Weird day

I guess it is only fitting that that day I kickoff my long overdue blog be somewhat strange.

I woke up at 9am sans-hangover (after a weird night at Trinity--even the free cover VIP entry was not worth the 30min wait and crowd) just in time for the big Ind vs. Eng T20 knockout game. Winning this should be a stroll in the park. I snooze in and out during England's lacklustre batting that puts up a very achievable 153. I am now wide awake to watch India nail this in style.

Our batting was awful. As one of the 3 best teams in the tournament (with SA and SL) and with the best batting lineup, even after the 15/2 start this shouldn't have been hard. Promoting another left hander (R Jadeja) who is not in form made no sense. I was disappointing to see such a huge strategic blunder from my 2nd biggest idol (Dhoni falls behind Obama, Obama is mad cool).

Dhoni should have promoted himself or Yusuf ahead of Yuvraj. An aggressive right hander to shock England was the way to go. The defensive move of promoting Jadeja to stabilize a 120-ball innings was ridiculous. Aggression is the mode this group of IPL boys have thrived in and the only successful 20-20 approach. With 2 big hitters running out of balls at then end I needn't emphasize this moot point any longer.
For reference: http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/addictions/entry/why-men-in-blue-ended
I will now be supporting SL for the trophy. They have the funnest bowling lineup (Malinga/Mendis) and Dilshan may be able to hold the batting order together.

Recovering from that stressful and depressing start to the day involved a long shower and 4-5mile run. But now I was so relaxed I couldn't keep my eyes open. I clear days of piled up snail-mail, including a notification of a possible 13story building to be erected right in front of was once my 3/4ths of a million dollar view. That building will have me broke faster than this economy. And yeah--apparently I owe more property taxes on the house now....geez.

Now time for some mental stimulation:I read a great new issue of HBR. 3 interesting articles included:

1. Reasons why people do/don't get promoted and how to get candid feedback to improve: Great bucketing of competencies into (a) Negotiables (b) Deselection Factors and (c) the most critical element--Core selection factors (strategic thinking, setting direction, growing people, delegation, fostering innovation, cross-division influence). This may be more appropriate for mid-level managers (GPMs) but is interesting nonetheless and the actionable data on eliciting feedback was interesting.
2. Managing people in a bad economy: Focus on (a) predictability (b) understanding (c) control and (d) compassion. Most interesting was the importance of being repetitive and how a manager laying off an employee is often farther along in the 'Anger, Depression, Bargaining, Acceptance' emotional cycle than the employee himself
3. Obama's first 90 days PQ'd: Great start Barak O-Baller

That left me braindead enough to allow mom to convince me to try a tub bath with a Lush 'bath bomb' and Hookah. Not the worst idea ever but probably not something I have the time to repeat; not to mention the 10$ bath bomb while nice is totally not worth it. Who the hell pays for that?

And now: I have all my core-friends (10+) coming for dinner. Let's hope I can either wake up and entertain or get people to mingle and not notice my zero energy level :). But more on how that pans out tomorrow. And how I punish any last minute no-shows with lame excuses...