Month: May 2018

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Joshua in trouble.

aveekoiqbalneep

Well few days ago I,wrote about my family’s dinner with Joshua. Joshua is my dear friend who lives in the states.Now from India, he was travelling to the beautiful and mesmerizing city of Paris.While travelling to Paris, he was informed by the company, for whom he does freelance work, that he had to overstay in Paris for two days as there were some businessmen, whom he had to meet and he was also informed that he was being given two VIP passes for an opera show in Paris.The passes had already been sent to Joshua’s hotel.

Now his cousin brother who lives in Versailles is a tour guide by profession.So Joshua contacted him and asked him about the opera show.His cousin informed him that it was good.  So after his trip was over, on the last day of his stay in Paris, Joshua decided to visit the opera and he took his cousin also with him as he had two passes with him and while going there, his cousin gave him a short version tour of Paris.At ten in the night they reached the opera and were provided with the best seats in the hall, for they had VIP passes with them and  the show was quite good, which lasted for an hour and then Joshua was suppose to leave, as he had to catch his flight at five the next morning. After the show, one of the organizers came and told them to wait for few minutes.Then they were informed by the opera management that those VIP tickets were not paid for.They were definitely complimentary,but at 10% discount only, meaning that they would have to shell out 1500$ for the show each.Hearing all of this, Joshua started sensing trouble.He called up the company, he does his freelance work for and told them all of that.They said that they know nothing about this and they would call Joshua back as soon as possible.Now Joshua and his cousin both of them waited for about an hour,but still there was no reply from the company nor were any of the executives picking up his phone.In the meantime the organizers asked them about the payment and Joshua replied that he didn’t know anything about it. On the back of the ticket, they showed him the fine print,in which it was written- “this complimentary pass can only be availed @ 10% discount. Payment can be made before or after the show via the appropriate channels”. Now  each pass after discount was of 1500$. There was no way in which Joshua could pay them that much amount of money.He didn’t even have his credit card with him.He had left it at his hotel.Even with that card he would not be able to pay them more than 2000$.Now what to do? As time kept passing by Joshua and his brother were threatened with legislation and now he knew that he was in very serious trouble.He didn’t want to be stuck at Paris forever.

So he called up his company one last time, but there was no reply.He was now about to be arrested.Suddenly he struck upon an idea.He handed them over his international driving license as security and asked the organizers for time till the morning.The organizers agreed, but they also let him know that if he doesn’t return by 9’O clock, then they would file a complaint against him and his brother with the authorities.

What happens many times is that, an airplane company overbooks an aeroplane for a particular route, as many times passengers don’t show up for the flight and the airplane company doesn’t want to lose any dough, so they capitalise on it and this is a common practice.When a passenger with a confirmed ticket is unable to get a boarding pass, due to the flight being fully booked and he or she has to travel urgently, then a passenger with a confirmed boarding pass is requested to cancel his or her in lieu for 1000$ hard cash, plus free hotel stay and the same ticket and boarding pass for the next day or the next flight.

So Joshua had seen this happen before and his plane was to leave for the states at about five in that morning.Therefore he and his brother went straight to the Paris international airport and asked the person in the ticket counter, that whether anybody wanted to exchange his boarding pass.Soon the airplane company representative came and asked him what all this is about? Joshua told him all that had occurred and believe it or not there was a passenger, who needed to travel urgently and he had valid ticket for that same flight, but couldn’t get the boarding pass as the flight was completely full. So Joshua readily gave up his boarding pass and got 1300$ for giving up his boarding pass for another passenger and as the representative was about to book another ticket for him,Joshua told him that it was better if he cancelled the ticket and refunded the whole amount .So the representative did just that and paid him $1100 after deducting $120 as cancellation charge. As all the procedure was being done, Joshua received a call from the organizers apologizing for the undue harassment towards him and the whole matter about the money payment of the tickets, had been solved by his company. So lucky Joshua had made 1300$ out of the whole fiasco and was having the last laugh. Then he got a call from his company, all apologizing for the disaster and Joshua very coldly told them,that they need to book a first class ticket for him to make up for this fiasco and would you believe it;they actually did that,Joshua from Paris to the US in first class.Of course he refunded them the $1100 he got back for ticket cancellation and the show organizers had also sent him a sorry card with his international driving license.

Till the next time.

 

 

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Brooom,brooom and zoom in a Ferrari.

aveekoiqbalneep

My dad was visiting the city of Como when he was in Italy.From there he went for a work visit tour in a factory near Como. The factory owner was conducting the factory tour and was putting forward his own views and explanations on the products made by his company.It was a small factory tour.At the end of it, the factory owner was feeling very jubilant for having presented an excellent view of his company.In his excitement he says to my dad-“I have a surprise for you”. Dad was very surprised to hear him.The owner had a garage at back of the factory and he took my dad there and pressed the remote for the garage door to open.Now,now what does dad see?

As the garage door opens-“Open sim sim” and he sees a shining,sleek,beautiful smoking hot Ferrari car standing right in front of him.I don’t know whether he had a fanboy moment or not,but definitely I would have had one if there was a Ferrari standing right in front of me.Can you believe it? A Ferrari?Huh?As my father was checking out the car, the owner was smiling in such a way , like he owned the whole world.He told my father that the Ferrari could reach the speed of 210 mph in 30 seconds.It was like travelling in a concorde jet. They took the car out for a spin at 100 mph in front of the factory area.

Then can you believe it?He actually took dad for a drive out to dad’s hotel which was ten kilometers away, but alas during the whole journey in the Ferrari,the maximum speed he reached was 65 mph and couldn’t speed up more than that, due to the traffic regulations.

After the trip, my dad came back home and said to me-“In Italy,I rode in a getleman’s Ferrari Car and he took me for a drive in it”.I couldn’t believe my father and to this day I can’t.He showed me the pictures.It was very true.He had actually travelled in a Ferrari.

There are many people who travel the world thousand times, but there are very few who have ridden or driven a smoking hot red Ferrari Car.

I still can’t believe it.A Ferrari huh?

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Chocolate with crushed almond smoothie

aveekoiqbalneep

Its really fun in making this drink.So if you have time and brain neurons worth spending, then lets make this smoothie and by the way this recipe is my recipe.

For this smoothie, you will need the following:-

1.Four ounces of chocolate syrup(Maybe Hershey’s.They have nice chocolate syrup).

2.One small bar of chocolate.

3.Three scoops of chocolate ice cream.

4.Crushed ice or four medium sized cubes.

5.Vanilla Ice cream.

6.Four ounces of fresh cream.

7.Crushed almonds.

To make this smoothie, take a mixer and into it add four ounces of chocolate syrup then add three scoops of chocolate ice cream and four scoops of vanilla ice cream  and break the chocolate bar into the mixer and add four cubes of ice.After that add two ounces of fresh cream.Then mix it very well.When it becomes thicker and bit frothy,know that your smoothie is ready.Smoothies are generally quite thick, so make sure that it is proportionate.

Add crushed ice or two big ice cubes in a glass, pour the smoothie into in and stir it a bit with a spoon or straw.

I suppose that all is good ,then add crushed almonds with two layers of fresh cream on the top of the smoothie to garnish it and the whole drink looks simply wonderful.

Then either serve it or drink it and enjoy it.

Be happy.

 

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Treasure Hunting

aveekoiqbalneep

When I was small,I was advised swimming by my doctor.Now I don’t know about you lot, for me the first week of trying to learn swimming was extremely scary and funny.By the end of the first week of trying to learn swimming,I was able to survive in the pool without getting sucked into the chasm of ocean (when you first learn to swim, even three feet of water is nothing less than a chasm).

Now, the swimming pool ,where I used to go for swimming was divided into four divisions according to the corresponding height.The first one was 2 ft, the second was 2.5ft, the third one was 4ft and the fourth one was 6ft.

At that tender age of eight, I generally used to swim at 2 to 2.5 ft height;but my trainer was insistent on my learning to swim in the 5 to 6 ft area, so he made it his personal target to make me swim there and he was successful in doing so in three to four days.After I learned swimming in the 6ft area, I started learning underwater swimming and so on.Now, one day I was swimming alone and two big kids nearly aged fourteen or fifteen, jumped into the pool at four feet height.Then they ventured into the five feet area and one of them dropped their goggles into deepest area of the swimming pool and that is in the middle of the six feet depth.

I was swimming in the six feet area and in my mind it was a deep blue sea and I was playing and swimming in it and I was trying to hold my breath and go deep as much possible, to reach the bottom of the swimming pool.I managed as far as five feet underwater and then had to rush back up, to take in a fresh bout of air.I was continuously doing so and I got tired after a bit. I was vaguely aware of what those boys were doing and suddenly they were at my back, calling me-“hey-hey”.I turned around to see what the matter was. They told me that their only goggles had fallen into the middle of the six feet area and they were unable to procure it back.They did try their best,but they managed underwater only upto two feet and now those two fourteen-fifteen year olds were asking my help to retrieve the goggles.I poked down into the water and saw that indeed the goggles had sunk into the six feet area and I understood what they were trying to convey. You see underwater if you don’t have your swimming goggles on then,you are as blind as a bat,but if you have them on, then you can see everything crystal clear like amphibians do.

It was a very funny situation for me as two boys nearly double my age were asking me to go underwater and get their goggles for them.So I did what every kid should in this situation.I called out to my mother.She was sitting near the swimming pool and I described the situation to her and asked her whether I should bring those goggles back or not.Mom replied-“Are you sure you can do it?”.I replied -“Yes,Ma.” Ma-“Then bring it back,but be very careful and if you feel uncomfortable then come back that same instant.”

“Ok,ma” was my reply.

Then I dived with my mouth puffed up with air.

The water was crystal blue and the swimming pool walls were dazzling that day.Underwater there was no one except me and the feeling was superb.After crossing the two feet depth,I started feeling the water pressure against me.With straight strokes I went deep till five feet,but at the end of five feet,I was in desperate need of air and I plummeted straight up, but this time I was serious about reaching the bottom of the ocean,well the six feet depth was no less than a ocean for me and for many others too.So, as soon as I came back up,I dived straight into the pool and with the speed of a mach jet I reached the bottom of the pool and retrieved their goggles,the mission was accomplished successfully and I came straight back up and handed it over to those boys.They told me-“thank you friend, you are quite courageous.”I accepted their thanks and that was that.

The real story lies with me reaching the bottom of the pool.My God,it was truly no less than reaching the bottom of the ocean.If you look upwards from that depth, you will surely feel and understand what undersea means and then while retrieving and collecting the goggle I felt like a marine diver discovering and treasure hunting an ancient treasure from an ancient ship, which had sunk into the sea.I have never forgotten this day. Determination and courage can make man convert impossible into possible. That eerie feeling of being so deep underwater still makes me wonder,that how come I did that?It was quite impossible,but it became possible.

Be courageous.Be Happy.

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Joshua called me for dinner.

aveekoiqbalneep

Well my friend Joshua is an American and I am an Indian.Few days back he had called us for dinner at a five star hotel, near my home. He had arranged with the hotel for an Indian meal for me and my family.So at eight we were there and what do I see? That the Indian cuisine chief chef, had to rush back home for some personal reasons.Therefore, the hotel staff asked to go for either Italian/Mediterranean cuisine or American cuisine. Now Joshua would have had his regular burger-fries and coke, but seeing us in a dangling situation, he offered that he would have the same cuisine as we would.

Now a new fashion has started, that if you are a group of four people or more then you can order for table buffet.Means that the quantity is unlimited and you would have hot food served directly on your plate.

So, my mom and dad ordered for both Italian and American cuisine.

In American cuisine they had,

Garlic Chicken,Macaroni and cheese, king sized chicken burger,hamburger,apple pie in desert with that a complimentary bowl of vanilla ice cream.

In Italian/Mediterranean Cuisine they had,

Garlic butter chicken wings,lettuce honey salad, Greek salad with baby tomato toppings, fried fish, lavasa, white spaghetti pasta, mousse cake and chocolate ice cream filled lava cake.

Now you can well imagine that four of us, didn’t have the appetite for some much of American and Italian cuisine, but still we went on with it, having a little of this and that and by the time, we got the check for night out, our tummies were bulging like a swing ball,from this side to that side and from that side to this side.

We thanked my friend Joshua, for inviting us to a sumptuous dinner, did goodbye to each other and that night we all were able to sleep peacefully and soundly that night, despite our AC being conk, the night heat couldn’t beat the heavily loaded stomach of ours.

Hope you all have enjoyed my writing and I do hope that you all enjoy such multifarious cuisines everywhere and everyday.

Chop-chop.

BON-APPETIT