Hey all , I'm finally back home after my Jaipur trip. We had some wonderful family time together about which I will shortly post in my <a href="http://mytravelchronicle.blogspot.com">travelogue</a>. We were very skeptical if we should take this trip or not as we had started planning for this one even before the Mumbai terror attacks which was later on followed by the tension in the Indo-pak border.. Finally we made it, neverthless it was so much fun :) . Except that the weather was too too cold and it kinda got into me and now I'm down with some serious cold. I should be doin' fine in a couple of days. Will catch up with my blogging spree from Monday.. Have a great weekend, will drop by your blogs soon :)

Hey folks I will be leaving to Jaipur for about 5 days to visit the land of the royal Maharajas , splurge in luxury and enjoy their deleicious cuisine and ofcourse visit forts and palaces... I will also be visiting Ranthambore national park near Jaipur.<br /><br />If you think there are any must visit places and must do things that I should not miss out on, I would be glad to experience it. Please drop by a comment .<br /><br />I might not be around to drop by your blogs until then, might probably visit to check for the places to see from fellow blog friends. Until then, you take care.. Enjoy the first weekend of 2009 and a lovely week ahead . See ya all :)

A college student writes to his parents...'Dear Mom and Dad,'I feel miserable because I have to keep writing for money. I feel ashamed and unhappy. I have to ask for another hundred, but every cell in my body rebels. I beg on bended knee that you forgive me.'Your son,Marvin.'P.S. I felt so terrible, I ran after the mailman who picked this up in the box at the corner. I wanted to take this letter and burn it. I prayed that I could get it back. But it was too late.<br /><br />'A few days later he received a letter from his father. It said,'Your prayers were answered. Your letter never arrived!'

Wonder why i've been doing a lot of thinking about travel and new destinations , may be it's the hangover after reading a lot of travelogues and watching travel channel for hours together or may be jus' due to the excitement of my upcoming Jaipur trip :)<br /><br />At Random Thoughts I've planned to come up with my random lists for various things - 2009 special ;)<br /><br />First here is my list of random places too see<br /><br />Jamshedpur<br />California<br />Los Angeles<br />Las Vegas<br />New York City<br />(The whole of USA)<br />Mumbai<br /><strike>Goa</strike><br /><strike>Coorg</strike><br />Jaipur ( will soon be striked off the list)<br />Chandigarh<br />Rio de Janerio<br />Spain<br /><strike>Singapore</strike><br />Thailand<br />UK<br />Salzburg<br />Swizz<br />Canada<br />Maldives<br />Ibiza<br />Gran Canaria<br />Dubai<br /><strike>Coorg</strike><br />Kumarakom<br /><strike>Munnar</strike><br />Turkey<br />Disney Land<br /><strike>Delhi</strike><br /><strike>Taj Mahal</strike><br />Paris<br />Egypt<br />Venice<br />Shimla<br /><br />I'm sure there will be a lot more places that will add to the list in coming times :). The striked ones are those that I've already been to.<br />What is your list of must visit places??

The year 2008 has given me some of the best moments of my life and it was a complete contrary to what 2007 had to offer. This year was literally the year for expecting the unexpected. So many new things happened in my life and everything turned out to be for my good , which I'm really glad about :)*touch wood*<br /><br />The start of 2008 was wonderful indeed with a family <a href="http://mytravelchronicle.blogspot.com/search/label/Singapore">vacation to Singapore</a>. This was my first trip abroad, starting with this 2008 also turned out to be a year of 'many firsts' to me.<br /><br />Few days after returning to Chennai, it was time for me to move into my new class in college. It was one time I was filled with anxiety, little did I know then that this would be a class where I would meet some of the best people of my life who would bring in a change that I would have loved to see about my life :)<br /><br />I moved into hostel, thou' I come home every weekend. This was the first time I was gonna stay away from home for so long and so often. Now, having been stayed in the hostel I truly believe everyone should experience it sometime or the other as its one place that teaches you some of life s lessons. Thanks to my parents who opted to send me to hostel, anyway not that I really relish staying there ;)<br /><br /><br />To my surprise I also started taking studies seriously and did score well in my exams. A surprising 9/10 gpa last semester(first time). I know I'm boasting, never mind I don' get such opportunities that often :D . Thanks to Dhruv (my group study partner ;))<br /><br />It was a year where we (Me and Dhruv) got selected for two major events (Workshop on Entrepreneurship and Quallcomm Innovator Challenge) at IIT's Shaastra'08. We were among the top 5 finalists of the 5000 odd entries to the event :)<br /><br />We also got to intern at GRT hotels and Resorts during our summer break. It really mattered to us, as 'Hospitality Industry' is our key field of interest :)<br /><br />2008 was also the year where I got to visit <a href="http://mytravelchronicle.blogspot.com/search/label/goa">Goa with friends</a> as a part of my college tour (yet another first time), where I had the time of my life :) - My first time in a water scooter, first time to a night club.. yaay!!<br /><br />It was the year I got loads of blog buddies and I bumped into Vasanthan on a random day.<br /><br />Thou' there were a few set backs, well don' really remember them. I would anyday remember 2008 as one of my best times both academically and personally and in all other ways it could be. At this time when 2008 is coming to an end, I would like to thank god for all those lovely moments in 2008 and would like to thank each one of you (parents, friends, blog buddies, relatives, strangers, sun, moon, stars, flora and fauna) to have made my 2008 very beautiful and special in every way possible.<br /><br />With so much of goodness 2008 had to offer, I wish 2009 is as much good and fun too :)<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-ba.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&amp;il=1&amp;channel=3026418949595484858&amp;site=widget-ba.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&amp;at=un&amp;id=3026418949595484858&amp;map=1" target="_blank">

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It jus' looks like the storm has settled down after the terror strikes in Mumbai almost a month back and brand Taj is back to splurge its customers in luxury with its two new launches <a href="http://www.tajhotels.com/Business/Taj Mount Road,CHENNAI/default.htm">Taj Mount road</a>,Chennai and <a href="http://www.tajhotels.com/TajGroup/Vivanta by Taj - Whitefield,BANGALORE/default.htm">Vivanta by Taj</a> - Whitefield, Bangalore .<br /><br />It gives me a sense of excitement when i get to know that thereis something to look forward to especially in the Hospitality Indutsry, that is how exactly I felt like when I got to know about these new launches few mins back :) . I'm jus' so waiting to go check out where exactly is Taj Mount Road located and may be drop by sometime soon :) .<br /><br />On the other hand, the first 5-star air line in India - Kingfisher has launched its low cost airlines <a href="http://flykingfisher.com/kingfisher-red.aspx">Kingfisher Red</a> , this seems to be a frilled low cost carrier where you can choose your complimentary food and beverages , magazines, news papers et all.<br /><br />It does feel good to see the year end on a high note despite the recission, terror strikes et all.<br /><br />If any of you are planning to drop by Taj Vivanta or Taj Mount Road or fly Kingfisher Red, I would love to hear your experiences . You can mail me at <a href="mailto:shals88@gmail.com">shals88@gmail.com</a> or drop by a comment :)

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I would like to remember this day (21st Dec' 08) as a Historic day in Indian History. The two terror struck hotels were back to business within a span of less than a month. I'm again glued to the news channels watching the updates jus' like what I did during during the terror strike 26/11 . But this time over my eyes gleam as I see Mr. Tata or the GM Mr.Karambhir Singh Kang , who lost his family a month go speak with all the dedication he has towards his work place. I'm proud to say I belong to the same nation as these Great Men.<br /><br />I have been hearing a lot through the news channels that the world famous restaurants in these hotels are more than full and I feel heartend to hear these :) I'm sure I will drop by these hotels atleast for a meal when I visit Mumbai the next time :)<br /><br />Wishing Taj and Trident Oberoi more great customers, more Champagne poppings, more business meets, more great employees as they have always been and overall GREAT BUSINESS :)

Starting this week,from today I've planned to have this weekly column "Funny Friday" similar to my <a href="http://shals88.blogspot.com/search/label/Inspiration">Monday Morning Inspiration</a>. It is the motivation and the response from my readers and friends that I have planned to come out with another weekly column at Random thoughts. <br /><br />Here, I will be sharing some jokes or some funny videos or pics that I come across so that we could laugh our way into the weekend :D<br /><br /><div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/C7VrgKdcGEY' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/C7VrgKdcGEY'/></embed></object></p></div>

<p>You can now download your favourite videos using <a href="http://youtubecatcher.com/">http://youtubecatcher.com</a> . I jus' came across this site yesterday through my friend and this has kept me busy since then. I was totally excited when I heard about this for the first time as this was something I was looking forward to so that I don' always have to end up streaming the videos each time I wanna view them . </p><p>Hope this was of some use to you guys as well :) </p>

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I was tagged by <a href="http://vasanthan.blogspot.com/">Vasanthan</a> eons ago to do this one . I'm so sorry vasanthan for taking it up this late . Looks like I need to think a lot to get this one done , may be this is the reason that has made me postpone this tag this long :)<br /><br />RULE #1 People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blogs and replace any question that they dislike with a new question formulated by themselves.<br /><br />RULE #2 Tag 6 people to do this quiz and those who are tagged cannot refuse. These people must state who they were tagged by and cannot tag the person whom they were tagged by continue this game by sending it to other people.<br /><br /><br /><strong>1.If your lover betrayed you, what will your reaction be?</strong><br />Move on with life, afterall whatever happens life has to go on :)<br /><br /><strong>2. If you can have a dream come true, what would it be?</strong><br />To become an Entrepreneur<br /><br /><strong>3. Why do you blog?</strong><br />Helps me voice my thoughts about random stuffs and ofcourse helps me understand myself better and make a lot of blog buddies :)<br /><br /><strong>4. Will you fall in love with your best friend?</strong><br />Yea, why not ? ;) But then on a second thought I would only if its gonna turn out to be a relationship and not spoil the friendship we already have.<br /><br /><strong>5. Which is more blessed: loving someone or being loved by someone?</strong><br />I think being loved is a blessed feeling , jus' loving someone without reciprocation is hurtful .<br /><br /><strong>6. How long do you intend to wait for someone you love?</strong><br />As long as I know the other person is still single ;) . Well, may be till my intution says its time to move on..<br /><br /><strong>7. Would you ask out the person whom you like?</strong><br />Mostly no,but it depends... I might if I have an idea that he likes me too ;)<br /><br /><strong>8. What do you want to be known for when you die?</strong><br />A good citizen, a successful entrepreneur, great friend, a wonderful daughter, a loving wife, a caring mother, a cool grandmom and totally a fun loving person.<br /><br /><strong>9. What takes you down the fastest?</strong> Lies<br /><br /><strong>10. What resurrects you the fastest?</strong> fun , friends, family, food<br /><br /><strong>11. What’s your fear?</strong>what do I fear for?? snakes<br /><br /><strong>12. What kind of person do you think the person who tagged you is?</strong><a href="http://vasanthan.blogspot.com/">Vasanthan</a>, a great blog friend..<br /><br /><strong>13.Would you rather be single and rich or married and poor?</strong><br />Rich and single ;) Being single is not all that bad you know ..<br /><br /><strong>It's fun :)</strong><br /><br /><strong>15. If you fall in love with two people simultaneously who will you pick?</strong><br />The one who understands me better..<br /><br /><strong>16. Would you give all in a relationship?</strong><br />Yes, ofcourse<br /><br /><strong>17. Would you forgive and forget someone no matter how horrible a thing he has done?</strong><br />Yup, its common humans make mistakes :)<br /><br /><strong>18. Do you prefer being single or in a relationship?</strong><br />Like Vasanthan said (Being in a single relationship)<br /><br /><strong>19. Who/what inspired you to start blogging?</strong><br />Well, no one in particular ..<br /><br /><strong>Tag 6 people</strong>: <a href="http://jaya28.blogspot.com/">Jayashree</a>, <a href="http://deliciousfingers.blogspot.com/">Shrav</a>, <a href="http://thoughtsonthewall.blogspot.com/">Arv</a>, <a href="http://myluvnest.blogspot.com/">Shanthini</a>, <a href="http://drshashikant.blogspot.com/">Shashi</a>,<a href="http://sdas-photos.blogspot.com/">Shantanu</a>.<br /><br />Enjoy your tag :)

It's festive season around the globe and each of us must have special plans to make our holidays special but one thing that would excite all the kids in this festive season is Santa Claus . I'm sure each of us would have had our own fun as kids with Santa Claus , I remember gettin this Cola flavoured lolly pop and a puzzle set from a Santa when I was a kid of around 4 - 5 years old.<br /><br />I'm sure most of you would have planned to gift your kids with some really exotic and nice stuffs this Christmas why not get a pic with our dear own Santa Claus and gift it along too. After all these are sweet memories and pics would talk a thousand words even after your kids grow up. As grown ups some of us might feel a little embarrassed to click pics with Santa but not anymore.<br /><br />If you've <a href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/post?slot_id=28558&amp;url=http://www.sitonsantaslap.com/?utm_source=b" rel="nofollow">got a wish</a> to click a pic with Santa you can do so by clicking on the link above and uploading the pic and tada.. There is a pic of you sitting on Santa's lap . Doesn't this sound so much fun and easy. Check it out and celebrate the festive spirit in style with Ceiva Digital photo frames , these are not the ordinary digital frames but has got a lot more added features :) Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas folks.<br /><br /><map name="map1975"><area href="http://socialspark.com/metrics/click/disclosure?slot_id=28558&url=http://www.sitonsantaslap.com/?utm_source=b" shape="rect" coords="0,0,206,45" rel="nofollow" /><area href="http://socialspark.com/code_of_ethics" shape="rect" coords="207,0,225,45" rel="nofollow" /></map>

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Most of us bloggers have at some point of time thought about hosting our own website with the domain name of our choice and wondered if we could actually have more additional features which would attract more bloggers to our site. Here is a solution to all your queries .<br /><br />A total solution to all your <a href="http://webhostinggeeks.com/">webhosting</a> problems can be easily solved with just a visit to webhostinggeeks.com . This site reviews all the webhosting sites and lists them down based upon various categories like <a href="http://webhostinggeeks.com/bestbudgethosting.html">Best budget hosting</a>, <a href="http://webhostinggeeks.com/bestbloghosting.html">best blog hosting</a>, best windows hosting, best dedicated hosting and a lot more. It also has reviews from the web master as well as customers from 2004 making it easier for you to choose the web hosting company based upon your needs and constraints.<br /><br />You are also provided with a full fledged guide that offers you tips on how to go about hosting a site and instructions to follow. It is not just that it also provides you with opinions on <a href="http://webhostinggeeks.com/articles/How_to_Make_Money_with_Hosting.html">how to make money </a>through web hosting and which web hosting is the right choice for you based upon your needs . I'm sure all this must have sounded very tempting to go and venture a site of your owm . Worry not even their cost is at a very competetive price and very affordable . The next time I plan to start a site of my own I'm sure webhostinggeeks.com is the place I will visit to choose the best . So, go ahead and give it a try.<br /><br />

My holidays have been going great , perfect I would say. There have been times out with my family,friends and have time for myself too :). On my first day of vacation I met up with my friend Dhruv and we went to meet a few friends whom we missed to catch up with due to exams . The next day I met a couple of my school friends Nishi and Raziya after a very long time and it feels great to be back together and share the happenings of our lives, gosh! I can't believe we've grown up so so much :) Nevermind, life is still fun :)<br /><br />Spent my weekend with my parents and Monday was jus' an extension of the weekend where I was out with my parents for some personal work. We went to this Hotel called Asiana in OMR . I was totally impressed , it deserves a post by itself :). Tuesday I spent most of my time online and catching with a lil bit of reading. <br /><br />Wednesday was out with my friend Ramya and we had a typical girls day out and it was so much fun, much more than what I expected it to be. Guess we should do more of these often :) Guess what, I bumped into my blog friend Vasanthan at Spencers. It was good to meet you :) and today was a lazy day , got up little before noon and today and teh next three days is karthigai deepam where we decorate our home with little oil lamps and perform small pooja at home... WOW! I'm loving my days . <br /><br />Yea, I'm also done reading with "The 3 mistakes of my life". Will post the review in a day or two.<br /><br />Hope all of you are having a great time too , be it work or holidays enjoy it :) After all life is short why worry about things and miss out the fun part in it.

Jaago Re - One billion votes is a movement started to create awarness about voting especially to the Indian youth who form majority of the population. There is no use complaining about corrupt politics at bad times when we actually have the advantage to select our goverment. <br /><br />At <a href="http://jaagore.com/">Jaago Re</a> you can register yourself with the few questions they ask and in 24 hrs. you recieve a form filleg with the details you provided to the mail id you have registered with and all that you have to do with is print it and submit it to the Electrol officer in your constituency. You can also check which constituency you belong to and the address of your electrol officer in the site. <br /><br />I have registered myself :)

<div xmlns='http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml'><p><object height='350' width='425'><param value='http://youtube.com/v/wLtYmLluxro' name='movie'/><embed height='350' width='425' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' src='http://youtube.com/v/wLtYmLluxro'/></embed></object></p></div><br /><br /><br />I came across this Ad in Orkut when I was going through one of my friend's profile and found this to be very cute. I initially thought of posting this sometime around February when love is in the air, but couldn't wait all that long. Enjoy it!