Well played boys… 2015 is not far away…. !!!

It was an awesome feeling when everything began on 19^th of Feb… a season of joy, fun, team spirit … Sri Lanka was on such a hype that every office in Colombo seemed to be empty by 2.30 on a day that Lanka had a match to play… Country was filled with wishes, prayers, cutouts, banners and loads of songs about our beloved cricket team wishing them luck…

Among us, there were one or two who loudly predicted that “SL wont atleast qualify for quarter finals” But for the rest of us it was one wish.. one prayer... one hope.. one thought… We had our fingers crossed…. SL qualified day by day… people cheered across every street, every corner, every lane, every house when each boundry was played… people blasted the team when catches were missed (I thould I’d kill thilan Samaraweera for missing that catch and chamara silva for almost ruining the match)…

Semi Finals was a smooth smooth ride giving us lots of hopes, increases of heartbeats and adrenaline rushes… Entire Colombo was filled with blue t-shirts by Friday… it was such a hype everyone was looking forward to… Murali was given the best send off ever during his last match in the island…

We lost, lost with grace as I see…, but sad to see that many Sri Lankans don’t feel the same… Some say god decided to break 20 million hearts because he couldn’t break 120 crore hearts… 2^nd of April was a heart breaking day… tears of sadness mixed with tears of pride was in every Sri Lankan’s eyes… some saw it in a different way… At the end of the day its how everyone accepts defeat… some blame it on the team, some blame it on the President (as usual), some blame it on sanga…, some blame it on the selectors… some just simply accept that we did mistakes but Indian team played better cricket than we did…

“dear sanga..., u showed character and strength as a true captain... dignity with every step u took as leader... all the blames which come ur way today will be forgotten in a while & u will be written in history as one of the most charismatic captains ever.... keep shining.. il always love u…” I posted this on Kumar Sangakkara’s Facebook wall when I heard that he has officially resigned as the captain. Sanga, we don’t want an apology from you, No apology is expected from a country that treats its cricketers with dignity and love… we know you did ur best and u will always do…

When the team arrived on Sunday majority of us were having a smile on our face to welcome back them home… I felt proud, proud to be a Sri Lankan... not coz of cricket but to be one among 20 million people for the love & warmth they showed with open arms to welcome a defeated team...the amazing grace & dignity displayed to rise above the rest in a true spirit of unity and sportsmanship....

“Welcome back home boys - greeting you all with open arms. Murali, I'll tell my grandchildren (or cats) that I've seen your legend in the making - you're a cricketing phenom and Lanka will continue to brag about you for decades to come. Congratulations neighbours, it was a good game - party hard for 28 years' worth…” – Shamalee de Silva

murali, you were the best cricketer sri lanka ever produced..., the ultimate cricket hero to millions of fans... u will always be the most dignified cricketer we ever had and will be proud of u many decades to come… cheers for the spirit, courage and energy u gave in the name of sri lankan cricket... we will always love u...

The rest of the guys, You united a nation, during times of overjoyed victories to a hug of losing a game… you played with grace and dignity that it overshadowed the final result. .. we welcome you home boys… It will take sometime for us to overcome the lost hope and sadness… but one thing for sure, Sri Lankans will always stand behind you with a Sri Lankan smile, a pat on the shoulder and a waving flag behind every game you play… J

growing up....

“In some ways we grow up…we have families… we make friends, we get married, divorced… but for the most part we still have the same problems that we did when we were fifteen. No matter how much we grow taller, grow older, we are still forever stumbling… forever wondering, forever… young.. forever stupid”

However much old you get, no one of us can kill the child inside us who doesn’t want to grow up… Along lines we build patience, we manage to smile and talk to the person we cant stand but the child in us makes sure that we stuck our toungue out behind his back… Someone said “It's easy to be nice to people you like.... But to be nice to people you hate... That's a SKILL!!!!”

“I've heard that it's possible to grow up - I've just never met anyone who's actually done it. Without parents to defy, we break the rules we make for ourselves. We throw tantrums when things don't go our way, we whisper secrets with our best friends in the dark, we look for comfort where we can find it, and we hope - against all logic, against all experience. Like children, we never give up hope...”

When we were small there were days that an ice cream would fix a mood, a chocolate would make a crying face smile…. Believe me it still works ;) Remember those days when nestum was the only breakfast mom can feed us before we ran to school? If someone asks what is the favourite breakfast we blurt out without thinking twice… because still like small days we make up a face and push the plate away if we are given to eat something we don’t like…

Growing up means responsibilities… it also means reducing all ways and means to screw up… Growing up is letting go.., making decisions and not looking back… People make mistakes, they learn then they move on… Some things never change… Just because we grew up we wont be willing to forgive and forget some things that created a scar down the line… when we were kids people call us stubborn simply because we don’t like to eat something or because we cry till we get something which we want soo badly… which is not the case few years later… it takes time to make decisions, we change decisions and end up making wrong ones… yet knowing that we refuse to change…

Sometimes people face different ups and downs as kids... bundle sorrows and scars as kids… sometimes we cover ourselves with secrets and unknown likes, dislikes and desires… along the line at some day it pops out at an unexpected moment… sometimes it doesn’t… sometimes you have to meet someone who can unwrap the parceled YOU to the core… sometimes we have to present ourselves to the right ones who can unwrap the layers and unravel to see the real person inside… the real person if unraveled might be the kid who was few years ago.. ;)

“Growing up is never easy... You hold on to things that were… You wonder what's to come... and look ahead to what would be… Other days… New days… Days to come… The thing is, we didn't have to hate each other, hate life for getting older... We just had to forgive ourselves... for growing up.”

Dear Santa....

Dear Santa....

Hope you are all happy and merry… you should be, you have holidays all year through and do your job is only one day… ok maybe a week… hey its not fair, you should do your groundwork to check what people like and if they have been good or bad… you expect us to do your job and send it in writing… damn you are lazy…but you are considered highly honorable so we have no choice but to update you with what we like… J

I haven’t been good this year. I have hurt so many people I love, I made mistakes, I have been rude and witchy. and bitchy to a certain extent this year. I don’t wanna lie to you although im very sure you’d believe me if I do coz you are too lazy to figure things out anyway…… and why you chose to come through the chimney still bugs me, you are one weird guy aren’t you :P

One advice for you though, please don’t hide gifts inside socks… people don’t use socks anymore… its outdated… which century do you live in? I think you should join fb…, so a quick status view you’ll know what people want…

I don’t think I have the right to ask anything from you this year,

a) because I haven’t been good this year so I don’t qualify to ask for anything and

b) you didn’t give me what I wanted last year so I lost faith in you.

So I decided to ask for what few of my friends want…the ones who have been good this year :D

no im not writing names, its for me to know and you to find out…

My little bro needs 3B’s for AL’s… He is brainy but too lazy… distract him a bit from all these cute girls and facebook for a bit…make him study real hard this time so he can top with 3 As J

You need to give a hug and a bagful of happiness to my best friend this Christmas… she is down these days, ill give you a hint… let her see you coming through the chimney im sure the sight of a fat big old man squeezing through the chimney will be hilarious for few days :P

You need to stretch Christmas for 6 more days… my little sister wants to keep the most precious gift of hers closer to her till her birthday… it will be a dream come true for the whole world with one week holiday :D its your golden chance to be a super hero…

I need to be an aunt soon… so you need to get my elder sister pregnant… (the one who is married not the others- now don’t confuse with the other ones ok… we don’t want unwanted pregnancies for unmarried women) bless her to give us a little baby girl as artistic, creative, talkative and crazy just like her…

Santa, this other sister of mine needs to fall in love soon… Tell her that she needs to take the chance once in a while to break the wall which is blocking her from herself... tell her that its alright to get hurt sometimes because it will only make her stronger…

You need to steal the mobile phones of the most stupidest sister I have… lock them in a cupboard so she doesn’t dial potential in-laws while making out with “apna pardesi”… No hold it… make all her potential inlaws deaf…, cos she is anyway capable of saying that how much she hates their country out loud anytime soon…

Dear Santa, my son needs to be a crocodile…. Find me a lovely daughter in law so he will start having better dreams… he is a potential romantic… so why waste romeos?? This country needs romantic boyfriends desperately….

My 14 year old brother wants to grow up soon… tell him that this is the age of innocence…. Tell him that he should enjoy all the crushes that come his way ;) big or small and fall over and over again… so when he truly falls one day he will be thankful to all the experiences that came his way…

He needs his baby girl with him this Christmas… or he needs a time machine to go back to his past with her… Give him a time machine to go for one day’s ride to the future.. so he ll realize that hanging on to the past is a waste… and learn to let go…

Bless her this Christmas so she wont cut the line off the big fat dude she is crazy about calls her to ask her out… make her say YES… But santa if he plays around make sure you hire him as your assistant… he can run around and do your homework for you… he is gonna be jobless from next month anyway ;)

Well that’s all from me this time… I’ve lost faith in you but don’t let my friends lose faith in you too :P

Fingers crossed XXXX

You be Good,

From

One confused witch :P

P.S. Buy a phone…. Letters aren’t considered as a communication method anymore… its too outdated…

stolen quotes by few of my favourite people :P

who invented Mondays? They suck

- Shamalee de silva

(sooo true and agreed completely)

Screw all you people who are proud to be Sri Lankan only when we win a match :P

- Rehan Fernando

(i love this)

When I get there I look for you, If your there, It makes me mad, When your not there I am miserable

- Hazel Rajiah

(i know the feeling... it sucks)

I need someone who can make me cry when I smile and make me smile when I cry

- Dayan Silva

(didnt quite understand this... i will slap someone who makes me cry when i smile)

vichi cry with me if you need to… but you cry in front of them and ill slap you

- Akila Kodituwakku

(i love u aki... blessed to have someone who cares abt me more than i do abt myself )

i dnt want a single woman in my life other than u 'mom'

- Dushan de Silva

(okkk now this kinda freaked me out... managed to create quite a controversy on fb)

don’t chase the one whome you are in love with. Go for the one who is crazily in love with you... so then one day even when chemistry and passion fades out, he will still stand by you to share a life time despite how intolerable we are…

- Nipunika Solangarachchi

(thanks nips... ur advice taken in the new year)

Women are like traffic lights, they give clear signals RED – No don’t even think of making a move, Yellow – Still pending… Green – Yes yes yes… but it takes an intelligent man to read them… well some are just plain colour blind

- Kaushalya Mendis

(LOL one of the best of kaushi)

I loved you... I wanted you... I got you... I lost you...

- Anushka Pieris

(this is so real and emo)

remember.. when u work on a dream... it will turn out to be a target than a dream....else it is just another dream... like I wanted to be hugged by Jude Law in my dreams... i never ever set it my target :D

- Sumudu Hewage

(i decided never to dream... when i wake up its like living a nightmare... i happen to compare dreams with reality)

take the chance… go for it… sometimes in life you need to get hurt.. but believe me you will be alright

- Sharnez Abeywardena

(love u and thank u... ur my inspiration :D )

women are like cars… to keep them up and running you have to keep maintaining them at a very high cost…. Higher the model is higher the cost

- Anushan Weerasooriya

(you said this loong time ago... what to do ya, u keep on going for expensive models na )

getting married means going through a lot… it means doing someone else laundry…

- Mrs. Anurika de Silva

(true and freaky)

The word ‘de-motivation’ is not in our dictionary… it happens to us on a daily basis… we cant afford to be demotivated because we don’t have time for it

- Vibhu Wickramasinghe

(this thought itself motivated me... )

you can never have a long term plan when you are approaching a woman.. its always short term… women are too unpredictable to plan in long term

- Laknada de Mel

(insulted but agreed... maybe with the right approach u can plan long term )

you cant judge people based on opinions… everyone is entitled to have their own opinion… who gave you the right to judge mine

- Gail Bandara

(i wish everyone thinks like this... )

you are intolerable... spoilt... immature... crazy and impatient... but we love u anyway ;)

- Nilanka Fernando

(love u too for loving the real me)

I guess its always harder to get over being let down by those you hold dear because you never expect them to do so

- Shyana Wijeratne

(and also because u dont hold everyone close to ur heart)

what keeps me going... 8 years down the line.. still to be a LEO... :)

Most of my friends tell me enough of being a Leo and I should quit without wasting my time… Given lot of thought to it… I realized… it was 8 years ago…

My heart was in to help out someone less fortunate always but seeing my parents run one meeting to another, I hated Lions and the every bit of wasting time in it… I was forced to join the dilemma and that too as the first club president of a new leo club… when I was picked at the final orientation I was traumatized… it was just after ALs, I had 20 guys and 2 girls in the club… and truly I didn’t know what to do… it wasn’t easy, coz everybody were elder and as a president I didn’t wanna boss them around but STILL had to made them listen and work… I learnt my first lesson from Leoism very soon… not every person can be approached in the same way… to get things done, some need to be buttered up... some need to be complimented… and YES some needs to be yelled at… Flirting must have worked too but it was never my style back then :P Soon I realized that its not easy to lead people from different walks of life without being diplomatic and tactful… never being a diplomat for the last 18 years, I learnt to listen, to ignore, to voice out and mostly to be patient.

Soon I started enjoying little bits of the things I did which kept me going… being a stubborn, spoilt only child of my family it taught me how to be a part of one BIG family… it taught me how the simplest things can make people happy… it taught me how to smile at little things in life… and it made me realize how blessed I was unlike many many less fortunate people in our country…

it taught me that “deadline” & “punctuality” are not just words… it taught me how to be a friend and stay calm when friends be-friend… this movement gave me my first job, it made me to do things I never even dreamt of doing before… I slapped a guy for the first time (a leo yes!!!) , I knitted a jacket for an achchi at an elders home and got blasted for messing it up, held the hand of a seeya when he cried saying how I reminded of his daughter who left him at an elders home to migrate.… I hugged a differently abled kid when he called me "amma" in front of hundreds of people... I sang carols LOUDLY… walked door to door to sell tickets in aid of cancer hospital… I got humiliated million times in public :P

I’ve seen Leos falling in and out of love with each other… I’ve seen them dating and breaking up… I’ve seen some happily married with kids today… was never the same with me, being a person who rarely get attracted to anyone this movement made me get crushes on 2 ;) (not during the same time span.. duh) both awesome ofcourse… and yes I enjoy every bit of it… even now… wont tell the rest:P

This movement taught me how people can change... how crazy… how stupid and how immature they can stoop low to earn “recognition”. It taught me that “competition” is not just a word but includes loads of sweet talks to the face and stabbing behind backs… it taught me how to say NO to people and things I don’t like ;) (ahem… wont go into details there) it taught me how to deal with psychotics and lunatics… (today I can tackle any psychopath without freaking out… lol)

It taught me how to handle criticism without getting affected…. How to accept defeat for unfair reasons…. To stay calm with a smile and realize life is not fair all the time…

I know many who left the movement because of the same reasons that I chose to stay on… experience of all these has been a guide to live my life fully without regrets… to learn, to accept, to fail to fall and then to move on…
This Leo movement made me smile… made me laugh… made me cry… made me yell… made me scream… made me love… made me human and made me LIVE my life… During the past 8 years it has seasoned me, spiced me… tempered me… and it made ME a complete human being… it made ME what im… and maybe that’s why I’m still a LEO… I had more than thousand reasons to quit… but i didn’t, because it taught me a lot much more than Leadership, Experience & Opportunity…

our side of the story.... reply to "tribute to nice guys"

This is for the girl who is also known as a tom boy, sometimes vicious, sometimes crazy and fiercely loyal. This is in honour to all the girls who have been there for guys but never being noticed because they have never been “drama queens” or centre of attention among guys.

This is for the girls who don't want to play mind games, but always end up being confused victims of them, who provide a comforting hug to a guy friend when he goes on and on about how a “bus knocked up his newly fixed alloy wheels and paint” not understanding a single word. But yet being the supportive audience for a story they've heard a thousand times. This is for the girls who understand that they aren't perfect and that the guys they're interested in aren't either, for the girls who worry and obsess over the slightest glance, whisper or a touch of him because somehow they are able to keep alive that hope that maybe, just maybe this time he feels the vibe like you do. This is a tribute to the girls who laugh out loud forgetting all girly manners, who are comfortable in oversized t-shirts but not tight skirts, who care more then they should for guys who don't deserve their attention. This is for the girls who have been in through it all, when he dumped you or your best friend for the HOTTIE in town, who have watched other girls fake up and flirt with the guys in their lives. This is for the girls who have been there from the beginning and have heard all words of advice from all around the world saying" there are plenty of fish in the sea" to "time heals all wounds" This is to honor those girls who know that guys are just as scared as they are, who know that they deserve better but who are seeking to find it.

This is for the girls who have fallen in and out of love, but still fall anyway because they don’t want to miss getting butterflies in their stomachs and how a simple glance can melt them away. This is for the girls who have offered to write him notes when he went out to play pool, to the girls who run in to save a chair for him in the morning lecture without breakfast when he spends time flirting in cafeteria. This is for the girls who have left sad song lyrics as their facebook statuses, who have tried to make him understand through a just a simple line, who have time and time again dropped him hint after hint only to watch him chase after that fake hot girl in a skirt. This is for the girls who have been told they're "too good" or "too smart" or "too pretty", who have been given compliments as a way of breaking off a relationship or who have ever been told they are only wanted as a friend.

This one is for the girls who you can take home to your mom, but won't because its easier to pass time with all women who are free to flirt on. This is for the girls who have been led on by all simple signals, all of which were either only true for the moment, or never real to begin with. This is for the girls who have allowed a guy into their head and heart and life, only to discover that "he's not ready" or "he's just not ready for commitment". This is for the girls who believe all these stupid excuses because it's easier to believe that it's not that they dont want you but its that they dont want anyone.

This is for the girls who have had their hearts broken and their hopes dashed by him to have cared in the first place, this is for the nights spent analyzing every word and tone in his speech with your girlfriends when he said “I never saw her in that way” or “My feelings are negative towards her”, “she is my bestfriend not my girlfriend, I don’t know what to call us” or something absolutely blunt and sharp as “I don’t feel anything for you anymore”. This is for the girls who have waited for soo long and finally having realized that it wasn't that he didn't want a relationship; it was that he didn't want you. This is for the night you realized that it would never happen, and the sunrise you saw the next morning after crying all night pretending to sleep.

This is for the "I really like you, so let's still be friends" This is for the girls who have been used and abused, who have endured what he was giving because at least he was giving something; this is for the stupidity of the nights we've believed that something was better than nothing, though his something was nothing we'd have ever wanted. This is for the girls who have been satisfied with too little and who have learned never to expect anything more, the secrets and mistakes he did were kept safe with you, hugged him and assured “everything will be ok” but in return when you tell something in confidence they successfully manage to highlight it as the “topic of the month”. This is for girls who gave everything they could coz he called you a friend, and coz you took him as one but ended up feeling used and lost when he wasn’t even there for you as a friend. This is for the hugs you've received from your girlfriends, for the nights they've wiped your tears saying that you are "beautiful and intelligent and loyal and truly worthy of a great guy".

Guys sit and question and whine that girls are only attracted to the mean guys, the guys who betray them, insult them and don't appreciate them and don't want them; Guys complain that they never meet nice girls, girls who are genuinely interested and compelling, who are intelligent and sweet and smart and beautiful; They say that no good women want to share their lives, that girls play mind games,

Our question to you is:

If you meet one of these genuinely interested, thrilling, compelling, interesting and intelligent and sweet, and beautiful and smart girl will you take time to get to know her, to understand if she is really the one? Or will you just flirt because she was looking extremely gorgeous at the party tonight and call her “hot” but would you, or would you not, refuse to make plans with her, speak with her, see her again, and once again return to party and search once more for this "nice girl" who you just cannot seem to find?

So don't say you're on the lookout for the nice girls, guys, when you pass us up on every step you take. There is a nice girl in every girl. Sometimes we go undercover; sometimes we go in disguise; sometimes when that girl in the low cut top or the too tight dress won't answer your whistle... you should know…

we might say we like the attention, we might blush and giggle and turn back to our friends, but we're all thinking the same thing.

"This isnt me... Tomorrow morning I'll be wearing a T-shirt and pyjamas… without make up, eating breakfast with my bestfriend talking about how heels hurt… See through the disguise, See the real me"

You never do. Why? Because you only see the exterior, you only see the hot girl who flirts with you. You don't want the nice girl… so dont say you're looking for a relationship - relationships take time and energy and compromise, three things we're willing to extend - but in return, we're looking for love, loyalty and trust, three things you never seem willing to express. Maybe "nice guys finish last", but in the race they're running they're chasing after all the easy-targets... the nice girls are waiting at the finish line with a bottle of water, a towel and a hug, hoping against hope that maybe you'll realize that they're the ones that you want at the end of that silly race.