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April 30, 2009
No martyrs here
Good article in The Guardian. Now you understand why you can't pay me enough to relocate to Orissa.
Posted by ma at 7:04 PM in Funny / Insightful | TrackBack
April 29, 2009
Indian Elections are Fueled by Booze and Cash
I had the pleasure to take a colleague's copy of The Hindu newspaper last week. In the news, I saw that the police arrested and filed cases against hundreds of people in relation to buying votes. It was either with cash, or with spirits. Too bad I can't find the link right now :(
Now that the elections are over in my state (AP), I guess this is over. This year's election went smoothly enough, and there were no riots or anything like that that happened.
That's good news, as I was afraid to be caught by some fundamentalist mob at some point...
Posted by ma at 8:28 PM in Funny / Insightful | TrackBack
April 28, 2009
Post-Vacation News
So everything went well flying back to India. Except for a mess-up by Lufthansa that made me waste a looooooooooot of time, I had the usual enjoyable travel experience.
That mess-up is that my 16:20 flight was shifted to 18:00 or so, which would have been a tight connection. So I asked to have a 17:00 flight. All in all, I could've spent some more time with my friends at church on Sunday.
Then, I arrived.
Hyderabad airport is... interesting. Things go relatively smoothly with the officials and stuff. But once you get out, you know that you're in India. Anyways, I got myself to a Radio Cab (I'm not taking the bus past midnight) and it cost me ~ 650 Rs to get back home. Expensive, but manageable.
I slept and went to work the next day. And then bad surprises came: nothing was completed. The hurdles they faced along the way made them loose enough time so that things weren't done. So, I had to roll up my sleeves and we got things working. The demo to senior folks in the organization is tomorrow. I'm looking forward for this phase to be over.
Then, I'll be able to focus on my research again :)
Other than that... I'm in the full swing of summer. The temperature will sometimes be above 37 degrees centigrade in the afternoon. Oy! During weekends, I end up doing a siesta every afternoon... I can't manage the heat very well.
Ministry-wise, I got encouragement from a brother yesterday. I was feeling down because I felt unproductive for God. He told me that, since the church wasn't doing well, the mere fact that a brother is taking responsibility is a big deal. I didn't think of it that way, and it helps me feel useful again.
In other news, I have decided not to apply for the Tata Nano. I am thinking of learning to drive a motorcycle and getting a nice cheap scooter. A car will be expensive, and I need to learn to drive manual anyway. The final decision is not taken yet. I want to get a learner's license and learn the motorcycle driving to get a feel of it. If the feel is good, I'll go ahead.
Marriage-wise, nothing will happen for some time. There is some mega-matchmaking session that will happen in August, and I have been told to wait and participate in that.
That guarantees that I won't get married in 2009. That's a disappointment, but I must live with it. Prayers encouraged!
Posted by ma at 5:42 PM in Life | TrackBack
April 13, 2009
End of Vacation
I'm just finishing 2 weeks of vacation in Quebec. It was great, and relaxed me.
What did I do?
- sleeping lots and lots
- 3 days of ski
- 2 full-body massages
- reimbursed my parents the money I owed them (whohooooooooooo, no debt!!!)
- Caught up with old friends in Montreal
Posted by ma at 2:06 AM in Life | TrackBack
April 8, 2009
World's Most Expensive Cities
According to this article
1. Moscow
2. Tokyo
3. Hong Kong
4. Mumbai
5. New York
6. Beijing
7. Geneva
8. Delhi
9. London
10. Singapore
Posted by ma at 6:07 PM in Funny / Insightful | TrackBack