Oh! to be a Gooner.....

Definition:
Gooner:-

	A supporter of the London based football team, Arsenal FC Diehard supporters of the best team in the Premiership and the pride of North London. Feared by other like Yids, Mancs and Scousers. Fan of the peoples champions. The winners of more League Titles than the rest of London put together. They don't need the money or the Russian mafia to bring success, they just ooze it.

Well, simply put - I'm an Arsenal fan. Have been one for over 8 years now. It was my school friends who introduced me to the EPL and since then I've been hooked. I still follow it here in LA, where I watch it online(No TV, Damn!). And though I might not have actually seen Arsenal live in action, I consider myself a Gooner, nonetheless.

But that's not what this post is about. I wish to talk a little(a wee bit, I promise) about the current state of affairs at the North London club. As we all know its been over 5 years since we won a trophy. Let me put it this way:

Arsene Wenger, according to me is the best football manager in the world, atleast for teams in the 'Arsenal mold' of things. That is because, no other manager can successfully keep a small(come to that in a minute) club regularly in the Champions League while still playing the attractive style of football that he has, I vouchsafe, 'invented'. In 'Arsene We Trust' is oft heard around the Emirates. The problem is that some people feel he is getting increasingly stubborn and narrow-minded. Its not the face that we haven't won anything for long, its that we have been regularly been outplayed by our rivals. And this culture of accepting defeat, and not being wholly competitive is what is pricking the loyal fans. But this is what I say - Arsenal were, until a few years back a small team compared to our rivals. We have grown exponentially in terms of finances, but we have never had the monetary prowess of Chelsea, Liverpool or Manchester United. God forbid we have a foreign investor who licks the club clean - ala the Glazers/Hicks and Gillette. so given the circumstances, and a very small transfer purse, Arsene Wenger has done a tremendous job of keeping Arsenal at the same level, despite other teams spending a boatload of money.

If you want instant success, look elsewhere because Arsenal's youth policy will pay dividends - in the long run. My only concern is that we need to make sure our current stars stay on board till then. Case in point - Hleb, Flamini and to an extent Henry.

And look where they are now - Hleb said 'he wished he had never left Arsenal' and Flamini is being played as a makeshift defender in a Milan team which is a shadow of its former self.
Yes, gone are the days of seeing a Pires cross being headed in, the sublime touch of the magician Bergkamp, the pace and finishing of Henry or the midfield enforcement of Vieira.
But we have gained a lot. Now is when people say, even Chelsea and Man Utd fans agree, that Arsenal play the most beautiful form of football. And all this is down to the genius that is Wenger.

As also his ability to unearth today's rough gems and polish them into the jewels of tomorrow. He has done his bit. Now we need to give him time - yes, more of it. The results will come. Until then, sit back and enjoy the show.

It is perilous to be a Gooner - uncertain, bemoaning, sad, even exasperating at times. But our day is near enough, and we do not want to falter at the end. So say it aloud with me - 'IN ARSENE WE TRUST'

Life as a Grad Student

There's so much to say that I'm lost for words. Moronic it may sound. True it is. Bad Yoda imitation aside, there are so many differing thoughts in my mind on this topic that I find it hard to coalesce them into a cohesive whole. Where shall I start? I'll skip the part of coming to LA for a later post. Maybe I'll start from my first day here.

Tired, jet-lagged, a sense of deja-vu -- many epithets may describe my first day in the United States of America. And that too in Sunny California, the doors to Silicon Valley and The home of the Stars - Los Angeles. You see I am a Grad Student at the University of Southern California.and I had just landed after what was a long flight from India.

Fortunately, I had my cousin pick me up and whisk us away in his shiny Beemer to his pad in Century City. Little did I know that being totally spoilt over the next 2 days wouln't do me a world of good.

We(I'm living with 2 other roommates, and also my college pals for the better part 4 years) shifted to our 1 Bedroom/Studio apartment a couple of days later and that was when all the, shall I say turmoil, began. I'll spare you the details, though rest assured it was a torrid few weeks. Having to manage the household chores, study under a new system and do a part-time job all at the same time is in no way a mean feat. Though I must say I wasn't too disappointed with my GPA of 3.7, it could certainly have been better.

Fast forward six months, and I'm in the middle of my second semester with Spring Break approaching. I have shifted to CS - Game Development, made my first mini-game, made great new friends and am working on my first IPhone Game.

Well, more in my next post.

Adios.