Marriage...

Its a long long time since my last post. Its not that I dint want to or dint have the time. Its mainly the content or lack of it.
So, here's something that I can discuss with you - Does 'Marriage' bring with it complications which outweigh 'Love' between partners?
If it is great to be in love and good to live-in, why is marriage seen as only a commitment (of course I am referring to those who think in that way and they make most part of humankind, these days!)

Just like love is synonymous with heart-breaks, marriage is synonymous with arguments and conflicts.
Sometimes, after a small argument or mis-understanding or difference in opinion, I wonder if it is a healthy sign of two persons bonding together or getting away from each other. And after a heated discussion, I get into the contemplative mode if I did the right thing by getting into a commitment without giving too much of thought and was only led by feelings at that moment. I know, this is a dangerous sign and shouldn't nurture this beyond that level. But, what if it is true? I am scared of the answer! I hope this thought is only momentary and gets drowned in the long run.

Relationship & expectations

How to be in a relationship without expectations? This was the discussion I had with my colleagues over tea time. Everyone except me were arguing that it is not possible to lead a life without expectations. One even went to the extent to say that his goal in life is to have expectations (read as results).
We humans have got into a situation where we cannot think of doing an activity without knowing the result, forget about expectations! In a result oriented society, everything is based on outcome and we are trained that way since our birth. The charm of the life is that we still continue to love or 'expected' to love and love selflessly in certain relationships. but, is that feasible? How can a person be pragmatic in everything else but in one or few relationships?
I donno.

Will Volkswagen takeover Porsche?

It will be a historical move if the Europe's largest car manufacturer (also the third largest in the world) takes over the highest-margin car producer, both hailing from my favorite Germany.

Earlier, I had been to the Porsche museum in Stuttgart and was amazed by the models and the way they were arranged across .
Porsche is another victim of the long recession and would personally feel bad to see the brand wither away !

This also creates the usual questions in any M&A:
- Will it be a bigger 'VW' or 'VW-Porsche' post merger?
- How integrated the new unit will be?
- How independent will Porsche be in future (mid 2011)
- What happens during the progressive acquistion period of almost 2 years?
- What about the workforce?

Laughable quote:
"Like Audi today, Porsche can also continue its independent development under the aegis of Volkswagen and preserve its own identity," - Martin Winterkorn, chairman of the Volkswagen management board

From the history stable:
Professor Ferdinand Porsche founded the company called "Dr. Ing. h. c. F. Porsche GmbH" in 1930,with main offices at Kronenstraße 24 in the center of Stuttgart. Initially, the company offered motor vehicle development work and consulting but did not build any cars under its own name. One of the first assignments the new company received was from the German government to design a car for the people, a "Volkswagen" in German.This resulted in the Volkswagen Beetle, one of the most successful car designs of all time. The first Porsche, the Porsche 64, was developed in 1939 using many components from the Beetle.

More on http://www.economist.com/businessfinance/displayStory.cfm?story_id=14101573

Expectations in a relationship!

Word of caution: A posting on the heavier side of life

I am a bit confused today!
Relationships have always confused me !
I realise this mainly during the troubled times!
It takes time to define a relationship, its nature and objective. Only time can tell about the longevity of a relationship and if it is successful or not and if it is ongoing or not!
And then, there are a few which fall on neither sides in both categories. We don't know sometimes if a relationship is alive and kicking or if it has ended successfully or not!

Humans are amazing - not only because each one is unique, but also each heart and mind store infinite feelings and thoughts about people and relationships with them.
We get hurt when our feelings are not acknowledged or in other words, when our expectations are not met! Feelings arise from the heart.
From where do expectations arise?
And a more critical question is - Do we have control on our expectations?If yes, to what extent?

Is spirituality a search to answer these questions?
Many religions and philosophies seem to be against expectations in a relationship!The core principle of Buddhism is to have no expectations which is also the basis for almost every other religion as well.
BhagvadGita dictates one to do the duties without worrying/expecting the results!

But, is it easily humane to be without expectations in one's deeds or in a relationship?
And my bigger question is : If there is no expectation, what defines a relationship and how does one differentiate a relationship from another?

An insightful statement

Warren E. Buffet while referring to reckless corporate debt mentioned "You never know who is swimming naked until the tide goes out."

I'm sure many would be able to appreciate this insight in today's context. The financial global meltdown has exposed or started exposing the bare bodies which may not be a pleasant experience, to put it mildly! And remember that Buffet had made this statement, decades ago!!

Well, just wanted to point out that the above statement seems appropriate in many contexts, exactly like a proverb!

Yet another strike!

Yesterday witnessed another bunch of strikes - by airport , bank employees and in Bangalore the auto-drivers again applied brakes to their vehicles claiming various demands.
Are strikes right for the country? Is it a public-sector employee's right to stop work for one or more days?
Take the case of autos - though it is not a public sector, the drivers get subsidies and benefits because of their occupation! Who pays the monies for these welfare benefits - of course, tax payers like you & me! And what do I get in return ?
Almost 90% of auto-drivers simply refuse to ply to commercial areas in the morning and residential areas in the evenings! The reason said is that they might not find commuters for return journey! The only way to fit into this timetable is by sleeping at homes during daytime and goto work in the evenings! Auto-imposed shift system !
Unfortunately, yesterday I had a chain of bad experiences commuting across Bangalore. In the morning, when I took an auto towards AnilKumble circle, the driver took me Shoolay circle inspite of telling him throughout the way that my destination is in the other direction. Add one-way roads and traffic blocks - result is that I paid twice the usual fare and kept my cool.
In the evening, I had to hurry to pick up some documents from MG Road. I waited almost half an hour near the Airport(old) flyover before finding an empty auto. As expected, he refused to come in that direction. Few other drivers followed suit and some demanded exorbitant fares - more than thrice the amount, reason being the strike ! But, do they need a reason anyway?
After a while, I lost my patience and started walking with the heavy laptop and bag. Whichever auto driver met me on the way, demanded a lottery prize. When I cautioned one of them of complaining to police, he asked me if he should take me to the police station for 50 bucks!
Nexus between auto & police - would have been my title if I were a journalist! It is all out in the open for everyone to see that autodrivers can't be so demanding or cheating on meters if and only if our cops were straight!
BTW, the strike by autos was to provide better housing options and a lenient policing system - it seems! Amen!
If only we do our duties well, our rights will get their way!

Bird's nest

Let me clarify that this post is not about Beijing's beautiful and mammoth stadium. Its a ramble about one's house!

Read in today's Times Of India that the area around Ranganathittu has been flooded as water has been released from the KRS dam. Having visited the birds only weeks ago, I was wondering what those birds will be doing. It seems to be funny that most nests donot have a roof! How will then they protect themselves from nature's different forces?

Well, its surprising to know that birds build nests mainly to place their eggs and to bring-up their off springs. It doesn't mean that they donot want to protect themselves or their kids to become wet in rains or blown away by gusty winds. Also, different species build nests of different types, shapes, sizes and on varied places like rocks, trees, sand, bushes, concrete structures, etc etc. Some birds donot spend their energies to build nests - they make use of others nests or simply live without homes - the common ones being pigeons who find a relatively safe place to deposit their eggs and wait for them to be hatched. Only the offspring learns to fly, the mother and baby leave their make-shift home.

Humankind is no different - we prefer different types, styles of houses. The human civilization made a giant leap forward when settlements started and people built a roof above their heads and stopped being nomads. But the basic needs might have been to seek protection from the forces of nature and enemies. We have progressed beyond boundaries from there. Before long time ago, buildings and land got transformed into real estate and today, it is one of the prime reasons for recession! Unlike birds, we have to pay rentals to make use of some body's house, unfortunately :-(

But the basic difference is that we want a home where we belong to and part of our sharing, caring and serves as one's own kingdom! The problem starts when this passion turns into possession and money becomes the foundation of the building called house!

Refer my earlier post on owning a house @ http://laddoo-thinks.blogspot.com/2006/12/buying-home.html

Festive rush in trains

Its not only common knowledge, but also a very important tip that one can reserve tickets in trains, 90 days in advance. Its a boon because one can ensure availaibility earlier and plan the other aspects of the trip in advance, especially if it is a holiday or sight-seeing. Come festivals, which are plenty in our country, the trains are the first indicators even before the HR departments get ready with their planning.
I have been experiencing this with the major festivals like Diwali, Ganesh Chaturthi, Durga Pooja, x-mas or long weekends around Gandhi Jayanti, Independence or Republic days. During the past decades, the rarity of seats in public transport has only gone up by several notches. I'm sure the number of trains or seats have gone up in this period, but this number seems to have been beaten up by the number of citizens willing to take up journeys around these holidays.
My recent example is attempting a booking for Diwali, this year which falls on 27th Oct. Much in advance, my family had calculated the booking time and kept reminding me to book them on the opening day to avoid inconvenience or hassles with the public and private road transport folks. I too promptly made use of technology and kept enough reminders in Microsoft Outlook, mobile and post-its on the wall. The D-day being Saturday when I tended to extend my cosy sleep, I woke up to the alarms and reminders. It was 7.45 am and I had good 15 minutes to brush and switch on the computer. I logged into the IRCTC website by 7.55 and checked the availability for the Friday before Diwali for a train from Bangalore to Tuticorin. In 2nd AC, there were 17 seats available and that a message was displayed that it cannot be booked before 8 am. The site was behaving properly - all fair and good. Waited impatiently for the next five minutes without doing anything, lest I should use-up bandwidth. When the system clocked 8:00, I pressed the button 'Book ticket'. Well, nothing happened for 2-3 minutes which seemed like hours. I was visualising the various booking counters with mad rush of people who might have waited for hours in long queues and brokers who might be bulldozing their way through. But the website was relaxed and reluctant before the next page came up where I hurriedly entered the name of passengers, choice and id proof details and pressed the 'Make payment' button. This button was no less than the previous one and took its time to display the bank gateway where I filled the login id, password, transaction password, agreement with Terms &Conditions and pressed the button 'Confirm payment'. A message that the payment could not be done was displayed from the bank's site after what seemed to be another hour to me. I checked the time and it was 8:05. Cursing the bank and its infrastructure, I checked the availability of tickets which came out as WL15. I proceeded to 3rd AC which was also in WL and for sleeper class, it was WL200/Regret and it was 8:14 by then.
It was unbelievable, but imagined so many frantic guys in front of laptops and counters who might have got the 17+34+200 seats (it might be more) in that train and hundreds of them like me who got disappointed by the nick of time.
Forget inflation or fear of terror attacks - we want to celebrate our festivals with friends and family, our long weekends in beautiful hill stations or beaches.
Till the country gears up to handle these small pleasures of its citizens, we will continue to remain as a developing nation.

Go Egosurfing

Today, I was bored (Ur guess is right - it was ciesta time!) and tried egosurfing. For those who want to refresh the memory (again being post noon session), egosurfing is Ego (ie I) + Surfing ==>browsing on one's own name - family name, nick name, pet name and u name what not - using search engines.
On one hand, I feel happy that there are lots like me searching their names in the millions of terabytes of data, otherwise, there might not have been a name for searching their own names! And today I restricted myself to blogs only! Can this process be called as egoblogsurfing ?
For a moment, I paused to think why anyone would search for his/her name?
Here are some reasons I could think of:
1. Eager/Curious/Anxious to know if something has been written abt me
2. Interested in knowing if there are celebrities or interesting people with my name
3. Trying to match interests and similarities with the same-named person
4. How common/uncommon my name is
5. Its so easy to type one's own name when bored
6. Egotistic ?
and probably more...
But, isn't the basic need is physiological? A name is not an identity tag alone, its much more than that!
Don't we tend to recognize ourselves by our name, though we were born much before/after the naming happens! Is it becoz we say our names more than any other word - this starts even before schooling, with 'My name is ' - and a name is how we present ourselves to the outside world. If I say 'I am Laddoo', am I only Laddoo (for the sweet-tooth)?
If for the argument, if my name is 'Me', then, amn't I only the name and not heart, soul, characteristics, vices etc etc? What about the branches of science(?!) numerology or nameology ? In hindu mythology, any God has numerous names and the most powerful ones have infinite names as well! In such a scenario, how can a single name stand out as an identity?
BTW, how do think Gods might egosurf ?:-)

Why do my investments or finance need revision?

' You need to have a relook at your investment portfolio!'
That's what every Tom & Harry, newspapers, so-called finance advisors, probably even the "parrot" astrologers say these days! How true is it? How different is the scenario now ? How does US mortgage issues affect a common man in India? (A woman is never common as she is always special :-) )
Let me try explaining in lay man's term (In my MBA exams, I had to use all jargons and even formulae while answering any question, to get those precious marks! Thank God that blogging has made life easier. lol )

Well, the major difference between the good old times and the current struggling period is that there money supply in the system is reducing and more money is being absorbed into the system by RBI. In economic terms, there was more money chasing the goods and supply went up more than the demand. To set this balance right, Govt. has evoked measures like increasing repo rate , CRR(Cash reserve ratio) which influence or force the common man and special woman. What do they respond? They are intended to consume less and save more or invest more. And with the stock exchanges being ripped apart and real estate facing its sickening corrections, the best choice is to go for debt instruments as they are more attractive. i.e. We are giving back the monies to the banks as deposits or govt. bonds to get higher returns and in economic terms, money is being sucked out of the system. This will go on till the balance between D&S returns.
If this sucking continues, there will be a stage when there is not enough money in the system to meet the demands; This is when we can say that the cycle has reached its switch-over state. Then, a good govt. will arrange for pumping the money back into the system. How? This can be achieved by doing exactly the opposite - reducing the interest rates for term deposits and making loans feasible. Now the common man is attracted to consume more and save less thereby releasing more fluidity.
Its a simple carrot and stick trick, only that there are causalities to the common man.

But why? As one can easily imagine, this is a cycle and as per natural laws,it has to go through its full cycle, even though the radius (i.e.timeperiod) can be varied depending upon other macro-economic factors (like inflation, GDP growth, Govt. policies, global impacts etc). Talking of inflation, it is an indicator of changing times and rings the bell to the people and opposition parties alike.

This scenario can be thought of as a chemical equation where the atomic number and mass number of the elements/compounds on both sides should match for any stable reaction. Add to this equation, the impending general elections and thereby populist political behavior and expectations as catalyst.
But all those who have studied chemistry know that there is an exception to this rule which is the release of energy to equate the both sides!

i.e. Nuclear equations - That is the icing to this cake and definitely not the UPA !

Food for thought

Received an interesting forward and thought of posting it here...
Before u continue to read, let me tell you the reasons for posting it
- The topic is relevant in today's scenario of inflation and ever-rising oil prices.
- This is based on Beer game which creates the same effect, only that it is studied from a supply chain perspective and here it is the end consumer perspective!
Here is the story!

A man eats two eggs each morning for breakfast. When he goes to the grocery store he pays 60 cents a dozen. Since a dozen eggs won't last a week he normally buys two dozen at a time. One day while buying eggs he notices that the price has risen to 72cents. The next time he buys groceries, eggs are 76 cents a dozen.

When asked to explain the price of eggs the store owner says, "The price has gone up and I have to raise my price accordingly". This store buys 100 dozen eggs a day. He checked around for a better price and all the distributors have raised their prices. The distributors have begun to buy from the huge egg farms. The small egg farms have been driven out of business. The huge egg farms sell 100,000 dozen eggs a day to distributors.
With no competition, they can set the price as they see fit. The distributors then have to raise their prices to t he grocery stores. And on and on and on.

As the man kept buying eggs the price kept going up. He saw the big egg trucks delivering 100 dozen eggs each day. Nothing changed there. He checked out the huge egg farms and found they were selling 100,000 dozen eggs to the distributors daily. Nothing had changed but the price of eggs.

Then week before Thanksgiving the price of eggs shot up to $1.00 a dozen. Again he asked the grocery owner why and was told, "Cakes and baking for the holiday". The huge egg farmers know there will be a lot of baking going on and more eggs will be used. Hence, the price of eggs goes up. Expect the same thing at Christmas and other times when family cooking, baking, etc. happen.

This pattern continues until the price of eggs is 2.00 a dozen. The man says, " There must be something we can do about the price of eggs".

He starts talking to all the people in his town and they decide to stop buying eggs. This didn't work because everyone needed eggs.

Finally, the man suggested only buying what you need. He ate 2 eggs a day. On the way home from work he would stop at the grocery and buy two eggs. Everyone in town started buying 2 or 3 eggs a day.
The grocery store owner began complaining that he had too many eggs in his cooler. He told the distributor that he didn't need any eggs. Maybe wouldn't need any all week.

The distributor had eggs piling up at his warehouse. He told the huge egg farms that he didn't have any room for eggs would not need any for at least two weeks.

At the egg farm, the chickens just kept on laying eggs. To relieve the pressure, the huge egg farm told the distributor that they could buy the eggs at a lower price.

The distributor said, " I don't have the room for the %$&^*&% eggs even if they were free". T he distributor told the grocery store owner that he would lower the price of the eggs if the store would start buying again.

The grocery store owner said, "I don't have room for more eggs. The customers are only buying 2 or 3 eggs at a time. Now if you were to drop the price of eggs back down to the original price, the customers would start buying by the dozen again".

The distributors sent that proposal to the huge egg farmers but the egg farmers liked the price they were getting for their eggs but, those chickens just kept on laying. Fin ally, the egg farmers lowered the price of their eggs.

But only a few cents.

The customers still bought 2 or 3 eggs at a time. They said, "when the price of eggs gets down to where it was before, we will start buying by the dozen."

Slowly the price of eggs started dropping. The distributors had to slash their prices to make room for the eggs coming from the egg farmers.

The egg farmers cut their prices because the distributors wouldn't buy at a higher price than they were selling eggs for. Anyway, they had full warehouses and wouldn't need eggs for quite a while.

And those chickens kept on laying.

Eventually, the egg farmers cut their prices because they were throwing away eggs they couldn't sell.

The distributors started buying again because the eggs were priced to where the stores could afford to sell them at the lower price.

And the customers starting buying by the dozen again.

Now, transpose this analogy to the gasoline industry.

What if everyone only bought $10.00 worth of gas each time they pulled to the pump? The dealer's tanks would stay semi full all the time. The dealers wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the huge tank farms. The tank farms wouldn't have room for the gas coming from the refining plants. And the refining plants wouldn't have room for the oil being off loaded from the huge tankers coming from the oil fiends.

Just $10.00 each time you buy gas. Don't fill it up. You may have to stop for gas twice a week but, the price should come down.

Think about it.

As an added note...When I buy $10.00 worth of gas that leaves my tank a little under quarter full. The way prices are jumping around, you can buy gas for $2.65 a gallon and then the next morning it can be $2.15. If you have your tank full of $2.65 gas you don't have room for the $2.15 gas.

You might not understand the economics of only buying two eggs at a time but, you can't buy cheaper gas if your tank is full of the high priced stuff.

Also, don't buy anything else at the gas station; don't give them any more of your hard earned money than what you spend on gas, until the prices come down..."

Just think of this concept for a while.

Why we love animal / bird-watching?

For a moment,I thought it is counter-intuitive for humans to go miles and miles for a hobby called bird-watching or crossing moutains and seas for a jungle-safari or a forest trek for hours together in search of bisons, elephants, wild cats and feel disappointed on spotting only the herbivorous deers and rabbits! Shouldn't we feel happy that we are safe to be out of the vicinity of the man-eaters or the other perils of the forest. Why do we take our children to crocodile or snake parks , when we know that they are the most dangerous creatures?
If you think through these questions, I expect the answers to vary across! Some of the probable prominent reasons are:
1. Humans are curious to know about nature and her creations
2. Search for proof of evolution theory
3. The happiness we get in connecting with nature, by spotting the wild animals which we think as pure forms
4. We are amazed by their characteristics and appearance
5. We are inspired by Nat-Geo and Discovery Channel journalists & photographers
6. The process or journey to the destination in equally interesting
7. Educational reasons
8. Business reasons - Poaching or hunting or harming
9. Journalism
10. Anything else?

These are some of the reasons I can think of!
I had been to a bird sanctuary last weekend and felt immensely happy to see so many species of birds. The mere sight of them brings in cheer and lights up the spirits!
Let me try a travelogue with the pictures I took in a separate post, soon.

Top Reasons for not blogging regularly

1. No motivation - due to lack of avid visitors
2. Lack of interesting subject
3. Lack of time
I am a good example for these reasons... Add urs

Cities and associated feelings

Have you felt that we tend to develop a prominent feeling to any place we visit. For example, when I think of 'hosptial', the word that immediately pops up in my mind is 'smell' and for 'school', it is 'homework';
These are not only words, but also description of what that place means to us.

Here is an attempt to write my immediate feelings towards some of the places I have visited, worked, lived etc. Might have forgotten a handful of places I have been to - but again, this is an immediate list.
Its fun making one - try it to know !

Amsterdam Enjoy life
Bangalore liveable
Belur, Halebed Sculpture
Berlin Fun
Chennai Dirty and dry
Coimbatore Rich
Coorg Refreshing
Coutrallem mighty water
Hague Governmental
Karaikudi clean
Karlsruhe peaceful
Kerala backwaters
Keukenhof Lovingly beautiful
Kodai water pollution
Madurai crowded
Mauritius beach
Munich Romantic
Mysore Over hyped
Nainital lakes
Ooty Romantic
Paris Too much to do
Ramnad desert
Rotterdam Built differently
Salsburg musical
Shravanabelagola -Lost its height
Swiss chocolate
Tiruchendur Filthy beggars
Tirunelveli Mannin manam
Trichy Brahmins
Uttarkhand Kumoan range
Versailles home gardens

Tagged

The SEVEN Tag

Seven things I plan to do
1. Provide a home for the unsupported lovely kids
2. Make lots of money (for my comfort and for the above)
3. To be always fit
4. Travel around the world
5. Grow a garden in my home ( I live in an apartment!)
6. Understand myself
7. I'll plan the rest after I attempt no.6

Seven things I can do
1. Can spend 10 hours walking - only when I explore new places
2. Can make a friend laugh continously
3. Can sleep or not get out of the bed for 14 hours at a stretch
4. Can cook exotic dishes and search for names
5. Can untidy my room/house and control myself not to clean it!
6. Can speak for hours- over the phone or in person
7. Can watch movies back to back

Seven things I can't do
1. Can't be without thinking
2. Can't eat without watching TV, when alone
3. Can't be patient waiting in any queue
4. Can't be complacent after a chocolate
5. Can't resist buying stationery!
6. Can't sit idle for more than two minutes!
7. Can't watch a channel without surfing

Seven things I say most often
1. I
2. Lets go
3. then?
4. cool
5. wow
6. junk
7. ouch

Second one: The 10 to 1 tag

10 Favorites: (these are by-far the most difficult ones)
Favorite Season: Spring! Also, when it rains and when I am tucked inside my home!
Favorite Sport: Swimming
Favorite Time: Sleeping time ;-)
Favorite Month: used to be May - when schools were closed!
Favorite Actor: Lots
Favorite Actress: Again, lots
Favorite Ice Cream: chocolate and others
Favorite Food: idiyappam - Healthy south indian steamed noodles
Favorite Drink: Yummy hot chocolate!
Favorite Place: Home, sweet home!

9 Currents:
Current Feeling: Happy
Current O/S: Windows XP.
Current Windows Open: IE, Outlook,Excel, explorer
Current Drink: Water
Current Time: 3:40 PM CET
Current Mobile(s) Used: Blackberry Pearl, ex-Siemens
Current Show on TV: None
Current Thought: Too many to single out
Current Cloth: A cotton shirt and formal Blackberry trousers

8 Firsts:
First Nick: Paapaa
First Kiss: Don't remember - Mom's or granny's
First Crush: Classmate ?
First Computer: is still being used by my Dad - it doesn't have USB drive!
First Vehicle I drove: Tricycle
First Job: Software Engineer
First Movie: Don't remember
First Pet: None
First Shave(men)/hairstyle(women): Don't remember, I have memories of cutting short my long hair in college days

7 Lasts:
Last Chai (Tea) : An hour back
Last Movie: An odd couple
Last Time I Drove: Long back, in India
Last Time Shaved(men)/Beauty parlour visit(women): Feb 14th
Last Web Site Visited: My blog
Last Software Installed: updated Adobe reader
Last Pill I Had: Allegra

6 Have You Evers:
Have You Ever Broken the Law: Yes.
Have You Ever Been Drunk: Yes, sort of.
Have You Ever Climbed a Tree: Not really
Have You Ever Kissed Someone You Didn't Know: No
Have You Ever Been in the Middle/Close to Gunfire or Bomb Blast: No, but was on a beach when Tsunami struck!
Have You Ever Broken Anyone’s Heart: A handful of times

5 Things:
Things You Can Hear Right Now: People typing, chatting
Things on Your Computer Table: my hand bag, water bottle, post-it, diary,notebook, phone, mobile, pen and some print-outs
Things on Your Bed: Two pillows, bedsheet
Things You Ate Today: Frosties with hot milk, brown bread with cheese, a birthday cookie
Things in Mind: Filling tags, finishing work!

4 Places You Have Been Today:
Office
Home
Bakery to pick up my lunch
Sat alone on a bench near metro station and ate my lunch as it was sunny

3 People You Can Tell Anything To:
Hubby
Friends
Friends

2 Choices:
Black or White: White
Sports or Studies: Studies
Hot or Cold: Hot

1 Thing You Want To Do Before You Die:
Only one ??


Third one: The FIVE tag:
Five movies which I like the most
1. Dum Dum Dum (Tamil)
2. Shrek
3. not able to rank further

Five things I can never live without
1. Someone to talk to
2. Something to watch - TV or internet
3. Phone
4. Monies to spend :-)
5. That's all !!

Five Celebrity Crushes
1. Tom Hanks
2. Brad Pitt
3. George Clooney
4. David Bechkam
5. Surya (Tamil actor)

Five Admirations
1. My parents
2. Engineer Eiffel
3. Louis XIV's palace in Versailles
4. Mad king Ludwig's Neuschwenstein castle
5. Lovely Tulips
6. Taj in moonlight - yet to see :-(

Five things I miss now
1. Hubby dear
2. Mom
3. Ginger ale
4. nothing more

Five things I plan to do in near future.
1. Travel around denmark
2. Change my job?
3. Buy my dad a new car
4. Shopping on Amsterdam streets
5. Drinking chocolate

Last movie I borrowed to watch & still not given back.
Returned a movie without watching :-)

Five books I love: Not in any order
1. Somerset Maughm - Collection of short stories
2. Rudyard Kipling - Jungle book
3. Ayn Ryand - many
4. Arthur Hailey - Airport, The wheels
5. Kalki - Ponniyin Selvan (Tamil)
6. Paulo Coehlo - Alchemist and others
More and more...

Traffic(king)

I noticed two grave traffic (mis)habits we Indians take for granted.
1. A matador van with a minimum of 20 school children aged below 6, waiting at a stop for more to be picked up! It was not a school van as there was no name, but was painted all yellow. Either it is a private vehicle or the school did not risk its name! I also saw that there were a few parents waving as the van left the stop. The question is : If they are affording sky-high school fees, uniform and other additionals, why can't they ensure the basic safety of their children ? If they are also paying in thousands for the vans, why don't they raise the voices or bring it to the notice of authorities when the vehicles are not adhering to safety standards or exceeding the maximum capacity?
All the time we hear of a mishap involving school kids, we wonder how the school or parents did not bother about it earlier. I guess, we all assume that probability will be in our favour and take things light.
Responsible parents and teachers, do ask your ward how many other kids travel with him/her in the morning and evening and how he/she likes the ride? The answer will tell about his/her own safefy.
2. If it is before 7.30 am, any 2-wheeler or 4 wheeler or heavy vehicle including state transport bus, the traffic signals are ignored and violated. Reason from any of the drivers: Too long a wait when there are few vehicles on the road and no cops around to monitor.
This is not the solution as it is chaotic and the bullies get their way through inspite of red. An 'L board' or a traffic obedient waits with no other choice! There is a high risk of new drivers simply following the signal and get honked or scared by big vehicles in the middle of crossing and get to slam the brakes!
Isn't switching off the signals or an "orange" light better choice? At least people will be aware that there is no signal and try honing their skills or patience.
Of course, the best solution is to follow traffic rules and it is easier said than done

Different perspective to the Indian Australian Cricket teams

A RELEVANT AD ON SPORTSMANSHIP!

I wish India-Australia test series is played in this spirit! Too good how the Indian wicket keeper offers mint to the Aussie batsman and they share a friendly moment.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8082225645805923305
Watched it? Time to get back to reality...

Guess that the FMCGs are making use of the opportunity! Recent examples being Airtel, TicTac...
As long as it is in the positive spirit, why should one complain?

Autos off the Bangalore roads

Is that a good sight or a bad one? - is the question dodging me.
Today morning, I travelled all along the airport road and outer ring road to reach my office - only once, I could get to see the yellow roofed auto, that too in a self created auto stand. Reason being that the auto drivers (or auto owners) are protesting by going off roads for 12 hours today, demanding higher rates. It is good for all other vehicle drivers on road. -they can atleast attempt to stick to lanes.
I am wondering what kind of protest is this and how can one section of the society which is dependent on public utility bring people to a halt. It is not problem of today, but almost everyday. Ask any regular commuter of the hassles one undergoes to travel in a three wheeler. To begin with, one has to beg an average of five autos before getting the nod to get into the tuk-tuk. And this average is only an average and does not guarantee a ride every time you stand on the pavement waving your hands. When u stop an auto, sometimes you get a stare in return, sometimes a smirk, sometimes a little less than a "ghaali" and sometimes nothing at all! I have an idea if we can ask for the day's prediction to include this response from our astrologers!
Next is the problem of negotiating with the driver on the extra fare payment. By default, he starts with double the fare and bargains depending on ur desperation level.
If you succeed to get an auto in the direction you wanted and managed to get in, start looking at the meter - which comes in various types and speed. There are types which will not obey traffic signals and the meters never stop though the vehicle is halted. There are Ben Johnsons, PT Ushas and Gangulys that run at various velocity. Tell that to the driver, he changes his mother tongue and uses the only language you cannot understand especially if it is a girl!
What next? You get to see a bit of the city with the excuse of traffic blocks or jams in certain areas. This happens more if you reach Bangalore on a volvo bus. I guess any auto driver eyes a person with a suitcase as a hawk eyeing chicken. I think of macro economics after I get into an auto from an overnight bus journey, early in the morning.
After all these interesting travel opportunities, the last leg is no less. No change for the fare. I do not know where do the coins minted by the Indian Govt. reside ? I am sure that all the black money hoarders prefer currency notes and that too in higher denominations. Our friends hoard coins, especially 50p and 1Re are unheard terms- all these hold good if and only if if it is commuter's money.
Well, I also agree that there are a handful of decent and good autowalas around. Two days back, I was so happy when an auto-uncle (Mr. Chellayya) dropped me without cribbing or swearing. When I gave him the money, he asked me how much change should be returned without looking at the meter. I told him 5 , instead of the 8.
The last time I said a similar thing was to a cabbie in Germany.

More seats or more trains?

Read an article and a blog on the proposal by Indian Railways to increase seating capacity in the existing trains, probably without additional basic amenities.

We understand that more people are travelling and they are travelling more often than before for business, pleasure etc. This is a big opportunity for Indian Railways as trains are the most preferred mode of transport next to flights which have limited operations and are also more expensive.

Almost every train runs full house within days of booking opening. Even if all the trains are doubled over weekends, I am sure they will be full. What more can a service provider ask for?

I know that more trains means additional infrastructure and networking. But, we are a growing nation with a double digit GDP growth! If we can't do it now, then when?

Increasing seats in existing trains seems to be a penny wise idea and the opportunity loss is still huge!