Auspicious time zone

East Indians don't belive in God alone, they believe that some of them claim to understand whats in store for an individual decided by God. I am talking about Indian horoscopes. To explain to you more about this 'Kundali' or horoscopes, I had to use search tools on the internet. It still don't make any sense to me.

We usually go to a learned one, who knows( I say claims to know) something we don't. He, based on the exact time of the birth, comes up with a chart that is deciphered by him to unveil certain aspects of that indivduals future. My reason for dragging this to todays blog is because most of friends who are in India are either getting married or engaged this month or in the next. I am guessing its one of the most auspicious time during the year. It's not just a handful of friends- thanks to Facebook, I can keep track of how many are/ will be going down this year and in Jan next year.

Horoscopy and arranged marriage(still a common part of Indian culture) is inseparable. It has claimed to have predicted numerous successful marriages in my family-parents, grandparents, aunts etc. It is because, the time of birth holds more information than a lay man(like me) can know. These two months fall in the best time zone to conduct a significant ceremony like an engagement or a wedding. I personally think its fairy tale that is worth having a giggle about in a blog.

I wish all my friends a great future and a fruitful union in India. I wish I could have flown there for this Christmas holidays. It would've been hard to make to all ceremonies as they were geographically far off from one another. But my BIGGEST regret is missing out on the food! Man, the kind of lush food we indulge in during these fuctions is beyond delicious. Depending on which culture they come from, I would have been guaranteed a great variety, had I been to most.

Christmas Blues

It's almost Christmas and everyone is making plans for the holidays. For people staying back, they are figuring what to do during the three days(24th to 26th) when everything is closed. Everyones gets together for that special meal and 'Christmassy' feeling.

Funny theres no 'Boxing day' here on the 26th like in Britain. The day after Christmas where employees of clothing stores and shopping malls stand in line hope to get picked to work. The catch?, the pay for that day is 2 times the regular amount. For shoppers, its like trying to get tickets for a new Hollywood blockbuster on the day of release- many line up outside their favourite shopping malls to race in to the store with that 'Boxing day' sale. I used to love it, not cause of the mad rush, just that there is tremendous homework involved. Many write down the stuff they need to buy on boxing day and which store exactly. Its fun to see the race, that frenzy when you can see that spark in everyones eyes like they've won a lottery of some sort.
That is definitely something I will miss because 'Boxing day' sale is unheard of here.

The Student Nations will be closed to which is a worry cause there is more like me with no definite plans during Christmas. Places like the Nations would definitely be a sanctuary. Hoping that there will be one celebration somewhere in town where I can join in. 

To all readers- Have a lovely holiday and I wish you all a very happy Christmas and a wonderful New year.

Happy birthday

A quick short blog to commemorate my music idol, Jim Morrisons birthday today. To all his fans, I am dedicating these rare videos that reflect the very rare and sensational persona of a true poet, a visionary.
Link to the live version of 1968 tour-'When the music's over'
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LM9LMvJ_vw

And another to the masterpiece written by Robbie Krieger- 'Light my fire'
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xf8vhw_the-doors-light-my-fire-live-68-hq_music


To a person who was too shy to sing in front of a crowd, like many of us. To a person who believed in a world relieved of its misery. An epitome of individuality. A poet with an open mind. To the wide range of contribution in music through 'The Doors'- I share my appreciation and gratitude for one of the greatest philosophers/poet/ singer all time, Jim.

Virtual virtues

Punctuality is  looked upon by the Swedes. We had this time range for presentations today for a class of 40+ to present their work on animal studies. The time of start was 8AM and end was 12 noon. The weather in the morning didn't help me wake up as it was dark and hard to believe my wrist watch. I woke up at 15 minutes to 8. I was 'The Flash' for that 10 minutes or atelast wished that I was.

The walk to the venue was 5 minutes and I made it in 2, I have to thank my strategically placed dwelling in central Ultuna. It was 08:10 when I reached the room, only to find out that half of the class hadn't shown up. The evalutators were there.  They decided to start when more than half of the class showed up at one point. The teams began their slideshow and the latecomers for some reason waited outside to make a horde and entered together, disrupting the team under spotlight. I was expecting some unpleasantries among the authority and the late horde(by a good one hour). She didn't ask for a reason, didn't make them feel bad, didn't nothing. Maybe she understood from the congregated entrance that they were slightly miserable already. More and more showed up late and were dealt with the same way, or at times with a wisecrack, " You were probably hoping that your team would finish without you and you didn't have to present, sorry sonny". Maybe she thought that the unpleasantries would delay the session further and maybe it actually would have.

All groups got a fair share to present their findings as promised. Despite serious morning blues, I enjoyed it. Did learn more than scientific inference from the class findings as well as the fact that virtues are necessary but so is compassion.

Winter kicked in early this year. From the third week of November onwards its been snowing with average temperatures being in the -5 degree centigrade. For many of the international students it was a first time spending time with the snow. It was a time to learn how to make snowmen and have snowball fights. Some kids even took snowballs and hurled them on buses passing by, afterall, Volvo makes strong buses. Some small pets even managed to play hide and seek with their masters in deep snow.

Everyone was shopping looking for deals on the right winter apparel- boots, coats, scarf, ear muffs and the likes. You will need it for winter in its prime. Some pictures to show the beauty that has wrapped Uppsala already.

Most people who walked everywhere or cycled, have now got monthly bus passes. Everyone uses an additional layer of clothing atleast, with a good supply of lipbalm. From people from different parts of the world, this is the closest they will ever be to the north pole of the planet. Its all about wearing the right clothing material to keep yourselves warm, I figured.

The roads are extra slippery now as fresh snow keeps powdering in and there is a compressed layer on all pavements and treading surfaces. The roads now look white with a stream of dark surface marked by frequency of vehicles. The shades on the once dark asphalt is now mostly white and lighter grey.

I slipped many times already but never have fallen. A nice lady jokingly told me, "  You'll have to learn to walk all over again, young man!". It was funny.

Its harsh weather no doubt but there are cyclists around still! I was amazed to see how well they can control their bikes on snow. I did see some nasty falls too.  There are still them tenacious cyclists who say," You ain't the boss of me cold weather!'