as i am getting used to frequenting to the rock climbing facility every weekend, i will not be going there this easter weekend. instead i will be going to Budapest and from there on crossing 5 countries on the 4 day trip across mid and eastern Europe, from Hungary to Austria to Italy to Germany to Czech Republic to Slovakia. and the cities that have attentions are Budapest, Vienna, Venice, Munich, Prague, Bratislava.
i did not make my trip to Joensuu as planned, and might make it after i return, and by return i mean after i return from my vacation to India. the coming 2 weekends, i will be traveling and providing myself enough opportunities to go crazy, do stupid things and be myself also.
i have my music collection all setup and ready for the drive across a part Europe and cant wait to get behind the wheel.
Ready or not, here i come.
on other news, i received my shipment of Pleo.
blog meet Hobbes, Hobbes meet my blog.
Hobbes has been everything i expected, and at times a little more also. i will update more about him at some point (knowing how frequent i am in updating the blog 
).
2 weekends before, we ( mani, arun, saravanan, bhaskar and deepa-bhaskar’s wife ) went to the Helsinki rock climbing area. and as expected, we started the rock climbing session. with the beginners basic lessons, we had 6 routes with multiple colored paths to choose from.
thats how one looks when mixing dancing and rock climbing
“dont ever judge the height of a rock face until you rub noses with the rock face and then judge the height” or something like this is what bear grylls (man vs wild presenter) states. so first up after gearing up, my first contact with the rock face was a little under whelming. i skipped the route 1 and headed straight to route 2. half way up the incline i realized the day up ahead was not going to be easy. finishing of the route and a few failed attempts at the route 3, i gave some rest to the swollen arms of mine. it was like i just finished a forearms workout. after a good healthy rest and i was back on route 3, and i finally managed to reach the top section of the rock face. personal feat’s apart. we made it to the same place a week later and learned a little more.
every muscle in your body just holding on to not let go of the only hold you have, while the sweat in the palms slowly counter act’s the cause. even thought this time around there were the safety harnesses in place and letting go was not that big a deal. getting myself prepared for a moment when such a situation could arise and i do not want to let go, until i have better options to hold on to. this is something i am not good in life as such and something i can take away from the rock climbing session. similarly, just when the breath is knocked out, that push to reach ahead and grab, is another thing i need to bring into the practicality of day to day life.
a long time wish to try rock climbing had been accomplished, but then there is bouldering also in the list and that would be something i hope to strike off soon. but before that i have a course to attend on rock climbing and then reach a certain expertise before moving on.
after more than week of sitting on these photos, i finally present to you the cocktail series.
3 photos from a set of 50 odd photos taken during the cocktail photographing and tasting session. i might post more photos, but i will not commit to doing so.
i am heading back to Chennai on the 30th of March, but unlike the previous plan to staying in Chennai now i will be back in Helsinki on the 21st of April.
2 options - 1st the exchange offer, switch places, 2nd come back and get some more projects. i choose the 2nd option.
i am in the middle lane now, neither disappointed nor content with how things shaped up. i had big plans after heading back home, but now new plans are in progression and the old ones gone into hibernation.
so now the Europe traveling options are thrown wide open again, i hope it will be vivek v2. more wilder, more action, more adventure, more stupidity, more adrenalin, more comedies and so on, just that it will bigger and better (for the good or worst i dont know).
next up expect some cocktails, not for what has transpired but just some snaps taken at Helsinki’s famed Shakerz. 
its been 2 weeks since i moved form my previous seating location to a open area. now i have 6 cupboards and 1 partition that makrs my space in open area. i am far off from the window, the traffic view and my cemetery view has going missing.
i felt bad about that place its self because i had not customized it to my liking, and now in a place where its even more artificial and i miss the view a lot.
but and then i have my trips all planned out, that i don’t really mind the annoyance at the cubicle. i will be heading to Joensuu for a weekend. then the easter weekend i am off to Budapest - Venice - Prague, passing through Vienna, Munich, Bratislava. for the easter trip, we have quite a lot of things planned for. and i am excited about it, since it will be my last trip around Europe, before i head back to Chennai on the last weekend of March.
