Breaking the silence

Once again, it's been eerily quiet on the 30-30 front. Not for lack of having things to say/blog about but, rather, due to paucity of time. The latter won't be changing in the foreseeable future but I'm going to try to check in every couple of weeks if not more often.

So by way of an update, a (somewhat chronological starting with the last time I posted) numbered list of things - some random, some not-so-random, some hopefully not at all random.

1. So Pakistan lost the match I last blogged about. Silver lining: it was one of the best matches I, and possibly millions of cricket fans, have seen in a while. I'm loving Misbah-ul-Haq who really helped make the match exciting.

2. While we're still on the subject, Sopcast rocks for those of us who do not live in countries where cricket is practically a religious experience.

3. Belated greetings to our Jewish readership: L'shanah tovah & g'mar chatimah tovah.

4. Belated wishes to our Muslims readership: hope everyone had a good Ramzan (more on the spelling in a minute)and an even more fantastic Eid celebration.

5. I refuse to call it "Ramadhan". Why? The Arabic pronunciation of it feels alien to my South Asian tongue and sensibilities. [Johnny and BB will agree with me.] Hmm that is probably a longer rant that I'll indulge in one of these days.

6. No, Ramzan does not get easier the more times you fast throughout your lifetime. Heck, I think it gets worse as the month proceeds. No I'm not trying to be blasphemous. I just think it's physically exhausting especially if you happen to be living in a country where all of life doesn't slow down because of "the holy month".

7. Having said that, I do relish the spirituality of the practice. Even if I do complain when my stomach growls or when my throat feels parched.Which by the by happened plenty of times while teaching.It's tough to lecture for 1 hour 20 minutes when you can't sip on some water.

8. I love Eid. Especially when there's lots of family involved - even better when the annoying relatives aren't around. Throw in good friends and it's perfection.

9. I also like Ramzan Eid - something about not knowing whether the next day will be Eid or not feels more festive. Plus fasting to me seems more hands-on than sacrificing an animal. Again, I don't mean to sound blasphemous.

10. I detest dissertating today. Okay let me rephrase this. I loathe the isolation and repetition of this task. I can't write with people around because I'm too tempted to indulge in conversations - even with random strangers. Repetition - yes the best writing is rewriting and I seem to start exhibiting ADD-like symptoms (yes I am being hyperbolic for effect here) the more edits I have to go through or the longer I have to keep working on the same project. [And, for those of you who care to point out that I could have finished sooner let me just say very politely that if it was possible I would have. Some of it is me being unable to work faster but it's also the nature of the work - umm beast?]

On that note, I better tend to it....I'll check back at the end of this month. Until then, live, love, eat :-)