When i landed in India on the 1st of Feb, i was already looking forward to my next trip - not that i do not wnat to be in India but there were other reasons. I was planning to escape to Czech by the 10th of Feb but things did not work out as planned...the wait was long. Finally i got my visa yesterday and i am flying to prague on sunday.
This visit is going to be different for sure - whenever i travelled outside India, i had my colleagues there and weekends were fun to hang out with them. This time, i would be the only guy from HTS out there in Prague. I am all excited to find out as to how i am gonna spend my weekends all alone over the next two months - will be a different experience for sure.
Thursday, 28 February 2008
Thursday, 21 February 2008
Everything has a reason!!!
There are times when you feel the worst thing possible has happened to you but hold on friends - let the moment pass through and wait for some days. After a reasonable amount of time, sit back and look at the things that happened - you will for sure see somethings good even in the worst scenario.
I sailed through one such rough patch and at the end of it , when i look back, i am happy that it happened. It was a tough time for a short duration but for sure it saved me from a lot of things in the long run. It was a decision that i had taken in haste and now when i look at what i had done, i feel really stupid. In addition, the tough time helped me to understand somethings about my friends and more about my parents that i failed to notice for the last couple of years...
2 much funda for a day!!!
All in a days time!!!
Have you ever wanted a day just to end ? Have you ever waited for the clock to strike 12??? I did – it was the 18th of sept 07.
I was in Prague then and it was raining cats and dogs. I had to collect my passport from the embassy that day. I collected the passport and to ensure that it does not get wet, I kept my passport in the inner pouch of my laptop backpack. My cabbie was not ready to wait for me so I walked down to the metro station in the rain and took the metro to the office. Reached office and a friend of mine wanted to see the visa. Took out my passport and was shocked to see that the passport was fully wet – to my surprise there was not a single drop of water in any of the other pouches in the backpack other than the one in which I kept my passport L With no other option left, I dried my passport in the microwave
I had booked a gift for my friend through the net – the gift site had an option that said “Message to be delivered on card” – I thought that it was a greeting card and had left a personal message for my friend. The gift got delivered on the 18th and my friend was wild at me – reason- the gift company had posted an open card with my message. The security guard and the receptionist had read the message completely and had passed across the gift to my friend with a sly grin. Dumb me!!!
The day at office was really hectic – stopped a couple of issues from getting escalated at the last moment and I was more than happy at 9 PM to leave office. A friend of mine was there with me. I wanted to use the restroom so I asked him to wait in the lobby. I go to the restroom and when I try opening the door, it was locked. I tried all means to open the door but hard luck was smiling at me that day. I called my friend on his mobile and asked him to get the security. The security did not speak English so my friend had a hard time making him understand that I was locked in the restroom – finally he managed to get the security to the restroom with the keys and I was released after 30 mins. The office is usually deserted after 8 PM but on that day when I came out, there were a dozen guys staying around and looking at me as if I was a dino walking out from Jurassic park…
I was in Prague then and it was raining cats and dogs. I had to collect my passport from the embassy that day. I collected the passport and to ensure that it does not get wet, I kept my passport in the inner pouch of my laptop backpack. My cabbie was not ready to wait for me so I walked down to the metro station in the rain and took the metro to the office. Reached office and a friend of mine wanted to see the visa. Took out my passport and was shocked to see that the passport was fully wet – to my surprise there was not a single drop of water in any of the other pouches in the backpack other than the one in which I kept my passport L With no other option left, I dried my passport in the microwave
I had booked a gift for my friend through the net – the gift site had an option that said “Message to be delivered on card” – I thought that it was a greeting card and had left a personal message for my friend. The gift got delivered on the 18th and my friend was wild at me – reason- the gift company had posted an open card with my message. The security guard and the receptionist had read the message completely and had passed across the gift to my friend with a sly grin. Dumb me!!!
The day at office was really hectic – stopped a couple of issues from getting escalated at the last moment and I was more than happy at 9 PM to leave office. A friend of mine was there with me. I wanted to use the restroom so I asked him to wait in the lobby. I go to the restroom and when I try opening the door, it was locked. I tried all means to open the door but hard luck was smiling at me that day. I called my friend on his mobile and asked him to get the security. The security did not speak English so my friend had a hard time making him understand that I was locked in the restroom – finally he managed to get the security to the restroom with the keys and I was released after 30 mins. The office is usually deserted after 8 PM but on that day when I came out, there were a dozen guys staying around and looking at me as if I was a dino walking out from Jurassic park…
Man…was I happy that the day ended!!!
Monday, 28 January 2008
Back to Reality
One word gets you back to reality...thanks to a friend who got me back to the real world by just using one word "Sorry" - jus one word but that spoke volumes of meaning - gave a hard slap on the back and said "Wake up karthik - come back to reality".
I believe in what my friend PP said "this too shall pass...". This incident has shown me as to how my friends and family stand with me - thanks to u -"the so-called" friend and thanks to my true friends - you mean a lot to me!!!
Monday, 14 January 2008
Two choices
This was a forward message that i got and it was a real touching one :
At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
At a fund-raising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my son?'
The audience was stilled by the query.
The father continued. 'I believe that when a child like Shay, physically and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people treat that child.'
Then he told the following story:
Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the ninth inning.'
Shay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled to be next at bat.
At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat properly, much less connect with the ball.
However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life, moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground ball right back to the pitcher.
The game would now be over. The pitcher picked up the soft grounder and could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have been out and that would have been the end of the game.
Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head, out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so he, too, intentionally threw the ball high and far over the third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third! Shay, run to third!'
As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home, stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam and won the game for his team.
'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face, 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humanity into this world'.
Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least fortunate amongst them.
Thursday, 10 January 2008
English!!!
I was all set to go to Prague - my first visit to Europe and it was like a dream come true...i was waiting for a number of years for a trip to Europe and i was really excited. Did some research on th net and found that Prague had a rich history and beautiful architecture. The only thing that was troubling me was the fact that only a few locals speak english.
Landed in Prague and wanted to take a taxi to the hotel. Got a taxi at the airport and tried telling the cabbie the hotel address. unfortunately the taxi driver did not speak english - well a problem that can be easily handled - i had the address printed so i had to just pass it on to him and Voila, he took me to the right address. Day 1 went on fine without much trouble
Day 2 - i decided to shop for the basic cooking stuffs so i visited a supermarket TESCO. It just took me 3 hours to get some 10 stuffs - reasons - all the stuffs were labelled in the local czech language. I tried asking the shop employees and the other customers and i got reply from everyone - the only problem was that they spoke back to me in the local language :(
Day 3 - wanted to purchase my monthly metro pass. I was well prepared this time - i asked my hotel receptionist to write for me in a piece of paper saying that i need a monthly pass. Did not expect any trouble. I go to the counter and i see an elderly women in the counter. I hand over the sheet that the receptionist had written for me and the women hands me out a form to fill up. The form had just four columns to be filled out but it was not in English. I decided to try my luck. The first column had four checkboxes so i select one, the next two looked like places for first name and last name and the last column looked like a date column so i write in the current date. I then hand over the form to the lady at the counter - she takes one look at it and she starts screaming at me in the local language and she pushes the form out. i tried pushing it in along with the receptionist note and she pushes it out again - tried pushing in twice but she was stubborn.
I pick up the filled in form and when i reach office, i handed it over to a colleague to ask what was wrong in the details that i had filled out. She laughs her stomach out (along with a few other colleagues) and then she explained it to me
- The first four check boxes were for student, Physically handicapped, elderly people(over 60) and regular. i had checked elderly people
- I had just swapped the last name and the first name (not a big deal!!!)
- The date column was actually for date of birth and i had keyed in the current date
Now i know why the lady at the counter wass so frustrated with the form!!!
Saturday, 29 December 2007
Adieu '07 Welcome '08
We begin the year by wishing everyone a "happy new year"... the question is does a new year actually change your luck? I am not sure but i am seriously hoping that it should.
2007 is a year where i learnt a number of lessons in the hard way!!! On day one of 2007 a friend stopped all forms of communication with me for no fault of mine - that was the beginning of the year. Things just went from bad to worse and the last three months were the worst days in my life!!! Cannot blame anyone else for what happened in my life - it was the mistakes that i committed and i have learnt my lessons the hard way. Now i realize what is my real worth and what i should wish for.
Well, 2007 was not so bad...on the professional front it was good and i achieved one important milestone on the personal front
Happy new year friends.Live life to the max and do not forget to Keep Smiling :)
Learn to catch the wind in your sails. Learn to hear that unbidden song in your heart. Remember the changing colours of the rainbow long after the sun has blazed it out. And you will find that dreams are the stuff that a happy life is made of.
Tuesday, 25 December 2007
My first cooking experience
As what most of the indian mothers do, my mother also does not allow me to enter into a kitchen - the net result is that the maximum cooking that i knew till may 2007 was to prepare tea!!! Life had other plans for me - i entered the line of consulting. My new job had global assignments. My first trip in this new job was to US for three months. I landed in US with packs of MTR and some home made ready made ingredients.
On day two i went to walmart to get my groceries. Came back at noon and i was dying of hunger - i did not know anyone in the apartment where i was staying so i did not know where to go out for lunch. It was time for me to start cooking. The first dish that i prepared was tomato rice using MTR mix. having tomato rice without any side dish - no way . I decided to make some egg scramble.
There was a mini kitchen with a stove and a microwave. I wanted to start the stove - i switched on the burner and tried starting the fire using a match stick. I completed one full box of match sticks but no luck there was no fire on the burner. I was afraid that the gas would be leaking (though i was not able to smell any) so i went and opened all the doors and windows.
There was no luck with the stove so i decided to boil the egg . I put the egg in a microwave container with some water and put it in the microwave. I had to go out to collect somethings so i left the room - hoping to have my lunch as soon as i came back. When i came back to the room, i saw that the microwave door was open, the bowl was lying in one corner of the room and the room was all painted white and yellow.
It was high time to call for help - called my sis. She had a hearty laugh and told me two things : One, The stove was an electric one and not gas (dumb me!!!!) , two - never ever boil an egg in the microwave (which i have already learned the hard way - took me two hours to clean the room)
Happy Cooking :)
On day two i went to walmart to get my groceries. Came back at noon and i was dying of hunger - i did not know anyone in the apartment where i was staying so i did not know where to go out for lunch. It was time for me to start cooking. The first dish that i prepared was tomato rice using MTR mix. having tomato rice without any side dish - no way . I decided to make some egg scramble.
There was a mini kitchen with a stove and a microwave. I wanted to start the stove - i switched on the burner and tried starting the fire using a match stick. I completed one full box of match sticks but no luck there was no fire on the burner. I was afraid that the gas would be leaking (though i was not able to smell any) so i went and opened all the doors and windows.
There was no luck with the stove so i decided to boil the egg . I put the egg in a microwave container with some water and put it in the microwave. I had to go out to collect somethings so i left the room - hoping to have my lunch as soon as i came back. When i came back to the room, i saw that the microwave door was open, the bowl was lying in one corner of the room and the room was all painted white and yellow.
It was high time to call for help - called my sis. She had a hearty laugh and told me two things : One, The stove was an electric one and not gas (dumb me!!!!) , two - never ever boil an egg in the microwave (which i have already learned the hard way - took me two hours to clean the room)
Happy Cooking :)
The first Blog
I welcome myself to the world of blogging...its a time when i need to divert myself into different things!!!
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