Ski -> Salsa - > Scuba ?!?

No I could not make it to Scuba as it’s still winter here. Yes I had been to the French Rivera for good 3 days and had great fun with lot of new friends. Will post soon on my trip to Cannes, Monaco (Monte-Carlo) & Nice. We had a red carpet welcome in Cannes. I missed to take a picture of that, that’s the high light of the trip.

On a bright morning

Sessenage
Originally uploaded by cvraman's.

Morning meeting are good, but some time to early are also not good, considering the fact if you haven't prepared for the same. Many a time I prefer to have them early so that I could work the rest of the day with the action items. Yesterday was a very unique day. The weather was little gloomy and I had to go to one of the vendors place which is across the road. It was around 9 in the morning, When I was heading out I was stopped by one of my colleague and was give the following advice. You should not be heading home just because the weather is dull like this. It's the other way you should be walking. Just because it's dark it doesn't mean you need to go home. Your day is just commencing. I was not allowed to speak for a while. All I could help myself was with a smile and finally he stopped wishing me a good day. It's nice some times to hear someone cheering up like. He made my day.

TGIN-me-Today

Thanks God It's Not me Today. Every week in the cafeteria at least 3 to 4 people drop the water glass. I really enjoy the sound it makes, I understand how embarrassing it will be for the person who drops it. Every time this happen I thank god saying it's not me today. I'm so scared every time I go near that place during lunch. This photo here has nothing to do with the activity mentioned. This is very nice one I think so, so just added it here along with this entry

Birgit's Birthday

Birgit Birthday
Originally uploaded by Venkata.

Spring is finally here and its party time. Of late had been partying more frequently, and yesterday it was Brigit's birthday so one more reason. It was a nice Italian shop we went and had a great time. Happy Birthday Birgit.

Cycling - Spring time

After giving much thought last Sunny Sunday decided to go out on cycling trip. The whole week I was severely down with cough and cold, So took rest on Saturday and then on Sunday decided to go for a short cycling trip. We rented our bikes and after going for short distance my bike gave off. So had to put it in the tram and got it back to the shop & swapped for a new one. After some exhaustion we reached this place. I was more than tempted to step in the water, but resisted myself. The water was freezing, though the spring is in place, we still are facing the hardness of the winter. Over all the weekend was nice and refreshing. Here is the picture taken near the lake.

Ski to Salsa

With the harsh winter coming to an end so are my ski classes are also coming to an end. So now I need to think of some thing else for the spring time, Ok there was an offer for Salsa dance, jumped in registered for the class and the first class is also over. This is a very nice one considering the fact that u need to be in sink with u r partner thoughts and action. At first when I joined the classes there were like 20+ people and when the instructor taught the first step then zoom a few really did very well. I think I entered the HaLl oF sHaMe, I was dancing like Sandra Bullock in Miss Conginality when she was learning to dance for the beauty pageant. Later I came to know that many of them have come in for intermediate level and I’m in for beginners level. So this is one reason for me to console & moved on. Picked up a few steps and had to rush for some meetings. More steps later in till such time have a look here on the steps

Long way to update - Learning to SKI

It's been long since I had posted on this on the weekend plans. There a lot to write will soon will upload the photos and then do the posting.

At the moment I have joined for my SKI classes. Got a nice offer from my company at a very subsidised price. Great deal.

I had doing Ski on my own with the technique I learnt, but last week it was all different.

I had been to the Prapoutel ski station in the Belledonne mountain ranges.

Here are some info of the SKI resort

Les 7 Laux Prapoutel Altitudes

1050m	Max Vertical
2400m	Highest Run
1350m	Lowest Run
1350m	Resort

 

Following are the lessons learnt last weekend in addition to what I knew earlier

# Learnt how to stop (this was the biggest problem for me, I never learnt in earlier, now is better)

# How to control the speed (this is very dangerous if u don't know how to control, I had banged a few people)

# How to fall the right way when u can't control :-) to avoid an accident

# Learnt to make turns

(earlier on slopes I used to go cross, fall, then pickup the ski's, manage to get in and then go cross, fall again)

# How to stop when u r going in reverse

# Learnt to walk with the SKI's on

# Get into the SKI's when u fall in the middle of the slope (this is a trick really learnt, I had struggled for hrs. earlier not knowing this)

# The best of all - safely get into the SKI lift and go on and get out of the same

 

More later on the other lessons

Prapoutel - Green 2 Blue with extreme sporting

With the essential Skiing Equipment this weekend went on for the second ski classes and as the 6th time skier, set out for the fun on the slopes.

Marked Ski Trail - Piste

With Ski, Ski boots & Ski Poles went on to Prapoutel @ Les Sept Laux. First thing before getting onto Ski we took the chairlift from the base to the piste. Piste is the marked trail which is used for skiing. The various levels are

Green piste for beginners,

Blue piste for intermediate,

Red piste for senior &

Black piste for expert level.

A piste is a well maintained area in the mountains where the snow is treated, so that people can ski in those areas. The color coding is the one that defines the surface or the plane available for ski along with the inclination. The color coding differs for one resort to another, no two resorts will have the same color coding for the same type piste. It differs based on the level of individual expertise and resort level they are at.

Chairlifts

With the second day on the 3 day course I became an expert on Green piste and then headed for the blue piste. The best thing I always wanted to do I did that on the green. Having become expert on stopping, turning and learning to negotiating a turn I did try Ski Carving and succeeding in that I consider the greatest achievement.. This is the Ski Chairlifts we use to go from the base to top of the station.

free style skiing @ Prapoutel

This week after getting all this on the Green piste decided to head on to Blue. The first thing in all classes, our instructor takes all our ski poles and throws them & asks us to ski without them. This is right, that's how we realized why he wanted us to learn without them. U get a lot more control in free style, this is how u learn to control the speed. It's really amazing with just the Ski putting them in parallel u go forward, with the Snowplough position - which is an inverted V positing, u stop and leaning back in parallel ski position gaining speed and leaning forward reducing it and controlling the same.

T-Bar surface lift

We normally use the T-Bar to reach the top any piste and then ski down, here I'm taking the lift.

Ski trials

Now that we decided to go on Blue piste I did that with lot number of falls. The best thing was in the Blue trail I almost jumped across the barrier that separates the Blue to Red I almost ended up landing 50% in that. This is event that scared the hell out of me and after that descending on blue was more adventurous and also scary one. Next week we are going on this trial which is shown here.

Bird watching - Bohemian Waxwings

Jaseur Boreal

A sudden surge without precedent of Bohemian Waxwings, richly coloured birds, currently occurs in France and the reason why I tell u all is, its found in abundance in our company garden.

This event is serious, because this bird is not here by chance. It's known to announce the large cold and of disastrous news in the popular belief. Bohemian Waxwings come far from the forests of Siberia and Scandinavia. But since the beginning of the winter, the Jaseur Boreal, invade the French Alpine, plains & mountains, in the search of a more lenient temperature and for food. In a migration from Eastern Europe, they arrive by waves initially to Alsace. The ornithologists estimate now their population between 12000 and perhaps 25000 individuals present in Europe. Driven out by the hunger of the Scandinavian and Siberian, These birds move in an erratic way with the favour of bays of winter (wild or in the gardens) which they find on their way. These will be here in France until March to observe them, and from that date on they go up towards their sites of nesting. It's diet grows rich by fruits of winter like apples but in season of reproduction, it is insectivorous and decorates its food of spiders.

In the garden not just these birds were adding color to life, but there were other birds which were wearing colored dress also gives a pleasant viewing experience ;-)

Admire Me

Admire Me
Originally uploaded by Venkata.

Long way to update - Learning to SKI

It's been long since I had posted on this on the weekend plans. There a lot to write will soon will upload the photos and then do the posting, let me start here right now with last week and then carry on with the others later.

At the moment I have joined for my SKI classes. Got a nice offer from my company at a very subsidised price. Great deal. I had doing Ski on my own with the technique I learnt, but last week it was all different. I had been to the Prapoutel ski station in the Belledonne mountain ranges.

Here are some info of the SKI resort - Les 7 Laux Prapoutel Altitudes
1050m - Max Vertical
2400m - Highest Run
1350m - Lowest Run
1350m- Resort

Following are the lessons learnt last weekend in addition to what I knew earlier
# Learnt how to stop (this was the biggest problem for me, I never learnt in earlier, now is better)
# How to control the speed (this is very dangerous if u don't know how to control, I had banged a few people)
# How to fall the right way when u can't control :-) to avoid an accident
# Learnt to make turns
(earlier on slopes I used to go cross, fall, then pickup the ski's, manage to get in and then go cross, fall again)
# How to stop when u r going in reverse
# Learnt to walk with the SKI's on
# Get into the SKI's when u fall in the middle of the slope (this is a trick really learnt, I had struggled for hrs. earlier not knowing this)
# The best of all - safely get into the SKI lift and go on and get out of the same there after

More later on the other ski lessons

Cool software

Needs a broadband connection, other please excuse..click here

Strategy Specialist

A nice one to read & its priceless , that's what I liked the most

Dedication

Sachin

Here in this space I’m bragging about my intrepid travels, I credit this travel experience of mine to Sachin Pokle. I remember some time on a snowy day in Jan 2001 from Koblenz, which is called as Germany’s most beautiful “corner“. Koblenz is so called for the reasons that it has a very picturesque landscape of the Rhine and Moselle and surrounded by four low mountain ranges and its a 2000-year-old town. Deutsches Eck is the point where the Rhine and Moselle join and flow again. I would recommend the river cruise, or travel by train from Frankfurt to Koblenz or Frankfurt to Cologne via Koblenz. This is a journey one needs to undertake by train or river cruise or by road as this takes through numerous castles along the river side.

Ok on our trip to we made our way to Garmisch Partenkirchen and then to Zugspite. It was a wonderful journey. Today every time I go to the Alpine areas either for ski or for mountain walking it always reminds me only of Sachin. This trip was an awakening to the travel animal in me. Our journey was an adventures as we had to change some 7 trains to reach that place. When we landed there it was dark and we had tough time finding a hotel. That’s when I learnt from him how to plan for a trip and how to face the challenges that arise. From then on (touch wood) till today there is no stopping to the travels I undertake.

The next day we took the cogwheel train to the Schneeferner glacier on the Zugspitzplatt, to visit Germany's highest church and to watch the skiers in action. Eibsee is the first frozen lake I saw while going up, From the Zugspitzplatt station we took the glacier cable car to the highest peak in Germany at 2,962 metres.

Every time I meet people I have new experience to share. I always wanted to thank Sachin. There is no better way to dedicate him. He is my FPG (Friend, Philosopher and Guide). The learning I have made is great and wished I worked with him longer. Thanks to Guru also who had been asking me maintain a weblog of all the travels I make. Ok I recently bought myself a book from Lonely Plant series which was sent by Chandra with great difficulty. Will post more on its content as I read on.

Interesting to read on - Lalu

I was reading this article "Trying to Unravel Puzzle Lalu"
Lalu is a master at selling dreams. At one meeting he says, "Ab kam ke badle chawal aur tana tan paisa! Ab Dilli par kabja hoi gava (You will now get foodgrains for work and cash too. I have captured Delhi)" - Does it mean he still says to people that they will have to work in Bihar only and they will only get food grains and sometime cash too ;-)

So sad for the duck