I was recently in the US of A and had the privilege of travelling in a BMW. I forget the model. My friend, the owner of the car, was more than proud to give me a demo of all the features that came with the car; the biometrics that identified his finger prints and allowed him access to the wheel without him having unlock the central locking system, the plush leather interiors and a matching dashboard, the cool music system inside and of course what I liked the most, "A bluetooth integration between his cell phone and the car's sound system". I found that the most practical and a feature worth the money. He could pick up the phone at the press of a button and the car's speakers doubled in as a speaker phone system for uninterrupted driving and talking You get fined in Bangalore if you are seen talking on your cell phone while driving.
A few days back, I was driving with a friend in Bangalore in his at least 3 year old Ford Ikon. We were listening to "Radio City", a FM Radio station that is quite popular. Suddenly I heard his cell phone ring in FULL BLAST! He reduced the volume and pressed a button beside his steering wheel. Viola! the feature in an EXPENSIVE BMW seen a few weeks back in USA was also in a very ordinary Ford Ikon in Namma Bengaluru.
I waited for his conversasion to complete and asked him about this. He said, "Idhella yeno, JC road ge hogi muru nalku savira kotre, nalku gante li fit madi kodthare. Bluetooth enabled phone irbeku ashte". (This is nothing, just go the JC road, pay three to four thousand Rupees and give those guys 4 hours for the job. All you need is a bluetooth enabled cell phone).
Lately I got a lot of free time and this phase of "not too occupied @ work" phase will last at least another month or two (hopefully). So I got back to what I used to do.... spend time out-doors :D
Last weekend I joined a group of people who were going to Kemmangundi on a trek. It was a good mix of people. Two germans, a bunch of 6-7 freshers with around 1 years experience, 3 families (just the husband and wife, 20 somethings and one 30 something with his wife and 4 year year old daughter), bunch of 2 people from 3 different companies and I. We were around 22 in all :-)
I discovered something amazing while on this trip... remember the steep climb where we had to hold on to trees to keep us from falling (reference to an earlier visit to the same place)... I did that climb in 12 mins flat!! which means I am still fit for all my outdoor activities, but I am at my unhealthiest best right now ;-) I had peaked at 91 kgs 2 months back (my all-time high ever) and Its been a while since I did any regular exercises. But I am working on it! I want to reach my healthy 75 kgs within the next two years.
I have posted photos of the trek online... please visit
http://chetugktravel.fotopic.net
I also lately got inspired from friends online and felt there is quite a lot of positive energy on the online communities. I have created an account on orkut too.... I am putting up my work with my camera on the web and the colection is growing !! I have already received fan mails :D Please visit
http://chetugk.fotopic.net
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energeticIt has been a while since I spent time doing stuff out-side the concrete enclosures called "Apis". Lately, I sensed a whiff of positive energy that encouraged me to "Just Do It!" and the result is this LiveJournal Account.
I will now do something out of the office just to ensure I update this space often :-)
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cheerful