Journey Back Home

The return home is always something very special and after every trip you just wish to be back home and same was the case with me. However, I still had to make my way to my cozy spacebox from Schipol in the early hours of the day.

While I waited for my baggage to arrive, I recalled my journey from Delhi airport to Schipol. The Delhi Airport has to be by far the best airport I have seen and trust me it is a very proud moment for an Indian who says this after having seen the Amsterdam, Paris, Dubai, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysian airport :P

While it was technologically advanced as per international standards, they had a huge wall with different hand mudras on it. It simply made my heart leap and my eyes tear :) I was so glad that we had finally learnt to combine and showcase our heritage with modern advancements. Moreover, it was really a proud moment when I heard the ground staff using Standard Phonetic Alphabet Codes to guide the passengers :D Sure was surprised when the Indian ground staff asked me to head towards the '10 Bravo' gate and then decoded it 10 'B' hoping I understand :D

Well, I settle down in my KLM flight and I am perfectly positioned (Thanks to me having selected my seat ;)) behind the wing and I am all excited to observe the flap positions (Comes with being a aero engineer :P). But then the sleep God decides to bless me and I am trying to stay awake long enough to see the take off positions but the pilot has his own ideas and decides to taxi around for 20 minutes. And finally he takes off and we must be around 2 Km from the ground when I am all out.

I wake up just in time for breakfast. Most important meal of the day ;) As we came closer to our landing, the land below was so beautiful. The wasnt out yet but the lighting down in Schipol was so ordered. It looked like mini circuit boards. Everything in perfect alignment and in straight lines. Sure was fascinating to see everything in perfect order :D

I finally breathe a sigh of relief as I spot my bag. And after 2 train changes and a bus ride, I walk another 400 Metres and 3 floors up to my lovely cold room :P Luckily the weather was much nicer than when I left. Felt good to be back and Delft was really welcoming :) Felt so perfectly synced with the birds, the people and even the wind .. Had kinda started to miss it :D And from the next day the deadlines and sleepless nights began :D One of my friends even went all broke with no food or sleep for 24 hours. But thats just us keeping things for last minute ;)

Exams creeping up and still a few assignments and presentations to do :) Will surely share any juicy news that come up my way ;)

For now, awaiting my neighbour's return from India :) Hope you all have a lovely time too :)

Love,
Ab9

My 'Self Declared Jealous Girlfriend' ;)

Well, as promised this section is for my 'girlfriend' :D

But let me first tell you about the 3 girlfriends of mine :)

Dont get me wrong, aint a playboy but without each of em, my life would not be the same and currently now that I am here, they all miss me back home :)

Well, the first one is my 'Royal Princess' :D She is my Purple coloured two-wheeler :) Too many close shaves and yet we both are going strong ;)

Then came my beautiful and strong hearted 'Red Princess'. This 4 wheeler beauty of mine is my soulmate. I was afraid I wont be able to drive her when I go back since I was used to riding my bike on the right side here while back home its on the left side. But once I sat in and powered her on, things just switched into gear automatically like it was in my DNA. I almost remembered every pothole and every turn. I say almost because there were new potholes added to the collection of old :P However, we both had quite a lovely time these few days and spent many a days together ^_^

And finally, my last and definitely the star of this blog, is my third and final girlfriend. She is quite something. She gives me access to the whole world but the moment I start talking to a girl, she switches off and wont listen to me no more :( For those who did not get it, she is my beloved modem :P She has a mind of her own and loves controlling my virtual social life :P No amount of coaxing pleases her once her mood is off and its only the next day that she shall forgive me :P

I am sorry if I have bored you away with this one but do come back for the next one because things are just about starting to get interesting in Delft :)

Until next time :)

And so the King of Procrastination finally gives up his title …

I am really sorry for the long gap since my last post my beloved avid readers. If you remember, my last post was from the Paris airport. A lot has happened since then and so I am going to give you all a crash tour ;)

I land in Bangalore and was supposed to be greeted by my Dad. But his flight got delayed and I ended up receiving him :D He was the only one in on this plot of mine ;) So the next day we take a bus to my hometown Mangalore. We reach there by night 9 and head straight to my grand aunt’s place .. She was so pleased to see me :D Then headed over home where mum was praying and thinking it is dad asked me to come in as the door was open. So there I was still ringing the bell and she got irritated and came out only to find me .. Surprises sure are the best things in life :D

Btw, I don’t think I told you but I had come home to attend the wedding of my favourite cousin sister. Little did she know I was making my trip :P And so the next day she sees me and was so shocked that she asked me to go back :P

All in all, her wedding went great and was glad I was able to make it. I met many of my relatives and friends. Was back with my old job of getting people around in my 'Red Princess' ;) And I so loved it :D They say Christmas is a time for family and friends and in that sense I had the perfect Christmas :) I hope you all had a wonderful one too :)

But once all the excitement got over, I was missing my beloved city of Delft and all my dear friends here ..

Wow .. The ‘Grass is greener on the other side’ thing really plays up :D

I wanted to write things for so long but as my dad always says, I am the king of procrastination :D But had many a deadlines to meet and still do. More on those but my next blog I want to dedicate to the ‘self declared jealous girlfriend’ of mine and my 'Red Princess' ;)

Have fun people :)

And So It Began…

I start today, owing a big thanks to my buddies Hardik and Ravi. If not for them, this surprise trip would not have been possible.

When my friend Sindhu asked innocently “What will you do if it rains ?”, I did not in my worst dreams imagine the weather to turn around so drastically from a pleasant full moon sky to a full on storm.

Hardik with his SENZ (Thanks to TEDxDelft) umbrella, me with my normal umbrella and Ravi with no umbrella took off from our cozy boxes at 2:15 AM. It was time for me to leave for Schipol to catch my flight heading home for my sister’s wedding a.k.a winter vacations ;)

Dragging two huge bags through the almost horizontal rain and stormy wind and heading towards the Delft train station proved to be much more than a walk in the park.

Both the guys having classes at 8:45 today, they still agreed to come help me out. Makes me glad I have such good friends :) Hope they went for it :P

I am sitting in the Paris Airport as I write this. It sure lacks the charms and glamour of Schipol. Did love the Schipol atmosphere in the early morning. Much less crowded and very well organized.

The scary part was that I kept falling asleep on the train and the airport. And as I boarded the plane for Paris, I dint even bother checking out the girl sitting next to me and fell asleep (Thanks to last 3 nights of sleepless nights to meet the assignment deadline :P). Got up to hear that the weather is very turbulent and will be served only sandwiches and cokes. Gulped both down and off to heavenly sleep again. Not before I peeked outside the window and mannn… It sure was worth it. The landscape created by the clouds and the rising sun adding all sorts of shades on the stormy clouds only strengthened my belief that God truly is an artist with skills beyond imagination.

Anyway, here I am, this is me, there’s nowhere else on earth I’d rather be .. Damn !! Listening to too much of Bryan Adams does get you side tracked :P Sorry bout that. Better keep this blog short.

On an ending note, I would like to address two points:

1.      1.The girl I was sitting next to had really pretty and happiness filled eyes ^_^. How can I not check her out ehh ? ;) :P

2.       2. The SENZ really is a storm umbrella. Do buy it if you intend on roaming around during a fully fledged storm.

A bientot, more to come soon with news on how my family got a surprise with my arrival (not talking about my first arrival 22 years ago ;) :P). Except dad no one knows so hushhhh :D

Have a great week :)

Love,

Ab9

No More Thousand Butterflies...

It was only a couple of months ago that I saw this beautiful spectacle. Something that so moved me that I did not even reach for my camera. There are few such moments when you know that it cannot be captured by a camera but only experienced.

This happened one evening when I was sitting in my spacebox and gazing out through my window. The gleaming golden light of the setting October sun fell beautifully on to the tree tops. The ever speedy Dutch winds were busy rustling the leaves. And for that moment, it felt like I had seen the true beauty of God’s creation as he always intended us to. The best metaphor that I can come up with which will do justice to my sight is a thousand butterflies shimmering, rustling and swaying .. I only wish I had the right words to describe them. But I guess there are no words to describe such sights. Just a silent appreciation from one’s heart for this experience of true peace and oneness with the creator. After that, I made a point to witness this sight almost every day.

But alas, as they say, all good things must come to an end. And so it did. Autumn came and slowly the butterflies flew away. And now as the December sun shines on those trees, only the barren twigs welcome them. Swaying slowly in this cold December wind.

And so I shall wait, for the time, when once again, a thousand butterflies shall greet my sight :)

The Curious Case Of Dreams

It has always been a mystery how the dreams we dream are connected to our lives or sometimes even related to us. But no matter what, it sure affects your day if you let them.

It was only today when I was dreaming about driving a nice big SUV and it was the only thing on my mind all day. Made me want to go back home and drive my 'Red Princess' :)

It was only after some time of day dreaming that I realized that I was driving the car on the right side of the road while back home, we drive on the left side. Netherlands sure did affect me pretty fast in this aspect :P

Some of my dreams are so action packed that it puts Hollywood action movies to shame. Sadly with increasing time after waking up, the memory of the dreams fade away. Well, but sure is fun to snooze a bit more and see how the end turns out ;)

It also happened to me once that I saw this old house with very intricate designs on the floor and after a few months, I went to this house in a village which had the exact same designs and it was the same house. Strange ? Well, people do claim that they have premonitions in their dreams.

So, keep dreaming but dont let the nightmares/bad dreams spoil your day :)

I hope you have a sweet dream tonight :)

And So Stops The Game Of Hide & Seek…

For almost a week, the little town of Delft seemed like the perfect location to shoot a haunted movie more likely the sequel to “The Mist” (No prizes for guessing but this one would have been called “The Fog” :P)

The tall and famous landmark (EEMCS), which you cannot miss even if you try to, had completely vanished. You could not see the 22 floor mega-structure standing 10 meters in front of it. Maybe the fog is the secret to the famous vanishing acts. Something to ponder on don’t you think ;)

Such mysterious weather and how can we forget our beautiful Library? So my friend and I head over only to find a soothing glow emanating from the cone of the Library. To give this glow a more mystifying angle, let me simply put them in my friend’s words - it is the result of students getting enlightened :P

And how can the "Foolosopher" not talk  philosophy in such unique weather conditions ? ;)

So here goes : In life, the path is never clear. There are many uncertainties and bumps. So do not worry nor be discouraged. Have faith and move forward and take them on as they appear.

Guess I better run after my friend now and tell him to walk on the walking path just to be on the safer side :P

It sure was a fun week trying to figure out places, faculties and especially people. With layers of clothing, jacket and cap, the fog definitely did not help ease our plight in recognizing people. It happened only yesterday when a guy waved to me and I had to squint and really go close to figure out who he was :D

The fog has finally cleared and faces and buildings are again visible and so resumes my wait for the first snowy day :)