I Did It!

Very proudly, and shamefully indeed, I admit that I finished reading an entire novel today. Reading has always interested me, but the last two and a half years of grad school kept me away from "non school" books. Not that I did not attempt to read a novel in this time period - I did, and there have been two books that I almost finished. One was "Live From Middle America - Rants From A Red State Comedian" by Brad Stine. It is basically his opinions on why Liberals suck big time and that being a conservative is the way to go. My favorite quote from the cover of the book - "Chemo is for cowards"..lol! (Apparently, people in Tennessee say that) I really wanted to finish that book but unfortunately I had started it during my toughest semester - so there!

The other book that I was close to finishing was "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham. I finished more than 150 pages of it's 250 odd pages, but deep down inside I felt that the story was baseless. It's actually about an inept NFL player who is shunned by NFL for messing it up big time in a certain Super Bowl and is then picked by a football team in Milan, Italy for their own Super Bowl.

The Namesake. This is the book I finished just a few minutes ago. I think the reason I liked it is because I understood most of the things Jhumpa Lahiri mentions in the book. It is about an Indian family that comes to the US and raises children here. Well, it's actually a lot more than that, but in a nutshell, it is about the lifestyles of parents who are immigrants and first generation American children, and the conflicts that result because of this difference.

So here I am, adding another feather to my cap, reviving my long lost hobby, and planning to pay a visit to the library not for music CDs and DVDs, but for something else :).

China

The entire National Geographic Magazine's May 2008 issue is dedicated to China - it's history, culture, people, development. There are just so many beautiful pictures inside the issue, and every picture would make you go visit China all the more.

We know that the entire world talks about India and China - the economic boom, the tremendous development, GDP touching new heights and what not, and the latest issue of NGM actually shows all this happening - in pictures. The land of Dragons is slowly turning into a land of some really creative and well designed buildings that add to the scenic beauty (you have to see it to believe it) of the cities those buildings are located in. And of course, the Olympics just around the corner is making sure that their architecture stuns the entire world. Also, just like India, housing is on a rampage in China. New houses are being constructed like crazy. People drink this particular $12 drink in bars that is "on fire". Rich women don't have to go to Europe anymore to shop for their favorite dresses - everything is now available in their own country. Somewhere around 60% of first time car owners in recent years bought their cars in cash!

Huge development means the presence of MNCs, which in turn means an increasing number of expats from all over the world. This also means inter-racial marriages which seems like a fairly new concept in China. However, women are overall happy because they have "more choices" now! :)

Photographs flicked from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/

Hello Sexy! Part 2

Background.

Now here's another one. This one's about getting online degrees.

Please pay attention to the red box. The ad in that box says:

"ONLINE DEGREES. Click here for Top Online Schools". Then it has a list of some of the degrees available.

Now here's my question. If you want me to join one of your so called top online schools, why do you have to show me a picture of a hot busty sex Goddess who's seductive eyes say "come fudge me". Wouldn't you be in a better and safer position showing me a picture of a nerdy guy sitting in front of his computer solving a fancy quadratic equation or making a powerpoint? Wouldn't that make me think that the online schools are really serious about providing education to some of the lesser fortunate ones who do not have the time and perhaps the money to attend a full time school?

This one looks like an ad circulated by frat boys to recruit freshmen. This is like telling those kids to attend school not for education, but for unlimited sex. And who in the world would get such a hot girl in an online school for crying out loud?

Seriously, who are we kidding here?

Flash To The Power of n

This morning I woke up to my ridiculously hideous fire alarm like sounding phone alarm. At first I could not understand the situation simply because I am used to getting up to a nicer sounding radio clock alarm that goes off four minutes earlier. I did get up to switch it off but instantly got lost trying to determine what might have gone wrong with my radio clock alarms (ya, two of 'em). I looked at one of the alarm clock and saw the digits flashing. That is when I realized that there was a power outage last night, and that all the clocks have been reset. I looked at the other clock - same thing. I said "what the hell" to myself and continued with the daily painful, forgetful act of getting ready to go to work.

I came back in the evening, watched some TV and came in to my bedroom to switch on my computer. That is when I saw those flashing digits on my radio clock again that reminded me of the entire "getting up to the weirdest alarm sound" encounter. I was lazy enough not to set the time on both the clocks and that is the reason why I am so annoyed right now. One clock is almost in front of me, just a little to the left. Now them flashing numbers are hurting my eyes. They are not directly in my line of vision, but I can still see them do the new age phoenix repeatedly from the corner of my left eye. The non stop flashing is making me think of an SOS call of a sinking ship going horribly wrong.

The situation I am in right now is worse than the one in which you are with a girl who seeks constant attention. I want to get rid of it but I can't , because it's happening right in front of me. I can make it stop but I won't because I am too lazy. It's like I know I am getting fatter by the day but I still won't go exercise (figuratively speaking, okay?). It's like I know I am damn hungry but still won't eat at my relative's house because I am shy (figuratively speaking, okay?).

laziness has become a way of life. Sometimes I wonder if my children would be so lazy too.

Help me God.

Just Perfect!

Today I biked to work. I was wanting to do it last week too but the intermittent rainfall three out of those gorgeous seven days made me defer my plan. Today was supposed to rain too, but my morning dose of the weather channel suggested otherwise. It was beautiful this morning. Although it was forty degrees F at 8AM, I still decided to bike considering the fact that the temperature would be somewhere in the mid seventees in the afternoon.

I did not dress up like I usually do for work. Instead I wore shorts, a dirty t-shirt and a windcheater. I did pack my jeans and another (not so dirty) t-shirt though, which I planned to change into at work (yes, I wear jeans and t-shirts to office). The reason I did not dress up was because of the fear of looking like Jim Halpert from "The Office", who as you may know, rides his bike to work all dressed up, and when he reaches "The Office", is all sweaty, especially under the arms.

I set out at around 8:07. At one intersection I was waiting to cross the road when I saw this huge Pontiac SUV swerving in style right in front of me. The swirve somehow undid the cap on its fuel tank, and I saw the cap fly in the air, ultimately landing just a few steps away from me. The driver perhaps witnessed the action in his rear view mirror too, so he stopped. I picked up the cap, biked up to the driver and handed it to him. I heard the usual "Thank you sir. I really appreciate it". I said "No problem", and moved on.

I knew there was a shortcut to reach work. But I did not know where. So I decided not to take any chances and pedaled away to glory on the shared path, which is intended both for pedestrians and bikers. After stopping at two more traffic lights, I finally reached work - in around 25 minutes.

Before leaving work for home, I checked the biker's map online and decided to take the shortcut. The route was unpaved and kind of looked like a trail path. I pedaled a little more, only to realize that the path ran through a beautiful golf course! While pushing them pedals back home I felt very good. I felt like by not driving a car or riding a bus I am actually showing some concern for our environment. Also, the bright sun on top of my head and the cool breeze slapping me in my face almost made me smile.

The day was just perfect for a bike ride.

20 - 20

820 miles.
16 hours of driving..
..In 2 Days.

Yes, I went on this awesome, spectacular, painless road trip all by myself to spend time with friends. It was kind of an eye opener for me. A lesson - for underestimating the midwest's beauty.

I always thought that there was no scenic beauty in the midwest. The only thing to see here were corn fields that perhaps outnumbered the population of India. Jay Leno recently joked about how the earth quake a couple of days ago wanted to flatten Iowa but really could not because it's already flat!

But before entering Illinois, I passed throught this beautiful city called Dubuque which immediately made me think that I may have been lost. The city is situated on the banks of the Mississippi, and there is a very narrow bridge that took me across the river, and while I was on that narrow bridge I risked my life by taking my eyes off the road, looking at the scenic beauty that the river offered, and concluding that the midwest is beautiful indeed.

When I hit highway 20 from 35 North, I saw the usual scene - cornfields, cornfields everywhere not a corn to eat. It was like that for nearly 170-180 miles. I did see a few bigger cities (according to Iowa standards, that is) and took a break in Waterloo where for the first time in roughly eight months I had a McChicken meal. I was thrilled. Totally. The very first bite brought back memories of my days in grad school, when I would not have enough time to go back home before class, and I would go to the only McDonald's in Normal and eat a McChicken meal almost everyday.

Anyway, around 30 - 40 miles from Waterloo, things started to change. The corn fields suddenly vanished and I saw myself surrounded by greenery, greenery everywhere. There were a few very beautiful colleges, and I realized that I was turning my steering wheel a lot more often. I was not on a straight road anymore, and it was time to stop singing (sang to myself for around 3 hours) and pay attention.

The journey was very fascinating from Dubuque onwards. I drove through (small) mountains, before reaching this amazingly beautiful city called Galena in Illinois. The narrow brick roads that went up and down, zig and zag immediately made me feel like I was somewhere in Europe. Not that I' ve been there, but the pictures of Europe that I have seen over the years made me think that I was really somewhere there.

Zigging and Zagging my way to glory, I passed another location that overlooked a huge green area of land with perhaps thousands of black and white cows roaming around - eating grass and making merry.

Then I passed through many small towns that were unique in their own ways. One town had a glass museum, another town had a "peculiar house" on sale, and in most of these towns, there was land in abundance, and people had built there houses in the middle of huge farmlands - just like in those beautiful postcards and posters that we have been admiring since childhood.

Well, the one way journey ended when I reached Freeport and saw Kedar's face. Seeing him after so many months was really very nice. He surprised me by feeding me a chicken dish that he had made, which was damn hot and very very delicious!

From Freeport we went to Normal, where we spent the night with Shalva, Vinay and Harsh. Drank the entire night and had amazing fun after such a long time. Next day around noon we left Normal. I dropped Kedar first and came back to Ames - once again admiring the beauty of Galena, IL and Dubuque, IA, thanking mapquest for making me take highway 20.

Highway 20 was really amazing. I was earlier kind of apprehensive about taking 20 just because it is not an interstate, and that there would be a lot of traffic and the speed limit would be not so great. Well I did find all that (in some towns the speed limit was 25 for fudge's sake), but thankfully I discovered some really beautiful places that totally changed my perception about the midwest.

I just wish I had someone sitting next to me taking pictures.

All I Want Is....

I was talking to this friend of mine about how I have failed miserably - as a boyfriend. I have had quite a few encounters, however something somewhere goes terribly wrong. Consistency is absent, and commitment - it always flies out of the window. My friend also agreed that it has been like that with her too. Things go wrong when she thought everything was just fine.

So we were discussing our relationships gone sour when another friend of mine emails me about her wedding in July. Her fiance and she have made a website, which has stories of how they met, their personalities, pictures of them together and what not. And of course, Barry Louis Polisar's All I Want Is You played in the background, which reminded me of Juno. Also, the song is so beautiful that it makes you feel like eloping with your (in my case non-existent) girlfriend as soon as possible.

How ironic.

But of course, singlehood is bliss too. It has it's own advantages, and honestly, I am having a ball of a time. Over the years I have realized that the flaws are in me. I am to be blamed. And that I am not fit for a relationship that demands committment.

I will not ruin somebody else's life.

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!

Funny, Isn't It?

I have realized that I cannot watch just about any comedy movie. It has to have that element that would make me laugh my lungs out.

I guess there is a variety of comedy movies. One - that is cheap to the bone and is outrageously ridiculous. Two - subtle, intelligent humor which involves a small, creative effort that results in a big imact. Three - Romantic comedies - romance to the power of n with a few "funny" things thrown in to make you chuckle. Finally, "based on true story" comedies - the ones in which the protagonist is a loser, and everything he does goes wrong (read Adam Sandler variety) which apparently is funny for some reason(ever noticed that the losers in such movies are usually men).

I really like type one and two. These are the ones that make me laugh the hardest. I can watch such movies every day and every night. Type three is a big no no. As I said, I watch comedy movies to laugh or to atleast maintain a constant grin on my face throughout the movie. I don't want to chuckle. I can't watch a hundred minutes movie to just smile on the cute things the couple indulges in. And of course, an interesting fact - All these movies start with the girl hating the guy. In the end, however, they kiss, and sometimes even marry. Life is so beautiful. Romance 24 X 7 is what it's all about.

Type four - silly. So silly that it's not even funny. This movie usually does not have a good storyline, and is forgotten within weeks of its big bang release. No wonder such movies don't win Oscars. I have tried to watch such movies, but fail to finish them. No, I don't fall asleep. I just pull the disc out of in anger and disgust, cursing myself for bringing such a nimrodic movie. I then slam a beer to get rid of the pain.

Oh yes, I also like movies in which the F word is superoverused, like atleast twice in one dialog. If you have watched Coffee and Cigarettes (scene 4 - "Those things'll kill ya" ) then you know what I am talking about.

R.E.M. Update

Good news, good news everywhere..

This week R.E.M. made it to the #2 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Album charts :). Of course, they debuted at #1 in many countries in Europe :).

I am totally excited. For the first time in 14 years I am tracking the progress of an R.E.M. album, and believe me, the great reviews that this album is getting from everywhere/everyone is making me really proud. I am proud to be an R.E.M. fan :).

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/09/on-the-charts-rem-accelerates-to-best-open-in-a-decade/

They also have an article in this month's Spin about their "resurrection" (I own that copy..so proud, so proud!! :)). Read R.E.M.: R.E.BORN here:

My R.E.M. experience has been very very good so far. I will R.E.M.ember. Every. Moment.

Pedaling Away To Glory

I have started biking. Every evening after coming back from work I grab my bike and start pushing them pedals. Since the last 3 days I have been pedaling around four to five miles a day. Just so you know, I bought a new bike - a Schwinn Aluminum Comp. Very nice, very rugged, and very sexy.

I am trying to get into a routine. Cycling really fascinates me, and with time, I am planning to increase both distance and speed. Right now I am only utilizing the seventh gear out of the twenty one my bike offers. I tried the tenth gear yesterday and within no time my thighs were all red, crying in pain. So I decided to stick to just the seventh for a couple of days and then go up a few levels later on.

I bike for 25 - 30 minutes. I will increase it to an hour or so once I regain my lost stamina.

Here's the baby:

Living Well Is The Best Revenge!

Awesome.

I am so glad that the R.E.M. I have known is back, and they for sure have accelerated! I had preordered their new album Accelerate (which I received yesterday) - and I am happy. The album is really really good - so good that I want to listen to it again and again. Thank God for that!

I must admit that I did not really enjoy their last 3 albums. It all started with Up, and boy, was that a disappointment. After New Adventures in Hi-Fi, I was expecting something that would be one level "up", a more exciting, more rawking album (thanks Dani). But it made me cry. But I was not ready to accept that the album was zilch. I was so strongly attached to R.E.M. that I believed whatever they said about experimenting with their music and all that jazz.

When I heard Reveal, I totally lost focus. The album was a mish mash of nonsense, stupidity, and perhaps a little overconfidence on R.E.M.'s part for thinking that this record would do wonders. It does have a few good songs, but overall it's so not R.E.M.

Around the Sun was good. Not excellent, but good. It's slow overall, but atleast I could play the CD from start to finish without losing my mind. However, deep down inside I was a little sad, simply because I missed the R.E.M. that rocked. I missed the energy that Michael Stipe showed when he had longer hair. I missed the guitar riffs that Peter Buck played when he was leaner. I missed the bass lines Mike Mills played when he used to wear cowboy suits. I missed (and would still miss) the drum beats by Bill Berry without any emotions on his face.

After these albums, I was pretty sure that R.E.M. had mellowed down with age, and that I would have to get used to listening to their "piano riffs" and Stipe's voice filled with pain and sadness.

Well, thank God they accelerated!

Accelerate is old wine in a new bottle. The old R.E.M. is back - the mid 80s R.E.M. , and they rrrroocckk!!!! Since yesterday I have been listening only to Accelerate, and loving every bit of it! Songs worth mentioning are Hollow Man, Supernatural Superserious, Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Until The Day Is Done and Man Sized Wreath, and I'm Gonna DJ. Listening to this record is all the more fun when you are driving - Your head just goes up, down, up, down, up, down...

I must also mention that I bought their concert ticket! I am so looking forward to this concert in Chicago. My R.E.M. experience has started.

:)

Spend Spend Spend!!!!!

Today I decided to check out the Walmart super center that recently opened in this town. Well, the motivation to go there actually came from the salary deposit in my bank account last night. To be honest, I really did not need anything from there. But then, as the wise men say, old habits die hard, and the habit we are discussing here is not going to a superstore on saturday afternoons, but actually spending money - wherever and however possible.

For some reason I took the cart today instead of the usual basket, and a cart usually means a bigger bill at the checkout counter. I bought a few useless things, and by useless I mean stuff that I don't "really" need - a webcam, kitchen towels (have 5 of them already), screwdriver (have two sets already), wrenches (seriously?), a radio clock (Got two of those), night lamp in the shape of a tea kettle (no way dude!), guitar picks, and a few more things. But honestly, the number of items were around ten to twelve, that's how I qualified to get into the express checkout counter. The lady at the counter was nice. She asked me if I played the guitar - I said I try. The kettle shaped night lamp actually brought a smile to her face :). She thought it was cute. I said it was funny.

Then it happened. After ringing all the items she said, "One O Seven please". While paying for stuff I usually don't pay attention to the amount that the person says - I just swipe my card and give my autograph on the electronic card machine (whatever it's called). But today was not any other day. I was about to swipe my card when I suddenly thought to myself - "now wait a minute. Is it really One O Seven bucks? The lady must have made a mistake while ringing all the items". But after two seconds I did swipe my card. She gave me the receipt and said that I should have a good afternoon. I reciprocated and while walking out of the store decided to do a manual addition. I pulled out the receipt from my pocket and started adding numbers. When the first four items (out of ten or twelve) added up to fifty, I stopped. I had no doubts about the (mis) calculations anymore.

From Walmart I went to Fareway to buy some grocery - basically beer. I usually get Ice House because I think that beer can really give you an orgasm, plus it's cheap, perhaps the cheapest. If I don't feel like drinking Ice House, I get my favorite beer - Rolling Rock. Since my day was already screwed (in terms of careless expenditure, that is), I decided to go on a rampage. I paid an extra dollar and bought Leinenkugel.

Then in the evening I did not feel like cooking anything, so I decided to get something from Subway. I went there and bought not one, but two footlongs. Yes, Footlongs. Two. Not One. And then on my way back home I stopped at Gumby and got ten chicken wings from there.

F*ck!

So actually, this story can tell you a lot about me. When I decide to screw up, I do it big time. If you don't believe me, go ask the credit card companies.

Doesn't the Fed just love people like me these days?

Enlightenment For The Brown Kid

I broke my own promise. I had decided to publish not more than 12 posts in a month (and not less than 12 posts in a month) because I just thought that the number "12" next to every month in the blog archive would look cool. Well, this post's going to turn March's number to 13, but then, what the hell - It's a stupid, baseless, illogical promise anyway.

So Andrew has been "teaching" me a lot of stuff about what he (and other kids) did when he was little. I must say that whatever he tells me is very very enlightening. Now, did we (Indians) ever know that a cartoon character called Rude Dog existed? No, I don't think so. Did we ever know anything about Cabbage Patch Kids or Garbage Pail Kids for that matter? No no no.

I told him today that in Illinois I hung out with the wrong crowd. Lol!

And seriously, I find these things really interesting because the information is pretty much useless. Now that's how I always like my information. Useless. But - it should be entertaining. If somebody tells me something about any random scientific/philosophical theory..I usually yawn. So whatever Andrew tells me is fudgin' A.

A slight digression - I have decided not to use the F word on my blog anymore.

So like I said, these sessions, if you will, are very informative. He also tells me a lot about the 90s music *drool*. So basically, I am that Indian kid who thought he knew "a lot" about America but was absolutely totally ridiculously nimrodically wrong. Well, not for long, because I have a tutor now.

So Andrew, if you are reading this post - Thank you! ;)

Dang it, Bobby!

...And Another One!

300 pieces, this one.

I am on a roll, aren't I?! ;)

Another One

Nailed another one..this one pretty much broke my back though.

500 pieces.

Beep!

I just hate it when the microwave keeps giving the constant "friendly" reminder beep after the food is done. Why can't it just sit quietly and mind its own business? My microwave is actually beeping away to glory as I sit in my bedroom and type this post.

Mr. microwave - I know the food is done. The only reason I am not taking the food out is because I am doing something that is probably more important.

I am hungwee *groan*.

To Bathe Or Not To Bathe

Every saturday afternoon (not morning), when I am taking a shower, a thought comes to my mind - Why is bathing a necessity? Why cannot it be a hobby, or an activity?

This thought comes to me only on saturdays because that is the only day when I bathe with no worries - of getting late to work, etc. I just stand under the shower - and sink into oblivion. I must confess that I thoroughly enjoy the process..only on a saturday, that is. So again, why is it a necessity? Why can't I just wash my face, brush my teeth every morning and just go to work, without bothering too much about body odour and all that nonsense?

*sigh*.

Hair Cut

I have not had a hair cut in 3 months. I am trying to grow my hair, and I really want to see how much more can my hair make people scream in disgust and agony. I look shabby already, and to be honest, I really don't know how to take care of my hair. I do use shampoo and conditioner fairly regularly, but that's it. I don't know any other magic trick that would make me look like Zoolander.

I usually get a haircut every month, or perhaps one and a half months.

Today, however, I thought that it's really not such a good idea, and decided to get a hair cut. I have a job now, and I really cannot afford to look like a hippy - my officemates would start despising me. So I bathed, shaved, dressed up and got out of my apartment. It was a little cloudy and windy, but nice overall. I reached Main Street where I checked out six different salons, one by one.. - all fudging closed! Can you believe it? Not even one was open. All closed! Now the people that run those salons should realize that their are some businesses (like theirs) that thrive only or mostly on the weekends. So those involved in such businesses cannot afford to shut down on saturdays and sundays. That's utter foolishness. If they were cutting hair for free then it would have been a completely different issue. But no, they charge you 12 - 15 bucks, and they want you to go to them at their convenience - not yours.

How in the world is that supposed to make life comfortable (mine, not theirs)?

Have We Met Before?

Have you ever wondered what your childhood friends are doing? Where they are, how they are? Are they married? Do they have kids already? Are they happy?

The reason I ask this is because many of us cherish the time well spent with all the wonderful friends we had when we were little kids, but somehow lost contact with them because they either changed their school, their family moved to a different place, or something else happened.

I have always appreciated the presence of my friends in my life, and like all of us, lost touch with them when I was growing up.

However, thanks to Web 2.0 and social networking, I found most of my long lost school friends after 18 fudging years!! How many? Let me count - seven! I am still on the lookout for a few more, but its okay, I atleast found some of them :).

I spoke to two of them over the phone recently. It was an amazing feeling! Of course, their voices have changed. They sound very very matured. They throw in a hint of sophistication when they talk, yet they are very down to earth. They have their own issues in life, but they walk unafraid and face whatever that bumps into them. Surprisingly, six of them are still unmarried - one would tie the knot this year though.

Two are sitting in Dublin, Ireland (student, nurse), one is in Baltimore, US (doctor [MD]), and the rest of them are in Bangalore (manager, maintenance engineer in the Indian Air Force) and New Delhi, India (service industry).

After talking to them, I want to meet all of them now. I want to see those lovely faces, share my experiences with them, and bring joy to them.

I hope I get to meet them, and if everything goes well, I will be able to meet them. Distance is an obstacle, but I think it would be easily tackled by my determination to see them.

It's a small world afterall, isn't it?

Perfect!

Background.

Solved another 300 pieces puzzle today. The outcome was good. No missing pieces this time.

But there were times when I totally panicked because I could not find the piece I was looking for. Everything did work out well in the end but I still do not trust the manufacturers' quality checks ;).

Colours Run

For some reason I have not been able to grasp the music that's prevelent these days. I think the bands that used to make music for the sake of music and not for making big bucks do not exist anymore. Today's music is very glamorized and commercialized. I really cannot focus on the music made in this decade.

But call it serendipity or whatever, around 6-8 months ago I found this band called Colours Run on last.fm that simply swept me off my feet! Yes, I fell in love with them instantly. Colours Run is from Manchester, England, and their music is very very nice, very different, and very British. They sound a lot like Coldplay, and their songs bring happiness to my soul. I was listening to one of their songs today and decided to tell the world about it :).

They have recently released their EP called The Sticks EP. It's available on iTunes and on CD baby, and it's for 10 bucks.

My favorite Colours Run song: "Beautiful Waste of Time".

Note: I am stuck in the 90s and I am proud of it.

Self Control, eh?

I have been resisiting temptation - big time!

I have gotten into this habit of getting on to Amazon, Deals of America and other such websites and looking at all the wonderful materialistic things available on this planet. I instantly fall in love with them, and decide to buy them right away. I even click "check out", but the moment I am asked to enter my credit card information, I say to myself - "Hmmm..do I really need it?". My inner self gives me a big NO. Then I ask my inner self to justify the negative answer, and the answer that follows is "I REALLY don't need it". That is when some sense prevails and I realize how stupid I am. I just don't allow the devil inside me to control my thought process anymore. I close the browser window, and then say to myself - "Boy, I REALLY didn't need it".

Six days have passed (in this monh, that is!) and I have not bought even a single item that would make the devil inside me dance with pleasure. I am just thinking that that the angel inside me deserves better treatment. No more tears, my angel, no more tears.

Some of the things that I have avoided in the last so many days are:

- Laser Printer.
- Music System.
- Music System.
- Electric Accoustic Guitar.
- Wireless Speakers.
- Under Cabinet CD Player.
- Numerous HDTVs.
- Furniture at IKEA (!).
- Useless yet attractive stuff on Deals of America.

The Missing Piece

My worst nightmare has come true.

I could not finish a puzzle a few days ago because there was a piece missing in the puzzle set.

See the missing piece?

This is what I have dreaded all my life. For some reason whenever I bought a jigsaw puzzle I got the feeling that it would have a piece missing. For so many years, however, this never happened, and my fear was overpowered by the manufacturer's superb quality checks.

But it happened. Two days ago, and now my fear has resurfaced. I will never be able to finish a jigsaw puzzle with full confidence. There will always be an element of suspense. There will always be tension.

The only soultion that comes to my mind is to count the number of pieces in the puzzle first, and if there are any pieces missing, repack the puzzle, send it back to the manufacturer and ask for a refund. But what if I am about to solve a one thousand piece puzzle? Is counting the number of pieces before starting to solve the puzzle really feasible? I don't think so. What if while counting I get bitten by an ant on the floor? I will lose count of all the pieces and will have to start all over again. So I guess I should just keep my finger crossed and hope for the best everytime.

"A Short Digression"

While posting my previous blog entry I somehow realized that I have a tendency of sometimes digressing from the original theme of my post. I usually do this by starting a new paragraph with the word "Digression -". Let me tell you how I got into this habit. It all started when I was doing my undergrad last semester project (in VC++ ;) ). I was reading the "RFC 1939" to get a clear understanding of what POP3 does. In that document, on the very first page is a paragraph that is titled "A short digression". I did not really know the meaning of the word digression, so I quickly looked it up in the dictionary. I then realized that we could stray from our main topic/theme by simply using the word "digression".

I have been consistently using that word in my projects/research paper/blog since then.

Mixed Doubles

I just finished watching "Mixed Doubles" on youtube. The title of the movie is self explanatory. I kind of had the impression that this movie would be very erotic and sleazy. But it really isn't. The movie is based on a very bold theme. Apparently, the protagonist is influenced by his friend who is married and lives in the United States. Basically, this film is an eye opener - tries to tell you that Indians are opening up to certain things that are traditionally forbidden in our culture, the things that have long been associated with the Americas and Europes of this planet. The way the movie ends is really strange, but yes, it does convey the message.

I am All Ears

Had to get one of these. Not because they are noise cancelling headphones and all that - just because they are headphones. I have tried and tried, but for some reason the left earplug in any earplugs that I have had just would not sit in my left ear for long - It always keeps falling out.

Misery Loves Company

I spoke with a good friend after so many days. He is under a lot of pressure these days - he has his thesis proposal due and has to take his PhD qualifying exam by the end of spring. Well, he was just a little frustrated, and was wondering as to why life becomes more complicated and stressful with time. He says that it should be just the opposite. With education and experience, life should be a lot more nicer, easier, comfortable, and a lot less painful. But that is not the case. I did not disagree with him because each day brings a different kind of trauma. Sometimes I feel that every time I am involved in something, I am being tested. Everything is a challenge, and the misery that comes with those challenges just does not stop!

So, my childhood dream (well, it's not just mine) of having a huge mansion and an infinite number of cars (like all the sheikhs have) and an endless supply of money - would it ever come true? What about a random lawyer calling me up and telling me that a distant uncle or aunt just died and left me tons and tons of money - would that ever happen? Will I ever win a lottery? Will I marry the daughter of a business tycoon who would request me to take care of his business because it's becoming a little too much for him to handle or that he has seen it all and now wants to go on top of a mountain to medidate?

Well, all these questions have one common answer ---- NO.

My past experiences say that I will always have to slog like a donkey. I will always be the average Joe. I will spend my entire life dealing with family issues, and my future wife would also be from a middle class family, and we would both work our entire lives to make ends meet, to give our children good education, and blah blah blah.

I know how good my bad luck is. I rest my case, your honor.

Yay!!

I don't know if you know this already, but my Philips MCM530 music system has the ability to connect to my computer. I was able to connect it to my laptop just fine when I first bought it, but after a few months I started having problems with it. My music system would not connect to my laptop anymore.

However, things changed just a few minutes ago. I downloaded the software/drivers and decided to give it a shot once again, and voila! it worked - without any glitch whatsoever!

When the "USB" LED on the system stayed steady, I was thrilled (when there is a problem, it would either not light up at all or would blink).

The USB port on my computer seems to be working just fine.

After successfully establishing a connection, this is what I saw/see now on the little screen on my music system:

And I call this the "power house". It lets me control all the songs playing on my computer. I can play/pause/stop/rewind/forward and change tracks on my computer without having to touch the keyboard! With this in my hand, I can control my playlist even when I am in bed :):

By the way, I can also connect my MP3 player to the music system through the AUX ports at the back (just FYI!!).

And finally, this is what the entire setup looks like:

Crazy, innit?? :)

Here's a demo:

View From My Room

Shadow

That's me in the corner...that's me in the spot..light..

Take The Back Seat, Will You?

I don't know how I forgot to blog about this!

When I was in Baltimore I fell in love with this family run Indian restaurant that cooked awesome food! Their food was pretty cheap, considering the fact that they were based in a big city in the US. I must tell you that it was not a big restaurant, and it was not really set up like a typical restaurant, you know, lighting, ambience and all that jazz. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure:

You see what I mean? It's pretty small - nice, and clean though. They have a few tables for those of us who would want to sit and eat there. But mostly people get their stuff packed.

However, the one thing that made me laugh non stop ( and my sister too) is something that you would just not expect to see inside a restaurant. It was in the "waiting area", and it was supposed to make your bum comfortable while you waited to get your stuff. See "it" for yourself:

Lol! Did you see that? It's a fucking back seat of a car!! Here, take a closer look:

Now why in the world would you want to "install" a car seat in your restaurant? Of course, you can always say "cost cutting", but hell, why would an Indian restaurant cut costs when it's running so well and making big bucks? Well, one thing I know is that Indian restaurants take their customers for granted. They know that their customers crave Indian food, and that they really don't give a flying fuck about the ambience and all that shit and crap.

Hence, the exploitation.

Hello Sexy!

I was on buy.com today, looking at some MP3 players that they have on great discounts. They have the President' s day sale. Well, it seems that there was a very high volume of traffic. Now, you know how when there is an error the website would show a general error page and say that there has been a problem and that you should wait for some time and all that jazz? Buy.com did the same thing, except that they had a very hot looking model on the error page. See it for yourself:

Now, somebody please explain this to me. I am totally stumped. If buy.com were a fashion website, it would have made more sense, but why would that website have a hot/sexy /cute/beautiful/whatever woman on its error page? Why do I get this feeling that this error page itself is an error? Is this a faux pas? Or a prank played by one of the horny programmers? Or a President's day joke?

What is it?

I upgraded my blog template and I hate it.

Motivation, Will You?

Okay, just put my dirty clothes in the washing machine.

So I was walking to the library yesterday when I saw this weird thing that is obviously a part of 1st National Bank's employee motivation program or whatever. Here, let me show you the picture first. Sorry about the bad quality, I took it with my camera phone.

It says "1st Class Service. Reserved for Employee of the Month".

Now that got me thinking. Is motivation that cheap? I mean, would an employee be motivated enought to meet his objectives or targets just to get a parking spot for himself/herself? Would I really be excited if my boss tells me that I will get my own parking spot if I perform well, or outperform others? Ummmmmm...I don't think so. On the other hand, would I be excited if my boss tells me that I will get a raise, a bonus, or perhaps a paid vacation if I perform well, or outperform others? Yes. Definitely.

And the other thing that came to my mind was that a reward should give you an advantage, not a disadvantage for God's sake. The next picture does not tell you much about the spot but let me tell you that the "reserved for employee of the month" spot is the farthest from the office entrance!

Now come on you guys, let some common sense prevail. Wouldn't the employee of the month want their car to be parked as close to the door as possible so that they could get in and get out easily, without having to walk so much in the freezing cold (now that's a real privelege, innit?)? Don't punish that guy for being smart and hard working. And seriously, in this case, no one would want to be the employee of the month - especially if they have to walk 200 feet to get into the office building when it's -25 degrees outside.

What do you think? Ha ha.

Details

Alright. So the Internet is up and running.

My friend is a father now. His daughter's name is Mayra - Mom and Dad basically combined their own names to come up with this one. So from now on, little Mayra can technically and officially call me uncle. Not that I like it, but it's okay. The next time I meet her though, I will tell her not to call me uncle.

The job's good so far. I have got very cool colleagues at my work place.

Iowa State is huge. You can never tell where the campus starts and where it ends. And the campus has some beautiful buildings. The place where I work is not in the main campus area, which basically means that reaching there is not really easy. Not that it's difficult, but I have to change buses to reach the College of Vet Med, and to do that I have to wait for 10 minutes everyday at Lincoln and Beach out in this freaking cold.

Yeah, I have been watching a lot of movies. I became a member of the Ames Public Library - not to read books, but to get DVDs and CDs. Just so you know, they also have music CDs, which I think is pretty cool, and their collection is not too bad either.

And of course, no soda. I do have a craving for it, but somehow I stop myself from buying that evil drink. But I have started drinking beer big time. Well, not big time, but during weekends. It's good fun. All bad things are fun.

I was in Beardshear Hall a few days ago, and I saw the strangest looking urinals in the restroom.

Now here's the thing. Any Indian would think that this is an "Indian Commode". But the only thing that would confuse them is the height of these "commodes". Well, honestly, that is what happened with me. When these urinals came in my line of vision, I said to myself, "Hey, Indian commode!". But after paying attention to it's height I realized that it's a urinal. And peeing in these urinals is way too awkward.

I bought the Xbox 360. Thank you, thank you.

And I played the most amazing game on it - GRAW2. And was disappointed. Because..I finished the single player game in less than 10 hours! Can you believe it? Man, video games are supposed to keep you busy for days, and even months. So not fair.

And last but not the least, I live near Downtown Ames, which has almost everything you could ask for. The biggest advantage is a grocery store just a few steps away. Now I can (and I have) get rid of my weekly mandatory trip to Wal-Mart. *awesome*.

It's sunday night and I have not done my laundry yet. Got to do it ASAP.

Whew!
The Internet in my apartment has still not been activated, and I have been dying to blog about so many things in life. So I decided to use my phone to do the needful, and as I type on the tiny little keyboard on my Treo, I get the feeling that it would not be a very pleasant experience (my thumbs hurt already).
I have changed my mind. I am going to be not at all descriptive, and would keep the typing to the minimal. But you should be expecting details about the following things in the near future:

-My friend recently became a father, and I became an uncle *applause*.
-The job's good so far.
-Iowa state university is huge.
-I have been watching a lot of movies lately.
-I proudly announce that I have not had soda since the last so many days. It's not healthy they say. So I drink only water.And beer.
-I saw some strangely shaped toilets in Beardshear Hall (got pictures,will post).
-I bought the 360.
-Finished GRAW2. In a few hours. Very disapppinted.
-I live near the downtown. Loving it!

Don't Be A Bad Boy!

Have you ever realized how rude and blunt some of your near and dear ones can be? Sometimes people dont realize that the way they talk and their "tone" can really make things worse - even if what they are saying is not a big deal. There is always a polite way of saying something, and if you cannot be polite - you can say it in a funny way so that the person at the receiving end does not feel disgusted and hurt.

Computer???Noooooooo........

The problem with switching on your computer is that it makes you stick to it forever. You hardly ever turn it off. You glue yourself to it. You would not have anything to do, but still you would sit in front of it, pretending to be busy doing something. If you are watching TV, you can atleast turn it off instantly and walk away. But your computer puts a spell on you - always. Have you ever turned on your computer, checked emails, and then turned it back off instantly? I am sure you have not.

New Soul

Have you watched the Mac Air commercial? Nice song, ya? It's called New Soul, sung by Yael naim.

IA

My profile has been edited. I am not in Normal, IL aymore. I am not a student anymore.

Reached Ames, IA just two days ago. I have not been really able to admire the beauty of this town (I get this feeling that it's beautiful, that is why) simply because the entire town is covered with snow. The roads have not been cleared properly because it just doesn't stop snowing here. Nevertheless, the snow should melt and all the trees should come back to life in a few months (!).

Blidget, Anyone?

So really, I don't know what I did. I was on widgetbox.com a few minutes ago, and was just generally playing with all the widgets (digression - pay attention to the sentence "playing with all the widgets". What would happen if I turn the "w" in widgets upside down? Now I become a politically incorrect, perverted bastard who loves to have sex with little people). I was playing some really cool games there, when I saw a link that said "immediately turn your blog into a blidget". Now I do not know what in the world a fudging blidget is, so I decided to give it a shot. I did something - and it made something. I do not know how to describe it, but I guess it made my blog's widget and called it a blidget (without the log's - if you know what I mean).

Anyway, You can find the blidget here, and if for some strange reason you decide to install my "blidget" , you know where to go. But for God's sake, please don't think that I am trying to promote my blog or whatever. The blidget is a result of an experiment/accident, and I am just sharing the reults with you all.

Conviction

Decided today to check what Sam Fisher is up to and got to know that Double Agent's successor is going to be out this year in the second quarter (stale news, but I got to know about it just today). It is called Splinter Cell: Conviction, and is being made exclusively for the XBox 360 and Windows platforms.

Apparently, Anna is in trouble this time.

Those of you who have not played Double Agent, Fisher is now an escaped convict, and the government is desperately trying to catch him. In this installment Sam would not have his trademark goggles (he is on the run, so has limited resources) and his SC-20K rifle, which is sad. But he has sixth sense now, so he can smell any cop/guard following him, even if they are not visible to him. He also has a sub machine gun hidden under his hood.

The crowd in the immediate environment reacts to sam's actions. If he does something funny, somebody from the crowd may attack him, or call for help.

For details, read this article on Wikipedia.

http://passionateteachers.ning.com

Background - Previous blog post.

Ms. Kathuria has been kind enough to appreciate my post on her contributions to education. After interacting with her (read her comments on blogboard) I get this feeling that even I should do something for the kids, community, whoever or whatever. Of course, I understand that I should not expect anything in return. I don't want recognition - no awards, no nothing. I just want my efforts to bring some kind of relief/support to someone somewhere. But of course, "talent" is a pre-requisite, which I totally lack. Nevertheless, let me see what I can do.

Just so you know, Ms. Kathuria has also networked with various teachers like her and started a website here: http://passionateteachers.ning.com/. If you are a passionate teacher who is dedicated and wants to contribute to society, you may contact her here. I have also added her blog link under "Buddy Blogs" on this blog.

Video Games

Was watching "Game On: Video Games" on CNBC and got to know some very interesting facts.

- Did you know that Japan had to mint many new 100 yen coins because so many were inside Space Invader machines.

- The origin of Pac-Man: The team that created Pac-Man went to eat pizza at a nearby pizza joint (before Pac-man was created, that is). The moment the pizza was delivered, somebody took the first slice and the remaining part of the pizza inspired the team to create Pac-man.

- Did you know how Donkey Kong was given that name? According to the Japanese creator of this game, he wanted to name the game dumb monkey. Now Kong is the word for monkey in Japanese, and somebody had told the creator that in English, a dumb person is also called a donkey. He joined the two words and named the video game "Donkey Kong".

- Tetris was the first game introduced on the Game Boy.

- Sonic the hedgeHog helped Sega bounce back in the video games market. By 1992, Sega had captured 52% of the video games market.

-The Sony PlayStation (in the 90s) was outselling the top 5 PC makers combined.

Samosas!

Warning: Explicit Content ;)!

Was watching The Big Bang Theory last night and was enlightened about a tiny little hindi slang word that I was just not aware of. Here are a few dialogs from that episode that will help you understand what i am really referring to:

Dialog 1 (Raj's parents are voice chatting with him from New Delhi (lol!). They recently got a brand new broadband connection (lol again!):

Raj's mom: "Do you remember Lalita Gupta?"
Raj: "That little fat girl who used to kick me in the samosas and call me untouchable?"

Dialog 2 (this is after Raj met Lalita Gupta. His parents are voice chatting with him again to know how it went):

Raj's mom: "You are wearing the boxers that we sent you, aren't you Rajesh?"
Raj: "Yes mummy."

Raj's Mom: "Because you know what happens to the samosas when you wear the tidy whities.."
Raj: "Can you please stop talking about my testicles?"

And there it was. I suddenly realized that testicles are (now?) called Samosas in hindi slang! I was dumbfounded, stupified, and laughed my lungs out! Samosas? Boy! Who would have though of that.

Did you guys know that Testicles are reffered to as Samosas? Please tell me I am not ignorant. Please tell me this is something new.

How could that word be not part of my dictionary? How did all my friends not use that word at all during daily life conversation? I thought I knew all the bad words, but I guess I was wrong! Did my ignorance/apathy/ennui discourage me from updating my already stunted vocabulary? Was I hanging around with the wrong people? (lol!)

I am sure the new generation kids from India came up with this word. However, I must admit that I found this word absolutely hilarious!!

War, and More

Last saturday we went to the Arlington National Cemetery in the DC area. More than 300,000 US soldiers KIA have been buried here. Well to be honest, we went there as tourists, probably wanting take pictures and all, but the moment you enter the site, you get a very different feeling. It is, well, not eerie, but silent, very silent. You see graves everywhere. Every tombstone has the name of the buried soldier, the war they fought in, and their birth and death date.

It's a very long walk inside the cemetery. You can either walk or take a bus ride. My sister wanted me not to take pictures inside as a mark of respect to the dead. I agreed. I got this picture from Wikipedia so that you all could get a glimpse.

At the end of the cemetery is the Tomb of the Unknowns - for those soldiers who could not be identified. The tomb is guarded all the times by a guard. During winter times, the guard changes every hour and during summer time, every half hour. It seems like guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns is a big honor. A short ceremony is conducted every hour (or half hour) when the guard changes, and both the relief commander and the oncoming guard are required for the "guard change" to take place. Read more about it here.

On our way back we stopped at John F. Kennedy's grave, which is also in the Arlington National Cemetery. Just so you know, you can see the Pentagon right across JFK's grave.

From the cemetery we went to the Iwo Jima Memorial, which is dedicated to all the soldiers who have sacrificed their lives in wars since 1775. It is a beautiful (and extremely huge) statue based on the photo clicked by Joe Rosenthal when marines raised the American flag during the Battle of Iwo Jima.

The statue looks very elegant and life-like. It has been so beautifully sculptured that you can actually see the creases on the soldiers' pants. And of course, it is huge. You have to see it to believe how huge it is. When you look at the soldiers you immediately understand how tough the battle was, and how desperately they were waiting to raise the flag, announce victory and end four days of dreadful combat.

My life as I know It

Well, in a few pictures, I have tried to depict what my daily routine is (these days, that is). What you see in this slide show is not at all exaggerated. Believe me, This is what I do everyday, and probably this is what I will be doing for the next 10 days or so.
Life is so much fun without having to work!

Blogboard

Sometimes I wish I had access to the Internet when I was still in high school.

Read this amazing article on hindustantimes.com about a Geography teacher in Delhi who has been maintaining a Geography blog "trying to get his students excited about his subject." I saw the blog and was amazed at the kind of things he has posted there. It has puzzles, some wonderful facts, assignments, videos, quotes, sample papers and last but not the least, "Geographic information". View the blog here.

This blog shows Mr. Suryaveer Singh's dedication, devotion, and enthusiasm in making sure that every kid in his school (and other schools too) gets everything in their brain. I am sure he realized that classroom teaching is not always useful especially for subjects like Geography, which sometimes may tend to get a little too boring. Another important point to consider is that Mr. Singh (and other teachers like him) perhaps also consider it their duty to educate the children of our country. They don't just make money - They teach, they enlighten, and encourage children to respect education and learn as much as possible. Achieving such a goal can be a big challenge, and what Mr. Singh and other teachers are doing is absolutely commendable. It is very important to understand the importance of technology, and to use it in an innovative and creative way.

Another teacher who is doing something along the same lines is Ms. Rashmi Kathuria. She is a math teacher in a school in Delhi, and blogs about imortant mathematical concepts. Her blog is very impressive, especially the way she explains everything in terms of the "real world". She cuts carrots to explain ellipses and all that(sorry Ms. Kathuria, I ain't a big math fan!). One slide show that was really impressive was the way she..ummm..well I've forgotten, but it's about how the tangent is equal to the "something else". Check her site, it's a slide show posted in November, and it's got something to do with a circle and tangent. It's a like a theorem or something.

Okay, so I decided not to sound so vague and stupid. I visited her blog and stole this video from there. I still don't know exactly what this is about, but it is pretty cool. In fact, it is terrific.

Coool! Innit?
View more math videos/slide shows on her math blog right here.
I only wish our teachers had done something like this when we were in school. *Sigh*

Happy New Year!

I am glad I started 2008 on a pleasant and positive note. Well, what I mean to say is that I paid a visit to a local temple (which was long overdue) and prayed to God to keep everyone happy and peaceful. You might not believe it but I always do that. I have a tendency of praying for people I care about, and also everyone else in general (not muc hfor myself). I don't think I should be writing all this, but if you think I am bragging about myself then you can go fuck yourself.

I have always believed in God. I do not curse him during depressing/stressful times and feel that everything, whether good or bad, happens for a reason. My favorite quote, as some of you might know is "I will go down fighting!". If I want something, I will do my best to get/achieve it. If I fail to get it, then probably it was not meant for me and God has something else in store for me.

On 1st January 2008 my sister and I went to the Sri Siva Vishnu Temple in Lanham, a half hour drive from Baltimore, and since it was new year's day, it was crowded. We had to park our car around 500 feet away from the temple and walk to reach there. It was kind of cold and windy, and the weather that day somewhat reminded me of the midwest. Anyway, the temple is very beautiful, and I was surprized by the number of deities inside the temple. Actually the temple is not very big, but since there are so many deities, you end up spending a lot of time in there. We were lucky enough to observe "Venkateshwara Archana". There were a few families that were waiting near Lord Venkateshwara for some special pooja, and my sister and I noticed that the panditji gave prasada only to those families - not to everyone. I, however, shamelessly went to the panditji and asked him if we could get prasada too. He was kind of dumbfounded, probably was not expecting me to just walk up to him and ask for prasada so explicitly. He half stammered and said "yes, yes, let me get it for you" and gave me one banana (others got two! :D).

And just when we were waiting to exit the temple, I was pushed by a middle aged aunty who was perhaps in a hurry to go somewhere. It was typically something that used to happen on a frequent basis with me when I was in India. Auntyji made me feel at home. I did get pissed for a second, but then, I thought it's ok. I ignored.

I am glad I visited this temple on 1st January, now I am hoping to visit temples throughout the year.

Here's wishing all of you a very happy, healthy, and fun filled new year. I sincerely hope that all your wishes come true. To all the assholes around - stop bugging people and mind your own businesses. It's time to turn a new leaf. The rest of you can continue to be nice people.