will make this a short post by wishing everyone in this world a very happy new year. may all your wishes come true (as long as it is not to harm others) :)
this is sabs signing off, probably after the last post of this year.
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never before in my life, i might've gotten fed up with food like in this vacation. ate too much yummy food that i've put on 8.5 lbs in these 3 weeks (no exaggeration). cant blame parents, cant blame the restaurants, cant blame the bakeries, cant blame in-laws - everyone provided awesome food (junk included liberally) :) in all possibilities, i was on a 6000 calorie a day diet instead of the required 2000 calorie diet ! and for the spoiler, the annual mud run is coming in a month and i need to get back in shape to particpate.
i had written about the low cost airlines in one of my prev postings. finally flew with them and had a very rough patch with the ground staff there. these kidos at the check-in counter think that they run the airlines. they were so rude just cuz we had just 3 kg in excess for all the 4 passengers together. they were not considerate inspite of us travelling with 2 little kids and given the fact that we had an onward international journey where the baggage allowances are three times their limit. anyways, it is a lesson learned that if you save money on something, you probably will sacrifice on quality.
and guess what my prized purchases (to bring back to US) this time were - a few packs of 'naaranga muttai' and the orange colored 'unda muttai' :) those who grew up in kerala as kids will know what these are. i will probably add pics of both for the people who dont really know or recollect it. the difference in price ? about 800%-1000% than what i used to pay as a little kid (probably 25-30 years ago) !!!
its time for me to conclude this post. i will write more about this vacation later. till then, this is sabs signing off, cursing the jetlag making him wakeup at 2:00 in the morning ! :)]]>
probably he was running too fast inside the court room and had brake down rather than breaking down? :)
this is sabs signing off .. ]]>
people say poverty coupled with illiteracy breeds terrorism. is that really true ? many in the 9/11 attacks are .. oops.. were from elite families in their respective countries and were well educated. same here also. a doctor who is supposed to save common man from death is planning and executing bomb attacks aimed to kill innocent air travellers ! all in the name of religion ?? where in the world would this end up ?
this is sabs signing off with a deep sigh .. hoping someone will someday inject some wisdom to those people who think killing innocent non-believers is the shortest way to reach GOD.
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COACH - 24.00 INR (INR = ruppees)
Special Service Request 1.20 INR
Fuel Surcharge 900.00 INR
Passenger Service Fee 225.00 INR
Congestion Surcharge BLR 150.00
special service request ?? what the heck is that ? we never asked for it ! but anyway, if they want to make us feel 'special' for rs. 1.20, so be it :)
fuel surcharge ?? more than 37 times the airfare ? shouldn't that be the part of actual advertised airfare ?
passenger service fee .. another name of tax .. quite understandable but again 900% of the airfare ?
congestion surcharge .. 6 times the airfare .. since when is the sky congested with aircrafts that they have to charge everyone a congestion charge ? or are their aircrafts 'driven' through the narrow roads from bangalore to trivandrum to keep the costs low ? :)
having said all this, i'm still happy that the total is just rs. 1300 which is probably cheaper than a rail ticket for the same destination !! let more people start making use of these low cost airlines so that they have a steady revenue and hence do not have to go bankrupt or increase their charges. let the common man fly whenever he wants to.
go low cost airlines !
this is sabs signing off for today.
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life has been a bit hectic .. but now i've enough time to update my site. reason ? i'm a forced bachelor now .. my wife and kids went back to india (bangalore) for their summer vacation. and guess what ? i too will be going to india next month (july mid) ! tickets are bloody expensive but i guess thats easily offset by the satisfaction of meeting parents, sisters, other family memebrs, childhood friends and last but not least - eating the thattukada food after 2 years !!!! :)
i had a list of things to write (mostly political) but cant recollect now what those were .. probably when i sit home and have nothing to do, i might spit it out here.
for now, this is sabs signing off .. till the next bored evil spirit gets into me ..]]>
on a personal front, i was down with influenza and a stomach virus attack and is currently on the recovery mode. hope to be back in full health atleast by this weekend.
and, i've decided to take a vacation this year to go to india. yes, i will be going to india this july for 3 or 4 weeks. talking about vacation, this pic which i received from a friend in keralachannel.com tells you the importance of why you should go visit your home back in india once a while. this bike is supposed to be owned by a gentleman in saudi whose last vacation back to kerala was in 1985 :)
;)
this is sabs signing off for today ..]]>
in a related news, the villains of movies were planning to do a harthal in protest against the high cost of rapes !! :)
this is sabs signing off ..]]>
There are as many as 2,07,000 temples in Karnataka and the total income of these temples amounts to 72 crores and only a sum of Rs. 6 crores is being spent by the Government for their upkeep. On the other hand, the Government spent a phenomenal amount of Rs.50 crores for the madrasas and Rs.10 crores for the churches, and for the Hindu temples only a partly sum of Rs.6 crores is being spent
complete article with more stats here
it is very interesting to note that while a section of indian citizens are taxed left right and center, the govt pays subsidy to another section of indian citizens (to the order of rs. 75 crores annually) to visit their holy place outside of india ! now that is what i define as true secularism. long live such secularism in india .. and long live their proponents ..
this is sabs signing off for today .. ]]>
this is sabs signing off ..]]>