Modular furniture

V and I fixed two wardrobes in the last few days. I was always fascinated with the thought and ability make up my own furniture. I could experience this first hand. Ofcourse this is all EXTREMELY modular furniture.
One understands the real meaning of modular furniture here. Everything comes in a box - pieces of boards, nails, pins, screws, glue, instructions...then on, you are on your own. It is quite hard to go wrong if the instructions are followed well. There are precise number of screws, precise holes, slits...

We have a lot of modular furniture being sold in various furniture stores in India now. But how often have you heard of people ripping off their modular kitchen (after spending a fortune on it) and taking it with themselves to their next house? (Come to think of it, we in India invest in a modular kitchen only in our 'own' houses, only when we are sure we are going to live there for a long time) If the size doesnt match to the 'T' they plug and play/ add - subtract stuff to fit it to the new size.

Thats how 'modular' the furniture here is.

With the first wardrobe, we took about 3 hours. Hey!! it was the first time we were doing anything of the sort. The next one was done in half the time.
We are now good to offer our services :)

multicultural life

Apart from Germans around me, I also have a Norwegian german teacher; an Iranian origin, American citizen team mate; a Srilankan origin, American citizen team mate; Turkish colleague married to a German who met in Bangalore, shopped in London for an Indian wedding dress; Indian colleague married to a Russian; a Mexican origin, German citizen colleague; a half German, half American colleague...and plenty of aquaintances that come from Bulgaria, China, Ghana, Britain...

I am so impressed with the multi-cultural environment @ SAP. Sometimes it is so relatable, it is almost like being in India where we come from different parts of the country, speak different languages....
I like it!! :)

Me & the Heat @ The 'Session', Walldorf

Last night Fariba and I went to 'Session' in Walldorf and watched Me & the Heat...also some other singers. Was fun. We spent about 2 hrs there - the band was still going strong. But as we had to get to work early, we decided to leave @ 11. Also decided to do this more often.

Personalized Gifts

Daniel carefully carried a handmade gift for Jeremiah's new baby girl all the way from Heidelberg to Palo Alto. Eva told me how she went about making the gift, the materials she used...

From Eva and Daniel, I also learnt of other such personalized gifts made for friend's wedding etc. I saw Daniel taking time off to work on a book for another wedding...Then I heard Peter, Thomas doing something similar for their friend's wedding.

In today's world where time is precious, people get too busy to care/ think about people, a group of friends get together to put together a memorable, personalized gift for one among them for a special occassion. Serious effort is pitched in by people to get this going...Isnt it fascinating?

In my country and culture, we have long forgotten the warmth associated to personalized things. We are caught by the retail bug. A gift can be something as impersonal as a gift voucher from some big store, or something off the shelf which a million others can also buy...

In Germany, these friends have a lot of fun putting together such personalized gifts. They are run like 'projects'...with clear roles, responsibilities etc. Not only does it bring together the set of friends, it also makes the gift so special for the receipient.

Again, something I'd like to imbibe :)

Houses...(of natives)

Some of my friends have been gracious enough to invite me over to their houses, houses of their families. I feel honoured that they feel comfortable enough to have me in their most 'personal space.' This insight into their space is very interesting.

I notice that 'apartments' living is increasingly becoming homogenous in this 'global village.'

However people who 'own' their 'houses' (not apartments) go all out to give their house a character. Houses I visited have a noticable collection of art in there. Each collectible is carefully positioned in the most apt of places. Some of these are old memoribilias, some are things collected during their travels. Each very interesting and mysterious (as if they all had some interesting story to tell).
Many of these 'houses' have a garden, this too extends the character consistently. For some it is 'zen' inspired, for others its more rustic and wild.
What totally blows me over is most of these families do all of this themselves. With little professional help. It is so admirable. First, to have such exquisite taste to pick the right things for their house, place them in the right places, pick the right sort of plants, take care of them...its all a lot of effort.

There is a beautiful sense of romance to create this character to their house, maintain it, and build upon this character interestingly.
I experienced how'overwhelming' a visit to the Baumarkt (place to buy stuff for the house) can be. There are endless options for the smallest things.
So I know exactly the efforts involved in having such a nice "home." No wonder it is said that Germans are very picky about their house. It is no wonder that while renting an apartments, it is totally bare - leaving all room for the new occupants to give it the identity they want to.

I admire the kind of passion and thought they put in to make their house a home. I do hope some of this rubs off on me while I am here.

'Made in Germany' tag

One very interesting thing I notice here is not everything is coming from China or India or some other so called 'developing' country.
Being a proponent of retaining local produce for internal consumption, I do feel good about this.
From traditional porcelain, pottery to bath towels, it is not uncommon to find a 'made in germany' tag. I am happy to already own some of these locally made products. What is also interesting is the quality tends to be so high and trusted by the Germans that many of them choose to only buy German brands.
To me this is a huge achievement for a country.

Up close with Chris Martin :)

November 2005 was when I first saw Cold Play live in Mainmarkt Platz, Mannheim Germany: The X&Y tour. This was my first concert in Germany, my first trip to Germany as an employee of SAP. I had gone alone for this concert. I stood somewhat far away from the stage, just enough to be able to "see" the band from a distance. Considering how good the band was even then, the venue was rather small . It was not totally packed either. There was more crowd at the SAP Arena that day for the ice hockey match. 02.09.08, I watch them live again - the Viva La Vida tour. This is my first concert in Germany as a resident of Germany, as an employee of SAP AG :). So much has changed (for the better) between then and now. This time the concert was in SAP Arena; It was sold out; The props much more professional; the band has ofcourse gotten even better :) The best part was, I got to see Chris Martin REALLY close!!! Thanks to the stage set up, the crowd definitely got their money's (a lot of euros) worth. I felt like a groupie at times!!! My admiration for this band, especially Chris Martin only increased last night. As the band took one of their breaks, as the crowd goaded them to come back, we suddenly see the flash lights on the 'seated audience' of SAP Arena and thats where the band performed their next song from - acoustic, with just a mike. So amazing!!! Towards the end, the concert became even special when they dispersed colorful papers cut out in the shapes of butterflies... I loved every moment of it!!!