Your Samosa Makes Me..

It's amazing how people come up with something so interesting that it immediately catches your attention and before you even know it, becomes a part of your life. 

One such amazing concept, or let's jusy say a website, is www.yourlogomakesmebarf.com. It is a site where people from all over the world post amazingly ridiculuously hideously uncreative logos that represent local or perhaps national businesses. The idea of a logo I guess is to tell people what the business it is associated with does. The prettier the logo, the more impressed customers would be, maybe resulting in an increased clientele in the future. But what if the logo is crappy? Such a logo perhaps tells the customers that the business is as bland and unimaginative as the logo itself, and that going to that business may only result in murder.

I like this site not only because I get to see the best worst logos, but also because the people who post them write hilarious descriptions, which obviously adds to the super unawesomness of the logo.  I used to check this website a few times a week, but I just realized recently that I check this website atleast once a day now - just  like Facebook. I appreciate humor in my life, and yourlogomakesmebarf.com does an awesome job in supplying humor to me on a daily basis.

Another awesome site that I really like is called www.yosamosa.com, which is as interesting as the name itself. It targets desis around the world and encourages them to post news articles about India, original blogs, stories, and tweets on the various forums on that site. Extremely simple yet easy to use, YoSamosa lets you do unlimited things in YoSamosa land in various groups and forums. Still in its early stages, YoSamosa is yet another site that I see myself totally hooked on to in the coming days.

What I like about this site is that it has some really smart people on it who post smart articles, unlike other sites like Humsurfer and Indianpad, where all you see is junky articles and videos that are posted by their users just for heck of it. 

I see YoSamosa as a meeting point for students who want to discuss and exchange project materials, people belonging to certain communities who want to organize an event in their local areas, and for normal users like me (and you?) who are interested in reading interesting stuff and exchanging ideas. 

There are very few things that catch my attention, and yourlogomakesmebarf and yosamosa are two of them. I expect to see a lot of action from these sites in the future. Stick around!

Are You THE Marcus Fenix? The One That Fought At Asho Fields?

Finished it today. I know I am a wee bit late, but I am glad I got a chance to play it. I think GOW is the best game I have played till date. The story line lacked flow (not a big deal), but then we are all just grunts, right? We do as we are told, and that is all that matters. It is actually not a very lengthy game. I think I finished it within a month, playing around one hour every day. I really want to play GOW2 now, but I don't think I am willing to spend 60 bucks on a game. Or maybe I will buy a used disc for half the price. 

Finishing this game was on my mind for a few days now, and I finally did it. I think I will now relax for some time, before starting a new game. I do have an unfinished NFS Pro Street to take care of, but I just feel that racing games are not fun anymore. Would see what NFS Shift has in store for us. I did see the preview on Xbox Live, and I wasn't really impressed. The last NFS game that I liked was Most Wanted - Carbon and Pro Street are kind of sucky to some extent.

Wounds & Cables..

I did not go running today. Instead, I saved myself 50 bucks by doing something that I had been wanting to do for a long time.

I spent hours today and finally, after a couple of knife and screw driver stabs in my left hand, I successfully managed to connect my XBox to my home theater.

In case you are wondering why/how I got hurt trying to make some cable connections, you should read this article. I basically did it to save $50. So I guess a little bleeding and a couple of wounds are okay when it comes to saving a lot of money.

My sunday afternoon in pictures:

What Is The Probability Of..?

Would definitely like to read this book someday. I wish this book was available when I was a student. Not that I did not grasp the concepts when I was in school - Dr. Chaudhury made sure that I did, but perhaps I would have scored an A instead of the usual B had I read this book.

Just a thought.

Update on 10/25/2010: I had to increase the size of the image because I am trying a new feature called Stipple It (www.stippleit.com) that lets you add comments and descriptive information about the object(s) in the picture. For example, if you move your pointer over to the dot on the picture displayed above, you will see a window pop up with two icons - shopping cart and more info. You can buy the buy by just clicking on the Stipple It dot! Sadly Stipple It does not work on images less than 200 X 400 :-(.

Please Vote For Me..

Just finished watching an independent film called "Please Vote For Me" on PBS which is about holding elections for the first time in an elementary school in China (Guhan) to elect the class monitor. After watching this movie my evergrowing fascination for China went further north, but for a moment I thanked God that my childhood was not spent in China.

The story is about 3 candidates - Xu Xaiofei, a girl; Cheng Cheng, perhaps the naughtiest boy in the class; and Lou Lei, the current class monitor (also a boy). The selection process starts with a talent show (which I missed), and goes on to a debate round in which all the three candidates confront each other on a one on one basis. Cheng Cheng and Xu are first, and Cheng totally insults her. He tells her that she cries, and lacks confidence. He also tells her that she is a slow eater to which she replies back saying that it's a personal habit. Cheng cleverly tells her that she should be setting examples for other students if she becomes the class monitor. If she eats slowly, then how does she expect the other kids to eat fast?

After the debate, Cheng tells Xu that she should have been prepared. She runs away from the camera - crying.

Lou and Cheng - Cheng tells Lou that he is a dictator, and a fascist! He also goes on to say that if elected, he would be a manager, and not a dictator. He would treat everyone equal, and that he would not pull anyone's clothes. Lou defends by saying that he is strict because if he is not then the other kids won't listen to him. "Parents beat their children when they misbehave" is what he adds, to which Cheng quickly says, " You are not an adult".

I should perhaps not divulge more details about this fascinating story about 8 year olds and the adults in their lives, all pushing the little kids to extremes, telling them about their failures, about what they would do when they grow up if they give up now; the speeches, the giving of "gifts" to influence votes, and the "quick thinking" of those little kids that always keeps them in the competition.

At first I was a little upset when I saw the parents discussing the election with their kids, preparing speeches, and making the kids memorize them("Watch your tone and expressions"), and getting annoyed when the kids did not listen. If I were a 8 year old in China, I probably would have ran away from my house. But, we as Indians are not new to pressure. We have been asked to meet our parents' demands all the times, and we have always tried to fulfill them - how many times we succeeded (or failed, in my case) is a different story.

I am just amazed at the so many things that cultural differences have taught me.

Here's a preview of "Please Vote For Me":

The Root Of All Evil..

This is absolutely hilarious. Larry King is evil!!!!

NASA Simulator Prepares Astronauts For Rigors Of An Interview With Larry King

I Am Awesome..

Okay, so am I awesome or am I awesome.

Yesterday, after coming from work, I felt like eating chaat - paapdi in particular. Luckily I had all the ingredients that were required (I have been making bhel puri quite often these days :-) ). I must mention that I have never attempted to make paapdi before. Anyway, I went in to flashback and just tried to remember what all the "chaat wale bhaiyaas" do - how they start, what all they put in it, and what it looks like. So, it took me around 2 minutes to recall everything and come up with this:

I think yesterday was one of the days when I totally impressed myself. For the first time I felt like I had magic in my fingers. The paapdi was yummy to the power of n, and I was a little sad when I finished the entire thing. I wanted more, but the idea of boiling the potatoes and making the chutney again demotivated me.

Awesomeness totally blossomed yesterday.

You have perhaps figured out by now that I have totally stopped running, and that I have been eating like a pig these days.

Ajit Ninan..

Just by chance I found out that Ajit Ninan's cartoons are published in the Times of India under the cartoon section. It's just amazing to see how these cartoonists maintain their style over the years. Nothing about their cartoons change. In case of Ajit Ninan, every politician has a huge moustache, wears a kurta, dhoti, and often a Nehru topi. Cops are usually stupid, and usually have a beer belly. His jokes are very very simple - not too much intellect required. If you know a little bit about what's going on around you, you would have no problems understanding his cartoons.

I really liked his cartoons when I was a teenager. His cartoons were printed in my favorite magazine that time - Target, in a section called "Funny World". Another comic strip called "Detective Moochwala" by Ajit Ninan was printed in Target. Too bad Target was discontinued, but I am just thrilled to find Ajit Ninan cartoons again!

See his cartoons here.

Do I Need Change?

So I just realized that it is way easier to parallel park when you are drunk.

I just got back from my friend's house. She had made Diwali dinner for a bunch of people. I was in a group in which just about everybody was atleast a Ph.D - very intimidating. For the first time I realized that just having a masters is not enough. And anyway, I have always believed that people who do their PhDs are just great. They deserve to be on a different planet - with their own kind of people. They could/should leave this small world for us mortal people. Well, I think I will never discuss this story again.

But a discussion about marriage with my friend and her husband over a few rum + cokes kind of left a deep impact in my brain.

My friend said that as human beings we constantly seek change. We cannot just keep doing something that we have been doing forever. I thought she was right because I think I am at that stage where I would enjoy somebody's company. I am not referring to a potential girlfriend or wife, but perhaps a social circle which would keep me busy and entertained. People usually ask me about my marriage plans and I tell them that I would probably wait for another two years. I know for a fact that all the pretty girls have been married, but I think at this age, I should look at how beautiful a woman is from the inside. Beauty, after all, is only skin deep.

No, sorry, that's bull crap. I would still want a pretty girl when I decide to get married.

Anyway, I came back home and decided to blog. I started writing my post but stopped in the middle because my head was spinning really bad, and I wanted to sleep. It was three in the morning afterall.

I got up this morning, totally hungover, and suddenly last night's discussion popped into my mind from somewhere.

I laughed out loud. And I am still laughing.

It's Not The Couch, It's Not The Floor...It's Not Even The Sleeping Bag!

I am couch friendly. I am floor friendly. I am sleeping bag friendly.

These are the things I sleep on/in whenever I visit friends over weekends. But this weekend was a lot different - I got to sleep in a bed! A pretty big bed with 2 pillows and a comforter!! Seriously, it was a privilege, considering that I always carry my own pillow and comforter everywhere because my friends don't have extras.

Anyway, I am just looking forward to my trip to Dallas. Seeing the concert with Dr. sahab should be fun. I hope he has learnt the lyrics to all the songs by heart by now.

I had deer meat today. It was good.

Run, Forrest, Run!!!!

I have been pretty inconsistent with my running, and I openly blame my shin splints for that. I have been running almost everyday now. There was a time when I couldn't even run a mile. Now, on a good day, I can do 6. But I know for a fact that I cannot do 6 miles on a regular basis. I usually end up running between 3-5 miles. I try to run atleast 3 everyday. Yesterday was perhaps the only day that I ran only a little over a mile mostly because it was suddenly very cold outside, and I was running in my shorts and t-shirt. The cold wind slapped my chest constantly and I could not breathe. So I decided to stop there and then. But, like I said, I get shin splints every day. Every day my legs hurt - the right one more than the left. I have tried icy hot, and pain killers. I also bought new running shoes for God's sake.

But when I run I can feel strength building up inside of me. I think I get shin splints because I am running after a long long time. It will go away for sure. I just have to keep running, and I think I have reached that point where I somewhat feel cranky if I don't run at all. And guilty.

My legs may cry after my daily run, but it sure feels wonderful when I am actually running in the park.

I finished watching all the Wes Anderson movies just a few minutes ago..

Everybody Here Comes From Somewhere..

My R.E.M. experience has not yet ended. For some reason (thank you God) R.E.M. decided to add Dallas to their world tour. They finish touring Europe and come back to North America to perform in Dallas and New Orleans in October, before proceeding to South America. When I heard about Dallas I immediately bought the ticket. It wasn't cheap for sure - well, seats in the first few rows are never cheap, right?

The only dilemma I have now is whether to fly or drive to Dallas. It's pretty far - 800 miles. If I drive, I will be exhausted. If I fly, I might get stuck - again.

I just might drive.

TAPFS is coming to Des Moines in November. Have heard a lot about their shows, and I think the ticket is only 30 bucks. Should be fun.

O-O-O-O-Oshikuru..

You know how when you hear someone sing a song and you like it, you start singing it all day long and just don't stop? Well, I remembered a few songs that I keep singing these days non-stop. These are from TV shows..

1. Charlie Harper(Sheen) in Two and a Half Men. He changes the words of the popular christmas carol "Joy to the World.." to "Joy to the world, I am getting laid..I am getting laid tonight..."

2. Charlie Harper in Two and a Half Men again. He is supposed to write the theme song for a TV show based on an Anime character "Oshikuru". This is what he comes up with:

"O O O O Oshikuru
O O O O Oshikuru
My oh my he's a demon samurai..
Who's the guy who had to die...
O-Shi-Ku-Ru."

Here's the video:

3. Karen (Rashida Jones) in The Office - Phyllis's Wedding. They show her sing just one line of "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" By The Police.

4. Dennis and Charlie in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia - Oh my God! Crazy song from the craziest TV show I have ever seen. Take a look.

8:08 PM On 8.8.08

And those of you who missed the Olympics Opening Ceremony in Beijing - I declare you a disgrace to mankind.

I have never seen such a spectacular show before. The experience cannot be described in words.

It was just Spuh-len-did.

The most creative thing to have ever been shown to the people of this planet. Now we are really not talking about what the 15,000 participants had to go through (maybe nothing, who knows), but the end result, which was not supposed to be missed by any creature alive.

Happy Birthday To Me..;-)!!

I am 28 years young now.

I have never really given much importance to my birthday. Every year my birthday came and went, but I never got excited - it was just another day.

But this year was different, more so because my own perception changed a bit. A couple of days before my birthday I sat down and tried to think about why I don't really celebrate my birthday, and why, on the other hand, just about everyone gets super excited on their's. By definition birthdays are supposed to be special, and I decided to make my own birthday (this year) worth something, if not special.

To start with, I bought myself two shirts. Giving gifts to myself was strange - I do buy stuff for myself all the time, but there's never a "special" reason. I usually buy stuff either when I really want something or when my brain goes for a holiday.

I must mention that I now share my birthday with a two year old girl who happens to be my colleague's daughter. Now that's really an amazing feeling - two people, from different generations (!), born on the same day. This is what excited me, and perhaps added a little bit of "specialness" to my birthday. I made sure I bought gifts for her too - a Webkinz pug, and a t-shirt and shorts. Now shopping for her clothes was amusing because I have never stepped into the kids' section of a store before, and this time when I did, I was totally lost. I did not know what to buy, and the ultra super compressed size of the clothes made me laugh. But I shopped for her the way I shop for myself - just picked something up, without bothering too much about style, color and all that jazz.

I took cookies(5 dozen!) for my colleagues at work. Some of them even sent me a personal Happy Birthday email, which was really nice. My colleagues from Vet Med took me out for lunch, and Dr. Roth insisted on paying for mine- he said it was tradition. Later in the afternoon, they had cookies too, and all of them sang the Happy Birthday song which was a totally awesome feeling. When they were singing I tried to remember the last time I had heard that song being sung for me - It was so many years ago.

I was generally happy. It was a very nice feeling. But the best was yet to come.

Andrew invited me over to his house in the evening. When I reached his house, I was really really surprized to find out that Andrew and Sarah had cooked for me - and it was not something ordinary, it was something that I really really like - Falafel and Hummus! And there was turkish salad too! I swear I could have finished everything on that table for two reasons - I was really hungry and everything was uber delicious. Also , the fact that both Andrew and Sarah "invested" so much energy and love into making stuff for an ass like me, actually added to the taste. I did not know that Andrew had invited more friends over! Travis and Lisa showed up very soon, and Travis's usual funny antics made me laugh non-stop.

Then the cheesecake came - that Sarah had made, and then they all sang the Happy Birthday song for me again! The cake was (and still is) just out of this world! Absolutely delicious to the power of n. Sarah was kind enough to let me take the rest of the cake home with me.

The grand finale to this truly great show was at Old Maine, where Andrew bought us a beer sampler - 8 different kinds of beer in small glasses.

And the birthday was a success, thanks to the so many wonderful people I met this year, especially Andrew.

Also, I must mention that I received this "beautiful" greeting card from Kedar, which was a really nice surprise. I was so not expecting it, and it just made my day so special. It really feels nice to know that people care and appreciate your presence in their lives.

If only all of us could do something to make others smile.

So that is that - and once again, thanks to all you lovely people out there, I am 28 years young.

Is This What You Think?

Little Sister blog saw a lot of action in the last few days, and would (hopefully) continue to see more action in the future. Manoj and Kd volunteered to contribute to the blog - and they have already posted some very nice pictures with captions that would perhaps help you understand life better. Okay, gross exaggeration here, but that's the concept behind Little Sister blog - to capture simple, weird, exaggerated, difficult, complex, beautiful, dramatic, subtle, and whatever concepts of life and describe them in our own words. This idea can either be appreciated or ridiculed - doesn't really matter. But what matters is that we all have different thought processes. What comes to your mind after looking at a picture may be completely different than what comes to my mind. You can either appreciate my perspective towards life, or ridicule it totally. But again, the message to be conveyed here is - we don't think alike.

Ooh La La!!

Sometimes I just impress myself...

After watching Spain beat the daylight out of Germany this afternoon, I wanted to eat something. I was super hungry. My head and tummy both were spinning. I was really not in a mood to cook elaborately, yet I wanted something funky - not the usual, and something I would really enjoy.

So I decided to make Aloo Tikki. This is what it looked like.

Now I don't know about you, but I think it looks very impressive. And how did it taste? Awesome. Seriously, It was a nice surprise by me for me.

Just so you know, I did not have imli and pudina chutney, so I used Bountiful's Simply Santa Fe dressing, which I usually use to make pasta (I just love Bountiful!!).

Shalva, this one's dedicated to you ;-).

Niagara Falls

I must admit that when I reached Niagara Falls, I was disappointed. I was expecting the falls to be HUGE - like falling from the Sears Tower or something. But the falls were not higher than perhaps a 10-12 storey building. To make things worse, the American Falls are not very pretty at all. To be honest they are just like any other waterfall, all you see is water falling from a height. From a distance we could see the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side - beautiful, magnificient, falling so gracefully and creating a mystifying mist. Standing there, I suddenly wanted to go to the other side. Visa restrictions (for a brief period of time, that is)do not permit me to travel outside the country. That is why we had to come to NY.

The next day we came back to the falls again - to take the "Mist of the Maid"...

..and that made my day.

The boat actually takes you to the Horseshoe Falls, and when you reach there, you get to see how gigantic those falls are. When the boat approaches the base of the falls, you just want the boat to stop there so that you could just keep looking at the falls and admire its beauty. That is the time when the falls leave you totally spellbound.Strong winds, water and noise from the falls, and the mist all add to the magic that make you smile, scream, and enjoy the moment that you would perhaps remember your entire lifetime.

Those who plan to go the falls, please take the boat ride. It's only $12.50 per person, and honestly, your trip would be incomplete without it.

Learning To Fly

BEFORE YOU READ: This is perhaps the longest post i have ever written. Please be patient :).

I always think about blogging about my "flying" experiences - what I go through/observe/experience when I take a flight and go somewhere. But thanks to procrastrination and ennui, I never write anything about them because usually there is so much to write. Just the thought of writing a lot tires me, and eventually the idea of sharing my amazing experiences, if you will, is abandoned - shamelessly.

But this time is different. I am determined to write about my trip last week to Niagara Falls. I have already started this post, and hope to finish it. This post may look like a chapter from a fiction novel simply because it's going to be so long. So my dear readers, please read this with a soda and popcorn in your hands. I am not promising entertainment, but I have observed that munching something while reading usually makes the process a lot less painful and a lot more entertaining.

My mom's friend had come to Baltimore to visit my sister, and since she was on the east coast, she thought she could fulfill her lifelong dream of going to see the Niagara Falls. My sister volunteered to take here there. She asked me to join them too, which I did. I flew from Des Moines to Baltimore last thursday. From there, we were to drive all the way to the falls and back.

Andrew, like always, was nice and kind enough to give me a ride to the Des Moines airport.

I checked in my bag, and moved towards security to find out that within the next few minutes, I would experience the most fun security check in my life, ever. The TSA guards were joking with me and each other, and they all smiled, which of course, is very unusual. I must say that it was perhaps the most laidback security check I have ever witnessed in this country. I remember the security check at the Bloomington airport being stricter than this.

Anyway, there was still like an hour left to board, and I was hungry too, so I grabbed a southwest chicken sandwich. Now, whenever I travel, I tend to overstuff myself with food. This time was no exception either. The sandwich actually was pretty big. But something inside me made me think that just that would not be enough. So I bought fries. And soda. I sat down, eating my stuff and reading "Grab On To Me Tightly As If I Knew The Way" which I had borrowed from the library just the previous day. Within a few minutes, I knew that the fries was a big mistake. But I usually don't waste food, so I kept munching away to glory.

The aircraft that was to take us from Des Moines to Chicago was one of the smaller ones - narrow and pointed, which is good enough to be a private jet but bad enough to carry like 50-60 passengers. The flight took off on time. I was still reading my book, and by the 20th page I knew what to expect in the coming 200 or so pages - utter American teenage nonsense. I dozed off, without even bothering to get my free soda and pretzels.

I woke up just in time. The plane was to land in the next 20 minutes or so. I was glad I slept because usually I cannot. The plane landed and I made my way to the gate from where I was to catch my flight to Baltimore. When I got inside the aircraft, I opened my nonsensical book and started reading it again, just for the heck of it. Within a few minutes a desi guy came and sat next to me. I could tell that he was really nice - more so because he tried to start a conversation with me which went something like this:

Guy: Hi!

Me: Hello there!

Guy: How are you?

Me: Good, how are you?

Guy: Very good, thanks.

Then, like an ass, I continued to read my book. I knew the guy wanted to chit-chat, but I simply ignored him.

I had suddenly turned anti-social.

To be honest, I am usually nice to other people. Really nice. But this time around I don't know what happened. I totally snubbed him. I didn't like it, but I think I was tired, and I was reading that Godforsaken book. I guess I didn't want to be disturbed.

About 40 minutes before landing, the pilot announced that a tornado was following us from North Carolina, and that hopefully we would be able to beat it to avoid the excessive rain that a stupid tornado brings. That is when the guy started looking out of the window and said something about the weather. I replied back, but since I was in my anti-social mode, I said something that was perhaps not interesting enough to maintain the longevity of our conversation. The guy then started talking to the lady on his right, and I overheard him saying that he was coming from Oregon. That is when I did a 360 and turned totally friendly and nice. I told him how I always wanted to go see Oregon, and how the air tickets are always so expensive (the last time I checked, it was $600 for the memorial day weekend :(( ). The lady, who was coming from Wisconsin, told me that I should definitely go to Oregon, and that it is very very beautiful. She also told me that I should drive on highway 101 to enjoy my Oregon experience to the fullest. I said I will.

The three of us started talking non stop, and after a while I got to know that the guy was originally from Pakistan, now a Canadian citizen (based in Toronto), and currently living in Baltimore with his family.

I told them I was from India.

The flight landed on time, but we were a little late in beating the tornado. Well, the tornado did not come to the Baltimore area, but it was raining like crazy out there because of which our luggage were not taken out of the aircraft for like 45 minutes. When I finally got my bag I got out of the airport and got in my sister's car. Our aunt had also come. I said namaste to her. Our chit-chat started and we drove away.

I was to come back to Des Moines last sunday, and my flight was at 7:30 in the evening. Our aunt was also going to Kentucky that very day. Her flight was in the morning, though. We took her to the airport, and I went in with her to help her check in.

That is when I got to know about a crazy Southwest concept.

Apparently, the last 15 boarding passes are not given at the check in counter - they are given at the gate. So basically, if you are late, you have to run to the gate. If somebody else gets there before you do, then you can kiss your flight good bye - doesn't matter if you have a confirmed ticket or not.

We were in a similar situation. My aunt did not get her boaarding pass. The lady at the check in counter asked me to go with her, in case my aunt had communication problems. She gave me a pass that would let me go through security without a boarding pass. We both went through security and reached the gate. Apparently, there was no else to claim one of the last 15 passes, so we were safe. The guy gave my aunt her boarding pass that she deserved. We waited for a little while. When boarding started, I touched her feet, bid her goodbye, and came out of the airport.

Then my sister and I went shopping.

When we came back at around 5:00 PM, I decided to check the status of my flight. Usually, I don't do it. In fact, I have never checked my flight status the day I am suppposed to catch it. I just show up at the airport assuming that the flight would be on time.

But for some odd reason, I checked the status online. This time. And this is what I saw:

Flight 327: Baltimore to Chicago

Status: Cancelled

Reason: -

I have experienced many delayed flights in my life. But cancelled? What in the world is that?

I could not believe it. Who would have thought that it would ever happen to me? Bad things happen to other people, don't they?

But here I was - facing the bitter truth. I was victimized. I felt so molested. Suddenly the world seemed very unfair, and I was still in shock.

I called customer care. I spoke to Richard about my situation. Now obviously Richard was sitting in India, but I did not have the time and energy to chit-chat about that. He told me that there is a flight from Dulles airport in Virginia at 7:41, and that I should try to catch it.

Current time : 5:15.

Time it takes to reach there: 1:30 hours.

We immediately left. My sister decided to speed (she loves it) , but as luck would have it, it started to rain. And then there was a traffic jam. And then I called customer care again, and spoke to Archie. I told her that I am stuck and that I might not be able to make it. She was very nice and patient. She said no problem, and put me on the next flight from Dulles -at 6:00 AM next day, on standby that is. Since we were stuck already, I decided to chat with her informally. I asked her if she was in Delhi. She said she was. I told her that I was from Delhi too. I then asked her her real name. She said Aarti. I then asked her where she lived. She said South Ex. She then said that it is always a pleasure to talk to Indian customers. I said thank you. I also told her that she was very kind and helpful.

We reached Dulles at 7:20. I went to United's check in counter where I met another very very nice lady. I explained my situation to her, and she did whatever she could to help me out. Apparently, it was too late to board the aircraft, but she gave me a pass that would let me pass through security. I thanked her and told her that she was the best. Another lady standing next to her said, "Yes, she is". We all laughed.

Then I ran.

The guy at security looked at the time on my boarding pass, then looked at me, smiled, and said sarcastically, "You are a little too early for your flight". I said I know. I made it through security, ran towards the gate only to find out that boarding was over and that they had shut the gate. The aircraft was still there - it had not taken off. But I could not board it.

That was the perfect time to use my favorite quote coined by yours truly - "I know how good my bad luck is".

I was to take the 6AM flight now. I told my sister to go back home, and that I would spend the night at the airport.

I was hungry. I went to a store where they had chawal chole! It was frozen, but the Japanese lady behind the counter offered to heat it up for me. I then went to another store to buy chips where the desi owner was busy flirting with a desi customer girl. He looked at me and asked his sidekick/flunky to see what I wanted.

I bought the chips and found a spot where I could charge my phone. Thank God I had my phone charger in my back pack. I sat on the floor and ate my food.

After a "heavy" meal, i decided to sleep. I lay down on the floor, with my back pack doubling up as my pillow. I tried to sleep, but the floor was so dang cold, that I was almost shivering. I decided to get the security check done so that I could sleep on one of those longer seats at the gate. I went to security only to be told that I should come back after midnight. It was 10:20.

I then went to Arrivals. Walked around and looked around. There were many flights coming in - both domestic and international. I loitered around for some time, then went to Departures to try to sleep again.

I did.

Try, that is.

Around 1:00 I got my security check done. I was actually the only one, so there was no rush. I asked one of the TSA guys about a good place to take a nap. The guy was very nice (Peurto Rican). He told me that I should go to Terminal D instead of C because D is much more warmer :). I thanked him and started walking towards D. Luckily my flight was from D too, so that kind of made me smile.

I reached my gate, found a long seat, and slept. For around 3 hours. I am pretty sure I snored.

When I got up at around 4:30, I was surprised to see so many people for a 6 o' clock flight. There was another Indian guy. He told me that he was in a similar situation - missed his flight the previous night and all that jazz. We spoke for a while and then boarded the same flight.

Awesome flight. Slept throughout.

In the flight to Des Moines, read around 80 pages of that idiotic book again.

And of course, Andrew was at the airport to receive me. We took my luggage, went to eat breakfast at Perkins (hadn't had American breakfast in a while :)) which was awesome, and then reported to work.

Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Food In My Tummy

Living in a university town is fun.

I got up at 11:20 this morning and peeped out of the window to find snow everywhere. It was indeed a shock. Now come on, who expects snow in the middle of April.

So I was simply sulking and drinking my tea (too early to drink beer) when Andrew called. He told me about the International Food Festival in the university, and was calling to know if I would join him at all. I said yes, considering the fact that I would end up drinking endless number of cups of tea if I stayed at home.

The place was crowded, and I don't think I have seen so many International people in a big room before, not even at Illinois State. We started with Nepali food - Momos (two tickets), and what a good start it was. Then I tried some Puerto Rican rice and beans which was very delicious. We went to the Indian stall to see what they were selling. It was Tandoori Chicken. From my experience at Illinois State I knew that TC would be expensive. Andrew thought that the TC he makes looks better than what they were selling.

A slight digression - It was kind of weird to see Nepalis selling Mango lassi.

Anyway, we moved on to Sri Lanka, and they had daal vada. Since I had not finished my bean rice I told the lady at the counter that I would come back. Next stop - Pakistani. Looked extremely delicious - a chicken dish with naan. Six tickets. Backed out.

Then I tried a Sudanese potato dish which was very similar to the potato sabzi we make with gravy. But it had its own unique taste. The guy filled the entire bowl with that dish, and boy, was it heavy! I took a lot of time to finish it. I went to the Sri Lankan stall to get those vadas. One ticket, so I bought two. Very nice, they were. I also stopped at the Latin American stall where they were selling something that really caught my attention. I asked the lady what it was and she said it was made of corn flakes, condensed milk, and caramel. "Just like a cookie" she said. I decided to try it. It was actually for two tickets but the kind lady gave me a deal. She charged me just one ticket. I decided to buy two.

It was delicious. Not very sweet, just perfect. I really really liked it.

Soon I was out of tickets, so I bought four more. In the second round I bought Indonesian noodles with chicken and also their dessert, which was kind of different, and good. The grand finale was a stop at the Latin American stall to buy the corn flakes cookie again. Delicious!