Human Integration

Nowhere's Child

2009-08-19T08:34:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks give me the feeling that I can't claim any place to be home for very long. I've been shunting around so very often that I'm starting to get a bit of a nomadic vibe about me. The last few days itself have been a case in point. From Saturday morning till Monday morning, I was constantly moving. Now am safely stationed in Singapore and am likely to be here till next week before I start moving again. It's an interesting if slightly unsettling experience. Still, I'm learning a lot, and the project I'm on now is a great opportunity to be working on.

The Laudant were back to performing for the first time since April but this time we decided we wouldn't just keep it to us. So we called together a lot of friends and had a grand time singing at Visthar on Sunday evening. It was a truly astonishing experience to be in, and personally speaking, of all the Laudant programmes I've had the honour to be part of, this is one that I will cherish. We had thought that the programme might last an hour and a half at most, but it ran for two and a half hours and it went in a flash. Here's looking forward to more wonderful programmes with this amazing group and our awesome friends.

That's about it. Signing off after an exhausting but fruitful day.

Chow,

Arul.

Twitter-ific

2009-07-20T01:32:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've updated and you can blame it on the new phenomenon that is Twitter. It's so much easier to put down something within 140 characters. Still I'm not going to say good bye to blogging yet. After all, one needs the space to pontificate from time to time.

Life's been moving really really quick of late. It's already July now and I feel like I've spent more time outside Bangalore than in. My boss and I also bravely travelled to Australia in the midst of the double threat of swine flu and attacks on students. Neither of those happened but it was very cold with temperatures dropping to 5 degrees, and a lot of rain. All in all, it was quite depressing so we headed back early.

Life is Bangalore is hectic as usual but it's been a very interesting few weeks and hope things continue in this vein. Some unfortunate news mingled with some very good news on the company front, but then that's what the corporate world is like.

That's about it for now.

Chow

Arul.

28 years later

2009-05-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

So, having had a birthday and all, it's been a time to introspect, to look back and look... ahhh, who am I kidding! I had a bash with pals and partied all night long, sort of. It was great fun with Allen, Sumesh, Gowda, movies, music, chips and loads of conversation. Followed up with a family gathering the next day. It's been a good way to start another year.

I'm also feeling glad that I've finally got my IBM certification done, something my boss has been telling me to get for about 3 months now. I'm now officially an IBM certified WebSphere Solutions Sales Professional or something like that. It was interesting doing a test after quite some time though it was online and objective-type so that made it much easier.

Here's looking forward to an interesting year.

Chow,

Arul.

The US curse

2009-04-28T22:15:00.000-07:00

About a couple of weeks ago, my boss tells me that we might have to go to the US to attend an IBM conference in Las Vegas, depending on IBM waiving the registration fee and me getting the visa. So I paid the visa fees and set up my interview date for the 23rd of April. All fine, except that the DMK decided to call a bandh on the 23rd and the consulate would therefore be closed as well. I heard about his at 6p.m. on the evening of the 22nd with my flight due in 3 hours. My interview was automatically rescheduled to the morning of the 29th.

So I changed my travel plans and fetched up the Bangalore airport on the evening of the 28th, to ride good old Indian Airlines. Unfortunately, good old Indian Airlines dropped the ball, and the flight was terribly late, causing me to finally reach Chennai past midnight. And my interview was at 8 a.m. Still I dragged myself out of bed at the unearthly hour of 6, and made it to the consulate at 7:20 a.m. The pre-interview process took another 1.5 hours at the end of which I finally made it to the counter and completed the interview in 10 minutes. My visa has been issued and will be couriered to me within a week.

What about the conference, you say? Turns out we're not going. IBM refused to waive the fee which is USD 2150 per person or about a lakh each for the event alone. And to add to that, we have the swine flu outbreak which some are saying will be worse than the bird flu. And for the first time in my life I've seen a travel advisory against travelling to the US. Coincidence or Curse? You tell me.

Chow.

Deserts and weddings and sharks, oh my...

2009-03-10T03:17:00.000-07:00

Those of you (read: no-one) who have been wondering about the lack of activity on this blog, fear no more, for I am back. After my neurotic ramblings about the dangers of the Large Hadron Collider I proceeded to dig a foxhole and hide, awaiting the end of the world. However, the LHC turned out to be a damp squib and I have now sheepishly emerged to rejoin the world that I thought must surely have been destroyed by now.

Anyway, after brushing off the cobwebs and shaving the beard, I dug out my best suit and flew across to Dubai with Sumesh to attend Peter's wedding. "Peter getting married" sounded like one of those urban legends that we used to talk about so I had to make absolutely sure if it was true. And by gad, it was. So I did the square thing and best-manned for him. The wedding went off without a hitch and I dispensed my duties, which consisted of reading one of the lessons and holding the microphone when during the vows. The reception seemed to rattle along fairly smoothly with me doing the toast without getting booed. Then came the horror of horrors; the couples dance.

Now those of you who have known me for a while have correctly equated me to an elephant. Those that have seen me dancing have even more correctly equated me to an elephant with four left feet. So it's no wonder that the prospect of having to dance was causing the temperature of the feet to drop sharply. However, all went well and I didn't cause any riots or medical emergencies. The revels went on till three in the morning but once off the floor, I steadfastly refused any attempts to get me on it again.

The next day was earmarked for taking the desert safari. For those who have been on the Dubai Desert Safari, yes, the bellydance was great. For those who haven't been on the Dubai Desert Safari, yeah, the bellydance is great. But that isn't all. You get taken dune-bashing in a Landcruiser. This activity requires the vehicle to perform stunts that defy the laws of physics. And if you have been crazy enough to eat a heavy lunch prior to this, don't worry, you'll be seeing it again. You are then taken to a Bedouin settlement where there are dune buggy rides, camel rides, photos that you can take with falcons, sand surfing and a whole lot of other activities. There are snacks and drinks that you can partake of. After you've enjoyed yourself for a while, and it has got a little dark, the bellydance begin. The dancer was very talented and could have given Shakira a run for her money. She would also, from time to time, have one of the spectators join her. I thanked my lucky stars that I didn't get called up to dance for the second time in two days. Then you get dinner including kebabs and the like at the end of which they take you back to civilisation.

The last day of the trip was earmarked for a visit to one of the malls. With time running out, we settled on the Dubai Mall and it was a good choice. It is a massive mall with the usual shops but also a skating rink and an aquarium which you walk through. The aquarium is quite an experience and contains several sharks, sting rays and other fish that I can't recognise. We spent about four hours at the mall and can say that we covered approximately 50% of it. Without buying a thing. Yeah.

I am now back home and back to the daily grind. You will occasionally see me standing on the brink of the chasm in my bank balance, wondering how on earth I'm going to fill it up again.

Enough hyperbole. Chow for now.

Arul.

The Large Hadron Collider

2008-09-11T03:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I updated my blog, and thoughts of retiring it quietly have entered my mind. But the recent developments in the world of science are too big to go unmentioned.

Enter the Large Hadron Collider, created to try to tell us what happened during the Big Bang. An article from the Guardian should shed some more light on this. In simple terms, this huge contraption is meant to "crash protons together 600 million times per second". Sounds awesome.

Then after each impact, "giant detectors will scour the subatomic wreckage looking for evidence of new physics". Even more awesome.

"Scientists have some pretty good hunches about what the machine might find". Wait, wait... what? They have "pretty good hunches"? Cops have "good hunches" about whether entering a certain situation might get them shot or not. If they have a good hunch that they won't, they still might get shot. That's the whole point of a hunch, it's not reliable. So, I guess these guys have a good hunch that this won't just destroy all life as we know it. Essentially, no one really knows for sure what's going to happen when these protons start bashing into each other. Find your enthusiasm waning a bit? Not surprising.

The article goes on to list what scientists have a 'hunch', they will find. Let's see, they expect, supersymmetry, dark matter, the Higgs Boson (aka the God particle), extra dimensions, black holes, and antimatter. Know where else you'd find such a list... in the lair of a mad scientist. Maybe it's just me but any experiment likely to create dark matter, antimatter and God particles, is an experiment you'd like to stay away from.

The black hole part alone caused some coldness in the feet but apparently, the LHC won't cause ordinary dear-God-look-at-the-size-of-that-thing black holes. Oh no, it will only cause micro black holes and we're safe from it because of something called Hawking radiation. Whew. Oh wait, there's more about this Hawking radiation... "However, the existence of Hawking radiation has never been observed, nor are there currently viable experimental tests that would allow it to be observed. Hence there is still some theoretical dispute over whether Hawking radiation actually exists".

And if you're thinking they're only micro black holes and therefore harmless, here's what a Science Daily article says. According to the Safety Assessment Group, since something called cosmic ray collisions occur on a daily basis and do not destroy the earth; and the LHC collisions would be a fraction of the cosmic ray ones, it "shows that even fast-moving black holes produced by cosmic rays would have stopped inside the Earth or other astronomical bodies. Their existence proves that any such black holes could not gobble matter at a risky rate". So, they're saying they will create black holes. And as I read it, they reassure us by saying, it won't swallow you all immediately, only, I don't know, in a few days or maybe months. Cue the creepy music.

Then we have the strangelets. Some scientists say the LHC will produce them and others say it won't. Apparently, strangelets, once stable, bond with other nuclei and form strange matter. Me thinks that anything that science couldn't think up a cool name for is something to be afraid of.

Am I trying to cause mass panic? Not really, since not many people read my blog. Still, one has to just look at all this stuff and wonder; experimentation in the name of science is great, but an experiment that may or may not cause the earth to resemble the real world in the Matrix. I mean... duuuude.

I know there was a time long long ago when people believed in a constant. People, including scientists, believed in it implicitly in this time. In a time when they thought the earth was flat. Then someone challenged it, and now we sit at our desks in 2008 and call those guys morons. And these scientists, in 2008, with 'hunches' know one thing for sure. If the LHC were to blow the bejesus out of the earth, at least no one will call them morons in the future.

But maybe this is all just mindless paranoia. Probably the LHC will just give us new insights into the world and universe around us, and we'd all be content. The scientists would be happy with all this new stuff they found out. Surely, then, they wouldn't build anything bigger to destroy the earth with, right? Right?

http://vlhc.org/ : The website of the Very Large Hadron Collider, aka The Good-heavens-you-really-are-trying-to-kill-us-all machine.

Probably the only thing, out of all this, that I can get behind is the finding of hidden dimensions. It would be totally cool if the LHC opened up an inter-dimensional portal and dinosaurs came storming out. Then Steven Spielberg would stand up and say "I TOLD YOU SO" and fly across to Switzerland where he'd be promptly eaten by a dinosaur holding a grudge for not being included in 'Jurassic Park".

Ok, I think I should stop now.

To the land of koalas and kangaroos

2008-02-05T05:57:00.000-08:00

So it turns out I am headed to Australia after all. I leave this Wednesday and, after spending some time in Singapore, hit Sydney over the weekend. Not sure how long the trip is going to be for but I'm hoping to make it count. If I do, who knows I might be there permanently, running the Australian operations. That's something to look forward to. I have also had my first set of requests. Boomerangs have been asked for an shall be duly procured. But for the moment, I'm just looking forward to touching down in different continent for the first time. My next post should be from there.

Till then,

Arul.

Another Year Gone

2008-01-04T03:39:00.000-08:00

So it's 2008 and time to wish everyone a happy new year filled with joy, prosperity and blah, blah, blah... the usual stuff. What's going down in the life of yours truly. Nothing much really. After a pretty hectic Christmas time with programmes to attend left, right and centre, it's time to relax a little before the activities of this year really kick in.

Looks like I am going to Australia sometime in the middle to end of this month and will be gone for a little over a month. It's an exciting opportunity and hopefully things will work out well for me there. As for the others, Peter has been bitten by the Goth bug. He now calls himself the Heteromorphic Biped, and has revamped his blog and his site to reflect his fascination with the dark side. The result; amateur psychiatrists and psychologists are queuing up to tell him that he should come back to the light. Rock on, dude. Allen is working hard on a demo for a very important project and Sumesh is busy as usual. In the meantime, wedding bells are ringing for quite of few of the guys I know. Roshan from Alliance got married on the 27th of December and three guys from the office are tying the knot in the next 6 months. Good luck to you all. And for the one guy far ahead of us all, Dushyant is now the father of bouncing baby boy.

I know my blog is starting to sound more like a news report that anything else these days. Hopefully more exciting things will come out of the upcoming trip which I can post.

Until then...

Arul.

Movies, eulogies and more...

2007-11-13T06:25:00.000-08:00

Peter coined a new phrase to describe our few and far apart posts, calling it "once in a greenmoon". Which is pretty neat; unless you subscribe to the moon-is-made-of-green-cheese theory, in which case the phrase is redundant. Anyway, things have been crazy here in Bangalore, or Bengaluru as it is supposed to be. We've had two governments and President's Rule in the span of a month and infrastructure is still getting worse.

Putting that aside though, it's been a good couple of months. Peter was in town though we couldn't catch up much. Sumesh is back in China and having a blast. Allen's rocking at GridcoNet (I think). As for me, there are rumours of a trip to Australia. Let's see if that materialises.

It has been a time of getting to see some really good movies and some bad ones. The Bourne Ultimatum was an awesome conclusion to the Bourne trilogy. Though based on the Ludlum books, they deviate considerably. Still they do a good job with a taut storyline, good acting and edge of the seat action. Definitely worth a watch. So too with The Departed which changed my views on Leo DiCaprio as an actor. I now look forward to watching Blood Diamond and being completely won over. There were a few other good ones but the third instalment of the Pirates series was not one of them. The drastic move from the tone of adventure-comedy in the first to drama and tragedy in the next two was too much for me to stomach. In the third part, it moves into the mythical realms but the movie still doesn't work as well. Watch it to say you saw the whole trilogy and nothing more.

On a more sombre note for me, I had to say goodbye to my faithful dog, Snowy. Age proved too much for it and it has now gone to that great kennel in the sky, leaving us with the memories of 12 happy years. Rest in Peace, little one.

That's all for now. Hope to update before the next green, blue or red moon.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Return of the Mummy

2007-07-31T03:16:00.000-07:00

Not mummified yet, but the blogs are so few and far between that the analogy seems apt. After all, considering that my last post was nearly eight months ago, one could be forgiven for thinking that I had fallen off the face of the earth.

Lots has happened over the course of the last few months. I've done a bit of travelling with a couple of trips to Malaysia and one to the Philippines, and met some interesting people during the course of these trips. I also bought a car, a decision that I now regret, considering the condition of the Bangalore roads. However, it did enable myself and a few friends to go on a roadtrip to Wayanad, Kerala. A beautiful place where everyone should consider vacationing at least once. Our trip included a trek up the Edakkal caves, boating on the Pookhot (don't know if I got that right) lake, then a party at our guest house we stayed at, which again was a wonderful place to stay with an awesome view, and finally a visit to the Suchipara Falls. All in all, a great adventure which began when an elephant chased us as we were on our way through the Bandipur reserve.

Professionally, things have been good as well and I might be moving onto a more interesting role in the next month or so.

That's about it for now. I hope to post more often from now on.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Ring in the New Year

2007-01-09T02:58:00.000-08:00

Or should it be "rang"? Oh well, it is now 2007 or, as the media as already dubbed it "007". Where do they get these ideas? Be that as it may, it's been a quiet year so far after a hectic December 2006. What with Christmas and then a trip to Madurai and then of course New Year's, it has been one almighty rush. Therefore I'm savouring the serenity, while it lasts.

HAPPY NEW YEAR 2007 everyone.

Arul.

A really loooong weekend

2006-12-12T01:23:00.000-08:00

Not because I got Friday or Monday off. Oh no, it was a long weekend because it seemed to stretch on forever. The reason: Christmas in Harmony 2006. For those who don't know what that is (which is pretty much everyone who reads this blog), it was the Christmas concert that the youth of my church organised. We started it last year mainly to collect funds but since it went off well, we decided to make it a yearly event. This year since most of the paraphrenalia such as sounds and chairs and stuff was already with us, we had a lot more work to do to set up the whole thing. Boy, time seemed to race by and crawl at the same time. But it was worth it. Event though rain threated to disrupt the show, it soon passed and the concert went off smoothly after that. It was pretty well-received and though the crowd dwindled considerably towards the end, there was a definite feeling of satisfaction (not to mention overwhelming relief) when it was all over.

Work wise, well, not much happening. Things are slowing down now as we approach Christmas and will probably pick up again in January. Nothing further on the car front either, but Dad is here now so we should be able to sit down and decide on something soon. Will keep you posted on that.

Chow for now.

Arul.

The Beach

2006-11-28T01:14:00.000-08:00

Don't worry, I don't mean the Leo DiCaprio movie of that name. This refers to a nice place on 100 foot Road, Indiranagar, that I happened to visit last week. With waiters dressed in hula shirts and straw hats, to the drinks menu pasted on bamboo, the theme pervades it completely. Though parking is a problem, the experience makes up for it. Though not as expensive as a TGIF it is still pricey and not the kind of place to go to every week. But if you want a place where you can relax, and talk without the music blowing your eardrums off, this is definitely the place to check out.

My trip to the Philippines has been moved (again) to January. But since that trip will be to attend a sort of conference which would definitely increase the company's (and my) visibility in that part of the world, I'm definitely looking forward to it. Will keep you posted on how things go.

Chow for now.

Arul.

(There and) Back again

2006-11-22T03:18:00.000-08:00

It's been days, nay months, nay... oh, who cares anyway? I've been gone for a long long time. I don't think there's any point in me apologising for that since I tend to do this so often. But I'm back, baby, and... well, I'm back.

Several things have happened since I went AWOL. Peter left to work in Dubai (so secretively, as if the Mafia were after him, and his only hope of survival was to not inform his friends who might betray him). But he is doing well there so, cheers Pete, have a ball there.

Allen is now in Malaysia and by the looks of it, he may be there a while. Good for you too, dude, and maybe we can catch up if I happen to come by sometime (on one of my "trips", that have never materialised so far).

And me, well, I've been busy but nothing much has happened for me. Travelling a bit to Mumbai and back but not much else. Also involved in organising a Christmas concert with the youth of the church I attend. And I'm on the lookout for a car. After two years of driving two-wheelers in the dust and grime of Bangalore, I am finally ready to graduate to a four-wheeler. But which one; I'll keep you posted on that.

And for all those who like their action with some story attached to it, catch Casino Royale. It does take some time to adjust to the continuity as this is the first book of the series that has only now been officially adapted to the silver screen. Bond isn't quite as suave and sophisticated as we know, rather he's hot-headed, impulsive and arrogant. But he learns over the course of the movie and by the end he is definitely turning into the character we all know and love. Good to watch; Daniel Craig puts in a solid performance as the famous double-o agent just learning the ropes and the supporting cast are also quite good.

Chow for now.

Arul.

You're going...no, hang on...yes, you are...no, you're not...AAARGGHH

2006-09-07T07:30:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been frustating, to say the least, because of the uncertainty over whether I'm going to Manila or not. It's been blow-hot-blow-cold, all the while, so now I've just given up thinking about it. It'll happen when it has to. Allen, apparently, has been going through much the same experience and has come to a similar philosophical realization. The strange thing is, though, that some of my friends thought I'd already gone there and returned. Weird.

And in the middle of it all, my laptop had a fit of the vapours, nearly resulting in me having heart failure. Luckily, it was a minor fault and it's A-okay now.

Peter (the little orc) is off to Dubai now that he's got a job there. He had vanished for a while but has resurfaced, apparently, still in Bangalore.

Also, I'd like to wish all those who celebrated Onam day before yesterday, and those who will be celebrating St. Mary's Feast tomorrow. Pray for me, dudes.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Sinking of the Black Pearl?

2006-08-04T06:07:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation, and several failed attempts, Allen and I finally managed to watch Pirates 2. The verdict; watch it once if you're a die-hard Depp fan or a Pirates fan. And prepare to be disappointed.

The sequel moves away from everything that made "Curse of the Black Pearl" so good. The humour is limited and for some unknown reason, Gore Verbinski had added more slapstick rather than the quirky and witty humour that made Pirates 1 such a success. I won't go into more detail, suffice to say, that several scenes would be better suited to a Disney cartoon than a live action movie.

Worse, Depp's screen time is drastically reduced, and yet, it is his performance that saves this movie. Perhaps the director wanted to devote more time to Will and Elizabeth, but in doing so he has sacrificed the main draw of the film.

The CGI is ok, though some can argue that is was overused, and I would find it hard to disagree. The film does have its moments, but they're too few and far between.

All in all, if you can forget that Pirates 1 was ever made, and view this movie as a prequel to Pirates 3, then the disappointment may diminish. But if you're looking for a swash-buckling sequel, then this may not be your cup of tea (or bottle of rum).

Chow for now,

Arul.

Gone to the Great Gig in the Sky

2006-07-18T05:46:00.000-07:00

Roger Keith "Syd" Barrett (06/01/1946 - 07/07/2006)

Syd Barrett was one of the founding members of the progressive/psychedelic rock band, Pink Floyd, which is one of my trio of favourite bands. A innovative but troubled song-writer and guitarist, he provided most of the material for the acclaimed Pink Floyd debut album "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and also experimented with several musical possibilities with his guitar. He was believed to have suffered from mental illness possibly brought on by drug use. This badly affected his guitar playing and his live performances, and he lasted just three years in Pink Floyd (1965-68), before the rest of the band decided to cut him loose. He did attempt a solo career but that too was short-lived and he finally bid the music industry adieu in 1972, after just 8 years in it. He has, however, been a big influence for several solo artists and bands who have covered several of his songs. As for me, just the fact that he was the driving force behind Pink Floyd is enough to make him a hero.

Rest in Peace.

Football Frenzy

2006-07-10T04:16:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to note that out of every four years, for three years and eleven months, all of India will only talk about cricket. But for that one month, every four years, they will talk only about football. Yup, the World Cup has come and gone, and unfortunately, it will most likely be remembered for all the wrong reasons. The 20 cards handed out during the Portugal vs. Netherlands match, the rather strange refereeing, and most infamous of all, Zidane head-butting Materazzi and getting red-carded just nine minutes from retirement. All part of the drama that is the football World Cup, I suppose. And in the middle of all that, Italy quietly put in enough good performances to earn the trophy.

Now that that's over, it's time to move back to cricket; only there is no cricket right now to move back to. On the F1 front however, Schumacher and Ferrari are catching up to Alonso and Renault. Strong performances in the next eight races might just see them pip the Spaniard and the French team to the post.

On a personal front, well, there isn't much happening. Pretty much the usual, but there might be some interesting happenings in the days to come. I'll let you know as things develop.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Boys Toys

2006-05-31T05:12:00.000-07:00

So I finally decided to splurge on a gift for myself on my 25th birthday. And splurge I did, picking up the Motorazr V3i worth Rs. 12,000. Cool phone, check out the pic below.

Awesome huh, and mine is black. Only problem is that its operation is slightly difficult as the cancel and select keys are opposite to their positions on other phones. But on the whole, a great buy; leaving a great hole in my bank balance.

That didn't stop me from catching up with X-Men:The Last Stand. An ok movie, with lots of special effects of course, but with the passing of some of the key characters, it becomes a little weak. However, they seem to have left the ending open; wonder if they are planning another movie after this.

That's about it.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Searching for those wasted years

2006-05-16T05:13:00.000-07:00

"So understand
Dont waste your time always
Searching for those wasted years
Face up... make your stand
And realise you're living in the golden years"

- "Wasted Years", Iron Maiden

Another birthday come and gone, now I'm 25. No different from when I was 24, except probably that I'm fatter, and now have a job. But it's been a good birthday, and most of my friends remembered it. Even Roshan all the way from Dubai. So maybe we are living in the golden years after all.

Cheers for actually getting to the quarter century (highly unlikely that I'll make it to 50).

Chow for now.

Arul.

Hobbiton or Rivendell

2006-05-02T06:50:00.000-07:00

For all those LOTR fans out there you can check out this site. It tells you what your name would translate to, in Elvish or Hobbitish(?). I know that its the same names being used in rotation but its fun to try. The site names are: -

http://www.chriswetherell.com/hobbit/

http://www.chriswetherell.com/elf/

And what am I? Well in the language of the hobbits my name translates to Popo Bulge (well duh!) of Hobbiton. However my elf name is pretty cool, it's Huor Arcamanel. Definitely Rivendell for me.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Birthdays galore

2006-04-25T00:39:00.000-07:00

It's been a time of birthdays this April with quite a few people celebrating theirs in this month. Started off with Benett on the 14th then onto Gowda on the 19th and then ending up with the Little Rock (Orc?) on the 24th. Apparently the Orc's also caught a bit of a cold so he's battling that.

It would appear that Peter shares his birthday with a couple of famous people, at least here in India. One is Dr. Rajkumar, who passed away recently (and the resulting riots caused 8 more people to join him on the way to heaven). The other is Sachin Tendulkar, who's sitting out due to some injury, and whom the Indian team seems to be doing quite well without. Still, hope to see him back in action soon.

Moving to F1, what an amazing race at Imola last weekend. Schumacher holding off Alonso for more than 30 laps was just pure class. Looks like Ferrari is back but we'll have to wait and see. Till then the tifosi can continue to celebrate.

That's all for the moment.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Resurfacing after a looooooong time

2006-04-04T13:18:00.000-07:00

Its been a while... no, let me rephrase that, it has been ages since I last posted. Unforgivable really, but in my defence I did try a couple of times but the site was down for a while.

So what's been going on with me? Just a quick 3 day trip to Singapore at the end of the last month. Unfortunately didn't get to do much there but did get to go to some places. Had quite a bit of beer there, man it's humid in Singapore. And a beer is just what you need at the end of the day. Food is also pretty good there. Overall had a pretty good time even in the tight schedule there. And I picked up a camera, a Nikon Coolpix L4. Its pretty neat, will post some snaps of Singapore next time.

Been pretty hectic of late, especially the last week what with getting home after 12 everyday. But things are slightly more relaxed now and hopefully I'll post again soon.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Valentine's day again

2006-02-14T03:49:00.000-08:00

I'm back in Bangalore after my vacation and really sorry that I didn't post till now. All that I found in my travels to Jamshedpur and Bokaro were dial-ups so there was no chance of posting. It's good to be back in Bangalore.

Another valentine's day has arrived and will go just as quietly for me as I have no valentines and never have had and probably never will too. My friend Purva will probably remember my scathing diatribe on the stupidity of valentine's day and I stand by what I said then. Don't ask me what I said cuz I don't remember, but I stand by it.

Thats pretty much it for the time being.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Aahhh... vacation time

2006-01-26T23:25:00.000-08:00

So finally its almost time for me to take off for my vacation. Unfortunately due to a slight change of plans, will be leaving tomorrow instead of today. But thats alright as long as I am taking off for a couple of weeks.

Also had a major programme in church yesterday for which we had practiced every day of this week. And so what happened? We screwed up, not big time, but big enough to be going on with. But it was ok on the whole.

Peter is back from his trip from Manila and had much to say about the beauty of the place (or was it, the beauties in the place). Be as that may, its good to have him back here although apparently he may have to go back there soon. Good for you, dude.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Manila Ho

2006-01-13T00:32:00.000-08:00

So sorry for not posting for such a long time. Truth be told, nothing really exciting has been happening with me for the last couple of weeks which is why I haven't been posting. Now there is something to post about.

Good friend, Peter Paul Crasta, a.ka. the Little Rock, is heading out to Manila today for a week-long training programme, as in, he's conducting the training. Have a good journey, dude, and be safe there. I'm sure there'll be lots of stories when you get back.

Another good friend, Allen Pais, who was in Malaysia for the last one year has now taken up a job in Bangalore. Good to have you back, dude.

Well, I've been talking about everyone else so what about me? Nothing much really, will be heading over to Jamshedpur for a wedding at the end of this month but nothing else besides that. Just an Average Joe. But what's the harm in that?

Chow for now.

Arul.

Auld Lang Syne

2005-12-31T06:08:00.000-08:00

Another year gone. Its time to welcome 2006. Any resolutions going? My resolution this year is, get this... to never make resolutions again. Cliche, I know, but I've learnt it the hard way. For example, my resolution for last year was to keep my room neat. Ya right, at this point of time, my table looks as if its been hit by a combination of hurricanes Katrina, Rita and last years tsunami. Its a miracle I can find anything on my table. Anyway, thats digressing. Also the events of the last couple of days a likely to put a dampener on the festivities in Bangalore. Pity; not that I join in those festivities, but lets just say I live vicariously through others.

Best wishes for 2006 everyone. Happy new year.

Chow for now.

Arul.

'Tis the week before Christmas... Really?

2005-12-21T11:34:00.000-08:00

This has been a weird week so far, i kid you not. I was told on Tuesday that I might have to go to Delhi on Wednesday. As it turned out I didn't need to but I believe I might have to go next week for a day. Then, today I got a flat as I was driving to work. As I was getting it fixed I got a call from a guy from the office telling me to head straight to Three Quarter Chinese as we were to have a Office Christmas party there. The lunch was pretty good and then we went bowling after that at Amoeba.

Christmas is almost upon us but it doesn't feel like it. Gonna be working all the way till Friday which means I'll just have one day before Christmas to spend with family. Sad but true.

And finally, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Dad. (20th Dec)

Chow for now.

Arul.

A Prodigal's Return

2005-12-15T23:18:00.000-08:00

My friend and colleague, Santhosh, returned from Philippines this Monday. And since then we have pretty much partied in every way except for killing the fatted calf. Its been wild with parties every alternate evening since Monday with Wednesday being the wildest. Whoo-hooo... that was one hell of a party. Had vodka after quite a while and when we were done, my ears were ringing so bad it was as if someone had cast the Muffliato spell on me (for reference on what I mean by that, read Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince).

Also, two guys, Gowda and Raj, whom I haven't heard from in quite a while, chose to call me on the same day. Good talking to you guys, catch you Saturday.

Oh, and Peter, that comment that you left on my last post about the new Dark Lord's wand. I was right, I've had terrible nightmares since then.

Chow for now.

Arul.

Hey, I'm still alive

2005-12-12T04:37:00.000-08:00

I'm really sorry for not having posted on my blog for over a week. Things have been rather hectic at work and also was involved in organising a programme for last Sunday. All in all, rather tied up which was the reason for the long period of inactivity at this site. But no longer.

One thing that did happen is that I went to the Strand Book Festival at the Chinnaswamy stadium last Saturday. It was pretty neat with a lot of books spanning a host of different genres. Picked up a few good ones.

I finished reading Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. So has Peter and so have my mom and sis. The consensus... a bit of a let down for all the hype, especially the ending. Lets hope the seventh one can revive it.

Finally, Peter, remember we were debating on who'd make the perfect Voldemort and we batted a few names around but couldn't come up with any good nominees. Well, I've thought of one and he wins hands down. He doesn't need makeup as he looks scary enough already. And all teenage boys are, or should be, afraid of him. Yup, you got it; Michael Jackson. So move over Ralph Fiennes, the real Dark Lord is here, and he's "Bad".

Chow for now.

Arul.

Raise your glasses

2005-11-29T23:44:00.000-08:00

I know I'm a little late on this but a couple of good friends celebrated their birthdays this weekend so here's to them. First of, to Owen, may your tongue alwasy be as sharp as it is now. And to Dushyant, what can I say, you've dug your own grave. Cheers dudes and Happy Birthday to both of you.

However, no toasts to the new Harry Potter movie, the Goblet of Fire. Too much important stuff was left out and one of parts of the book that I was really looking forward to, the Quidditch World Cup, was left out. Also no mention of the Marauder's Map or the house-elves who play such an important part in the story. And Voldemort looks more like a plastic surgery gone wrong than a Dark Lord. I believe they did think of splitting it into 2 movies and maybe they should have done so. A great book reduced to an average movie.

Finally I have been criticised by Peter for my last post which he felt was too philosophical. Point taken and will try to correct this failing. However, I can't resist putting in one more good line that I heard and it goes like this, "It is not our abilities that show who we truly are, it is our choices." Now, Peter who said that?

Chow for now.

Arul.

Our Greatest Fear

2005-11-24T23:40:00.000-08:00

Here are some great lines that I found. I actually didn't find them but rather heard them in the movie "Coach Carter" (great movie by the way and definitely recommended). Its from a poem by Marianne Williamson (nope I hadn't heard of her before I heard these lines).

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our dark that most frightens us.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people don't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine as children do.
It’s not just in some of us; it’s in everyone.
And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Made me think a lot as it goes against a lot of what we commonly believe to be true and yet in a strange way it makes a whole lot of sense. You're free to post your thoughts as well.

Arul.

Coffee junkies of the world unite

2005-11-23T23:52:00.000-08:00

Allen, you've got a good question, man. Life before coffee, Is there such a thing? Heck, I get withdrawal symptoms nowadays if I dont have my daily quota. Anyways if anyone has the answer to that one, do let me know.

Here's also to one of our coffee buddies Sumesh (Chacha) who is in China for a conference.Way to go.

Sayonara.

Arul.

What, me blog?

2005-11-23T22:22:00.000-08:00

So I finally have a blog of my own. Why did I do it? Dunno, maybe cuz I couldn't post a comment on my dumb pal's blog if I didnt have a blogger id. But now that I have it is kinda fun.

As for the human integration angle, as mentioned its cuz I work for a company doing business integration; ergo human integration. Go figure.

Watch this space.

Arul.