And so it has come to pass- the dates are finalized and the tickets (at least for one) are booked! How much we are looking forward to this trip, is rather hard to put into mere words. It shall be my love’s first trip to India. Really can’t wait to take her around the golden triangle, show her the places I have grown up around, introduce her to the culture, the people, the surroundings, the cuisine, and the way of life. But most important, introduce my Rissa to my family and vice versa. I have this indescribable feeling of awe as I imagine them sitting together, getting to know each other, laughing and joking, just such a jovial atmosphere. Of the maids fussing over the beautiful woman that is my love, and her eventually getting to feel right at home. Of my dad acting all knowing and the consummate grown-up with a stiff upper lip, but eventually warming up to her, as a part of our family, and then, laughing and joking around with my Rissa, lecturing her on the virtues of exercise and diet, which he does with people he loves most. Really, the trip could not come soon enough.

But before that, I’ll be visiting ma chere in December for a whole month! How excited I am at that prospect, I need scarcely express! But even before that, there’s the first prototype release for the Dagstuhl session in November. Work is on at full steam to meet that deadline and I am glad to report that things are progressing steadily. Of course there are pitfalls along the route, but barring some last minute changes and mood-swings, the release should be on time.

So I finally decided to bite the bullet and watch “300” last evening, and indeed, critics weren’t wrong: I did get blown away by the cinematography, though the portrayal and the characterization did leave me with some doubts. The special effects are done just so well, that I could not help but track down a BluRay version of the movie! I also managed to track down an old British sitcom that I used to watch as a kid, even though it was YEARS before my time then. “Some mothers do ‘ave ’em” is a sitcom around a bumbling Michael Crawford as he tries ever so hard to earn a blue collar living in 70s England, with socialism rife, this protagonist finds employment which by the end of an episode he manages to get fired from, due to sheer ineptitude. Sure you’ve heard it all before, but this sitcom had it right, just plain, old-fashioned British humor. In the same vein, I have tracked down “Keeping up appearances” as well. It features regularly on BBC Prime, and though the humor isn’t as rib tickling as the former, it does make for a good laugh from time to time.

The DST has kicked off, and we are back to standard time, which means an extry hour this day! 25 hours, I could live with that kind of day. It also means that an hour is shaved off the time difference betwitxt my beloved and I. Oh tally ho! It was rather disquieting to wake up at 11:00 this morning and realize to my utter glee that it indeed was just 10:00 AM. Perfect! With that last mental q***f I will get started with my day at long last.

Cheers!