Happy Birthday gstercken

[Siddhartha]

Hi Folks,

The party on Friday, the 5th May 2006 evening was too good for many reasons.

As you all know - this was Guido's 40th Birthday. Being a part of the celebrations felt wonderful, and that he invited us was a very touching gesture indeed. We got to spend quality time with the "Birthday Boy", his family and his pleasant, open-minded friend-circle.

The icing on the cake was the wonderfully laid table. Yes, the food was delicious. Guido's wife - Nathalie who is an excellent cook (and if people are to be believed - Guido as well) did full justice to this wonderful occasion. The cuisine was dominantly Italian and mouth-watering to say the least. Quality sparkling wine apart from Red / White wine added charm to the evening. Apart from relishing the Capreses, among other delicacies, I also did thoroughly enjoy Red Wine with fine French cheese - something that I am crazy about!

Another great thing about this evening was the guests / people whom Guido invited. Meeting Marius - someone whom we know online as "cilu" was great. Marius is a very cheerful person, and we spent time discussing many things - related to Software, Codeguru and otherwise. Of course, I did keep making the more than occasional mistake of addressing him as "cilu" - but, a good excuse is that my mistake is one of his making.

This was also the second time I meet Ashwin and it felt good to see him. Ashwin has been in Stuttgart for a few months now, and is enjoying his time. He however left very early (similar complaint with Marius) and we perhaps could have chatted a lot more. BTW, Ashwin is sporting an all new look that suits him. I'll leave it to the photographs and to you all to find the change.

Guido arranged for accommodations for Marius and me in a very nice Hotel. At 05:00 am, I was one of the last guests to leave (no, he didn't boot me out) the party and got some sleep at the hotel before it was time for our next meet over Breakfast. Marius who'd been sleeping a lot longer actually finished his breakfast around when I started mine. However, I did convince him to join me on a conversation - which was a pleasant one over many topics concerning Romania and software, culture, etc. Guido did a “Just In Time” entrance (I am very sure he is great at JIT) and the hotel kept the breakfast warm a little longer for him. His family joined us too, and we had another warm discussion.

Post breakfast, we dropped Marius to Stuttgart station, and into the right train ( ). Hope to see him in Germany again, soon. After this, Guido and family did show some of Stuttgart off to me, and at about 03:45 pm yesterday, I started my way back home. Pepped up in spirit and energy, I did my 120 kms. in 45 minutes.

This was a fantastic meeting. When I started with Codeguru, I never ever thought I would get to meet such nice people and interesting personalities. There are some things money can't buy...

Yes, I have many photographs taken with my camera; Cilu has posted one, others will soon follow.

Last but not the least - thank you Guido for the hospitality shown by your family and you, and for making this event happen.

Cheers,
Sid!

PS: Here's a good-looking, proud dad showing a gift from his children off...