An absolutely dashing week - ending up in a serious weekend session at the gym with a trainer who worked for like 5 hours in 2 sessions on about 3 muscles - and today im like a bowlegged wreck unable to move my legs, unable to lie on the bed and i had to drive about 20 kms one way and back again in the pain to meet a goddamn client whod given me the slot last week - when i stepped out of the car - believe me - i had goddamn tears in my eyes.

Im lying on the bed like a freakin clown, all alone, hungry, legs crossed - so that i dont stretch my poor adductor muscles any more - i have to fucken check if i have a class 1 or 2 or 3 Adductor muscle rupture - a.k.a - a groin strain - so help me god!

Update

Back in chennai where its as sunny & as sultry as i left it almost like a fortnight or so before.

Am going to mylapore tonight to Dr.R's wedding reception - turns out there will be this huge crowd comprising of tw0 blokes from our batch going. (Krsh & I) - 2 or 3 others in town chickened out - inspite of reassurances that Dr.R wont remind them of their PIDC or PMS internal marks Or grades :)

I had a wonderful time yesterday at the crossword store - first buying my books, then redoing Asterix in Britain and then ending the trip with a snack at the coffee shop (more for my hapless cousin's benefit - who was already out of smses to send to his friends, while i was happing spending my hours reading)

-> I bought, and have already finished reading this very nice book by Pallavi Aiyar - Titled "Smoke and mirrors - An experience of Chindia" (sorry if the URL is lousy, its all i could locate)

Dunno how it will read for others - Ive been to china of course - as a tourist/observer/tag-along-guy and finally to actually do some meaningful business - to lots of places in the South - but not really to interior parts - ( in our company we even have a chinese speaking employee who works under me - for us in China - who has done a huge amount of travel in china)

To me it was such a wonderful read - validating several of my opinions, giving depth & perspective to several others - and more importantly teaching me - in the most lucid narratives possible - via interviews, anecdotes - how to actually look at china's culture/economics in a macro way, vis-a-vis - India, and vis-a-vis what china was like in 1996/98 etc. - More light on issues like Tibet, the Hui muslims and about life in today's china.

I highly recommend it to any1 even vaguely interested.

-> I also bought 'Measuring the world" By Daniel Kehlmann - one book often recommended to me. Didnt get through much yet.

-> For 30 bucks, at my regular chor book cart near panagal park, and quite a bargain it was too, i bought John Grisham's : Skipping christmas - tell you what - this guys an amazing writer - Any1 with no prior John Grisham experience should start with 'The Rain Maker'. Am on Skipping christmas now.

Good times ahead - atleast - until i run out of books & pocket money :)

Ranbaxy Sold off

News: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/3121924.cms

Ranbaxy's promoters (The Singh family) sold off their entire family stake (34 odd percent) to Japan's Daiichi - which itself is part of a sort of Zaibatsu of merged Jap drug firms.

The deal was valued at 20 times Ranbaxy's EBITDA - which means - Ranbaxy will take 20 years to generate profit sufficient enough make Daiichi's the 4.6 billion dollars or so its shelling out for a 50.1% stake.

It tells us a lot of things:

-> In India @ 8 % interest rate on government bonds, say, it takes about 9/10 years to double your money. So no one in their sane minds would buy some asset which takes 20 years to pay back.

-> In Japan - where risk free Yen rates are like 0.5% or 0.75% - in 20 years a 100 bucks becomes a pathetic 110 or 113 bucks (P*(1+r/100)^n)) - an asset which pays back better than the Standard risk free BOJ rate AND something which fits into a business profile is obviously attractive to Daiichi.

-> Its a great deal for the Singhs - its all cash - and a HUGE premium - which only maybe the Japs can afford - why ? http://www.fxstreet.com/fundamental/interest-rates-table/ [ For eg. Interest rates are higher in other places - Brazil, South Africa etc. rates are 10%-12% etc. so theyre better off putting the money into their banks and sitting tight :) ]

Its still low in the US - at 2 - 2.5 % - but definitely not 0.5/0.75

-> Starting this weekend - im going to value all pharma companies - cipla, sunpharma, orchid, shasun - the works - all with shaky management/rumored take over canditates and - make a maybe 10,00,000 portfolio at today's low stock prices and hopefully make a 10,00,000 profit :)

Like i said - lotsa stimulus - too little energy

A huge high one day and an equally shocking low the next day

Goddammit !!

- i wish i could say 'Fuck the lot of you dimwitted, lazy, half crazy twits' - in fuckin Portuguese!

I cant - i need them tomorrow -

What hurts the most

I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house
That don't bother me
I can take a few tears now and then and just let them out
I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while
Even though going on with you gone still upsets me
There are days every now and again I pretend I'm ok
But that's not what gets me

What hurts the most
Was being so close
And having so much to say
And watching you walk away and never knowingwhat could have been
And not seeing that loving you
Is what I was tryin' to do

Rascal Flatts - "What hurts the most"

Timepass

Ta ta da!

I hereby announce a grand prize (details of which will be revealed subsequently) for any1 who'll unearth the name & original video link for the song which also plays from the below link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lefYkQAo_Tk&feature=related

Clue: Swatch together (A series of swatch ads from a few years back)

- A breathtakingly nice song this is -

UPDATE:

Artist: Five for fighting (Funda here ) / Song: Something about you (Album: America Town)

50/100 to Hari mama. The remaining 50 to me. Grand prize to be collected during next trip to India :)

Book

The Interpretation of murder is the kind of book which makes me hate this kind of off beat / thriller type books :)

Why !?

This ones is so good, cleverly written and exciting that im sure il buy any book that remotely resembles this one - in terms of the cover synopsis and genre :) - and end up with dozens of duds and a few thousand bucks down the drain.

I read it through for about 5-6 hours straight this sunday. Amongst hordes of wannabe thrillers / murder mysteries i have wasted money & time on in the past -they all just have nothing but a central idea which the author hopes will hold it all together - this ones gone the whole way - Read it - whoever hasnt - may not be every1's cuppa tea - but i enjoyed it thoroughly.

Dont have the energy to elaborate on its merits - but this is something any serious reader shouldnt really miss!