Baggage Comedy...

I had a big problem during my baggage check-in at the airport in Chennai...my allowed baggage limit is only 20 kgs and hand luggage of 7 kgs...unfortunately my main luggage weighed 25 kg and the handluggage weighed 13 kgs with additionally my laptop as well....the check-in officer clearly said you have to pay extra amount of nearly 1500 rupees to take the extra kilos...i was totally confused what to do....thank god...father was having the extra money and I took from him and was about to pay for the extra kilos...I went to the other check-in officer who happened to be a beautiful girl..hehehe...the beautiful lady checked my luggage and said ...oh you are going to frankfurt...you are allowed two pieces up to 45 kgs...then I started to shout....why didnt you inform before...she said...."sorry....the other officer might have not known about it"...then happily I took my hand luggage of 15 kgs and was walking towards the immigration check....

Suddenly one more check-in officer entered the scene and said...this is totally impossible with hand luggage of 15kgs...and the size is too big....I said...its your officials who allowed me ...then why the heck are u asking again....he asked me to show the concerned check-in officer...we went to the beautiful check-in officer....the other check-in officer questioned the lady how is it possible to allow 15kgs...she said..."he is going to frankfurt..so total allowed baggage is 45 kgs"...suddenly the head check-in officer was called and asked about the details...it seems as per the rule...passengers flying to Toronto are only allowed to carry up to 45kgs...and not the frankfurt passengers....heheeeee.....the beautiful lady was caught in the trap....now came the real comedy....

The beautiful lady said to Chief Check-in officer....oh sorry sir....I didnt know that...and said a lovely statement...."his main luggage was only 16kgs(actually it weighed 25 kgs by that time the main luggage has gone to the cargo so one cannot weigh it once more heheeeee)....and his hand luggage was just 8 kgs(actually it weighed 15 kgs...including my laptop heheee)...so why to charge him extra luggage fees....the chief check-in officer asked one more time...are u sure it weighed 16kgs...she said with a blushing face..."i am damn sure sir"....I was laughing inside to the core...heheeeeeeee....the chief check-in officer had no other say... and he said ok sir you can proceed....heheeeee...I exchanged a very surcastic smile with the beautiful check-in officer and a grave look at the chief-check in officer...heheeeee and I proceeded further...

And one more time, the beautiful lady appeared in front of the entrance to the flight...gave my boarding pass to her and exchanged one more surcastic smile and said....Many thanks to you...heheeee...I wanted to have a snap with her for my blog....but unfortunately the chief check-in officer, the great villain was standing next to her...then I thought forget it....Anyway hats off to that beautiful lady! heheeeeee

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Reality Check....

Three weeks have gone so fast...and when I look at my calendar it says you gotto pack up the happiness, the moments, the idlys, the dosas and go back to lonely ghosty life...hmm what to do...one has to proceed, one can not bog down in the same niche forever...in many ways this trip boosted my confidence...met all the friends and well-wishers....ate to the maximum...slept well like kumbakarna..and in the end increased my flesh by 5kgs in three weeks...;) and more importantly temperatures hovering around 42°C....

I had many reality checks during this trip...some people have changed...some still the same old buddies....some places have changed...some still the same... but it was quite easy for me to answer this question which I posted to a mirror....Mirror Mirror..who has stayed the same showing the same care, affection and love...the mirror undoubtedly answered in a splash of a second...its none other the two souls...your mom and dad....:)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Well Deserved Champions

Australia, no doubt the deserving champions...the way they outclassed other teams...its not just the victories they obtained but the margin of victory they achieved against the opponents...total brutal force against any teams for that matter srilanka or south africa or scotland or ireland...One could clearly see the gap between Australia and rest of the world...hope the cricketing pundits agree to the fact they are one generation ahead....I am really amazed with the way they play, giving no respect for the opponents...On one side its good that the best team wins the worldcup three times in a row...but on the otherside its not good for any sports to have a one winner all the time....I guess ICC should now think of selecting rest of the world team to play against Australia and pose them a little challenge in the years ahead...:)

Sathish Kumar S

The Big Boss.....

Now I am back to cove.....I get a chance to meet all my old friends and well-wishers during this break...recently I had a chance to spend some time with one of the big boss of Computer Science Mr. Aravind...:) I say he is a big boss, since he represents the elite community of Computer Science engineers from India....recently completed his Masters from Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and final year thesis on Compilers ....It was really nice sharing views from one of the very few modest guys I have met......has the capability to challenge any computer science engineer on this planet....heheeee...yes I am not kidding....Computer Science needs your contribution and more importantly India needs your work in the field of Computer Science...Hats off to you Aravind!

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Surprising Visit to my home....

Atlast I arrived at my sweet home....It was a lengthy journey from Hamburg to Frankfurt by train, Frankfurt to Doha of six hours of travel, Doha to Chennai another five hours and finally landed in my hometown. In many ways, this trip is special just because I booked the tickets before one week and more importantly I didnt inform my parents....:) I just wanted to give them a shock....In the end turned out to be really exciting....

My father as always never excited...just a smile on his face....mom was sleeping infact snorring heehehee....I just woke her up and said good morning....she couldnt believe for a moment what was happening....she hugged me, cried, kissed me...sentis...emotions....ya I loved it...Straight away first ball dosa with chatni...sambhar, rasam, appalam and bhajji's in the evening...hmm first day...but I am sure I am gonna be roasted in this chennai's heat....it is unimaginably hot....but anyway this is my hometown...:) I can handle it....

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Flying soon to India after 19 months...

Atlast the much awaited day came for me....yes I am going to India on 21st of April and returning back on 11th of May....I have to wait for 19 months to get this day on my calendar...It was a sudden decision....My friends back in Hamburg were motivating to the core to go to India...but somehow I said to myself that I have to go to India with peace....then I aked myself where is the peace....My heart said....the peace comes only when you satisfy the two souls(mom and dad) back home crying, craving, praying for my arrival....I am really excited about this trip and can never be compared with the trips which I made in Europe....Keep the fingers crossed for more articles when I reach India...hehehee!

Cheers,

Sathish Kumar S

Sunny Stockholm....

Recently I had a chance to explore one of the scandinavian cities, Stockholm, Sweden. It was a lengthy journey from Hamburg to Lübeck.....ferry from Lübeck to Denmark for about one hour...then two hours in land....one more ferry from Denmark to Helsingborg, Sweden...and finally to the capital city, Stockholm, the cultural capital of Europe.....As such Stockholm is a picturesque city with breathtaking buildings, huge bridges and beautiful lake Malaren occupying most of the city's mainland remembering me of Venice in Italy.....

The frustrating part in Stockholm was the currency....they dont use Euros and Swedish croners is the order of the day except in few places like McD.. Sun was shining to the core which made our trip better....One thing which I noted from stockholm is....it doesn't have the worldclass wonder like Paris or London or Amsterdam....But anyway a trip to remember with many funny incidents and count to my list of European Voyage :)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Indians the big chokers.....

One of the most disastrous days in the history of Indian cricket ....where the sad memories are going to linger around for years to come as far is world cup is concerned...But its a known fact that Indians are chokers in big situations and when the situation demanded them...they meakly surrender to the feat of opponents like kids playing some school cricket.....It will be really foolish if I start saying ...they should have restricted 10 or 20 runs less...or they should have batted well....the most important thing which I want to narrate is the lack of fighting spirit from the so called legends of cricket (Sachin, Sourav, Rahul summing a total of 30,000 runs) but couldnt score 255 runs when one billion people wanted them to do so.....One can argue winning and losing is part and parcel of sports...but if losing always happens in every crunch situations...then one has to seriously look into it....

Cricket arguably the next religion in India...where most of the younger generation take it to their heart but really hurts when India fails miserably in big tournaments...The kind of passion, craziness this sport has got can never be compared with any other things in India...but still we struggle to make it up in big occasions.... On the other side, I really pity the players where one has to fullfill the hopes of one billion...I guess the most watched and scrutinised players than any other international cricketers in the world...sometimes really backfire them....But at the end of the day no excuses for big chokers in big occasions...It will be interesting to know where the Indian cricket goes on from here...some overreactions, some retirements, some sackings, some protests are always on the cards....Lets keep our fingers crossed!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

Recently I had a lecture on Supply Chain Management (SCM) in one of my MBA course. To be candid, I didnt have any idea of what SCM is all about...this course really gave me a great insight of SCM....we had one exercise in this lecture of optimising the network distribution of products...and calculating the total logistics cost....i really loved the task....Thanks to my MBA which gives me an idea of new concepts like SCM,CRM,Product Development, Innovation Management, Presentation Skills, Facilitation Skills, Communication Skills, Economics....!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

CEBIT

Recently we had a chance to go to CEBIT, Hannover, Germany...one of the biggest industrial exhibition in this part of the world...Thanks to Prof. Gisholt who made it possible for all of us...It was a nice experience to be there to see huge malls from big giants like IBM,SAP,Intel,Microsoft etc...and also the medium and small enterprises...Hannover a decent city to hang around...had some time to hang around in some parks...rathauses...strassebahn....All in all, a day to remember!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Lufthansa Technik

Recently we had a chance to visit Lufthansa Technik, Hamburg - One of the sponsors of NIT...It was a bright sunny day with sunshine most of the time...started of with a boring presentation from a marketing guy (I guess he needs to get training from Prof.Gisholt ;) ....then followed by a nice visit inside their plant...with good explanations from two retired guys answering patiently to all our questions like how many litres of petrol does it consume for the flight from Hamburg to Losangeles...heheeeee....that was the question of the day for me....Boeing 747 was incredibly awesome...had a chance to see the internal parts of it....then followed by delicious lunch with as many varieties as possible...I even heard some of them packed their food for dinner...heheeee...all in all a day to remember...Thanks to NIT administration for organizing this short industrial visit!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Product Development

Recently we had a chance to develop our product in one of our MBA class "Innovation Management". The idea is to develop a new product, in our case, it was a new brand of sporting car..The exercise was really awesome...with strict time schedule of three hours...with each one assigned the role of Manager, Marketing, Finance, Software and Hardware engineer...our team was filled with exuburent individuals specialising in their own field...we learned a lot as a team how to tackle different situations and in the end turned out to be a decent show by us...It was certainly one of the best lectures I had in my MBA studies...

OUR TEAM!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Exchanging Pants

Recently a strange and a funny incident happened when I went to skiing in alps....I was wearing a dark fluorescent green pant...you could actually see that pant even from a far off distance...it was so catchy....honestly I didnt like that color which I was wearing...A crazy drunken lady came near me and asked in German...that she needs that Green pant and in return she will give me the black pants..oops....But I thought, I am not going to do skiing in my life next time...because its so tough for me...and I am not going to wear that Green pant once again...so I said "YES"....Could you believe it....I really enjoyed that moment because it was so funny and crazy for me....these incidents reside in your memory even after some years...when I think of skiing, I will remember the green pants and the crazy lady...an incident to remember!

At the Start of skiing


The crazy Lady wearning my Green Pant



After my exhausting day at skiing with the pants exchanged ;)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Octopus

Do u know what octopus is....fish with eight legs...recently I had a chance to eat this fish in my mentor's place...take it from me...it was so delicious which I didnt expect it to be....People say octopus is a typical spanish food...but who cares...I tried yet another new food in Germany...There goes a saying... "Some people live to eat and some other people eat to live"...you know which category I belong to...;)

Sathish Kumar S

Vodka...

Recently I had a chance to visit my mentor Mr.Merkel at his home at Lattenkamp…. It was a nice dinner prepared by Mr.Merkel ….with fish as the main ingredient…I was joined by his childhood friend with whom he maintains contacts till now….amazing…world is so small...this dinner was quite different from the other ones which he offered to me….the reason behind is….it wasn’t so official…..it was so casual dinner and I drank so many vodkas….thank god..his wife wasn’t there…she went to Switzerland for skiing…it was really a nice experience of drinking vodka …I didn’t get drunk …..Thank god I arrived safely to home without any fuss….Thanks Merkel for the dinner and also for the vodka….;)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Skiing

Skiing, the sport which I tried for the first time in my life in Oberstaufen, Alps. It wasn’t certainly an easy task for me to do this sport…since I haven’t done any great sport in my life and I am a lazy goose as well…Cricket, one of the easiest and laziest sport one can do…. One could easily imagine, I was the struggling guy of all the beginners…;) I really envy the kids who could do all possible combinations of skating and rotations…of course they are born in the midst of snow…while I was born when the temperature was hovering around 40°c .

More difficult part in Skiing is…when one falls on the ground…its very difficult to get up without the help of others…especially with the snow boots and the snowboards…When the slope is down…its really an amazing feeling to go down…but there is also difficulty in applying brakes …and the frustrating part is climbing up the slope with the snow boots and the sticks…I was literally gone to death after my three hours of skiing.. But any way, I thoroughly enjoyed each and each very moment especially when I fell to the ground…;) I really thank my University officials who made all the arrangements for the international students to experience skiing for the first time in their life…I loved it….

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Neuschwanstein Castle...

Neuschwanstein is a scenic Castle built by king Ludwig in the state of Bavaria, Germany. The most important thing about this castle is….the view from outside is classic but honestly inside the castle is nothing great when compared to Vatican palace or Mysore palaces. The drive to the castle is simply breathtaking with big mountains, snow top in alpine trees…I simply loved it…Poor king Ludwig couldn’t live in the castle….because he died few days after the castle was built. Bavaria, the state as such is so wonderful …picturesque mountains…breathtaking views…probably in my opinion one of the best places in Germany…Thanks to TUHH International office which gave me an excellent opportunity to explore the wonderful state of Bavaria….

Sathish Kumar S

Sauna

Do you know what’s the meaning of Sauna…Its nothing but removing all the clothes and going naked inside the closed room with temperatures around 85-100 ° C. It was totally a new experience for me because I couldn’t imagine if its possible in my country…The best part of Sauna is…the people aren’t afraid or shy to see other’s genitals…heheeeee…..Thank god I closed my part with a small towel…;) But honestly after going inside the sauna…I didn’t feel anything bad…because sex is interesting only when its half-naked …..when everything is open…it becomes yet another organs of the body…isn’t it?... ;)

I could see European Culture in Sauna….I really like these people’s mentality of handling and enjoying the life…but at the same time performing exceedingly well when it comes to science, technology and research whereas the Asians giving bull shit thoughts about stupid things and not progressing forward…..I some times envy about Europeans handling their way of life…It will be very difficult for me to switch back to my traditional thoughts when I go back to my country…Of course I am fighting hard to give a balance in my thought of being an Indian and European…Well that’s the best part of studying in abroad….

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Michael Kitzelmann

Michael Kitzelmann, the guy whom I met during my work in CIS...Basically a German from Köln...has now become best of my German friends in Deutschland....Kitzelmann definitely deserves an article in my blog...

How can I forget this guy when I was tormented with loneliness in my early days in Germany...The way he complemented and showed me the other side of life in Germany...How can I forget the parties which we had in Reaperbahn...How can I forget his 30th birthday party where I was drunk to hell...How can I forget the moments which we spent during worldcup football time in the bars especially against the Argentina match...How can I forget the time we spent cooking together...How can I forget the limited technical sharing we had in office...How can I forget the days when he used to drop me by car in Veddel station and say schönen abend...How can I forget the gossip we had about girls...How can I forget the gift (T-shirt portraying Köln) which he presented to me...

The company which Kitzelmann offered to me is simply incredible...because he has shown me the other side of Germans...What a helping heart this guy possess...really helped me mentally in every time when I was down...Not to forget his witiness...he has the excellant nab of teasing others more importantly without hurting others..."Indians travelling on the top of the train"..the sentence which he very often uses to me but in a real jovial manner...Very committed when it comes to work which I realised during his Diplom Arbeit(Thesis)...even more committed when it comes to drinking beer...;)

All in all, Kitzelmann was a perfect friend of my wavelength in Germany...I never felt uncomfortable with him...When I leave this country, no doubt I will take the friendship of Michael Kitzelmann along with me...."du bist mein bester deutscher Freund Michael..." ...All the best Michael for your personal life and acheiving many things in your career...

Prost,
Sathish Kumar S

Some Scribbling...

I have written many articles on my blog...but I havent tried writing poems...So I thought I can give a try to write a small poem...please bear with me because this is the first time I am giving a try for poems...

In the midst of all depression from all corners,
Arrived a friend from some corner!

A friend has made every moments special,
what I am saying is absolute real!

A friend has given me sweet memories,
which has completely wiped out all my worries!

A friend is indeed so sweet
Therefore in my heart he/she has a permanent seat!

There were few instances where we fight
but that has made my heart so light!

Our span of friendship may be short
but for me it means a lot!

I dont have any expectation
I hope that has given a friend some satisfaction
which resulted me some motivation
but in the end makes our relationship a reputation!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Snow after a long time...

Atlast the much awaited snow came...all the kids were playing in the streets when the snow came...the kids were none other than Indians...because for many of us, we are seeing snow for the first time in our life....I had a chance to experience and play with snow when I was in Kulu, Manali in Himachal Pradesh,India..but to see snow in the streets and to live with the snow on my window is something special...it was so surprising for even Germans to celebrate christmas with out snow...God only knows what and all is going to happen because of global warming....whatever..when it is snowing outside and hearing music inside is so romantic...;)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Case Challenge 2007

It was a memorable weekend at Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Leipzig, Germany trying to give some business solutions for Q-Cells, the main sponsor of the Case Challenge 2007. There were participants from differnet Business schools of Europe ranging from Glasgow till Barcelona. I learned many new things from this Business case , how to tackle a case study, how to present Business solutions.

Crenfield Business School,Glasgow emerged as winners of this case challenge, no doubt they are the deserved winners! Amazing presentation and Business solutions they offered to Q-cells...I could realise what UK MBA is all about by looking at their Business solutions...I initially thought MBA is all blah blah...after this Case Challenge I realized what Management and Business are all about...I will take this experience in Leipzig a long way in my career....

Sathish Kumar.

SUN TV in Internet

That was a big relief for me....Yes SUN TV in internet...I was really searching for tamil channel in internet live streaming for long time..finally isaitamil.net provided an opportunity to watch SUN TV in the internet...But I dont know how long this service will continue...It really gave an Indian feeling inside my room when I hear the music "SUN TV IN TAMIL MAZHAI" :)...check out this link www.isaitamil.net ....

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Dinner with a German family on Christmas Eve

Recently I had a chance to have a dinner with my German mentor family in Hamburg.It was indeed special to have a dinner with a German family on the eve of christmas...because I heard from many Germans that inviting for a dinner on the eve of christmas by a German is the pinnacle of showing their love and affection...It was good to be there...Thanks to Merkel family who showed great hospitality right from the time I entered the house till I returned to catch the train...Thanks to NIT which gave me the opportunity to know how the Germans celebrate the christmas evening...It was certainly an evening to remember...Hats off to the Merkel family!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

ICE WORLD ,Lübeck,Germany

Recently I had a chance to go with my juniors to ICE WORLD in Lübeck which is an hour journey from my city Hamburg...Honestly in my opinion,it wasnt great as it was expected...but still quite good with ice sculptures....We were about to do skating..but taking into considerations of our prior experience in skating...we decided to quit it...The city(Lübeck) as such is a small one....with old buildings...a small river flowing across the city...with christmas celebrations on the streets...it was nice to be there...More importantly,we had a gang which can make any trip in the world interesting....(As usual,I made a movie with the photos we took...)



Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

The Year 2006

Another year has come to an end....The year 2006 was all in all a mixed experience for me...with excitements,with some disappointments,with some usual stuffs...On a scale of 10,I would rate 2006 with 8..I thought,I could summarize the experiences which I had in this year...its going to be the repetition of what I expressed in my previous articles...:)

Horrible Jan-February:
Horrible months of the year...with winter at its peek...exams at the most depressing times...Thank god I managed to escape through one of the toughest mental depression I had...

Working March-April:
I did nothing other than working in the office compensating for the hours which I lost during exam time...New semester started....Things were getting better...

Amazing May-June:
One of the best moments I had in Germany..THE GREAT SUMMER...the weather was at its best most of the times...Worldcup football match...trips to Essen,Dortmund,Konstanz,Freidrichshafen(South Germany)...It was quite opposite to winter...

Examining July-August:
Crab time...except for the fact I found a lifetime friend in this month...:) Had to confine to the room with books and previous year question papers...Thank god...I managed to finish all the therotical subjects for my MS during this time...

Awesome September-October:
I got my MBA admission and accomodation schlorship during this time..I spent most of the time in German class preparing for my Certificate Deutsch exam...It was really fun to be in German class...like kids...:)

Stressful November:
It was bit stress during this month because I need to finish the pending programming work in my partjob since I was scheduled to start my internship in AIRBUS...But at the end of November,I had one of the most memorable trip to Italy...I certainly loved it...

Peaceful December:
I had one small disappointment..my internship project was cancelled,I couldnt continue my internship in AIRBUS...Iam peacefully continuing my Project work in the topic "Analysis of Security Features in IPv6"...

Iam really satisfied how 2006 went for me...As I said 8 out of 10 is not a bad score either..;)Lots of things need to be done in 2007(every year we say this na...;)I have couple of targets for 2007 which I hope will be fullfilled...

Tschüss 2006!
Sathish Kumar S

Disappointment at AIRBUS

I was extremely happy when I got my internship in AIRBUS.But the happiness was thrashed into pieces in few days of my entry,when the project allocated to me has been cancelled.This is the problem with big firms where nothing is sure.I was asked to work in Excel sheet instead of programming which I felt is killing of time...I asked them to relieve me since it doesnt suit any of my career goals...Thank god..they relieved me without any fuss...and more importantly I held(break) the student job which I was doing for almost one year...Now iam back to the cove with Labview..:)

Sathish Kumar S

TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY HAMBURG-HARBURG (TUHH),Germany.

The TUHH is one of the youngest universities in Germany as well as one of the most successful. Between 1982 and today an attractive architectural ensemble was created on the TUHH campus in the south of Hamburg. The campus, with its modern buildings, fits most naturally into the surrounding parkland. With the combination of beauty and function the university has become a landmark in city-planning.

The park-like campus provides a multifaceted environment, inspiring both social and intellectual exchange. The atmosphere can be clearly described: young, innovative, unconventional, original and creative - ideal for the development of new ideas in engineering. The fundamental principles of the TUHH are unique in Germany; priority is given to research, interdisciplinary studies and innovation. Also central to TUHH approach is a close working relationship with regional industries and, more recently, the achievement of international scale.



Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Memorable trip to Italy

Recently I had a chance to explore the beautiful parts of Europe...ITALY...I tried to cover four cities of Italy in five days...Pisa,Florence,Venice and Rome..Thanks to ryanair for the cheap tickets to fly from Germany to Italy...Thanks to Hostelworld.com for the information about cheap and good hostels.At the end it turned out to be a great and memorable trip for us...I certainly enjoyed each and every moment...I really thank god who gave me this opportunity to explore some beautiful places on the globe...

SCIENTIFIC PISA....



Pisa,I heard about this city when I was in Ninth standard,when my Physics master explained Galieleo's experiment of gravitational forces...I never thought,I would visit Pisa anytime...The leaning tower of Pisa is a scenic view and there is a palace close by..the lush green grass adds to the beauty...Certainly a day to remember....other than the leaning tower...I would say nothing much to see in Pisa...



OVERHYPED FLORENCE .... :)



Next to Pisa,I moved to Florence...I heard great things about this city...but honestly speaking...there are many Indian cities which are far better than Florence...Its a overhyped city...:) It has beautiful river...small mountains...amazing architectural buildings and Michealango point where one could get the panaromic view of the whole city of Florence...we took the city tour bus which was roaming around the whole city...sat on the top of the bus..got down at special places and took loads and loads of photos...



ROMANTIC VENICE.....



Venice..no words to explain...Sexy,Romantic Venice...When I reached Venice,it remembered me of an Indian City Allepey....With bactwaters..with amazing buildings,with boat rides(Gondolos)...with scenic view of the houses...with some breathtaking churches...simply amazing...Venice has to be travelled with girlfriend or with wife...oh poor guy Iam still a bachelor...Night life in Venice is even more splendid...with lights glittering across the river...I wont forget Venice for many reasons ;)....



GIGANTIC,HISTORIC,SPLENDID ROME...



Rome...the capital city of Italy...Rome is unimaginably big...I have never seen any European city with such a big crowd...Reminds me of Calcutta in India with underground metros with people pusing each other in to the train...:) When I say about Rome..what comes to our mind is VATICAN CITY...I was standstill when I looked at the Vatican Palace...Gigantic pillars...huge architectural buildings..simply amazing...Had a chance to climb to the top of the palace...which gives the panaromic view of the whole city....then comes the Collosium...when I entered this place...the movie GLADIATOR came in to my mind...most of the Collosium is damaged...and renovation works are taking place...who cares...(had a count of visiting seven wonders of the world...(Taj Mahal,Eiffel Tower,Pisa and Collasium already visited) still three more left...lets see)...Each and every building in Rome is a monument...Took tonnes and tonnes of photos...Rome...A day to remember in my life...


Having lived in Germany for one year,I found Italy totally different from Germany...The trains never run to the schedule...oh no..they dont even start at the right time...:) the cities are choatic...the people cant even speak single word in English..the food is totally different...If I remember properly I drank some 25 cups of CUPPACINO in the whole trip...And important incident happened in the trip...I lost my camera when I was drinking CUPPACINO in a restaurant..I literally lost all my 1000 photos which I took in Italy...then I asked the person in restaurant...THANK GOD...he safely held the camera which I forgot when I was paying the bill...It would have been a terrible trip without those photos...I have all my photos now and I have made some movies with those photos...If you are interested to see the photos and movie...get back to me... :)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Freshers Party 2006

Recently we had a party for the freshers who arrived from India in Technical University Hamburg-Harburg,Germany.The party started with more boring stuffs with introduction,more advices,more fundas...blah blah....but followed by thunderstrom dancing and partying....we introduced alcohol in this Indian party for the first time...Danced to the core...drank some beer,vodka.It is altogether different partying with our own Indians...no need to care for anything..Hope freshers enjoyed this party....

RISE OF INDIA...My MBA Presentation

Recently I had a chance to give a presentation about INDIA for presentation and facilitation skills subject in MBA...Thanks to the teacher who asked us to select anytopic...I took this opportunity to say about my country to my classmates who comes from different corners of the world...This was a chance I was waiting for many days to prove what INDIA is and what INDIANs are capable...Yes..!

But when I was in India,I hardly had any patriotism...only during Independence day and Republic day when I used to march with the tricolor flag in school...But after coming here and losing many valuable things back home,made me realize what homeland is and what homesoil is...Thanks to the technology..They recorded our presentation and I have uploaded my presentation...


I REALLY FELT PROUD WHEN I DID THIS PRESENTATION...WHY NOT IAM AN INDIAN!
JAIHIND!

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

The state of being drunk!

Drinking..the habit which I hate right from younger age...I hate drunkers...but I slowly started as a social drinker with a glass of beer with my cousin in Bangalore(Brigade Road)for his birthday party...then continued some glasses of wine in some gettogethers,parties in India...I couldnt imagine hardly one day when I was drunk in India..I was always restricting to one or two glasses because as I mentioned before Iam a social drinker...:)

But things changed when I drink with Germans...I coulnt restrict to one or two glasses because you know they sponsor me for the extra glasses..hehehee...I was drunk for nearly five times in Germany in this one year...All these time...thank god...I was having the control of walking on my own...heheeee....Iam a person who blabbers even if iam not drunk..just imagine how the situation would be if Iam drunk...to give you simple example...I said to my boss when I was drinking with him.."I will work for Indian Space and will launch a rocket which will target Germany"..you could imagine what other sentences would be! But the funniest part when Iam drunk is...I could realise,know,feel whats happening around me but why people say then a person is drunk...Hey I wrote this article when Iam drunk just to prove a point that Iam not drunk! heheeeee :)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

Friends forever...

Recently I had an opportunity to chat and talk with my school friends who were sitting in different corners of the world...Thanks to skype which connected us from different parts of the globe...Can you imagine or give an example of group of friends who travelled all the way right from the age of 10 and still maintaining a bond of friendship...yes its none other than Vivekananda Vidyalaya,Avadi school friends...

We had a chat at the same time..irrespective of the time zones in different parts of the world...To give an idea of where we are now and what we are doing...

1.Saravanan,Software Engineer working for E-Bay client in Unites States of America(USA)
2.Naresh,doing his Master's thesis in GE Electrics,Ulm,Germany
3.Sathish ...oh thats me na...doing my MS and MBA in Germany
4.Damodharan...Chemical Engineer working in Dubai,UAE
5.PalaniSwamy,Kamlesh..software engineers working for Cognizant Technology Solutions..soon I will update both their profiles...guys working in US!
6.Sridhar..Engineer cum MBA..working as a marketing engineer in Chennai,India.
7.Parthiban...Mechanical Engineer working in Whirlpool,Pondicherry,India.

It gives me a great sense of satisfaction and proud to see where we are now...Because we have travelled a long way in different phases of life...shared all our happiness and sorrows together...Neither we werent born with a silver spoon nor we had an opportunity to study in so called great schools in Chennai,India...But its the bond of friendship which made us to be in the place where we want to be...All of us are in the age group of 23.24...still a long way to go in our career and life...But Iam sure...wherever we are...whichever place we are...whatever we do....our strength of friendship will never be schackled...Just a question for you...When I write a blog after 10 years about our friendship...just think and imagine how the profiles of ours would be!

YES WE ARE GOING TO ROCK!!!!
Cheers Guys...
Sathish Kumar S

Partying at German friend's birthday....

There were many parties which I attended in Germany,but the one recently I attended was a special one...the reason is simple..it was my best German friend's 30th birthday party...honestly saying one of the honest German friend whom I rubbed shoulders with...God...I drank to the core...God knows how many bottles of beer I drank...I was dancing with passion with Germans..who really like to dance a lot...More importantly,I blabbered a lot(normally I do even if iam not drunk...just imagine when Iam drunk to the core ..heheeee)...From these parties,I could get the clear insight of how these Germans enjoy life...honestly speaking...these parties can give fun when Iam here in Germany..but not anymore when Iam married or staying in INDIA...I would like to watch Megaserial...because u know Iam a nice guy...heheheee

Indonesian Musical Instrument

Recently I had a chance to perform an Indonesian Musical Instrument on stage along with my Indonesian friends...Its called "Anklung".Basicall this instrument comes from Java Islands,Indonesia...Its made of bamboo sticks and the music is produced by striking them together in a synchronized manner...It was really a nice experience for me to play this instrument...but asusual made hell lot of mistakes on stage ;)...but at the end turned out to be a classical performance...Basically my knowledge in playing musical instruments is Zero...I hardly ever played any musical instrument in my school or in college days..Thanks to my close Indonesian friend Indrawan Poetranto who accompanied me insipte of my inability to play any instrument hehehe...

My Speech (in German) in my small firm...

Recently I gave a breakfast to my German colleagues for my birthday and for completing one year of work in my small firm CIS-SOLARTECHNIK....I did this in German so that they can understand properly...;)

Hallo zusammen,

Ich bin aufgeregt auf Deutsch zu reden, um meine Gefühle auszudrücken, was ich alles in diesem Jahr erfahren habe, was alles passiert ist…. wenn ich mir meinen Kalendar ansehe, sagt er mir dass ich seit einem Jahr in Deutschland bin… Die Zeit vergeht schnell. Es waren unterschiedliche Erfahrungen bis jetzt: auf der einen Seite hatte ich eine Menge Spaß und Spannung… andrerseits viel Stress, viel Heimweh…viele Enttäuschungen… aber im Allgemeinen würde ich meinen Aufenthalt in Deutschland nicht bedauern. Auf einer Skala bis zehn…würde ich meinen Aufenthalt mit einer sieben bewerten. Ich mag Deutschland wirklich sehr gern.

Ich hatte einige Befriedigungen in diesem Jahr ...keine Frage...mein Studentenjob bei der CIS Solartechnik....An dieser Stelle möchte ich den großen Respekt gegenüber meinem Chef Dr. Juan Rechid erwähnen… um ehrlich zu sein....einer der größten Persönlichkeiten, denen ich in meiner bisherigen Karriere begegnet bin.....egal, ob er mit mir schimpft oder mich lobt...Ich mag ihn sehr...es ist seine Offenheit…Ich bin die einzige Person bei CIS, die nicht Deutsch spricht und trotzdem fordert er mich heraus…Ich habe verschiedenste Dinge in dieser Firma gelernt, nicht viel technisches, aber was noch viel wichtiger ist… die deutsche Arbeitskultur…die deutsche komplexe Denkweise...(unglaublich wie Juan denkt!)...German life style...(der Hauptgrund, warum ich mir Deutschland ausgesucht hatte).....Es ist nicht nur Juan, sondern die ganzen Mitarbeiter, die so nett sind…***

Die Art wie Andreas mit mir redet, wie er fragt, wie alles läuft…
Die Art wie Christian lächelt… und mir sein Lächeln Glück bringt…
Die Art wie Costo mich ärgert… Ich mag dich wirklich…du bist einer der witzigsten Menschen, die ich kenne…
Wolf….den Respekt den er einem entgegenbringt, wenn man sich zum ersten Mal sieht…(später nicht )…Scherz!
Rudi…wow…was für ein Lächeln, eins der schönsten Lächeln, die ein Mann besitzen kann…
Micheal….einer der besten deutschen Freunde, die ich habe…Micheal…wie kann ich die Nächte vergessen, die wir auf der Reparbahn durchgefeiert haben….wie wir das Deutschland-Argentinien-Spiel in der Bar gesehen haben…oder die Tage an denen wir mit Tino und Cati bis drei getrunken haben…
Maria…eine der Älteren, … die fürsorgliche und liebe Art… Ich habe großen Respekt vor ihr!
Christian Rapp….Rapp…mein Kollege an der TUHH….Rapp….du bist einfach toll…du bist so offenherzig ….Ich mag dich Rap….
Cathrin…deine Stimme….Ich mag deine Stimme…
Christian Hessing….Ich wollte auch immer so lange Haare haben wie du … du warst immer so geduldig, wenn ich mit deinen Haaren gespielt habe und dich genervt habe…

Im Großen und Ganzen…meine Familie in Deutschland ist nichts….,aber die kleine Firma CIS…ich vermisse meine Familie in Indien...Aber auf der anderen Seite ist CIS keine Informatik Firma.Das ist ein wirkliches Problem für mich…Ich würde definitiv gerne in einer Informatikfirma wie Airbus, Siemens, IBM, Intel, EADS etc. arbeiten…Ich finde es richtig schwierig eine Thema für meine Studienarbeit zu fnden…der einfache Grund: CIS ist keine Informaikfirma. Dennoch bereitet mir die Arbeit dort eine große
Freude: sehr gute Kollegen, last but not the least…Geld für das Leben hier!…..Wohnheim, Essen,… Ich freue mich euch mitteilen zu können, dass ich ein Stipendium für das Wohnheim bekommen habe, nun muss ich es nicht mehr bezahlen und was mir eine große finanzielle Last nimmt…und nun würde ich gerne andere Teile Europas Italien, England, die skandinavischen Länder...

Ich möchte, dass ihr wisst, dass wenn ich die Firma verlassen sollte, dann nur weil es nicht meinem Gebiet entspricht und ich es einfacher mit einer Studienarbeit oder Diplomarbeit hätte….und nicht wegen des Geldes oder der Kollegen…denn bis jetzt bin ich sehr glücklich dort…

Im Ganzen war dieses Jahr für mich sehr aufregend…neue Kultur, neue Leute, neues Klima, neues Essen…alles anders, aber ich hab es genossen…nun bin ich soweit, dass ich zwar Deutschland nicht als mein Zielland bezeichnen würde, einfach wegen der Sprache…glücklicher oder unglücklicher Weise habe ich Englisch ab meinem 3.Lebensjahr gelernt…und es ist wie meine zweite Muttersprache…ich würde es bevorzugen in Indien oder in einem englischsprachigem Land mein Leben zu führen…
Aber keine Frage… wenn ich dieses Land verlasse, werde ich die deutsche Pünktlichkeit, harte Arbeit und ihre Ehrlichkeit mitnehmen… und Deutsche achten auf Umweltfreundlichkeit…und die deutsche Art Bier zu trinken…

Bevor ich meine Ansprache beende, möchte ich noch wenige Worte über meine Heimat Indien loswerden. Ich liebe dieses Land mehr denn je seitdem ich hier bin. Ihr sollten wenigstens einmal im Leben dieses Land besucht haben…Es ist einfach klasse! Es ist nicht, wie ihr euch Indien vielleicht vorstellt….Ihr werdet in den nächsten Jahren noch einiges über dieses Land im Zusammenhang mit Informationstechnologie und Raumfahrt hören. Danke für all die Zeit zusammen….Ich hoffe, dass unser Bund für lange anhält und danke für all die Unterstützung während des letzten Jahres beim CIS… Ich liebe CIS!

Auf Wiedersehen….

My Satisfactions and Disappointments at the age of "24"

Oh god,Iam getting old..Iam 24 today..Life is so fast..24 years has finishied..I thought I could summarize my satisfactions and disappointments which I had through these years in a nutshell manner.Let me start with my satisfactions then disappointments :) because Iam a satisfied man at the age of 24.

SATISFACTIONS:

1.Its very difficult to be fully satisfied in life because human mind is so demanding and greedy ,nevertheless I should be satisfied with what I have got through these years..Gifted parents...My mom and dad...greatest gifts in my life..My dad-my idol,my role-model and my Mom...no words to explain...sanctity of love and affection...they gave me everything what a child would ask for..good education..good environment...everything everything..I cant question them,"why papa you didnt do that for me".I certainly have to be satisfied with what my mom and dad gave to me.

2.Next to parents,comes my school friends..who could do anything and everything for friendship..one of the best circles of friends one could ever imagine..the way we complemented each other..the way we travelled together in different phases of life..Now everybody is sitting in different corners of the world striving for excellance..but still maintaining a bond of friendship even today...I certainly have to be satisfied with what I have got from my school friends...

3.Next comes my city..Chennai(previously called Madras)...I am really satisfied that I was born,brought up and did my education there..I have always been arrogant about my city..Chennai...one of the best cities in the world...heheheee...mixture of class,culture,traditions,modern,sophisticated...Many people reading this wont agree,but never mind...Iam really proud to be from Chennai(Madras)...Next comes my part time job in Germany during my Masters which gave me great job satisfaction which I couldnt get even when I was working in Indian Software Industry..and a great intelligent boss to rub shoulders with...


Well these are my satisfactions but there are many disappointments too...its human mind na....


DISAPPOINTMENTS:

Everybody has certain disappointments during different phases of life...for me..one of the greatest disappoinment was...I COULDN'T DO MASTERS IN US...this will always ring in my mind throughout my life...because such is the passion I had for MS IN US...ONE OF THE GREATEST DISAPPOINTMENTS IN MY CAREER ...Next disappointment...I HAVE NO BROTHERS AND SISTERS...IAM THE ONLY CHILD...I always felt,I should have had one sister to express and share my feelings and thoughts...To live without any siblings is one the greatest disappointments for me...Nother disappointment which is slowly vanishing..of my mom saying..."I should have been a doctor"...Not because I couldnt get Medicine seat its just because I left the Medicine seat which I obtained...:) This disappointment is slowly vanishing,with now my mom saying..."I am a happy mother now"...Thanks to my MS and MBA....

Next disappointment was my first job in HCL CISCO,the job which I obtained at the end of third year of my engineering by campus interview..couldnt give the job satisfaction and environment which I was looking for..such a hostile team members...such a crap work...The disappointment was so high just because I carried the tag of HCL CISCO for full one year during my final year of engineering but couldn't convert into great fortunes in my career.My first job was a great disappointment for me ...

DREAMS:

Even though I had many disappointments and satisfactions in this 24 years...I always have some dreams and vision which I hope to be fullfilled in the next coming years..

1. I want my country INDIA to be one of the superpowers of the world in economy and forerunner in the field of Information Technology and Space.I want my children and grandchildren to live in developed INDIA...I always carry the tag that INDIANS are the best in Thinking...no one can match Indian way of thinking in Mathematics and Engineering (I hope US professors will agree to this point)...

2.Secondly I need a career which will give me full job satisfaction and good environment to nurture my skills in programming and management..When I go to bed in the night...my heart should say...I have done real good work today...such is the satisfaction I need in my career...

3.Last but not the least of my dreams....A caring,beautiful,charming wife of my wavelength :) with whom I would like to spend second half of my life....

Above all these satisfactions,disappointments and dreams,at the end of the day,I would like to lead a simple life,a good son for my mom and dad...and hopefully a nice husband for my wife in the future...:)

Cheers,
Sathish Kumar S

My one year stay in Germany

One year in Deutschland...sep23th 2005 and now sep23th 2006...so fast...with lots of excitement,with lots of fun,with lots of stress,with lots of loneliness,with lots of disappointments and at the end of the day when I look at the calendar ...it says 'Iam in Germany for one year...'.

The journey started off with emotions and sentiments and excitement at the airport when I took my first flight journey...Chennai-London-Hamburg...The first initial days were really exciting to experience the hanseatic city of Hamburg...new people,new culture,new language,new food,new education,new life altogether.I thoroughly enjoyed my initial stay in Hamburg...but after that slowly winter started to creep in..slowly homesick started to play its role...slowly stomach started to speak..:) slowly studies started to accumulate...slowly euros started to threaten..and in peak winter it all blasted...I had one of the toughest mental depression during winter which I havent faced before...

Technically I didnt learn much because it was just a repitition of what I did in Bachelors...except for few subjects and courses in which some Professors were really awesome..Exams...certainly not like in India..did some thinking in exams after a long gap of time...At the end of the day....when I look at my technical learning in this one year...I would say...hardly few things...More than technical aspect,I have
learnt other aspects of life ...to lead a life on my own legs...(cooking,washing,time management,cost management,international exposure)...My best moments which I had in Germany is certainly my parttime programming job which gave me great job satisfaction and had a chance to meet great personality Dr.Juan Rechid.....

Once the winter went...it appeared as if new life started to begin..with sunshine most of the time...sun rising at 4 in the morning and setting at 11 in the night...gave me real freshness..clarity in thinking....and summer was mostly occupied with Worldcup football...One of the best moments I had in Germany is during this time..especially cheering up for Germany in bars along with German colleagues..it was just quite opposite to what I experienced in winter...Had a chance to go to Hockey worldcup as well...unfortunately India's worst ever performances in Worldcup tournaments...my long dream of watching International match when India plays in abroad has been fulfilled....

Thanks to my schengen visa...Got some chance to explore various parts of europe...Paris,Berlin,Bremen,Köln,Dortmund,Dusseldorf,Ham,Konstanz,Sylt(nude beach)and looking forward to cover some more places before I finish my studies...Friends...made some real good german friends...and ofcourse newly found close friends but had some misunderstandings with some international friends...but I dont mind them since they arent worth to be called as friends...

More than technical aspect,I learned various other aspects to lead a life individually...I would rate this one year in Germany as 7 on a scale of 10...It will be bad if i say Germany is Bad...I certainly enjoyed my stay here for one year but but I MISS INDIA,I MISS MY MOM...INDIA IS CERTAINLY THE BEST.....

Sathish Kumar S

Hockey World Cup Germany 2006..

WorldCup football in Germany and now World Cup Hockey in Mönchengladbach,Germany...Recently I had a chance to see the world cup hockey match between India and Argentina in Warsteiner Hockey Park in Mönchengladbach,Germany.It was a sad tournament for Indians finishing in 11th place...thank god not in Last place...:)The atmosphere was buzzling hardly few Indian supporters....(they are none other than students from Hamburg University of Technology....)It is always my dream to watch an international cricket or hockey match especially when India plays in abroad..Still I havent seen cricket match in abroad...Hoping for the Indian team to travel to England or Netherlands...:)

Sathish Kumar S

Mom's Love...

Mom...god's greatest gift in life for any individual on this earth...It is intense in my case since Iam the only child to her..she combines all her love and affection and pours everything to me which has to be shared by my siblings...unfortunately I dont have any...I could recollect my childhood days when I used to wait for her in the evening,sitting anxiously on the balcony...staring at the roads...waiting for her to return from office...atlast brings me a piece of chocolate and gives it to me..I could still remember how she dresses me and takes me to school...It was always difficult in her case to grow me up when compared to others since she is a working women and she didnt have the support of any of my relatives or grandparents...

How can I forget the days when she prepares me a hot spicy biriyani,idly,dosai,vadai hehe....How can I forget the days when I used to play with her hair even when I was in college...How can I forget the days when she gets up before me at 3'o clock and prepare me a hot cup of tea during examinations...How can I forget the days when I used to fight with her during cricket matches..not letting her to watch megaserials...:)How can I forget the days when I used to go to marketplace with her (not with the intention of helping her but to sight the girls on the supermarket...hehe)How can I forget the days of her standing in the gate and waving hands to me when I leave the house and when I start my bike...How can I forget the days when I used to go to the kitchen in a hurry and take the half cooked dosa and disturb her like anything by mixing some masalas when she is cooking... All these incidents reside in my eyes....

But Iam in this shit part of the world,leaving all my happiness and moments which I had with her..My mom always has a sad feeling that I should have been a doctor..not just because I couldnt get medicine seat but since I left the Medicine seat which I obtained...I could still remember her saying when I got my first month salary from HCL CISCO and when I got blessing from her..she said "I should have been a doctor" and she carries pride in saying that Iam doctor's mother"...not my son works for ABCD software company earning huge clean white currency notes..." It really irked me a lot...It was always ringing in my mind...that she wasnt satisfied with my 20k and the medicine seat is still ringing on her mind...

I was always thinking how can I make her happy...Atlast god showed me a way of studying in abroad with Master of Science and recently Master of Business Administration in Germany...Ok....My MS may not have the ranks of stanfords or MITs or Oxfords or Cambridges or my MBA may not be equivalent to Havards or IIMs...nevertheless this MS and MBA makes my mother say recently in phone..."Sathish....Iam a proud mother walking in the streets that my son is studying in abroad doing MS and MBA"...neither I was born with a silver spoon to be sponsored by my parents to study in US,UK,Canada,Australia...nor I was great great brilliant chap to obtain a seat in Stanford or MIT or Havard....With my limited resources and god's grace I could study in atleast arguably one of the best Technical Universities in Germany without financially burdening my parents...According to me...this MS and MBA is just a piece of paper stating Iam qualified for MS and MBA but this paper wipes out my mom's tears and feelings of me not being a doctor....

I miss you amma...
Sathish Kumar S

Exam Stress...

One experiences various stress in different dimensions,in different orthognality and in different modes....Last week I had an exam stress (three exams in a week...)especially with back-back exams nextday...Its been longtime since I studied vigorously after my school days,neither my bachelors demanded me to work hard...nor iam interested....:)...I never expected Masters in Germany to screw my ass, but its certainly doing it with nearly 10 exams per semester...Thank god...Its over....But I feel Exam Stress is an irritating,inconvenient stress....but what to do....Poor guy...:(((

Sathish Kumar....