Ouucchh.. it pains!!

A friend's SMS last night brought in a great surprise. It was about a net practice session in Kinrara grounds, one of the best International Cricket Grounds in Malaysia. It was the ground where India, West Indies and Australia played DLF Cup a Tri Series in Sept 06. I was unaware of the real surprise that was in store for me. I was told a great deal of effort had gone in booking the nets which was reserved for the Under 19 Malaysian Team. Since I didn't have the right attire for the game the first thing I did was to go and purchase cricket spikes and white T shirt from Carrefoure, not far from my place. A cab was arranged to pick us up at 11:30am. It happened as expected that half the team were not present even after the cab had arrived. Being on time had a different meaning to those guys. Since I was new to this cricketing group I was being told about the how the team was wacked in previous encounters with a company in Singapore. The opponent team had feasted long before the official banquet!!

When I stepped in the ground I was awe stuck by the way the ground was maintained. The picture above explains it all. I'm playing real cricket after a gap of over 7 years and getting cramps and muscle pull all over my body was understandable. Since my forte was bowling I was happy with the ball. I didn't want to try batting as I had the fear of the ball. I wasn't mentally prepared but I had to when guys asked me to pad up. I miss timed most of the shots but I enjoyed playing. Then came the dreaded delivery!! Good Length.. pitched on the off side.. good pace... hit the bat.. top edged and straight ON TO THE FACE.. Yes my face!!

For 2 or 3 seconds everything blacked out. I could see the guys coming towards me but I couldn't hear anything. When I was gaining consciousness the first thing I checked was that my teeth was all in place. I could feel them wholly with my tongue. Relieved I thought at least its not as bad as it could have been. I could feel the swelling on the left cheek just below the eye. It pained when touched. I feared a fracture on the cheek bone. Guys around told me there was a small cut and it was slightly bleeding. I went to the wash room to have it washed with running water. The cold water in the freezer was a great help. As I looked at my face in the mirror.. it felt like seeing a boxer who has just finished a bloody bout.... swollen face with a cut that's bleeding. In the silence I came to realise what went wrong.. Before stepping into the nets I made sure every sensitive part of the body was protected but I didn't realise my face and head was uncovered. I didn't wear the helmet! It was lack of precaution. If I had the helmet this could have been completely avoided. I must say I'm a bit lucky this time. The ball hit right at the spot where it is an inch below the eye and left side of the nose. If it happened on either of them it could have been a totally different story now. As I was resting I understood things are different now than in school or college. If something serious happens and I'm medically grounded it could affect not only me but people around me. I have responsibities. I had to be safe than sorry. Its a wake up call and I learnt a lesson today.

Things are OK now after taking the medicine the doctor had given. The swelling has reduced a little and not much of pain too. The ice bag and anti inflammatory ointment has helped in reducing the swelling but there is a heavy black spot on the place where the ball hit... something like in cartoons when a person is hit in the eye! The doctor tells it will become normal in 2 weeks. I feel very tired and doing all the medication by myself is irritating. I wish there was someone to help me. I'm missing home now!!

Diwali in Kuala Lumpur

Needless to stay this is first Diwali away from family. But the hospitality of good friends and their family made me feel at home. My Diwali started with a soft voice calling me by full name.. "Jayakrishna.." followed by load banging on the door. It was the voice of my house owner I realised and as I gained consciousness from sleep I dragged myself to the door. I opened and there was none. I found no one in the hall and her room was also locked. I thought this was yet another weird dream. I went back to bed and I heard the banging again. Irritated this time I opened the door and there was my house owner.. in traditional South Indian festive attire with a big box of Ferro Rochers! She gave them wishing me for Diwali and told me I should take "oil bath" before the sun came out as that was the custom. It may have been rather demanding but I felt it more of a motherly command. I obliged. In the morning exchange of wishes through SMSs were no different from what I used to have back home. Then breakfast was at Rudra's place with his roommates watching a so called comedy movie "BORAT" (Not my kinda comedy!). I had to leave in half of the movie as Naga and his mother had invited me for lunch.. a full course South Indian meal.. which I really enjoyed. Pankaj and his wife Nishi arranged for evening get together along with some lovely home made sweets and savories. I was touched by all of their warmth and love. For someone one who is away from his home and home country in search of some unclear dream this is how it is. I'm away.. but not alone I realised.

In Malaysia Diwali is a celebrated grandly and its a National holiday. Brickfields has a ten day market with evening stage shows. It is a place to "check out" the Romeos and Juliet's of Malaysian Tamils. Open houses are held at various places. According to Wikipedia " 'Open houses' are held where Hindu Malaysians welcome fellow Malaysians of different races and religions to their house for a sumptuous meal. 'Open house' or 'rumah terbuka' is a practice very much unique to Malaysia that shows the goodwill and friendly ties practised by all Malaysians during any festive occasion." It was the most silent Diwali for me so far. Very few sounds of crackers were heard. Bursting crackers are banned by Govt here. Fireworks are only during Govt functions and New Year. I was born in a place called Sivakasi.. which boasts of the highest number of cracker manufacturing units in India. I have close relatives there and every year they would send us the best crackers for free. During school days on Diwali friends would wait for me and my elder brother in the ground as we would have the best variety of crackers. I still get these back home but now its my cousin who enjoys the pride with his friends. To me Diwali is always a time to get back with street friends and have some cheap fun trying out innovative ways to explode a coconut shell or cracking the wall around the ground using the "Atom Bombs"!!

Diwali brings back many such memories that will always remain close to my heart. Now that is history and I can only think of them with a feeling that I'm glad that it happened. To me Diwali will always be festival of light and love.

Unexplained Dreams

Strange things happen to me when I sleep. Vivid pictures of totally unrelated incidents pass my mind as I sleep. I can remember them just as I get up but they slowly fade away from my memory as I move along the madness of the passing day. Its been the case with me for many years. when I sleep the body rests but the mind remains still wandering searching for answers to the questions that trouble me in the day. The result of this is disturbed sleep and I do not feel fresh as I wake up next morning. But quite interestingly I have found solution to many problems. Like for example the blog description.. "Faster than Ray of Light". I got this name when I got up from a sleep after I went to bed thinking what to name my blog the previous night. The reason it "light" was deliberate I think as my mind keeps thinking about something that it relates to light and happiness knowingly or unknowingly. I know why my mind thinks of light and happiness but it is irrelevant here. I believe in the power of the mind and I want to know what these strange dreams want to tell me. I have decided to write down these dreams and see if I can relate it to something.

THE DREAM - 5th Nov 2007

BEGIN

I was leaning against a red sedan and watching a kid near a school gate. The kid was about 7 yrs old and was wearing a white and white school uniform, with a big shoulder bag behind him and a water bottle on his side. He was cute and had glasses with black frame. He was active and was a big hit among the other parents who came to pick up their children. He didnt have any worries in his mind and I wished I was as happy as he was. So I went up to him and started talking. He casually answered me as he was playing with his other friends. I asked him where's his house and I would leave him in his house. He said its only 5 min walk and he can walk on his own. I told him that I will come along and he didnt refuse. So we started to talk and walk. On the way he was kicking the stones. I saw an innocence in him that I had rarely seen before. As we walked I felt I was walking down a familiar street. The houses, play ground and road was known to me before though I dont remember when I'd been here. He pointed to a banglow that was painted white and maroon and said that was his house. I asked the kid who is his father and he told me his name. And I quickly asked him who is his mother and he told me the name.. I knew it had to be this!!

END

I shuddered as I got up. I took the mobile that was besides the bed. The time was 12:37 AM. Three missed calls and one SMS. I vaguely ran through the list of callers and the message. The name pf the kid's mother was still on my head as it was a very different name and I thought I had come across this name when I was in school but just couldnt remember who it was. I wanted to store it so quickly typed it in my message box and then slept. As today at work there was an important client audit we were quite busy right from the time I stepped in. Without knowing I had typed something in my message box I replied to a friends sms that came along asking "What time Lunch?". It was only in the afternoon I realised I had stored this name in it. Now it was gone as it was replaced with my reply to my friend. The name starts with "A" and some thing like Arth... and ends in "i"... no not Arthi! I just couldnt figure it after thinking the whole day but nevertheless I thought I will write it down and see if it will relate to any of my other dreams. In the meanwhile you guys can think of a name with this combination let me know..

Hairy Tale

I woke up in the morning scratching my head. It was so itchy and the scratching was soothing. It was only after a while I noticed white tiny flakes on my dark blue T shirt.. Dandruff!! It was just like in those shampoo ads which so far I thought was just an exaggeration. I had to see it to believe it. I was big headed that all along I was thinking that, unlike many other people I knew, I never had this and will never ever have it but I was wrong. Hair falling has been a concern for a long time and to add to this now.. another problem Dandruff. The long hours of working with computers, compromising health, is slowly taking its toll on me. Now that its in.. I'm gonna have big trouble for the rest of my life.

I'm going to start a home medication that my mom has told me. To start off with I went to the barber in the morning to have a real close hair cut. Well choice to have a close hair cut was of my own as I think a big burden is taken off your head and you can concentrate more on the goal you wish to pursue. I'm influenced by the Buddhist and Army men. Infact the kind of hair cut I had today was one like that of a Buddhist Monk... An electric clipper with 3 Inch blade was used. Visibly all part of the head now has equal hair length. It was agonizing to see flocks of hair fall on the floor. As the barber was doing my hair I could imagine a strange similarity to a gardener mowing his field!! With the hair gone I decided to remove my one month old well grown beard too. It took me one full hour to have it removed. And the result.. a new look. Now I only hope people don't have trouble recognizing me at the Immigration Office as I'm going to Singapore next week :)

Listen to this audio.. it was sent to me by a friend in one his usual forwards. I found this interesting. Amazing Virtual Experience in Sound. Its Binaural recording… Use Stereo Headphones only.

Statutory Warning: DO NOT LISTEN UNLESS YOU HAVE HEAD PHONES!!

Photography Field Trip - Sekinchan

It’s time again for us to leave our office cubicle, pack your camera and gears…let’s head to the “Rice Bowl” of Selangor.

These were the words that brightened my day as today I received the second and final communication email for the photography field trip to Sekinchan popularly known as the "Rice Bowl" of Selangor. This is part of the HP Photography Club's monthly activity and my first with this group. Its also an initiative to help photographers who are willing to take part in HP's Q3 Photography Contest "Green & Blue". I have recently joined this club and was one of the first ones to register for this trip as it was limited to just 25 people. Now I'm really excited and looking forward to this trip on Saturday 3rd Nov 2007.

Sekinchan is a small town located up North of Selangor, about 1 and a half hours drive from KL. It is one of the major rice producing area in Malaysia and hence known as the "Rice Bowl" of Selangor. Selangor is one of the 13 states of Malaysia and Sekinchan is a must see for people visiting Selangor.

I have been told that going there in the month of Oct/Nov is best because you can watch the Golden colour of the paddy field amidst the blue sky. The town itself has a unique dual character. Apart from paddy field, it is also a fishing village by itself.

The agenda is to meet at 7:00 am at office premises and have some light breakfast that would be served. Then get on the cab and head straight to the spot. As soon as we reach Sekinchan we would go around the village and explore its scenic beauty of vast green land. Then we would feast ourself with some delicious seafood thats all going to come for free. Ssslurrpp!! There are a lot of seafood restaurants in Sekinchan offering various fresh seafood. When we were asked for the choice of food I was quite surprised to find that of the total 25 people only me and another Indian guy had opted for 'Pork-Free' Food!! Rest of the choice was unanimously 'Any Food' but yeh there was one Chinese who had opted for 'vejeetirian'. The last part of the trip is to watch the sunset at the fishing village before heading back to KL.

Its been a while I went travelling now and this would be a nice trip I hope. Good food, good scenery and good company, what more do I need?

On the run..!!

Today morning marked the third day of my jogging on the streets on Kuala Lumpur. The reason to do it was the clear visibility of the extra fat around waistline and abdomen. There has been no physical activity for a long time and the sedentary working habits has only added up to the sloppy belly. Before things can go worse I've decided to take steps. Hopefully this time it wouldn't be like the other times where I gave up as fast as I started.

The longest distance I was able to make it in these 3 days was 4km which I covered both walking and running on Friday. I start at about 6:20 in the morning and I run for about 30 min just when the twilight illuminates the city. Of course there would be some strange stares I'd get but I'm quite used to these things now. The only place in KL you can encounter stray dogs is Brickfields the place I stay. This is the only thing I'm scared of while starting my run in the morning. Legs have become lazy nowadays that it can't move as it used to before. So I start to walk initially and then slowly run. It is at this time I think of the activities that I wish to complete for the day. Finally at the end of the run I'd do a bit of stretching and abdomen exercise. Then have a cold shower. Trust me it feels great through out the day after this. I get this extra freshness and activeness that I don't remember having before.

When in college I always liked to run in the morning at the Anna Nagar Tower Park, Chennai. One thing thats still on mind is meeting a person who comes walking there. He was 89 then and a regular morning walker. I was amazed by his fitness at that age. There were many other people like him and who have been an inspiration to me. Jogging is one of my first attempts to revive old passions. I'm running... away from the confusion thats going on in my head.. the darkness thats looming over me... I'm running to find the person I once was...

... And I cleaned my room

It was a beautiful room when I walked in on 1st April 2007. Though it wasn't posh it was big and had all the necessary things needed for living comfortably. The thing I liked the most about this room was the way it had been maintained. It was super clean and everything was neatly arranged. Looking at it after 6 months I see a different picture. The room is cluttered. Books and papers on the bed that had no bed cover. Clothes and food stuffs (mostly spoilt and rotten) strewn around on the ground and sofa. CDs and bills scattered disorderly on the table. A big cushion one seater right in the middle of this mess making it difficult to move around. And worst of all there is no light. For the last 4 months I was living amidst all this. Two months ago things got worse when the light fused. I'm living in darkness since then as I didn't want anyone to enter my room even if it has to be the electrician or the cleaning lady. Necessasity leads to innovation. I started using my laptop as a source of light. As soon as I come back from work I switch on the laptop and there was light!! Many including my house owner asked me how am I managing with the darkness in room.. I just told them "..well my life has been in darkness for more than 2 years now.. this is only in the room!" I'm sure you don't understand what I meant just like the people who heard it before.. but its meant to be that way.

I didn't sleep last night and was watching a couple of movies as today was an off day. In the wee hours of the morning I saw something moving around on the floor.. strained my eyes to see it better and it was a cockroach running underneath my bed. I knew I was having many more uninvited guests like this one in my room. So thinking it was high time I do something about it.. I picked the broom at 7 AM. Started something that was put off for more than 4 months. When I started I didn't know how I was going to clean the mess. It was similar to the mess in my life. But somehow when I started I came to realise ways to dispose the waste and place to arrange my things. It also led me to discover many good things that I once had which was hidden in the mess. It has a strange but striking similarity in my life. This has made me understand that if you want to change something you need to start. I think chancing oneself is the first step in changing the world. Finally I finished it around 3 PM. The whole room was given a face lift. Have a feeling of accomplishment now. I didn't think anyone else would have been more happy to hear except my mom so I called her to say this. Lit some incense sticks that I got from the Buddha temple in Penang and played Balamurali Krishna and E Gayatri on my laptop. It was heaven in my room with the fragrance, smoke and sound. Listening to sound of Veena I lay on the bed. The next thing I remember is the phone ringing and the time was 9:37 PM. I don't know what happened in between.. but I just presume I may have slept!

An absolute thriller.. fitting climax!!

I'm writing this just a few minutes after watching India lift the Twenty20 Cup

India beating Pakistan at the finals of Cricket's first ever big game of the shorter version. None can ask for a better climax to the hugely entertaining tournament. A dream final with twists and turns and that ending in India's favor. It was a edge of the seat thriller till the finish with either team having the chances to snatch the Cup. Ultimately it was a billion hope that prevailed over a hundred million in the first ever Twenty20 World Cup .

I watched this match amidst a crowd of over 100 people at a packed Indian restaurant late in the night here in Kuala Lumpur. I have personally not felt this kind of excitement watching Cricket in the last 8 years. A sudden sharp feeling of excitement ran over my nerves when Sreeshant shattered the stumps. I got up the chair and started moving around frantically during the last over of the match. I got goose bumps watching the Indian team go around the ground with the tri-color after winning. The crowd of Indian supporters started shouting for all the dot balls India bowled. A few Pakistanis present there never attempted to make the slightest noise even when their country batsmen smacked over the ropes in the final overs as a frenzy Indian mob totally outnumbered them. A Malay-Indian friend of mine told me that he read somewhere that India's patriotism feeling is at its best during an India-Pakistan match than even on its Independence Day. I think thats absolutely true. Matches like these get the true patriotism out of Indians. I think I didn't get lucky like those who were sitting on the sands of Marina watching this match in Chennai. The crowd makes the difference.

The newer version of the game has taken the major teams by surprise. Proteas unexpected exit from the tournament; Kiwis and Oz surprise losses; The Tigers shaking the confidence of many top class teams; All South Asian final. The uncertainty in the game is what has made Twenty20 so popular. The match can swing any side within a few balls. Twenty20 has all the elements to make it entertaining like football. Who said Cricket is long and boring?

This is India's most successful performance since the 1983 World Cup final. Dhoni has made the Dev-il act in his first ever assignment as a Captain. Our neighbours didn't get a chance to relive the 1992 World Cup moment. Being an ardent cricket fan since 1992 my greatest moment in cricket is to watch India lift the world cup. I think I got to see it in this life time. Not sure when again I would get to see this. Who knows maybe after 20 years I might mutter "when are we going to see another Dhoni's marvel.. why don't you guys learn from mistakes?"

For me this was the first time I got so involved in a match after Azharudhin left the game. My interest in the game was completely lost when Azhar was convicted for match fixing. This tournament has only revived it after seeing many promising talents rising to the occasion. But I have always felt Indian team and consistency is synonymous with peace and Kashmir. I think this present team can prove it all wrong. Hopefully the perks that they are now going to get, back home, shouldn't spoil their burning spirit to win. Dhoni has already been named for one of the most prestigious award in Jharkhand. Quoting MSN "The Board has announced USD 3 million for the team and Rs 15 lakh each for the support staff while Yuvraj Singh will get Rs 1 crore for hitting six sixes in one over." Another important thing to watch out for is the transformation from window breaking mob to cheering supporters.. that's Indian cricket crowd for you!

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DSC02332-1
Originally uploaded by Jay Krishna

Trial

I'm back... Unsuccessfully

The mission was unaccomplished. I have decided to give up (for a while) owing to various social factors. When I decided going into seclusion I never thought of the repocations it would have. First of all it was a complete self destruction physically. Most of the time I spent the whole day without food or with just one meal a day. Try in vain to sleep until 4am and then somehow dose off only to wake up late in the morning. And because of this I continuously came up with a new lie everyday at work with teammates for going late. Room was dirty overall and sometimes I slept on the floor amidst the dirt and filth. Light had fused and I didn't bother to replace it. Wore unwashed and unpressed clothes. I know I looked sick with unshaven or untrimmed beard for over 3 weeks!! Mom and dad starting worrying as I stopped calling them. Same as the case with friends. I started to realize that it was just not me who's affected but also many others around me. So finally I decided to get into what others call it a 'normal life'.


Some of the things that crossed my thoughts were

Expectations: Man's greatest weapon and weakness. "Blessed is the man who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed". Maybe that's true. But this is what I believe when the expectation is high the target to achieve is also high which yields higher reward. With all the failures and disappointment along the way I still like to dream.. and that too big. Vision without action becomes illusion. This is what I have understood.

Women: Symbol of pleasure. Pleasure seems a strong word and to cut your imagination short let me tell you what I tried to mean: 'Amusement'; 'Diversion; 'The gratification of the mind'; 'Something good and delightful that brings happiness'. All this can also be the biggest source of diversion from the usual work you are required to perform day in and day out. There can be no women in your life who can been a source of unrelenting love and affection except for your mom for she is the symbol of sacrifice.

If success has a percentage equal to 100 then 80 - 85% of it is your effort. The remaining 15 - 20% depends on external influences. Some like to call it GOD... some call it FATE/DESTINY... and some call it LUCK. Whatever name you give it you cannot change that part of it as in most cases you will have no or very little control over them. All that can be done is to improvise on 85%.. simply maximize your effort towards succeeding you goal. As long as you have faith in our own cause and an unshakable will to win, victory will not be denied.

In life we get burdens only strong enough to handle. When they fall on you its test for you to understand that this is a symbol that life knows you have the strength to endure them. Its a test of limits.

Maybe the first attempt was a partial failure. Nevertheless, I consider this as an eye opener. I think I'm just waking up to the truth.. the truth of where I am in this rat race for love, fame and money.

Out on a Mission.. Soul Searching

I'm sorry again for this silence.. I've moved away from the world and people. This time I'm out on a mission and its something I wont be able to discuss or talk about. Recent happenings in life has led me to a doubt if life will ever have a brighter side. I have not realised the beauty of what I had until I've started losing it now.. every day by day. I failed to keep it with me when I could have. Life is teaching me lessons the hard way now. I need some time to spend with myself to question and examine my own beliefs and motives. I need to understand what I want in life. All emails and scraps will be replied soon..

Crystal pillars - Man made marvel!!

Last Saturday evening I decided to try a bit of photography with my new FujiFilm S5700. I have always found KLCC gardens that has Petronas twin towers in the backdrop to be the perfect training ground for any amateur photographer. I chose to go there in the evening because of the lighting. As my house owner and her daughter were busy shopping at KLCC I slipped away to the gardens. It was the first time I used a tripod. To set it and get the right angle and elevation took a lot of time. I need a lot of practice on that. I havent used any softwares to retouch the pictures. This is just the raw output from my camera.

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Originally uploaded by Jay Krishna target="_blank"

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Originally uploaded by Jay Krishna

182 days completed!

Is it only me that's feeling this or do you feel the same too.. time flies! I feel like every phase in life passes very quickly, often so quickly that I'm surprised. It seems to me like it was only a few days back I packed my clothes and left Chennai though now its 6 months already. I have completed 182 days of stay in Malaysia... without family.. without friends with who I grew up.. without the very essence of Chennai.

For many who thought I cant be away from the above three this is definitely a jaw dropper! I was one of them to think like that initially when I accepted the job offer. Living has definitely not been easy since then and I have come to realise thats how life is going to be henceforth.

For me completing this 182 days within Malaysia means a lot. I'm now a tax-resident in Malaysia. This is not to be confused with a Permanent Resident. The status gives me the eligibility to claim the excess tax money I have paid, which is 25% of my monthly earnings, so far. Now I have to go through a long and tiring process of claiming it back. Also I do not owe anything to my employer incase I quit now.. A sigh of relief.. hehe! Home is always on my mind. This is the first time I have stayed so long away from home. The last time I did it was 25 days. In March 2006 I decided to rent a place somewhere in Chennai and stay away from home for sometime. Took a place at Valasaravakam and as each day passed staying there alone was literally getting me mad. The street dogs too were totally unfriendly. On the 25th day I said enough of this garbage and left the place for good. This time I made up mind of not planning to run away like that. I have learnt a few things that my mom always wished I knew.. washing my clothes and keeping my place tidy... Though cooking is still a challenge. Whatever I get here can never match the comfort I had in Chennai!

Back to work after vacations..

It just seemed like it started but now its all over. The 10 day vacation leave is now over and I'm back to work unwillingly. The vacation was like a beautiful rainbow that seemed to have disappeared within the blink of an eye.

I tagged along with the group of 3 guys and 2 girls who came from India. A few in the group came to squander the bonus money the company has paid them. Ofcourse those lucky ones work at top notch IT MNCs. Off the lot I just knew Arun who went to college with me and the rest came together through like a link leading to another. Arun and Divya work together. Divya's roomie is Sangeetha. Sangeetha's ex-colleagues and friends were Shobin and Sriram. Thats how we all met at Kuala Lumpur. I came across quite a few interesting characters about whom I will detail in this blog later.

Not everything went as per the plan. Unfortunately I was not able to make it to Singapore because of time constraints. In the next few blogs I Will write a detailed summary of my travel experience. I'm also consolidating the pictures that we took and will update them on this blog by Wednesday or Thursday. Before that there are a lot of pending work at office which I need to complete atleast by this week.

Tour De Malaysia et Singapore!!

I'm now all set for this tour. We have been planning this for the last 45 days and I can't wait to see it unfold tomorrow morning! I'm going on a 10 day vacation to tour Malaysia and Singapore. I'll be joining a group from India in which I have a friend with whom I went to college. Though I have been to many cities and states in Malaysia this one is a major outing for me in Malaysia in one strech and that has gone through a lot of planning. The plan is 3 days at Taman Negara, a virgin tropical forest, 3 days at Langkawi one of the world famous Island and Beach & the place where they shot DON, Sharukh Khan starrer, and for 2 days at Singapore. Will also be spending a couple of days at Kuala Lumpur to experience the Asian cosmopolitan life style.

Theres a lot of work at office thats pending which I thought I will complete before the vacation but couldnt complete it now. Will take care of the consequences on 19th when I'm back to work!! Time to leave... bye bye

Ice.. Coffee and Me

You would hardly call me a coffee drinker untill the beginning of this year. Though I was haunted by the smell and flavour of coffee I had resisted the temptation for 24yrs. Not after the beginnening of this year. My affair with coffee started when I started taking frequent breaks after I put in my papers in the previous company. From milk my liking drifted to coffee. On seeing me the guy at the pantry would instantly know I'd ask for 'Coffee... with extra sugar!!' The affair is only getting more intimate in Kuala Lumpur. I started tasting different blends of coffee here. Having tried almost everything from Cappuccino to Espresso on the office vending machine list, I'm experimenting my own coffee making for the last few weeks. In addition to the vending machine, which gives instant coffee of different flavours, we have separate containers or tins of creamer, sugar and coffee for people to make their own coffee to suit their taste. So far I have been thinking it was heat that was needed to transfer the flavour of coffee to water. I think it is a wrong assumption. I found that when I tried preparing cold coffee at office. I just loved what I made today. First I made a normal hot coffee with my usuall recipe. I think it was just about perfect!! I decided to try something more with this. A cold Coffee!! It was geniunly the best coffee I have ever had so far! I'm sharing the recipe.

1. Add 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of dark-roasted ground coffee. Anything more in my opinion would make the coffee to taste bitter.
2. Add 5 tablespoons of creamer (milk powder). This is a substituion to milk. The amount of creamer determines taste. This is not recommended for black coffee drinkers.
3. Add 4 to 5 tablespoons of sugar (Unfortunately I like all things sweeter and coffee is no exception to this. If you find it too sweet to handle then you can add sugar according to your preference)
4. Stir the mixture well. This will make all the three ingredients to mix well.
5. Add water of extremly high temperature (90 - 95 c) to this mixture.
6. The mixture would dissolve well in hot water. You might find lumps of creamer and coffee floating. Use a stirrer dissolve them.
5. Finally add 3 tablespoons of liquid creamer (eg. Nestle MilkMaid).
6. Fill another plastic/ paper cup with ice cubes and pour the hot coffee over them. I found adding ice cubes will dilute the coffee so refrigeration for 30 min would be a better choice.

Cold coffee can be enjoyed especially if the climate is hot. Coffee in general helps in keeping you alert and overcome fatigue instantly. Its heady flavour can easily get you addicted to it. A cup a day wouldn't do much harm I guess.

First Sunday in August.. Whats so special?!

Most Indians would say 'Friendship Day'. Yes in India the first Sunday in August is celebrated as a day for friendship. Interestingly in Malaysia its on the 1st of Aug. For the last one week you might have recieved ecards and forwarded emails with some touching wordings on it to say that you are their best friends. Some mails end with a terrible note If you dont send that card to 10 people you would loose all the good friends you have. What the &*$%@##!! Blindly sending e-mails that have been heavily forwarded, and worse, stating benifits and consequenses is infuriating!! By following the leader as a "mindless forwarder", one may lose friends!

The most popular among the younger generations are Friendship day and Valentines day. If I may ask a question "Do you know when is mothers day?" The number of 'No's will out number 'Yes's. I remember when I studied in 8th Std we were so excited about Valentines Day. It was an age where we knew nothing about having and maintaining a girl friend in real would mean. There was another strange thing I noticed. The boys and girls exchanged roses and cards on Valentines Day. The same group would exchange Friendship cards on Friendship Day. The worst comes when the same group celebrates Raksha Bandhan a day for brother sister love. In my opinion all these are three different relationship and it cannot be shared with the same person. I never understood what was the kind of relationship they had. All these were the effect of rampant consumerism by consumer market bigwigs targeted at youngsters urging them to spend. Gift marketers run an extensive campaign to lure people to buy cards and gifts for their friends. You dont need a special day to say appreciation for their friendship to good friends.. and sometimes somethings are nicer when unsaid!!

27th July 07 - MCDBA... 2 Yrs dream now a reality

This was one of the things I wanted to achieve professionally when I joined Sify. It has taken me two years to finish it. The exam was zapper. Aced thro 45 questions in about 90 min where in the total time for the exam was 240min. As I finished each question I knew the effort and money was not going to go waste. I knew I was inching towards the reality which had been so far only been a dream. As clicked End Exam the screen went blank.. it was completely white. Wild thoughts started to cross my mind.. has the system hung??!! That was the last thing I would have wanted here. I couldnt sustain the anxiety. I stormed out to call the lady incharge for the exams. She said this was normal and came to have a look... She was right. When I saw the screen now the image had changed. Only two words caught my sight.

Successfully......................... 928.

I didnt have to bother about the rest of words. I'm now an MCDBA!

Since then I've been having fun.. had an office dinner party and bowling session on Friday night.. (just after my exam) On Saturday couple of friends had come down from Singapore so spent the whole weekend with them.. was totally tied up as I was trying to show them around KL almost everything thats possible to be covered in 1 and a half days. Just had time to breath!!

There are reason for choosing this date for the exam. It was on this day three years back that I made my first constructive step towards making a career in IT. Cant forget that date as it also happens to be my only bro's birthday! I registered for the exam with Informatics. It was what that taught me to operate a mouse back in 1997. A group of guys were invited from our school to experiment with the new multimedia PCs that they then had.

Though Microsoft support for SQL Server 2000 might end in April next year I wanted to get this done. To me its a personal achievement. This was the first thing that was asked of me by my manager when I started working in databases as a novice. Now its time to market this certificate in greener pastures!

Preparing for the Final Assault

Its almost near and I cant wait to accomplish it. Its just two days away. On Friday I'd be giving my final exam for MCDBA. Its on Win 2003 Server. The two years wait will come to an end. The last three weeks I have been busy craming for this exam... browsing pdf, dumps, test simulators.. anything I can get my hands on to make sure things go my way on the exam day. I joined forums for quick help but they only fill my inbox with junk. No quality content!!

I have been through these kind of International Ceritifications for 5 times for 2 different brands, Microsoft and Oralce, in two years before this one. But each time I have always felt like taking the exam for the first time. Theres always this uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties. The money, rewards and peer attention are the driving forces for me to prepare well. So far no hiccups and I wanna get through this one too!! 27th July date was primarily choosen because of the sentiment factor I have with numbers and combinations. The history of this dates back to 3 years. Forget it.. no time to talk about it.

This has been the primary reason for me not replying to your emails, scraps or offlines. I will catch up on these after 27th July 2007. Got to go..

Free International Calls - Phone to Phone

I haven't used Skype before but found this ones cool. Its a Phone to Phone calling service. Tokiva is the service that enables you to make inexpensive international long distance calls on your mobile phone immaterial of where in the world you are. After you sign up with your mobile number you get a credit balance of 50 free.. With this I called my home (To India From Malaysia) and was able to speak for 5 min and 10 sec for free. The voice clarity is not that good the time I called but for a few friends of mine who used it say it was quite clear. I shouldn't be asking more for the free service! Tokiva also have schemes where you buy credit and use it to call. Use the link below to sign up.


Click Here to Register