Susan Boyle

I have no idea as what Opera singing is and I am no expert in judging good/bad music. All I knew is some Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood by a few Indian composers, occasionally some music from the West, and some random numbers here and there, clearly I haven’t found a pattern in my liking for music till now.

Of late, I saw a video from the talent hunt TV show, that featured a forty seven year old woman who desires to be a professional Opera singer, was booed by the audience looking at her appearance, demeanor and age. At the end of her performance she goes on to win the hearts of millions and stood as an example for the statement, ‘Appearance is Deceptive’.

I would say this video clip itself is a Moral Story and full credit to the editor of the video who interlaced the shots from audience’s cynical gestures, undermining statements, sarcastic smiles, standing ovation, roaring crowd, happy faces, anchors’ comments, jury feedback and the woman celebrating like a child.

As I mentioned earlier I have no clue about Opera, but no doubt I like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

Susan Boyle

Neighbor

My curiosity was satisfied after visiting the famous Khan-el-Khalili Bazaar and I was walking back to the Attaba Station. Someone interrupted me on the way and asked, ‘Where is the nearest Metro station to go to Sadat?’ The man was in his early 40s was wearing a thick woolen sweater, carried a small backpack, and looked like a South Asian. I was not surprised, at someone asking me for directions, for obvious reason that I don’t look like a foreigner there.

I was glad that he asked a question, for which I knew the answer, as I walked down from Attaba to the Bazaar a while ago; I told him that I knew the way to Attaba Station, from where he can take a train to Sadat and he could follow me to the Station. While we walked I asked his whereabouts, he said ‘Pakistan’. The very next moment, I felt awkward and various thoughts started bombarding my mind. I had to consciously avoid showing my discomfort and stop acting indifferently. However, I was glad that he did not ask me where I came from, which would have put him in the same kind of situation. Or, may be he was smart enough to guess, by looking at my stupid body language, which I found difficult to conceal.

This was my first encounter with my neighbor, though an uneasy one, none of us could be blamed.

Neighbor

Google Rocks!

I have always been a big fan of Google and their applications. Recently I started using ‘Google Analytics’, which, I enabled for my blog, thanks to a friend who told me about this useful tool. Of late, I was impressed by another tool, see it for yourself. Expecting more ‘Powerful Simple Applications’ from them and I promise that I would be a loyal user. J

Me [09:57]:Hi Vivian

Tang, Vivian [09:57]:你好

Me [09:58]:Regarding the PO XXXXXX..

Me [09:58]:are you getting any error while trying to do the GR?

Tang, Vivian [10:00]:这个PO我们做了GR，但是财务和BC那边显示没有做

Tang, Vivian [10:01]:之前是这个PO已经通过批复，但是BC和财务没有显示，现在这个问题解决了，但是他们那里又显示没有做GR

Me [10:03]:There was no GR done, before... I cannot see any previous history..

Me [10:03]:You may do the GR now..

Me [10:04]:Could you try doing a GR now.?

Tang, Vivian [10:05]:不过这个PO不是我申请的，我同事做的，她已经离职了，我没办法使用她的用户名做GR

Tang, Vivian [10:05]:有什么办法可以解决这个问题吗

Me [10:06]:yes..

Me [10:06]:Just a moment

Me [10:07]:Chen Zhang has left the company, Am I right?

Tang, Vivian [10:08]:对

Me [10:09]:Do you know Fiona Gu?

Me [10:10]:She is from the Purchasing Department

Tang, Vivian [10:11]:我知道她

Me [10:11]:She will able to the GR for Chen Zhang..

Me [10:12]:Please contact her.

Me [10:12]:If she also face the problem, Let me know.

Tang, Vivian [10:12]:好的，谢谢

Me [10:13]:You are welcome.

Me [10:13]:Let me know, when its done..

Me [10:15]:Have a good day. Bye for now

Tang, Vivian [10:16]:J

Google Rocks!

Sum up

It’s been a little more than a year in Stockholm.

Some random newbies....

Shifted 4 hotels in first couple of weeks , never forgot to carry the metro train map for first couple of months, the SL monthly ticket became integral part of my wallet, met people, colleagues, saw the first snow fall in the place of residence, worked odd hours from 8AM-5PM, 60 minutes lunch starting at around 11.00 AM during the week days, nearly 24 hours on the internet, saw the museums, palaces, islands, streets, ate all kind of food most of the times not knowing what I ate, mid summer, herring, salmons, learnt English names for few vegetables and groceries, carried the lunch box after a period of 11 years, shaved at least once in a week, started cooking, succeeded in biryani, rava dosa, adai and few others, cooked for socializing, did dish washing, vacuum cleaning, laundry, ironing clothes (its kind of Royal life back home ;) ), hiked in sub-zero temperatures, wore the heaviest jacket, hand gloves, hat all first time in my lifetime, saw almost all the bollywood releases until 3 months back, Stockholm marathon ( was just a spectator), fika, St Lucia Choir, modern art, glogg, semla, ice skating (Top 1000 Indian Skater in the world ;) ), skiing, frozen lakes, beach volley ball, inner bandy, sauna (Back home its an open air Sauna, I really cannot understand why the new apartments in Bangalore boast of Saunas in them), travelled in a cruise, had answered the question: ‘What you did during the weekend?’ on a Monday morning (Not an usual question back home), met 2 of my college friends after 7 years, while talking about time started using odd, even, prime numbers while referring to the minutes like 7:34, 10:27, 9:19, opened the door and held it open for others, had set up a timer switch to turn on the light at 6:30 in the morning to wakeup in the winter, visited the super market every alternate day, Surstromming, kayaking…

Truly was an interesting year...

Sum up

Spring

Sun is shining above the horizon, grass in the Gärdet area is green enough and deciduous trees are waiting for the leaves to sprout, people have shed a few grams by getting rid of the winter coats, few even decided to wrap their pullovers around their waist, few of them are sitting by the water side, while a few of them are lying on their back reading a book, little ones seen on their bicycles and grown ups following them on their overhauled bicycles, unleashed dogs running around burning few calories accumulated during the winter, little ‘blue and white’ Stockholm city bikes are back on the stands, roofs of the convertibles have gone down, scooters and the motor bikes are bustling around, open top Hop-on Hop-off sight seeing buses have hit the streets in the downtown, restaurants and coffee shops have moved a few tables out in the open areas, a few anglers hoping for a good catch….

Spring has arrived; most importantly… smiles on the Stockholmer’s face…….

Spring