Chp 236. Gifts from a loving sister

So my sister who’s a lecturer in UK came and went, like a gust of kamikaze (yes, I just found out Kamikaze originally meant “wind” [or “divine wind” to be more precise] and not suicide squad or Japanese pilot trained in suicide missions).

She arrived at Mumbai 1:00 in the morning, and then left with my Mumbai sister for Mizoram a couple of hours later. So I am currently all alone here while my three sisters are happily reunited after a long time with my folks and nieces at home-sweet-home. Me, I can’t go home because of work

Anyhoo, she brought me a few authentic Arsenal goodies as usual, yay!

Warning: This post is about me becoming a child again

Here’s what she got me this time:


[click on pic for higher resolution]

[Those who are interested, can check out more Arsenal goodies here and here from her previous visits]

So with the new Arsenal key chain, I guess I won’t be needing my current key chain anymore – an authentic Barcelona key chain that she got for me from Camp Nou itself. Hence, I’m giving it away for free. The first Barca fan to comment here* can have it!

Yeah, some of you may be thinking it’s a cheap gimmick. But real Barca fans, just like real Arsenal fans, won’t mind. It’s not one of those cheap knock-offs you find on the roadside. Authentic Barca key chain straight from Camp Nou, FREE!

The cuddly Arsenal bear on the other hand, I’ll keep that away safely until I get a car of my own, and then it will be the first item adorning the dashboard of that car. And no, it doesn’t look gay.

For the Arsenal pen, I don’t need two of them, so I have decided to give one of them to Amos, one of my closest friends, my ex-roomie from Bangalore and another HARDCORE gunners fan. I thought of all the chicas who might want this pen and the chances of (possibly & hopefully) “scoring” had I given it to them… but then again, as a true football fan, women suddenly occupied the lower rung of a ladder (this is one of those “once in a blue moon” moments) Hence the person who deserves it the most would be Amos. Cheers bro!

As I type this, Arsenal is leading Chelsea 1-0 into the 30th minute of the FA Cup Semi Finals. Spoke to Amos just now too, and I will head home from office as soon as I post this to watch the rest of the match. Hope Arse wins! Hehehe.



And here is the gift I treasured the most, something that I’ve been asking my sister to get me for the past 2-3 years.



The complete collection of “Yes Minister” and “Yes Prime Minister” series! Wooohooo. One of my favorite all time British comedies, along with “Mind your language”, “Carry on…” series and “Allo Allo”, YM and YPM score extremely high on my list of satirical comedies that I can watch over and over again

The chemistry between James Hacker, Sir Humphrey Appleby and Bernard Woolley is purely magical and brilliant. The series is something that sooo applies here in our Indian system where we see frequent clashes between civil servants (bureaucracy) and the politicians. Having a few IAS and IRS friends who tell me over and over again about their frustrations with the politicos makes this series even more hilarious! War of the Babus. Lolz!


But Bummer.

I just found out I couldn’t watch any of them here in India. Two hours of “Google researching” later, I realized it’s because of this stupid Regional setting that prevented me from watching this £75 collector’s item on my DVD player and PC.

What a waste of good money. Eff you, Corporates. No wonder piracy is so prevalent.

I couldn’t watch it because we’re in India – DVD regional setting 5, whereas the DVD my sister got for me is viewable only at Region 2 [Europe, Japan, Middle East and South Africa]. My DVD player is not “region free”, and neither is my DVD drive.


[source: remoteselector.com ]

Find out if your DVD drive is region protected or not: remoteselector.com and install/run this software: Drive Region Info V2.2

Here is what I got:



But thanx to Google, I found this link: Mark Salloway’s Windows XP which told me to install DVD Genie 4.10 and PowerDVD [17MB]

I ran DVD Genie first, setting my region to 2, and when I ran PowerDVD after that, it got “confused” and assumed I’m in Region 2 so it played the DVD!

I guess this method is much better than changing your DVD regional settings physically, something that you can do only 4-5 times after which your drive will be permanently LOCKED to the last settings you’ve set.

Here is the warning I saw at every site I visited regarding this issue:

Patching your firmware with an unofficial or hacked version can potentially destroy your drive and render it useless. It will also invalidate your manufacturer’s warranty.

Seriously, corporates sux!

Anyway, our Tech head – the one and only Vulturo said he will rip all the DVDs for me so that I can burn them on a DVD and watch them from the cool comfort of home – Great surround sound system + bean bag + wearing just my boxers + port wine from my previous Goa trip + undisturbed tranquility.


Apart from this, my sis got me this exotic Scorpion Vodka! There’s a real scorpion (dead of course) inside!!!



This is weird! And of course I’m sure many of you are thinking, “There are worms in a tequila so this is possible.” Well, let me ask you this: Have YOU seen the infamous tequila worm with your OWN eyes? Isn’t it amazing that you always know someone who has seen the worm, but it has never been you? Well here is the low down on this – your friend is probably (99.9%) lying if he or she says she’s seen the worm, especially in the tequilas that we get here in India. Too tired to explain about this here, please google.

Anyhoo, the bottle of Scorpion Vodka led me to their homepage: www.edible.com and I discovered a lot of interesting products ranging from green crocodile curry to monkey-picked tea leaves! There’s also an oven-baked tarantula, chocolate covered giant ants, thai curry crickets, giant hornet dipped in honey and many more, each costing around £3

The scorpion vodka comes under the category “APHRODISIAC”! lolz. Now where shall I go after I drink this bottle *EVIL GRIN*

Jokes apart, I don’t think I’ll have the guts to drink this. Better left as a showcase on my table, what say?

Cheers!

* Barca key chain - Terms and Conditions apply Do know that I am giving it away for free, meaning I will be paying for postage/courier. Hence, Mumbai people are preferred over other locations… (ie, if anybody’s interested at all. lolz.)