Happy New Year to all. :-) I know I am a bit late. Never mind, "It is never too late to be what you might have been", George Eliot asserts. I agree.


So, 2014 is going to be "......". You never know. No one does. We could perceive an error-free year. That's all. However, one should always be prepared for the worst. At least, I am, up to an extent. However, I may or may not be able to handle a paramount of failures. But, I am ready to face whatever the life is planning to throw at me.

So, I am sure, you are ready with a new resolution or more for this year. Resolution, commitment, promise whatever you want to call it. I don't believe in making resolutions for a new year. Because, I have never been able to continue following the resolution guidelines throughout the year. But, this year, I am feeling a little different, little pumped up to take things to the next level. At least, I started with formatting my phone (being due for about 3 months) and of course writing this blog post. :-P

Jokes apart, I have few plans in store. Let's see how the "planning" goes. What about you?

I haven't been able to post anything for a while (almost 6 months). In fact, I just didn't want to post and thought about just discarding the blog. The drive behind starting this blog seemed to have dimmed due to distinct reasons. The strongest reasons have been the lack of money, audience and motivation. I guess, I didn't want to make any efforts to get things going.

Never mind, I guess I am back on the initial roadmap, I had in mind.



I feel, I just kick-started the writer self of mine. Here are two key factors that I find may work for other demotivated writers as well:

Why should you write?

It's just not easy to keep on writing without a motivational drive. For some, it's the money they earn through writing, for some it's an action to expand their social network, for some it's about making an impression on others. So, you need to find yours. For me, it's about satisfying my writer self, nothing else, at least at this point and time. What about you?

Why shouldn't you write?

See, if you love to write, you just keep on writing. Irrespective of any stop factors. Ask yourself, if you love writing, why don't you write? Is it the time, work pressure, responsibilities? NO? It's you who are looking for reasons to not write. You do what you love to do, come what may. If you like to write, love to put your thoughts on paper, you should write. What you write and how you write doesn't matter when it comes to writing. For sure, if you make the content looks presentable, it should be you who feel satisfied by doing so. So, if you like to write, just write. Let your thoughts flow, follow your instinct and get it all down in that damn blog post. Just do it.

These were the two questions that I managed to found answers for. And here I am, ready to roll.

Did this post ring a bell in your head? No? Awesome, you are there, my friend. I don't believe in overnight transformations either. Take your time. Explore yourself. :-) 

Chennai, the southern metropolitan of India is an interesting city. I shifted to Chennai back in January this year due to a job offer. Since then, It's been a roller-coaster ride. Well, I keep my "being in Chennai" experience for some other day.

Here, in this post, I am going to give some tips on a bus travel to Pondicherry from Chennai. This post is useful for people who are new to Chennai and want to go to Pondicherry for a quick weekend trip.


First, some quick snippets:

• Chennai to Pondicherry distance is around 160 kms. (ECR route)

• There are no train or flight routes.

• Bus and private taxies are the popularized transportation mediums.

• Buses are preferred over taxies by Chennaites. 

How to reach Pondicherry from Chennai by bus?

You could either book a bus from a private travelling company or could utilize the TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transportation Corporation) bus service. Majority of commuters prefer TNSTC bus services.

There are two ways to get a bus:


Through online booking



If you are planning your trip in advance and want a stress-free bus travel, book your tickets online. Redbus and Make my trip are the maximum used portals for bus bookings. There are others as well. But, these two websites, as far as I know, are the best.

Cost: Anywhere in between 250-500rs (Per person): AC and NON AC

Redbus

Make My Trip


If you are low on budget or do not want to spend much on traveling, book your tickets online through TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transportation Corporation) website. This is a great initiative by Tamil Nade Transport corporation.



Cost: 190rs (Per person) :AC, 140rs (Per person) : Non AC

TNSTC (Please note that you have to register with the website first in order to book tickets online. Registration is free and server remains up most of the times.)

Through bus stand:



You have to reach CMBT (Chennai Mofussil Bus Terminus). You can get a bus from Guindy bus stand or could take an auto if you are in some other part of the city to CMBT. At CMBT, you can look for bus route 555 (AC) and get a bus directly from the bus stand. These buses start running from morning 6am till 10p.m after every one hour. So, if your trip is planned in a spur of moment, consider this option.

Safety Tips:

1. Do take printout of your e-ticket or hold back the confirmation SMS of your booking in your phone. This is extremely important if you did an online ticket booking.

2. Do not try to deport alcohol bottles on your way back to Chennai (Why would you want to do it: Duty free alcohol, so you get it very cheap in pondicherry). Your bus will be thoroughly checked by policemen in Pondicherry and if you are caught with even a single bottle, you may have to face circumstances (forfeiting of the bottles/ Penalties/ awful questions if you are with your girlfriend or boyfriend/ insane bribe amounts). And if you do not know Tamil, you are gone. So, keep it safe and best of luck if you still want to do it. 


I hope these tips would help you in outlining a hassle free travel from Chennai to Pondicherry.

I am new to writing, period. No matter how good or bad I have written in my writing career of 6 months so far, I find myself at the edge of a cliff whenever I am given a writing assignment at work. It doesn't mean I don't like my work, in fact, I love it. I have chosen to be a full time writer, it's my choice and I proud to be a writer. Though, novice. What makes me nervous is the embarrassment of not delivering what I am suppose to.


I want to be perfect, everyone do. But, I have understood that perfection is infinite. Most of the writers, technical or otherwise, even with 15 years of writing experience, don't count themselves in the perfectionist league. I don't authorize it, our very own "Internet" do. Here is one random link that I have found on Google. Have a look: here.


So, I am starting fresh. I know, I am starting a little late. Ideally, by following the career path what I was suppose to, I could have been a Microsoft Windows Server Engineer. As a matter of fact, I was following the same pasture what my peers did and they landed up in top MNC's with amazing emoluments.

But, a sudden unavoidable break in my career has distorted that plan a bit. I literally wasted almost 18 months of my life trying to attain vocations that I never was interested in. Most of you would agree on this, I am sure "If you like what you do at your workplace, you will succeed like crazy".

So, I find myself lucky that I was able to figure out what I like to do. I like to write, whether, it's an insanely long SMS to a 16 years old friend or posting a comment in Facebook on a debatable topic or penetrating in Tech forums for no specific reason at all, I like it. Come what may, I am not going to give up Writing, that's for sure. I am 100% content on my decision and will make all requisite efforts to make it better.

"abitorall" is just not confined to technical or non-technical topics. I am going to write about anything interesting I come across. It could be anything, I am not sure just yet. It could be about an amusing train travel, it could be about a huge tiff with autowallas, it could be about the latest smartphone, it could be about sleepless nights, it could be about love, it could be about hatred, it could be about the most expensive car in the world, it could be about new reform polices, it could be about a shitty television show. "abitorall" is going to be about a bit of all affairs.
Primarily, I will write to satisfy the writer within. In the process of gratifying my inner self, I hope and I wish, I come across topics that could help one and help all in someway or the other. I hope to get corrected and shrugged at times by all of you to write better and achieve somewhat perfection.

So, start coming back to my blog for updates. All are invited, (Spammers, please exclude yourselves from ALL :-P).

Chow!!