Graceful white surprise ...

Its time for me to leave Finland for the moment and go back to India ;). So for the past few days i was involved in clearing stuff over here and also packing my bags. It has been a wonderful experience of learning and sharing. Lots of stories and memories :). 

Also, the winters are fast approaching, with temperatures touching zero degrees. (and even goes below zero at night). Till yesterday it was all green outside. The skies were cloudy, and the weather was windy. Nice and pleasent for a long walk with special people ;). But today, it started to snow in the afternoon. And it snowed heavily for about 2 hours, thus everything outside was all white. Everything was covered in snow..........the cars, trees, bikes and even people. The roads that were clear and visible till yesterday were covered under thick lush yet soft snow. 

The entire place looked different after the transition/addition of snow. I was all excited to see the first snow this year, so took out my bike and went for a nice chilled bike ride ;). And just looking around, observing everything, i could feel the soft snow falling upon me from the endless skies above. The wind flowing would ocassionally make innovative designs of the snow flakes floating in the air. And with everything so pure and white around me, i could only feel grateful to the Divine for giving me this oppurtunity to experience His abundance presence all around us. Truely Magnificent !!! :)

Here's a pic of the first snow fall that i clicked.

Happiest Person!!!

Hi Guys......... i have been living in Oulu (Finland) now for approximately a year now. And i have made many friends during my stay and work here. Each moment has been an experience. No need to label them as good or bad, but just experiences. And tonnes to learn from. There have been happy moments, some sad moments, lonely moments............ but right now when i think about them...........I feel, everything was so perfect.

Speaking about happy moments, a friend of mine from the same company is also working here in Oulu since last one year. He has seen the extreme winters (-30 degrees), the summer, the autumn. Played cricket, volleyball and other games. Visited Switzerland, Germany, Paris and Amsterdam. During his stay i have seem him get happy, angry and all the other emotions that teenage boys go through.

But earlier this month, this dude went back to India and got engaged. And after he came back, we all have seen such change in him. He is just so Happy!!! Would like to wish him a hearty congrats for his life ahead. When he went back, he has experienced many miracles and adventures. He tells us that the formula to his success statements are: No Matter What. You Gone Mad or What. At the Worst what Happens....Nothing Happens. (Those who were here in Oulu on they will understand this ;) ).

Congrats to him once again. His name by the way is Sheshukumar Cherukuri. Do mail him and write to him at seshucherukuri@gmail.com.

Tasty Surprise

I had been to Switzerland and Germany two weeks back. Both places are simply awesome with their own natural beauty, culture, tradition and people. Well, i am not going to give a detail explanation about my trip in this blog............may be some other time. But will share regarding the lovely food we had in Switzerland.

As we all know, Swiss is a place of high hills and valleys. (and lots and lots of cows. the ratio of cows to people living there is 3:1). The peak parts of Alps range is also in Swiss. So my friends and me decided to visit a peak Mount Titlis. Its at a height of 3100 m above sea level. And tourists are taken to the top via a cable car that takes 45 minutes.

When we reached at the base of Mt. Titlis we were excited to see the natural beauty around. High mountains with their peaks covered in snow. Clicked many pictures there. Before boarding the cable car, we decided to eat some stuff so that we won't get hungry later on. Now eating outside in Europe is a big trouble if your an Indian.........and even more trouble if your a Veggie Indian :). We spotted a take away joint near the base. Hoping that it served good food, we rushed towards it.

And to our delight........guess what it turned out to be. It was an Indian food stall.......yieppe!!!
And to top it all...........our Indian flag was hoisted there too. Well........it is so true.........we Indians have our presence everywhere...........even in the high Alps. The stall attendent was a noble man from Rajesthan but living in Switzerland for the past 30 years. When we looked at the menu............we were even more thrilled. They served Vada Pav, Idli, Pav Bhaji........and even Gajjar ka Halwa :) . We ordered all of them. And i ate it as if it was my last meal ;). I had not eaten these items for the past 11 months since my stay in Finland. So it was a treat for me.

aaaaahhhhh.........I just cant imagine life without vada pav....... ;) (pun intended!!!)

Control + Alt + Delete !!!

Computers have become a very essential part of our lives. And software engineers eat, drink and sleep computers. So much so that we sometimes talk in computer language.

For instance, two days ago my team mate was searching for his pen that he had misplaced in the office. So i go upto him and say... "Dude, do a Control F" (Ctrl+F ....command to search for a file on a Comp) .... ;).

And its not just me, people all around speak in similar lingo. If someone needs help.........he/she will say "F1......F1...." :). The picture that i have attached below shows another commonly used computer command.........used as a lingo..........with a simple yet effective meaning ;) .

If you find similar lingos...........then do post them in the comments section. Have a Great Day/Night ;)

Obama or McCain ?

Who should be the next president of USA? Well, only the people of USA can decide that :). The two presidential candidates are Barack Obama and John McCain. One of these will be replacing George Bush. Barack Obama represents the democratic party and John McCain represents the republican party. (McCain belongs to the same party as that of George Bush). The next president of USA will be declared in January 2009.............but the entire world is keeping itself updated about the proceedings.

Some of us may think, how does it matter to us who the next president of USA is? Well, it does matter a bit...........only a bit. Anyways, its the American peoples choice, and let them decide whats best for them. But what i liked the most is the method of electing a President in USA. You see, when the candidates are nominated for the post of president, they have to provide a full proof plan as to how they are going to sort out the various issues of the country. This includes education, health care, border security, taxation and other such issues.

Then they have to participate in a series of debates, that will be held by a chairperson and the entire debate will be viewed by the common people on TV. This helps them to decide whom they are going to cast their vote for. I seen the last presidential debate between Obama and McCain on youtube. And boy its a treat to watch it. The chairperson asks them such tough and direct questions. Both candidates had to talk on issues (as to how would they solve it if they were elected president) regarding the current fall in American economy, the War on Iraq, the relationships with Iran etc. Its not just that they had to say they would solve the countries problems, they have to present a detail roadmap with facts and figures.

On one occasion, both candidates had to talk about how they are going to solve the economic crises of the America. Both spoke for a while in highly technical terms. And after they had finished speaking, the chairperson points a figure at them and says "I haven't understood a single thing what you just said. It all seems a crap to me". (Imagine someone saying that to you in a debate. You had to change the method of explanation then right) Thats how tough the debates are. Poori tarah se nanga kardeta hain (It projects what plans your going to execute).

I wish even we could have such events during our Presidential or Prime Minister elections so that the common man can decide easily and be clear as to whom he/she will be voting.

But whoever becomes the next president of USA, one thing is for sure........more wars!!! Obama however says that he would remove the troops from Iraq and focus more on the terrorists that Pakistan is supporting. McCain on the other hand says that if he is the president then he will continue this war on Iraq.

I think this...........McCain is a photocopy of Bush. Obama seems more practical and tough. I would go for Obama.