A load of crap from an idle brainPersonal, Movies, Music, IT, India, Singapore, Politics, Fun

A quick update…Its been a hectic one week for me here in India.  The speed of this place is simply mind boggling.  Trust me, Singapore seems to be very much laid back compared to Hyderabad now.  Did anyone say that Hyderabad had a easy-go nawabi culture?

Forget about settling down, am still in the process of getting my things organized.  Going to the bank to get my residence status changed from NRI (Non Resident Indian) to RI (Resident Indian) has already had its share of story to tell.  Will write in detail some other time.

Meanwhile have joined a course to brush up on my networking skills (CCNA and CCNP) and unlike full day one week courses in Singapore, here they are 2 hrs per day classes for 15 or 30 days (depending on the course).  Not to mention the course fees which is a fraction of what it is in Singapore.

E.g a CCNA course in Singapore costs SG$ 2000 (approx INR 80,000).   The same course here costs me INR 3500 (approx SG$ 87).  A CCNA + CCNP course combined costs INR 8200 (approx SG$ 205).  In Singapore, it would cost SG$ 8000 (approx INR 320,000).   I think that should settle any argument on why you should not come back to India to study and get certified (if you wish to).

My cargo is to arrive only in the first week of April.  And when that comes, there will be another mega round of unpacking.  Combined with it the course schedule which is in the afternoons (morning class is full) and Iam still tired at the end of the day.  Havent had time to even think of searching for a job.  There are quite a lot of  ideas in mind.  Am already working on one of it simultaneously.  Cant believe i had the energy to juggle so many things at the same time.

Summer is slowly creeping up, but the nights and mornings are surprisingly cool.  Getting ready to face my first Indian summer in years.  But at the same time my mouth is salivating at the prospect of mangoes that are gonna flood the market during summer.   That itself is worth relocating back

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Finally, moving back to India over the weekend.  Bringing to an end my 11 year old saga in Singapore   Lots of packing done over the past 2-3 weeks.  Never knew that relocation was so tiring. Updates will be slow in the meantime (not that I have been any active in the past few months on this blog).

Moving back to your home country  after working abroad for a long time is not easy.  Brings about a lot of changes, changes in lifestyle, mentally getting adjusted to the new environs even though its the same place you were born and bred.  Still, its something I needed to do to jolt myself out of the comfort zone.  Of course there were personal reasons too that were instrumental in this move back home.  Some of which i will write in detail later on.

There are a lot of things that i have done over the past 1 month that i feel i could share on this blog and would help someone else who is either planning or is in the process of moving back to India.  Resigning the job, relocation, cancelling the numerous subscriptions, giving up the work status in the country, moving money, documents, dealing with cargo etc…

I plan to write more in detail about how i went about sorting all of them.  I will miss Singapore and all the wonderful friends i made here.  The place and its people will always have a special place in my heart and I will always wish the country and its people well.

Till then its goodbye Singapore.  Hyderabad, here i come

Above picture courtesy: RehannaBernard

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Before leaving Singapore, i thought i would go around and see the last one place I hadn’t yet visited.  So off we went to the Universal Studios during the Chinese New Year weekend.  Contrary to what i feared, it was an overcast sky the whole day and had a cool breeze, so walking around wasn’t a chore.

Seriously, if you are not a fan of roller coasters, the place doesnt really justify the high entrance fees (SG$74 per head) it demands.  Not to mention each of the eating joints are nothing but rip-offs with high prices.  If you can, pack some food from home as the prices of eatables are sure to drive your hunger away.

As for the souvenirs, the lesser said the better.  Prices are again out of this world.  No wonder i hardly saw anyone buying anything.  For kids though, there are enough attractions and stuff to keep them occupied.

Resorts World Singapore

Universal Studios Singapore

Waterworld

Dinosaur – Jurassic Park

Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt

Rollercoaster - Battlestar Gallactica

Transformers

Universal Studios 1

Dancing Girls

Hollywood Dreams

Madagascar

Shrek & Gang

Art on the boardwalk

Stairway to Heaven

Final word: Avoid this overpriced hyped up place unless you are dragged by the scruff of your neck by friends and family.   The Singapore Zoo, Jurong Bird Park and the Science Park are still the best attractions in the country.

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The first major decision of 2012.  Yup its time for me to close my 11 years old chapter here in Singapore and move back to India.  It hasnt been an easy decision to take, but ya it took time to come to this.  Have been thinking about it for more than 2 years now.  The time is here.

Will write in detail later.  But as of now, i can only say that I will miss Singapore a lot.

Above picture courtesy: portalhunt

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A bit late into the year, but its always better late than never. Its been a practise i have followed for the past 3 years, so here it goes.

• Moved to another department in the company. Got a salary hike, a higher position and not to mention work related stress.
• Attended a weeklong ISMS course and got certified as a ISO 27001 lead auditor at the end of it.
• Read 33 books at an average of more than 2 books a month. The increase mostly due to listening to audio books.
• Watched more than 85 movies.
• Went for a relaxing holiday to Kuala Lumpur towards the end of the year.
• Celebrated Christmas at Hyderabad for the first time post getting married.
• Met some net friends personally after having chatted with them online for a few years.
• Investments in stocks and mutual funds went on as usual.  Towards the end of the year, the whole equity portfolio was in red barring a few stocks. Though the mutual funds portfolio is quite profitable.
• Completed 11 years in Singapore.
• Blogging took a backseat.  I have no plans of abandoning this medium though i have been more active on Facebook.
• Took the longest vacation (of a month) ever since i started working. It started off as a normal vacation but circumstances forced the vacation to be extended.

Previous years recap: 2008, 2009, 2010

More excited about 2012 as i have some big plans lined up and if they all work well, it should be yet another defining year in my life.

Update: And ya, this is my 700th post. Cant believe i have managed to spew out so much in 4 years.

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