2011 in review… and a hopeful 2012 ahead !

The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.

Here’s an excerpt:

The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 74,000 times in 2011. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 3 days for that many people to see it.

Click here to see the complete report.

Also, Thank You Sam, Avina, Always Happy and Kishore for stopping by and writing back

Here’s wishing everyone a very happy 2012 ! May all your dreams come true this year

Random Updates !

Hello….
Anyone there??

Life has been sooooper bizzy in the past couple of months.
First there was my second trip to Israel which to sum up was good, happy and much fruitful !
I have loads and loads of pics to share which I’ll definitely put up soon

I got back to India on the 2nd of Dec.. life was getting back to normal when suddenly the better half was requested to make a short trip to Zurich, Switzerland. And well for me, things werent bad either, I applied for vacation and accompanied him here

So my dear readers, for now I am in the Swizz vacationing
And all I can for this is that, ‘sometimes, dreams do come true’

**Note: And I bought a super awesome Sony DSLR and a pair of super sexy short boots too

I am sure someone seriously read my wish list from the last year.

Resident Dormitus by Vikas Rathi

To start with, I want to apologize blogadda and Vikas for not having put up the long due review of the book. But trust me; the internet here is taking a toll on me. In office, the wordpress was blocked and in the hotel, the speed was horrible.
Coming back to the book… first, I didn’t really understand what the title was all about ! The mystery of the book begins…. BTW it means “an experiment conducted by Berkeley, where he summons a slave boy and merely by questioning him, makes the boy see the solution of a geometrical problem which he hadn’t even known existed, thereby proving that knowledge is resident in all human beings, yet only a few are able to realize it”, or ignite it from the dormant stage, as explained by Dev, one of the characters.
Resident Dormitus is a story of the confused and privileged young Achet, the protagonist of the story, and his friends, Arjun, Bala, Dev and Alex. The plot of the story keeps revolving from India to Singapore… I find Achet’s judging people by the fonts and colors on their emails as amusing but the way the character has been portrayed feels quite impractical. It gives a view of the youth that once attains financial freedom sets out to try the goods and the bads alike… and at points it feels as though the author tries to justify every wrong act the characters do… I cannot digest the way the characters fool around with their professional lives…

The confusion of the young minds is well portrayed in the form of a quest to self discovery… but to me, I feel, life is more practical… Being a part of a similar corporate world I know it’s not possible to fool around with career! Some parts of the book are very funny too.

Overall, the book is a onetime read.

Rating – 2.5/5

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Book Review – LIVE From London by Parinda Joshi

I have always enjoyed books from upcoming and new authors.
The first look at the book ‘LIVE From London’ when it was delivered to me and I was excited!
To me, what I liked best about the book was the Red front Cover! It is captivating…… The London Bridge, the Guitar and even the name of the author…Parinda … Loved your name lady . It totally defines your free spirit which shows off so well in your writing.

Coming back to the book… LIVE from London is a story of young and vibrant Nishi Gupta who moved to London at a very tender age when her father got transferred to the city. It is a story of her dreams and her friends, Sarah, Zac and Riya. Nishi takes a bold foot forward after finishing college and joins the music industry for career to fight the embarrassment that she faced on the very prestigious ‘Britain’s Got Talent’ stage.

She stands strong and faces her conservative parents and the not so friendly boss. During this phase of her life, she meets Nick! Nick is the new pop sensation from America. And right amongst the peak point of her life, where Nishi had the best of love and opportunities, comes a big turnaround in her life. She has to move to India, a place which she was not so well acquainted with.

The book is quick and moves swiftly from chapter to chapter. To me it was more of like a bollywood masala movie. I like the story and the twists but at few points of the read I felt there was room for something more…

If you enjoy regular chicklits, this book is a nice read.
At points, it will take you to your yesteryears, your college days… your first love… That’s what is most admiring about the book and the story. Overall a light book with a touch of life.
For now, I look forward to Parinda’s next novel which sure would be a promising read.

If I have to rate the book, I would rate it 2.5+0.5 out of 5. (The extra 0.5 for the cover design)

This review is a part of the Book Reviews Program at BlogAdda.com. Participate now to get free books!

Last Weekend in Tel Aviv :)

Okay…
So finally today I got some air to breathe, some energy to keep awake and some silence and patience to write down ! Probably its all just a random blend of all my happiness and anxiety of going back to India soon

The past 3 weeks have been busy with work, with friends, with gossips and a lot more..
The stay here this time was much easier than the last time…Good company makes a lot of difference I say.
This time I have friends from India in the same hotel so evenings are spent among lots of laughter n chit-chats

And now the news…. its 12:30 am here… and next week this time, I’d be rushing with my last minute packing-shacking to leave for the airport…
Ah how much I miss my home and him here

Last weekend was the one of the best weekends I ever had in Israel… we went to Jaffa and Haifa…..
Both the trips were awesome… and I witnessed the eternal love story between the mountains and the sea at Rosh Hanikara…
Its a magical and enchanting place !
Caesaria was awesome too… had never visited such a site before… I’ll post some pics soon
Till then,
Good Night
Sleep Tight
Never Fight
Do what you think is Right

Carpe Diem !

Shalom

To start with, I am fine
Getting Better !

I have always liked the people here more than the place..
The people here are tough and hard working and very warm at heart !
And that helps me have my stay comfortable.

For the record, the last two evenings have been great.
I went to Ladwer’s Coffee house, which is one of the most famous ones here and then last evening I explored Tahana, the old Turkish railway station with my team.
Like all places, Israel has a rich history too..and it is quite interesting.

The only WTF moment so far was during the Tuesday evening, when while returning from the Landwer’s Coffee House, ‘Humpty Dumpty had a great ‘Fall’ and got the ankle twisted’ ! Now, pls stop laughing The land was uneven at one little point and since Mr. Murphy is supposed to be my best friend at all times, I ‘had’ to step on to it and miss the balance.

I am much better now, no serious injuries, just a little painful ankle and a bruised knee..

But apart from that, the evening was perfect, with the most awesome people I know here

Over the past few days, I have met a few more Indians from my company here, and we are jotting down some weekend plans
Life is moving !
And I have allowed myself to go with the flow.

And yessss, I did a small shopping yesterday.. a set of cute coasters.

So, for now, life’s back to better.

I’ll post the pictures next !

Wish you all happy days till then

Reporting from Tel Aviv !

I reached Tel Aviv today morning… and ever since then, whether life is happening or is at a standstill, I am unable to decide..

Had a long tiring flight, then an unsure taxi ride to the hotel, and to make things even more difficult, found that the hotel bookings had not been done correctly..owing to which I could only lay my dead tired body on the couch in the lounge at the hotel fast asleep for a couple of hours…

I finally have a room ! But this loneliness scares me……

As I type this post, its 8:30 PM here in Tel Aviv and midnight in India..
I sit here all alone, drowsy, trying to decide whether I should cook something to eat or sleep just like that !
I am sleepy, but so much unable to sleep.. Every time I think of going off to sleep or to read a book or watch TV or even work on some official stuff, I cannot focus !

Its just the first day, the first night, and I terribly miss home already

I just hope and wish that the days ahead are a little easier, a little shorter and a little better !

Good Night people… Wish me luck….