52 Forever...

Kindle is really good

2012-02-19T16:56:00.001-08:00

Reading on the kindle; plus keeping myself busy with some maths problem-solving.

The Experiments with Truth. Interesting read. Gandhiji was a lot more like me eh.. :)

Got a white Ford Edge. But the red was more appealing...

Bad dream - Ford Edge Crash

2012-02-17T17:05:00.001-08:00

Had a bad dream yesterday with the main protagonist as a red ford edge. I was driving it in Kerala with my cousin bro. We were having a good trip.

Then he drove the vehicle. At a really high speed.

Banged into a KSRTC bus from behind. The vehicle was half damaged!

Crossed 20,000 visitors

2012-02-16T16:20:00.001-08:00

My humble blog has crossed 20k visitors. So will it hit a million before I die?? :)

Long time since I blogged. Been busy with some non-work related stuff.

Bought a table and a chair. Now peacefully working and other things from home. Thank God. Wonder why I didnt think of buying this earlier.

Helped Glenn buy a similar table.

Bored Vishnu AS yesterday with some crazy philosophy at his 1:30am ...

Some bad news and good news these days. Longing to go back home to meet my parents & of course my dogs.

Blackie having leg troubles

2012-02-03T08:25:00.001-08:00

Work going on steadily.
Some bad news from home that Blackie is walking on 3 legs now. Some limp on her hind leg. And not able to keep it afoot on the floor. But when dad took her to the hospital, she was running around fine!

Reminds me of the 3 legged dogs I saw at the bark park. God. Please don't let anything like that happen to her!

Relaxing slightly

2012-01-28T18:30:00.001-08:00

Go-live weekend. Lots of pressure, but managing and relaxing at the same time.

BSP Component Workbench Through the Web UI

2012-01-22T19:52:00.000-08:00

I just happened to notice the Component Workbench link in the standard sales professional role. And it is a direct means to go to the UI component views and perform quick changes without even accessing the back-end (T code : BSP_WD_CMPWB). Though not to the extent of putting in our own enhancements, this is a really cool tool to add/change views, new layouts, fields etc. All in the form of intuitive user-guided steps.

A chat with a manager & DJ SAP

2012-01-22T08:28:00.001-08:00

Last week was ok. I'm learning to grab the chance to rest whenever possible. Seems like weekends are more filled with work than weekdays.

On Friday (Jan 20 2012), a small chat happened with my manager - Saurabh Kumar. He is a cool, relaxed dude. And enjoys life to the max.

When he saw my daily expense & hours tracking, the talk started as to why I'm so planned in life and why I'm saving money like this. I dont smoke, I dont drink, I'm not into any 'other' activities and I say I dont plan to marry. Then why?

Words & phrases kept flowing. And I was surprised when he told me what I kept saying myself in mind - my life doesnt have any surprises because its too planned for its own good. Hence there is no fun in life. When God compares me with any other guy, He won't even bother to glance at my side. Because He knows it is pretty useless. But to a guy who is unplanned, He would make it more interesting.

It was a good chat. And he did speak the truth. I do kinda over-think everything so as to remain alert & out of surprises.

Saturday Jan 21 2012

Made chana masala for the first time. It came out really well.

Most of the day in the car. The Ford Edge's fully folding passenger seat is awesome. Perfect table to be used. Seriously it has become an SAP utility vehicle. Park it near the apartment and I get my wifi in it. Resource utilization at its maximum. I dont have to complain about back pain sitting on the floor in the apartment.

Reading and coding. And enjoying the music. Got a shock when I was really enjoying some mix, then glanced at the Edge's LCD screen to see which track it was and lo! It was by DJ SAP. Of all the names - DJ SAP!!!

But the desi mix was really good.

At night spoke to JFx, Varun and Bachi. The gang was playing pool! & I got some good news to hear from Varun too. Nice catching up with people after long breaks.

Coming weeks are going to be really interesting. God! Do help me stay on course. :)

A 3D dream

2012-01-16T06:42:00.001-08:00

Red ford edge.

Ajay Shankar, Ratnakar , me and someone else too.

We were watching on a big screen something live happening to the ford edge. Then saw it getting crashed. It was like watching future events live.

Big crash. Followed by another crash.

Then someone helped me with all the formalities for the crash.

Weird. Very weird.

Ultra hectic!

2012-01-14T08:11:00.001-08:00

Jan 9 to Jan 13

A ghost protocol has been running in the system for a few days now. Eating away everyone's time. And still not able to find out the reason. And I'm losing time for doing other work too.

Jan 14

Went to the bark park in the morning. Saw another 3 legged dog. But this one was getting tired too often that it couldnt stand for more than a few minutes and had great difficulty running. Always struggled to keep up with its owner and sat whenever it could. There was a difference in the way its leg was amputated. It had most of its thigh left. I think that was the problem. Maybe without the thigh part, it would've been easier for it to move around. That was how the other dog that I saw was running beautifully on 3 legs. God bless them all!

Stopped for a few minutes to think how kind life has been to me so far. Thank You God!

102 Out...

2012-01-07T18:45:00.001-08:00

Dad called up early in the evening. My grandfather had passed away. Peacefully while asleep.

Rusty New Year Day

2012-01-02T19:29:00.001-08:00

Dec 31 2011

Drove alone to canyon lake near Austin. It was beautiful.

At night with Saurabh, Abhishek and Sudeep at Downtown to witness the official Houston new Year celebrations. The fireworks and 3D show was good.

Jan 1 2012.

Trip with the same three guys to Austin. Went to some good places. Returned by 9pm.

Glenn returned and there was the curious case of a missing envelope.

On the whole, the new year day wasn't happy.

I couldn't talk to a certain someone which made the day quite gloomy.

Another conversation I had with a good friend of mine left me wondering why I had to say certain things in such a manner.

So the new year resolution is to control my excitement further.

Jan 2 2012

Holiday; but i was working at the office.

God... You have been really kind to me for 2011. I'm really confused about 2012. I only pray for a peaceful year, a good goal for me to work on and more time with my family....

Wet Christmas holidays

2011-12-29T08:23:00.001-08:00

Dec 23 2011

Drive to Prestonwood area at night to see the christmas lights along with Saurabh.

Dec 24 2011

Raining heavily.

Checked the weather report in Google maps and found Galveston area is cloudy and not rainy.

Drove to the area. Heavy rains.

Came back.

Dec 25 2011

Heavy heavy rains. So indoors watching movies.

Real Steel at the Dollar Cinema. The movie rocked.

Dec 26

Cloudy.

Ice Skating with Saurabh in the evening. First experience and not to be repeated again. Fell thrice.

No kids play!

Dec 27 2011

Sunshine!

Morning had some office work to get done.

Then drove to Lake Somerville. It was beautiful.

Dec 28 2011

Light work at office.

Evening the whole team off to play Cricket.

Paul was there too. Outclassed everyone else!

SAP CRM DEBUGGING CUSTOMER DELTA DOWNLOAD

2011-12-29T08:17:00.001-08:00

DEBUGGING CUSTOMER DELTA DOWNLOAD

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/28027%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A+SAPWeblogsCrm+%2528SAP+Weblogs%253A+CRM%2529

Beautiful prayer for dogs

2011-12-25T09:49:00.001-08:00

Taken from the facebook profile of Houston Dog Blog. Such a sweet and superb poem.

Dear Lord on this Christmas day
There's just one gift for which I pray
Please watch over all dogs everywhere
And Bless them with someone to care.

Watch over the pups with plenty to eat
and hungry strays out on the street
Those getting treats each time they yap
and those that struggle for every scrap.

Those that sleep on a nice soft bed
Those with hard ground under their head
Those who play with girls and boys
And those that never had any toys.

Those kept clipped and brushed and clean
And scruffy ones that don't smell too keen
Those who get to ride in cars
And those that sit behind a cage bars.

Those that flunk obedience school
Dig up the yard snore and drool
Chew up your stuff, chase the cat
And still they're loved in spite of that.

And those that are as good as gold
But left out to shiver in the cold
Chained up and forgotten there
They long for a warm home to share.

Please God on this Christmas night
Help more people do what's right
For each dog they meet, to do their best
And send your comfort to all the rest.

By: Rocky Ridge Refuge

Coincidence with 52 again...

2011-12-17T10:08:00.001-08:00

Seems like there is not gonna be any time at all for taking a breath.

Days have been 6am to 12am and beyond for the last week.

Not catching up with sleep. Thats something that I wouldn't want to do for long. Day-before, almost felt like I was going to collapse.

Last Sunday I took a 15min break at the Bark Park between office work, and was so inspired by a 3 legged dog that was running faster than every other canine there. My heart sunk! And just thanked God! Its left leg was amputated. But it did everything as if it just didnt matter. Bless you boy!

Saturday and Sunday are gonna be at office too...

An interesting coincidence again... I just noticed the number plate of my vehicle a few days back. :)

The Woodlands

2011-12-10T17:31:00.001-08:00

Nothing new.. just plenty of work at office this week. Long long hours...

Saturday Dec 10 2011

Went with Ranjith to get the house key duplicated. It was such a good day that I postponed my office work for some time and decided to visit The Woodlands. It was a good. Thought of returning in an hour. But spent 2 hours walking along the waterway. It was good. Nice place. Would've loved to have some company though! This is the kind of place where couples can walk hand-in-hand, enjoy the nature, and talk.. Yup. Did wish for it too. But again back to the same old solitary-principles-ki-jai-ho...

List of animal welfare centres in India

2011-12-07T20:56:00.001-08:00

http://www.weforanimals.com/animal%20welfare%20organizations/animal%20welfare%20organisations.htm

One break and things turn hectic

2011-12-04T21:46:00.001-08:00

Last entire week was filled with loads of work.. One break and things just run out of order! Long, long hours of work...

I was checking my emails everywhere - in front of the Bellagio fountains, on top of the Grand Canyon etc etc...

But it was actually the longest time that I have been away from my laptop since the start of my job! 5 days!

Dec 3 2011

Slept off! Cooking, cleaning , washing, etc... drained too much energy that i was in no mood to go to office to work.

Dec 4 2011.

Heavy rains. A trip to Challenger 7 Memorial Park. I was the only one there.

Spent most of the day in the Edge. Seriously, having a large SUV can give you a lot of personal space. I was comfortably stretching my legs and reading on my laptop... seriously should think of getting a tablet or an e-reader...

Should make it a frequent practice. I dont have to hurt my back sitting on the floor at home; I will be away from the Net so that i dont have to keep peeping into FB all the time, plus it so comfy inside.

The Trip that happened

2011-12-04T21:37:00.001-08:00

Nov 24

Early morning flight to Dallas airport. Got it just in time.

First experience with Skylink.

Then to LA.

Caught up with Mugdha.

Drive to Vegas.

Caught up with Abhishek.

Drive to Grand Canyon.

Nov 25.

Breathtaking grand canyon. Awesome.

Drive to Vegas.

Roaming around in Vegas. Not very interesting, but worth a single time visit.

Stayed at Bellagio.

Nov 26.

Drive to Hoover Dam. Beautiful and could feel Megatron lurking beneath it :).

Then back to Vegas.

At Cosmopolitan.

Nov 27.

Morning roaming around in Vegas. Mugdha had office work to do!

Then a 7.5 hr drive back to LA.

Nov 28.

Morning roaming around at Santa Monica.

Then to Universal Studioss. Good trip.

Then back on a direct flight to Houston.

This was the reason my fingers were crossed.....

Thank God things went fine.

Cooking well at home!

2011-11-21T19:00:00.001-08:00

Saturday was a Gobi Manchurian which turned out really well. Afternoon, evening and night went well with that.

Sunday it was veg fried rice with fried chicken for lunch. And for dinner it was fried chicken with egg fried rice.

Monday (Today) too was good egg fried rice with a bit of chicken.

I love it when my roomies collaborate in cooking. I'm totally relieved from cutting veggies and can easily focus on cooking alone!

Thank You God for a few days of really good home made food. Seriously, I haven't eaten better fried rice even in hotels! Hats off to my cooking skills.

Nice park and a good dream.

2011-11-20T07:05:00.001-08:00

last sunday 12-nov 2011

Got the ford Edge and drove to the the Attwater Praire Chicken Wildlife Refuge. I liked one particular road filled with birds flying left and right in flocks!! That was good. Other than that, it was typical Texas.

Weekdays hectic as usual.

Thursday 17 Nov 2011

An hour and half long drive to college station

Friday 18 Nov 2011

Drive to downtown.

Saturday 19 Nov 2011

Drive to a couple of beautiful parks. Ranjit registered as a tenant at Retreat.

A bit of work at office at night.

Sunday 20 Nov 2011.

Yesterday had a nice dream... couldnt identify the location but here is the jist:

"My dear roomies Zach, Bestin, Sadas and Luke had come over to the US or somewhere.. and they were planning to go to some place for Go-Karting. But the happy thing was, I decided to take them in my Ford Edge!!! "

This was one good dream!

Later House chores. Then a bit of shopping and work.

SAP CRM 7 to CRM 7 EHP1 - first impressions

2011-11-18T11:57:00.001-08:00

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/27286%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A+SAPWeblogsCrm+%2528SAP+Weblogs%253A+CRM%2529

Toledo Bend Reservoir

2011-11-13T07:01:00.001-08:00

November 12 2011

Trip with Manish, Saurabh and Glenn. Via Big Thicket Natural Preserve onto the South Toledo Bend State Park. Good long, beautiful drive. Some 640km covered today.

SAP Store for Mobile Apps

2011-11-09T08:04:00.001-08:00

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/27282

Surprise invitation

2011-11-09T07:12:00.001-08:00

Yesterday got a surprise invitation and a whole lot of activity followed... Still shocked. Fingers crossed that things will turn out fine. Will update the blog with the details if and only if it materializes....

SAP CRM Nice Blog

2011-11-08T08:19:00.000-08:00

Nice blog on SAP CRM

http://gstolmeijer.wordpress.com/

SAP CRM WEB UI Business Roles

2011-11-08T08:13:00.001-08:00

WEB UI Business Roles

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/27254

Dodge Charger 2011

2011-11-07T16:36:00.001-08:00

Tried the Dodge Charger 2011 today. Awesome looking car, no doubt... but it felt more stiff compared to my Sonata. Handling seems to be good, and kinda liked the interior also though it looked old. Loved the touch start button.

Hectic Weekend

2011-11-07T16:34:00.001-08:00

Hectic days went by.. weekend was filled with work, people and excitement at the office for go-live.. Pretty exhausting too.

SAP CRM ERP Sales Order Note

2011-11-07T02:32:00.000-08:00

A must-have note in the ERP Sales Order scenario if we require to modify fields from the CRM side itself effectively.

Note 1525551 - In the CRM system, no BAdI available for the ERP scenario

There is a related note also which adds on another method:

Note 1573270 - No BAdI method for initializing LORD from CRM

Bad dream on Go-live

2011-11-04T08:10:00.001-07:00

Yesterday had a bad dream about me sleeping very soundly, keeping my cellphone in silent mode and waking up to see 14 miss calls during Go-Live!

Halloween Dog Walk

2011-10-30T19:22:00.001-07:00

Saturday 29th October 2011

Morning to somewhere around Katy to see the Halloween Dog walk. Felt a bid bad to see some of the dogs feeling really uncomfortable in the dresses. But was a good change to see people gathering around.

Later helping Sreeja shop at Frys electronics; then to Kemah boardwalk after sunset. Halloween decorations there too. It was good to see the place illuminated at night.

Sunday 30th October.

Morning to help Ranjith take his car. Chevy Cruze.

I also test drove the Fiat 500. Gosh! Its such a small, peppy car.

Was so tempted to take the Santa Fe again. But need more mpg in the coming days; hence stuck to the Sonata.

Afternoon a quick stop shop at Hillcroft with Sreeja.

Then later evening to the airport to pick up Saurabh.

A bit of work at night.

There goes another weekend.

Austin Trip

2011-10-25T18:42:00.001-07:00

Saturday 22 Oct 2011

Morning woke up two hours later than what I had kept the alarm.

Drove to Austin. ~150 miles.

Caught up with Glenn and Sreekumar there. Met Sreehari working there. From Kannur.

Joined them in their car for another ~140 miles for an Iconic drive. At the end of which was an antique Bike Museum. It was ok. The drive was good. Returned back to Sreehari's hotel by evening.

I left immediately. A small round of Austin downtown and then back to Houston. The drive was a bit lonely. And completely dark. For the majority of the time, my Sonata was the only car on the stretch. Rearview mirror was pitch black.

And got really freaked out when the car started shaking for sometime and I had to stop on the shoulder to examine the tyres. Thank God nothing happened. And reached back before 10pm safely.

Sunday 23 Oct 2011

A bit of household chores.

Then a drive to see what San Bernard National Wildlife refuge was.

Got bit by a wild mosquito.

Drove for about 3.5 hours back and forth; clicked some photos.

Later night went to meet Ranjith who landed in Houston that day. Took some time to figure out the La Quinta hotel.

Feels so nice to see a good cot/bed…

Monday 24 Oct 2011

Disaster while trying to make something out of a cauliflower!

Tuesday 25^th October 2011

Lots of work coming in. Diwali goes by.

Am I born just to work?

SAP CRM : How to - Show user and system name on top of WebUi page

2011-10-19T12:25:00.001-07:00

Very Interesting...

http://wiki.sdn.sap.com/wiki/display/CRM/How+to+-+Show+user+and+system+name+on+top+of+WebUi+page

Milkshakes at a pub

2011-10-19T07:52:00.001-07:00

Had a party yesterday at a an entertainment pub ... with bowling/arcade games. Not so interesting because the food wasn't much. What is a party without good food.

And I turned out to be a trendsetter by ordering a milkshake in the pub. Atleast 10 other people came forward and asked me what I was drinking; the second question was - Do we get that in here?

After the party drove to the airport to pick up Naren.

Its getting really cold in Houston.

Facebook is temporarily down!!!

2011-10-17T17:15:00.001-07:00

Wings over Houston Airshow and a War Memorial Park

2011-10-17T16:58:00.001-07:00

Saturday 16 Oct 2011

Went apartment hunting with Glenn again. Jayaram wasn't available as he had gone to California.

Went off looking to distant places; a bit too early for the searches.

Returned by noon. Got a call from my manager to check some urgent defects which turned out to be non-defects.

Lunch.

Decided to go for the Harry Potter (last movie) at the dollar theatre. In 20 min, got another call from my manager and ran out of the theatre. Another defect. Which turned out not to be a defect again.

Evening went to office again and worked till night. Some minor issue.

Sunday 17^th Oct 2011

Morning trip to the Ellington airport to check out the Wings over Houston airshow. The Sukhoi remained the same… I've seen better at the Dubai Airshow. But I loved it when an old sukhoi and the latest generation one flew together. Kinda felt heart-warm.

I saw the Sukhoi's sonic boom pattern as it went through the sound barrier. That was new. Never seen it real before.

Then came the veteran aircrafts. Spitfires, Flying Fortress etc. It was a good sight.

The bombings weren't nice. The sound, the shockwaves, were too much. I pray no one in the world may have to suffer that in a war. It is terrifying.

Sad that I didn't have a good camera with a good zoom to capture these in detail.

After a couple of hours, felt hungry and drove to a nearby McD. Then trip to Shangri La Botanical Gardens. It was just 2 hours from closing by the time I reached there. Hence decided not to get in. On the way back visited the Golden Triangle Veterans Memorial Park. It was nice. Reached back by 5:45pm. Around 430 km.

Went for a 10min swim in the cold swimming pool. Worked a bit, watched a movie and the day was over.

And yeah, Pooja didi is onsite too. Glad to talk to her after a long time.

SAP CRM Target Group relationship tables

2011-10-17T13:57:00.001-07:00

From TG name, you need to provide the list of BPs in the target group through standard tables...

1. CRMD_MKTTG_TG_T and give the text to obtain the guid.

2. CRMD_MKTTG_TG_I and give the TG guid to obtain the BP guids.

Easier way, go through the guid directly into the view SMOTGBPCT2. This has the BP numbers also.

SAP CRM Web UI Links - Navigation

2011-10-15T15:24:00.001-07:00

Of late, finding so much stuff coming up in SDN regarding CRM Web UI... basic things though it may be; it does help people in their learning stages greatly. Should've taken more efforts to put things like these myself...

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/26860%3Futm_source%3Dfeedburner%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_campaign%3DFeed%253A+SAPWeblogsCrm+%2528SAP+Weblogs%253A+CRM%2529

A lovely kid passes away

2011-10-15T15:16:00.001-07:00

Was shocked to hear from Mom when I called her today morning that Jacky had died yesterday. Just two years. It was such a lovely lab. Used to jump on me so much.

Poor thing. Had been continuously not feeling well. But my bro said it was running around even on its last day...

Felt very bad on hearing it.

Just two years. A child. A very sweet, playful child. Miss you bro; may your soul rest in peace. I feel bad that I haven't been able to spend more time with it. Used to bring a ball in its mouth; but there was no one to play with it.

Which reminds me of my situation slightly. Brought a badminton racket set in expectations of getting to play that with anyone. But so far no luck. Either I'm busy or everyone else is busy or simply no mood. Sigh.

My dear friend Mr.God, I know U're out there giving me left & right experiences. But sometimes cant help wishing I had you with me in person...

SAP Front end Installation Guide

2011-10-12T20:12:00.001-07:00

"The most viewed article this week with almost 1,000 views: SAP Frontend Installation Guide 7.20."

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/go/portal/prtroot/docs/library/uuid/80f043df-b655-2d10-e9a4-bba6967de101?QuickLink=index&overridelayout=true

Work. Lots of it.

2011-10-12T18:39:00.001-07:00

Nothing else to write about. Hectic. Sunday, Monday, Tues, Wed.... I wish i'd be able to go and see a bit of the airshow atleast this weekend. Been missing out on the new movies at the dollar theatre also.

House Hunting again.

2011-10-08T20:51:00.001-07:00

morning to office for two hours. had some stuff to complete. spoke to jaleel also in between that. then from 11am to 5pm house hunting with my current roomies plus Kiran and Janaki. 5pm i left the gang and came back home.

6pm went for some drive on way to office. saw the rainbow. 8:30pm came back home and had dinner.

thankfully the back (muscle pain) gone. have loads of work to do tomorrow also!

Back pain

2011-10-07T06:18:00.001-07:00

Having a very bad, centralized back pain since yesterday. I think I caught it while sitting in a bad position in the morning..

ABAP on Steroids

2011-10-07T05:58:00.001-07:00

Loved the title : "ABAP on Steroids: practical use of parallel processing"

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/26775

Blog is screwed!

2011-10-06T18:20:00.001-07:00

Just tried out the new blogger layout and everything gets screwed! My page visits, my links, timeline, ! Gosh! How do I revert back!!!

Heartbeats

2011-10-06T18:08:00.001-07:00

Kiss me, in this silence;

Hug me, in this cold.

For I seek Your warmth;

As my days grow old.

Getting dark so soon

2011-10-06T17:12:00.001-07:00

Loved the days in Houston when sunlight used to be there till half past 8pm.. It was so lovely to see the day even after getting out of office.

Gone are the days. Winter is creeping in. And light fades away really fast.

Missing the summer! And the heat. I'm not very fond of cold weather...

God... please settle my sleep back in place soon.

Overslept!

2011-10-06T03:19:00.001-07:00

Seems like I'm still recovering from jetlag. Work up around 4am yesterday, had breakfast and went back to sleep again after keeping the alarm. When I opened my eyes, it was 9:45am. Damn! Late to office by an hour and half. Rushed within 5 min... First experience of this type. Never been late because of sleep before!

Good thing was that I had made up for it the previous day...

Must Read for everyone!

2011-10-04T11:52:00.001-07:00

30 Truths I've Learned In 30 Years

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/09/25/30-truths-ive-learned-in-30-years/

Back at Houston

2011-10-04T06:51:00.001-07:00

Flights were fine. Houston flight got delayed by 30-35 min. Reached Houston on Sunday evening (Oct 1)

Sleep totally screwed. Really understand what jetlag means now.

Was really dizzy at office yesterday.

Glad to be driving again. Decided to get to know the Sonata this time.

Powerful it is. And does have a feel of luxury...

SAP Material Middleware debugging

2011-09-29T20:24:00.000-07:00

Debugging Middleware/BDOC when the material data transfered from R3 to CRM

http://forums.sdn.sap.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1933087

Born as a heavy child!

2011-09-28T20:14:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I visited my mom's place along with her. Talked with my elder sis and grandmom... they were telling I havent grown in weight even after some time in the US. Talks led to my heavy weight at birth. Mom was telling I weighed 4 kgs at birth. Was the heaviest child born at that time in the hospital. So remarkable was my weight that the nurses during inspection rounds used to call me as '4kg' instead of a name.

And my aunt and cousin sis was telling; for nearly 2 years they couldn't lift me easily because of the weight.

And look how I am now! :)

God! What tricks you play...

Heartbeats

2011-09-26T21:34:00.001-07:00

Love is divine. And I love divinity.

Jisha's Wedding

2011-09-26T03:51:00.001-07:00

24 September 2011.

Saturday.

Gokul, me and my sis went in an auto to the railway station to catch the jan shatabdi to ekm. Gokul said 5am, but I expected him to come half an hour late and he didn't fail to meet expectations.

Sis was tensed, and my wrong judgement heightened the anxiety and we all thought we'd miss the train. Fortunately we didn't.

10 min ahead of time. Sis had to attend her class at 10am,

Was glad to catch up with Goks in the train. He got down at Alapuzha and went off to his aunt's house. He'd be off to Jisha's home after that.

I dropped my sis to her college at Ekm; she showed me her labs. Was reminded of my CET labs.

Then rang up Luke. Got Sadashiv's number, he'll be free only towards evening.

Rest of the AE gang from Bangalore had already landed at Hari's place – Varun, John, Amit S and Amit John.

I went to my cousin's house. Had lunch with him. Then caught up with the gang at Oberon Mall. First experience there. It has all the shops that any mall should have. And the girls looked well dressed and pretty.

Interested to know there is something like an RFID token for fetching food when ready.

Was glad to catch with the guys. Talked until I got a call from Sadashiv to meet him at Marine Drive. Said bye to the guys around 5:30pm and I set about to Marine Drive. They'd be going with Hari to Kottayam and from there will join the marriage the next day.

Sadashiv is always an interesting person to talk to. He is one of the few who has got that skill to keep you interested with his talks (No wonder he has a good number of female fans). And he does know a lot too. Really hope he makes it through the IAS main exam also. Showed me parts of Marine Drive that I didn't know existed. Had dinner with him and left for my cousin's house again.

25^th September 2011

Morning 8:30am; after breakfast with my cousin, left for the St George Orthodox Church at Piravom. An hour and half. Some getting lost and an auto ride later, I reached the church. The place has got a church at every nook and corner I think. And people there themselves were confused with the church names.

The good thing was that I enjoyed the bus journey to the church. Very much. Bus was speeding. The surroundings were lush green. Cool breeze. And the private bus had got a good audio system too. So the pleasant sceneries, good weather and background music – made me thanking God for this day, and for this life.

The gang didn't come to the church; they were really late. Hence reached the food hall directly.

My first experience with a Christian wedding. Lots and lots of formalities, and the bride and groom had to stand beneath heavy, hot lights throughout the ceremony.

We guys didn't dare to enter the church after the priest announced the rules and regulations. Again a couple of hours standing outside and talking.

Caught up with Neetha and her mom. The last time I saw my colleague was during the Bangalore visit! Somehow I instantly liked aunty too.

Sabith came soon. It was a surprise for both of us. He was at Ekm and no one knew! I badly wished people would update their FB profiles to reflect their current city!

Towards end of the ceremony, we left for the food hall.

I was a bit surprised as to the number of our batchmates that turned up. Just some 10-15 from the entire college? … was kinda looking forward to meet more.

Anyways, I liked the formal introduction ceremony in the hall; and the food was just amazing.

As it happens in all marriages, the bride has no time to talk, and it was a quick 'Hi', followed by a gift, a photo, and a 'Bye'.

Most of the gang had to catch a train back to Bangalore at 5pm.

Me and Sabith spent some time looking for a bus at the Elengy stop in all directions. Finally I said goodbye to him also and left. From Elengy to Palai. From there to Kottayam. And from there to Trivandrum.

Saw an Elantra look-alike, which I later learnt was the new Fluidic Verna.

Saturday was the only day I slept well. Away from my laptop and emails. Its back to work again.

One more week here. Then back fully into the rhythm. Its hard to explain in words; in company of these guys, it's the plain old college humor, leg-pullings, stories and laughter. The moment I am in the vicinity of my laptop, the work-centered professionalism and seriousness springs up by itself.

Thank you guys for coming! Looking forward to atleast some annual catching-ups when I make a move to Bangalore.

Oh yeah, I totally forgot it was Jisha's marriage that just got over! Happy Married life sis!

BSNL broadband new link

2011-09-22T07:05:00.001-07:00

http://selfcare.sdc.bsnl.co.in/selfcare/start.swe?SWECmd=GotoView&SWEView=Login+View&SWERF=1

Treat at home

2011-09-22T00:56:00.001-07:00

Sept 21 2011

Sri Narayana Guru Jayanti holiday... dad wanted to treat his friends and relatives.

Hence the day passed by like that.

Later one of my aunts created a lot of tension amongst relatives; let me stop it at that.

Been working odd hours these days. Sometimes upto 4am; otherwise from 4am..

Sleep pattern is totally screwed.

A partner in life

2011-09-19T10:45:00.001-07:00

Had a quick chat with Ganeshettan today... He had a terrible night recently thanks to a kidney stone and was operated upon. Thankfully his beloved wife Lakshmi chechi was there to help and take care of him.

I just wondered if something like that happens in future if I stay alone.... just die in pain?? If there is no one besides me in a house, how will I survive the scenario? God! Scary! And makes me rethink about a chronic bachelor life...

Spoke to Hari today.. one of the few who reads my updates. Should be catching up with a few folks on coming Sunday.

And migraine is really making life a hell for some people...

India Trip

2011-09-19T05:13:00.001-07:00

16 Sept 2011 Friday (CST)

Drove to the George Bush airport, returned the car and after a long wait, boarded the Qatar airways flight.

Reached Doha after some 14hours i guess.

Then after a a bit of wait onto next flight to Trivandrum.

Reached on 18 Sept morning (IST)

Humidity. After a long time.

And lots of haphazard traffic. And so many dogs on the street. Did feel a bit weird in the opposite side traffic.

God! Thanks for a safe flight!

Watching a wildfire

2011-09-13T17:45:00.001-07:00

When Ayan and Anoop pointed out and walked over to the window, I didnt expect I was going to witness ta wildfire.

A fire had broken out near the George Bush Park.

Caused a lot of traffic jam... Took me long to get home..

Quick weekends

2011-09-12T12:39:00.001-07:00

Sat 10 2011

Packing for a home trip.

Helped Sreeja drive back in her car from Avis.

Socialized with Sunil's family.

Sunday 11 2011

A bit of work.

A bit of shopping.

Bark Park.

SAP CRM Generic FM to call the BOL/Genil Search Object

2011-09-12T12:06:00.001-07:00

Generic FM to call the BOL/Genil Search Object

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/26060

Rich enhancement on CRM Web UI

2011-09-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

Nice blog found on SDN.

Developing Content Rich Tool tips in CRM UI using jQuery

Angelina National Forest Trip

2011-09-04T21:29:00.001-07:00

Saturday 3 Sept 2011

A quick trip to the office in the morning.

Then window shopping at petsmart and target. Then shopping at The Premium Outlet Malls. Saw a Lamborghini there.

Then back home.

Sunday 4 Sept 2011

After 10am, trip to Angelina National Forest with Glenn. Nothing but woods. But the weather was good. It was raining all the while, and superb breeze too. There was really nothing to see. Simply woods and woods. Of course the place is called Woodville for a reason!

Came back at 5pm.

Later evening went to the Miller Outdoor Theatre with Glenn to watch a live performance "Bollywood Masti". Definitely an "ABCD" production. The dance was good, but the story-line was hopeless. Just like many silly bollywood movies. Didnt wait to watch the whole show.

Drove around 600km today.

Dandiya experience

2011-08-28T07:31:00.001-07:00

Saturday, 27 Aug 2011

Had a nice, weird dream yesterday. Not writing more about it, but it was a good one - catching up with a dear friend in some shop and purchasing something in dollars??

Then calling up friends, family and Skyping. In between some work.

Then more work. Hence to office after noon. Worked till 6pm.

Then went with Saurabh to the George Brown convention center for the Janmashtami celebrations.

Played dandiya for the first time. Saurabh taught me the basic steps.. it was simply fun! Now i know what it meant when my north indian friends used to talk about it back at school.

The simple steps, the grace, the beauty, the beats, the group dynamics... it was wonderful. Thank God!

Came back at midnight.

Dinner at Chatkhara Grill

2011-08-26T19:47:00.001-07:00

A lot of running around at work..

Test drove the Chevy Cruze today.. Not a bad car; but this one had a very bad brake.

Dinner at Chatkhara Grill with Saurabh (C&K). Nice kabab. And good home-style biryani too.

Saurabh was mentioning his IIT days playing Age of Empires...

http://www.chatkharagrill.com/

Bark Park

2011-08-24T21:40:00.001-07:00

Decided to leave after 7:30pm from office today to visit the Bark park before dark. Nowadays Houston is getting dark before 8pm.

I quite raced to the park.

But could be in it for less than an hour.

A scary thunderstorm was visible on the horizon and creeping in fast.

So left early.

Some things at office are really making me think.... either I should change my perspectives or I should really say bye to this career!

God!

Visit to SBS

2011-08-23T18:23:00.001-07:00

Went to SBS to check some issues along with Paul. Very large office. Acres and acres of the ground floor only. So big, that I felt almost no one was working there. Had a team lunch. Was kinda happy to see the end users working on stuff that I built so painstakingly.. and so glad to solve their problems. Long drive to their from home. Wouldn't want to make this a habit!

SAP CRM Sales Org Unit Determination

2011-08-22T18:39:00.001-07:00

Provided the org determination is set-up correctly, this FM can be very useful to determine the org unit data corresponding to customers:

CRM_ORGMAN_ORGOBJECTS_FIND_1

Place a breakpoint in this and execute the simulation for the determination. It will help to identify the parameters.

It simply makes use of the class cl_crm_orgman_interface=>find_attributes to get the hit-list.

Brazio Wildlife Refuge

2011-08-21T18:55:00.001-07:00

Saturday 20 Aug 2011

Bommu still not feeling so well at home in Trivandrum. Lacking energy for anything. Good thing is he isn't vomitting the stuff he eats any more.

Ritik Baral left for Indianapolis today. I went to Staybridge to see him off.

Then to office. Had some work to complete.

Hours later, set out on a drive to Brazio National Wildlife Refuge. Plain land... lots of it.

On the way saw sky-diving too.

Lot of traffic through Sugarland.

Driving south wouldn't always be preferred.

Later night went to the dollar cinema for the latest Pirates movie. It was ok.

Sunday 21 August 2011

Went to the Houston Guruvayoorappan temple, just to see the construction. Today the construction officially began.

Lot of domestic chores to complete. Tired that it didnt take me to the office.

Friends are reaching places!

2011-08-18T21:01:00.001-07:00

I think I've written these before.. But I've always been happy to see my friends reaching newer heights..

Today Anu gave the FB update that she cleared the civil service prelims...

And later night Sadas pinged me to convey the same good news with him too. Awesome! Way to go guys... Future leaders in the making...

God, where are you taking me?? :)

Bommu in distress

2011-08-18T20:47:00.001-07:00

16 August 2011

Woke up hearing an sms alert. Sis sent out a message that Bommu was not at all well and things are not going good at home.

Called up sis. Got some bad news.

Called up mom. Bommu wasn't well at all. Had collapsed in front of mom and blood-filled urine had leaked.

She told me dad was taking him to the vet for the past three days. Some infection. Not eating anything. Vomitting a lot.

Hearing so many things, I had to bring in the topic of euthanizing it in the worst case... mom fell in tears. Me too. Said I'll call later.

Then called up dad later...Gosh... I have to learn a lot from him. He is so much in control and speaks sense. No matter how I get irritated with you sometimes dad, you are a man of solid experience. Love you.

Mood was so low that I had no clue where I parked my car at office. For lunch, I had to walk across the three levels of parking to find out. Talk about memories being wiped out completely by your moods.

Later night, called up again to know his condition.

17th August

Still a lot of vomit. And growing weak. And still a daily dose of 5 injections. I was still feeling low.

Later night, it was a team dinner at Annam restaurant. Certain things that we guys talked about during and after the dinner, made me re-consider the thought of being a chronic bachelor. But there are years to cross. Why bother about it now... Some things just cannot be stopped.

18th August

Bommu getting slightly better. One more dose of injections left. Then its all left to you God.

Lots of work at office. And some mess that I have no role in, have to be cleaned up.

My heart melts when I see an animal in distress. I simply wonder why they have to bear the pain because of us humans. They're just so pure, having no malice, hatred or selfishness in them. But still, why are they always at the receiving end...

I simply keep thinking these thoughts and wonder how men will pay for their cruelties.

Then again the lines of the Bhagavad Gita come to mind to console in peace.... If the concept of rebirth exist, then everyone has to pay for their deeds in one life or another.. who knows what these creatures might have been in their previous birth... imagine the plight of any one of these men who abuse and hurt animals in the most cold-blooded manner; imagine if they were born into the body of an animal to be at the receiving end... having the knowledge that they are human, yet have to suffer being stuck in tiny cages, be beaten upon with rods and chains, be starved to death, put in dark chambers etc etc....

Creepy... but if only I could console my conscience in that manner. If only my head doesn't argue with itself telling me to use common sense and a bit of science that I have learnt...

Ah.. moods....and thoughts...

God...

Dallas Visit

2011-08-18T20:20:00.001-07:00

13 August 2011

Early morning set out with Saurabh on his Ford Escape to Dallas. Nearly 5 hrs journey including breaks!

Met Raghu.

Dallas looks so old compared to Houston.

Not much to see there. Went for a mini golf, baseball net practice, and some places in downtown. After some rest, went to Galleria. Ice skating can be one of the most romantic sports if u're doing it with ur love! I saw a guy and a girl facing each other and skating.

Then from galleria to pizza hut to have dinner. Then from there to a pub.

Yes. A pub. Raghu and Saurabh do drink and I didn't want to miss the experience of visiting a pub.

No entry fee. Phew.

It was a gay pub. And some drag show was going on. And some people were dancing too.

Weird is the word. I had to look up wikipedia to understand what a drag show meant . It felt so stupid and embarrassing. And the dance floor, it was like something out of some english/hindi albums. Dark ambience, laser lights flashing, people dancing. Maybe its the dark which encourages people to dance coz no one can see them clearly. I like dancing, but I didn't like this at all. We guys left pretty soon. They drank just a single beer. Then walked into a pub which uholder a lot of texas tradition. So many texas hats and good dance steps. But very little space. Hence walked out... Then walked into another pub. All were pretty close by on the same street. This had no dance. Plain pub. Both the guys took drinks, we played two rounds of smoker, and then left. Reached Raghu's room before 2am. I had some tiny office work to do. Then spoke with my family and went off to bed. The guys went to another nearby pub and came back early.

14 august 2011.

Woke up late. Did some skyping. Then a buffet lunch with Saurabh and Raghu. Heavily loaded. Then a visit to the fair park which was useless without a fair. Then to North Central mall... then back on drive to Houston.

Was really upset to a dog running on the interstate. Was the first time seeing a stray (possibly?) on the street. I610 east bound before Kaufman exit. Was feeling really bad. Should I have stopped and tried to take it in the vehicle? Going at 70mph, how to have a sudden stop? Would I alert the dog and endanger its life if it tries to cross the road? Is there some number where I can call and notify someone?? It looked so odd that a dog could be found in the middle or nowhere? Could it be abandoned? Or just escaped from its owners? Or just plain lost? Shall I just logon to fb and post it in some animal rescue page? But what would I say? I didn't even see the dog properly…

Just kept on thinking while Saurabh was driving. Actions speak a lot more than words, and I was ashamed with myself… in the end had to console myself by thinking that it would just be the sins of a past life…

Reached home 30min to midnight.

Thank God for a safe trip.

Excellent blog on new SAP ABAP Debugger features

2011-08-10T11:26:00.001-07:00

Excellent blog on new SAP ABAP Debugger features

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/wlg/18861

Lavender Garden

2011-08-07T21:27:00.001-07:00

Sunday August 8 2011

Went driving North-West.

No lavenders in the garden.

But was an awesome drive.

North is really the place for a good drive.

Saw lots of horses too.

Then to lake Conroe. Have to go there again someday for jet skiing.

Back to home late noon. Prepared lunch.

Then to Walmart to buy Pyrex glass bowls.

Back home.

Then to try some parallel parking. Didnt work out.

Then to Bark Park.

Then to World Food WareHouse to buy some frozen rotis.

Met Anoop and Eldhose there.

Had dinner with them there itself.

I find it weird when people find it surprising that I go to these places alone; i mean, the second question I usually get is - "Whom did I go with?". Been the same question ever since college days.

Its not that I love going alone or something; just like anyone I enjoy good company. But not everyone would like to go to places that I'd like to go. And I wouldnt want to be a spoilsport by going to places where I wouldn't be at peace!

Johann's Birthday

2011-08-07T21:06:00.001-07:00

Saturday August 6 2011

Morning to evening work at office.

Night went to Paul's son's birthday party along with Saurabhs and Manish.

Good to see so many "Mallus". :)

The kid was really cute!

Goof-up

2011-08-06T08:22:00.001-07:00

August 7 2011

Slightly excited with some good news regarding promotions; and with good intentions sent out an email to the team.

Unfortunately used the wrong mailing list.

No major harm done. But I really shouldn't have done it.

Was pretty annoyed with myself for the rest of the day...

Lost and Found

2011-08-04T16:58:00.001-07:00

Its all written in fate. The sequence of events. The butterfly effect in a different manner.

Past two days were a bit depressing because of the fact that I had lost my ID card. Searched all across but couldnt find it. Had been parking outside the office because of that.

I had left office at 8:30pm the day (2 days back).

Had gone to Kroger. Realized that I didnt have my ID card with me since then.

Checked my car, office, bag, home.. not there.

Yesterday... got a mail from Venki asking us to wear Blue today to support Blue Thursday.

I picked the shirt which had the closest resemblance to blue.

Had been checking for the ID card at the security, at the lost and found etc etc. No luck.

Later noon, saw a mail from Venki stating that there were snacks at Ratnakar's cubicle for those dressed in blue.

I went and saw the snacks. Different flavored popcorn.

Didnt like it then since it was after lunch.

Had several stuff to complete.

Mihir came to talk to Glenn in my cubicle. Glenn had moved into the space a few days back.

I decided to have some popcorn.

So got up, walked to the other cubicle, got some popcorn.

Came back to my cubicle. Mihir was still there. I just turned the chair.

To my surprise, an ID card was stuck in the chair.

My ID card.

It was there itself for two days and I never saw it.

How lucky I felt! :) God.. u're great..

Inner peace

2011-08-01T09:48:00.001-07:00

Sunday 31 Just 2011

Lot of domestic chores and shopping for week supplies.

Later got on to watching youtube episodes of Justice League Unlimited. Crap, they dont have all episodes.

Wanted to goto the Angelina National forest; but decided against the long drive considering the sun and the previous day's experience.

Later at night watched Kung Fu panda 2 at the Dollar Cinema with Saurabh. Lovely move.

Inner peace. Thats all it matters in life... :)

Nederland

2011-07-30T20:30:00.001-07:00

Saturday July 30 2011

One group went to San Antonio Sea World and another went to Six Flags. I wasn't interested in either of them, though I wanted to go to San Antonio River walk.

Decided to travel east. So found out some place in Nederland. (It was built out of Dutch funding, and hence the name).

Saw the Dutch windmill, the Shrine of Lady Guadalupe, then a drive to Orange.

Reached back before 5pm. Drove around 700km today I think.

Elantra is a hot babe. No doubt about it. She is beautiful, and economical!

But travelling alone under the sun is not a good idea. On the way back I was driving with half eyes closed... bad headache. I'm really going to give up to the Texas sun. Seriously it drains your energy even if u're sitting chilled in your car... Today's return experience made me think of my future if I were to be a chronic bachelor. Gosh.. its gonna be so boring without any problems in life. Sometimes I do wish I find someone who can mirror my thoughts and actions. But then again, some more deep thinking gives up the hope and says better not even think in that direction!

Later at night, with Jayaram's instructions, I made a terrific dal. Hence DAL certified. Thank God.

Tomorrow have a lot of domestic chores to complete - vacuum the carpet, clean the bathroom, shop for the week etc etc. Have to try to visit the dog park also.. lets see.

Monday onwards, in the words of my manager, work is gonna fall like the heavy rains in Houston. Lets see. Some action is good. :)

About to touch 15k

2011-07-28T06:57:00.001-07:00

Some confusions at work. Should be settling soon.

Getting to see more dogs at the Bark Park now..

And my blog is just a few numbers away from hitting 15k. ! Thanks to everyone!

Vishnu AS was the culprit in hitting it multiple times to make it 10k.

I do want to know who the 15k th viewer is!

Why I didn't rescue the fawn.

2011-07-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.peta.org/living/home-and-garden/why-i-didn-t-rescue-the-fawn.aspx?c=pfs

True. I should think in these terms while watching deers in the wild...

Accident on I90

2011-07-25T07:19:00.001-07:00

Had a dream yesterday...

I was travelling in an Elantra on I90 (dont know if it exists).

Was travelling down a slope.

Banged a mercedes.

Not fatal, but it was a big accident.

The other driver was quite friendly.

Then I woke up. Didnt want to continue dreaming about that!

Gosh... please dont let that dream come true!

First Fried Rice

2011-07-24T20:59:00.001-07:00

Made an awesome fried rice today. First attempt. Beginner's luck? I hope not.

Watched The Lady and The Tramp. Missed Blackie and Bommu.

Went to the Bark Park. Lot of dogs today..

Returned home fast after a call from Ratnakar on an issue. Had a bit of work to do.

Sam Houston Boat Ride

2011-07-23T23:07:00.001-07:00

July 23 2011

Morning a bit of work.

Later afternoon, me, Saurabh and Roopali went for the Sam Houston Boat Ride.

Equally interesting and non-interesting. Thankfully it was free.

Then to San Jacinto War Monument and Battleship.

Then went to the Fred Hartman Bridge near Baytown..

Then to Kema Boardwalk. A quick walk.

Dinner at Saurabh's place. Roopali and Sowmya were there too.

Rainforest Cafe

2011-07-23T10:25:00.000-07:00

22 July 2011

Had dinner with Roopali to the rainforest Cafe at Katy Mills shopping mall.

A bit expensive.

But i really liked the rainforest theme of the restaurant..

Last week; went to the bark park a couple of days.

Shouldnt go there wearing formals. But can't help it.

You never know when a happy dog would come and jump at you. And they'll be wet too...

Met an old guy who had three dogs; had rescued all of them.

One was so scared of humans. She loved to play with the ball, but would never come near anyone. Very very scared. Must've been badly mistreated by humans when she was a pup. One young guy happily plays around, and the third lady is so friendly like my Blackie.

Then there is a huge rottweiler whom i see often. A bit reluctant to go near it, just cautious. He is in a world of his own. Just him and his little blue ball. Keeps playing around alone with the ball.

Sometimes when I see these daschunds and chihuahuas carried around by people, i feel really bad with their plight. They just treat them like some toy.. dragging along, lifting them up with leashes.... it hurts. Them and me.

Too many days passing by

2011-07-19T20:41:00.001-07:00

Something or the other comes up and I procrastinate blogging...

July 5 2011

I turned 24. Nothing else. Had dinner with Saurabh at Applebees. It was good.

July 9 2011

Ford Fusion

July 10 2011

Visited the Swaminarayan Temple with Saurabh.

July 12 2011

Deloitte Dinner at Omni Hotel

Danced a lot.

16th July 2011

Went with Saurabh, Roopali and Soumya to the Houston Rath Yatra at India House

17th July 2011

Sunday.

A bit of a live musical show in Downtown. Earlier visited the Tranquility Park.

Lots of work on the plate...

Back in Kerala my sis is getting adjusted to the hostel life at Ernakulam.

And my blog is gaining 15k visitors!

Baytown

2011-07-04T21:41:00.001-07:00

July 4th 2011

Baytown trip.

Was good.

The bridge was lovely to drive on.

The Bayou Nature Center was good too.

But heat. Terrible. Can really take out the energy from you.

My back is kinda screwed driving so much. But didnt feel it in the elantra day-before.

Going to take a break from driving long distance now.

Slept very weirdly after 3:30pm for nearly 30min.

Then prepared a new curry. Didnt taste it, but went to the Bark Park. Good to see some familiar faces there.

Then directly to watch Rango in the Dollar Cinema.

Returned back to taste the curry. It came out really well.

And birthday wishes started coming from the Indian time zone.

God. I'm turning 24 in less than an hour! Thank You for being there!

Sam Houston National Forest

2011-07-03T22:03:00.001-07:00

July 3 2011

Trip to Sam Houston National Forest in a Mustang.

Place was beautiful. Had I gone alone, I definitely would've spent more time there. But Soumya was there too and she wasn't interested in walking much. So returned back by noon.

Then went shopping alone for a week's supply for home. First to the Dollar Tree, then to the World Food Warehouse, and finally to Kroger. Have to admit, a housewife's job is a very demanding task. Hats off and a big salute to my mom and all the housewives who continue to do an excellent job!

After dinner, decided to go to the Bark Park for some 'peace of mind'. As always, it helped. Lots of dogs today.

Then decided to try the Dollar Cinema. Watched Rio.

God. Nice days. And mixed emotions.

Wimberely

2011-07-03T21:46:00.001-07:00

July 2 2011

Trip to Wimberely. Supposed to be a sale that opens only on the first saturday of every month. Not so impressive, but yeah it was different. From there to some river park. I forgot the name. It was really good and the drive to the area was amazing. Plenty of smooth slopes and curves. the river was shallow and a lot many had come to relax.

Then a quick trip to san antonio was planned. And it was a quick trip. Didn't get parking, and hence returned with a quick glimpse of the river walk.

Photos from my phone

2011-07-03T21:42:00.001-07:00

Those lone car photos correspond to the late nights that I had in office; feels a bit weird when u're walking back to your car in the parking lot and its the lone machine in the area...

One photo is the Nissan Altima which i test drove.

Then the first movie experience.. Lightning McQueen.

Then theres a snap of the only Shelby I've seen on the road so far.

Learning to make Dal

2011-07-01T07:25:00.001-07:00

June 30

Learnt to make dal thanks to Saurabh coming over at home and teaching me.

It was awesome. Hope it turns out well when I try it alone.

I can swim. But only as long as I catch my breath.

Saurabh's eyes got screwed because of the chlorine in the pool.

A Carroty Dinner

2011-06-30T07:56:00.001-07:00

June 29 2011

Cooking is getting better.

Today was carrot special.

Too many carrots.

Carrot fry. Carrot Salad.

And celebrating 2 years in Deloitte. Still going strong.

iHop Pancakes

2011-06-29T07:28:00.001-07:00

28 June 2011.

First experience of pancakes thanks to Kiran.

Went for a drive and after much wrong turns, reached the destination. On the way back had dinner at iHop. The place is good, no doubt about it.

Only the mental restriction remains regarding the food.. very difficult to consider these items as a proper 'meal'.

ISKON Temple and Cars2

2011-06-27T07:51:00.001-07:00

26 June 2011

Afternoon I made some Bhindi curry/fry which came out different than my expectations. I didnt like it, but Glenn and Kiran did.

Again some internet connection problems at home. Really getting sick of this unstable Wavevision connection. Dont know if its the cable problem or the net problem.

Thanks to a lot of elder-sisterly talk from Kiran, I decided to visit the ISKON temple.

It was good. First time experience in an ISKON temple. It was still under construction, but everything seems to be well maintained.

Had food from there. Me, Saurabh, Kiran and Roopali.

The two girls went gaga when they saw a family with triplets.. 2 guys and a girl.

It was a beautiful evening. I didnt want to go back home and sit there bored without the net. So decided to go for the movie with them.

First movie experience in the US.

Cars 2.

3D.

Not much of 3D, but it was fine. Movie was good, but the original cars was a lot better thanks to the storyline.

Like Mater very much now.

Mercer Botanical Garden

2011-06-25T19:48:00.001-07:00

Morning some bank business that didnt work out well.

Saurabh, Roopali, Soumya and Ritik were going to the NASA space center. I was not in mood for that.

Late noon set out to visit Humble alone. Was a nice drive. Different city. The Botanical garden was good.

Saw the MacDonald farm also.

Then went to Lake Houston. Well, atleast saw a part of it.

Nice trip.

UK Bans wild animals in circuses!

2011-06-24T12:48:00.001-07:00

So glad to read it when Shubhada posted it on my wall!

http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2011/06/24/victory-britain-votes-to-ban-animal-circuses.aspx?c=pfs

Cooking vs Time

2011-06-22T21:22:00.001-07:00

Cooking is seriously taking away a lot of time. And I'm making too much of stuff that I get bored eating for the next three consecutive days...

Today morning I was surprised to face a power cut while brushing my teeth..

Heavy rains. And lots of traffic too.

Walked up 8 floors in office. Quite a bit of work done...

A-Bad-Hair-Day

2011-06-22T12:32:00.001-07:00

June 21 2011

Afternoon during lunch at home, had a first-time-experience with Mr.Mendonca that screwed up my mood quite badly.

Later towards night, realized work is also in a slight mess which I would have to clean up soon.

And then I decided that things are going bad because of my hair growing long... decided to visit the place Saurabh told me for a haircut. Left office around 7:45pm. Reached the place to find it closed.

On the way back, got lost. Big time.

Reached back home after 2 hours. Thanks to Saurabh guiding me through google maps from home. And a big thanks to the bluetooth mobile integration with the Santa Fe!

Really a bad day.

Houston Zoo

2011-06-22T12:30:00.001-07:00

Friday 10 june 2011.

Went to Avis to return my silver Elantra. Glenn and Kiran were there too. Kiran took the blue Elantra. I took a Santa Fe.

Felt really bad once I started driving it.. Missed the Elantra's smooth curves and the smooth handling... This one has got more power, more space, more features, I sit higher.. But I missed the Elantra for some reason. It was effectively a heart break. It was the first car I actually owned. It was love!

Later night a trip to Walmart with Glenn. Walmart has lots of space to walk and wait.

June 11 2011

Trip to Houston Zoo. Me, Saurabh, Kiran and Roopali. Glenn had work so he wasn't coming. Went in Saurabh's mustang. It was a good ride. Around half an hour drive I think. And I had shaved off my moustache today.

The zoo was in Downtown. Amidst the parks. The place was beautiful. The zoo was so well maintained. Liked the cleanliness and the people's attitude there. Much much better than the experience I had at Trivandrum or Hyderabad.

June 12 2011

Lot of gyan from Ritu on matters of life. Same things that I've heard before from others.

Shopping a bit.

Kiran almost had an accident while changing lanes on highway 6.

The most important thing that happened today was that I got my first swimming lessons from Glenn in the retreat swimming pool. Swimming is interesting. But its a lot more difficult than driving or cooking. Circumstances easily brings out the cook in everyone.