40 - 0

For the first time in the history of the Royal Thomian regatta there was a white wash. Royal took home all the silverware, including the coveted Boat Race Trophy. 40 - 0 was the end result. Here are a few highlights.

Roy - Tho Regatta

There's no shortage of tensed excitement at home, and it's kind of unnerving. Tomorrow is an excessively big day for all of us. Royal has not won the Roy-Tho regatta in about 8 years, if you discount the ties and the Thomians pulling out last year. But this year just might be it, fingers crossed! It's a big deal for the family as my younger bro will lead the team that carries on their shoulders an expectation that has been 8 years in the making! Being the 3rd of 3 boys, I don't think he's expecting any hugs and good luck cards and the like from the older bros. But I'm sure he knows how immensely proud we are! Regardless of how he feels the night before the regatta, i'm having a severe case of goose-bumps! It promises to be a great day for Royal rowing. It promises to be a great day for my family. Good luck bro:)

Kelum

He used to come and play cricket with us when we were kids. That's the earliest memory I have of him. Being my maid's nephew, his visits used to be quite regular, and he would come and stay with us at least once a month and we always had a blast. He lives in Kantale. Whenever we needed an extra pair of hands around the house he'd come down and help. He stayed with us when we moved house in 1998 and again in 2002. Kantale didn't have much scope in terms of employment, so in 2002 he moved to Colombo. Although he was working as a peon at some office, he didn't particularly take to the work. That was when my dad's office hired him as a driver. I had just left to uni at this point. I saw him in the summer of 2004. He used to be in and out of our house as he was busy with my dad's work. On a day in October 2004, he was walking along the street in Homagama when a speeding lady driver ran him over. He survived, but only as a vegetable. It's been 3 years since that accident. He now lives in Kantale, the only son to a family who have a shop on the road to trinco. Coming to Colombo to make a better living for his family was harsh, as he soon learnt, or didn't. He now lies in a bed, as he has been for 3 years, in his home, not knowing at all what is going on around him. My maid reminded me today that it has been 3 years since his accident. He must be 28. His name is Kelum.

Once

Darwin was right. I'm going to start listening to her more often. Having read her review of 'Once', I thought i'd give it a go and see how it is, especially since she said that it's a must do for music lovers. I just finished watching it and I can't stop humming the beautiful melodies that spilled out during the last one and a half hours. I can't believe they aren't professional actors, but they most certainly have to be professional musicians. If they weren't, they certainly will be now! The movie is a little slow running, especially if you don't particularly fancy watching what is in fact a bunch of jam sessions. But it was the slow running-ness of the movie that let you fall deep into the threshold of what's happening. The music has a feel of typical British/Irish folk coupled with blues coupled with light rock. Much much like Damian Rice. Thanks Darwin. Great movie. Even better music. Now to find the soundtrack.

Law, Math, Music

I'm not made for these bloody exams. I've done jack all today! But i've already started with the papers so there's no backing down now. However, this cramming nonsense just doesn't work. I've already forgotten what I read in the last hour, much like Darwin forgot to shut off that Electro-thingamagig. How so? Well, probably cause it's as critical, since the paper is only a few days away and what i'm studying is completely new to me! So yeah, I learnt a few things that might be helpful along the way, like how I can sneak into some land you own and if I can live there for 10 years without being kicked out, I can challenge you for ownership and also learnt how big, in terms of land mass, a paddy cultivation needs to be. It's more than obvious why I need the latter bit of information cause 63% of all Sri Lankan males under 25 take to paddy cultivation. Might I add 80% of statistics are bullshit. My study pattern for today has been pretty simple. Study for an hour, then play guitar for an hour and a half. If I break down that 1 hour of study time, it'll be something like this: Read the notes - 10 minutes Stare at the ceiling blankly - 25 minutes Realise that I'm really not reading the notes - 5 minutes Re-read the notes - 10 minutes Look forward to the end of the hour - 10 minutes At least i'm getting better at the guitar.

You know you're around lawyers when...

Yesterday began yet another series of wretched exams. So there I was, trudging back to Hultsdorf where the only form of life is of the kind clad in black and white sarees and suits. Well, not exactly zebra print suits, which you're probably more likely to find in Malaka Silva's wardrobe, but I mean black suits and white shirts. If you thought that was bad in this heat, these bloody lawyers top it off with a cape, much like batman, and batgirl (just to be fair) which weighs a ton and does not look comfortable! In my hand i nervously clutched the short notes that I had finished preparing about 10 minutes before leaving for the exam. I was hoping that, if I clutched them hard enough, I'd absorb the content through an advanced form of osmosis straight from the future. In the midst of trying to put Hart, Pound, Darwin (the real dude, not the blogger:)), Dworkin, Austin and others into the right school of thought, I happened to glance at the notice board at Law College. A few vacancies, a list of failures at the last exam, the usual. But then I saw this notice that caught my eye, which made me realise that I was most certainly in the right place. It read : NOTICE An article has been found and it is in the custody of Mr. X. The owner of said article can call over at his office and collect same. Signed. Principal. Sri Lanka Law College. Edit - Note to reader : Article, in this context and in lawyer-speak, means an object or item rather than a publication. Instead of expressly stating what was missing, they stated that they found something. It was up to the loser to prove that he had lost it.

:)

Happy Birthday!

Master of None

(Spotted in York, UK, about a year ago) My name is confab, and I want to have lots of love affairs. There I said it. Sometimes I wonder, why I find myself wanting to do a million different things. The latest list includes owning an Austin Mini, acquiring a mother of a camera and wanting to travel the world. Oh and getting a new guitar. Live abroad again. Record an album. Learn drums. Ok i'll stop. So anyway, yes, I'm quite happy being a jack of all trades and a master of none, as long as I can dabble in this and that. I love learning new things, and finding new passions. For that matter, I admire RD, who, being close upon 75, is still keen on improving on his passions, i.e. the drums, and learning new things, i.e. how not to put saffron in dhal. I don't want to get to the age where I have to wear that t-shirt, only to wonder what I did with my life. And that's what drives me.

Neighbourhood Watch

Directly taken from the official website of (the apparently) Honorouble Namal Rajapaksa. "ARMS GIVING CAMPAIGNS - ‘Tharunyata Hetak’ organized an arms giving for the elderly folk of ‘Tissamaharama’ on the 6th of May of 2007. The event was attended by approximately hundred elderly people." Be extra careful. 100 armed senior citizens are on the loose.

The Long Road Home

Sri Lankan roads aren't all that confusing now are they? See, the longest drive within the city is going to take you about 30 minutes at most (add 10-15 more for traffic). So why's it that trishaw drivers always mess up a simple point A to point B trip? Here's the deal. This morning, I walked about half a kilometer from home to where Kirimandala Road meets Nawala Road (point A). Found a bright blue trishaw there. Saw a man standing next to it. Went up to it and said I need to go to Braybrooke Place (point B). He thinks for a while, tells me to take the 176 from there and change at Borella. I look at him blankly and point towards the trishaw. He laughs and points me to the driver who is standing further away. I smile meekly and move on to negotiate with the actual driver. But that's not the story. So having told him what the best route is and negotiated an apparently reasonable fair of 250 bucks from A to B, I get in and we're on our way. I still haven't gotten over the fact that in Bangalore trishaws charge only 6 INR (roughly around 18 SLR) per km while over here in SL i'm paying close upon 50 bucks a km! While heading down Kirimandala he suggests a different route which is slightly longer, which other trishaws have taken before, so I say to him "yeah ok if that's what you wanna do". So we head up Thimbirigasyaya Road instead of going down Baseline Road towards Kanatte. Generally, the Thimba route involves us turning into the lane opposite Sunethra Lane near the church on Thimba Road, then heading past CR&FC and towards independence square. While I was sitting there with my ipod plugged in I see that turn off pass us by. Then we turn right into Torrington Avenue. This was a new route! So when Torrington ended on Bullers Road I expected him to take one of 2 options, both of which ended up near independence square. But I was wrong, AGAIN! He goes towards Thunmulla along the one way, goes all the way around and comes back towards Lionel Wendt and the Museum and finally to Braybrooke place, adding at least an extra 10 minutes to a 20 minute ride. I would've thought he might've saved more cash, and me more time, if he actually listened to me and went on the route that has been identified to be the shortest, at least by me! But these trishaws, they've got their own GPS which apparently you can't fool.