Soul shoes

This post is dedicated to my Reebok shoes.

Funny really. This reebok was the first real shoes that I bought for myself. Actually, my brother got it for me at the Khols in NJ.

In many ways these are not mere shoes for me. They are a symbol of me going places - literally. They saw me take those kid steps as a frightended deer not knowing one avenue to another in Central NY to being myself in Munich Germany quite comfortably without an inkling of German.

They gave wings to my feet and pushed them forward in the right direction.

Today after much debate I had to shelf them and buy a new pair. I opted for a Nike Air - but maintained the same black color scheme to keep up with the sprit!

My brother would have forgotten this little expense of a long time ago. But to me it is the best investment ever made.

First time at Europe

This is my first trip to Europe and I covered Munich, Germany and Krakow, Poland.

Actually it was like 2 days at Munich so I did not get to see much. Except the first thing as always that hits you is how technically superior the Germans are. It is there in the little things that they do - the economy of movements, the almost taken for granted advanced access controls and that iron will that forces you to tow the line. I am not sure if I will be that ruthless in my meetings. Here we were entering a meeiting and the first thing the host told us was there was a hard stop at 1.30 and the meeting has to end then even if we were in the middle of a sentence. I felt truly welcomed!!!!

On the way back to the airport I came across the steel wonder that was the Munich olympic stadium and simply stared at what man could create by just twisting and bolting steel together. The Allianze Arena which looks like a massive white dome during the day lights up to a stunning shade of red at night that catches your eye.

The Audi global headquarters stands boldly right in the heart of the city and the 5 floors of gleaming audi cars that you can catch a glipmse of, define pure driving pleasure.

All in all a great experience. And yes, you need to know German. all the street signs are in German only - if you are used to the US, then you can make out the signs of exit and the next Strasue by the arrow marks alone.

The best thing to do would be to get the Google maps in German and continue.

As longs as there is Google there is hope for us yet.

Getting back

It was funny really. Since I was away from my blog for some time now, I kind of forgit my blogpost and the name I had given. I was trying all the names that I could have possibly come up with and thankfully finnaly looked up in the blogger settings to get to my page.

I had a lot of thoughts going around in my mind. Should give them the virtual space they deserve.

Songs on a long drive

This is bliss! A slice of heaven.

There are specific songs that uplift your mood i guess. I love the '70s and 80s of Raja and SPB. They take you to a different world and make the dreams more special.

A soulful song or a romantic duet each one make the miles special and create a whole new topic of conversation altogehter.

And when I listen to the song again, i also remember the drive with better clarity.

I now have songs classified as the NJ trip, San Deigo transition, NY Due diligence and so on..

One more way to make work fun in my opinion.

New York

I have decided to write about my travels like Mark Twain.

The first place had to be New York. This was where it all began - the adventure called travel and my realization that I truly enjoy the travel.

I think it is injustice to se NY is a city of lights and that it never sleeps.

It is a man made city and ofcourse it sleeps. But like man, it dreams and boy those dreams are colorful! Where else could you cross the road when there is no signal and have the cabbiee screeching to a halt inches before he hits you?

Where else can you get away with a purple hairdo, gooyey burger and still manage a three piece suit?

All roads and all buildings in NY are a testimony to man's endurance and his ability to rise up against all odds.

It drives you to do things your way and take pride in yourself. You either like it for its confidence or hate it for its arrogance.

During sunshines and snowfalls as I travelled thru those avenues, I was truly liberated. I knew what self confidence was.

If not for anything else I have to thank New York for that.

Work Life balance

This is one term that I keep hearing often these days.

For some reason I cannot help but feel it is a comment directed more at women at the work place and not at the gentlemen. I also have been at the receiving end of my boss's concern when work days stretch endlessly and days blend into each other. Sometimes when he asks me such questions, I cannot help but wonder at the situation at his home as well - he spends almost the same time as most of us do on the work floor and it cannot be picnic for him at home as well.

I tell myself that just as I have a responsibility to be at the office at a stipulated time in the mornings, I also have a moral responsibility to be back at home at a decent time.

My bottom line - I can always get another job, but never another family.

Travel

Travel in my opinion is the best way to learn. I love to look at places from the perspective of the native.

Looking at a place with rose glasses might distort the view. But looking at it from a native's shoes gives us an image of the place as it is but also helps us capture the essence of the place - what would it be like to wake up to the stunning view of the sun over the Grand Canyon? Or watch the endless Niagara falls free flow into a bottomless pit??

Will I stop to stare at the falling snow or just move by as if it was an every day occurance and just curse the traffic delay?