Republic Day Parade

I have seen Republic Day Parade on TV ever since I was a kid. However, this time around, I got an opportunity to see it live.

We got reserved tickets a week earlier. However, I was a bit apprehensive on the traffic situation and the crowd situation that day. Not to mention the fact that I had to wake up at 7 AM in the morning to get ready for it, an alien concept for someone like me who sees mornings only in his dreams.

I did finally wake up early and went for it. It was good to see that the traffic situation was pretty good. There were signs everywhere to suggest the route. Once we reached there, we had to get into a really huge line to get into. This was something that certainly has lots of scope for improvement.

Once we got inside, it was a great experience. Seeing the biggest celebration of Indian Republic is amazing. The part I like the most were the military helicopters and airplanes flying past. This is something that can never be captured on TV.
Recommended atleast once.

Before the year ends

Gullu wrote this post a few days back. Which is somewhat strange considering he was a pretty frequent writer not so long ago.
I have always been an infrequent blogger and as a matter of fact, I have been following this once a month rule ever since I missed the whole month of Nov 2004. Posting at 11:20 PM on 31st Dec, this is as late as it could be.

These have been the busiest days of my life so far. Loads of work at office, personal commitments and just so many events to attend to.
My response to life? Make it busier ;-)
Last year, I was in Kashmir at this time of the year, making that the most memorable week of my life. This year, among the late nights and really late nights in office, I was able to squeeze in a small weekend trip to Mukteshwar.

Mukteshwar is a quiet and peaceful place around 40 kms from Bhimtal. It has a forest area, and there are also activities like rock climbing and rappelling. Though we didn't do any of that, as we went for complete leisure.

Watch this space for pictures once I find time to post them.

Last night in US

Its time to go back to India. The US trip has been great, both in terms of work and otherwise.
I utilized each of the weekends to the fullest and went to a lot of places.
One the first weekend, I went to Mystery Spot and 17 mile drive.
The second one, I met a lot of friends in Mountain View and San Jose.
The third weekend was completely devoted to San Francisco, where I went to Fisherman's Wharf, Golden Gate Bridge and lots of other places.
On the fourth weekend, one of my colleague Mike was kind enough to take us to the Pescadaro Beach.
This is last weekend in US, and I met some friends and went to Berkeley for a show.

And yes, I managed to get a lot of work done as well.

Its been a good trip, but its even better to go back to India. Here I come :-)

In US

After being in software industry for almost 5.5 years, I am on my first official trip to US. I must have created a new record of not visiting US even after being in software industry for such a long time.

Ever since college, my friends have been telling me that if I ever visit US, I would not experience any jet lag as my sleep and work times are more closer to US timezone. Now I see that there is some truth in these claims as I have been able to recover from jet lag in less than a day.

Here's how it went:
1. Friday late night 1 AM - I take the Delhi-Amsterdam flight. Its an 8 hr flight. I sleep around 2-3 AM.
2. Reach Amsterdam at 6 AM local time (9 AM IST). There is a 5 hr stoppage time. I am feeling really sleepy so I sleep at the airport. Wake up at 10 AM (1 PM IST) and then catch the flight at 11.
3. 10.5 hrs flight to San Francisco. Have had slept enough, I pass time watching 3 movies (Mr. Bean Holiday, Harry Potter and the order of Pheonix, Spiderman 3.
4. Reach SFO at 2. Ankit picks me up. Am fine this around 6. Then I start feeling really sleepy. Its 6:30 AM IST, so if I were in India, this would have been a night out.
5. The next few hours are difficult. Getting really sleepy but can't, I am still moving around with my friends. I finally sleep at 11.
6. Wake up in the morning at 9 AM, fully refreshed. The jet lag is over.

Went to 17 mile drive yesterday. Its a drive along the pacific ocean and has some great views. More on that in the next post.

Left Brain Right Brain

Came across this interesting link. I see the dancer turning clockwise. Some of my friends can see it both ways. I have been trying real hard but I can't see it any other way.

What do you see?

Chak de. India wins T20 World Cup

Somehow the release of Shahrukh Khan starrer Chak De India has coincided with one of the best time for Indian Sports.

In Hockey, India beats South Korea 7-2 to lift the Asia Cup.
In Soccer, India won the Nehru Cup.
Sania Mirza has been performing well too. I think her ranking has climbed to 27 at this point.

But the greatest of them all happened today, when Indian Cricket team won the first Twenty 20 World Cup. No one gave a team without Sachin, Saurav and Rahul any chance whatsoever. I had not even watched any T20 match before. But they way it all happened has been amazing. And there could not have been a more nail biting final. Am sure tomorrow morning when the players would wake up, they would not be able to themselves believe what they did.

Congratulations India. Chak de.

Any activity is fun ...

Only till it is not WORK :-D. Quote of the night by Sanjay Goel.

Amateurs always have more fun than professionals. Love is more fun than marriage.

To illustrate, choose any hobby u have (photography, traveling, playing a particular sport) and try to make it your source of earning. You'll be surprised to see how less u like it after a few days.

Also recommended is this related article by Scott Adams.