Ping Pong
I'm feeling a huge dopamine rush right now. I am just back from playing table tennis (or TT as I call it) after a gap of three years and god, I love this game. Because it's the only sport I am good at and also because it brings back joyful memories, starting with some wonderful moments with my mother.
I was 12. At that time, my father used to stay in another city in a staff bungalow. Mother and I went there for a week in the summer vacation. I didn't want to. New city, no friends, no TV and mother forcing me to read Sherlock Holmes in English. No, thank you! On one boring afternoon, out of nowhere, she asked me, "Do you want to learn table tennis?". "What's that now?", I wondered. She dragged me to the nearest toy shop and we bought two cheap rackets. The bungalow had a long dining table that became our TT table. Mother's dupatta tied to chairs became the net. Then she taught me how to play. Now imagine a child, eyes gleaming with adoration for his mother, from the unexpected, surprising revelation that she plays a sport he has never before heard of. That child was me. And the game itself was entertaining. From then on, in every summer vacation, we would make our makeshift TT table at home using wooden planks of the bed-frame and play.
When I went to college, I found a TT hall there with half a dozen tables. First year of college meant the anxiety of meeting new people from all the other schools-- some potential competitors and some potential bullies. But, TT became my icebreaker. I made a lot of friends while playing. By this time I loved it so much that I used to skip math classes to play TT. (My parents don't know this, till now. Pray for me.) But I always got good grades in math, so no harm was done. One day, some teachers raided the hall. They detained us, asked our roll numbers and threatened to report us to our parents. Out of fear, I gave them the roll number of another guy. I hear, he is doing fine in life. So again, no harm done. After that I never skipped classes.
TT stayed with me in under-grad and PhD years. I spent some quality time with my best friends while playing TT. It was also a stress-buster during PhD.
After coming to Dresden, I didn't find the time and people to play with. A month ago, the boss sent around an email. "Who is interested in an offsite management workshop?" Eye-roll! It continued, "Agenda is blah, blah, blah. In the evening, you can walk around the town or play Ping Pong in the hotel." You know what, sign me up! And here I am.
(Dear boss, if you read this, I am only exaggerating.)
I was 12. At that time, my father used to stay in another city in a staff bungalow. Mother and I went there for a week in the summer vacation. I didn't want to. New city, no friends, no TV and mother forcing me to read Sherlock Holmes in English. No, thank you! On one boring afternoon, out of nowhere, she asked me, "Do you want to learn table tennis?". "What's that now?", I wondered. She dragged me to the nearest toy shop and we bought two cheap rackets. The bungalow had a long dining table that became our TT table. Mother's dupatta tied to chairs became the net. Then she taught me how to play. Now imagine a child, eyes gleaming with adoration for his mother, from the unexpected, surprising revelation that she plays a sport he has never before heard of. That child was me. And the game itself was entertaining. From then on, in every summer vacation, we would make our makeshift TT table at home using wooden planks of the bed-frame and play.
When I went to college, I found a TT hall there with half a dozen tables. First year of college meant the anxiety of meeting new people from all the other schools-- some potential competitors and some potential bullies. But, TT became my icebreaker. I made a lot of friends while playing. By this time I loved it so much that I used to skip math classes to play TT. (My parents don't know this, till now. Pray for me.) But I always got good grades in math, so no harm was done. One day, some teachers raided the hall. They detained us, asked our roll numbers and threatened to report us to our parents. Out of fear, I gave them the roll number of another guy. I hear, he is doing fine in life. So again, no harm done. After that I never skipped classes.
TT stayed with me in under-grad and PhD years. I spent some quality time with my best friends while playing TT. It was also a stress-buster during PhD.
After coming to Dresden, I didn't find the time and people to play with. A month ago, the boss sent around an email. "Who is interested in an offsite management workshop?" Eye-roll! It continued, "Agenda is blah, blah, blah. In the evening, you can walk around the town or play Ping Pong in the hotel." You know what, sign me up! And here I am.
(Dear boss, if you read this, I am only exaggerating.)
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