2009 in Pictures - May

May is expected to bring Spring season! it did.. though it was pretty cold and unusually cold for that time of the year, it did not stop the flowers from blooming, it did not stop the birds from coming out and singing, and it did not stop me from going to Holland, Michigan to enjoy the Tulip Festival.

I had rented a Nissan Altima for this trip, and I loved driving it... had not driven a car so smooth and so responsive yet! Totally totally loved it... and had just the right company in Joy along with me... Pritam, Sunil and Golu joined us from Minneapolis later in the evening after we checked into our motel near Holland!

Photography would have been a challenge for sure, because I do not know what to do when I am supposed to take pictures of flowers... I personally came back satisfied with the pictures I took that weekend though! enjoy the moments and some photographs from Holland below... This might just be one of the most colorful months of 2009!

The right set of people makes a trip so much better! I am so grateful to have good travel companions all the time (I also take credit in that though! I chose who I travel with, most of the time)

Artist's tables are one of the most interesting things that I know of... they shout out loud of creativity!

I have also been fascinated by wheels and rims for a long time... but I do not have a liking for such loud rims! I like them subtle... like Radha!

Holland in addition to the Tulips, is also famous for wooden shoes! And yes, you can wear them!

I also drove a Jeep Commander... Big SuV... loads of space! and Jeep :)

We managed to find a lovely local Italian restaurant for lunch and then a decent Indian restaurant for Dinner... had to rush and drive fast to reach the Indian one in the night before it closed, but we did manage...

Another very interesting thing we did in Holland was go on a Sand dunes safari... it was a crazy sand ride with adventurous twists and turns in a 1979 dodge truck!

The Big Red light house in Holland... This place was exactly opposite to Milwaukee on the other side of Lake Michigan...

We also managed to check out a local market in Holland before we headed back to Milwaukee.

I love huskies! Period! This one had such beautiful blue eyes!

Also visited a winery on our way out of Holland... Experienced a bit different US there... very quiet, non-concrete, natural America... lovely it was!

And more flowers near home!

The third car I drove in the month of May was a Mazda 6. Radical design, but another beauty to drive! I had rented it to get Ma Pa from the Chicago airport! Cannot explain that feeling in words... going to an airport to pick up mom dad after their first ever flight! very precious memory!

In May itself, I drove to Minneapolis and Chicago with Mom Dad!

This is a view from the 14th floor apartment in Minneapolis... my home away from home in America... the famous or rather infamous 1409!

See you with some pictures from June soon!

...

Jai Ram ji ki!

2009 in Pictures - April

The biggest thing about April 2009 was 30on30... It was a personal achievement which brought immense satisfaction to me, and I am glad that the thought worked so well! April was also about some warm days, more rain, less snow, and some cold days too...

My birthday was celebrated by cutting an Apple pie instead of a cake because the gang from MSP could not find a cake shop on their way to Milwaukee on my birthday... it was nice to have friends on birthday night, though birthdays usually are no big deal for me...

We thought of going to 6-flags, the amusement park about an hour south of Milwaukee, but it was too cold to get on the rides and we had to come back, much to disappointment of Deepak who wanted to go inside... Later in the year, we did manage to get to the park and enjoy a few rides...

We also visited the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee that weekend... For those who did not know, Milwaukee is famous for its beer as well! At one point of time, it used to have the largest number of breweries in the US.

After the free tour, you get to taste the 3 key beers that Miller makes at this brewery!

I also got my flash in April... the macro lens and the flash unit were my birthday presents to myself... I suck at using flash in photographs, and have to learn how to use it... one item on my to-do list for 2010...

Talking of places to visit, I also spent a few days at the Milwaukee Art Museum in April...

April 10th was cold for sure... but there were really warms days in April too... the picture says it all I guess!

Rain and the macro lens... good combination if you know how to use it well... My first attempt and much below average, still does not stop me from posting a few pictures I liked from that evening...

This brings me to the end of a wonderful first quarter of the new year! The other months' pictures can be seen here if you have not seen them already...

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

See you later with some pictures from May!

english to french to english

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Back in Kingston after a lovely three day Canadian roadtrip! Met a beautiful family, saw a few cities, made a few new friends! and thanked God for the lovely time he lets me have EVERY time!

and this happens to be the 1001st post on Chai ki Dukaan! what a trip so far!!! and I am all exited for the journey ahead! God bless!

Bonjour

Bon Jour = Hello

Merci = Thank you

Arret = STOP

Sorte = Exit

Sud = South

Est = East

Ouest = West

Nord = North

Rue = Street

Ouvert = Open

My first lessons in French came to me in the second largest French speaking city in the world! Am I in France? no! I am in Canada and the city is also the fashion capital of Canada, Montreal!!!

So far I was able to see some english along with French words, but as of right now, I am totally away from anything written in English!!! May God be with us!!!

And Merry Christmas everyone!!! It makes a ton of difference to see the Christmas spirit first hand!!!

Also if someone could tell me the connection between Santa and birth of Jesus, I would be grateful!

It gets better...

When I was having an early dinner in an Indian restaurant in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio on my way back from Smokey Mountains to Milwaukee, I felt that it was the best Indian food in a restaurant I had in the US...

Little did I know that I would travel all the way to Ottawa, capital city of Canada to realize that things could get better!!!

I just had dinner at East India Company Restaurant on the W Somerset Street, in downtown Ottawa and I have to say that it has the best buffet menu, the best assortment of pickles and chutneys, lovely sweets and the BEST taste!

It might just be better than most of the Mughlai restaurants that I have eaten in India too! yumm yumm!!!!

So next time you feel it cannot get any better! trust me! It will!

Avatar - The movie!

I am not sure how I got introduced to it, but I have always admired the views that I got to see on Digital Blasphemy (www.digitalblasphemy.com)

I just came back from watching a 7 pm show of Avatar! Have been reading and hearing about the movie...

It redefines the movie going experience

It takes animation and graphics to a completely different level

James Cameron is at his all time best

and a whole lot more...

Guess what! All of it is true!!!

Follow these guidelines if you plan to watch the movie:

1. Watch it in the largest possible screen... if you have to drive to an IMAX which is outside your town, do it!

2. Sit in the centre

3. Watch it in 3D. THAT is for sure which literally added another dimension to the movie

4. Do not look for a story ( you know the story already, Powerful people wanting resources, natives not willing to give up, powerful people sending someone to know more so that they can plan the destruction well, the insider turning hostile, battle and climax follows, good wins, bad loses... that's all that is to the story)

From how I see it, there are a few ways you could connect with Avatar...

1. Technically : It talks about a network within the living organisms... something that keeps everything going... A tree connected to a different tree through the roots and the entire jungle a LAN/WAN/Network of sorts... you break one important link/hub or the data center, and you have the capability of suddenly crashing the whole network!

2. Visually : It was the digital blasphemy site turning into a movie for me... The colors, the clarity, the detail, the rendering of the thoughts into visual experience, is Abso-fkking-loutely mind blowing... cheers to whoever thought of the images in their mind, and more cheers to who got them out of mind and put them on the screen! The details, the quality of animation is something which is not way ahead of the rest in my opinion, Transformers is equally good! What makes Avatar different is the presentation of things that are otherwise non existent, or let's say we do not get to see them much! Though I found similarities in quite a few characters in the movie and some wildlife that I saw on NatGeo/Discovery documentaries. Having said that, it still does not take away the sheer brilliance of the artwork that has been done for AVATAR. (I was trying to find the details of the team who has worked on the graphics for this movie.. Please share if you have some info)

3. Spiritually : The movie has something that I believe in. Bonds that are not explainable! The visual rendering of these bonds is extremely beautiful too! Bond between man and nature (though I doubt if using man and nature in two different words is justified), bond between you and animals, an unsaid comfort and connection between various elements of nature and the fact that there is no deity or God, but everything is connected and is a representation of HIM or HER ( for that matter)

I am going to see this movie at least one more time! Let's see when!!!

While I am anxiously waiting for my next opportunity, go take out time and open this Pandora's box which now has a completely different meaning!

Hat's off James Cameron!

Oh, and don't forget to visit the Digital Blasphemy site that I mentioned above!

What's in a name?

To be honest, at times I feel there is not much in a name, and at other times I feel exactly the opposite...

A name can make a whole of difference to the perception of people who hear it, mostly in cases of things/places/people/parks/highways or let's say... Hospitals...

I was walking in downtown Toronto (yes, Canada!) yesterday, and came across this hospital names Sick Kids hospital! I did not feel good about this name at all.. the name has such a strong emphasis on Sick Kids that I feel a statistical study into the time that it takes for kids to get better this hospital might just suggest that it takes longer for kids to get better here than other hospitals!

Everytime someone uses this name they talk about sickness and associated it with a kid.. like it or not, believe it or not, but this way we are talking about "sick kids" like the name and not kids who are going to go there to get better...

I seem to be making sense to myself, but not sure if it makes sense to anyone else! never mind! A request that I would have though who reads this is to remember that a hospital is a place where you go to "get better" and not because someone is sick... the way we say it makes a whole lot of difference in the way we look at it!