Feb 14, 2020, special day

Feb 14, 2020 was indeed a special day, not because it was Valentine's day. But it was the day when I got a Rs 30k subsidy from Karnataka government intended towards my Kailash Mansarovar Yatra.

I had applied for a subsidy from Karnataka Government and it was picked through a lottery system. Made me really happy. Thank you Sri Yediyurappaji. _/\_, my heartfelt thanks to everyone who made that iconic and memorable trip possible!

Cheers,

Goo Goo Dolls - Black Balloon

Another song by Goo Goo Dolls which I like, there are plenty of music instruments playing in sync to achieve this song. So in order to compose a song like this, I am pretty sure exceptional talent is needed!

Cheers,

What a co-incidence - Part 2 - TTTT - 64

Another co-incidence happened recently during my North East trip during December 2019. I was staying at a hotel in Imphal, Manipur. Over here I could hear someone speaking in Kannada in the next room. Again I felt must be dreaming, but considering the voice was so loud, I realized its not a dream.

It turned out a whole group of 27 people had turned up from Bangalore for a complete North East trip via road. Their trip was over a period of 22 days, starting and ending at Guwhati, covering all the seven sister states of North East.

They came as a part of a travels group and co-incidentally it was the voice of the owner or travel group leader whom I had heard. So spoke to them for few minutes and then proceeded.

Remember, this all happened in Imphal, Manipur, so this calls for a co-incidence,

Cheers,

What a co-incidence - Part 1 - TTTT - 63

I have had few co-incidences during my travel during the last few years, so thought of writing them, before I forget all about them. Its about meeting people or stuffs happening when I am travelling which made me realize - o boy what a co-incidence...I know it sounds ridiculous and silly but no harm in writing about them. May be as random rants.

First part I remember happened in Bhuj, during our Gujarat trip in December 2017. During one of the days, when we woke up, I could faintly hear someone speaking in Tamil in Gujarat. I thought I must be dreaming.

Only to realize we had a bunch of people from TamilNadu in the hotel just a floor above us. Nope, I did not speak to them, but imagine, where is Bangalore or Tamilnadu, where is Gujarat and where is Bhuj in Gujarat, imagine you find someone from your neighbouring state all the way in Gujarat, it surely calls for a co-incidence!

Cheers,

Influential bands - Goo Goo Dolls.

There are few bands which I like. Few are very close to my heart. They cheer me up, on days when I am down. One such band is Goo Goo Dolls.

I remember I was introduced to Goo Goo Dolls only in 2002. Their album Gutter Flower was out and there was a song on the radio which was playing continuously. It opened up a whole lot of thoughts in my mind. And almost 18 years later, here I am, writing about them, as their songs continue to influence me in every positive way.

A big load of thanks to Goo Goo Dolls.

I still remember that, I used to scratch out the name Goo Goo Dolls on our classroom benches, and scribble the same on our class room board using chalk pieces. Such were the days! and now they are gone. Below is one of the songs by them, will share more! with stories to remember of course..

Cheers,
Sandeep

Songblog

I always had a thought of having a separate blog for maintaining a list of songs which I liked. I think time is ripe for such a blog. But at the same time, I wish to share some songs here too.

For now, sharing one such song which I like very much. There are many more, but this one makes me smile :)- More so a similar name - Song bird for a song blog!

Its called Song bird by Christine McVie (Fleetwood Mac)

Cheers,

When we rode in a beautiful vehicle (Force Traveller) TTTT - 62

Its not that often, I get to drive about, in beautifully maintained vehicles. I generally travel in office shuttle, other cabs, other people's cars. Also in general I observe vehicles, how they are maintained etc and other parameters. So when I get to travel in exceptionally maintained vehicles, I just tend to have a plan to write about it.

One such vehicle was the one we travelled to Dandeli. Yes, after my North east trip in the month of december 2019, I was itching for a trip/trek/hike or whatever, and I got a chance to travel to Dandeli.

This time we rented out a Force traveller. Initially, I thought this to be just another TT. :)-

But it was different.. The driver was super cool and super comfortable with people. The vehicle was also different. It was a 2012 model TT.

Overall it was still having factory fitted seats, but the pickup was superior, and the suspension seemed to be upgraded. So after a night's journey when we reached Dandeli, I just asked the driver about its maintenance, he told he had changed couple of parts in the engine bay, which were from a different model and superior. But he told the over all maintenance was the same, it was just the care and attention he took to the various parts of the vehicle, which just showed up.

For example, for a better conditioned turbo charger, its always and always recommended to idle the engine for 10 minutes post start and 10 minutes before turning off the engine. Believe me, it works wonders, I haven't done this and I can and have always felt how a cold turbo responds versus how a warmed up turbo responds. Plus as it ages, I assume the smoothness it delivers varies just by this one above parameter.

Cheers,

Work from home setup

Almost three months into the new year, I found sometime to write again. This time, we are working from home, owing to the corona virus scare, which has brought things to a standstill.

So after two weeks of working and working listening to music, reading Satyajit Ray, I found time to change my setup in my room to include some place for blogging as well. Below is the image :)-

Cheers,