Finally connecting from home. Phew! After a month long wait for the phone connection. And then another 2-3 days figuring out ‘modem’ problems! Today, I make a ‘save me, I’m desperate’ call to ‘customer support’ where a helpful guy says I have to clear the ‘wait for dial tone before calling’ option from two places in the modem properties. And to think I wasted the last few days wondering why I wasn’t getting a dial tone! And they don’t write these things in user manuals. Aargggh!

Though the rather slow pace of the TATA Indicom VSNL dial-up pack I’m currently using compared to the zippy i-way connection is something that I will definitely take time to get used to…

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I’ve noticed a marked change in the way we prefer to spend the 31st of December, over the years. Earlier, we had to have a plan, we had to be somewhere crowded, filled with people and lots of noise. These days, we prefer to sit around sipping wine and listening to good music, discussing how ‘wild’ we once were and how ‘different’ those days were. Definite signs of aging! I hope all you folks had a fantastic new year – wherever you spent it – with friends, in front of the TV, dancing, drinking, at work or even alone…

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The fourth and final test begins in Sydney today. Let’s hope the new year brings some cheer for India…