Towards more Picturesque Speech
I haven't spoken to anyone with photographs in over 2 years now. Too often, this place has all been about words, and nothing more. Well, like they say, every bad thing comes to an end and here I am without any more words, willing to sit on the sidelines while the photographs do the talking.
I have settled down to the office-way of life. Work during the weekdays, often till late evening, return home, read, write and sleep. On weekends, take yourself out of the city or state. That pretty much covers up my routine. Ofcourse, there are exceptions where I have nothing to do on weekends too but atleast till now, they haven't been much of a problem. Austin is a beautiful city and the ride to office goes through some wonderfully green regions, the roads going up up and up and then gently rolling down. I started work with AMD about two months ago and since then, there has been much I wanted to write about the work atmosphere, the wonderful people and the fun and games we have almost every working day. Now, all I remember clearly is that on the first day to office, the road exiting from the campus was blocked for over an hour because a bunch of parading ducks refused to leave the road and go back into their ponds. I found that incident particularly funny, and was grateful to have been a witness to it because that was the first time I realised I would like to come to work everyday. The campus is pretty much in the middle of a green belt and therefore, surrounded by old evergreens. Whenever I come down from my cabin for a smoke, I can hear hundreds of crickets registering their presence, claiming their rightful territory. Given that this is the mating season for crickets, the noises have been going on continuously throughout the day. Guess we humans aren't the only ones obsessed with sex.
This weekend, I plan to cover Mount Rainier in Seattle, Washington. Its a volcanic mountain, the highest in that area, that rises up to 14,441 feet. Being volcanic, the summit is always warm. Incidentally, the mountain is also covered by no less than 5 glaciers. The heat at the summit keeps creating plumes of fog and mist that keeps it hidden from view almost always.
Rainier is a mammoth that creates its own weather. It is not uncommon to find it warmer in the winters at the top when the base is undergoing subzero temperatures. The downside is, it can pretty much snow anytime during the year if you are above 10000 feet. I plan to leave tomorrow late night and spend the next 5 days climbing on and around Rainier. Apparently, there are many a places near Rainier that are worth visiting. The sunset from the National park (below) is supposed to be breathtaking.
In other news, I finally got some photographs of the house taken. I don't have a camera (analog or otherwise) and thus, have to depend on the whims of those who do to visit me. Finally, a friend from Houston decided to visit providing me with the opportunity to take a few shots. Many of those here who I hope can visit me someday have already seen these pics. So this goes for the benefit of those who haven't.
The Dining Area. Apologies to the wine connoisseurs for keeping the wine rack on the left wall empty. It's hard to keep it well racked all the time when you enjoy a glass or two every night. The framed art at the back is by a local Austin artist I bought on a visit to the museum. There is a Kandinsky in the bedroom which I shall post another time (no, it's not an original).
The living-room furniture, in the night-light. It's probably too dark to see much anyway, blame it on the digital camera.
The other side of the Living Room. After having killed two indoor plants, I decided to go with the more manageble (and guilt-free) option of artificial plants. I already have the disapproval of most people I know for keeping artificial plants but hell, they don't have to pay through their noses if you water the live ones and it seeps onto the carpet. The painting on the left wall was bought in San Antonio. It was quite an experience watching it being made (in all of 10 minutes) using "only" spray paint, some old newspaper and a flat piece of metal for some edge effects. It's almost a new form of art by itself, I hear.
Living Room again. Just a customary shot in daylight. Some details are perhaps more clear in this.
A little hazy and blurred, this is one half (the empty half) of the bedroom.
./w
I have settled down to the office-way of life. Work during the weekdays, often till late evening, return home, read, write and sleep. On weekends, take yourself out of the city or state. That pretty much covers up my routine. Ofcourse, there are exceptions where I have nothing to do on weekends too but atleast till now, they haven't been much of a problem. Austin is a beautiful city and the ride to office goes through some wonderfully green regions, the roads going up up and up and then gently rolling down. I started work with AMD about two months ago and since then, there has been much I wanted to write about the work atmosphere, the wonderful people and the fun and games we have almost every working day. Now, all I remember clearly is that on the first day to office, the road exiting from the campus was blocked for over an hour because a bunch of parading ducks refused to leave the road and go back into their ponds. I found that incident particularly funny, and was grateful to have been a witness to it because that was the first time I realised I would like to come to work everyday. The campus is pretty much in the middle of a green belt and therefore, surrounded by old evergreens. Whenever I come down from my cabin for a smoke, I can hear hundreds of crickets registering their presence, claiming their rightful territory. Given that this is the mating season for crickets, the noises have been going on continuously throughout the day. Guess we humans aren't the only ones obsessed with sex.
This weekend, I plan to cover Mount Rainier in Seattle, Washington. Its a volcanic mountain, the highest in that area, that rises up to 14,441 feet. Being volcanic, the summit is always warm. Incidentally, the mountain is also covered by no less than 5 glaciers. The heat at the summit keeps creating plumes of fog and mist that keeps it hidden from view almost always.
Rainier is a mammoth that creates its own weather. It is not uncommon to find it warmer in the winters at the top when the base is undergoing subzero temperatures. The downside is, it can pretty much snow anytime during the year if you are above 10000 feet. I plan to leave tomorrow late night and spend the next 5 days climbing on and around Rainier. Apparently, there are many a places near Rainier that are worth visiting. The sunset from the National park (below) is supposed to be breathtaking.
In other news, I finally got some photographs of the house taken. I don't have a camera (analog or otherwise) and thus, have to depend on the whims of those who do to visit me. Finally, a friend from Houston decided to visit providing me with the opportunity to take a few shots. Many of those here who I hope can visit me someday have already seen these pics. So this goes for the benefit of those who haven't.
The Dining Area. Apologies to the wine connoisseurs for keeping the wine rack on the left wall empty. It's hard to keep it well racked all the time when you enjoy a glass or two every night. The framed art at the back is by a local Austin artist I bought on a visit to the museum. There is a Kandinsky in the bedroom which I shall post another time (no, it's not an original).
The living-room furniture, in the night-light. It's probably too dark to see much anyway, blame it on the digital camera.
The other side of the Living Room. After having killed two indoor plants, I decided to go with the more manageble (and guilt-free) option of artificial plants. I already have the disapproval of most people I know for keeping artificial plants but hell, they don't have to pay through their noses if you water the live ones and it seeps onto the carpet. The painting on the left wall was bought in San Antonio. It was quite an experience watching it being made (in all of 10 minutes) using "only" spray paint, some old newspaper and a flat piece of metal for some edge effects. It's almost a new form of art by itself, I hear.
Living Room again. Just a customary shot in daylight. Some details are perhaps more clear in this.
A little hazy and blurred, this is one half (the empty half) of the bedroom.
./w