Flight to Germany

All I did through my journey was sleep..wake up to eat and then go back to sleep. Some think I am blessed to have such an appetite for sleep :)
My flight to dubai and then to frankfurt was late by half an hour. only trouble was to keep myself awake while waiting for my boarding. Sid was constantly talking to me :)
My first international flight beckoned soon and i was led into a huge flight.
Landed in Dubai at around 7. Found my way around in dubai airport - found out that gate 143 iis where i have to head to check-in for my connecting flight to frankfurt.
Emailed family about my whereabouts from dubai airport.

Till the time i reached dubai, i felt like i feel when i do my regular Mumbai-Pune-Bangalore travel. Dubai airport was an eye-opener. A huge mix of culture and color. Although very less time spent there, nevertheless enough to find a similarity with Mumbai. I would like to visit the place some day - a more detailed visit.

There was nothing spectacular about the flight. My neighbours were enjoying a hearty discussion parts of which i managed to gather in between deep slumber. one was approximately 50 and he was frustrated that he and his wife are having to live away from each other for long - she in China and he in Germany - and how he enjoyed his recent trip to China. The other guy was mostly listening, but would keep talking about some company he worked for which had huge operations in China.

I reached Frankfurt just 15 minutes late. the official stamping my passport thought that if he spoke german very loudly i would understand. eventually he realised that was not working. in some time i realised he wanted to see my invitation letter and id card and the works. as soon as he saw the papers in my hand he stamped my passport and quickly packed me off :D
After almost picking up somebody elses luggage, i managed to get out of the conveyor belt area. i had a huge suitcase, a shoulder bag and a very heavvily stuffed laptop bag on my shoulders.

i thanked Sid and Siddhi a zillion times for discouraging me from carrying any more luggage.
The signs to the railway station were confusing. finally i managed to get someone who knew English. The skyline from Terminal 2(where i was) to Terminal 1(where railway stations were) was free and smooth. Luggage was extremely difficult to manage. there were so many escalators and stairs that i had to cross to reach here. anyone who knows my fear of escalators will know how difficult it was for me to manaover my luggage along.

i had started my cell phone with the SIM given by Mahaboob and i could see that there is full network. i was hoping Sid would call. i was constantly thinking about him. meanwhile i ahd to get to the railway station and it seemed a long long way away.

i got to know from the information centre(finally someone who spoke English!!!) regarding the direction i wasd to take and many escalators later i met this clone of mine - same height, same haircut, same hair color, similar spectacles.
i asked her if i could follow her. thankfully for me she thought i was amusing and allowed me to follow her. after some time she even helped me carry my luggage. that was much more than i asked for. only i know, i could do with some help. my limbs were numb with moving my luggage around for so long and with so many hurdles.

my first swipe of my forex card was for the ticket from Frankfurt to Cologne Hbf station. the girl helped me and we had to get the tickets and call M and then reach get to platform 6, terminal 2 for long distance trains in about 7 minutes because it was 2 minutes past 3pm and the train was scheduled to arrive at 3.09 :D

we got the ticket and managed to reach platform 6. the lookalike (the reason for my safe arrival at cologne) even gave me her cell fone to call m from. i didnt even thank her at the end of it. just didnt have the time.

Mira told me she will pick me from Cologne railway station.
3.47PM my train reached Cologne Hauptbanof :)

"No one moment"

Yesterday during my no-one moment I realised I wanted to get in touch with myself. However, I was too busy to bother. That disturbed me; also got me thinking more.

I think I am hallucinating and need a life :-P

All is well.

The day I joined Pune office I was told my transfer is suspended and I need to move back to Mumbai...ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

I am back in Mumbai now...the project is really cool. I like my team-mates too...we make a nice team. I have figured out everything.
Had a shock in the form of R being kicked out unceremoniously...felt guilty for it too...but I guess thats how the company works.
Also in the phase of re-planning my next job..as I had thought of during my BSc...I want to experience different working styles...I am getting bored of being a software engineer...also some complacency has set in wrt work and work environment...the need to challenge myself has never felt stronger...not that I dont like what I am doing...I enjoy it and add to it the fact that I do it better than the average guys around me...just that I need a change in atmosphere.

Also I think this shift to Mumbai was necessary to make my relation with mom better...last time we lived together I was coping with MARRIAGE in general....sometime I will talk to her...

I miss Sid terribly...all the more now...
I have also taken a liking to Pune :)

PS: sid please dont ask me who is All and why am I saying that he/she is well...

Adios Bengaluru, Bienvenue Pune

Time to say goodbye...I like Bangalore city. I enjoyed my work tenure here.
I am not very fond of Pune..not yet atleast...too many ifs and buts attached to the city..but I am open to experiment with a new city...now the madness of grah-gruhasti will engulf me and Sid...we have been married since a year now...but have been living as independently as ever.
8 months was too long to spend without Sid :) but it too has passed and now we are all set to leave behind Mumbai, our city of birth and join new kind of people.

Before 30!!!

Things I would love to do before I turn 30 -
1) Buy a cycle and go to office on a cycle
2) Trip on a cycle
3) At least 20 treks (revisiting will be counted :P)
4) Spend some time volunteering
5) Get my BSc agriculture degree
6) Speak a new language fluently
7) Learn about stock market and invest well
8) Sky diving / Bungee jumping :D
9) Have at least 8 pairs of shoes
10) Be a great cook
11) Learn a western dance form and be fab at it
12) Have abs to die for :P (Read washboard)
13) Visit a foreign country
14) Learn to play the Violin
15) Buy a car for family
16) Go on a road trip with my husband with no pre-determined destination

So many so far....will update when something strikes me :)
Note: Numbering follows no specific order. Listed randomly.

Fair

I personally don't have a problem with people believing that fair people are better looking than darker people, or that thin people are better looking than fat people. I don't consider that racist. Everybody has a right to have their personal definition of beauty. Their life is their problem.
There was a time when I thought that this obsession was since the 'Goras' rule but further probe/thought leads me to believe that the obsession has sustained since ages. Ancient Hindu scriptures and modern poetry praise women endowed with skin "cast out of white marble". It is more cultural than anything else.
What makes sense to me is the explanation about the color discrimination that I read someplace which loosely translates to the following -
"Throughout Asia, dark skin is identified with the toil and sweat of hard labor in the fields, while fair skin is associated with an upscale lifestyle."
Problem begins when somebody pressures others into changing their lifestyle based on a personal sense of beauty.
The fetish has always been unfair on the Indian woman. Thankfully, intelligence and sense of humor don't have a color. And like your skin, you're born with them.

Happy Diwali

Had been home for diwali.
Mumma was describing how they (she and her siblings) used to wake up early in the morning (read middle of the night) at 3.30 AM and burst firecrackers along with the Thackerseys. She had painstakingly made a lot of yummy faraal for me, Sid and Siddhi.

Me too have fond memories of waking up early...going to the temple with papa and brothers..ruddhu holding my hand and ragu holding papa's. Perambulate the Ganpati temple once and come back home with the pedas :D
Because our home was the assembly point for all kids in the building...the firecrackers would be collected at our place, taken downstairs...Dad would begin with the first laxmi bomb and then all the kids would pick their favorite cracker and get crackling.

This Diwali was special because it was my first Diwali at OUR home in Kharghar.
Had a lavish diwali what with buying a laptop, a printer/scanner/copier, one cell phone each for me and my husband. Cooked for myself and my husband the first time.
The highlight of the entire evening was lighting up the diyas in my house - on the staircase, balconies, doorstep. My home looked lovely :-)
Also had my mangalsutra sulta ceremony which Sid did. Siddhi loved her new dress. I loved my new dress. Sid was surprised by the book I gave him for diwali. His was the best reaction for the gift - he glared at me then broke into a wide grin and then started reading his book (awww...sweet no? :-D).
I am leaving for Mumbai tonight for Rahul's wedding in Pune. Was planning to meet Apurwa but guess it will be difficult.
More about the visit once I am back :-)

Its work time again!!

Come some festival and my manager springs to life suddenly piling me with work...
so now the next few days are gonna be extremely hectic and serious un-blogging time for me.

Re-runs

Its strange that I can laugh again and again at the same jokes that I have seen so many times. I am referring to the re-runs of old series on Zee Cafe - Full House, Whos the boss, Friends, Small wonder, The wonder years etc. I must have seen some episodes multiple times so much so that I know whats gonna happen next and still they never fail to make me laugh :D

Thinking about the past, reminiscing about school with pals from school, laughing over the same incidents every time we meet is such fun!!

Miss my friends.

Green myths

Very interesting. While the world is going around planting trees here is a reverse side to it. Uff! Karein toh kya karein.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/5-green-myths.htm

MakeMyTrip :-)

Free time at last !!! :)
The last few weeks had been hectic at office (That explains why couldn't get myself to BLOG).
I wanted to be in Mumbai on 25th July 2008, tickets were booked and I was all set to leave office after the talk by Kiron Bedi.
The talk was fabulous. The lady commanded the stage absolutely. What ease and how powerful :)
During the session I got a message from my husband informing me about a blast in Bangalore and asking about my well-being. After the session, I saw the news and realized it was not A blast, it was a series of blasts. Everyone was panicking. It is a quiet city and this was a bit too much for it to handle.
I tried booking a cab to the airport as the international airport is 3 hours away from my office. But the booking offices were not ready to take any more passengers. Phew!!! I decided to go the usual way - take the office shuttle up to a destination and then board the international airport shuttles that run across the city.

I witnessed a laathi charge on the way and a lotttttttttt of traffic.
I thought I had missed my flight.
While I was waiting for the International Airport shuttle, Sid called up Bangalore Airport to know if the flight was on time and they told him that passengers should check in at least half an hour before the flight departure timings. This assured my fears. Damn!!
I reached barely 10 minutes before the flight took off. I ran all the way from the time I got off the bus through my security check with the boarding pass in hand, all the way into the flight, with the airport authorities looking amused much to my irritation. Now it all seems very funny.
Met up with Rahul, Bhavana and Akshay after a really long time. The highlight was the dessert :-) Sizzling brownie and as promised by Bhavana, it was yummyy.

Mumbai welcomes you like no other city. A suggestion to all those descending on this wonderful city - always take a flight that will reach destination Mumbai after it is dark. Its a lovely sight :-)
So I was back home, to the place I am most comfortable at.
Now my next trip on September 2nd, 2008.
We had decided to shift to our new home. So me, mummy and mumma left for Kharghar.
On Saturday, we went for a trek to Avchitgad. Goooooooooooood fun!!!!!
Had almost thought we wouldn't reach the pinnacle (we lost our way) but we did it :D
Me and Sid spent a leisurely weekend in our home (a peek at how it would be once I am back from Bangalore :-) )
On Sunday, we also went to see Dhannada and her baby :-)
So the trips were delightful and pleasant, but lasted very quickly.

I have also made a new dost - Iraqi/Billu beta/Pullll..Introduction next time

Lost

I am not enjoying this phase of life any more.

Lots to write...So less time

Been busy this week at work.
Will post as soon as I find some reprieve.
Want to write about my weekend at Mumbai, about Kiran Bedi's talk, about the Bangalore blasts, my trip to the airport, meeting Rahul Bhavana and Akki, etc.
Phew!!

Cleopatra

I was having a discussion with one of my colleagues at work about Egypt and I don't recollect how but we got into this talk about Cleopatra.
He (my colleague) got into story telling mode and he told me that Cleopatra had married her younger brother to stay in power and she also killed her sister some time later in her life time so as to usurp the kingdom from her.

History and its weird tales !!!!!

Chronicles of Bangalore

I fight the wicked feeling of going back to bed at 6.00 AM everyday.
I hate the first week of exercise. Hopefully by coming Tuesday I will have relaxed into this new routine of mine.
I am sleepy till the time the music starts...from then on its good fun. And a hot water bath after the session is bliss :D

Work is alright.

I have decided to volunteer for kilikili.org during my spare time in Bangalore.

Was chatting with a close friend of mine and we have successfully revived our long lost plan . We are a group of school friends who had decided to contribute money for education and give it to our school. The school will redirect the money to whoever is in need. The plan will finally see the light of the day thanks to net banking and chat messengers :).
Kudos Technology !!

Dance aerobics

Today was the first day at my dance-aerobics classes. Good fun but now I can feel every muscle in my body. I am dead tired. Also I didn't sleep too well so head is aching.
Hopefully I will pick up faster than expected. :)

Tired...but hopeful

I thought so much today that I am tired of thinking.

Thought about my plans - BSc(Agriculture) , farming, doing something for NGOs, YUJ, political scene in country, Sids plan about studying further.
The future is so uncertain, scary too..isn't it?

Thought about what I have achieved so far too.
No one thought I would do a post-graduate course and that too with first class I am the most educated in my Moms side of the family.

A good career...yeah I think I am doing pretty well. I have my house at the age of 25. I had dreamt of it. Now we have it :D. Have a rocking marriage

But I am hopeful...very hopeful :) of the future as well. I have a life to make whatever we have thought of come true.

Damn!!

I had written a real long post and something happened and everything was gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

The Story of Atlantis and Why?

Note:Atlantis is the name of a legendary island first mentioned during the time of Plato. Many people believe the tale to be complete fiction, the creation of a philosopher's imagination used to illustrate an argument.

The Story

Over 11,000 years ago there existed an island nation located in the middle of the Atlantic ocean populated by a noble and powerful race. The people of this land possessed great wealth thanks to the natural resources found throughout their island. The island was a center for trade and commerce. The rulers of this land held sway over the people and land of their own island and well into Europe and Africa.

This was the island of Atlantis.

Atlantis was the domain of Poseidon, god of the sea. When Poseidon fell in love with a mortal woman, Cleito, he created a dwelling at the top of a hill near the middle of the island and surrounded the dwelling with rings of water and land to protect her.

Cleito gave birth to five sets of twin boys who became the first rulers of Atlantis. The island was divided among the brothers with the eldest, Atlas, first King of Atlantis, being given control over the central hill and surrounding areas.

For generations the Atlanteans lived simple, virtuous lives. But slowly they began to change. Greed and power began to corrupt them. When Zeus saw the immorality of the Atlanteans he gathered the other gods to determine a suitable punishment.

Soon, in one violent surge it was gone. The island of Atlantis, its people, and its memory were swallowed by the sea.


Why is it that human beings live happily for a while surrounded by abundance (in nature etc.)...then create complications around themselves leading to their own destruction?

At times I feel we all are moving towards a common huge complication...which will make our lives miserable.

Will humans be living in space in the next 50 years?

http://science.howstuffworks.com/living-in-space.htm


see you at mars today evening ;)