Its that time of the year again... Autumn and that too in Czech...
10th December marked the 2 year anniversary for David. This was the day that he left for Czech.... Really miss him :(
Showing posts with label David. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Autumn in Czech
Its that time of the year again... Autumn and that too in Czech...
10th December marked the 2 year anniversary for David. This was the day that he left for Czech.... Really miss him :(
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Apostille Seal
This is something which is driving us crazy... Apostille Seal. My brother is currently doing his Ph.D studies in Czech Republic. This year a new Czech Law was passed that requires that his MSc Degree be vetted using an "Apostille according to the Hague Conference" for it to be recognized.
He corresponded with alot of Fijian Embassies overseas trying to find out where he can get it done. Only to be directed to the Ministry in Fiji. He sent his papers across to us and from that time time till today we have had to talk to sooo many people regarding this...
During one memorable conversation I was told that the seal will be applied on the originals... while listening to that I could picture myself being skinned alive!! I cannot imagine what will be my family's reaction should anything should have happened to our Degrees. I think "severe shock" if not heart attack...
And at least we can run around but my bro- he is in another country feeling helpless and not being able to talk to the officials. He tried to talk to his International Office and to USP about getting duplicate Degrees.. he was talking or emailing anyone who would be in a position to help... to find a way to get this "Apostille Seal" situation sorted. His entire life depended on it. And here in Fiji "it" had taken over our lives.
Anyway to cut the long story short... my mum and dad went to Suva today with strict instructions to:
As for me... its another story....
He corresponded with alot of Fijian Embassies overseas trying to find out where he can get it done. Only to be directed to the Ministry in Fiji. He sent his papers across to us and from that time time till today we have had to talk to sooo many people regarding this...
During one memorable conversation I was told that the seal will be applied on the originals... while listening to that I could picture myself being skinned alive!! I cannot imagine what will be my family's reaction should anything should have happened to our Degrees. I think "severe shock" if not heart attack...
And at least we can run around but my bro- he is in another country feeling helpless and not being able to talk to the officials. He tried to talk to his International Office and to USP about getting duplicate Degrees.. he was talking or emailing anyone who would be in a position to help... to find a way to get this "Apostille Seal" situation sorted. His entire life depended on it. And here in Fiji "it" had taken over our lives.
Anyway to cut the long story short... my mum and dad went to Suva today with strict instructions to:
- get seals on copies and not on originals
- do not leave the originals with anyone
- to be very very humble and meek (which they are)
- to be helpless (which is why I didn't go- I do not look helpless)
- to use honey instead of vinegar (when I'm riled I'm like poison :) Another reason for not going.)
As for me... its another story....
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
David's Update
My brother just returned yesterday to Zlin from a three country tour. Zlin to Austria, Cyprus and Slovakia and back to base - Zlin. This was a professional (work related) trip. I got photos from Cyprus - ah!!! beautiful country... I've been drooling ever since I saw the photos.... :) They are breathtaking.
And guess what I found amongst the pictures of Cyprus...???
Exactly!!! Even in the Mediterranean they have a Fiji-an Restaurant....
Beautific Scenes - Courtesy of David
And part of the Team just chilling out ...
I just hope my Bro doesn't mind my sticking up his photos on my Blog... :)
Sorry David... I liked the photos alot!!!
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Main Aim - 2008
One of my Goals, towards which I am working really hard, is: A House
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I have decided that this year either I'll build or will buy a House.
I bought some land in 2006 in partnership with my brother. Here are the steps involved in buying land in Fiji.
This is supposed to be a present for my parents.
So the complete design of the house was in my Mum's hands. I did so much research getting information and house plans in but the final decision was theirs. I had never thought that I'll be back to live with them. I had given up on believing that dreams can come true. :) Anyways the plans had been vetted by the Council before I even knew that I'll be moving and it was kinda late to make any changes.
Anyway I told Mum and Dad that the next House Plan will be as per my wishes :)
This is one major major reason why I was so much into buying a camera. I want to record the entire building process, the various stages... So hopefully I'll get my camera by 18th June and just keeping my fingers crossed on getting at least a couple of quotes by then....
I bought some land in 2006 in partnership with my brother. Here are the steps involved in buying land in Fiji.
- Find a suitable land to purchase
- Put a deposit of 20% if one doesn't have 100% payment.
- Sign alot of papers
- Legal Papers
- Contract
- Mortgage Papers
- Medical Reports - have to get it from Doctors
- Full credit report
- Start payments on
- If investment is substantial have to have a Will. To protect your investment
- Start working on House Plans.
- Decide on a design
- Contact an Architect or Certified Civil Engineer to get drawing drawn up
- Sign up for water/power/city rates
- Submit house plans to City Council for vetting and approval
- Give approved plans to contractors for quotes
- Select Contractor
- Start Building
- House has to be inspected by Civil / Structural Engineers at every stage
- After final inspection of completed house as per Plan - Move In.
This is supposed to be a present for my parents.
So the complete design of the house was in my Mum's hands. I did so much research getting information and house plans in but the final decision was theirs. I had never thought that I'll be back to live with them. I had given up on believing that dreams can come true. :) Anyways the plans had been vetted by the Council before I even knew that I'll be moving and it was kinda late to make any changes.
Anyway I told Mum and Dad that the next House Plan will be as per my wishes :)
This is one major major reason why I was so much into buying a camera. I want to record the entire building process, the various stages... So hopefully I'll get my camera by 18th June and just keeping my fingers crossed on getting at least a couple of quotes by then....
Monday, June 02, 2008
Weekend Update
Main event of the long weekend - Dad got injured!!!
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Friday was a public holiday here in Fiji - Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna Day... Unlike other people my family is not too keen on remaining aimless for even a day. Hence unlike others we were awake at the crack of dawn - 5 A.M. armed to do as much as possible in one day!!! So after doing all the housework we ventured outdoors. Our current home has a very big yard with lots of trees in it. We have 3-4 varieties of mango trees, lime tree, lemon tree, orange tree (2-3 varieties) and 3 mandarine tree. This does not include all the vegetables, flowers, coconut or palm trees!!! Yeah I know!!! Try imagine raking the whole yard!!!
Now this is citrus season in Fiji and since we have so many trees we just had to pick the mandarines. We left the oranges for another day. :) Dad being the nimble one climbed the tree and while in the process of picking the fruits with a rod he injured his foot by rather forcefully yanking on the rod which was right above his foot!!! OOOuch!!! So from Friday he is bed ridden with a rather badly swollen foot. We tried cold compress, cold water bath with lots and lots of ice, ice pack, tried even turmeric pack, moov, sprain creams etc etc... The swelling went down yesterday but the pain is still there... He is going to the doctors today!!!
No need to say that he will no longer be going for any yard duties!!!
My friend, Prabhat's, birthday was on 31st May. Still need to get an update from him.
My brother is going for a visit to Austria, Cyprus.. etc. Currently he is studying for his Ph.D in Czech Republic so he gets to go all over Europe. Though he no longer sends any photos!!! Don't know why!!! :(
Since Dad was not in any good shape we postponed our monthly trip to the temple. If Dad is ok then we'll go this coming weekend.
Started work today and am really busy today... Hence just a straight forward update.
Now this is citrus season in Fiji and since we have so many trees we just had to pick the mandarines. We left the oranges for another day. :) Dad being the nimble one climbed the tree and while in the process of picking the fruits with a rod he injured his foot by rather forcefully yanking on the rod which was right above his foot!!! OOOuch!!! So from Friday he is bed ridden with a rather badly swollen foot. We tried cold compress, cold water bath with lots and lots of ice, ice pack, tried even turmeric pack, moov, sprain creams etc etc... The swelling went down yesterday but the pain is still there... He is going to the doctors today!!!
No need to say that he will no longer be going for any yard duties!!!
My friend, Prabhat's, birthday was on 31st May. Still need to get an update from him.
My brother is going for a visit to Austria, Cyprus.. etc. Currently he is studying for his Ph.D in Czech Republic so he gets to go all over Europe. Though he no longer sends any photos!!! Don't know why!!! :(
Since Dad was not in any good shape we postponed our monthly trip to the temple. If Dad is ok then we'll go this coming weekend.
Started work today and am really busy today... Hence just a straight forward update.
Friday, May 09, 2008
Dad and Cooking
Cont’d from yesterday
Dad has got into the mood now to do something special for Mothers Day. We are having our Father – Daughter meeting tonight to decide what exactly we’ll be doing. Though I have a fair idea that it’ll involve cooking!!! (I’ll come back to this later). My suggestion for Dad was to take Mom for a very long drive… you know the usual … take in a few sights, check out a few houses (designs that is) etc etc. His response on this was that Mom’s my Mom so I should do this while he’ll prepare food. Imagine this!!! Now if this is the case then I don’t know why they still insist on calling each other Mom and Dad. : )
I really do not want my Dad to cook.
One reason – he is too meticulous. If he is cutting carrots then all the carrots have to be of one size, onions have to be sliced to an exact thinness, the meat has to be lean meat and the list continues. This is only regarding the food not to mention that all the dishes that are available just have to be used. It’s like a cyclone has just passed though the kitchen!!! I don’t know if this is the case in any other household but it is true for my family… Now I wouldn’t mind any of this… I don’t mind the 3 hour preparation time for food that will be consumed in half an hour nor do I mind spending one hour washing dishes and cleaning up. Coz for some reason he absolutely hates cleaning up!!! What I do mind is that after all this activity he gets too tired and is so “full” that he doesn’t eat anything!!! And we are too guilty to eat anything!!! It’s like destroying an artist’s masterpiece.
Second reason – he is just recovering from a bad bout of influenza. He has been very sick of late and I would not want him to exert himself too much.
Big Reason – it’s not just Mothers Day. It’s their day so I would like to do the cooking without supervision!!!
So I guess the decision is very much made on who’ll be doing the cooking. :)
Thursday, May 08, 2008
Mother's Day
Mother's Day is on Sunday 11th May 2008. Just a mere four days away. I almost wish that it was further down in the year... I guess I'm just worried about how the day will turn out. Funny enough I'm not this wary about any other day (that is apart from Birthdays) so I have no idea why I'm having this swamp of butterflies in my stomach. Is it that I am not sure of how exactly the day will turn out to be... maybe!!
I aired my views on the commercial aspects of this day a few days ago. I still feel the same. And every time I hear a jingle or see some ads on TV I tend to complain out loud. Just the other day I realized.. (it was quite dramatic actually) that my Mum might not share my views. This happened right in the middle of one of my tirades and I did stop half way and gazed at Mum. Thats when I asked her if she wanted anything special for Mothers Day.
I know I know that gifts should be given and not prompted for. Otherwise what's the value of the gift right... But we also have a sort of a rule at home - Don't buy anything without getting some sort of consent. Ever since I moved back home we have got too much stuff. Two of everything and literally we are running out of space - bursting at the seams so to speak. At the time we decided as a family not to purchase anything without discussing it first. And believe me you won't want to break that rule especially since my Mum was the one who made it. She is not called "Mother General" for nothing.
So I asked if there was something that she wanted or needed... But it was in a very discreet manner. Also I pointed out that if the day comes and she starts pouting then I will feel really bad... Tried using psychology on her. Turned out she didn't fall for it. She really doesn't "want" anything. So now I'm free to buy her whatever I want...
Some of the options that I have are:
I aired my views on the commercial aspects of this day a few days ago. I still feel the same. And every time I hear a jingle or see some ads on TV I tend to complain out loud. Just the other day I realized.. (it was quite dramatic actually) that my Mum might not share my views. This happened right in the middle of one of my tirades and I did stop half way and gazed at Mum. Thats when I asked her if she wanted anything special for Mothers Day.
I know I know that gifts should be given and not prompted for. Otherwise what's the value of the gift right... But we also have a sort of a rule at home - Don't buy anything without getting some sort of consent. Ever since I moved back home we have got too much stuff. Two of everything and literally we are running out of space - bursting at the seams so to speak. At the time we decided as a family not to purchase anything without discussing it first. And believe me you won't want to break that rule especially since my Mum was the one who made it. She is not called "Mother General" for nothing.
So I asked if there was something that she wanted or needed... But it was in a very discreet manner. Also I pointed out that if the day comes and she starts pouting then I will feel really bad... Tried using psychology on her. Turned out she didn't fall for it. She really doesn't "want" anything. So now I'm free to buy her whatever I want...
Some of the options that I have are:
- Go for lunch or dinner : This is not possible since she is on a special diet right now (Allergy Reaction to certain foods and spices)
- Pamper her: I'll try my level best but she really doesn't sit still for a minute. I get exhausted just watching her. I cannot even cook without being supervised and I have lived on my own for sooo long.
- Take her for a long drive: I'm trying to get my Dad to do this every weekend. Sort of give them alone time together so will see about this.
- Buy her something special - this I'll definitely do...
Actually I have already bought her the pressies but will check out the stores again... Maybe I'll find something more.
One of the things that I'm very worried about is her emotional status on this day. I can't stand to see tears in her eyes so I'm really bracing myself.
One of the main causes, I know, would be the absence of my brother. They are close so she will miss him and no matter how "good" a daughter I am I can never fill that void. The other reason would be the absence of my Grandma (Nanna) on this occasion. She passed away in 2002 and we all miss her but again I cannot even imagine the depth of that loss from my mothers point of view.
I sometimes try to imagine life without Mum and Dad in it. It is impossible. If the mere thought is impossible for me then how would those people feel who lost their Mums. It is too deep an emotion cum pain to even fathom.
One of the things that I'm very worried about is her emotional status on this day. I can't stand to see tears in her eyes so I'm really bracing myself.
One of the main causes, I know, would be the absence of my brother. They are close so she will miss him and no matter how "good" a daughter I am I can never fill that void. The other reason would be the absence of my Grandma (Nanna) on this occasion. She passed away in 2002 and we all miss her but again I cannot even imagine the depth of that loss from my mothers point of view.
I sometimes try to imagine life without Mum and Dad in it. It is impossible. If the mere thought is impossible for me then how would those people feel who lost their Mums. It is too deep an emotion cum pain to even fathom.
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