Southern Highway – would you dare?

Now that the opening up of southern highway is just around the corner, a few of us at work have been contemplating when it would be “safe” to get on it. The estimates varied. Here is a summary.

At least after the first 6 months : Reason being that the moment it opens up, there will be a flood of morons who would try to taste what it would be like to legally drive at 100kmph – assuming that it would be very different to doing the same illegally as they have done since getting behind a vehicle for the first time. The only silver lining here is that it will probably eliminate some of these brain-cell-challenged-maniacs – probably a few offspring of some ministers together with their expensive duty-free rides. I just hope they won’t take a few innocent folks with them when they go.

In the first 6 months and then from 18 months onwards : Essentially stay away from the road 12 months after the first 6 months. The argument here is that during the first 6 months, sanity will prevail and people will hopefully take it slow – what this being a new thing and all. After that they will slowly gain confidence and try to push the limits. “If 100kmph is legal, what’s the fun in driving at that?”. This will last for about 12 months until authorities wake up and start putting cops behind trees with speed guns, sniper guns and bribe collecting tins.

Never, infact take the Galle road : Two reasons for this. First is that our drivers don’t use their indicate lights for a toss and the break-lights don’t work on most vehicles that were made two years or earlier – and as my friend rightfully pointed out, at 100kmph both those mistakes can often be fatal. The second reason being that most morons out there would have started using the new highway. Galle road will become relatively moron-free.

Personally, I will adopt a wait-and-see policy on this.

Dodgy Petrol?

As many of you might have already heard by now, there is a general concern among the Sri Lankan public (the ones who own/drive vehicles at least) that there is something wrong with the petrol that is available at the ol’ “petrol-sheds” out there.

I don’t read newspapers. Don’t even watch local “news” programmes on the Telly. So it is not surprising that I only heard about this issue yesterday. Only when a colleague of mine at work informed a few of us of an interesting telephone conversation he had just had with his friend who worked at a prominent car dealership in Colombo. He said that there are droves of pissed-off owners brining their sputtering vehicles to this particular dealership to figure out why their vehicle doesn’t run so smoothly anymore. The cause? Apparently, dodgy petrol.

“Oh sh*t! My tank is almost empty” I thought. I was planning to stop by a petrol-shed on my way home tonight to fill her up. During the next 30 minutes, I had called up someone I know who worked at Ceylon Petroleum Coorporation (CPC) and a couple of vehicle dealerships I knew to see if anyone can confirm this. The funny thing is that all three confirmed the story but the dealers were blaming the CPC and CPC was blaming the petrol-shed owners. Now what?

I had very little choice really,.. ignore the warning signs and pump petrol as usual or take the bus. If you had ever travelled on a bus in Colombo you would know that it is not much of a choice at all. So on my way home, just as I planned earlier, I stopped by a petrol-shed. I asked the attendant to fill ‘er up. While waiting I thought I would try my luck with the fuel attendant who looked cheerful enough. Cheerful enough for a petrol-shed attendant pumping petrol at the peak of evening traffic in Colombo that is.

“So what is this fuss about contaminated fuel then?” I asked casually.

Suddenly his cheerful demeanor vanished into thin air. He said, “I don’t know why people believe all these stories.”

Glimmer of hope,.. but I wanted confirmation. “You mean there is no problem”?

“Did I say that?”

Huh? I thought…

“There is a problem. But don’t believe what they say sir”.

He was clearly irritated by my ignorance. But at least he called me “sir”. So I pushed it…

“So what is the problem then?”

“Cars do have problems with this petrol. People come and complain to us sometimes. But how do we know it is our petrol? CPC says their petrol is pure. We take good care of petrol here. But the customer complains. Who knows what is going on?”. He picked up a pebble and threw it at a stray dog that got a little inquisitive – he missed the target but the mongrel was street-wise and didn’t hang around.

“Click” – it was the auto-cutoff of the petrol pump indicating that my tank was now full. That is my cue, I thought. So without another word, I paid for the petrol and drove away.

The way I see it, this is not something I can control even if I get to the bottom of this. So I decided to stay happily ignorant. By the way, the vehicle still works.

Treat Yourself

I never thought the humble cupcake can become the most sought after treat in town. But then again, I haven’t seen Miss Cupcake’s work until now either. They look lovely and are competitively priced too. But do they taste good? Well, try them out for yourself…

Treatz facebook page

By the way, they do contribute 20% of the profit to a well deserving cause. A socially responsible business - good on you Tina!

Create your own life, it is in you!

A friend of mine's email signature states "Create your own life, it is in you". It started me thinking... it is so true isn't it? It inspired me to share this following link with you all,...

"10 hard ways to make your life better"'

Go ahead, make a change today. Good luck!

Face-off with Facebook

Now that I’ve touched on LinkedIn, let me state my opinion about it’s more social/informal counterpart, Facebook. Now we all know how successful and addictive it has become. I have been pleasantly surprised and amazed by the number of long lost fiends I have discovered due to Facebook. Some of them after more than 20 years.

But there is the proverbial “other side of the coin” that we must always look at. The one that give pedophiles yet another tool (a very effective one at that) to exploit unwary children, a place where Spammers can go to town, an avenue to easily and unintentionally expose your deep dark secrets to millions of strangers and an addictive tool which can become the most effective time waster since the introduction of news bulletins at national TV networks.

But more than anything what I cannot comprehend is why in the world some folks want to invite total strangers into their “friend list”. Is it because they think it might be “cool” to have a “friend list” that exceeds the 500 or even the 1000 mark? I of course reject these invites. But I know some don’t.

Any idea why?

Linked-In or Linked-Out?

Lately, I have been receiving reminders fairly frequently from the socio-professional network called LinkedIn. All this time I have been treating them just as I treat any Nigerian email claiming to share a sudden multi-million dollar windfall if I reply to them; drag-and-drop in the trash – the electronic trash that is – on my computer.

But today I had some time to myself and curiosity took the better of me – isn’t it curious how curiosity does it? I clicked on the link and ended up on the sign-in (or is it the sign-on?) page (I’m sure most of my readers are conversant with the terminology – if not, too bad). I entered my personal email address and tried a few of my usual password. I got in on the 4th attempt – had it been a site designed by folks who design ATM software I guess I would have had it after the 3rd incorrect attempt. “Designing ATM software”, now why does that sounds awfully familiar?

Anyway….

WTF? There were 43 requests waiting for me. Some were requests for endorsements and others invitations to join various groups. I was no longer interested in joining any other group. That left me with 14 requests for endorsements. Suddenly I felt important. People actually want my endorsements? Wow! I started writing a few in earnest. By the end of the day, I had only managed to complete 6.

One question though,… Do potential employers really take these endorsements seriously? I mean in this internet/social networking age, deceptions and impersonations are as commonplace as fries at McDonalds aren’t they?

That tagging game

I think the Drummer started it all. I received the tag from Santhoshi. It's all about expressing your feelings on the recent events in Sri Lanka. Five words should describe it all. So here goes,...

Relieved
Apprehensive
Hopeful
Sad
Happy

I've been so late this time, I cannot think of many bloggers who haven't been tagged so far on this. But I will try my luck with Sujeewa, Dilan, Kokila, Charith and Seshi.

Busy, are we?

I had some visitors over the other day. They are here in Sri Lanka on a holiday (Remember holidays? We used to go on them when we could take some time off from work?). They once lived here in Sri Lanka but now call Austraaaalia (did I get the accent right?) home.

We were catching up and reminiscing over dinner when one of the visitors said, “Hey guys, why don’t we go on a trip to Udawalawe?”. For those who are wondering “WTF?”, Udawalawe is a national wild life sanctuary in the southern region of Sri Lanka and is known for its abundance of wildlife, especially Elephants. Back in the day, a trip to Udawalawe to watch the Elephants and very often get chased by one or two, was a regular event on our annual calendar,.. sometimes even bi-annual.

I thought it was a great idea and immediately started thinking of possible date – especially a weekend. I was thinking “Hmm,.. lets see,.. next Saturday I will have to take R for her fit-on at the dressmaker, Sunday I have to attend P’s wedding,.. how about the following weekend?.. I guess that Saturday too is out as I promised….”

I guess I must have been thinking out loud, as my friend from OZ said, “What’s with you guys (I guess he mean us Sri Lankans, now that he is not one of “us”) these days? So many appointments and shit? Can’t you make a snap decision and take time off from work anymore? I was thinking of going on this trip tomorrow or day after,.. not next weekend”.

He was genuinely puzzled. But here’s the thing,… it never occurred to me that I was being too organized. I always thought of myself to be a spur-of-the-moment kinda guy. Maybe living in Sri Lanka, especially in Colombo, have made me something else?

Boys will be boys.

89 batch AGM for year 2008 was held at school in September. We were all thrilled at the turnout. Some say it was the magic of digital age, namely SMS and Email that raked them all in. Whatever it was, it certainly helped in the selection of the new committee. Once the formalities were over, we all headed towards the nearest ‘waterhole’ which happened to belong to one of our batchmates – in front of a Castle of a hospital.

It started well, with plenty of food and drinks around and smokers and non-smokers ending up in the same air conditioned hall. We couldn’t ask for more. The biggest mistake was trying to get a democratic vote from a very diverse set of individuals who by now had so much alcohol in their blood, that if any of them started bleeding from any open wound – the blood would have evaporated. All the more reason to avoid confrontation.

But it was exactly where we were heading. The subject was the batch trip – the contention was whether it was boys-only or family-friendly. There were harsh words spoken as well as stand up speeches from each participant going around… and again around the table, but no agreement in sight. Some of us sat back and enjoyed the spectacle. It was nostalgic in the sense that this is exactly what we used to do in our school days (minus the alcohol of course).

The trip is on. But to this day, I don’t think we were able to find a resolution to the argument. Should be an interesting trip – wouldn’t miss it for the world!

My perfect 10

I must admit, when Santhoshi said I was “tagged” my initial reaction was “huh?”. Then I checked out her blog and figured out what it all meant. So here goes…

1) Innocent smiles that my two girls give in their sleep
2) Chocolate biscuit-pudding (with extra dark chocolate)
3) Smell of freshly cut grass (don’t get excited, I meant grass as in what makes up your lawn)
4) A good Paulo Coelho or a Arthur C. Clarke novel
5) A close F1 race with Raikkonen, Lewis and Alonso battling it out in front.
6) Beach
7) A good night out in Colombo with Live music, Dancing and my closest friends
8) Italian food
9) Access to internet from anywhere
10) The thought that someday I will learn to play the guitar

It’s my turn to do the tagging now. I wish to tag…

Charith
Seshi
Mithila
Sujeewa
Dilan
Chathu

Some mothers do have ‘em! – Part 1

Big-match weekend! What a great excuse for getting back together with my old classmates and swig a few beers on a searing Saturday in Colombo.

Although I promised to be at the “grounds” at 11 am, I got held up at the dentist. I had to take my seven year old to the dentist y’see. It’s amazing how her teeth needs attention just as she is about to lose them for more permanent ones. I have been delaying it hoping for the toothfairy’s visit. Maybe I forgot to tip the toothfairly when I was young – for she never arrived in time. I digress...

Anyway,.. it was way past noon when I managed to haul myself up to the grounds. As I was reaching the entrance… “tweet, “tweet”... oh great! An SMS on a Saturday can only mean one thing… emergency at work! Cursing, I checked out the SMS. To my relief it was from one of the guys I was supposed to meet.. telling me they took off to lunch. They want me to come to FD for lunch. I knew better than to complain… after all I was at fault for being late.

As I was reaching FD, I could hear them blokes a mile away. Even from outside the door it was apparent that large volumes of alcohol are already in their bellies and in their bloodstreams. I pity the waiters who have to put up with such boisterous sorts in such instances.

I entered the private dining area to the obvious delight of the guys already under influence. Once the handshakes and high-fives (yes, we are still sixteen) were over, I settled down and promptly orders some drinks (soft ones… yes, they did “boo” at me for that). For some reason, seeing these guys already “blowing in the wind” and the prospects of “catching up” with a few tequilas wasn’t really attractive to me at the time. At Zanziba’s on a Friday night would have been a different case altogether.

Before long, the food came. And it was disappointingly ordinary for FD. Maybe the waiters wanted to teach us a lesson. After all it was Chinese and Confucius did say “He who is drunk will get no tasty food”. Or was it my mother-in-law who said that? Nevertheless, we were all famished and started to gobble up the grub. As the food hit our stomachs and the digestive enzymes did their thing, the conversation turned more civil and actually enjoyable (mum, if you are reading this, we didn’t speak with our mouths full). At this stage I must inform you that three out of the seven guys there were in IT industry, one in telecom, another in apparel (or in “garment” as we Sri Lankans like to put it) and the remaining two managing their own businesses. Quite predictably we started sharing stories from work (yes, we do not have a “life”... none of us are in entertainment or hospitality or fashion or advertising.. okeeeyyy??)

When we started comparing our workplaces, their personalities and their management styles (don’t you just love such talk?... they give me goosebumps), it dawned on us that there were definitely clear and identifiable groups of personalities across our workplaces. So we started to explore that over the traditional lychees. Of course being the sensible and leaner member of the group, I went for the caramel-de-cholesterol pudding.

I wanted to let them know that I might just be able to blog it... but then that would have been too geeky and would have surely received an even louder “booo”.

...to be continued!

At the blocks.

Six and a half years at the "blocks" came to an end on 31st January 2008. And what a tenure it was. Through the years I have seen ups and downs and some talented individuals too. Upto date it has been my longest stint and it in itself speaks volumes. Many a times I have almost been tempted by what appeared to be greener pastures. But on each of those occasions I have decided to stick with "blocks" which allowed me to contribute more effectively. So no regrets.

It is now time to open another chapter - nothing against "bankers", but I feel it is no longer a challange. Therefore I'm off to take the bull by the horns... so to speak. Hoping for a bull run anyway. So much for the "exchange" lingo... I guess I'll need to catch-up a bit.

Adios IB!

Who dares Facebook?

The latest craze in online social utilities seems to be Facebook. I'm not the sort of fellow who spends hours on end online. But after several of my friends raved about it, I finally decided to try it out.

Although I use less than 10% of facebook's various tools and functionality, I have already hooked up with several of my long lost friends thanks to it's vast reach and great search engines. I find it to be a great "friend locator" than anything else.

There are some who registers but avoids putting their profile details including photographs due to privacy concerns. Maybe they have a point,.. but I guess without such profile details, it defeats the whole purpose.

7th Year bash!

In August, Interblocks turned 7. How best to celebrate than organizing a party… food, drinks and music,.. ahhhh Good stuff!

We all headed down to the Mt. Lavinia beach last Friday night. Invitations were extended to our customers as well. And they turned up in numbers. A four-piece calypso band was in full swing when I arrived. Drinks were flowing and all sorts of mouth watering smells were emanating from the Barbecue grill.

We were mingling with the customers and also a few former members of our staff when the music changed from live Calypso to a more night-clubby DJ type (complete with disco lights and a make-do plywood dance floor). Soon a few brave souls, doubtlessly with slightly higher levels of alcohol in their systems, started showing their moves on the plywood. As the night went on, the drinks kept coming, the food became more and more non vegetarian, and the music turned from Dance/Funk to Reggae to Baila and even to good ol’ big-match Papare.

We wound up earlier than usual – Thanks to an impatient DJ (I say, bring back “Curzon DJ”). Apart from a minor injury to our graphic designer’s left Shin, which he insists was caused by a misjudged step on the stairs onto the sandy beach, the worst damage were a few tired feet. We had a good time. Kudos to the organizing party. My only regret is me failing to capture that prized photograph of 17 empty Smirnoff bottles on the ledge behind the bar tables.

Cheers to all the participants!

Do you know him?

He is big..ahem.. well..er..hefty! Athletic at times - especially when playing badminton. Drives a mean Honda City. Has a special connection with Africa, to be more precise, with Nigeria. Yes, you all know who I am referring to… The Nigerian white-boy of course!

Sad to see you go Suresh. It was a pleasure working with you. Have a good one!

Thanks Roman!

Some call him Roman. I never knew why he was called that and never felt the need to ask either. For the people out there who knows why, now is the time to state your comments to this post. We know him to be a professional graphic designer cum web developer. He is equally skilled in playing the guitar and a great singer too. All in all, a very pleasant and fun loving guy.

We shall miss him, for he will be bidding farewell to his friends and colleagues on his journey in sharpening is graphics skills. I am sure he will make a lasting impression on his new friends down-under.

Although hastily organized, we all met at a popular cricketing venue in the heart of Colombo on a Monday night. Usually the place attracts blokes who love to get sloshed after work. But this time members of the fairer sex were gracing the occasion and were willing to tolerate the barbaric drinking session on account of Roman - that itself speaks volumes of his likeability at the workplace.

There are always one or two who get one too many inside of them on such occasions - don't we all know that! Usually "flat-trick" takes this honor and he didn't disappoint this time either. We eventually managed to calm his nerves down. Hope he managed to ride his motor-bike back to his crib without much drama. Avoiding an earful from his missis, well that's another story.

Anyways, Roman - if you are reading this, hope this somewhat disastrous get-together didn't disappoint you too much. Although if it did, we will understand. As you rightfully said... "Let's keep in touch with Blogging". Thank you for the marvelous contribution at work and the endless tunes you played for us on numerous occasions. Next time you have a Foster's or a VB, keep in mind that we will be toasting to you too.

Have a great one mate!