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F1 weekend (2009)

Last weekend Singapore's had its second season of Formula 1 final race. Got the Singapore flyer corporate ticket which included boat ride to flyer from clarke quay, a ride in the flyer and entry to F1 viewing ground. I've boarded the flyer minutes before the race and could have amazing view of the start of race from pole position, a major part of track was visible with good view of the race. After the flyer ride watched the race to the end sitting near an open air bar.



The cars were moving fast enough that a still couldn't be captured. A video did help.

Cambodia Trip

Click here to view my trip to Siem Reap

Birthday Bash

Thanks to No5 staff and all drinking buddies for the birthday treat. Victor got this tower on fire drink (dunno its name) which I had to had without wasting a drop. This almost knocked me off.





From left Augustine, me, Heather, Victor, Sashi.







Lisa birthday falls on next day and she had her celebration aswell.




Drunk Donald took the pictures, I found 128 pics in my camera most of it being people feet, butts and other body parts. Check the below video for more pictures.

Jas's Innovations

Jas(left) launched an amazing breath thermometer called x-halo that predicts respiratory problems such as asthma, click here for more information. People with respiratory problems can analyse their condition in advance and take preventive measures.

Not just with business he also gets creative in the bar that lead to a new vodka, soda and a lime recipe which got popular as 'jas drink'.

My Birth Place

Thanks to whoever wrote this article on Wikimapia with google earth view exactly locating my grandfather's home (his name shown in the yellow box in the pic) where I was born. Click here to read more.

Jakarta Uppercover

I have arrived Jakarta,Indonesia last saturday for a week official visit. Large crowds, heavy traffic, pollution seemingly like yet an other Indian city confined majority of my time to hotel and office. The pool side bar on seventh floor of hotel (Hotel Ciputra) was a welcoming relief serving local Bintang beer and food.

Iam now in love with Indonesian food. This was my first lunch on the right called 'Soto ambengan sate' combo, that came with few chicken sate sticks, rice and chicken soup that appeared to be like a bowl of vomit. The menu has long indonesian names and if lucky carries an english description, Example : "Campuran sayuran rebus rasa kari dengan tahu jepang dan disajikan dengan nasi putih", meaning "mixed vegetables and tofu curry with rice".

Sarah and I met last night for an after office drinks at a cozy joint called Bricks at Plaza Semanggi, she now lives in Jakarta and started up with a business. We couldn't do our usual Singapore kind binge and had to retire soon as both had a tired day at work and today being a working day too.

Indian Premier League - Cricket

Now can watch IPL cricket on Cricket Extra channel in Singapore (Channel 111). This has been so addictive that keeps me awake till 2am in the morning. IPL Twenty20cricket is a new format of cricket in India played with eight teams each representing a major city in India. The team combination comprises of Indian and foreign players (to a max of four). Since I hail from Hyderabad, Iam cheering for Hyderabad Deccan Chargers, but sadly things aren't yet going well for them.

Olive Tatham...

Congrats to Phil and Sandy on birth of their baby girl 'Olive'. Olive was born on 22nd April, Click Here to visit Phil's new website for more baby pics...

Going to the Moon - Rising to new heights

Sorry it just my name. NASA is launching Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter which lets people have their names on a microchip embedded in the spacecraft that would orbit moon for years to come. Click Here if you would like to join, and what does this get me : Well just to say hello to the alien beings or let NASA know that Iam a fan of their projects.

bar blogging

This really is a test,

am using a cool jailbroken unlocked iPhone gifted by Hema, orchard now has a free wifi and this is a test blog after queing up few bloody Mary's at no5 emerald hill bar, my local hangout at Singapore. Huh upload image doesn't work and the phone hangs up once a while and I got had hard time recovering it.

Ashok - The Dad...

Congratulations to Ashok and Anita on birth of their baby girl Anushka. Click here for more snaps of Anushka.

Fray's Video

Clipping of Fray (introduced below)

Fray

Hema adopts Fray who is now eight months old and is a Labrador bitch. Fray's takes pride at its body to be both black and white as it prevents her from any racist slur in the US. She is now a busy host to my dad who is on visit to Hema's home. Labrador Retriever breed is known to be exceptionally affable, intelligent, energetic and good natured making them excellent companions and working dogs if properly trained. They are also known to enjoy water as historically they were trained to be used in water fowl hunting. They respond well to praise and positive attention.
One of the Labs in England earned significant news coverage for rescuing its unconscious owner by placing him in recovery position and thrusting the cell phone to call emergency services without any prior training. They are also good guide and helping dogs and I wish I had one when I was in crutches and immobile on bed.

Update : Canine expert Phil raised doubts on Fray being a pure lab as labs come in yellow, brown and black. Hema was unsure too and said the seller said its lab whereas the doctor report reads it as mixed spaniel. After some research on the web I found out its a cross between Labrador Retriever and American Cocker Spaniel which is common across US.Click here to find Fray's look-alikes (scroll down), these are also known as Spanadors.

Bar Fridge...

Unable to withstand the stink and overload of the two big in-house refrigerators, was compelled to buy this smaller ones that is ideal to fit my room and store stuff in small quantities.It has a Can server to hold few cans of beers that can give my room a smoke filled pub atmosphere. Its required as pubs now smell like roses with smoking ban..As an inaugural use its just stuffed with soya juice, diet-coke, yogurt for hangover cure, milk and apples.

Celebrity Look Alikes...

Found this feature offered from a website on sarah's blog..seems total crappy algorithm that matches facial features...anyway no harm to try for a laugh...

http://www.myheritage.com

my look alikes - Silvister Stallone (54%), Jean-Luc Godard (54%),Ritche Valens(50%), Tommy Lee Jones (48%)..

http://www.myheritage.com

Phil's look alikes - Adam Sandler (67%), Luke Wilson (59%), Paul Hindemith (55%),
Gerald Butler (53%)

http://www.myheritage.com

Sandy's matches look better..matched mostly to oriental celebrities...Kim Hee Sun(62%),Portia (78%), Song Hye Koo (78%), Sammi Cheng(68%)

http://www.myheritage.com

Kevin Kline(61%), Giovanni Fulcone(64%), Tom Sizemore(61%), Albert Einstein(59) - Did it match to Einstein's brain too??
Tried Andy's pic as well but the software errored out saying cannot recognise facial features in his picture...used the one "drunk with mustaches" on Phil's blog.

Hema's Home

Hema's house pics at NewJersy, the google earth view is seen in one of the below posts.

The front door...looks similar to 10 downing street, except for the colour.

view of the house with the pool.

Usually the pool is emptied and dried before she steps in for a swim. Heard the deepest point is 9ft and its just 6ft at the public swimming pool I go over at Topayoh(Singapore)...who cares as long as you can swim
A chandelier perhaps in the hall.

One of the bed rooms.

Kitchen where no chicken is scared off..well only veggies are cooked here...

A lawn on the side.

A river in the front (guess its named South River)..not sure if you can go fishing or take a yacht. It merges at the ocean on US east coast as seen on google earth.

Livestock and Fowl Catastrophe

Alarmed with the ecological imbalance caused by the reduction of livestock and fowl,it was suspected the cause could be bird flu or mad cow disease. Surprisingly, the carcasses of the animals was also missing, The authorities then decided to survey the earth with help of NASA satellites and finally found the missing livestock.The above picture is bird eye view of the reason of missing live stock and fowl,click here to view this year plus of kitchen diaries and pictures of missing live stock...Also the recent raise in GST is attributable to the fact of this increased demand..Lucky Iam mostly vegetarian and can substitute potato for pork, beans for beef etc and use my buddies recipes..However this is good news for livestock and poultry farmers across the globe and they are so happy to honour this man with the title "Mr.Epicure".

Darshen's and Jaggu's Wedding

Congratulations to Darshen and Jaggu on their marriage. Darshen weds Jaggu last month in Malaysia and moved to Hongkong.Click here for the wedding blog.The sword is given to the groom to defend against the wife...

Google Earth

My present home, just jump on the top and climb down three floors, you would find me there. The green right side of it is where my neighbour, the president of Singapore lives(offical home called Istana). Well, by now my repute would have gone up as his neighbour.

Present home at Hyderabad..

School days home, almost spent 13 years..The ground before it is where I used to play cricket, gilli danda, marbles and kabbadi.

Well we lived in suburbs and it doesn't seem dense, this is how a part of Hyderabad looks like...more populated to Singapore.

Hema's home at New Jersy..I've never been here but figured out by her directions over phone...genius me...

A coastal region of Andhra Pradesh where I was born in a village which is not possible to locate. Perhaps google just mapped to towns and cities and haven't gone much extent.

Dad's side ancestors lived here. The place on pic 'Tangtur' is where our centuries back ancestral home. Well a castle to our standards, I remember being able to view it 5kms apart travelling in a bullock cart..perhaps wrong as I can't validate my childhood memories. I used to visit a village (where our farms are located)during summer vacation and stayed in ancestral dwelling (looks like hut) sarrounded with green fields and hills. With absence of electricity at home slept outside on a charpoy with loud orchestra of mosquitoes, losing quite a bit of blood by the morning. My initial swimming lesson was in a farmwell by a farmer and guess what was my floating device??...a dried pumpkin chorded with some kind of weeds tied to my waist...Should have been safer to a swimming pool tube..and sometimes I had to enter the water with just a rope tied to the waist with a guy holding the other end standing on steps..great crude way to be trained..

Caught in the clutches of crutches

We had a team outing with lunch at Marche (Vivocity) followed by Cricket at Sentosa Island. Huh!! what an idea to play cricket on sand where a ball doesn't rise. A collegue planted stumps on the beach and the fifteen years back bowler in me rose up and hurled to fast bowl resulting in twisting my right leg followed with a great fall. I barely could stand after that and was in pain, I was lifted by the Beach Patrol in their buggy given first aid and later my boss dropped me at Alexandra hospital. Lucky there weren't any bone fractures seen in the X-Ray, its only the muscle sprain and was put on crutches and medication. Hope to get well for the weekend binge.

Update : Its been 10days now and Iam happy I don't need the crutches but still got stiffness and soreness in the knee. The doc who diognised didn't say anything about rehabilitation. I had to google and find out more about it, I figured out its the lateral collateral ligament tear and found some excersises for faster recovery.
Painful experiences - The pedestrain traffic light countdown ends and Iam just half way through, thanks to Singaporean drivers who wait for me to pass...A cab waiting nearby and Iam not quick enough to catch...eating mostly home deliveries...cute gals offer help at the bar and I feel myself wimpy n limpy with crutches and pain...had to be extremely careful to enter the bath tub for a shower...while in the mall a caution sign saying "wet floor" sends shivers up my spine...boredom and fatigue due to too much rest...

And watched this motivational video...

Cinco De Mayo Dance Fiesta

Started to blog again after hibernating for months. May 5th marks this mexican celebration, heard its a minor holiday in Mexico but used as a major event to promote Mexican stuff in other countries.

Had sauza shots..that tasted like cough medicine and I remember I dropped one shooter and a bottle of beer on the ground...

Later in the night the percussionists arrive followed by dance..It lasted just for five minutes for hours of drinking.

SEP-OCT Highlights..

OCT
Theatre
ZEE Nite : Indian musical and dance show organised by zee tv at esplanade.
Movies
The Departed, World trade center
Bike driving license
Now can ride a bike in singapore, just got converted using indian ones.
SEP
Theatre
Dance me to the end of love, Joyce took me to this show which is a play cum dance based on novel Siddartha (by Herman Hesse) and songs by Leonard Cohen. (15th sep)
Movies
Devil wears Prada

Anna's Farewell...

Andy struggling to fight a 24year old at cablecar.

Phil, Anna, Me and Yuli at Subzero Eski bar with Anna emptying stocks of Singapore sling.

A sozzled me accompanying her to airport for a safe flight.

Oyster Feast

With flatmates Anna and Uyuli at Maple leaf on upper Bukit Timah road. The bar serves free flow of oysters every tuesday. Me being a chicki-terian confined myself to french fries.

Both the ladies greedily ate few dozen oysters and fell sick.

August 08 Highlights..

Movies Watched
Click Another comedy of Adam Sandler whoz life takes several twists after he acquires a universal remote control.
The fast and the furious - Tokyo Drift An adrenaline inducing car racing movie built on speed.
Hot Candy A psychological thriller showing a teenage girl trapping her captive pheodophile who meet on an internet chat room.
My Super Ex GirlfriendA comedy where Luke Wilson's life becomes miserable due to his overly possesive newly found girl friend (Uma thurman as G-girl) who has special powers.

July 08 Highlights..

Movies Watched
Basic Instinct 2, The pirates of the carribean - dead man's chest, Nacho Libre, How much do you love me (A crap french movie), Now and forever (Korean)

Theatre
The Dresser : Ming and I went to this play wherein Catch stage powerhouses Adrian Pang and Michael Corbidge celebrates the universal themes of true friendship and unwavering loyalty.

Landmark Forum
Attended the three day advanced landmark forum course.

Sports
In cricket India wins the test series against Westindies by 1-0. The soccer worldcup comes to an end with Italy winning the cup.

New Home...

Moved to new home start of july, its much spacious and more comfortable.

TV and wardrobe on the right corner and an aircon to keep me cool.

A queen side bed without a queen. Got pale yellow coloured curtains and matching bed sheets. The blanket on the bed is one I brought a year back and has a top side made of leather, need it as I turn my aircon and fan on to experience syberian chillness.

A bathtub to have a relaxing dip for few hours with beer and music. The whole bathroom is dark blue and has a window on the right for peeping babes in neighbouring highrise apartments.

Crash

Hema crashes her mercedes onto another speeding car and was awarded a ticket by the police. After the crash the safety bag on the passenger side got activated and not on her side, wonder how it works. The insurance company covers all damages and the pic above is from their website.

June 06 Highlights

Movies watched
She is the man, Slither (bloody growse), Road to Guantanamo, Love my luck

Landmark Forum
Attended the three day landmark forum course (9-11th) about living extraordinary lives, Though the course was from morning to midnight, It was the best weekend I felt I ever had. I see many having breakdowns and breakthroughs, not me though - tough guy..I have also signed up for the seminar series and also advanced course next month.

Sports
Its football worldcup season and the battle is still on. Though I have no one to cheer for, I like the spirit of the game.
In cricket India seemed to have come back after a bad defeat in ODI's by performing well in the test matches, three out of four were drawn (couldn't win 2nd one due to rain).

Driving License
Hahaha..could get Singapore driving license with such a ease, just had to clear a theory test and immediately got the license. The whole process took less than an hour. So cleared my first step for my future travel plans and long drives.

Grandma's Love

Yet another poem, perhaps worth the story line but not poetic skills..written on 15th May 2006

Grandma's Love

In her eighties night when the stars still twinkle
The bright moon light shines up her wrinkles
The life is fading fast as sweet memories awaken
Its her only treasure that can never be taken..

The little girl lies aside resting her head on her lap
Finding abundance of warmth as she takes a nap
She wakes up to ask to ease her anguish
The matters of heart that caused pain and languish


She looks deep in her eyes with love and smile
speaking in a kind voice recalling moments of youth during that while
Her heart wavering if it was melting for the right soul
and tells her to trust her heart even if the mind takes a toll

A young man failing to find a way to my heart
conveys his feelings to throw his misery miles apart
thats when I felt he is the one who deserved my love
when my heart and mind surrendered to its power all above

Have I given up my sweet little girl
thoughts caught in pool of whirl
We wouldn't have been talking about love, my lad
cause that young man is none other but your grand dad.

Pirates of the Carribean...

The Curse Of the Burning Bum

Ashok navigating the yacht in his new role as a pirate. He sets on voyage over seas, looting treasure and fighting.

During one of the wars the enemies fire blazing arrows at him and his arse catches fire. But a courageous Ashok still smiles as he soothes his bum on a ice block.

After having acquired treasure in his voyage he now hides in a cave with his wife Anita and has a Lion as guard.

MAY - Pastime...

Having in mind a blog depicts what on with your life, it does seem its stagnating if there are no new posts. So thought of writing a monthly leisure activities list..The one in May follows..

Movies Watched
---------------
Mission Impossible - 3, Posiedon, Da-Vinci-Code, Grandma's Boy.

Theatre
--------
Krishnan's Diary - A one man show by Jacob kept us spellbound with his great skill of playing different characters by switching masks. One just can't feel that its one person performing.

Seminar
--------
On Ming's invitatoin I have attended a introduction by landmark forum about living extraordinary lives, I was touched after hearing some of the older participants speak in how it improved their quality of life. Though its expensive enough (S$700), I have signed up for the course of 9,10,11 June.

Books
-----
Though I have been occupied with my technical books till now, I suddenly took a twist to read some non-fiction stuff...will be more regular now on..

a) Men are from mars women are from venus
Written by John Gray a relationship expert shows amazing differences in how men and women are different, the reason for conflicts arising between them and overall how a relationship can be improved between the two opposite sexes.

b) Richard Branson autobiography
Thanks to Joyce for this B'day gift, Its such a great great book about life of Richard Branson. Its inspiring to read his balloon adventures and how he has rose as a top entrepreneur in his venture for virgin group of companies.

Sports
------
Not a good news!! India lost a cricket ODI series to WestIndies, seems the team just couldn't handle pitches different from sub-continent. Its not possible to watch matches over TV here in Singapore, only way is to follow score on internet.

School Buddies

I registered myself on batchmates.com and had a reply from Pravin my classmate and friend in school. He is a psycrastrist based at Sydney at present.

Thanks to Pravin for sending the picture of class X (1988), St.Anthony's High School, Hyderabad. I had difficulty in recognising myself. Email me if you could recognise.

Pravin is the third from left, the second being Ganesh,its sad that I heard on national TV a decade back that he was murdered under mysterious circumstances in his university at Coimbatore.