Ok so it really has been ages since I've posted here, but that's not reason to stop. I'm going to try and post more often (have I used that one up already?).
Thursday, March 03, 2011
Friday, January 30, 2009
Back! Or am I?
It's been ages since my last blog post. A lot has happened since then. We are in Redmond now. Will try and update the blog more often.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Friday, June 02, 2006
Driven
Yup, finally; after 9 long months, I drove a car. I was itching to drive and so I decided to throw all the calculations and thoughts of saving to the wind and I rented a car. Its a white Dodge Neon. Underpowered (compared to other American cars), its engine generates a mere 132 bhp. The worst thing is that it has automatic (thanks Bijesh, I typed manual by mistake) transmission, so driving can get boring (yes I prefer to shift gears rather than just sit and push a pedal).
Drove down to New Jersey with Abishek. The plan is to drive to Levittown in Pennsylvania. His grandparents are there. We are going there for lunch, and probably dinner too. After that plans are not fixed. So watch this space!
Drove down to New Jersey with Abishek. The plan is to drive to Levittown in Pennsylvania. His grandparents are there. We are going there for lunch, and probably dinner too. After that plans are not fixed. So watch this space!
Saturday, April 15, 2006
Foggy bike ride
Bike as in bi-cycle, not motorbike :-)
Drank last night after a long time, so couple of large were enough to make me tipsy. Woke up at 6:30 am. Since I had nothing to do, I decided to go for a ride. Now, the longest I've ridden in the last few days is around 3 miles. I did not venture further cos I wasnt sure if I can manage longer distances.
Anyway, set out at around 7:45am (email, nature's call, photo-call took up the 1:15 hrs in between), and this time, instead of making a right, I made a left at New York Avenue, and headed straight towards Old Country Road. Got as far as the intersection near the office before turning right onto Route 110. This was the scariest part of the ride, with cars, trucks and semis zipping past me. I keep cringing everytime I heard the roar of a car engine, expecting to be hit any second, but I got lucky -- no one hit me on the 1 mile high-speed stretch.
The final stretch was the hardest, because I had to climb up a pretty steep climb on tires that were running nearly flat (its not that I hadn't inflated them, but thanks to my weight....). Somehow made it home and finished off with a stoppie (by the way, this is another first for me). Too bad there was no one with a camera to take a photo of the stoppie.
Total distance: 5.15 miles
Time: 29 minutes
Top speed: 21.2 mph
Avg speed: 10.5 mph
Drank last night after a long time, so couple of large were enough to make me tipsy. Woke up at 6:30 am. Since I had nothing to do, I decided to go for a ride. Now, the longest I've ridden in the last few days is around 3 miles. I did not venture further cos I wasnt sure if I can manage longer distances.
Anyway, set out at around 7:45am (email, nature's call, photo-call took up the 1:15 hrs in between), and this time, instead of making a right, I made a left at New York Avenue, and headed straight towards Old Country Road. Got as far as the intersection near the office before turning right onto Route 110. This was the scariest part of the ride, with cars, trucks and semis zipping past me. I keep cringing everytime I heard the roar of a car engine, expecting to be hit any second, but I got lucky -- no one hit me on the 1 mile high-speed stretch.
The final stretch was the hardest, because I had to climb up a pretty steep climb on tires that were running nearly flat (its not that I hadn't inflated them, but thanks to my weight....). Somehow made it home and finished off with a stoppie (by the way, this is another first for me). Too bad there was no one with a camera to take a photo of the stoppie.
Total distance: 5.15 miles
Time: 29 minutes
Top speed: 21.2 mph
Avg speed: 10.5 mph
Monday, April 10, 2006
Team dinner
Today Raj, Rodney and Edwin were in the office. Rodney and Edwin to train us on KB and learn NA from us. Raj was there to introduce us to each other. The whole day was crazy. In the evening Raj took us out to dinner at Blackstone Steakhouse. I ate lobster for the first time. It was ok. The whole dinner cost $650!! The most expensive six person dinner I've been to!!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Medicines in the US
The funniest things on TV are not sitcoms. They are ads for medicines.
X sleep medicine is the best. It gives you 8 hours of peaceful sleep. You feel better in the morning. Etc etc etc. Then come the disclaimers: X may cause headaches, nose-bleeds, nausea, you may never wake up, pregnant women may give birth to 3 headed children. Still they convince you its the best thing in the world.
Y is the best for middle-aged men with ED. It is effective for 36 hours. So that you can be ready when ever your partner is. Blah blah blah. Disclaimers: Y may cause heart attacks, if you have an erection lasting more than 4 hours call a doctor (I wonder why they advertise that it works for 36 hours if a 4 hour erection is bad), it may cause liver problems. But its the best thing for those with ED.
Its sick how these pharmaceutical companies hit the people in their weakspot by selling them potentially harmfull medicines and they absolve themselves of any blame by adding the disclaimers. If the medicines are in fact that harmful, why sell them at all?
X sleep medicine is the best. It gives you 8 hours of peaceful sleep. You feel better in the morning. Etc etc etc. Then come the disclaimers: X may cause headaches, nose-bleeds, nausea, you may never wake up, pregnant women may give birth to 3 headed children. Still they convince you its the best thing in the world.
Y is the best for middle-aged men with ED. It is effective for 36 hours. So that you can be ready when ever your partner is. Blah blah blah. Disclaimers: Y may cause heart attacks, if you have an erection lasting more than 4 hours call a doctor (I wonder why they advertise that it works for 36 hours if a 4 hour erection is bad), it may cause liver problems. But its the best thing for those with ED.
Its sick how these pharmaceutical companies hit the people in their weakspot by selling them potentially harmfull medicines and they absolve themselves of any blame by adding the disclaimers. If the medicines are in fact that harmful, why sell them at all?
Is it worth it?
Staying away from family and friends.
Not being able to satisfy my passion for biking.
Being deprived of home cooked food.
The million fights caused due to the distance.
The constant wait for the day I'll get to return home.
And the million other things that I totally hate.
Just for the "dollars"?
Is it?
Not being able to satisfy my passion for biking.
Being deprived of home cooked food.
The million fights caused due to the distance.
The constant wait for the day I'll get to return home.
And the million other things that I totally hate.
Just for the "dollars"?
Is it?
Sunday, March 26, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Manhattan
I went to Manhattan yesterday with Sri. He picked me up at noon and we drove down to the city. I was hungry cos I hadn't had either breakfast or lunch, so we planned to have lunch after parking.
After we parked, we walked around until we got into Toys R Us, at Times Square. Sri was looking for something there and he wanted to show me the huge giant wheel inside the store.
From there we went to a pizzeria to have lunch. And then we went to Central Park and walked around there for a while. It looked kinda boring cos all the leaves had fallen off the trees and they looked pretty barren. I'm sure it looks gorgeous during the fall. Too bad I may not get a chance to see it in the fall :-(.
From Central Park, we took the subway and went to South Ferry Docks, the place from where people board the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Since we were late, we decided to go there some other time. But we sat in the park and watched the statue, the ferries and the gulls for a while.
After that, we walked towards Wall Street. On the way we saw the statue of the Bull, and took a few photos. On Wall Street, saw the NYSE. From Wall Street, we walked to Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. The site reminded me of the horrific scenes of the terrorist attack on 9/11.
From there, we went to a Starbucks to have some hot chocolate, cos it was damn cold! And then, decided to take the subway, cos my feet were hurting like hell! Not before we walked into a few cloths stores. Anyway, we got to Times Square again, and walked until we found an Indian restaurant called Rangoli. The food was good and spicy. We had the buffet and I think I ate a little too much. :-(. I did not have any strength to walk back to Times Square so we decided to return home.
Here are the photos.
After we parked, we walked around until we got into Toys R Us, at Times Square. Sri was looking for something there and he wanted to show me the huge giant wheel inside the store.
From there we went to a pizzeria to have lunch. And then we went to Central Park and walked around there for a while. It looked kinda boring cos all the leaves had fallen off the trees and they looked pretty barren. I'm sure it looks gorgeous during the fall. Too bad I may not get a chance to see it in the fall :-(.
From Central Park, we took the subway and went to South Ferry Docks, the place from where people board the ferry to see the Statue of Liberty. Since we were late, we decided to go there some other time. But we sat in the park and watched the statue, the ferries and the gulls for a while.
After that, we walked towards Wall Street. On the way we saw the statue of the Bull, and took a few photos. On Wall Street, saw the NYSE. From Wall Street, we walked to Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center Twin Towers. The site reminded me of the horrific scenes of the terrorist attack on 9/11.
From there, we went to a Starbucks to have some hot chocolate, cos it was damn cold! And then, decided to take the subway, cos my feet were hurting like hell! Not before we walked into a few cloths stores. Anyway, we got to Times Square again, and walked until we found an Indian restaurant called Rangoli. The food was good and spicy. We had the buffet and I think I ate a little too much. :-(. I did not have any strength to walk back to Times Square so we decided to return home.
Here are the photos.
Cycle
I bought a new cycle to help me get to work. But man I'm out of shape! Cos the 1 mile ride from the cycle shop to home, was very very tiring. Time to work out!
It has 21 gears, front and rear disk brakes and an adjustable front suspension.
It has 21 gears, front and rear disk brakes and an adjustable front suspension.
New Camera
A couple of weeks back, I bought a new camera. Its a Nikon D50, with two lenses -- an 18 - 55mm and a 55 - 200 mm. I'm still learning to use it, so its gonna be a while before I can take spectacular photos with it. :-)
Sunday, March 05, 2006
Burrrrrrrrrrrp!!
Oh yeah! That means I just had dinner. But why am I blogging about dinner. Because this, my friends, was no ordinary dinner -- I had ghee rice with sambar and mango pickle! Yummy!!
Ok, I didn't cook it. The rice was what was left over from Friday night's chinese delivery. And Senthil brought some sambar over today when he came to pick me up to go to Hicksville. This is, by far, the best dinner I've had after I came to NY!
Oh, and to end a perfect dinner, was the perfect dessert -- gulab jaamun :-D
Ok, I didn't cook it. The rice was what was left over from Friday night's chinese delivery. And Senthil brought some sambar over today when he came to pick me up to go to Hicksville. This is, by far, the best dinner I've had after I came to NY!
Oh, and to end a perfect dinner, was the perfect dessert -- gulab jaamun :-D
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Orkutting!
After an insanely long time, finally the orkut bug has bit me. And I'm getting to meet a lot of people I had lost touch with! Orkut rocks!
Long weekend
Last weeked was a long weekend, thanks to President's day on Monday. As all weekends go, this was a lazy weekend, spent in bed. On Sunday, while I was about to sit down for lunch, Srikumar called up asking if I wanted to go to Dosa Diner for lunch. I agreed, and we had lunch there, and I returned home.
Monday morning, Ray called up asking me if I wanted to spend time with him and his grandkids at Commack. Having nothing else to do, I agreed. So we went to Commack, and met Adam (9) and Jake (5). Ray and Melanie had bought Tamagotchis for the kids, and they were really excited. It was their 4th :-)). Jake sat next to me and showed me his tamagotchi and the different things to do with it. He also showed me his parakeets and we took photos of the birds with my cellphone.
After that, we headed to the Costco in Commack and had lunch (it has one of the cheapest lunches around here) and bought some frozen food. Got back home by around 4:30. You know, NY is not so boring, after all :-)
Monday morning, Ray called up asking me if I wanted to spend time with him and his grandkids at Commack. Having nothing else to do, I agreed. So we went to Commack, and met Adam (9) and Jake (5). Ray and Melanie had bought Tamagotchis for the kids, and they were really excited. It was their 4th :-)). Jake sat next to me and showed me his tamagotchi and the different things to do with it. He also showed me his parakeets and we took photos of the birds with my cellphone.
After that, we headed to the Costco in Commack and had lunch (it has one of the cheapest lunches around here) and bought some frozen food. Got back home by around 4:30. You know, NY is not so boring, after all :-)
Price-shopping
Remember this post? Well, a few days after I bought the im7, I found it being sold for $190 at Costco, a whole $40 lesser than at Best Buy. Ray suggested that I return it at Best Buy and buy it from Costco. But given bad experiences returning stuff in India, I thought it was better to absorb the $40 loss rather than go through the painful experience of returning the im7. Ray's daughter had a better idea -- she suggested that I buy it from Costco, and take the un-opened box to Best Buy and return it, for a no-hassle return. Although it sounded good, I saw the risk of ending with 2 im7s if Best Buy did but accept the return. But, as it turned out, the return was no hassle, no questions asked :-). This is one of the things I like about the US. The previous day, I had returned a BT headset that wasn't working with my mobile.
BTW, turns out that Costco is the place to go for buying stuff at a low price, from electronics to food!
BTW, turns out that Costco is the place to go for buying stuff at a low price, from electronics to food!
My first amerian paycheck
Well, its been a while since I posted, so I'm retro-blogging
Got my first paycheck in the US on the 16th. Firstly, it was supposed to come on the 15th, second, the HR had goofed up on my joining date. I joined here on the 1st, but HR thought 6th and needless to say, I did not get paid for the first 5 days :-(. Anyway, HR assured me that the amount will be added to my next paycheck. I sure hope so! BTW, after taxes, the salary is a pittance. I dont think I can afford to buy a bike or a car :-(
Got my first paycheck in the US on the 16th. Firstly, it was supposed to come on the 15th, second, the HR had goofed up on my joining date. I joined here on the 1st, but HR thought 6th and needless to say, I did not get paid for the first 5 days :-(. Anyway, HR assured me that the amount will be added to my next paycheck. I sure hope so! BTW, after taxes, the salary is a pittance. I dont think I can afford to buy a bike or a car :-(
Monday, February 13, 2006
Shovelling snow
I finally had a taste of this American "tradition". Ever since I read the strips where Calvin complains about shovelling snow, I've always wondered how it would be to shovel snow. And today I got a chance.
Since last night's snow, the driveway to the apparment had more than a foot of snow. Yesterday evening a snow plow company came down here and plowed the drive way (I found out today from Ray that the landlord has a contract with the snow plow compay to plow the snow). So, the guy had cleared the driveway, but blocked the door that I used, assuming that I'd be using the kitchen door. Which meant that there was a 2 foot pile of snow in front of my door. So while leaving for work in the morning, I got my shoes full of snow.
When I got back some 30 minutes ago, the pile was still there. I had spotted a shovel while leaving in the morning, so I picked that up and shoveled a pathway for myself. He he he... Now, if only I could get some company to make a snowman :-)
Since last night's snow, the driveway to the apparment had more than a foot of snow. Yesterday evening a snow plow company came down here and plowed the drive way (I found out today from Ray that the landlord has a contract with the snow plow compay to plow the snow). So, the guy had cleared the driveway, but blocked the door that I used, assuming that I'd be using the kitchen door. Which meant that there was a 2 foot pile of snow in front of my door. So while leaving for work in the morning, I got my shoes full of snow.
When I got back some 30 minutes ago, the pile was still there. I had spotted a shovel while leaving in the morning, so I picked that up and shoveled a pathway for myself. He he he... Now, if only I could get some company to make a snowman :-)
Snowy weekend
It started off on Saturday evening and went on all through to Sunday night. And when it was over, New York had gotten is heaviest snow in the last 20 years! Looks like I brought the Toronto weather down to NY! :-))
The whole backyard looks awesome! I feel like playing in the snow, but too old to do it :-(. *sigh* Sometimes I wish I had never grown old. Ah, such is life!
The whole backyard looks awesome! I feel like playing in the snow, but too old to do it :-(. *sigh* Sometimes I wish I had never grown old. Ah, such is life!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Another gadget : a companion for my iPod
On Friday I bought the Altec Lansing im7. I walked into Best Buy to buy a $100 speaker for my iPod and ended up buying this. Like the 251 that I have at home, the sound quality of this speaker is excellent!!
Saturday, February 11, 2006
Finally a taste of heaven!
Ok, that was a pretty dramatic title, but today I finally got a chance to eat Sambar!!!
It all started last Monday, when Senthil came up to me and offered to take me to Hicksville to buy Indian groceries and pre-packed food. Well, I was missing the taste of Indian food so I agreed. We decided to go on Saturday.
Senthil picked me up at around noon, and we headed out to Hicksville. The roads here are amazing, but people drive too fast and its very un-nerving to see a H-U-G-E truck zip past you while you are riding at 90kmph. At Hicksville, we went to a store called Patel Brothers. I stocked up on MTR and Swad pre-packed dishes and bought some salty snacks, besan ladoo and some shrimp.
Next we went to Dosa Diner for a lunch buffet. On the menu were rasam, idli, sambar, chutney, puliogare, dosa, curd rice, gulab jamun and payasam. It felt so good to eat spicy sambar after ages!!! I miss Bangalore. Can't wait for the day when I eat cheese masala dosa at New Shanti Sagar again. Until then, Dosa Diner it is!
It all started last Monday, when Senthil came up to me and offered to take me to Hicksville to buy Indian groceries and pre-packed food. Well, I was missing the taste of Indian food so I agreed. We decided to go on Saturday.
Senthil picked me up at around noon, and we headed out to Hicksville. The roads here are amazing, but people drive too fast and its very un-nerving to see a H-U-G-E truck zip past you while you are riding at 90kmph. At Hicksville, we went to a store called Patel Brothers. I stocked up on MTR and Swad pre-packed dishes and bought some salty snacks, besan ladoo and some shrimp.
Next we went to Dosa Diner for a lunch buffet. On the menu were rasam, idli, sambar, chutney, puliogare, dosa, curd rice, gulab jamun and payasam. It felt so good to eat spicy sambar after ages!!! I miss Bangalore. Can't wait for the day when I eat cheese masala dosa at New Shanti Sagar again. Until then, Dosa Diner it is!
Daily routine
Coming to New York might turn out to be the best thing for my habits. Since I've come here, I've started sleeping earlier, waking up earlier and eating 3 meals! My daily routine goes like this
0630 - Wake up
0830 - Ray picks me up
0845 - Walk into 7-Eleven and buy coffee and breakfast
0900 - Get into the office
1330 - Lunch
1730 - Ray drops me home
1915 - Dinner
2000 - Sleep
0100 - Wake up and check mail, etc
0230 - Sleep again
I kinda like this routine, not much stress!
0630 - Wake up
0830 - Ray picks me up
0845 - Walk into 7-Eleven and buy coffee and breakfast
0900 - Get into the office
1330 - Lunch
1730 - Ray drops me home
1915 - Dinner
2000 - Sleep
0100 - Wake up and check mail, etc
0230 - Sleep again
I kinda like this routine, not much stress!
The House
The house I've been put up in is in a suburb of New York called Huntington. Actually, its part of a bigger house. There are 4 rooms, a kitchen and two bathrooms. One of the rooms doesn't have heating, so it cannot be used during the winter. I'm using the biggest one, with an attached bathroom. It has an ancient heating system. Its ok, but nothing great.
Leaving Toronto
Finally, 5 months after I landed in Toronto, I'm bidding farewell to the city, and to its few residents who made my stay memorable. Yesterday evening I went to the office to pick up my files and bills and stuff, and I met Manoj and Lata, the couple who own the news stand in the building I was working in the last 5 months. Told them that I was leaving Toronto for good. I also bought a few postcards, just to remind me of my stay here (God I hope I packed them!!). They were really nice to me and they made me feel at home whenever I went down to the news stand. Before I bid farewell, they asked me to take a bottle of juice as a farewell gift.
Next stop was at Rasoee, the Indian food restaurant from where I used to order Indian food through my stay. I had gotten familiar with Muhammad, the guy who ran the place, and Gary who worked there. We had a pretty long talk after which Muhammad gave me two samosas and a glass of mango lassi :-). Unfortunately, there was just too much stuff in my fridge and I could not finish it :-(.
I had made an appointment with a guy to buy a Nokia N70. He imports them from China or Singapore or somewhere and sells them in Canada. Bought it for $600. Its a cool phone.
Next up on the agenda was packing. That was a big nightmare! After I was done packing my two big bags, I called up the airline to check the weight limit of the checked bags, just to make sure I did not overshoot it. The guy whom I talked to told me that the limit was 44 pounds for the checked bags, and 22 pounds for the cabin bags. So I asked him what the extra-weight charge was. He said, we don't take bags that exceed the weight limit. I started freaking out. So I left out some of my stuff, since I had no other choice. I will miss my skateboard, and all the other things I left behind. I packed through the night.
Next morning, I got into a taxi and got to the airport. There, the airline guy told me that there was no weight limit. I was so pissed, but I had no choice. Anyway, the damn airline was late and all that, but I got to New York by around 3:30. Ray came and picked me up, and on our way back, we picked up Melanie (Ray's wife) from their house and stopped over at Tiny Thai for dinner. Then Ray dropped me off home and left.
Next: The house.
/Edit: Turns out, I did pack the postcards
Next stop was at Rasoee, the Indian food restaurant from where I used to order Indian food through my stay. I had gotten familiar with Muhammad, the guy who ran the place, and Gary who worked there. We had a pretty long talk after which Muhammad gave me two samosas and a glass of mango lassi :-). Unfortunately, there was just too much stuff in my fridge and I could not finish it :-(.
I had made an appointment with a guy to buy a Nokia N70. He imports them from China or Singapore or somewhere and sells them in Canada. Bought it for $600. Its a cool phone.
Next up on the agenda was packing. That was a big nightmare! After I was done packing my two big bags, I called up the airline to check the weight limit of the checked bags, just to make sure I did not overshoot it. The guy whom I talked to told me that the limit was 44 pounds for the checked bags, and 22 pounds for the cabin bags. So I asked him what the extra-weight charge was. He said, we don't take bags that exceed the weight limit. I started freaking out. So I left out some of my stuff, since I had no other choice. I will miss my skateboard, and all the other things I left behind. I packed through the night.
Next morning, I got into a taxi and got to the airport. There, the airline guy told me that there was no weight limit. I was so pissed, but I had no choice. Anyway, the damn airline was late and all that, but I got to New York by around 3:30. Ray came and picked me up, and on our way back, we picked up Melanie (Ray's wife) from their house and stopped over at Tiny Thai for dinner. Then Ray dropped me off home and left.
Next: The house.
/Edit: Turns out, I did pack the postcards
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Five and a half hours before I leave the place, and I'm not yet done packing
I'm going to sleep. I need some rest :-(
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