Not running yet but walking

I had a professor at b-school who always said the best way to figure out how well an economy is doing is to talk to a taxi driver. Some drivers are chattier than others and usually most willingly give away their opinion at the slightest tickle. Most conversations starts with where are you from, what are you doing here and how long will you stay. Then usually you get a 2 minute recital on their knowledge about your country and a few probing questions comparing the place you are visiting and that of your origin. However nowadays whenever I mention that I am from India, all I hear is praise about its economic prowess and how its positioned to become one the larger economies in world in the next 20 years. Many will actually go into GDP details and why its doing so well. Waiting to go to India, would like to have the same conversation with a cab driver there and see what he says! I am sure he will say he wants to go to America... We had Abey and Dhanya over last weekend and fortunately the rain gods were obliging. We had a fantastic time, it felt like we never left them. A bit of food overdose, particularly meat and lots of Alcohol. Dhanya seems to taken a liking to Weiss Beer albeit being a beer-hater. We finished a particularly lazy sunday on Leopoldstrasse gorging on what has the biggest sundae I have ever ordered while the hot munich sun blazed away. No, I don't look tanned. I am almost walking like I did prior to my operation but still limping a bit. I had fairly uneventful flight back to Malaysia, this time its a long stay. Its back to stressful days, alcohol themed nights and very little sleep. I am really beginning to miss my Italian lunches, afternoon cappucinos and the time for leisure as life used to be when I could not walk without the help of my sticks. Have not done any reading in a few weeks, started Lexus and the Olive tree but too distracted to continue reading it. Anyone watched Spiderman 3 yet? Priya refuses to go... My mother always talks about the biggest event in her village back in Kerala being the Church Anniversary (Birthday?) and she always fondly remembers it. I have been to it once and its a lot fun and lots of people. The festival is based on moving a large copper vessel filled with rice and men jostling to carry and people hustling to get some blessings. The town also becomes innundated with beggars who disappear immediately after the festival. My cousin Roshen was at home this year and she has posted a video here.

Ascension Day

Another jetlagged week in Munich passes by, we are celebrating Ascension Day today in Germany by lazing around at home. There are 3 consecutive weeks with Public holidays in germany, so its a popular time to plan long vacation so that you can maximise vacation time during the year. Gayathri organized a night at the theatre to go see Anoushka Shankar in concert. I had seen her a few years ago in concert (on TV) with a few country singers and thought she was very good but the CD we have at home is quite disappointing. Seeing her live was really nice and the show was very good. She is very dexterous with the sitar and rest of her troupe were equally entertaining particularly the Tablist. She also shed the image I had of the sitar, its very versatile as I found out while watching her. She had a very distinct American twang in her speech. Would like to go see her again if she comes back to Munich or whereever our paths cross. Scored some serious brownie points with the wife!! Abey and Dhanya will be here this weekend, looking forward to seeing them after such a long time. The 'Lovers' are currently doing a whirlwind tour to Europe.

Airport Wheelchair tours

I did not plan to ask for a wheelchair at the airport when I left home because I figured I would be able to make it without much vexation. Munich airport is a very easy airport to use and my gate was very near the entrance so no problems. Since I had to change planes in Frankfurt I asked at the counter how far apart my gates would be (knowing that Frankfurt is usually a nightmare to navigate) and of course she had no idea but recommended that I got a wheelchair. Hesitated for a bit, honestly was feeling a little embarassed to ask for one, but gave in when she recommended it again. Coyishly got off the flight at Frankfurt and hoped that my wheelchair request got lost in the system but Lufthansa's efficiency prevailed and was greeted by my wheelchair pusher as I hobbled off the plane. It took a good 25 minutes to get to the destination gate, so it was a good call to heed the advice I got. Repeated the same in Bangkok as I had another connection there. I associate airports and hospitals as places that I see people with wheelchairs, so assumed most people would not really pay much attention. However I was not prepared for the stares that I continously got, some suggesting - You can't be serious, there nothing wrong with you. Though the majority of the stares were sympathetic and blank from weariness. Today is the 'Die Lange Nacht de Musik' - The Long Night of Music, in Munich. Its an annual affair where many restaurants and hotels organize bands to come in and play music all night and the city organizes a bus service that takes you from destination to destination. You buy one ticket and you can go to all the venues, 70-80 venues in all. Most of the city is up till the wee hours of the morning. I was able to satisfy some of my gastronomic cravings this time too in KL. Went out for dinner with the team the first night to a Hong Kong style Chinese restaurant and gorged on seafood. Lobster in cheese sauce was the man of the match, must be one the best dishes I have ever had, been to a few restaurants like that each of which have a dish that makes it a very special meal. Excellent Vietnamese the second night, fish tika the third and dosas the last night. Food really makes KL a place worth visiting. The leg is still not back to normal but getting better. The recovery is still too slow for my likes..

Walking again

Walking again, albeit painfully. I am able to walk more or less without my sticks however the limp in my stride becomes more pronounced. More control but also more pain, not in a comfortable zone yet. Off to Malaysia this weekend and hoping to be back in a week. From the look of things, I think I will be spending a lot of time there again in the coming months. I was hoping to go visit my folks in the US when they go to see my sister in June but looks unlikely now. Life is a bummer! Being back in the office is not as much fun as working from home. I am not really getting as much done, spending more time doing admin stuff and talking to colleagues recanting my war stories at the hospital. Mood at work is also weird, maybe just not used to being back in the office. Still not very clear what my new job is going to be but thats most of us in the office. NSN announced that they will be laying off 1700 people in Germany. Priya is nicely settling down at work, her new project is interesting. She likes the constraints free approach of designing here and the emphasis being more on novelty of design as opposed to conformity of established practices. She says her german is not improving though because she spends a lot of time working and not much talking. Now my job is the exact opposite, more time talking and less working :) No points in guessing who brings home the bigger loaf of bread for all the hardwork... We watched the disastrous worldcup final in a bar nearby and still my ears are ringing from celebrating Aussies screaming ' twelf ears of toatal wohrld d0omination'. I think the Lankans had a fighting chance if the weather did not play spoilsport, all in all a pretty disappointing world cup. The election disaster in Nigeria may sound pretty bad but I am just glad there is still someone in civilian garb still ruling. Its hard to change things there but I feel the last election certainly has not helped the average Nigerian move forward. Sudarsan Uncle was telling me of stories of construction workers being kidnapped and the total state of chaos in some parts in the south though he still does not want to leave. I miss Nigeria, time to go and visit again.