When there is a problem, there are three things one can do - 1. think of the problem and start sulking that it has happened to me, why only to me, why others are happy and I got this problem etc., etc., 2. think of what would solve this problem 3. Just ignore the problem and let your life go on thinking that such a problem doesnot exist.
#1: I feel that this thinking makes you get depressed, disappointed and create more problems for yourself. So it is a viscious cycle. You are never going to be happy.
#2: Solution oriented. Anything in life works fantastically if you start thinking about the solution. Sure way of being happy.
#3: Escapism. You think you are happy but you never are and never will be.
There is only one life and why should you waste it being unhappy? Live it and Be Happy!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Thursday, January 28, 2010
It is my third day in Beijing. Just back from my lunch. Temperature outside is -11. It is quite windy. By the time we reached the restaurant my face was numb.As usual, lunch is a veg pizza. Options are eiether a veg sandwich or a veg pizza. Am switching between these two for the last three days. One of my collegues mentioned that we get veg options in the food court that is close by. Need to check that out tomorrow.
Landed in Beijing on Sunday evening for conducting a training about the product that am working on. My colleague and I had read all about the freezing temperature and the snow the previous week, but was not prepared for anything that hit us when we stepped out of the plane. IT WAS FREEZING. I was glad to have carried the extra jacket that I found at the last minute.
Most of us who have come for the training are staying the hotel Crown plaza wuzhou.This is very close to the 'Birds Nest'.
When you step out of the hotel, if you have any hopes about people understanding English, pls. forget it! You can be speaking greek or tamil, they are NOT going understand any word you say. Some of my collegues were so surprised, but for me, I had that shock when I went to Korea, so was not surprised when that happened to us.We went to Dominos for dinner, we spent 15 minutes in various ways (sentences, words, gestures) to convey - that we want something vegetarian, and whether we can order after we sit, and make two separate bills. After sometime, we figured out only gestures work. At one point one of my colleague gave away his receipt to get what he ordered and then to get the receipt back, all three of us were doing everything short of dancing :). But I must say that those people were trying to figure out what we wanted,brought spoons, tabasco sauce, fork, tissues and what not.. Finally I went and took the receipt from their table and they understood ;)
post continued after I came back to India :)...
Going to the training center and coming back was an experience in itself. We got the destination written down in Chinese by the hotel front desk staff and give that to the taxi driver. Same method works to get back. Lucky that some days we were traveling with people who can speak Mandarin and they could explain where we need to get to. Every day, the route taken to reach there used to be different. When you are getting down, asking for a receipt again is another thing altogether.One evening me and another collegue of mine went to the silk market (supposed to get fakes of any branded stuff in the world and you need to bargain like crazy!. Managed to buy an external harddisk, couple of watches, toys and an overcoat. This is the one of the few times I've bargained in my life and also bought things at the price that I thought was the best bargain!!!) and when we got down, paid and asked the driver for receipt.He thought we were bargaining about how much we should pay. The last thing that you want when you are tired, hungry and sleepy is fight with someone who doesnot understand a word of what you are fighting for!!!!!! Man, that was hilarious and frustrating. Finally I pulled the receipt out of that billing machine and then he realised and started laughing. The receipt that I pulled out did not have anything printed was something that I realised only the next day...
And the sad part was that I got two fake 100 yuan notes from Bank of China atm. Am still left with them.
Managed to eat at couple of pure chinese places. Once with colleagues who could speak mandarin and they could get me a egg fried rice - after explaining to the staff that she is religiously vegetarian and she needs a 'no meat' dish. That was yummy after eating bread continously for more than a couple of days.Other time I went with the colleague who explored the food court and ordered seeing the pictures :). Turned out be the best meal that I had a Beijing. Boiled broccoli, carrots, see weed curry, rice and hot water to drink. Absolutely fantastic.
I had a free day on Friday. In the morning I went to visit Forbidden city alone. The taxi guy dropped me off between tianamen square and Forbidden city. Tried walking around a bit. It was an open place and it was too windy. I could not survive a 15 mt walk out there. Ditched it half way, went back to office. The plan was to go to great wall with two other collegues. Took a taxi who asked for 500 yuans to take us to Badaling, wait there for an hour and drop us back at the hotel. After reaching there, he was trying to tell us that we should pay some money and then go and settle the rest later. When we could not understand, he could call some translator through the car phone and could put us through to discuss the terms. Wow, we were quite impressed!
By the time we reached the entrance, my fingers and toes were frozen. It was crazy out there. Since it great wall is at a height, temperature was even lower and the wind was toooooo much. I really thought, we were stupid to have made that trip in that weather.We still managed to climb up a little and were brave to even click a few snaps and some showing our teeth.when we got back into the car, with the heater on, it took 45 minutes for the fingers and toes to thaw! And the thought of having walked up some part of great wall, one of the world wonders sinked in much later. Slowly we were feeling exhilarated!
Thinking about it now, I feel that I did the right thing by visiting the great wall as I dont know if I ever make a trip again to China.
In any case, when I came back from the great wall, I told myself the next time I step out the hotel, it will be to the airport to board the flight to India. I had had enough of the cold weather and all I wanted was to get back and exactly thats what I ended up doing.
Landed in Beijing on Sunday evening for conducting a training about the product that am working on. My colleague and I had read all about the freezing temperature and the snow the previous week, but was not prepared for anything that hit us when we stepped out of the plane. IT WAS FREEZING. I was glad to have carried the extra jacket that I found at the last minute.
Most of us who have come for the training are staying the hotel Crown plaza wuzhou.This is very close to the 'Birds Nest'.
When you step out of the hotel, if you have any hopes about people understanding English, pls. forget it! You can be speaking greek or tamil, they are NOT going understand any word you say. Some of my collegues were so surprised, but for me, I had that shock when I went to Korea, so was not surprised when that happened to us.We went to Dominos for dinner, we spent 15 minutes in various ways (sentences, words, gestures) to convey - that we want something vegetarian, and whether we can order after we sit, and make two separate bills. After sometime, we figured out only gestures work. At one point one of my colleague gave away his receipt to get what he ordered and then to get the receipt back, all three of us were doing everything short of dancing :). But I must say that those people were trying to figure out what we wanted,brought spoons, tabasco sauce, fork, tissues and what not.. Finally I went and took the receipt from their table and they understood ;)
post continued after I came back to India :)...
Going to the training center and coming back was an experience in itself. We got the destination written down in Chinese by the hotel front desk staff and give that to the taxi driver. Same method works to get back. Lucky that some days we were traveling with people who can speak Mandarin and they could explain where we need to get to. Every day, the route taken to reach there used to be different. When you are getting down, asking for a receipt again is another thing altogether.One evening me and another collegue of mine went to the silk market (supposed to get fakes of any branded stuff in the world and you need to bargain like crazy!. Managed to buy an external harddisk, couple of watches, toys and an overcoat. This is the one of the few times I've bargained in my life and also bought things at the price that I thought was the best bargain!!!) and when we got down, paid and asked the driver for receipt.He thought we were bargaining about how much we should pay. The last thing that you want when you are tired, hungry and sleepy is fight with someone who doesnot understand a word of what you are fighting for!!!!!! Man, that was hilarious and frustrating. Finally I pulled the receipt out of that billing machine and then he realised and started laughing. The receipt that I pulled out did not have anything printed was something that I realised only the next day...
And the sad part was that I got two fake 100 yuan notes from Bank of China atm. Am still left with them.
Managed to eat at couple of pure chinese places. Once with colleagues who could speak mandarin and they could get me a egg fried rice - after explaining to the staff that she is religiously vegetarian and she needs a 'no meat' dish. That was yummy after eating bread continously for more than a couple of days.Other time I went with the colleague who explored the food court and ordered seeing the pictures :). Turned out be the best meal that I had a Beijing. Boiled broccoli, carrots, see weed curry, rice and hot water to drink. Absolutely fantastic.
I had a free day on Friday. In the morning I went to visit Forbidden city alone. The taxi guy dropped me off between tianamen square and Forbidden city. Tried walking around a bit. It was an open place and it was too windy. I could not survive a 15 mt walk out there. Ditched it half way, went back to office. The plan was to go to great wall with two other collegues. Took a taxi who asked for 500 yuans to take us to Badaling, wait there for an hour and drop us back at the hotel. After reaching there, he was trying to tell us that we should pay some money and then go and settle the rest later. When we could not understand, he could call some translator through the car phone and could put us through to discuss the terms. Wow, we were quite impressed!
By the time we reached the entrance, my fingers and toes were frozen. It was crazy out there. Since it great wall is at a height, temperature was even lower and the wind was toooooo much. I really thought, we were stupid to have made that trip in that weather.We still managed to climb up a little and were brave to even click a few snaps and some showing our teeth.when we got back into the car, with the heater on, it took 45 minutes for the fingers and toes to thaw! And the thought of having walked up some part of great wall, one of the world wonders sinked in much later. Slowly we were feeling exhilarated!
Thinking about it now, I feel that I did the right thing by visiting the great wall as I dont know if I ever make a trip again to China.
In any case, when I came back from the great wall, I told myself the next time I step out the hotel, it will be to the airport to board the flight to India. I had had enough of the cold weather and all I wanted was to get back and exactly thats what I ended up doing.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
one of the songs that can bring me back from any kind of sad, bad, irritated mood anytime....
Kurai onrum illai
Kurai onrum illai
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