of the Liverpool players put together. What I get is inspiration – what I know is that you are most valued where you make your bones, not where the fans of the very club you play for jeer you if you do not perform in one game, or the club does not get any silverware for one season, or where you are viewed as a business acquisition than a human being.

But above all, what I get is that feeling of ecstacy, maybe for once in my entire lifetime, when I did not switch off the television at half-time during the early hours of May 26, 2005, and saw my team achieve the impossible. What I saw was how one man galvanised 11 foot soldiers into fierce knights, and when Istanbul was painted Red.

Go Pool – You’ll never walk alone.