"Mulla poompodi eettukidakkum kallinumundoru saurabhyam....."

Spring is finally here..

I haven't written anything this month.. I didn't have any photos for a while. Now I have too many and need time to process.. :D

So yeah.. its spring.. and that brings a lot of cheer.. might be the sunshine and vitamin D production.. :D.. Anyway.. it feels good to see the flowers bloom.. trees getting new leaves.. colours around.. other than black grey and red.. and nice pleasant temperatures (mostly)... And yes... I do have a lot of pictures of flowers and leaves.. :D

This one is the tree outside my room.. the same one from an earlier post.. but it looks very different now.. :D..

It would be nice to have two more photos to complete it.. lets see if I manage.. :D...

Happy Spring...

dance till you drop..

Dancing is very relaxing.. you let yourself go.. and move to the music the way you feel.. I love dancing specially when no one is watching.. :D..or at least not care too much.. salsa music is nice.. very lively.. amazing beats.. went to a salsa club with Rajee .. was fun.. I cant dance.. dont have much of a balance.. but its definitely fun to watch people who can really dance.. to some people its all about technique.. to some.. the flow comes naturally.. to me.. they are better dancers.. specially in salsa .. the men who dont spin the girl too much.. are usually better.. :D..

Salsa is very male dominant.. unless the guy knows how to dance.. its not fun.. doesnt suit my personality tho..used to have fights with my dance partner when I was learning long ago.. I would want to do something else when he wanted to practice.. :D.. oh well.. :D.. poor dude.. :D..

So here are some shots from sunday..

"Go with the flow.."

"Her dancing shoes.."

"I see though you.. "

"Full swing.."

"Resting before the next round.."

"Glass.."

"The red skirt.."

Sendlinger tor.. at night..

Here are some shots for an U-Bahn station at 9 pm.. on a saturday... quite empty... very unusual for Sendlinger Tor..

"Running for the last U-bahn.. "

"Where are you guys?... I'm waiting... "

"The ticket machines.. "

"Here I am... this is me...now where do I go?.."

"Bakery.. empty and closed.."

"Whats news?"

Narcissism

Here is to the narcissist in me..

"I..Me..Myself.."


"More of me.."

was studying.. the morning sunshine coming though my window.. why not try a self-portait ?.. I hardly like pictures of me.. specially when I'm posing.. always the first picture has the most natural smile.. and it shows in your eyes.. cant fake there.. :)..

playing ....

"The Blue Van"

Woke up and saw this through window.. bright blue van in a grey background..

"Blue Man"

sad and thoughtful..

"Proximity Effect"

Reminded me of this effect .. http://www.aip.de/groups/cosmology/im.html

"When a door closes somewhere another one opens..if we stare too long at the closed one. we dont see the open one.. "

Below are the flowers in a different color and contrast.. just playing.. :)... different point of view..

"Purple Birds"

"Shadows and the silver lining.."

Some times the sunlight escapes the clouds and comes through the window.. just right to make a that beautiful shadow and the silver lining.. just perfect for a second.. and then disappears for ever...

creative urge...

"See though.. "

Creative urge.. I guess we all have them sometimes.. just want to make something fun and interesting.. a painting.. a poem.. music.. food.. a blog post... a piece of code.. scientific idea.. and it doesn't go away till we do it.. just goes on in the head.. feel the need to get it out..

Today it was this necklace for me.. learnt how to knot last week.. and today suddenly I wanted to knot these beads.. couldnt do anything till I finished them.. its a pretty necklace.. dont know if I will wear it sometime.. but I enjoyed making it.. I enjoy making jewellery more than wearing them.. also owning pieces.. sometimes I see something and just want it.. even though I probably would never wear it.. like my mom says.. I have an 'akrantham' (craving) for jewellery.. this one.. again I had the bead for ages.. and this way I like it.. the beads are beautiful.. specially with the light going thru them.. the colors.. the transparency.. :)... also what I liked in my earlier pic with the waitress.. the drinks on her tray were see-though..

talking about creative urges... I was recently searching for a new proj and talked to a few people.. but I have time to do only 1 more coz I already have 2 more to finish.. and I liked 2 projects.. :D... then I decided to take the one from which I would learn more.. a slightly different topic that the one I am currently working on.. but then the other proj I heard about set me thinking.. I got stuck in my head.. after after I decided what I wanted to do.. this proj didnt get out of my head.. and I can feel it going on in my head.. :D.. like a background process.. anyway.. finally told myself that I can work on it may be after a few months.. :D.. its a bit like cheating myself.. to stop myself thinking.. but I have to say I do enjoy it.. thats one of the fun things about doing research..

today read an article about a guy quitting his research (http://blog.devicerandom.org/2011/02/18/getting-a-life/).. seems like he finshed his phd at cambridge.. and was quitting coz he did like the science but not the problems with the lifestyle.. bad pay.. shiffting jobs every few years.. and the cut throat competion.. he also had a link to an article in the economic times which said that it was not worth getting a phd.. considering the number of job u get after doing that and the mild increase in pay than a masters student.. quite true... its really hard to get a postdoc.. even harder to get a tenured position.. the competition is fierce... no stability in the job.. but the stimulation in ur brain.. which u get during the research.. hard to get outside..ok.. not all the time.. probably only a few weeks a year. a nice conference.. or a summer school.. but its all worth it for me... all the frustration.. of course different people want different things.. and now I understand it is good.. lesser competition.. ;)... well I do feel bad thinking that way... but that how life is.. natural selection..

to get something.. one has to fight.. persistence pays.. depends on what you want and how much you want it.. and competition.. being Indian.. I used to it.. one has to compete for everything.. so might as well hv fun too.. :)..

Back after a hectic week..

"Blooming.."

This is the first bloom of the season.. 'kanakambaram'.. one of the flowers you tie with jasmine.. I used to love jasmine on my hair and wanted to wear a string every day.. Once made my grandfather buy me '1 mozham'.. every day of Onam.. but then I got a headache from pesticides on the flowers.. :(.. hmm... last year.. this plant had so many flowers that could see the green stalk.. so waiting for this season's flowers..

I love plants more than animals.. I talk to them.. kiss them.. photograph them.. they are like kids to me.. good thing this is even if you forget to water them a few days.. they dont die.. even better than kids or pets.. may be that is why I don't agree with vegetarianism.. its mean to kill plants to eat.. :D.. plants have feelings too.. but then it is fine to kill something to eat.. just eat enough... not kill and then waste..

The second picture is the bead string I made.. got these beads as a b'day present from my friends about 2 years ago.. that's when I started making jewellery.. recently I got a string of white pearls from my mom to knot. She got it from an old friend of hers from college.. so she is a bit emotional about it every time she speaks.. which is cute.. guess it must be nice to meet an old friend after 25 years.. then I look up videos from youtube to learn how to string them and tested them on these.. not perfect but I loved it.. and beads are so beautiful... hmm but the string is a bit too small to make a necklace.. may be another trial the next time I feel like being creative.. :)..

"Round and colourful.."

Started my German class a week back and it has been fun until now.. very hectic though.. and didn't get out last week.. but starting to exhaust my indoor models.. time to explore.. :)..

people watching..

"Relaxed Saturday Afternoon"

Here is the second part of the photographs from yesterday.. this post is about people.. sunny afternoon in the park.. people are just happy and relaxed.. unlike the usual winter weekdays.. It is interesting how much the general mood changes with the weather.. thats when you value tropical sunshine.. there are days when I miss the 'Sun'.. such a wierd concept when I was back in Kerala.. Back to pictures now..

"Quiet reading.."

Both the pictures above give the same feeling.. something I have been wanting to do for a

while.. but it is always too cold for me.. may be this summer.. :) .. well other than reading ..

sitting or lying down.. one could also just watch people.. :D.. like the bunch below..

"People Watching"

Since it was cold.. decided to get some coffee.. the cafe had a cool spot close to the big glass window... from where I could watch more people..

"More people watching"

"The Busy Waitress"

Finally on the way back home.. I watched a few more people..

"The Red and the Green Men"

That was a fun day.. I should take my best buddy around more often... :) ... that was a good advice.. :).. today.. it is going to be a quiet one instead...

fire and ice..

It was a sunny day with 10 degrees in feb.. and that is weird for Munich.. but it was good.. we had snow the last week and now its like spring.. one of those days which makes winter bearable and beautiful.. since I read somewhere that I should take my camera around like my best friend and only then would I start noticing things differently.. I took my camera out for a walk in the English Garten.. and it was fun.. :)..
Firstly, a few shots of the iced lake.. it was pretty to see lake so iced that one could walk on it.. well.. no other human being was walking on it.. so I didnt try.. but it did look cool.. :)..
"Sun-bathing"

"Man's Best Friend"

"Walking on Io"

(notice the interesting cracks on the ice.. )

"textures"

(I think it is Horse Dung.. :D ..)

Enough of pictures for today.. rest will come tomorrow.. :)... off to sleep.. :)..

stable or unstable..

I couldn't write a post yesterday as I didnt fell like it..my yoga teacher told me.. that one should not be obsessed about anything..even about not being obsessed.. if you do it..it is good.. if you dont do it.. it is also fine.. so even tho I did want to write a post everyday.. I dont want to get obsessed about it.. :D..

so here is the next post.. the title comes from two things.. One is the picture below.. the drop on the leaf.. will it stay there or will it flow down and drop.. :).. it might be stable now.. but the slightest change will send it plunging down.. the life of that drop..

Another thing that inspired this was a game I played.. "http://eterna.cmu.edu/".. which is about designing stable RNAs in the shapes they want.. throught this game we are helping scientists in designing new RNAs which can create new drugs and treatments.. (at least that is what I understood).. there again.. the some of the designs are so unstable and it is so interesting to make it stable..

This whole stable-unstable thing can be extended to so many areas of life.. how stable is life?.. can we make it stable?.. if it is stable, would it be fun any more?.. as far as I have seen, the minute you think it is stable, it starts rolling down.. :D..

time to go off and sleep.. I feel much better today.. no fever.. just a mild cold.. that was a good break.. :).. till tomorrow..

I'm ill today.. so stayed home and watch house the whole day.. ;D.. so here is my pic for today.. not a great one.. but something i always notice.. I like reflections.. In here I just liked how we can see the light in my room on this side of the window and the lights in the next apartment building on the other side.. in a single view.. the fuzziness of the lampshade is caused by the thickness of the window..

'On the other side.. '

Since I did put a pic of a reflection.. here is another one .. this one I took in my train to florence.. loved the way the paper bag made the reflection on the train window.. especially the reflection in 2 colors caused by the thickness/coating of the glass... :)

simple things which make life more fun.. now back to watching house.. :D..

learning photography..

I bought a new camera recently.. something I have been wanting for a while now.. but for some wierd reason, I dont take enough pics.. even if I do.. I'm not happy enough with them.. so I decided to force myself to take pics.. pick one or two everyday.. see and think about it.. and learn this way.. I'm going to put it here so that I keep a standard as to what I pick..

"ready to fly"

just stretching it wings.. ready to fly..from its flowery world... into the harsh reality..

"Contrasting beauty of chaos and order"

Well I do like these today.. lets see how I feel tomorrow.. :D..

an intersting and thought provoking forward...

A Mail sent by Narayan Murthy to all Infosys staff:

It's half past 8 in the office but the lights are still on...
PCs still running, coffee machines still buzzing...
And who's at work? Most of them??? Take a closer look...

All or most specimens are ??
Something male species of the human race...

Look closer... again all or most of them are bachelors...

And why are they sitting late? Working hard? No way!!!
Any guesses???
Let's ask one of them...
Here's what he says... 'What's there 2 do after going home...Here we get to surf, AC, phone, food, coffee that is why I am working late...Importantly no bossssssss!!!!!!!!!!!'

This is the scene in most research centers and software companies and other off-shore offices.

Bachelors 'Passing-Time' during late hours in the office just bcoz they say they've nothing else to do...
Now what r the consequences...

'Working' (for the record only) late hours soon becomes part of the institute or company culture.

With bosses more than eager to provide support to those 'working' late in the form of taxi vouchers, food vouchers and of course good feedback, (oh, he's a hard worker... goes home only to change..!!).
They aren't helping things too...

To hell with bosses who don't understand the difference between 'sitting' late and 'working' late!!!

Very soon, the boss start expecting all employees to put in extra working hours.

So, My dear Bachelors let me tell you, life changes when u get married and start having a family... office is no longer a priority, family is... and
That's when the problem starts... b'coz u start having commitments at home too.

For your boss, the earlier 'hardworking' guy suddenly seems to become a 'early leaver' even if u leave an hour after regular time... after doing the same amount of work.

People leaving on time after doing their tasks for the day are labelled as work-shirkers...

Girls who thankfully always (its changing nowadays... though) leave on time are labelled as 'not up to it'. All the while, the bachelors pat their own backs and carry on 'working' not realizing that they r spoiling the work culture at their own place and never realize that they would have to regret at one point of time.

So what's the moral of the story??
* Very clear, LEAVE ON TIME!!!
* Never put in extra time ' unless really needed '
* Don't stay back unnecessarily and spoil your company work culture which will in turn cause inconvenience to you and your colleagues.

There are hundred other things to do in the evening..

Learn music...

Learn a foreign language...

Try a sport... TT, cricket.........

Importantly,get a girl friend or boy friend, take him/her around town...

* And for heaven's sake, net cafe rates have dropped to an all-time low (plus, no fire-walls) and try cooking for a change.

Take a tip from the Smirnoff ad: *'Life's calling, where are you??'*

Please pass on this message to all those colleagues and please do it before leaving time, don't stay back till midnight to forward this!!!

IT'S A TYPICAL INDIAN MENTALITY THAT WORKING FOR LONG HOURS MEANS VERY HARD WORKING & 100% COMMITMENT ETC.

PEOPLE WHO REGULARLY SIT LATE IN THE OFFICE DON'T KNOW TO MANAGE THEIR TIME. SIMPLE !

Regards,
NARAYAN MURTHY.



Now back to me.. just wanted to post something after ages.. :)..