Gold Fever

Fireworks during the closing ceremony of 2012 London Olympics (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times)

And yet another edition of the Olympics comes to an end. And I'm left surfing aimlessly through the channels trying to find something (anything!) to fill the void left by it =(

 But what a roller-coaster ride of two weeks! 

Love Affair with Olympics

Me and my family have always been huge fans of the Olympics. Since I can remember, my parents would always watch eagerly the opening ceremony and keep tabs on all major events. But it was only during the Sydney Olympics in 2000 that I caught the Olympic fever. During its opening ceremony, I watched open-mouthed at the underwater sequence where the whole stadium seemed to be converted into a huge aquarium with gigantic sea creatures gracefully swimming in the air. I was hooked! I remember rushing back home from school everyday and tuning in to the channel showing the Olympics and just watching whatever sport they were airing at that time. 

Opening Ceremony, 2000 Sydney Olympics

And then started my love affair with Olympics. Maybe its just the fact that it occurs only once in 4 years; the sheer rarity of it was just alluring! The incredible feats of endurance and all the drama accompanying it. Whether it be the world records broken or the losing competitors' hearts broken; the true stories of underdogs gain victory or the equally true stories of people who resort to drugs to achieve success. I sapped up everything fervently!

London 2012
This edition of the Olympics id not fail and provided all the entertainment that I craved. I did think the opening ceremony was somewhat unsatisfactory. Although, China is definitely a tough act to follow with their militaristic perfection and flawless performances. I cant deny that there were definitely some entertaining segments (namely Mr. Bean performing and the skydiving "Queen") . Judging by all the comments online, the Britons seem to have enjoyed the ceremony immensely but they do agree the performance had too many elements that couldn't be appreciated by the rest of the world.

But the games themselves were carried out perfectly and, as far as I believe, without major glitches. And the closing ceremony was fantastic! It was just like a never-ending party with performances by both upcoming and renowned British artists. It had me foot-tapping at times and immensely moved by others (namely, the montage of different emotions exhibited by  the participants at  the London games, set to the backdrop of a beautiful rendition of  "Read All About It" by Emeli Sandé - You can watch it here.)

Unforgettable Moments of the Games

(According to me)

• As I mentioned before I loved the comic segment during the Opening Games where Rowan Atkinson aka Mr. Bean  played a few integral notes during Chariots of Fire whilst constantly checking his iPhone and  day dreaming his take on a scene from the movie.  =D

Rowan Atkinson at London 2012 Olympics Opening Ceremony (via www.london2012.com)

• Usain Bolt winning gold again and again and, oh wait, yet again! Those were truly THE races to watch. The way Bolt just emerged out of the pack of runners and zoomed to the finish line to be the first man to defend both the 100m and 200m sprint titles, was just incredible (though Yohan Blake was not that far behind)!! Oh and lets not forget that he set a new Olympic record in the 100m and, along with his fellow Jamaican athletes,  a new World record in the 4x100m relay! You the man!

Usain Bolt nearing the finish line of the 200m race (Source:www.news.com.au)

• When Liu Xang of China struck the first hurdle in the 110m hurdles heat and tumbled onto the track.  He had, earlier, bowed out of the Beijing Olympics because of the same Achilles injury. We saw him clutching his right heel and hopping painfully back to the nearest stadium tunnel. And then we saw him hesitating and turning around. Hopping, wincing and gritting his teeth, he made his way down the 110m, the one that he hadn't completed at an Olympics for eight years, to the last hurdle and gave it a kiss. And then he hopped across the finish line. Hungarian hurdler Balazs Baji, who had started the heat next to him, grabbed Liu's right arm and thrust it into the air: a champion, nonetheless. Touched my heart  honestly!

• When Micheal Phelps proved he was the greatest swimmer of all time and bid goodbye to the Olympics with an overhaul of 22 medals (a whopping 18 of them being gold!!)

• When we watched the South African double-amputee Oscar Pistorius make history and advance to the 400-meter semifinals with a 2nd place finish in the heats! If that isn't inspiring enough to destroy the couch potato in me, then I don't know what is.

• The segment during the closing ceremony where children in white T-shirts, with "Imagine" emblazoned on them, sang Lennon's "Imagine". Probably it were the lyrics of the song painting a picture of a utopia we all crave and the fact that it was so appropriately sung, but I found this segment incredibly touching. I loved it when a sculpture of John Lennon was erected during the song and as the song ended the sculpture fell apart releasing white balloons into the air. Ah, beautiful!

• As the curtain fell on the Olympics and the flame of the Olympic torch was about to be quelled, a phoenix soared above the Olympic stadium reminding us that though the games may be over for now, a brand new edition is on its way . 

Now I have to settle down to a long wait till 2016 for Rio to dazzle me! *sigh* Until then I guess I'll have to do with the watching soaps or reality TV to get my daily fix of excitement and drama ;-)

Babble and Bauble

And voila! There is yet another blog out there in the vast expanses of the Blogosphere. Another one in the many unknown and unnoticed voices expressing their opinions, narrating amusing little stories, trying to reach out to people or just finding contentment in the simple act of writing.


So why do I want to join this group of wordsmiths? Simply because I want to experience, once more, the joy of writing. When I was a kid, I had this little yellow book where I would write my childish stories (mostly inspired by the Famous Five series by Enid Blyton) and fancy myself as a budding author. As I grew up I was even lucky to have English teachers who would compliment and encourage my writing.

But then college days arrived and zoomed by and I realised, that caught up in the mundane realities of life, I had lost that desire to write. Writing became more of a chore than a pleasure. Words refused to flow into perfectly formed sentences and what used to be easy once...wasn't so anymore.

Hence, the blog. Its just an attempt to write. As the title suggests, its just the "Babble and Bauble"-the humdrum chatter - of person just like you trying to put into words the world around you.

So until I catch you next time (on a cheerier topic I assure you :)
Take Care

Just Memories Remain…

I was walking back to my house from school. Sally was just running along a few paces in front of me. She ran out onto the road. Before I could react, a car flashed  by, hit her and sped on without stopping. I stood stunned. Some people started running towards her and formed a small crowd around her. I slowly walked towards the spot. I saw her surrounded by a pool of blood. I let out a shuddering sob and swept her up into my arms……….

x-x-x-x

The sky was black with grey clouds. It was drizzling slightly. The rain drops were softly touching my cheeks as though telling me it was all right. It seemed as though the whole world was mourning the loss of Sally.

They gently put her into the casket and slowly lowered her into the ground. I watched silently. I felt no grief; I was just enveloped by a feeling of numbness. I could not believe it was Sally who was lying in that casket. It just could not be. My only friend cannot just leave me here all alone.

 I still remember the first time when I had seen her. She had been sitting in a corner looking very forlorn. I had gone up to her and had spoken kindly and softly to her. She had looked up at me and I knew from that moment we were friends for life.

After that day we were inseparable. I would tell her every secret, every small thing that had happened in my life. I remember whenever I used to feel upset or sad, she would come up to me and just by being with me she would make me feel better. I don’t know how but she could sense how I was feeling

She was so charming and so full of life and…….so beautiful. Everyone fell under her spell. She made friends with everyone.

Whenever she wanted something and she knew I was about to refuse it to her, she would look up at me with her lovely deep brown eyes and I would not have the heart to refuse it to her.

I remember the time me, Sally, mama and papa went to the beach. I was so excited as I wanted to show off my swimming to my mama. I swam out into the sea considering myself to be an ace swimmer. Suddenly I found myself drifting out into the sea. I tried to swim back to the shore but I kept drifting away into the open sea. I screamed for help but my mama and papa didn’t hear me. I was slowly getting exhausted and was swallowing a lot of water. Suddenly Sally came out of nowhere and started pulling me to the shore. We reached the shore after what it seemed like ages to me and immediately on reaching Sally collapsed with fatigue. That day me and my mama and papa made endless fuss about her. She was the hero of our family. After all, she had saved my life.

She was the best friend I ever had, my confidante, and she meant everything to me. I will never ever get another friend like her.

Tears began streaming down my cheeks. I looked up and saw mama watching me. She opened her mouth to say something but papa spoke softly to her,” Don’t stop her. It will only make her bottle up her grief. Let her cry.”

And then tears fell down my cheeks uninhibited. After sometime I slowly turned towards our car and got into it. My parents followed and we started on our way back home.

I let the window down and stared out. The wind cooled my hot cheeks. Every place I saw outside reminded me of Sally. Memories…..that’s what they are now……just memories. Memories of how we played outside day and night with just each other for company. Memories of how she would never leave my side no matter what happened. Memories of her ever-smiling face. Just memories remain……….But memories are all that I have now and these memories will always remain in my heart. I will never be able to forget Sally, my dog.


(Well, hello readers. This is my 1st attempt at a blog. So leave your comments and let me know how i did for a 1st timer .

This is a short story I had written when I was 12 years old. I thought my blog couldn't be off to a better start than with a story that is close to my heart)