20 Adventures of my 20's

Life moves fast!

While I am still coming to grip on loosing my teens :( - its time for me to head towards the end of my twentys! The last few years have been truly eventful and extraordinary and I have had both my share of miserable and mesmerizing moments!

Here are my Top 20 picks from last decade's journey which have been as educating and exciting as it has been eccentric...

1. Trotting the globe - From Europe to South East Asia, I got some awesome opportunities to travel - and I picked up as much as I could like a kid with a cookie jar!
2. Hard Rock Concert - I saw Metallica play live on 30th Oct 2011 !  It was a concert of a lifetime - with thousands of people in nothing-else-matters or do-not-budge-for-the-loo postures!
3. Entering the Graduate Club - Graduation is a funny life defining event when you are happy to pass out, but sad to move out! For me it was a relief to finally earned my Engineering degree in Computer Science and got my career started.
4. Take up Public Speaking - It started with shudder, mockery and embarrassment and it progressed to winning speech contests, addressing an audience of hundred and being invited to clubs to speak! The last 3 years since I took to Public Speaking have been truly satisfying which moulded me in extra-ordinary ways! I am still far from achieving stage supremacy and I still shake in front of an audience (little more discreetly now!) but its nice to be heard - stage stagger to stage swagger - Priyank's style ;)
5. Hustle with Gangsters - A nerve-wracking moment when I was surrounded by a bunch of local rowdies for ramming into their car. It was pay-or-die ! Thankfully some timely thinking, quick play of words and a full speed accelerator averted a disaster, and resulted in a narrow escape!
6. Uncovering my passion to Write - Few years back, I re-discovered writing, thanks to my public speaking ventures at Toastmasters! This is also a good time to publicize rest of my blogs on http://tmpriyank.blogspot.co.uk/ and http://myadventuretales.blogspot.co.uk/ Do visit!
7. Night Out in Paris - From stepping into a gay bar to getting stripped out of all my money and thrown out of the club - its safe to just say that Paris night out will never be forgotten!
8. Discovering Amazing People - In last ten years I have been fortunate enough to have met some life-long friends, friends abroad, disgraced cricketers ('Sreeshath'), directors, celebrities, champion public speakers and even a double-amputee who conquered Mount Everest! It has been an awesome privilege.
9. Experience Live music at Ministry of Sound - Fortunate to visit Ministry of Sound -the Mecca of House and Trance - and watch DJ Sasha create music live! Euphoria!
10. Raising the Bar! - I have recently found interest make my own cocktails and was even bartended at a small party. The house is still searching for missing Scotch bottles ;)
11. Inventive Cooking - One of the benefits (and pain) of living abroad is learning how to cook on your own. I can now cook anything involving onion, tomato, peas or potato - and most of the recipes are my own !
12. Near Broke Gambling - Okay, I am not a habitual gambler but I hate loosing to a Roulette table.There was this time where I lost a lot of cash on it and since the only way to get everything back is to put even higher bets (common sense, right?) - I pulled out big money and bet it all! Thank God, I won.... !
13. Gaming Nights - Nothing like a great game of Call of Duty! Armed with a PS3 , my mates and me have had some thrilling online gaming nights. Blasting a friend with an RPG is strangely peaceful!
14. Taking family abroad - There are very few things which I am proud of and I do consider getting my family to visit the UK and Sri Lanka before that - as one of the greatest achievements of my life!
15. Watching Sun From Top of a Volcano - Watching the first rays of sun after a 3 day grueling trek to conquer Mount Rinjani - a dormant volcano in Indonesia - was an experience of a lifetime. More of it here http://myadventuretales.blogspot.co.uk/2013/09/hiking-back-to-life.html
16. Exotic Eating - I have always been a foodie, but travelling opened up a whole new world of food to me! I have tried Japanese, Vietnamese, Italian, English, French,..... and still exploring
17. New Year's Night Out on London Bridge - London Eye fireworks on a New Year's Eve is one of the most anticipate celebration. But surviving the crows, the struggle to find and capture a picture-perfect spot and finding a ride back home afterwards are no mean tasks! Of course, those 10 minutes of fireworks are amazing
18. Tiger Spotting Expedition - A camera, group of friends, a safari jeep and a 2 day hunting expedition to photograph the elusive tiger at Bandipur National Reserve - it all ended up in last moment capture of the tiger's 'behind' while it ran into the bushes! A proud moment indeed!
19. YouTube Video of myself - Yeah, it exists! Watch at your own risk! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WqxBwbczFg8
20. Study a new language - I have been trying pick up around Spanish - It is a great language to learn. ¿Qué te parece

LASTLY,

21.  Pull the first letter of each of the above experiences for an apt summary of this wonderful time!

And now its time to embrace The Terrific Thirties!