The off-season does put you off

This is going to be yet another entry in the list of posts that depicts boredom more than anything. Post college, waiting to join ThoughtWorks, I have nothing much to do. Of course, I have some study materials to go through, but.... Well, let me put it this way- I am not neck deep in those materials. Got to complete them if I want to do well at TW , which I want to do of course.

Some football would have cheered me up a bit. But there is no hope on the horizon in this regard.

With the monsoon coming down heavily, one cannot play football in the paddy fields anymore, and the only field left in the village where we used to play football has been bought by one of truly multi-national spiritual entersises. So that leaves a small field on a hill as the only venue for the game of football in the evenings.
We do football in the evenings, but most of my friends would not have returned from work and that leaves me with a bunch of school kids on the ground. But mind you, they are very good players and I must admit that most of them are better players than me. No disappointments- after all this is Malappuram.

Back in college, I used to play FIFA occasionally. But the computer I have with me now is so outdated it will have a tough job running FIFA 07. (I got to upgrade it soon, thats going to be one of the first things I am gonna do once I start earning my own money!). In the mean time, I am left to play PES 09 on my mobile. But having won the Champions League with AS Roma and the European Championship with England, it is nowhere near interesting.

The summer transfer window in Europe is a no show for everyone except Real Madrid and Manchester City. The Spanish giants have already brought in arguably two of the planets three best footballers in Ronaldo and Kaka. Not to mention Europe's most sought after youngster Karim Benzema and ex-Valencia Spanish international defender Raul Albiol. Liverpool's Xabi Alonso seems to be heading to the Barnabeau. City has brought in Carlos Tevez and Gareth Barry.
And to make matters more woeful, Manchester United's transfer targets are going elsewhere. United has a transfer kitty of around GBP 100 million, with the lion's share of that coming from the sale of Ronaldo. But United has so far signed only three players- Antonio Valencia, Gabriel Obertan and very suprisingly Michael Owen.
Valencia is a very good winger- he can run with the ball, beat a player or two, and deliver a telling a cross. He may not be Ronaldo, but he can do a job on the right wing and unlike Ronaldo, he can be counted on to do some dirty work and tracking back.
Obertan is a promising youngster who did well for the French U-21 side at the recently concluded Euro U-21 Championship. He will have a tough time breaking in to the first team, with Nani, Tosic and Park vying for the left wing position.
I cannot still believe that Michael Owen has become a United player. Almost a Liverpool legend at one point of time, the England international is known for his ability to score goals. In the last two years spent at Newcastle United, plagued by multiple injuries, the Merseyside born striker has been unable to do justice to the great talent he possesses. One can only hope that he stays injury-free and rediscover his goal scoring touch. So that is my boredom chronicle. Hope I will get into more interesting things soon.