A Grand Slam Experience

After all these years finally got to see live professional tennis in action and that too in a Grand Slam. It definitely was an experience right from booking the tickets to choosing a game to watch. 

The tickets had to be booked online and it was a very overwhelming process to choose the best seats. I truly hope they make it better for customers to know exactly where they would be in the stadium. I eventually ended up sitting in the last row in the stadium - which is definitely not the most comfortable seats to be in nor the view. I suppose it helps to book in advance as well. 

I booked the evening tickets on Rod Laver arena which was supposed to play premium matches. The best part being with these tickets we could watch every other match except in the Hi-Sense arena a stadium across the street. Got to see Azarenka Vs Zahlavova Strycova (that's just the last name BTW), a bit of Murray Vs Millot and then moved on to another stadium (Margaret Court) to watch the dramatic Paire Vs Kyrgios battle.

I suppose it is a matter of luck to get to enjoy a great game in the Rod Laver arena. While the Azarenka match had a bit of excitement towards the end, Murray's match was not great entertainment. Obviously Murray was great but the opponent couldn't do much and he was cleaned out in straight sets. Kyrgios' match was paisa vasool (value for money). Kyrgios being Aussie had great supporting crowd and the energy inside was something to feel. Being a smaller stadium got to get the match a little closer. Luckily it was not completely packed and I could get a great seat right behind the umpire. There was a Paire supporter probably a French girl who kept banging on the metal wall every time Paire won a point. Now that must've really hurt as the last 3 sets was completely in Paire's favour. It was sad to see Kyrgios getting a cramp towards the end and for some reason he did nothing about it - no medical time out - no assistance requested. It was quite awful to see 3 aces fly by because he could not simply move. Right after that game Kyrgios came out first after the change over trying to demonstrate his energy. End of the day his body gave up and Paire became lucky. Paire throwed 3 of his used t-shirts to those groups who were supporting Kyrgios. Not sure what he was trying to accomplish there. :-)

And yes, I managed to "appear" on TV as well. One of my friends spotted me at the end of the match when I was able to get down up to to the barrier. (Cheers Niven!!) One should plan to spend the whole day at the Open. This way one would get to enjoy many other off-court entertainment as well. Overall a great experience. Hope to repeat it next year.

C

Good Bye 2013 & Hello 2014!!

So...it has become a "tradition" now to post a blog entry at least on the 1st of each year - with a Hope that this becomes a regular habit through the year. However as every year passes by that has remained just that - a hope!! 

The last few weeks has been extremely busy on many fronts. On the work front I got a contract signed with my very first "new" customer or NN as they call in sales parlance. It was an exciting journey starting from wooing a prospect in a conference totally out of the blue to convincing them to sign up for one of the services I sell. It is a small deal - but nevertheless my First Deal. 

On the personal front I've never been as busy as the last few weeks starting from kids' birthdays to weekend outings almost every weekend. So much that I simply could not catch up to write about it (got to give myself some excuse!!). The holiday season has been quite busy as well. Have seen a few places around Sydney for the first time. Kids have been having a great time - mostly water oriented fun. The New Year's eve was eventful with a trip down to Parramatta river for an early evening fireworks and then followed by a small gathering in a friend's place to watch THE Sydney fireworks on TV. 

2013 has been quite exciting in many ways for sure. A life changing milestone of getting Aussie passports. That does open up quite a few avenues for personal and professional development. The biggest event of course is the trip to India. A long pending wish that got realized. It was also the year with many international trips to Muscat and China. Having my mother-in-law stay with us for a few months has been a great boon. Literally enjoying the best of both worlds. Can't omit reinstating my long lost hobby of photography. 

If I were to summarize 2013 - it has been a year of revelation. Got to understand and learn many things that were quite puzzling until then. I suppose I've just scratched the tip of whatever mystery it is - a long way to go for sure. Every year I begin with a premonition (in a positive way) of many exciting things to come through the year. 2014 does seem to keep up with the trend.

Wishing you all a Terrific and Effective 2014!!

Cheers

C