December of 2010

Season's greetings started pouring on to my mailbox that month. It was a special month. The month of Christmas. Month which marks the end of a year, waiting for the brand new year. It was December of 2010.

That December didn't have much of action. It lacked a punch; let me put it in a freak way.

In the last week of December, couple of my roomies went to their hometown. The usual 'gang' wasn't fully present for a bash for the new year.

On 31st December 2010, short in members, our gang headed towards Thiruvanmiyur beach. Beach is just 100m away from our house. There were a lot of families and bachelors pouring into the beach. A group of bachelors already started dancing in one corner of the beach road. This group dropped their voices of cheers as an when a police jeep made its rounds close to the beach.

At 12.00AM, 1st January 2011, strings of firework got triggered all over the beach coast. A moment when everyone at the beach got elated to the highest spirits; forgetting all the worries in their life.

Spirits high, we walked our way to our house; making the way through the crowds who were wishing and hugging, shouting out 'Happy New Year'. Most of them were in moment of self elation, thanks to the contribution of the 'spirit lifter'. We wished them back, let them be 'glorified'.

Welcome, 2011!

The Turning Point

I turned 28 in October 2010. The milestone which the readers of my horoscope marked as a turning point towards the next step of my life. Ending bachelorhood, I was stepping into the Grihastha 'mode'.

The first 'contact' was on 6th October 2010, via google chat. I saw her first on 10th October 2010. Our engagement was fixed.

On 1st November 2010, we became half-bonded when I exchanged ring with Radhika. The bond will become complete on 17th January 2011, when I tie the sacred 'Thali' on her.

The Turning Point.

10/10/10

Does my subject ring a bell?

Sure, it should. 10th Oct '10.

I wanted to make my post for October short... and sweet.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I waited for that time..
That time seemed distant for me once.
The angel was so close but,
It was just a matter of time, they say..
When it was time, I travelled miles..
And then, I saw those smiles.
That moment, I knew
It was those, which i waited for..
Those when i saw, i felt;
I had known them for thousand years..
And yes, It passed on the same warmth;
For which i had the feeling,
That i knew her for my past ten lives.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The day was 10/10/10. It was special.

Back to where it all started

It has been 6 years now. From the time when i stepped out of there, precisely April 2004, I haven't got a chance to see that place; until now. Thanks to Sandeep, my friend for more than 10 years now. I visited my college on 5th September, 2010. After 6 long years.

Sandeep's marriage was on 5th September 2010. Our travel was pre-planned on September 3rd, yet another Friday. Since his native is in Thodupuzha itself, I decided that, I should pay a visit to the UCE campus in Muttom; the place which built the engineers in us.

Saturday, 4th September 2010
We had our stay arranged in Rifles club guest house, Muttom. I enjoyed the beauty of Thodupuzha from the club house once again; after 6 years. I felt like, I haven't really tried to know that beauty when i was close to 'her' for 4 years. A cab was arranged for us to see the scenic pleasures of thodupuzha and places nearby. We had visits to Kulamavu, Cheruthoni dams. The scenaries from Nadukani view point, run by the kerala state electricity board was breathtaking. We had our dinner back in Sandeep's house and left for muttom for the night.

Sunday, 5th September 2010
The marriage was in Thodupuzha Sri Krishna Temple auditorium. The function was simple and great. My friend Sandeep, tied the sacred 'Thaali' on Devi in the auspicious muhurtham. The moment of happiness, all well wishes were poured on the newly wed couple by friends and relatives. Bliss.

We came back to Muttom after marriage. We were to board our train to Chennai, from Kottayam. We took a Bus from the thodupuzha bus station. We reached the railway station well before the train departure.

Everything went well. Everyone was happy. That journey carried a lot of meaning with it.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***
Back to where it all started?

Campus
We came back to Muttom after marriage. I had my friends also in the car. I told them that I need to pay a visit to my college. I was driving the car. They definitely had to agree to my wish ;).
The pathway from the college entrance to the buildings were outlined with grown up trees. The trees which we planted around 8 years back. They had grown a lot, I thought. Well, all of them had grown together, without separation. A truth which never or rarely occured amongst those who gave lives to the trees. Life, it is.
My rounds in the campus were brief. I circled the 'supposed to be playground' once. Coming out of campus, I drove by the side of our 'Sathram'. Sathram was our place of stay. It was meant for anyone visiting Muttom to jump in and rest for a day/week/month. The choice was their's indeed.

I drove to the end of the road besides Sathram. The mountainous road which oversees the pure serenity of the hills beyond. I stayed there for a minute and payed my tribute of visit to that place. Short, but sweet. My mind was delighted for the fulfillment of something of great value. I was happy.

Back to where it all started.

On 6th of June & 4th of July. Year 2010.

Dedicated to Savin & Sruthi
Date: 06-June-2010
Destination: Chentrappinni.
Team: Hari, Vinoy, Nandalal, Jino, Sibin, Thomas.
Occasion: Savin's marriage.

The 4th of June 2010 was a Friday. We boarded the 2623 Trivandrum Mail from Chennai Railway station after stocking 'enough' food for the less hungry selves amongst us. Notable were the packets of 'vada' bought by the leanest (name disclosed as a precuationary measure to counteract the possible mutual harm, that can be triggered due to extraordinary outflow of emotions) of us. It was fun.
We had our stay arranged in Guruvayoorappan Lodge, Kakkanad, Ernakulam. We visited Savin's home Saturday morning & had our breakfast there. The company was good enough for a great timepass on Saturday. Saturday morning, we had a cab arranged for the marriage destination. Marriage was in Vazhapully Sree RajaRajeswari Temple auditorium. Our driver was talented enough to cut the traffic and take us to the destined location on time. After the function, we had a sumptuous lunch. We waved off the newly wed couple in their brand new car. As usual, there was a photo session among ourselves after that. Every thing went well and everyone was happy. Finally that is all, what we want :).

We started to Chennai Sunday evening in Chennai mail. Yet another one into the maze of married life out of the bachelorhood.
******************************************************************************
Dedicated to Vinoy & Rincy
Date: 04-July-2010
Destination: Puthanchantha
Team: Hari, Savin, Nandalal, Jino, Sibin, Thomas.
Occasion: Vinoy's marriage.

Almost one month later, we had a similar trip to Kerala. This one was for Vinoy's marriage. The mariage was in Kottayam. We boarded the Trivandrum Mail on 2nd July 2010, a Friday. As always, the journey was a good one. Our stay was in a good guest house (Citizen club). It was raining slightly on Saturday. The comfort of the guest house added the feeling of a vacation amongst us. Chit-chat and jokes apart, the time we had on Saturday was awesome. Quite rememberable one, I would say.
We had breakfast in Vinoy's house on Sunday morning, the day of marriage, 4th of July 2010. Marriage was in St George Orthodox Church(Valliyakattu deyaara), Vakathanam. We made it to the location on time. Prayers in the church were accompanied by the marrige. I remember the scene of newly weds coming out of church in full smiles holding the hands together. It was quite a special one.
It was time for us to leave. Departure was scheduled in Chennai mail from Kottayam. Again, the time which Vinoy's marriage gave us, was equally good as the one we experienced for Savin's marriage.

Kudos to you guys. Thanks for giving us an opportunity to enjoy and get together for such an auspicious occasion.

Wish you both a wonderful life ahead.

The 'i' charm

It has been quite some time, since i thought of changing our old car. We had a Maruthi 800. Well maintained by my father for nearly 7 years. It was getting difficult for him to drive it in the ever increasing traffic. Without so called pleasures like power steering, power windows.. etcetera .. getting along the road was real turmoil.

I thought that it was time for us to change the car. Moreover, somewhere in the news, my eyes caught the announcement from Maruthi that, they are going to stop production of their 'once flagship car'. My options were limited for a new car. Because, it will be mostly used by my father. I should be going for something which suits him better than for me. Well, I'll be here in Chennai most of year. What is the point of buying a BMW at home and then, sit here in Chennai & dream about it? (hehehe).

Jokes apart; I checked out my options and found some contestants in the market. Alto LXI, Hyundai Santro Xing GLS, Ford Figo, Hyundai i10 & Chevrolet Beat. Alto LXI was the first one to ruled out. The reason was it's cramped back seat. Santro GLS was a good contester for the position. But, the power windows option was limited to front seaters. Moreover, the car was pretty old.. by name [Parents choose to name their child 'Anton' rather than 'Anthony' or 'Antony'. Why should'nt they?]. I did a test drive of Figo. It was a Figo Titanium, top end Diesel model. It lacked power. Real drag in first and second gears. I wasn't impressed. Beat was dashing. It certainly was an eye-catcher on the road. But, 160Ltr boot for a car... Alas!.. I would call it as a bike retrofitted with extra luggage boxes...

My friend Sandeep already owns an i10. I have driven it. 80BHP under the hood is just awesome. Handling.. superb. Although the boot is 225Ltr, I would say that, it is a decent one. I decided to chip in additonal 24K for sportz version of the car. Why 24K? A company music set with 4 speakers, Rear Wiper & defogger, Boot lamp, Spoiler with HMSL, Metal finish door handles and so on... Those extras were worth for the 24K, which the company was charging.

We got the car delivered on 24-07-2010. That was yesterday. I am here in Chennai. The charm is there, at my home town. The bliss is yet to be experienced.

'I' need to wait.. till 'I' get near 'i10'... :)

OFF-TOPICISM

Getting along with the Odd. That is what sometimes life can be defined like.
This weekend, I have pulled out sometime... To write this post. I feel like i haven't had free time for almost a year. Maybe the time is flowing so fast. Maybe, i'm not doing much to get the feel of a day. (Err..!)

Well.. I felt like jotting down something. But, I wasn't sure what to write. So, i thought of writing random things. Atleast for this post. Yup, people write things related to a matter. Always. Why not some difference. Let's say a different category of writing.. "OFF-TOPICISM"

My bike insurance expired a month back. On 19th May 2009. I took it out for 2times after that. Once, to my office riding 25Kms, well over 80km/hr in speedometer.(My bike cannot peak over that. It is getting older; lol). Enough of heroism.(Readers abroad, that road cannot guarantee your life at speeds >80km/hr. Yes. Indeed Heroic; Period.) Today morning, I renewed it. (I heard your sighs, keep'em intact ;)).

Zaminamina Zankalewa; This time for Africa!. This is what Shakira Isabel Mebarek Ripoll has offered her fans lately. Recently, I saw a video of the song in a youtube post. One of the comments was 'Shakira has improved a lot'. Wow. I was not quite sure what that guy intended by that. Anyways, she managed to get a lot of new fans; including some hardcore football lovers.

I didn't get time to fix the strap for my watch. Oops, correction. I was naughty enough to go till spencer plaza mall to fix my watch's strap. Yup, long distance, bad climate. Blame them all. Finally, i own a swatch, for placing it in my cupboard. Hah, it's this which has reminded me about my mobile. I have a nokia 5800 xpressmusic which will be out of warranty, this June end. I'm snoozing a remainder in the same mobile for almost 3months to fix the broken latch for the stylus(which was lost!). The reason? The repair shop is another 50Kms away in no-man's land.
Heh, pity them.

Now, it is 15.20 IST. I have taken neither my breakfast nor my lunch. There is no smooth ending for an OFF-TOPIC post. So, dropping this now & Off i go.

Goodbye Sony, Welcome Dell

After two years and 11months of companionship, I decided to part with my Vaio.

The decision was taken after painful parting of 52,000 Rupees from my wallet, all attributed for the welfare of my old companion. Yes, I have spent that whooping sum for keeping my vaio alive.

In short, the Mainboard was changed twice[25K first time, 17K second time]. When problems started happening for my third mainboard, Sony insisted me on ordering a new mainboard [That would cost 15k]. I approched another store to get some patchup for board[that cost me 5K]. Well, the stuff seemed to run peacefully for some 11months. I decided to chip in another 5k to change my battery.

With my laptop with all its flaws fixed, i was intending to take it along for another 6-8 months. That was when the death blow striked it. The display started showing colorful pictures whenever i started my laptop. I had seen enough of this stuff and I knew it was the death of my mainboard. Well, the replaced old stock has done it's task. And, it was time for the board to retire.. lol.

I approached the old store where i got the patch done. They agreed to give me 8500 Rs for My Core 2 Duo T5500 1.66GHz + Geforce Go 7400 + 80GB + 2GB RAM. I knew that, I couldn't bargain anything more for that 'scrap of metal on its way to dismantling', which those guys noted as. So be it.

I bought a new laptop today. Dell Inspiron 1464, powered by i3 M350 clocking 2.27GHz. I have upgraded the default 2Gb RAM to 4Gb. This one features an ATI Radeon HD4330 512MB video memory and 320GB HDD. I would say, just a decent config for 41K, running W7 Home Basic.

So, I am here, posting my first post from my new laptop. May the dark forces of nature keep away from my new laptop for it to post more and more.

A train journey

The second of April was a holiday for us. It was a fast decision for me to make. It has been a considerable time since i went to my hometown in Kerala. I decided to try for a tatkal for that 'long' weekend. Needless to say, miraculously, i got the ticket. Whoot! I exclaimed. It was like a thunderbolt that the horror part hit my head. I didn't have a return ticket. Whatever it maybe, i had to try for an EQ(Emergency Quota) for getting back to Chennai. So, I set off from Chennai.

Now, set aside that part of my story.

My coupe had 4 girls, a guy of my age and a married couple. Less did I knew that, it was the beginning of a nightmare.

The content henceforth is based on the sole descretion of my experience. I just want to tell what I saw/heard. I am not exaggerating anything here.

The girls seemed to be from affluent families. The moment the train started, they started chattering. The language was not something I had expected out of girls of that age. I don't know, whether it was a matter of indecency or immaturity or whatever. They were completely turning out to be nuisance for the fellow travellers. It might be the money their parents got. God knows. But, whatever be the case, a code of conduct should be maintained when they travel in public.

Of late, when i got woked up by their voices(better say screams, evolving out of PJ's), I saw the TTE calling them outside to warn or something. As soon as they were back in seat, I saw a college guy(popped out from bare sky seeing these charming girls) asking for a lighter to light his cigarette. Poor girls had just match box to convince him. Simple, didn't we think that matchbox is easy to dispose than a lighter? I then knew why TTE warned them. I don't care if they smoke. But, at that age, I thought, they were already in a wrong way. This thing will not be enlightening for a parent. But, I just know that, this is all because of negligence of parents.

Did i hear, be rational?

I thought over it once. It might be an act of pleasure that they are showing out in such a manner. But, everything has its own limits depending on the situation they are applied. Say, if they are to travel with their colleagues occupying the majority of comparment, the like-mindedness would work out more there. Same will not score for any other situation. I would define such an act as lack of maturity.

My criticism ends here.

That night was the worst one for me, on a train. I had a good sleep back at my hometown, the next day. I presume the same with those unfortunate co-passengers in that coupe. Amen!

Summer in Chennai

Summer is back. Everytime it comes back, it's intensity is getting unbearable. Is this signifying the global climate change? Well, i am not a meteorologist to make deductions out of some mere facts. But, we know that things around us are changing year by year.

That remained me of the Earth Hour movement. WWF has planned to observe this year. It is supposed to be on March 27th. Seven days from today, being a Saturday, I believe, i will be supporting the movement in full strength. The reason? I will be outside my flat that time. Atleast, few people like me will promote the movement with their big heart in such a way. ;)

We are planning to buy Air Conditioner for our flat. So, forget what i said about Earth Hour a while back. God knows how much we are going to pay for the electricity consumption towards the month end. What can we do, :p Material comforts seems to be given priority everywhere nowadays; even in our workplace. And so, the decision to beat the scorching summer has to be taken in this way.

I read that, it hit 36 Degree Celsius on March 16th here in Chennai. They say, it's just a beginning. Let us wait and see, what is in store for this year; waiting to be unleashed.

Something to scribble down...

I was thinking of things i could blog for feb quota of 2010. I thought so hard about it. But, it was just the time i didn't have for thinking more. The reason? Here it goes...

It is already February. I am into a new project. The project schedule is tight. We have been working almost all days in the week. For sure, we are spending ~14 hours of the day in travel + work. The good thing here is that, the technology is new. So, we are learning something good. Good for career; yes. I feel that this goes on till march mid; we have some schedule plotted around that time.

So, as far as it goes good, we expect things to settle down a bit by that time. Let's see... Now, since I'm running out of time, i got to wind this up here. Until next one!

Another year begins...

Goodbye December, Welcome January. The phrase has repeated for 27 times for me now. Well, the difference is just the number. It adds 1 every time :).

I wanted to post this one on January first. I couldn't. But, when time advances, you get things to write. Is it not always like that? Certainly for you and me, yes.

Things have changed. I am certain of that. I am facing new challenges. They are kind of good, I feel. I am learning a lot. That way, it is good. New environment, new faces, new challenges... I just know that time is running fast. You doesn't have control over it. It just moves on. Often, we struggle to keep our pace with it. It seems quite difficult. Well, we got to accept it. We aren't demigods, right?

So, here lies a whole year before me, poised for the set of actions that unfolds in the due course of time. To be lil poetic and far less sarcastic(i pledge here, i'm not one),

Behold thy self, the path that lays ahead;
is all set, for you to head.