Neha's Tales : Dis is serious Gambling

Atlantic City – December 2nd, 2006 ‘10:26 A.M. , is it ?? A Saturday monin’, isn’t it ? Nahhhh , off to bed again , u’ve worked hard all week ,haven’t u ??’ Was still debating with myself, not yet bid a final good bye to the lovely dreams when I heard the most annoying sound in a very close proximity …..”^%#%$#$#$#” (wish I could mention the composition of my cell phn's ringer tone) Rite in da morn, half asleep, if you hear sumone speak, surely the world understands how much sense one could make... “ AtLaNtIC City ’ ‘no late please’ ‘NO LATE OK’ That’s all I reckon, following which were 2 more calls meant to “gentle reminders” that I , ASSUMED to be the very cause of delay all the time, better be on time .. 12:00 SHARPPP 12:00 IT ISSSSSSSS$%$%@$#Not a minute before , Not a minute after #@$#@#@ This is all I cud think of for the next hour !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 7 minutes beyond the deadline, really guilty I reached the PALACE , only thanking my starts that no one else had arrived. While we gave time to the lazier ones to get ready , we experimented on all possible combinations we could work out, with whatever available, to get our BREAKFAST ready!! HOME MADE parathas – Courtesy Sneha /Maggie / Butter Toast / Tea/Juice /Dosa 4 da rest Did we evea have such a lavish breakfast since we came here ?? Not me, for sure :) While all of us virtually hogged on food (I know that's a gluttonous word , but dare you forget you ate like that) ,not to mention the umpteen number of times they made me prepare T , dere comes the 'Gabber'. A few more minutes while all of us displayed our driving skills , on NFS ofcourse , dere stood our dear VB ( No,please I won't call him Gabber again , I really wanna be a part of next trip) monitoring our performance, There he goes , 'So THE winners , I mean, drivers for this trip are ....................... (fingers crossed i waited ^%%#@!#@#@) Vishalllll.................. (Nawrries 2 more 2 go) Vineeshhh....................(Gosh!!!, just one more to go) 'AND ME' , said VB................(Disappointed I exclaimed , If only my name began with a V !!!!!!!! )' All set to go , with very less trouble everyone chose cars !! VB : 'Well , same names that we have VS , better stay with me. Bhau, I can see you got the baby car seat , I'll ensure you use it till the end , MY CAR you sit in' Vishal : Who could navigate better than Ashish?? Naresh and Sneha , dunno if the reason was car/Vishal or Ashish followed them :) Vineesh: As if three of us were left with options , by method of elimination Himanshu and myself landed up in his car It all started with the hunt for the gas station, we had realised soon enough that Himanshu would be of little use. And me , did anyone have any hopes with me ?? :) , Safe I was , no one even dreamt !!!! Setting our expectations clear,we trusted Vineesh would ensure we take the correct route and reach just in time , way before others. Well ,the confidence he displayed could fool anyone :) , No really!! Aferall ,it was just a 4 liner direction :)) While we gave others directions as to use the shortest way , the adventurous devil within each one of us lulled us to explore a new way !! Trust me 4 once , we intentionally chose a wrong ,I mean the longer way , NOT THAT WE LOST WAY :))) What followed was definitely an absolute bliss ! As we drove through this picturesque stretch, the elegant lakes and river,the picture poster sceneries - all of them formed a sight of unusual beauty and peace.These small towns along the trail provided contrast with the vibrant life of New York city. All three of us took turns in claiming to be the very reason of the great time we were having !! While the others tried their level best to help us get on to the correct route - HAVE FUN is all Himanshu would have to offer :) Towering casinos, bright flashy lights and a fun atmosphere - a sight which would not leave any one less excited , we being no exception. WELCOME TO ATLANTIC CITY - No , no hoarding, exclaimed me to myself !!!!! "Twinkle Twinkle little star , how we wonder WHERE WE ARE %$%$%$#$#@#@ " First timer that i was , absolutely enthralled by what lay ahead of me !!!!!!!!!!! Ceasor's Atlantic Club read the majestic building ahead of us as we drove towards the parking slot. Accustomed to being on the top , we parked on the 8th floor while others chose 7th and 3rd , feeling proud of ourselves for no reason :) Somebody had heard about a water show ,and we didn't want to miss on anythin. Wimsical music flirting with playful nature of the water through carefully choreographed movements WHOOPS!!!!! Bright colours in absolute harmony with gripping music is the sight which welcomed us. We stood watching with dazzled eyes ,swept away by a breathtaking union of water, music and lights. Food,Coffee,Tea,Beach , within two hours we managed to finish all , after all each one amongst us was lookin at being at least a MILLIONAIRE that night! . While Himanshu and Varun debated on which one of these majestic buildings they would purchase once they wind up , I only eyed the RAIN FOREST :)) ( Naresh and Sneha weren't competing at all , they were happy with the beach and we wouldn't mind lettin them have it :) None of us would forget the pace at which Ashish headed towards the slot machine and then we wouldn't catch a glimpse of him till the very end. We split , each one amongst us focussing real real hard , AFTERALL WE WERE TALKIN $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ DOLLARS $$$$$$$$$$$$$$ While I held on to King Uncle (VB - da dude) , we tried our luck at anythin and everythin' - Slot machine we targeted , NOPES max combinations , min BID - AFTER ALL WE PLAY SAFE ;)) No luck :( , we kept playing only to loose more and MORE - Roullete , we debated each time ,RED it is ,BLACK on that table . 'Ahem !!! This chinki stairs BIG TIME, No not here' 'Nahhhh my GUT feeling says we'd not make it here''Ya, this is IT' 'We'll NOT plAy beyond' 'ONE LAST TRY - PALEAZEEEEEEEEE' Ha ha , need I remind all GUT feelings, all inner voices , all logic were in 4 a TOSS NO big hits Only LOSSES ,getting Big Bigger and Biggest each passing moment !!!!!!!! How can I cut it short without the mention of this gambling machine , whose name neither I remember , nor I choose to reckon. Special treatment that all of us got there .... Yes Naresh/Sneha - I can c u smile !! How hard we all fought for your 18$ , walked all the way to ToP floor , got it cross checked and got you YOUR MONEY :) Okie just a li'll less Hmmm HiMANshu - Lago Raho Dude,THIS IS where you couldn't stop , ur pile gettin taller in each section and losses multiplyin n FOLD Vineesh - ' Trust me , now that I've made 50$ from 5 - This was my last bet :)' Vroom,Vishal and Me - Well - our fav triplet - 3 in 1 , 3 in 2 and 3 in 5 Told ya , other combinations wudn't wk :( Okie Guys , I can anticipate the anger mountin up , if you wanna teach that "fat little brat" a lesson count me in :) Akkha public mein sirf mera passport chk kiya , and I would only smile and thank him 'I take it as a Compliment' COMPLIMENT ???? When the entire world stood laughing at me for next 10 minutes??? After 4 hours of SERIOUS gambling , becoming near BANKRUPTS , we issued a report card :) Oh yes , the topper was only in $10 LOSS , No don't read that again , it was indeed a loss :))) !! Who cares though ???? What mattered was that we all had a funfilled day , away from the worries of day to day work !!!!! But If only ................

Sense and Sensibilities - A passing thought .....

Sense and Sensibilities - not any easy deal , is it ??
What do we run towards, what do we run from ....run from the fear of what.. and run towards the hope of what .
Each day we tell ourselves ,we're being wise , we fight those battles of brains with heart , telling that BRAIN should be right and letting the HEART dominate MOST of the time...............eventually searching for what they call the true happiness , trying to be happy ....wondering why can't we let free ..
Why does the word FEAR have to be so dominant in our lives and yes FEAR of what .. ??

Trust, Concern , Truth - we eventually land up running miles from all these words... BUT WHY??
Why can't life be simpler ??
Why can't things be easier ??
Why does everything have to be so weird ??
Why can't all these why's be answered ??

There is something that doesn't love a wall , they say ... but then the moment I start believing in this ... someone pops up ' Good Fences make good neighbors '.. Huh ??

Paradox - This life is ... contradictions at each step, yet we live it with the same zing , with the same enthusiasm , ready to take on. Singing the same tunes with various Nadir and Zenith , trying to prove God knows what to whom............