Tuesday evening, while I am in office I was extremely disappointed for not catching the bowling of Sreesanth, surely not to see his antics but to watch his bowling. He is a troubled kid in cricket arena but I love his bowling action, from that beautiful run-up to delivery stride, those seamed up deliveries and lovely out-swingers. He can be thrashed for those wayward deliveries he bowls now and then but still I enjoy watching him. In India, very few fast bowlers have the perfect run-up. Kapil Dev had that, Srinath had that, Zaheer have that and then Sreesanth. I like Agarkar’s but its not the perfect one for a fast bowler.

It’s the year of 2005. India cricket team is searching for the fast bowling talent. With Zaheer nursing injuries, out of shape and out of form, Nehra too out due to injury and Agarkar out of squad for his waywardness the selectors search handed them 2 fresh talents in their hands: Santhakumaran Sreesanth and Rudra Pratap Singh. Both were young and basically swing and rhythm bowlers.

How he got into the team?

The news is in the air that Sreesanth has trapped Sachin in front in the challenger trophy 2005. He was also the highest wicket taker and man of the series in that series earned the much awaited national cap for him. He debuted against Srilanka in 2005. In that bilateral series he has bowled with lot of pace and less accuracy. But he has been among the wickets. Moreover, he has own the confidence of then coach Greg Chappell, who ran the show. But he didn’t attract me due to his waywardness. Actually it is R.P.Singh who attracted me straight away with his clean run-up and his ability to swing the ball into right hand batsmen. But Sreesanth has always got the nod above RP. My heart always will go to RP for not being in the team and more than that its Sreesanth who holds it.

When it all changed??

It was the tour of South Africa which changed my perception about Sreesanth. He ran in hard, beautiful wrist and seam position, making the ball to cut both the ways, he made inroads into the South African batting line-up in the first test and India won the first test in SA soil. The much talked about aspect of the Sreesanth’s ability is his wrist position and perfect seam. With that perfect seam he makes the ball to move in and out and kept the batsmen guessing.

The MRF pace foundation’s bowling coach T A Sekhar then said,

“I have not seen anybody bowling with such beautiful seam. The only time I have seen it was when Zaheer was at his peak”.

The Golden run….

Sreesanth has got a permanent place in the Indian team and was part of the Dhoni’s young brigade till April, 2008. Until that period he has some nerve-cracking moments like holding on to the catch of Misbah-ul-Haq as India laid their hands on the inaugural T20 world cup and then the face off with Australia in Australia winning the triangular series. He has lost his temper and control completely over those days but not his pace and his ability to hit the seam.

Trouble and more trouble..

And then he lost his place in the Indian team due to injury and when he was started to play again public started to remember him more for his antics on and off the field, from the dance on field after hitting the six off Andre Nel, slapping incident between him and Bhajji, those antics he does before bowling every delivery, staring at the batsmen for a nothing delivery and then the way he ran around after bowling Dhoni at the last IPL.

The comeback – its by tomorrow……

‘Every good thing comes to an end’ – So as my training came to an end by 23rd November, 2007. But its expected. And its also good that it has ended while I am enjoying it. Else I couldn’t have remember and savor those moments this much.

I always wanted to be on my own and I badly missed the hostel life during my college days. So this came as a real breather. But I had some comfort here with fully furnished room which will be cleaned up daily(surely not by me), the food courts within campus and some good hotels just outside the campus. So I had all the time in the world to do what I like other than learning programming. Most importantly the room is within my office campus. In a way I become very lazy too. For the class by 9, except for the first week I wake up only by 8 or 8:15. At that time mostly my roommate would have left the room. So  I don’t have to rush and had enough time to get ready.

And what made this training phase more interesting is, all of us were just out of college and with the same sort of behaviour we continued to interact between us. So it is just a matter of time to get mingled with all of them and out of 420 people in our batch, each one would have known at least half of them. With each of our rooms so near, we used to frequent all others room.

The cycle within the campus is another superb thing. We could find cycle anywhere and can reach any place in a jiffy. The first day, I have entered  the campus, I am fully excited to see such a big campus but later only I have learned even if I walk I could round-up the campus within 30 minutes. In the campus there was a food court which operated with fresh menu from midnight for the BPO employees. I always loved the paratha which will be served hot with Egg burji by that time.

Sundays, another blissful day. There is no question of waking up before 11. So after skimming through the channels we will start to a Andhra mess which is a little far away from the campus. They used to serve unlimited meals just for Rs.35. That is what can be called as heaven. First they will serve rice with dal powder with ghee. Wowie… I used to eat and eat for 2 rounds that itself. Then the usual stuffs of sambar, rasam and curd. The side dish which they will serve also very good. On the top of it, the best is, their service. I am planning to go to bangalore next month. So if at all I am there by lunch time, I will go there for sure. Actually we have tried out all the good restaurants around the campus. More than the ones inside the campus, the hotels in the outside are really superb.

There was a little pond just near by the building in which our training took place. There were lot of fishes too. Its a cool thing sit near that pond and talking after the lunch. We used to sit there most of the times for atleast 10 minutes. Such a nice place to spend. Two pedal boats were also available there but I have float in that for only one time.

If the above things are looked good, the most important reason is the kind of people who were with me and I always love to remember them for all those beautiful moments they have given to me to rejoice even after 2 years. Unfortunately, by the last day I am really sad more for the posting I have got in Pune more than the end of the training. In a way, the end of training is really good as how long can I write exams and how long company can provide salary to me without any productivity??? All in all, its a great journey for 4 months

I have took few pictures, which I thought of sharing. Hope you all will enjoy it.

In the below 2 photos you could see the dog which came to our apartment as a pup. And when I mentioned it earlier, I have mistakenly referred her as ‘he’. Only after few months I came to know that it is a female dog. Now she gave birth to 5 puppies

The puppies:

The way to our office. I love this kinda paths where the trees are grown parallely on both side of the road. And they always make a nice photo. Surprisingly it came out well in my mobile

When I went to the top of our home, I found this dragonfly sitting on the cable and I ran back to home to pick up the mobile and thankfully it was still there when I am back. I tried my best to shoot it from different angles. Let me know how they are.

Ekta has tagged me now.. oops sorry..a month back. I thought its just now but already 40 days were gone Without delaying more I am moving into the tag.

1. What is your current obsession?

Blogging, reading books, watching movies and farmville

2. What are you wearing today?

Shirt and lungi I don’t know why this question features in all the tags

3. What is for dinner?

Had Mutton briyani

4. What is the last thing you bought?

2 tickets for 2012 movie. Going to watch this evening

5. What are you listening to right now?

Mazhaiye Mazhiye (Meaning: Rain) (Film – Eeram)

Tharai Irangiya (Same film)

6. What do you think about the person who tagged you?

She is really good writer and I love reading her blog. Hope she writes more

7. If you could have a house totally paid for, fully furnished anywhere in the world, where would you like it to be?

In Chennai, Besant Nagar. Such a nice place to live. And the beach nearby, makes it really special.

8. What are your must-have pieces for summer?

Don’t know what it means by pieces. Whatever I need lots of water and Lime juice during summer.

9. If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?

Antarctica. Always I love snow and I think thats the best place to get introduced to.

10. Which language do you want to learn?

There are many. But the top one is Hindi and then spanish.

11. What is your favorite quote?

Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.

12. Who do you want to meet right now?

The late leader Mr.Kamaraj.

13. What is your favorite color?

Not much choosy on that. But still blue and green are my choice.

14. What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own closet?

Tracks and Shirt.

15. What is your dream job?

Some day a CEO of a company or a sports journalist.

16. What is your favorite magazine?

None.

17. If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?

A nice camera.

18. What do you consider a fashion faux pas?

Couldn’t get the question. Fashion and me never went well. Now that word too

19. Who are your style icons?

Nobody.

20. What kind of haircut do you prefer?

A shorter one so that I don’t have to comb for few days

21. What are you going to do after this?

Have to watch the film ‘The 400 blows’.

22. What are your favorite movies?

A lot. I have done a tag on that long back. It’s here and the current one is Pulp fiction.

23. What inspires you?

Help without any intention of getting it back.

24. What are three cosmetic/makeup/perfume products that you cannot live without?

Yet to buy/use something in that regard

25. Give us three styling tips that always work for you:

A little smile, Charm nature and jokes which doesn’t harm anybody.

26. What do you do when you “have nothing to wear” (even though your closet’s packed)?

Hope I won’t get into that situation

27. Coffee or tea?

Coffee.

28. What do you do when you are feeling low or terribly depressed?

Try to concentrate on something which I like much and forget about the thing which depresses me.

29. What is the meaning of your name?

My full name is Kanagaraj Pandian. Kanagaraj means I think one who is good in Maths. Pandian – In ancient Tamilnadu Pandya Dynasty ruled south Tamilnadu.

30. Which other blogs do you love visiting?

All the blogs I am currently visiting.

31. Favorite Dessert/Sweet?

Rasagulla. YUMMY!!!

32. Favorite Season?

Love every season. But most favorite is Spring.

33. If I come to your house now, what would u cook for me?

If you light the stove then I will make dosas(considering dough available) or Omlette.

Thanks for tagging me Ekta. This is a new one but had some old questions. But I enjoyed it.

Tagging time: I think only crafty has done this tag. So I tag everybody. Please do it if you have time

PS: I have written my views on the first test between India and Srilanka here. Read it and let me know your comments.

Note: This is the first I am writing this kind of post. Actually I couldn’t categorize it. Please let me know your views and also under which criteria I can place this post.

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From the way it forms to the way it drops, it’s a marvel of nature.

 Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain.

                               – Author unknown

Black is always considered a colour of sorrow but when the clouds turn black no one shed tears but everybody’s eyes were brimming with hope, lips were wearing smile and suddenly the whole world starts to look beautiful.

The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.

                                              – Henry wadsworth Longfellow.

        It makes any part of day as beautiful. Just the moments after we wake up, if we open our windows to see the world being looking fresh and new with rains pouring down, we know it’s not another day. I always love standing at the window and watching those rain for few minutes. It gives immense joy not because it may grant a leave for me. Take it by afternoon, when we will be tired after work, it offers a freshness to the tea, we drink. A hot cup of tea/coffee during a rainy afternoon/evening, a bliss!!!  By evening while returning from work, no need to worry about the looks on how wet our dress will get, all are ready take a little bath from nature’s shower.  And come night, we can sleep merily with the comfort of bedsheets with the sound of rain drops makes a perfect combo. It also gives a reason to sleep a little longer.

And when it rains on your parade, look up rather down. Without the rain ther would be no rainbow.

                                                         – G.K. Chesterton.

So after I get dressed up and start to office, I can see some beautiful view of children holding small umbrellas going to school or a child fully covered with raincoat yet the kid’s mother prefers he/she to walk with her under the umbrella or children splashing water by jumping into the water in the little ponds on the road or all this together.

Rain is grace; rain is the sky condescending to the Earth; Without rain there would be no life.

                                                       – John Updike.

I have never seen a kid running fearing the rain but when I see them they will be accompanied by some elder person. They love the true nature and they know what the rains are for, to sing and dance. They love to hold as much as possible rain water in their small, soft and tender hands and play with it.

Some people walk in the rain, others just get wet.

                                              – Roger Miller

Rain shows no differences to people in making them beautiful. A person who looks beautiful in dancing in the rain was as beautiful as when he/she holding an umbrella and walking carefully. Yes. It’s a pleasure to watch people walking with umbrella. Be it a young kid or older man or a couple holding a single umbrella, it gives a new dimension to their look.

I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain; What a wonderful feeling, I’m happy again.

                                         -  Arthur Freed.

Rain makes food wonderful. Except for juices and icecreams we prefer food to be served hot. A hot food is one requiste on a rainy day. Its a fun to watch those steam coming out of the hot served drink or rice or curry. I love it. And what makes those bajji’s and samosa’s looks more beautiful than they are?? its rain. Other days we just drink tea. On a rainy day, we enjoy the tea.

If love is shelter, I’m going to walk in the rain.

                                            – Author Unknown.

Rain makes travelling beautiful. When we walk, or  riding a cycle or bike those drops of rain we feel on our face makes us feel we are the happiest and luckiest people at this moment and on this Earth. Its a wonderful feel to ride a cycle at your pace when huge rains comes down.

Last but not the least, Rain makes sunshine beautiful.

Let the rain kiss you.  Let the rain beat upon your head with silver liquid drops.  Let the rain sing you a lullaby.

                                                           -  Langston Hughes

Rain is beautiful, indeed.

So why I am writing this?? For the last 15 days I am enjoying all these moments and Chennai is much cooler and beautiful now

PS: Thanks Swaram. I thought of adding those quotes at the end of the post. But just remembered Swaram’s way of placing the quotes within the post. Its really nice to see and read them

When I went to my training I have never thought I will meet my cousin brother there even though my mom has told that my cousin was selected for my company I never thought I will meet him. But I met him in the second week of my training. Actually the training is on developing our communication skills and the first thing we have to do is go around the room and introduce ourselves to the other people(Except the 7 college mates I don’t know any of them while reaching there). So after introducing myself to 2 or 3, we both started to introduce and by that time he started to ask about where I am living and do you know them?? like that. Then only I remembered, its him. The last time I have met is, when I was studying in 5th Standard. So my memory can’t be blamed for not remembering instantaneously. We had a good chat by that day itself.

After that we used to frequent to lunch and dinner together many a times. And had a great time too even though we had totally different interests. He never keeps his eyes open max. of after 11 and I always used to roam around actively till 3. I don’t think he ever came to playground while my half of the training days were spent in it. Its also really great that I am back to Chennai after a little trip to Pune and we had our lunch together here also but its been a long time since we have eaten together as my shift timings(afternoon shift) were never changed for last 8 months or so

Late night Chats:

As I have already said, its a kind of hostel life for me. So late night chats are really a part of it. All the night we are all will group together in one room and used to talk about everything. With lot of cricket were played by India those days we were not short of topic any day. And there is always cinema to discuss about. All the music channels will be playing some or other songs and talks will be on actor, actresses and directors. And also the leg pulling of  the fans of the actors will happen. And the worst thing is when we are about to switch off the TV, a beautiful song will be played and again we will be chatting for another 30 minutes.

Mostly all these chats will happen in Room no. 476 or 495 where the friends are came from KSR college.

One night the talk went for a long time and one of our friend Mr.RV started to move to his room.

Me: Why are you going so soon da?

He: In sometime, its going to dawn da.

And the clock is showing 2:50 AM. And we had classes by next day morning 9 AM. Phew!! those were the days.

PS: Only one post is left in this series, and it will be on the day I finished my training

 

Every actor has given a strong performance but the stand-out performer was Christopher Waltz. The way he speaks itself sends chillness to the spine. Even the way he eats makes us to scare. A strong contender for this year’s academy award. Brad Pitt speaks English in a very different accent which I found really difficult to understand. He sleepwalks through his role and was as ruthless as Christopher Waltz in action.

I liked the French Actress.. She is really beautiful

Technical Aspects and Art:

    The film starts with MJ announcing his plans on the concert just for the fans named ‘This is it’. From then on, a glimpse of the audition took place to select the dancers for the show is chosen and rehersals took place for each song to be performed in concert. MJ is aged and very thin too, but he was really energetic and didn’t shown any sense of discomfort while dancing or performing for the songs. He is completely in command on what he needed from his team. From the way the things to look on stage to the little notes of the music, he has a clear picture in mind. He encourages his team members, appreciates them and corrects them to perform better. In one place he tells to a guitarist, ‘This is the moment for you to score and we are all here with you’. The work they put behind this one is really amazing and it looked to me like, its a real concert. Such is the effect.

   Director Kenny Ortego has done a great job in making this documentary, which didn’t have a dull moment. I didn’t felt bored at any point. Crisp editing made this possible.

 Trailer:

  Its really difficult to believe that this man was died with he still entertaining us. His death is really a great loss for music world. Thanks MJ for all the entertainment you have provided all these years and for the years to come. R.I.P MJ.

Once again I have just missed writing a 55 word fiction :( But successfully written a Drabble. According to Wiki,

A drabble is an extremely short work of fiction exactly one hundred words in length..

And my below fiction has exactly 100 words

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Story:

She was at the end of her long awaited interview with the acclaimed writer Mr.Shinde. And here is the question she has, which most of his fans wanted to ask him. She cleared her throat and asked , “Sir, you have written stories on genres ranging from fantasy to love, from science fiction to thrillers but you have never registered about a mother’s love in your writings. Any reasons for that?

After a moment’s pause, he answered, “Yes, there is. Because I can never do justice for that. And I feel words are not enough to describe it”.

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Updates:

Friends, sorry for not visiting your blogs for the past few days. My internet connection was gone 3 days before and its yet to get repaired. Hope it starts work fine soon. Will read all the missed posts in 2 days

And over the weekend I have seen 2 movies which I wanted to see for a long time: Alien and Aliens. Both are awesome. If the first is more of a thriller, second one is fully packed with action. I think I would have been the last soul on this Earth to watch those films. I am amazed by the way Cameroon visualized the second part of that film franchise. Because Ridley Scott finished that first part(which he wouldn’t have thought as a Ist part) in a perfect way leaving no space for a second installment.

Also started watching another movie ‘Conspiracy’, which is a documentary kinda movie on Wansee conference held in 1942 in which the German officials discussing on ‘How to evacuate the Jews systematically’. It was full of conversation and I started to feel bored midway through the movie and closed it.

As you sow, so shall you reap

Pakistan was learning the meaning of this proverb in a hard way these days. The once friend Talibans were rocking the Pakistan cities with bomb blasts and if we all just see the no. of bomb blasts happened there in this year, we will faint for sure. According to the following site, there are about 417 blasts(The latest bomb blast in Peshawar was not included in this) in this year till October which makes more than a blast/day. Check this here. This amount of bomb blasts also shows how easily the Talibans were moving along with the people in the country. And the latest Peshawar blast was happened on the day, when US secretary of state Hillary Clinton visited Pakistan, which itself is a statement.

In many of the blasts luckily there were no loss of life. Even an accident in front of our will create a lot of pressure, uncertainity and doubts in a human mind. And these kind of attacks will surely create doubts and fear in the minds of people for sure, which is not a good sign for a nation. We can avoid accidents, but these intentional bombings??? But this blasts provides an opportunity for Pakistan to understand how evil the terrorism is and to completely uproot Taliban from their soil. Even the people of Pakistan will be furious about the attacks which killed many of their countrymen and will extend a complete support for their government’s action.

If a stern action was not taken by the Pakistan government, it will be a great threat for all the South Asian countries. And Pakistan leaders must stop pointing their fingers towards India for the blasts by making some statements like ‘India supporting Talibans by providing monetary assistance’ which will just help to divert their attention towards a direction which is wrong and a direction where the problem won’t be solved. Actually some kind of above statement was made by Pakistan’s North West Frontier Province’s (NWFP) Inspector General of Police (IG) Malik Naveed which was then denied by the Pakistan Interior minister Rehman Malik. You can read about that here.

If we see the cities in which the bomb blast happened we could see most of the NWFP states are affected. This itself may create some doubts in the minds of the different parts of the people which is again not a good sign for the integrity of a nation. So its time for the Pakistan government to push aside their misconceptions and egos for the welfare of South Asia, if not for that, atleast for their nation and their people. Hope they won’t commit their mistake again.

Swaram, Avada Kedavra, Saranya and Shruti has honored me with lot of awards last month. Thank you all, I am really happy. It helps me to keep myself encouraged and write something which may be entertaining or informative. So I like to pass on the awards.

Swaram has awarded me with the following awards:

Friends Award:

I like to pass on this award to all my friends. Dhiren, Ajit, Vimmuuu, Crafty, Solilo, Swaram, Pixie, Oorja, Sandhya, Shruti, Avada Kedavra, Harsh, Sakhi, Reema, Masood, Indyeah, Sahaja, Raj, Pals, Ashwathy, Arpit, Nimmy, IHM, Ekta, Hary, Nita, Bones, Anish, RSV, Smitha, Smita, Destination Infinity, Kartz, Smallstar, Shruthi, Chowla Sir, Saritha akka, Princess, Meira, Mystery, PNA, Manju, Rashmi, Suji ,Saranya and Verbi.

I love your blog Award:

I love all the blogs mentioned above and love to read all of them. So please all of you pick up this award.

Gloden Pen Award:

Swaram awarded me with this one mentioning as below:

Kanagu – U r really gud @ fiction Kanagu!

Its a great honour for me, as I am writing fiction very rarely and also this makes me to think a lot before publishing a story. Hope I didn’t disappointed you with my fiction Swaram, after these words

I like to give this award to: Indyeah, Shruti, IHM, Avada Kedavra, Nita, Ekta and Destination Infinity.

Tea cup Mouse:

Again I like to give this award to all of you. Please pick it up

Butterfly Award:

This is the first award I have received in the blog world and I am happy that I am still continuing that way

I like to pass on this award to Vimmuuu, Dhiren, Ajit, Solilo, IHM, Indyeah, Crafty, Hary, Swaram, Meira, Oorja, Saritha akka, Pixie, Nimmy, RSV, Anish, Smitha, Ashwathy, Harsh, Pals, Shruti and Smita.

Addicting Blog award:

Once again I am awarded with Addicting blog award and as I have earlier mentioned, I love to read all your blogs and like to give this award to you all.

Thanks for all the awards Swaram

Avada Kedavra has recently completed her 100 posts and as a part of celebration given the following awards to me. Congrats and thanks AK

Avada’s blog buddy:

Its really cute and special.. thanks AK

Superior scribbler award:

I like to pass on this award to: Masood, Smita, Smitha, Verbi, IHM, Sandhya, Reema and Sakhi.

And I am once again awarded by her with Butterfly Award. Thanks AK for all the awards

Saranya has awarded my blog as Freaking fabulous.

I like to pass on this award to: Swaram, Dhiren, Solilo, Indyeah, Chowla Sir, Nita, Crafty, Vimmuuu, IHM, Shruti, Oorja, Reema, Anish, Rashmi, Suji, Manju, Smitha and Smita.

Thanks Saranya.

Shruti has recently published her 50th Post and as a part of golden jubilee celebration has given me the following awards.

Awesome Blog Buddy:

Again a special award. Thanks Shruti

Awesome Blog award:

Hope I will live up to the expectation of this award. I like to pass on this award to: Nita, Reema, Raj, IHM, Nimmy, Solilo, Sandhya, Crafty, Swaram, Pixie, Dhiren, Destination Infinity and Ekta.

Best blogger award:

The winners of this award writes so well and they captivate your heart the moment you start reading their posts!

All of us in this blog samaj are true to ourselves and everyone were best in their own way. So I like to pass on this award to all of you

Loyal Award:

I like to pass on this award to: Shruti, Chowla Sir, IHM, Ajit, Swaram, Solilo, Smitha, Smita, Vimmuuu, Indyeah, Crafty, Dhiren, Saritha akka, Sandhya, Ekta, Nimmy, Pals, Raj and Sahaja.

Thanks for all the awards Shruti

Some updates:

This is my 150th post and also my blog crossed 25K hits, which I never thought will happen at the start of my blogging. Thanks for all the comments, encouragements given to me. Hope my posts didn’t bored you. More than this, I have met many wonderful friends in this journey, which is more important than those above numbers.

There is a marked difference between the topics I have written then and now. Before I used to write more on the happenings in the world and these days I am writing more and more of happenings around me. I think its time to strike a balance. And also I want to share some little things  that happens in my life and my thoughts on them as I am thinking that each persons experience and thoughts are unique and can be shared whether it is good or bad.

I think somebody has heard about my lament in my previous post about the English films. Two films released on Friday and I watched them by Friday itself

After 17 years, I have watched 2 films in a day in theater. First one is the film of my latest favorite director Quentin Tarantino’s Inglorious Basterds and I liked it. Second one is the film on back stage happenings of the last MJ’s concert which didn’t staged. For the first time in my life I have seen a film completely based on music and I am the last one to leave from the theater. Anymore things I need to say on, how was the film??? Another thing I need to add is, I am not a great MJ fan. This one is for  2 weeks, so all the MJ’s and music fans, catch it soon. I will possibly see it in big screen again if time permits. I will write my detailed view on both these films by coming week.

And the song I am hearing and watching for the past 2 days is this one from MJ. Awesome. Just see the joy in the face of the girl in 2:25 minutes. Ah!!! thats what the music does.

So with this I am signing off now friends. Have a great Sunday.