Why do we forget to Acknowledge our Blessings ???

This is one of the nicest e-mails I have seen and is so true:

I dreamt that I went to Heaven and an angel was showing me around. We walked
side-by-side inside a large workroom filled with angels. My angel guide
stopped in front of the first section and said, 'This is the Receiving
Section. Here, all petitions to God said in prayer are received.'

I looked around in this area, and it was terribly busy with so many angels
sorting out petitions written on voluminous paper sheets and scraps from
people all over the world.

Then we moved on down a long corridor until we reached the second section.

The angel then said to me, 'This is the Packaging and Delivery Section. Here
the graces and blessings the people asked for are processed and delivered to
the living persons who asked for them. 'I noticed again how busy it was
there. There were many angels working hard at that stati o n, since so many
blessings had been requested and were being packaged for delivery to Earth.

Finally at the farthest end of the long corridor we stopped at the door of a
very small station. To my great surprise, only one angel was seated there,
idly doing nothing. 'This is the Acknowledgment Section,' my angel friend
quietly admitted to me. He seemed embarrassed 'How is it that there is no
work going on here?' I asked.

'So sad,' the angel sighed. 'After people receive the blessings that they
asked for, very few send back acknowledgments .'

'How does one acknowledge God's blessings?' I ask ed .

'Simple,' the angel answered. Just say, 'Thank you, Lord.'

'What blessings should they acknowledge?' I asked.

'If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead
and a place to sleep you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have
money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish, you are among
the top 8% of the world's wealthy .'

'And if you get this on your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the
world who has that opportunity.'

'If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more
blessed than the many who will not even survive this day .'

'If you have never experienced the fear in battle, the loneliness of
imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are
ahead of 700 million people in the world.'

'If you can attend a church without the fear of harassment, arrest, torture
or death you are envied by, and more blessed than, three billion people in
the world .'

'If your parents are still alive and still married ...you are very rare .'

'If you can hold your head up and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique
to all those in doubt and despair.'

Ok, what now? How can I start?

If you can read this message, you just received a double blessing in that
someone was thinking of you as very special and you are more blessed than
over two billion people in the world who cannot read at all.

Have a good day, count your blessings, and i f you want, pass this along to
remind everyone else how blessed we all are.

ATTN: Acknowledge Dept.:

'Thank you Lord, for giving me the ability to share this message and for giving me
so many wonderful people to share it with.'

This is the lent season... this is the time to truly sit back and think of all the wonderful blessings the Lord has done for you.. think of all the small small blessings u have enjoyed... think of the happiness and joy u have felt all these years... think of the accidents u have just escaped... think of teh food and friends u enjoy.... think of the wonderful parents u have... think of the exams u have passed ;) !!! Think of all possible blessings... Then take ur time off whatever you are doing and truly 'Thank God' for everything....

May God Bless You !!!

Someone once said...

This is a special note for you :).....

Life comes just once so let's make the most of it. GOD didn't give us everything to enjoy life but HE gave us life to enjoy everything.

Today, may you be blessed with: value of time, virtue of patience, pleasure of work, wisdom of economy, worth of character and the power of prayer.

If we fall in love because someone makes us laugh, what happens when we no longer find them funny? If we fall in love because someone is beautiful, what happens when that beauty fades? If we fall in love because someone can provide for us, what happens when they lose their wealth? Because LOVE defies all reasons. When you TRULY LOVE SOMEONE, you can't find reason, you don't even need a reason. Have a day filled with love.

Don't pray to be sheltered from problems but to be fearless in facing them. Don't be afraid of pain but ask for a heart that conquers it. Stay Happy.

PRAYER is my gift for you everyday that you will be fine, protected and have the strength to cope with all the pressures and stresses of the day.

When we share the laughter, there's twice the fun. When we share problems there's half the pain. When we share tears, a rainbow follows the rain. When we share our secrets, its our heart's we reveal. And what draws us closer and makes us all care is not what we have but the things we share

A sharp mind is useless without a fighting heart. In life's challenges, you make an impression on what you say but you make a name in what you do.

PRAYER can go where i can not go. Through prayers i can be with those i care without being there. I maybe miles away but my PRAYER are always with you.

Sometimes you need to experience everything so that you would learn. There's no easy way in living life so live it as it is. Laugh. Cry. Be crazy. And don't miss the chances that life is giving you because the most important things are not things at all, most of the time they are PEOPLE making your life worth living.

The value of one's worth is not in their class, nor in their wealth. It is in the nobility and beauty of their hearts. GOD bless your kind heart.

Life is a mixture of sunshine and rain, teardrops and laughter, pleasure and pain but there was never a cloud that sun didn't shine through.

May GOD at this moment bring you something special- a thought that makes you smile, a smile that warms your heart and a heart that holds much happiness inside.

Happy Times Together !!!

Okay :) Starting from left: Smitha, Chacko, Myself, Sajith, Sujadh and Tanu

Well all the above characters have been introduced before except for 2: Sajith and Tanu

Sajith aka Saji... if I start writing about this guy I will never stop. I will dedicate a separate topics just for him :D....

Tanu is the new member to our gang. She is the wife of Sujadh [the UK return ;)]. 'A lil kid' would be the best way to describe her. Slightly wacky and cute. Enough of introducing everyone and let me move on to the real motive behind starting this topic.

Guess where we are in the 'moment captured' above ??!! We were at "Queen of hill stations" and the capital of Nilgiris district : OOTY !!! A dream journey long awaited. And all thanks to the wacko in our group : Sajith. It was one of his dreams from school days that all of us go on a trip leaving everything else behind: be it family, work or whatever it glued us to the daily routine.

One of the best parts of the trip was the drive from Cochin to Ooty and back. We took our own sweet time to drive down stopping in between for quick snacks, tea, tender coconut and of course to stretch after the long drive. In spite of being in Ooty a 100 times, it was still fascinating and thrilling to pass through the lofty mountains, dense forest, sprawling grasslands and miles and miles of tea gardens.

This was a 3 day trip covering the pine forests, boating, golf park, trekking and on and on.... 3 days lived to the fullest !!! no worries and tensions of life... A feeling of being in total tranquility with the nature... A moment cherished for ever :) !!!

Guess what ??!!! I'm back.. Twice as bold and beautiful

He he... just kidding with the title ;) !!!

Okay... so u guys might be wondering where did this girl disappear.. why isn't there anything new on this blog.. Ahhhh !!! well you know how busy life can get.. I stopped with Paris almost 2 years back. Its not because life got boring after that... It was actually the other way around... It just got too exciting that i just didn't have time to fill in my blog space...

Trips... lots of trips and travel... Paris was just a start... Guess what followed ??? Italy and Switzerland :D !!! 8 wonderful days in Italy travelling from the very south , Rome to all the way up to Florence and Venice... On way pit stopped at San Gnignano and Sienna. talking about Sienna... That was not a planned stop. In fact my friend, Poornima and I got on o a bus to San Gnignano but ended up in Sienna... hehe !!! Well I guess we were destined to visit Sienna as well ... Oh God!! I have no words to describe the days I spent there... The warmth of the sun, the wine and the sweets, and how can i forget : The Italian men !! OOoooooo !!!! what a charm to look at at ;) !!!

What next ??? I didn't stop with the 8 days. From Italy took a train to Switzerland... and that's what i call paradise... Snow covered Alps, green pastures and valleys, streams flowing past them, small wooden bridges and how can i forget great lakes !!! Its a sight to see :)... It was a complete adventure climbing the Alps, playing in the snow, walking all the way down the Alps to the valleys with a bottle of wine to keep us warm and some home cooked food to keep us going!!! Wondering from where the home cooked food came from ??? Well I had my lovely cousins: Teena che, hubby and the chweet Joshu kuttan, with whom I stayed with.

Okie... after 14 days of continuous adventures, I was tired and tensed... tensed cos I've got my universities coming up in the next 7 days !!! I just wanted to cry... how wonderful the last 2 weeks had been.... No books nor assignments nor exams to worry about... Well didn't waste much time... Flew straight back to UK and back to my University :( !!! Don't ask me how the next 30 days went by.... exams after exams and sleepless nights... Well it's been like this ever since i have remembered... Only if i could finish my daily lessons... ha !!! NEVER !!!!

Then began my next expedition: My dissertation work... 3 long months !!! i don't even wanna think about it nor talk about it... I finally completed my 1 year MSc for which I came to UK !!! Hurray!!! I'm free... i don't have to tell you what i did next... Booked tickets to Austria... hehe !!!
Land of the Mozart and music and crystal clear lakes !!! Vienna was the first to be explored... Great churches and palaces !!! My next stop was Salzburg.. The 'Sound of Music' spot... what a beauty !!! I felt like a butterfly flying through the small green hills amidst the swaying flowers and grass.. The cool breeze caressing your face... ahhh... how i wish i was there again :) !!!

I guess i'll stop for now... there's a lot more to pen down... i don't wanna finish them all now... I will soon be back with more of my adventures !!!

A dream come true !!

Jan 10 2006 A day that will never be forgotten....


At 07:30 I, along with my friend Sujadh, entered the "London Waterloo Station". After the security and baggage clearance we were led to the waiting lounge. As I was sitting there with trembling legs and hands I heard a voice "Passengers for the 08:12 Eurostar train to Paris, please proceed to the entrance".. I could feel a sudden gush of blood on my face. That was the very moment when I took my first step towards the world's most romantic city, PARIS !!!


It took sometime for me to realize that all these weren't still a dream but mere truth. After about two and a half hours of journey I heard a French voice " Bonjour, bienvenue vers Paris " which immediately I knew was " Good day, welcome to Paris"...I finally reached my dream destination.

The first thing we did was to get to the information desk and get all the travel details which included the road and tube maps. After studying them for about 20 minutes we found the location of our stay and headed straight for it. Like always the first thing after dumping the luggage in the room, I started exploring the room and the facilities. But the shock came when I opened the balcony... There right in front of me was one of the 7 wonders of the world standing in its own elegance : the great "Tour d'Eiffel"..another breath taking moment !!!


As per the agenda of the day, we headed to the Eiffel tower. Enjoyed the very view surrounding it. We took a walk along the left bank of river Seine and then took one of the 200 brigdes across it to get to the right bank. We headed towards the National Theatre building and Musee de l'homme from where the view was just magnificent. Then we went on a coach plus cruise tour which lasted for 3 hours. We saw the Parisian city all lighted and its most beautiful state. The cruise on the river Seine was so fabulous with the lights everywhere reflecting on the surface and slight breeze hitting your face while enjoying the architecture around. We got down at the foot of the Eiffel tower. Enjoyed the beauty at night and then retired for the day.


The second day began with the visit to 2 famous churches, Saint Chappelle and Notre Dame !! Saint Chappelle was around 750 years old with amazing glass works. Its dedicated to King Louis who became the king at the age of 12. He was a very humble and noble king who spent most of his time with the lepers, washing and serving them with his own hands. He later was made a saint and is known as Saint Louis I and this church is dedicated to him. The glass works represents the various books in the Bible starting with Genesis and ending with Revelation.


Notre Dame, what more to say. It is this very own gothic structure that dominates the river Seine was well as the very history of Paris. It is situated in a small island called " Ile-de-la-Cite ". It was here that Napoleon, wishing to emphasize the primacy of the state over the church, crowned himself emperor, and then crowned Josephine, his Martinique-born wife, as his empress.


Then we just strolled our way back cover the bridges and enjoying the view of Paris at dusk. Don't think we retired for the day. Next is the most exciting thing we did. We went to the so called famous " Pattisserie " (pastry shop). Didn't even know the names of the sweets there but just ordered one of each...Hee hee... okie now you can imagine our state after so much sweets a French dishes. All we wanted was to get back to the room and just lie down. On the way back we got a bottle of champagne. My first champagne ever !!! Well that was all for the day...



The next day we started off with the famous and world's largest museums " Musee d'Louvre ". It here where you will see the famous "Monalisa". The museum was so large that after 3 hours we were so exhausted and full of information and realized that we hadn't even covered half of it. Well after that we just ran through the museum till we could find the exit which was at the very end of the building. In between stopped for a few eye catching exhibits.


The museum was at one end of the Champse Elysees, one of the most famous streets in the world, with its cinemas, cafes, and luxury specialty shops. We walked from the very beginning of the street which led to "Arc de l'Triomphe". The arch was commissioned by Napoleon as a tribute to the French army. We climbed the spiral steps all the way up the 148 metres tall arch. Enjoyed the view of Paris city from top. The next event for the day was a good and formal dinner in a French restaurant. We had already spotted a good place to dine near the tower. It was known as "Champs de Mars". We went for a 4 course dinner which included : Aperitifs, demarreurs (starters), Repas principal (main course) and desserts. French pastries and chocolates are so delicious. They just melt in your mouth...Yummy !! The very thought itself just makes my mouth water.


Now the final day. We woke up realizing that this is our last day to be in this lovely city. We thought of just relaxing through the day with a few visits in mind. One was a church called "Sacre Couvre" . Its located in the outskirts of paris on top of a hill. The view of paris city from there is another wonderful site. It located among the streets called Montemarte where you can see artist standing and paiting, small souvenir shops here and there and middle class french apartments : The very typical image of Paris !!!

The second on our list was the Musee de l'Invalides which is dedicated to the french soldiers. The very dome of it is made of gold and aparantely just weighs 6 kg..Wow right !! Well we walked around the whole place and towards our hotel. And guess what we saw. I am not saying but see for yourself :




This was the most exciting finding of the whole trip. Well after this we just got back to the hotel, sat down in the bar for sometime munching some crisps and peanuts. By around 7 pm we checked out and headed towards London.


Well as I am writing this down, I can't believe those wonderful 4 days have come to end. I can still see the Eiffel tower all shining and lighted, the busy Champse Elysees, the arc magnificently standing in the heart of the city.... this truely was a dream come true for me.

For more pics: Click here !!!

My Campus

Hey wanna know more about my campus... well here it comes :-D

I am at University of Essex in the electronics department doing my masters in computer networks.... This university is located in Colchester which is towards the north eastern side of London... Its more of a town than a city... more towards the country side.... Its just so mind blowing.... the landscapes, the lake , the lawns and everything else just fits into place so beautiful..... okie okie... i am not just gonna spoil the fun by just going on describing.... well here are the photos ;-D

"Campus pics"

Late but better than never

After a long long break here i am back with more of whats happening in my life....

Must be wondering what must have changed ??? Anyway , I no longer work in that great and wonderful place : " Poornam Info Vision " .... I am in UK doing my masters in computer networks... It was a tough decision making me quit poornam, but had to take this for several reasons.... anyways....

This place is really great with so nature so beautiful and colourful.... but it does lack something that is found only in my homeland : "WARMTH".... i don't mean the climate or the temperature here... but the warmth that we feel when we are with our loved and dear ones.... its more like a hi-bye thats in place here.....

Now that i am here my main aim is to finish my masters to the best I can... visit places..... enjoy the different forms of nature, cultures ..... or in short just hang and chill out.... and finally get back my own sweet - INDIA... thats my home
:-D and i feel in place there....

Thoughts of a very limited man ....

I was just going through the grp mails of our college. The most striking of them was a mail sent last september...

He described himself as a very limited man... and after 1 year the most successfull amongst the whole University College of Engineering...2004.. Great work indeed.....

The mail goes as follows :

********************************************************

Right from my Heart
-------------------
P1
----

" U + GOD = Majority"
---------------------


Dear Friends,
I thought of writing a mail after getting a job,
but sometimes patience ceases to be a virtue.This mail is specially
for unemployees(who didn't study in the past 4 years ,the way
expected from them),written by an unemployee ,son of Retd parents.

"U r not finished if u r defeated,
U r finished if u quits".

If V.Arun can wait for 10 companies,Shawn and Gerry can wait for 3
years,why can't we wait for 20 or more companies. Better be a street
dog than a rich man's pet dog,because it have to struggle for
living ,and there lies the pleasure.

As some genius say
"if u think u can or u can't u r true".
Believe in yourself.

It is time for us to understand GOD,life and subject
(that we were supposed to study in the past 4 years).
so enjoy every bit of it.
With love,love&love,
Pt,
"Live your Passion"

NB:This is not an advise,b'coz iam no way capable of advicing u,
this r the silly thoughts of a very limited man.

*******************************************************

I Got My Visa :-D

After a long wait, there it is... I got my student's visa to UK. Don't really know whow to express what i felt at that moment. It was sort of like I have already reached UK. felt so light at heart....in an almost floating state... First thing i did was confirm with my agent that i have secured the Visa... Then it was Smitha right in front of me... Just told her and ran down to call my mom and dad.... In that excitement i completely forgot that there are people around me. I was in the office when i came to know about the visa :-D ..... I called my grandma and all my cousins and told them the good news....

After all this i came back to my machine. It was then a big heaviness just fell upon me. I am going to miss this wonderful place : " My office ".... Its been so beautiful here that i hardly wanted to go home.... My mom always complains that she hardly sees me there at home.... Earlier during college days, every 4 - 5 days i'll be there at home. I used to drag myself to college...
After my school life, the most i enjoyed was life at Poornam.... Great friends and great atmosphere.... It was at this moment that i actually though i didn't get the so called " VISA "

Everyone asks me what my plans are after my studies.... Frankly speaking i don't know .... My heart desires to get back to India... But God only knows where i'll be.... One thing is for sure.... Memoires of this great place will be always there with me... where ever i go.... :)

My first written post

Hi,

Well frankly speaking I don't know what to write. Infact i thought of writing something when one of my colleagues asked me " Why isn't there any writing in your blog ". The main reason for that is " I am a very bad writer ". Don't really have a any idea what to write. Also me ain't a person who knows to bring wits into my writing....

Well to begin with, let me introduce myself. My name is Gemi James. I reside at Cochin, Kerala. I completed my B.tech in Computer Science and engg... At present woring as Jr. software Engineer in an IT firm, Poornam Info Vision, Kakkanad, Cochin.

At present, after my family , the next most important thing in my life is my work. This place where I work now is my stepping stone to the working world. I have been here for the past one year... Its been a wonderful experience here.... It was sort of being back to my college life... Here it is work for work and fun for fun.... I have now a second family to think of when it comes to Poornam...

Now about my family.... My dad is a telecommunication engineer working in KOC, Kuwait. My mom works in BSNL, Ernakulam. I have twin sisters studying in the XII th grade... If i start writing about my mom , dad and sis i can go on. I think i'll split then into different articles will post them later ;-)

Well for my first posting this is enough... will get back to you guys with more news from my life soon... Till then Sayonara....