2012 and happy to be free*

I have been away for too long this time. Apart from a quick post last Oct, I have been MIA (Missing In Action, for the uninitiated) for more than 6 months now.

Anyways, there are so many things that have happened. 2012 has been great so far. New year, New Life. Following in Prof. Ramya's footsteps, I take this opportunity to count my blessings.

Things I am grateful for
1) Loving and supportive family who supported me through thick & thin these past 3 years as I struggled with balancing work, life and everything else.
2) Professors who made 2.75 years' of my MBA a journey to cherish.
3) Friends who have provided a reality check when I was struggling to stay sane (Dear sis, you count here too).
4) A wonderful vacation in Nepal, which is also my first full-blown International vacation. (UK was more of a pain-cum-pleasure trip (all the dental surgeries being the pain part and some sight seeing thrown in by family being the pleasure).
5) My new car which is so small and so cute!! (Oh, you will hear more about this sooooon, I promise!)
6) An opportunity to receive my MBA from none other than Mr Mukesh Ambani on 30th March
7) A surgery last that took care of the implant in my leg. Am also grateful for having a wonderful Orthopaedic Surgeon who is also my uncle.

Well, with some things crossed off my check list, I am looking forward for the rest of the year. As I recover from the surgery, it is time to unwind but put the plans that have been on hold to action. May God be with me.

Ciao.

* Free in my context means free time that I have (now that I have completed my MBA) to pursue my next round of dreams.

Of a fall and breaks

There is truly someone up there who decides who gets a break and when, no matter what we puny mortals have planned for.

A surgery. An MRI scan. A CT scan. an ultrasound. an X-Ray. A spinal headache, countless injections, countless tablets.

I have had it all in the past week. An experience enough for a lifetime!

It has been 10days since I fell from scooty and went through unspeakable pain. After a knee joint fracture and a surgery to fix it, now that I have been forced to stay in bed for the next 5 weeks, I am quite relieved. The worst has passed and now is the time for resting and for healing.  After recently turning an year older and (hopefully) wiser, I haven't had the heart to ask 'why me?' but have thought 'if it has to be me, so be it!'. That has given me courage to carry on and have faith in myself.

To avoid turning my top shelf from becoming a devil's workshop, I became member of Just Books today (with due permission from my doctor of course!) and I am feeling like a kid in a candy store. Within minutes of becoming a member, I have 2 dozen books in my reading queue. I am really really happy to have got a breathing space, I realise how much I have missed reading fiction. I am breathlessly waiting for the first batch of books to arrive tomorrow. I am going for a vacation, to the world of make believe, a world which some others imagined and brought to life, a world full of action, romance, thriller, horror and happiness.

And oh ya, in all the madness, I am truly very very happy to have become a proud aunt of a beautiful nephew :) :). I wish I could be with my sister and nephew instead of here. Other than that, this break (not the bone break, the rest) is most welcome. I don't think I have had this much free time since I started working.

Happy reading and happy getting well soon - to me :-)

P.S. All belated birthday gifts and get well soon gifts are being accepted now ;)

Porsche and others

Just concluded Carrera Task Force negotiation as part of IBNS. As I am strictly against putting up my/others' pics online, I am only posting these beauties for all of you to see.

To think Porsche wanted to ramp down 911 Carrera and stop the production way back in the 70s!! OMG!! I would have missed such wonderful trips cruising down M25.

Jai's Lexus and Carrera S:

Rear-engine, water cooled Porsche 911 Carrera S. Mr. VP of R&D, did I hear "obsolete design" from you??!!!!

Joe's Porsche Targa 4s:

Targa with sun-roof. They did not discontinue this for good, after all....

Others:
(Can I get one of these please?)

Windsor Castle

I visited Windsor castle on an afternoon. In winter, England gets engulfed by dark by 4pm. By the time I reached there, it was 3:15pm.


There is a also boating facility that takes you on a river cruise of Thames from this place.

Entrance to the castle was closed by that time and could only talk to the guards and click few flicks.

It is one of the principal official residences of the British monarch. Queen Elizabeth II spends many weekends of the year at the castle, using it for both state and private entertaining.

Queen was in residence and hence you can see the flag hoisted on the Round Tower.

Above is the entrance to Windsor castle

The castle is surrounded by road housing shops selling souvenirs, restaurants housed in beautiful ancient buildings preserved even today. A walk to around the castle was pleasant. Since I had time to kill, I crossed Windsor bridge and walked till Eton college. Eton reminded me of a sleepy little town with its hundreds of years of history, housed quite charming shops, each of which had a different story to tell.

UK Trip via Dubai

I landed in Dubai airport on an early 1st December morning. I had idiotically declined the air hostess' inquiry for breakfast and had used that time to sleep and by the time I reached Dubai I was starving and cursing myself for my foolishness. Since I had another 3 hours to kill at the Dubai airport before hopping onto my flight to London, I purposefully strode near my check-in gate and filled my belly with a stupid dry sandwich from Cosi and hot sugarless coffee which burnt my tongue.

Slightly deviating from the topic, the early morning view of Dubai from above was simply breathtaking! Vast expanse of desert, divided into grids of roads, orange halogen lights dotting both sides of roads, looked heavenly.. Traffic movement was heavy at most places even at 5am in the morning.

Dubai airport is in 3 levels, each level spanning for miles.. I did not explore much on my way and was happy clicking photos on the level where my next check-in was scheduled.
On the way back, I had 7 hours to myself. Went to each and every duty-free shop on all the levels. Bought Gold (yessss!!!!!!), loaded my already exploding hand luggage with heaps of chocolates, and digged into a veg Mac, hoping that it was actually Vegetarian, unlike the Hindu "veg" meal which turned out to be Hindu non-veg meal served to me on the Emirates flight!

When I was returning from my vacation, I already had had my fill of great European architecture, expensive sports cars, and loads of photos(on all you are going to hear a lot I am afraid) that I did not bother with photographs...
View of level 3 from inside
Dubai airport looks like a narrow tube on a deserted patch of land, looks magnificent from the inside.
Above is the view of the airport from the runway. Gave me an impression that I was moving inside the stomach of a snake all along!

Oh, what a day!

"It is snowing, it is snowing!", Maya's delighted screams woke me up. I peeped out of the window to find the green grass looking strangely grayish white and the bare trees appearing as if they have got a whiff of powder on them. It was Wednesday and my last day in England.

Couple of hours later, I was in Tesco doing last minute shopping when Emma pointed out, "Look, it is snowing". Little flecks of snow were falling down. The entire surrounding looked as if skies were pouring down little pearls on earth. I gladly walked around in the parking lot immersing myself in gleeful joy, appreciating the nature's wonder.

On the way back, Chess valley had already started becoming white. The snowfall was harder now and the entire valley which was green moments earlier was shrouded in white. The roofs of houses were white and so were the roads, with track marks clearly appearing. There I was, drinking in the beauty of nature and getting ready to bid adieu to a beautiful countryside. What a perfect way to end a great vacation!

P.S. The moment I landed in Bangalore I saw a perfect rainbow and a beautiful sunset on the way back to town. Guess Bangalore was welcoming me back, trying to make me forget the perfect English winter... At that moment, I fell in love with my land. Again.

Shakespeare County - Stratford

Shakespeare's county is situated in Stratford, which is built on Avon river and hence called Stratford-upon-Avon. Shakespeare's house has been preserved till date and is open to visitors. Shakespeare Center hosts a gallery which gives a detailed account of Shkespaere's life and works. The gallery opens to a garden which leads you to Shakespeare's house.

The house has 3 bed rooms, living room, work shop and an extension to the house. The guide explains the origins of phrases like 'Good night sleep tight' and 'I had a ropey night'. In the 16th century, the cot had wooden famework and had a base of ropes, which would be tightened every night by the servent. And so comes the phrase "Good night, sleep 'tight'". If not tied properly, it would stick to one's back and make one uncomfortable. And hence the phrase, 'I had a ropey night'.

The exit leads to the Gift shop. The shop has a range of souveniers to choose from.

It is really amazing to know that almost every phrase you use in English was written by this one man. A man, whose writings inspire millions every day and are showcased by plays, drama, movie, songs and what not.

Stratford-upon-Avon has canal built on river Avon and makes for a beautiful sight. Small boats travel through these canals all the way upto Paris on one side and to London on the other. Water levels at each stage of the canal are different. A boatsman will open up the lock at one level, which causes the water in the next stage to rush in and raise the water level of your location. This helps you move on further. Once you reach the end of that level, you would open the lock of the next level. This story continues until you reach the destination. Amazing! The streets are dotted with ultra posh shops like Austin Reed, Marks and Spencer, Debenhams, Goldsmith so on and so forth. All the buildings are from the 17th Century and have been preserved in their original form.

The way to Stratford has breathtaking scenaries which makes this trip worthwhile and very satisfying. One can spot many castles along the way which have been turned into Hotels and Spas.

Cold start, sunny spells

Cold start, sunny spells. That's what the BBC predicts of the weather today here in Birmingham. Poised to be at 6 degrees, I am about to set off for an exploration of the city of Birmingham.

Yesterday's shopping at BullRing shopping center went well. To be frank, I found stuff cheaper here than in Bangalore. Maybe the X'mas season has got to do something about it. And getting good deals on GAP, H&M, CK feels good( :-) ). All the 'super brands' that we always long for have 'Made in India', 'Made in Bangladesh' 'Made in China', 'Made in Vietnam', 'Made in Turkey' tags on them. Now I know why we Indians get a raw deal back home. All the good stuff gets exported and we get the second rated stuff which is overpriced... Just as I had always suspected! X-(

Did I tell you about my first flight experience? Well, that's a story for another day..

Peace, finally!

As this post comes to you, I am sitting on a cozy couch in a beautiful home just off Birmingham. I am here in England enjoying my well deserved vacation(that's what I tell myself anyway). I have the entire day for myself and I am here watchng BBC Breakfast and blogging away. The curse of being a software engineer!

The temperature is 2 degrees today. Its windy and is raining outside. I don't envy those who have to be outside in this weather :-). All those instructions I got back home are coming handy. Though I haven't been out in the open much, I haven't had to use my gloves so far, and that's an achievement for me. For a first timer, I am doing all right here (I guess). I have people asking me if the train stops in certain stations, and I am answering their queries... ;-). I am a natural!

I am being pampered by my hosts, being taken care of in a manner fit for a queen. And then there are two very good kids at home, especially a cute cuddly, very talkative 4 year old, who has been teaching me to count to ten in French. (Oh Yes!!). Today I am just relaxing at home and then off for shopping in the evening. Tomorrow, I plan to set on foot for some exploration on my own. So far, so good.