The eagle has flown. My kid brother is a lad no more. A marine engineer by choice, he has started his deputation with M/s Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL).
With great difficulty did he manage to obtain his marine engineering based certifications called CDC and Part-A. This was because of the lackadaisical attitude displayed by his college management in applying and procuring these certifications for the cadets. The role played by the college diminished to the worst possible extent when the last dues from the final year students were cleared.
But its all done and finished now. My brother has started his journey into the high seas. He has boarded his training ship from Mumbai and his first destination is Manila, Phillipines. He will be in 3 months of on-job training and will be back in Jan. My best wishes will always be with him as he starts his illustrious career.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Decided on the car
We had decided to get a car as soon as I came back from the US. While this happened on June 15th, we had not yet progressed on our decision as of the last weekend. We had been visiting dealers almost every weekend. Across Bangalore we have seen so many dealers and tried out several cars. We had it narrowed down to two models - the Maruthi-Suzuki Swift Vxi and the Hyundai Getz GLS.We had decided to go for the 2005 and 2006 models with 2006 being the priority.
Each model has its pros and cons and I would rate them as being neck to neck in totality. While the Swift surges ahead with its higher power and smoother clutch controls, the Getz has better gear shifting and offers more interior space although the exterior dimensions are a tad lower than the Swift. The Getz cannot match the higher fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs of the Swift, but it does offer a lower initial cost at the resale market.
The trick was to find a Getz car in good condition with a substantially lower mileage so as to expect reduced initial maintenance for a running period of 10-15k kms. Over the last two weekends we had checked out about 10 cars of the two models. It was extremely difficult to find a good Swift for less than 3.75L, Swift has incredibly good resale and is quite fast moving.
We looked at a 2005, Red colored Getz (the best color variant IMO) about 39k kms and tried to negotiate the price, but the deal did not go through. (Now I think that was good for us) Although we liked the car, it was not in mint condition, the interior was quite used and had substantial wear and tear. Yesterday we again went to the user car dealer - c2c cars located at Bannerghatta road opp to Purva heights.
This time we got to try out a 2006 White Getz GLS done 15k kms. We tried the vehicle and it was the best car so far. With just 15k kms that was obvious. The seller was quoting a moderately high price but we knew what was the apt price in the resale market. We negotiated the price to about 10k lesser than the correct price and got it worked out. The stand out point was that the interior of the car was in mint condition, it was as good as the running condition.
After a inspection as Trident motors on Sarjapur road, which confirmed that the vehicle was in great shape, we decided to buy the vehicle. The only decision to make was whether Pallavi would be ok with the white color. We drove the vehicle to her office and picked Pallavi up and she was also game for this car. Her inclination has always been on the Getz more than the Swift and she was happy with the white color.
So that's how it stands, I have made an advance of 10k and agreed to make the balance payment in 3 days. The car is blocked and is now stands at the garage till I make the payment. So that's how my first car buy has gone so far and it has been a rocking experience. Now on to the part of finishing off with the deal and learning how to drive the car!
I am immensely thankful to Subbu for his time and effort and his patience in trying and testing out cars for us. And also for his tips on the nuances of buying a used car. I am so glad you liked the car we picked.
Manina, without you this would not have been possible. You are the best...
Each model has its pros and cons and I would rate them as being neck to neck in totality. While the Swift surges ahead with its higher power and smoother clutch controls, the Getz has better gear shifting and offers more interior space although the exterior dimensions are a tad lower than the Swift. The Getz cannot match the higher fuel efficiency and lower maintenance costs of the Swift, but it does offer a lower initial cost at the resale market.
The trick was to find a Getz car in good condition with a substantially lower mileage so as to expect reduced initial maintenance for a running period of 10-15k kms. Over the last two weekends we had checked out about 10 cars of the two models. It was extremely difficult to find a good Swift for less than 3.75L, Swift has incredibly good resale and is quite fast moving.
We looked at a 2005, Red colored Getz (the best color variant IMO) about 39k kms and tried to negotiate the price, but the deal did not go through. (Now I think that was good for us) Although we liked the car, it was not in mint condition, the interior was quite used and had substantial wear and tear. Yesterday we again went to the user car dealer - c2c cars located at Bannerghatta road opp to Purva heights.
This time we got to try out a 2006 White Getz GLS done 15k kms. We tried the vehicle and it was the best car so far. With just 15k kms that was obvious. The seller was quoting a moderately high price but we knew what was the apt price in the resale market. We negotiated the price to about 10k lesser than the correct price and got it worked out. The stand out point was that the interior of the car was in mint condition, it was as good as the running condition.
After a inspection as Trident motors on Sarjapur road, which confirmed that the vehicle was in great shape, we decided to buy the vehicle. The only decision to make was whether Pallavi would be ok with the white color. We drove the vehicle to her office and picked Pallavi up and she was also game for this car. Her inclination has always been on the Getz more than the Swift and she was happy with the white color.
So that's how it stands, I have made an advance of 10k and agreed to make the balance payment in 3 days. The car is blocked and is now stands at the garage till I make the payment. So that's how my first car buy has gone so far and it has been a rocking experience. Now on to the part of finishing off with the deal and learning how to drive the car!
I am immensely thankful to Subbu for his time and effort and his patience in trying and testing out cars for us. And also for his tips on the nuances of buying a used car. I am so glad you liked the car we picked.
Manina, without you this would not have been possible. You are the best...
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
Getting back
Another couple days and my trip is done. I am heading back baby... Returing home - such a nice feeling. I am done with all my shopping, packing is partly done and I am getting impatient that the time does not shift as swiftly as it did when I arrived. I need to progress another three days and this trip will be over.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Singapore visa
If you have a valid US visa (I have a B1) and are returning from the US, you can stop over in Singapore without visa for upto 4 days (96 hours). But your entry is at the discretion of the immigration officer processing your stop over request.
I am planning a family trip in Singapore on my way back and I could not take that chance. Possession of a tourist visa gives me a sure shot chance and so I looked up applying for a Singapore visa through the embassy at San Francisco.
The process is a cakewalk. The required documents are
1. Visa application form filled in (For address put in your India address as well as your US local address with phone number and email address)
2. Your original passport with a copy of the first, last and the US visa pages.
3. Copy of invitation letter for your business trip in US. ( I am on B1 so this is mandatory, for L1, H1B could be waived)
4. Copy of flight e-ticket. (Obviously your itinerary should have a stop over in Singapore)
5. Copy of your hotel confirmation voucher in Singapore. (do the booking before hand, better to get some good deals)
6. 1 passport sized photo, maintain a white background, I think the size does not matter.
7. Self addressed US postal express return envelope - flat rate $17.50. (Write your US address in the recipient columns, ensure that the postage is pasted on the cover)
8. $20 in cash.
Drive in, or take the BART (to Montgomery station) to 595, Market street, SF. The embassy is on the 24th floor, suite 2450. Give the documents to the receptionist and get them verified. Pay the cash and collect the receipt and you are done. Note the submission hours are from 9 am to 12 pm only.
Drive or take the BART back home. I drove the rental car out to Milbrae, parked at the BART station and took the BART to get to SF and back. I did this (submitted the application) on a Monday morning and I received the stamped passport on Wednesday.
If you want to pick up your passport from the embassy office directly, skip the US postal express return envelope, will save you some money, but adds on to some extra effort. The collection hours are from 2 pm to 4 pm. The receptionist will actually let you know when to come for getting your stamped passport.
You can also send your application and supporting documents to the embassy via post, but then you need to make sure that you have a draft for the processing fee of $20. I skipped this part just because I did not want to go over the hassles of going to the bank. I don't know if we can do that if we do not have a SSN.
If you want some other detail on the process look it up on Embassy@SF site, or send put in a comment/send me a email.
I am planning a family trip in Singapore on my way back and I could not take that chance. Possession of a tourist visa gives me a sure shot chance and so I looked up applying for a Singapore visa through the embassy at San Francisco.
The process is a cakewalk. The required documents are
1. Visa application form filled in (For address put in your India address as well as your US local address with phone number and email address)
2. Your original passport with a copy of the first, last and the US visa pages.
3. Copy of invitation letter for your business trip in US. ( I am on B1 so this is mandatory, for L1, H1B could be waived)
4. Copy of flight e-ticket. (Obviously your itinerary should have a stop over in Singapore)
5. Copy of your hotel confirmation voucher in Singapore. (do the booking before hand, better to get some good deals)
6. 1 passport sized photo, maintain a white background, I think the size does not matter.
7. Self addressed US postal express return envelope - flat rate $17.50. (Write your US address in the recipient columns, ensure that the postage is pasted on the cover)
8. $20 in cash.
Drive in, or take the BART (to Montgomery station) to 595, Market street, SF. The embassy is on the 24th floor, suite 2450. Give the documents to the receptionist and get them verified. Pay the cash and collect the receipt and you are done. Note the submission hours are from 9 am to 12 pm only.
Drive or take the BART back home. I drove the rental car out to Milbrae, parked at the BART station and took the BART to get to SF and back. I did this (submitted the application) on a Monday morning and I received the stamped passport on Wednesday.
If you want to pick up your passport from the embassy office directly, skip the US postal express return envelope, will save you some money, but adds on to some extra effort. The collection hours are from 2 pm to 4 pm. The receptionist will actually let you know when to come for getting your stamped passport.
You can also send your application and supporting documents to the embassy via post, but then you need to make sure that you have a draft for the processing fee of $20. I skipped this part just because I did not want to go over the hassles of going to the bank. I don't know if we can do that if we do not have a SSN.
If you want some other detail on the process look it up on Embassy@SF site, or send put in a comment/send me a email.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
My 50th post... Something special? Well no just the usual
Have not blogged in weeks. Well cannot say that I have been too much occupied with work. Just that I did not get the peace of mind to write something.
Spent a weekend at Austin with my college friends Sexme and Sixty. Travel was hectic with 5 hours of flight journey for one way. Visited a couple of places in and around Texas and experianced the night life in a college downtown.
Last weekend my cousin Kiran visited me. We spent time roaming around SF downtown and trying some Italian and French restaurants. Also made a visit to the Great Mall at Milpitas and spent about half a day shopping.
Spent a weekend at Austin with my college friends Sexme and Sixty. Travel was hectic with 5 hours of flight journey for one way. Visited a couple of places in and around Texas and experianced the night life in a college downtown.
Last weekend my cousin Kiran visited me. We spent time roaming around SF downtown and trying some Italian and French restaurants. Also made a visit to the Great Mall at Milpitas and spent about half a day shopping.
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