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Tag: 2009 in photos

  • 2009 in Pictures – September

    September was great, like any other month in 2009!
    Went to Gatlinburg, and the Smoky Mountains (again)…

    Met Bumblebee! This was completely unexpected and I could not believe my luck! The car that I have loved and admired was right there in front of me! Yes the same car which was in Transformers-1. The yellow black Chevy Chamero!






    Also went to Six Flags, the amusement park I used to drive by frequently, and even came back from the gates ones because it was too cold!


    Bought a whole lot of movies… by the end of 2009, ended up with more than 100 movies, and all handpicked!

    Also went to Chicago yet again… The Bean looks amazing when the lights come on!!!

  • 2009 in Pictures – August

    Been away from CKD for a very long time… and irrespective of how much I want to, I just have not been able to get time to get online!!!
    The EDGE on the iPhone does not help either!
    But here I am… with a post that has been waiting to be published for almost about a month now! Enjoy the pictures of last August…
    It was a beautiful month in Milwaukee.. I also went to Minneapolis and had a great weekend there…
    Saw movies on a home projection system back to back!!!
    Went with office friends to a cabin some 2.5 hours away from Milwaukee up north, and led my team to a victory in the games we played over two days, the highlights being me eating bitter gourd, and finished about 24 golgappas in just below 3 minutes!!!
    Life has been great lately! I struggle at times with the new profile that I am in now with MTS, and at the same time I thoroughly enjoy the learning that I get almost everyday! I finish my day promising myself that I will do better the next day!
    Its very new for me.. the whole TELCO thing, and how a company totally working in India, works!!! but that’s an interesting topic for the next post (whenever that comes)
    For now let’s be silent in honor of the long silence on Chai ki Dukaan, and just enjoy how the month of August in 2009 was!!!


























  • 2009 in Pictures – June

    June was a travel month! (most months last year were travel months for that matter)
    Me, Ma and Pa went on a three day tour of the east coast… drove around the New York City… and visited a lot of places of tourist interest!
    Enjoy the photographs below!














































  • 2009 in Pictures – May

    May is expected to bring Spring season! it did.. though it was pretty cold and unusually cold for that time of the year, it did not stop the flowers from blooming, it did not stop the birds from coming out and singing, and it did not stop me from going to Holland, Michigan to enjoy the Tulip Festival.
    I had rented a Nissan Altima for this trip, and I loved driving it… had not driven a car so smooth and so responsive yet! Totally totally loved it… and had just the right company in Joy along with me… Pritam, Sunil and Golu joined us from Minneapolis later in the evening after we checked into our motel near Holland!
    Photography would have been a challenge for sure, because I do not know what to do when I am supposed to take pictures of flowers… I personally came back satisfied with the pictures I took that weekend though! enjoy the moments and some photographs from Holland below… This might just be one of the most colorful months of 2009!

    The right set of people makes a trip so much better! I am so grateful to have good travel companions all the time (I also take credit in that though! I chose who I travel with, most of the time)
    Artist’s tables are one of the most interesting things that I know of… they shout out loud of creativity!
    I have also been fascinated by wheels and rims for a long time… but I do not have a liking for such loud rims! I like them subtle… like Radha!
    Holland in addition to the Tulips, is also famous for wooden shoes! And yes, you can wear them!
    I also drove a Jeep Commander… Big SuV… loads of space! and Jeep 🙂
    We managed to find a lovely local Italian restaurant for lunch and then a decent Indian restaurant for Dinner… had to rush and drive fast to reach the Indian one in the night before it closed, but we did manage…
    Another very interesting thing we did in Holland was go on a Sand dunes safari… it was a crazy sand ride with adventurous twists and turns in a 1979 dodge truck!
    The Big Red light house in Holland… This place was exactly opposite to Milwaukee on the other side of Lake Michigan…
    We also managed to check out a local market in Holland before we headed back to Milwaukee.


    I love huskies! Period! This one had such beautiful blue eyes!

    Also visited a winery on our way out of Holland… Experienced a bit different US there… very quiet, non-concrete, natural America… lovely it was!
    And more flowers near home!
    The third car I drove in the month of May was a Mazda 6. Radical design, but another beauty to drive! I had rented it to get Ma Pa from the Chicago airport! Cannot explain that feeling in words… going to an airport to pick up mom dad after their first ever flight! very precious memory!
    In May itself, I drove to Minneapolis and Chicago with Mom Dad!
    This is a view from the 14th floor apartment in Minneapolis… my home away from home in America… the famous or rather infamous 1409!
    See you with some pictures from June soon!

  • 2009 in Pictures – April

    The biggest thing about April 2009 was 30on30… It was a personal achievement which brought immense satisfaction to me, and I am glad that the thought worked so well! April was also about some warm days, more rain, less snow, and some cold days too…

    My birthday was celebrated by cutting an Apple pie instead of a cake because the gang from MSP could not find a cake shop on their way to Milwaukee on my birthday… it was nice to have friends on birthday night, though birthdays usually are no big deal for me…
    We thought of going to 6-flags, the amusement park about an hour south of Milwaukee, but it was too cold to get on the rides and we had to come back, much to disappointment of Deepak who wanted to go inside… Later in the year, we did manage to get to the park and enjoy a few rides…
    We also visited the Miller Brewery in Milwaukee that weekend… For those who did not know, Milwaukee is famous for its beer as well! At one point of time, it used to have the largest number of breweries in the US.
    After the free tour, you get to taste the 3 key beers that Miller makes at this brewery!
    I also got my flash in April… the macro lens and the flash unit were my birthday presents to myself… I suck at using flash in photographs, and have to learn how to use it… one item on my to-do list for 2010…
    Talking of places to visit, I also spent a few days at the Milwaukee Art Museum in April…
    April 10th was cold for sure… but there were really warms days in April too… the picture says it all I guess!
    Rain and the macro lens… good combination if you know how to use it well… My first attempt and much below average, still does not stop me from posting a few pictures I liked from that evening…
    This brings me to the end of a wonderful first quarter of the new year! The other months’ pictures can be seen here if you have not seen them already…
    See you later with some pictures from May!

  • 2009 in Pictures – March

    Before you go ahead and check March photographs, make sure that you have a look at January and February pictures too….
    March from the photographs looked like a month with mostly beautiful skies with occasional rain (which meant that the temperature was well above freezing) however it ended with loads of snow!!!

    Views from the 13th floor of my office building… I miss this window a lot these days !!!

    Like I said, it was a month of beautiful skies….
    And I found some natural artwork on the ground too…
    The artwork continued to my kitchen with some effort going in cooking food for myself and getting surprised with the tasty results…


    This is me behind a record… taken by Preet…

    And like I said, it had rained that month too… i remember this day when I wanted to go out, but just could not because it would not stop raining…
    March also celebrated St. Patrick’s day, an Irish festival… This day kind of marks the entry of spring to Milwaukee too, but it was long before anything related to summer or spring came to Milwaukee… That day though sunny and happy, was very cold!!!!


    I think I used to look smart in March too…photograph taken by preet…





    and like I said, the month ended with loads of snow… here is a Toyota Rav4 that I had rented for a weekend in March… as you can see, there was something about 30 going on in my mind that time… I have written 30 on the window of the car…
    Next is going to be April… the month when I turned 30, the month when 30on30 was launched and it turned out to be a huge success… one of the most memorable months of my life thanks to the overwhelming support that I got for the event!!!

  • 2009 in Pictures – February

    Its going to take quite a bit of effort to select the images, edit them for CKD and post them here, but I am willing to make that effort… I hope you are going to make an effort to browse those images as well…
    If you missed it, photographs from January can be accessed by clicking here (Opens in a new window)
    February was a month of a few firsts… and a few seconds and some thirds as well 🙂
    After the freezing months of December and January, Feb brought a bit of sunshine and nice weather to Milwaukee… good enough to get out of the cosy comfort of your apartment and walk around… during one such walks, I went to the Milwaukee Art Museum too…

    An artwork in the museum…

    Warm morning sunlight….


    The ice started melting as well because the temperature went above the freezing point after about 2 months… hence the beautiful reflections on the path above and the road below…

    The building with the christmas cap is my office!

    Puddles also were formed at places because of the snow melting, giving the kid in me an opportunity to play around the water…
    The sun was really shining bright and gave me some interesting photographs to click…
    I also went to Minneapolis on Valentine’s day….

    Took some interesting portraits of friends in MSP… this one is Lakhan…. the bored pilot 🙂

    One of the most interesting and remarkable firsts in February was walking on a frozen lake, and driving on it… Scary and very exciting! This is Pritam’s new SUV at Medicine Lake…


    Another first…. a frozen Waterfall!

    Miss Sapna… not too interested in the camera!


    A valentine’s day is not complete without a few roses! innit?


    Now back to Milwaukee, and the frozen lake Michigan…

    People enjoying ice fishing on Lake Michigan, and downtown Milwaukee in the background…

    A closeup of how the frozen water looks like…

    Deepali and Gaurav trying to walk on ice…
    February turned out to a fun filled month… I started traveling out of Milwaukee, I also got myself a film camera… some results from that camera a little later….
    See you with March Photographs!

  • 2009 in Pictures – January

    2009 started on a brilliant note for me… and its ending at a much brighter one!!!
    Just one post is not going to do justice to what a wonderful year this has been… so I have decided to have 12 posts… mostly pictures to relive the time once again!!!
    2009 started with a visit to Mecca of bikers, The Harley Davidson Museum!!! enjoy the photographs below…

    Starting 2009 with going to see a bike which is 100 years old… pretty cool!


















    Pritam and gang’s first of the many visits to Milwaukee… I am sure they enjoyed it… I loved it… it was having a family around me…