News Roundup  

7:36PM, Bangalore

The past couple of weeks have been quite eventful - we returned from a fun vacation in Thailand, had a minor flooding incident at home, got a new PS3 from my wife, got her a new scooter, broke a toe-nail and worked on my first DW project!

Pattaya's Walker's Street is a must-visit destination for all sorts of tourists, more so for young men wanting to get laid (for a price of course!) with its myriad collection of a go-go clubs, strip bars, roadside cafes, street performers and a genial holiday mood prevalent throughout.

I loved the signs on hotels proclaiming rooms were available for "short-stay (2 hours)"!
I loved the big bikes available for rent!
I loved the cute Thai girls!
I loved the prices of clothes and shoes!
I loved seeing a Lamborghini parked next to a McLaren SLR in a dingy garage on a lowly side-street!
I loved the Italian food (yes, you read that right)!
I loved the way Thai people call 15 "one-tee-five"!
I loved the way a calculator was used as a bargaining communication tool!

I hated the hot and humid weather.
I hated the grasshoppers, bugs, slimy worms and other equally gross stuff available as fried snacks. Yech!

Bangkok was primarily our destination for shopping. We just roamed around aimlessly; never realised it could be so much fun! Experienced shopping from both ends of the "hipness" spectrum - visited massive malls adorned with Prada, Giordano, Versace and the like and also shopped along the street markets which were reminiscent of home.

Couple of days after returning home, we had a burst pipe in our home, leaving Uma and me in ankle-deep water. Fortunately, nothing major was damaged. Except a carpet. And a mattress. The house did end up getting spring-cleaned in the aftermath!

On our first anniversary, she got me a PS3 while I got her a scooter (disc brake and all!). Now I dont have to drop her off on saturdays anymore - instead I can play video games!
While unpacking the damn thing I managed to stub my toe against some furniture and ripped a toe-nail half off! Highly unpleasant experience - I wouldn't recommend it to anyone.
I will recommend buying a full HD LCD TV and watching Blu-ray movies on it through a PS3. Very pleasant indeed!

Finally, got to work on some stuff at work that'll actually be used. Can't really disclose details but it was really satisfying to stop practising and actually start working! Hope to see it in India to earn boasting rights!