Hello!

Quick post - I have not been blogging at all because I am bored. Of blogging. Well, that's not entirely true. I am bored, yes, but I am also lazy.

I have been wanting to blog about a certain things but procrastination made sure that i did not.

Just today, however, I noticed that I have had a surge in the number of visitors to my blog over the last one month or so, especially from Texas, NY, and Northern Europe (hello to you all and everybody else!).

Do you all like reading this blog? I don't know, but I am inclined to assume that you do.

So starting today, I will write more regularly (and also probably revive my other blogs), and see if my blog continues to interest you.

Thank you for your time and interest everybody!

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!

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 :-(.

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.

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..

Being John Malkovich?

I cannot believe it..I just cannot believe it! I am so proud of myself..I am so so proud of myself!

I just found out that I went to the same school as John Malkovich!!!! I was just browsing through the ISU Alumni website when I came across this page:

I don't think my blog allows people to see magnified pictures..but it's true! John Malkovich did go to Illinois State University in the 70s..woohoo!!!!!

Okay, You should be able to see the enlarged image here.

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.

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.

This Or That..

Okay, I succumbed to temptation and bought a subscription to Rhapsody just a few minutes ago. I can now listen to Radiohead for an n number of times, without any interruptions.

While making the payment I was thinking of discontinuing Netflix. Maybe I would. I don't know. I got the Starz/Encore package with my cable, so maybe I should get rid of Netflix. Or maybe Starz/Encore should go after a month or so. It's clear that I have way too many sources of entertainment now - Something has to be sacrificed.

I think Netflix would stay.

OK Computer...

Have been listening to a lot of Radiohead - at work, and I think I have found the missing link.

When I heard Kid A in 2000, I was totally shocked. I really could not believe that Kid A was a Radiohead album. It was difficult for me to grasp the weirdness in that album. I must mention that I had not heard OK Computer, and between 95 and 2000 I kept tripping on The Bends and assumed that OK Computer was more or less like The Bends, which, I would say, was alternativish, if not very.

But I really could not understand how Radiohead transformed themselves from a regular "guitar based" band in Pablo Honey and The Bends to an electronic, or as I like to say, "different and unusual sounds" band in Kid A.

Until I heard OK Computer.

So basically, It all started with OK Computer - the weirdness, and the unusualness. OK Computer has some great "guitar based" songs like Paranoid Android and Karma Police, but the rest of the songs are totally different, and unusual. I listen to OK Computer everyday, and like it a lot. Now when I listen to Kid A, I feel alright. I am not confused and disillusioned anymore.

No wonder Radiohead is one of the greatest bands in the world.

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 ;-).

R.E.M. - In Action!!!

I am a big big huge huge R.E.M. fan, in case you did not already know.

When I was a kid, my folks wouldn't get cable because I was still in school, and they thought that cable would corrupt me. My only companion was a radio that did not even have FM. Thanks to my mom and sister, I listened to a lot of Michael Jackson, Cliff Richards and the Beatles, and the occasional nice song on the radio.

Things changed for good when MTV, for some strange reason, collaborated with Doordarshan in 1994 to show "western" music videos on India's national channel. That is how I was introduced to Rock & Roll. That is how I came to know that the music world is not just about MJ, CR and the Beatles, that there is an entire array of bands making exceptional music, and that the greatest band in the world is R.E.M..

Every saturday morning I would get up at around 9:30 to watch the European Top 20, which had a lot of techno, and dance music unlike the US Top 20, which mostly had alternative songs. But on that lucky day, for some reason, they did not show the European Top 20 - instead they showed two concerts of R.E.M., one of them being the Unplugged. They showed the other concert first, and I was just amazed by Michael Stipe's (I didn't know his name back then) enormous levels of energy, his jumping around, and his interaction with the audience! I of course did not know any of the songs they played. Then I saw the Unplugged in which Michael Stipe kept smiling throughout the show. The one song I remembered from the show was "Half a World Away".

The very year R.E.M. released "Monster". I was at home one day, almost ready to go out and play soccer - was just tying my shoe laces when "What's The Frequency, Kenneth?" came on TV. The super-psychedelic video caught my attention immediately. More than the orange/blue/green lights emitting from the TV tube, it was the sound, the music, the "wailing" solo and the amazing bass line that made me sit back and watch the entire video. I instantly knew that this was and would be my most favorite song for the rest of my life (trust me, it still is). There was an instant reaction in my head and heart.

I watched that video everyday.

I bought "Monster" very soon and listened to the entire cassette every day - for hours.And that was just the start. I soon bought "Automatic For The People" and "Green". And then "Out of Time". After about five years or so I asked my sister in the US to bring me the rest of the R.E.M. CDs. She did. After listening to the entire catalog, I sat down to think - about how a band can make such amazing music that touches the heart and makes you appreciate their music all the more. The energy, the joy, the sadness, the anger in the songs made me more curious, and thanks to the Internet, I started learning about the songs/ lyrics to know what really the songs and the band were about.

Cut to March 2008.

I am not in India anymore. I am in the US now. I graduated in December 2007 and have a job now. I don't live in New Delhi, India anymore. I live in Ames, IA now.

I was super excited to know that R.E.M. was releasing "Accelerate" this year. I was reading about it online, and most of the articles said that it would be a "rocking" album, unlike the last three. I was glad to hear that, but the reason for my heightened levels of excitement was not the fact that Accelerate would be "rockier" than the previous three, but the fact that an album launch means the band would go on tour soon(and thank God they did). As soon as they announced their tour, I bought a ticket to their concert in Chicago which was scheduled on June 6th. $100, which meant that I would be very very close to the stage. I was counting down days. I can't tell you how excited I was. You had to be me to really know it.

I told everyone at work that I would take 6th June off because I am going to see R.E.M. live in action. I told them that I had waited 14 years for this day. All my colleagues were excited for me.

On 6th June I was to fly from Des Moines to Minneapolis to Chicago. It is a weird route alright, but it would take me to Chicago, so no complaints whatsoever.

6th June comes. I reach Des Moines airport. My flight to Minneapolis was to take off at 12:10 PM. I check in and get to know that it has been delayed and that now it would take off at 1:05 PM. My connecting flight from Minneapolis to Chicago was at 2:40 PM. It was a 45 minutes flight from Des Moines to Minneapolis, which meant that I would still make it to Minneapolis in time to catch my connecting flight.

I board the flight at 12:30. everything's going really well, I say to myself. The plane starts to taxi towards the runaway. I say "wow", and "finally" to myself, and that is when the plane halts. Right before the runway. The pilot announces that we would have to wait there for around 15-20 minutes. Apparently, the weather in Minneapolis was really bad, and the pilot was to get another report from the air traffic conroller about when he can take off. I am still okay.

After 20 minutes, the pilot announces that we would have to wait there for another 50 minutes. He also said that we should call NWA and reschedule our connections. I said "f*ck" to myself and did just that. Now I was on the 4:30 flight from Minneapolis. After an hour or so, the pilot announced that we would have to wait for another hour or so at the very spot because the weather was really bad in Minneapolis and that no planes were allowed to enter the Minneapolis airport. I called NWA again, told them to put me on a different flight - perhaps on a direct Des Moines - Chicago flight. I lied to the rep and told her that it was a "life and death situation" and that I had to be in Chicago downtown by 6:30PM. She apologized and said that she realy could not do anything because "everybody is in the same boat". I said very well. She put me on the 5:30 flight from Minneapolis to Chicago.

At around 4:15 PM the pilot announced that he was going back to the gate because he has not been given permission to take off. After getting deplaned, we were given "our sincere apologies, get $25 off on your next reservation" coupons. The plane was now to take off at 5:00PM.

I could not believe that all this was happening to me. I called NWA again and put myself on the 7:00 PM flight. I was really desperate to see R.EM. As I mentioned before, I had waited 14 years for this day. That's a crazy amount of time. I figured that even if I reach Chicago downtown by 9:00 PM, I would be able to see R.E.M. , if not the opening bands.

The flight finally TOOK OFF at 5:45 PM. It was a good sign. At least, I was on my way to see R.E.M., and it looked like I would make it successfully to Chicago in time. I reached Minneapolis airport at around 6:35, and I ran towards my gate, which was at the other end of the airport. When I reached the gate I looked at one of the wall mounted monitors and realized that my flight was delayed. It was now scheduled to take off at 7:30. Excellent. Instead of taking off at 7:30, I boarded the flight at 7:30, and then I kept sitting inside the aircraft for another one hour and fifteem minutes before it took off.

I reached Chicago airport at 10:15PM. United Center was another hour away from the airport. There was no way I would have made it in time. I said screw it and went straight to my friend's house. I did not go the venue at all.

I met my friend, ate my dinner, and took control of his mac immediately. I was agitated. Frustrated. Annoyed. Sad. I could not believe that what I had gone through that day had actually happened to me. Me. A nice guy, who doesn't do any harm to anyone. Who always wishies well for others.

I went to remhq and looked at R.E.M.'s schedule. They were performing at Jones Beach on the next saturday, which was the 19th.

My next set of actions:

Ticketmaster->Buy ticket to Jones Beach concert.

Nwa.com-> Buy MSP to JFK and back for $284 (for some strange reason, DSM to JFK was $800!).

Spent saturday and sunday with Vinay and Shalva, which diverted my attention from the most ridiculuous friday of my life ever.

On my way back, same shit happened. My flight from Chicago to Minneapolis was delayed by 5 hours. I again missed my connection and ended up spending the entire night at the Minneapolis airport. The next morning, I was put on a flight to Des Moines at 10:20AM which was delayed by an hour because a "VIP" was flying over Minneapolis and our guy was not allowed to take off. Thanks to the VIP, I missed my bus from Des Moines to Ames.

I had to call Andrew who was more than willing to pick me up from Des Moines. I reached home at 3:30 PM on monday the 9th of June, year 2008.

Cut to 13th June, 2008.

I rent a car and go to Minneapolis to catch my flight the next morning at 7AM. Luckily (thank you God!), my friend who lives in NJ, decides to join me for the concert. Without him, I would have missed the concert again!

The next morning, as I am about to board my flight to JFK, I realize that I had forgotten to bring my concert ticket with me! I could not believe it again. It was deja vu all over again. My "jinxness", if you will, had started. I said "f*ck".

But it wasn't going to be as bad as last week after all. My friend would be with me this time. I forwarded him the ticketmaster email that had the link to the ticket and asked him to print it out for me (I emailed him from my phone, which made me realize how important technology is to mankind). Now, the email had a link that my friend was supposed to click to get the actual ticket that he was to print. The email clearly mentioned in bold that "THIS EMAIL CANNOT BE USED FOR ENTRY".

I meet my friend in Wantagh. He was hungry, so we went to the nearest McDonald's to grab a bite. After that we sit in his car and he gives me the ticket.

My friend had printed the email, not the ticket.

I told him that he had made a mistake.

We now drive to the nearest Kinko's, which was 6 miles away. We do get lost a couple of times but finally make it to Kinko's. At 45 cents for 15 seconds of Internet, I print my ticket. Not one, but three - just to be safe.

Before going to the venue, we go and spend some time at the Jones beach - but more about that some other time, or maybe never.

We enter the venue at around 6:30 PM, and sit at seats that did not belong to us. I am all charged up and excited. I MADE IT!!!!

The National opened at exactly 7:00PM. They are a good band, but I did not really pay much attention to their music, perhaps because I was eagerly waiting for R.E.M. to come on stage. they played for 45 minutes and then made way for Modest Mouse, which I should admit, were really good.

Modest Mouse played for around 40 minutes. They were still playing, and it started to rain. What?? Yes, It starts to rain, and I have not seen R.E.M. yet. People start moving here and there to seek shelter, but I convince my friend to keep sitting , telling him that it's an adventure and all that shit and crap. He sits for a few minutes but soon gets up to protect himself. I keep sitting, and I plan to keep sitting. It is raining like crazy.

And that is when it happened.

Lightening struck. Around 20 seats behind me, and I am not joking. It was perhaps one of the cruelest sounds I have heard in my life. The moment it struck, thousands of people got up and started moving towards the exits. I had to move too.

Chaos chaos everywhere, not a glimpse of R.E.M. to be seen.

Thank God nobody slipped on the stairs, otherwise it would have been a major stampede. It was almost a stampede as it is.

It was raining like crazy now. There were thousands of people not inside the arena, but outside, hiding under covered roofs. The organizers announced on the PA system that the show had been postponed by an hour, and that R.E.M. would come on stage at 10:00PM.

But it was raining so bad that I almost thought that the show would get cancelled. In my mind I was making plans of going to Atlanta next saturday, and the same time was wondering why I was being punished for being a loyal R.E.M. fan. I could not really find any logic behind whatever was happening to me. Then I thought that perhaps I was being punished for something that I might have done in my previous life.

But "Sweetness Followed" soon after. It was announced that R.E.M. would indeed come on stage. Luckily the merchandise store had started to sell ponchos (for $5. I have dedicated a pocket for it in my back pack) which my friend and I bought. We entered the arena with courage. The courage to stand in the rain.

R.E.M. came on stage at around 10:20. My reaction:

It was all good from then on. I finally got to see R.E.M. I saw them perform "It's the end of the ..." which they played only for us - the crowd at Long Beach...Micheal Stipe was very chatty..he talked with us a lot...he said we looked like garbage bags, which was true yet funny.

My dream had come true. My dream of 14 years, and I am proud to announce to the world that I did whatever it took to make it come true. From New Delhi to Ames to Chicago to Ames to Long Beach - who would have thought.

The one thing I want to do is meet them in person. I don't think it's possible. I don't think it ever will be. If I ever have children, I will tell them how adventurous their dad is, and what he did and had to go through to see the greatest band on this planet.

I can die peacefully now.

#remjones

Eat It!

Living alone can take a toll on your eating habits/routine at times. I was kind of tired of cooking everyday, so I really did not cook anything in the last 3 - 4 days. I survived on Maggi, ready-to-eat desi stuff, biscuits, pasta, and similar junk. But today I somehow decided to eat a royal dinner, and by royal I mean more than one item to eat. Usually I make one sabzi, but today I made not one, not two but three items! I don't know what got into me but I just had a very satisfying dinner a few minutes ago.

Menu:

- Aloo Bhindi.

- Matter Paneer.

- Daal.

- Roti.

- Chawal.

Awesome bawesome!!!

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.

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/

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.