taking it easy..

i love these chilled out lazy weekends.. where i don't have to do anything but lie in, read a few good books, eat some good food, have a few good drinks, watch a few good movies, listen to some good music.. yup, one does enjoy the good things in life!! got to chat with quite a few people over the weekend - a very cosmopolitan mix!! anne (from kenya, now studying medicine in north carolina), my cousin rana (high school in kenya), farhina (from kenya, air hostess with emirates in dubai - sigh! farhina, farhina, where art thou my precious..), sophie/sofi (from kenya, working in the UK), pranay/pondy (studying at IIM-Cal), shruti (from india, studying at yale).. so apparently i have a 'sister' who looks like me back in kenya.. she's also a 'mittra'.. and is studying in AKA.. where (apparently!!) i'm stiil a legend!! HAHAHAHAH - me like!!

spoke to mom n' dad after quite a long time.. they were glad to hear about the internship.. actually relieved would be more like it.. dad is really really pissed with the italians.. shabana's birthday too, so called her up as well.. she's doing well.. her work pressure seems to have eased off.. i chilled out the whole day with Harry Potter V - Order of the Phoenix, though it's a lot like reading a Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew or something.. the kid has the hots for anything female on two legs!

watched some of the best soccer around yesterday as the czech republic showed how damn good they really are!! pavel nedved showed why he was european player of the year.. poborsky still has his awesome guile.. rosicky and baros are solid players, as is smicer.. jan koller is the tallest man in soccer.. and peter cech is worth every bit of the big bucks chelsea paid for him.. holland didn't stand a chance as czech pulled back from 2-0 down to win 3-2.. and the dutch remain with the tag of "nearly-men"!! latvia fought bravely to hold germany goalless.. and the germans really really need to sweep out all the hapless oldies - schneider, klose, bobic.. who snatch misses out of clear goals!!

portugal rode their luck and knocked a very feeble and inefficient-looking spanish side out.. the spaniards always flatter to deceive; raul and morientes never replicate their club form, they have a plethora of good wingers and midfielders who are just that, good - none in the class of guardiola - mendieta, valeron, joaquin, alonso, vicente, albelda, baraja, they are not really world-class and the defence now is shambles.. ever since hierro and the barca trio of nadal, sergi and abelardo retired; though goalies casillas and canizares are two of the best ever.. luis enrique was really good, and xavi is not getting a look in.. shame, that. in the other game russia salvaged some pride beating greece 2-1, but portugal still top group A and greece come through second on goal difference. much as i like the portuguese, they are showing none of the class or flair that led them to being called the brazil of europe.. they are patchy at best, and christiano ronaldo is too much of a showman.. where are the workhorses?? where are the rui costas and paulo sousas who complement the luis figos? where are the stable fernando coutos, the effective sa pintos, and the hard-running carlos secratarios and sergio conceicaos.. i fear it is not to be portugal's year again..