MEINE CORNER IN THE BLOG WORLD!

Past few months were very tight -  trips to India and pressure to finish up with examinations by 2011 along with work! Result was a big sacrifice of social life, long days, bigger dark circles, swollen feet, mosquito bites; but ended up having a great time with family, my sister in law's wedding was the biggest ocassion & got to finally meet my niece and celebrate her 1st birthday! can't believe she's completed a year - i think it was just the other day that my sister had delievered her! As we step into a new decade, I am trying to form my goals and objectives for the year....I have to say I'm pretty impressed with accomplishing 2010 goals! - Attempted and passed all CPA exams! - Back to yoga classes ! - Visited sister and parents - stayed a few days with them! - Did my annual med check-ups - drinking more water each day as well The only thing I did not get to was taking some Spanish language classes. let's hope I get to that some day. In 2011, I defi...

From the dull, dark evening to bright, fun evening - this is my biggest reason to love Daylight savings. Even if its 6pm, it feels like there's a lot more that could be achieved before dinner time. Dogs playing catch with their owners, kids running around , some getting their bicycle lessons and mothers strolling with their babies in the pram. Ofcourse some couples making use of the pretty day. I must admit, after walking down the park that was deserted for months together, today was such a treat for the eyes!! Not sure if the cold, wet days are over, but I am eager to welcome the sunny days ahead with longer day time, more energy and pack the jackets/sweaters back in the cases! Welcome Spring!!

The following article was sent to me via email, its a great read - well done business analysis; This is written by Dr. Y. L. R. Moorthi is a professor at the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. He is an M.Tech from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and a post graduate in management from IIM, Bangalore. Who sells the largest number of cameras in India? Your guess is likely to be Sony, Canon or Nikon. Answer is none of the above. The winner is Nokia whose main line of business in India is not cameras but cell phones. Reason being cameras bundled with cellphones are outselling stand alone cameras. Now, what prevents the cellphone from replacing the camera outright? Nothing at all. One can only hope the Sonys and Canons are taking note. Try this. Who is the biggest in music business in India? You think it is HMV Sa-Re-Ga-Ma? Sorry. The answer is Airtel. By selling caller tunes (that play for 30 seconds) Airtel makes more than what music companies make by sellin...

Dec 11th, 2009 is marked for life. The date will be special from here on with the arrival of a sweet little one in our family, my niece. I am thrilled to bits and been excited ever since I heard the news. I am yet to see the new bundle of joy and can't wait for an opportunity to see her! I have now been promoted to an Aunt in the family! Its amazing how these moments fill us up with high spirits, joy and hope!  I am wishing the new angel the very best and a wonderful parenthood to my sis & bro. May God Bless!

You might have noticed how some companies are doing exceptionally well inspite of the Recession, even though the claim to Recovery has already begun - 1 of them is Apple for sure. Apple first convinced the crowd with their ipods and once they got fancy with that, iphones were born. Now that Apple loves the population for loving their product, they are going for the Mac! Talk about market penetration through brand value. Windows seems like this big giant right now, overshadowing what any other OS can actually offer the users and looks like the best time Mac is coming in. If I am given a choice I'll probably jump at the Mac offer!  Seen this ad ? On the other hand this worries me. Cos if the craze of Mac over PC catches on, that would mean lack of knowledge of Mac programs and also transition time. Could be fun, but not for many. The other company to watch out for is Google with their Droid phone! we'll just have to wait and see if the population decides to change ...

I completely missed out mentioning that I had taken up Bikram yoga classes in the past 2-3 months and that was another reason why I have been so busy...to be specific I spent close to 90 hrs in these yoga classes in 2+ months! The first few sessions were crazy tiring but eventually I did love it ! especially that feeling after having stretched every part of me! Bikram yoga is really a test of endurance in terms of patience, the concentration, determination, confidence it takes and what not ! Its a must try and if you can stick to it, its something for life. This form of yoga claims to have changed lives - both physically and psychologically. Here's the link http://www.bikramyogasanjose.com/ to the center I went to. There's also controversy regarding this form of yoga as the founder has copyrighted "Bikram Yoga" method; http://daily-yoga.org/bikram-yoga-controversy/ All I want to say is any exercise is good for me and Bikram yoga is definitely not bad at all!

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/mostadmired/2009/snapshots/11464.html This is some good news for the day, amongst all the sad, disheartening economy and finance news that I am quite exhausted listening to... ugh,wish you a good day!

Today was the big day, the Inaugural function of Barack Obama, 44 th President of USA. America creates a history with its first ever African-American President. While watching him take the oath and his inaugural speech , it was exciting and hopeful. No matter what the doubts are in his abilities or rather results during his 4-year term, I just cannot imagine any other candidate who would have turned President with such inspiring words and a drive to re-make and re-build the country. I won't be pessimistic right now inspite of the weakening economy, I will give the new President his chance to work towards fulfilling his promises and hopefully find economy back in shape not too far from now!

Ever wondered how when that long, winding tunnel comes to end, how things change for you? quickly, at a speed unimaginable! That's where I am right now.. The day I awaited finally dawned and with God's grace things are falling into place.. So all this while I as stuck at home - frustrated with the situation n the helplessness of it.I can imagine how sad some of my posts were when some days were horribly hard! When I was finally approved to work, I got an offer that was good enough to begin with, temporary though, glad that I am occupied..that's all I wanted and guess what....on my 1st day at work, I am first asked to help an older guy who is so much fun and might have a spirit even higher than me-inspite of his disability and senior age he continues to work and is filled with bountiful talk! then sometime later non other than the latest olympics champ makes a visit ! Hard to believe? Well, same here! More than anything else, I value this work opportunity and I am really tou...

In a recent trip to Wisconsin to meet cousins, we made a day's trip to Chicago as well , this city was beautiful. I loved the architecture, lake front, the fresh young feeling of the downtown. We went to the Hancock observatory, Navy Pier,a ride on the Ferris wheel, visited the memorial park that has the Cloud, the Buckingham memorial fountain, lunch at Taste of Chicago,took the architectural boat tour on the chicago river and visited the Devon street. The Devon street had representation of most Asian countries, the Indian grocery there was the closest to the ones back home. they had home made pickles which was the best part! We watched the fireworks by the Navy Pier before leaving that night. Ask anything different and new in architecture, I am guessing you will find them in Chicago - not just tall, there's most shapes out there! Overall Chicago was impressive - fun, modern and vibrant!! Alternative title : Chic Chicago!

I got this article at Rediff. People view our country as poor, dirty and what not. Its now raining millionaires! The living standards have immensly improved and the middle class are having a pretty smooth life. It feels so good to note this piece of information. Ofcourse there is a growing gap between the "richer" and "poorer", but this is a fact world over.

I caught this movie last night and I must admit, it was full of fresh fun....I feel after a long time I saw a Bollywood movie that was light in all senses. It really has no new story nor attempts to make a big difference to Bollywood love stories. But the entire delivery of the movie is what makes the movie stand out.All the actors are pleasing and their characters well defined, be it the friends, parents and brother. The movie overall reminds you of your college times and the fun of teenage years... I loved the music specially "Nazrein milana" in the movie.Other songs blend well with the flow of the movie...The movie revolves around denial of love between Jai and Aditi and claim to be just "FRIENDS", of course realization takes time. The scenes showing the contrast of calm Jai compared to a easily violent Aditi have been enjoyable.Some attempts of comedy by Sohail and Arbaaz Khan , I couldn't really enjoy. Besides that all other comedy were more or less accepta...

I got home from a "Boot camp" class last week. I am not sure how many of you have ever been to one, but the experience is refreshing! Firstly we were outdoors in a nice open space near the pool with curious ducks that watched us more than any others! :)The warm ups were to run from one end to another, touch a tree and return! Then we were made into groups of 3. A set does abs, while the others do biceps, yet another group does lunges. All this for a minute and then we rotate! In the end we were asked to go in pairs, do the jumping jack and get back to place at the other end. After stretches, we are all set to head back home.(phew!) The beginning was hard but then you want to keep up with it and while in groups its always more encouraging. It was fun, I felt like a child running in the open ground and was reminded me of Physical training classes at school. I always liked teams, groups and this one specially where it doesn’t matter who you are. You meet a random group, one minu...

To begin with, animated movies have mostly been impressive,specially the Pixar ones are out of this world.The new addition to such creativity is Ratatouille!I guess I am late in viewing this movie, but nevertheless, here's what i want to review this flick as.... The protagonist is Remy ,a young rat, who desires more than a rat's life.He doesn't believe in "stealing" food from garbage, he desires sensible food like the humans...Remy apparently likes humans, learns to read,wants to walk on just 2 legs and manages to watch some TV....it is thru a cookery show where Remy learns about cook Gusteau and earns his inspiration to become a cook! Circumstances take Remy to Paris and to his delight to "Gusteau's Bistro". Remy can't resist to apply his cooking skills on a soup and the credit falls on Linguini, the garbage boy.It soon turns out that they become best of friends, Linguini is promoted to cook and while Linguini is hopeless at cooking, Remy instru...

Big Sur ,Santa Barbara and Solvang were our choices for a 2-day break during Thanksgiving holidays....Beautiful beyond words, you drive along the rocky coastline, the lovely Pacific , roads through mountains- very green adventure this time... We stopped at Carmel and Pfieffer beaches,the popular Rocky and Bixby bridges, many vista points in Big Sur - Freeway1 was just too good! We reached Santa Barbara by evening and by the time we pulled up some energy , it was time for dinner and decided to take a walk by the Stearns Wharf.they have a Flag project there, a sand sculpture had been done, the breeze is very chilly ,but the board walk is great in the day time.State Street is the highlight of the downtown, lit up for Thanksgiving and Christmas, its a pretty sight in the evenings! The following day we visited the Historic museum which is a decent overview of their barbaric forefathers, marine,mammal,plant life besides an astronomy center.We drove to Solvang , known as the Danish capita...

1st Sunday of November, the clocks moved 1 hour backward and the feeling is just great...like you are granted an extra hour and tested as to how you use it! this is the first time i am experiencing a time change and having slept till 10.30 i was guessing this sunday should be as lazy and eventless as usual...but i couldnt contain my excitement when i checked the time and it showed just 9.30, to add to it was the bright sun lighting up the mood , a long due hike was to be put into action ! :-) Mission peak was the nearest one and challenging enough for a first-timer like me. I was impressed by the crowd that hikes, specially kids who were at ease...i found the first half of the climb more challenging, getting used to the slopes- there are just about 4 resting spots in the entire climb and they are great to enjoy the view! Once at the peak, it gives you the "I am on top of the world" feeling...the salt marshlands can clearly be seen in white from that height and a lovely view o...

However sad this might sound, I had to put this thought down my blog....Halloween is today but we got "BOOO-ed" last night itself...it was a mutual feeling among most in San Francisco bay area! Mother Nature was the originator and she brought us an earth quake,a comparitively mild one of 5.6 according to Richter scale ! A little after 8pm, I was still tryin to finish my cooking and suddenly I felt a shake initially thought it was something to do with the above floor and then when it continued, I realised it was a quake ,atleast a tremor....that moment I was panicking, I didnt know if it was right to be inside, run out or look for the keys or take my mobile with me....it was my first ever experience! I must say inspite of the shake I saw , hardly anything was damaged and most of the things were still in place...anyways I managed to step out n speak to my neighbours and since I was alone, they could see the fear in me! one of them started speaking about a similar experience a f...

Set between the Redwood Forests of Santa Cruz, lies a mystery spot, where scientific theories of gravity and laws of physics fail to explain, where a permanently tilted home manages to stay on for years together cos of an unknown reason. As you climb up the hill you feel more than gravity pulling you away from the hill, as you enter the home, the force is even more stronger to fight against...its really strange out there! There is a pendulum set inside the house and instead of moving equal directions, you find it swinging more away from the house.You stand straight against the house, but you are tiled - now that can be optical illusion, since you are on a hill and a tilted house...there are points where I appear taller than I am and sometimes shorted than I am. Though we may call it magnetic force of some kind, the guides claim the magnetic compass does not work up there. Mobile phones are dead up there, what seems to be level to the eye, is not really level when you are experimenting....

The movie was a last minute plan for me last Saturday. Featuring George Clooney, the movie boasts classic acting, good dialogues and lives up to the drama cum thriller theme.... I was initially lost about the plot, cos all I could make out was the protagonist "a fixer" is a success as far as his company is concerned, but his personal traits that lets him down as to what he has become, sometimes reminded by his intelligent son. Broke and unhappy about himself, the man is completely committed to his employer. Once we understand the protagonist, we begin to sympathize with him due to unpleasant situations he goes through, day in and day out. He finally has to deal with one of the best lawyer colleague stuck in a mental trauma,Arthur Edens. This time instead of "fixing" the case,Clayton solves it, thus unwrapping the genuine plead of the unstable but brilliant lawyer. The movie grips your attention as it progresses, this flick is slow but watchable.

I have been occupied with something or the other and didnt really get a chance to blog. Since my hubby's bday was coming up at the start of this month, I wanted to complete stitching a kit. I had begun quite lazily on it, but managed to spend hours together every day and complete it on his birthday. I made some brownies too as a gift, but I somehow wasnt too impressed with the results. I imagined the brownies more softer than it turned out, anyways, since there were no complaints, i guess perfection shud be aimed for the next trial. We had amazing dinner for his bday at a new place called "temptations" at downtown famous for indo-chinese fusion, the food was yum and the gobi manchurian was the best I have had in ages...it was just too good! Besides that I am volunteering at ICC, a fun place and a pleasant lady to work with. My new adventure has been the VTA buses great timings n quite close to my points of stop. I once got a free ride since the bus was empty and I guess I...