I recently went to dinner at one of my friend's place. I don't know how but we got into conversation about reading and what books she has read. Her husband has read couple of Chetan Bhagat novels and recommended reading "Five point someone". As you may know from my previous post that I'm not a reader but I said why not give it a try because if the book is interesting, I might read the whole thing :P. I borrowed the book from her and finished reading it in 1 week. 1 week??? That's a record. But I must tell you that the book is really good and really funny. According to the author, the book is about IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) and what not to do at IIT, but I think it's about these 3 best friends who go through a roller-coaster from the time they get admitted in IIT to their last day in the institution.
Each main character has their own space. The 3 main characters, Alok, Hari, and Ryan, are completely different from one another, yet they become best friends for life. While reading the book, I came across some really funny sentences, that I jotted down and would like to share them here with you all. Note that there were many funny moments, but I only noted down few ones because I was busy reading the rest of the book.
"Ryan was elated, and he drove us back to Kumaon at speeds that made the traffic police dizzy. No one stopped us, or rather, we didn't stop. I covered the number plate with my foot, so that cops could not take it down."
"It is hard enough to say no to pretty girls or to ice-cream but when it's offered together, it is well nigh impossible."
"Alok recalculated his score, hoping for some miracle to happen on the calculator. But miracles never happen in IIT, only crap grades do."
I really enjoyed reading the book. In fact, Rajkumar Hirani is making a movie called "3 idiots" which is loosly based on this book. Aamir khan will be playing Hari, Madhvan will be playing Ryan, and Sharaman Joshi will be playing Alok. I'm eagerly waiting for the movie now since I can't wait to see how hillarious it turns out to be. I'm sure there will be some twist in the movie which is not in the book. I think the 3 actors are brilliant and they'll fit the characters perfectly. In fact, when I was reading the book I can totally picture the actors saying the same dialogues in their own ways :). One thing I'm not sure about is that the actors will be playing IIT students, but they'll look older than their age to look like 18-20 years old IIT students. We'll just have to wait and see. If you like reading, I definitely recommend reading this book.
Five point someone is Chetan Bhagat's first novel and he has done a brilliant job on it. He has described each and every crazy moment of the IIT hostel in a very simple way, yet it's very humorous at the same time.
Tata for now :)
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
"Almost Single" by Advaita Kala
I know a lot of people who love to read. My brother reads a lot. He has read all the Harry Potter books and plus many more. I know all of my friends like to read as well..at least they would consider reading an option if they're free. One of my office mates reads a lot and she likes to read any kind of books, whether it's suspense, romance, or just storytelling novel.
Why am I telling you all this? Well, I'm not a reader. If I'm bored...reading won't even be an option to kill the boredom. The truth is that even if I consider it as an option, as soon as I start reading, I start to fall asleep. One day I was talking to my office mate (the one I mentioned above) and she told me about this novel she read. The book is "Almost Single" by Advaita Kala. She was asking me if I have read it since it's written by an Indian Author and the story is based in New Delhi. I told her that I haven't and I don't read at all. She said the book was very interesting and funny and since it's related to Indian culture, I might enjoy it. Again, I told her that I will fall asleep as soon as I start the book. She did not back down and still suggested that I give it a try reading it.
I said why not? I got the book, and once I started reading it, I finished the first two chapters without a single yawn!! Wow! That's a Miracle! Not really :P. Well I realized that I got so interested in the topic that I didn't realize the time and before I knew, I had already finished two chapters of it. And honestly, my office mate was right. The story is based in New Delhi, India, so I could understand the different points of view from the story is being told. Not just that, the environment, the traffic, the neighbors' attitude....everything was so familiar :). New Delhi is very well developed and very westernized too. I found the book very funny and at times romantic too. I would definitely recommend it. And if I can read it, you can too. It turns out that I only fall asleep if the topic is not interesting to me. I guess I'll only find out which books I like after I start reading it :).
Why am I telling you all this? Well, I'm not a reader. If I'm bored...reading won't even be an option to kill the boredom. The truth is that even if I consider it as an option, as soon as I start reading, I start to fall asleep. One day I was talking to my office mate (the one I mentioned above) and she told me about this novel she read. The book is "Almost Single" by Advaita Kala. She was asking me if I have read it since it's written by an Indian Author and the story is based in New Delhi. I told her that I haven't and I don't read at all. She said the book was very interesting and funny and since it's related to Indian culture, I might enjoy it. Again, I told her that I will fall asleep as soon as I start the book. She did not back down and still suggested that I give it a try reading it.
I said why not? I got the book, and once I started reading it, I finished the first two chapters without a single yawn!! Wow! That's a Miracle! Not really :P. Well I realized that I got so interested in the topic that I didn't realize the time and before I knew, I had already finished two chapters of it. And honestly, my office mate was right. The story is based in New Delhi, India, so I could understand the different points of view from the story is being told. Not just that, the environment, the traffic, the neighbors' attitude....everything was so familiar :). New Delhi is very well developed and very westernized too. I found the book very funny and at times romantic too. I would definitely recommend it. And if I can read it, you can too. It turns out that I only fall asleep if the topic is not interesting to me. I guess I'll only find out which books I like after I start reading it :).
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Experience traveling with Southwest Airlines
Hey friends,
So this is a start to telling you about my Caribbean vacation journey. We had to take the cruise from Miami, Florida...so my brother and I had to fly there a day before the sailing date. We were going on vacation with my uncle and his family. He booked our tickets through southwest. This was first time for us flying through southwest airlines and there are some good and bad things about it.
Good thing is that southwest doesn't charge you for the bags :). You can take two bags for free which is great because most of the airlines now charge $15 for the first bag and more for the second. Also on board, you can get snacks and not one, two ...but if you want more, you can just ask for it. Same goes with drinks.
Bad thing about southwest is that you don't have assigned seating. You can see this from two different point of view. If you're traveling alone, you'll find a seat easily in the first couple of rows. But, if you're traveling with family, it's hard to find seats together, specially if your checking group is B31-60 or anywhere in C. See, what southwest does is that instead of giving you a seat number, they give you seating group number. So there are 3 groups (A, B, C) and the boarding processes from A1-30, A31-60...and so on. So the earlier your group number is the better chances you have of getting your desired seat with your family seating together. One thing is for sure that no one likes to sit in the middle seat (if there are 3 seats together). As I was walking to find a seat with my brother I noticed that all the middle seats are empty because everyone has either taken an aisle seat or window seat :P. Well, that's just a down side...so to prevent that from happening, just check-in at home as soon as the check-in process opens up because if you wait to get your boarding pass until you get to the airport, you'll most likely get a seating group in C.
Well that's my evaluation of the airline....more to come later :).
So this is a start to telling you about my Caribbean vacation journey. We had to take the cruise from Miami, Florida...so my brother and I had to fly there a day before the sailing date. We were going on vacation with my uncle and his family. He booked our tickets through southwest. This was first time for us flying through southwest airlines and there are some good and bad things about it.
Good thing is that southwest doesn't charge you for the bags :). You can take two bags for free which is great because most of the airlines now charge $15 for the first bag and more for the second. Also on board, you can get snacks and not one, two ...but if you want more, you can just ask for it. Same goes with drinks.
Bad thing about southwest is that you don't have assigned seating. You can see this from two different point of view. If you're traveling alone, you'll find a seat easily in the first couple of rows. But, if you're traveling with family, it's hard to find seats together, specially if your checking group is B31-60 or anywhere in C. See, what southwest does is that instead of giving you a seat number, they give you seating group number. So there are 3 groups (A, B, C) and the boarding processes from A1-30, A31-60...and so on. So the earlier your group number is the better chances you have of getting your desired seat with your family seating together. One thing is for sure that no one likes to sit in the middle seat (if there are 3 seats together). As I was walking to find a seat with my brother I noticed that all the middle seats are empty because everyone has either taken an aisle seat or window seat :P. Well, that's just a down side...so to prevent that from happening, just check-in at home as soon as the check-in process opens up because if you wait to get your boarding pass until you get to the airport, you'll most likely get a seating group in C.
Well that's my evaluation of the airline....more to come later :).
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
My Adventurous Vacation!!!!
Hey friends,
I know I've been away and returning to my own blog after loooooong time...long 5 months. Well what can I say, I was terribly busy with school until first week of May and then once the school was over I was busy with work. I must admit though that this summer break has gone by so fast. I can't believe my school will start again in 2 weeks :(. Well I've enjoyed my time-off from school and able to focus on just work.
Now if you don't know, I just returned from a beautiful vacation from 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise. It was the best vacation ever......and a great experience. It was my first cruise so I was really excited because I didn't know what to expect and at the same time I had so many expectations. It was a 7 day cruise but the days just spoofed by that I didn't want to go back to work the next day :(. Friends, I have so much to tell you about each day that I spent on cruise or at the different ports, starting from when I flew in to Miami to the point when I got back home. I will probably break down the blog into sections because I have a lot to write about the cruise experience itself, the service, food, the different places we visited, a lot of tips that I could give to first-time cruisers :) and much more. I took like 3 GB worth of pictures and videos so I won't be able to show you those here...but I'll post some pics to give you guys an idea of how much fun it's been these past 7 days. All I can say is that it's a lifetime experience and one should take the cruise vacation at least one time in their life...because if you take it once, you'll love it so you'll take it again and again :P. I think the cruise experience also becomes more memorable and fun if you choose the right cruise and I think Carnival was the best option for first-time cruise because they pamper you a lot with great entertainment and service they offer on board.
So folks, stay tuned and watch out for my next couple of blog posts. I will try my best to post everything by end of this week (if time permits), so bear with me!
Tata for now... :)
I know I've been away and returning to my own blog after loooooong time...long 5 months. Well what can I say, I was terribly busy with school until first week of May and then once the school was over I was busy with work. I must admit though that this summer break has gone by so fast. I can't believe my school will start again in 2 weeks :(. Well I've enjoyed my time-off from school and able to focus on just work.
Now if you don't know, I just returned from a beautiful vacation from 7 day Western Caribbean Cruise. It was the best vacation ever......and a great experience. It was my first cruise so I was really excited because I didn't know what to expect and at the same time I had so many expectations. It was a 7 day cruise but the days just spoofed by that I didn't want to go back to work the next day :(. Friends, I have so much to tell you about each day that I spent on cruise or at the different ports, starting from when I flew in to Miami to the point when I got back home. I will probably break down the blog into sections because I have a lot to write about the cruise experience itself, the service, food, the different places we visited, a lot of tips that I could give to first-time cruisers :) and much more. I took like 3 GB worth of pictures and videos so I won't be able to show you those here...but I'll post some pics to give you guys an idea of how much fun it's been these past 7 days. All I can say is that it's a lifetime experience and one should take the cruise vacation at least one time in their life...because if you take it once, you'll love it so you'll take it again and again :P. I think the cruise experience also becomes more memorable and fun if you choose the right cruise and I think Carnival was the best option for first-time cruise because they pamper you a lot with great entertainment and service they offer on board.
So folks, stay tuned and watch out for my next couple of blog posts. I will try my best to post everything by end of this week (if time permits), so bear with me!
Tata for now... :)
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