Thursday, June 28, 2007

Trust

I find it very hard to absolutely, and unconditionally trust anyone, me included. There is too much variance, and unpredictability built into the fabric of society, and therefore, our existence to believe anything is constant. If this is a truism, why do people not extend its bounds to include trusting another individual? Call me a skeptic, but you can't dismiss my claim without giving it some thought! When was the last time your trust, implicit, tacit or explicit, was violated by another person? When was the last time you couldn't believe you did something? For me it was today, when I was calm, serene even, as I jotted down the details of the person who rear-ended Saqib's car. Tuesday evening I surprised myself again by not losing my cool during an entire squash match.

Tell me your story in either a comment, an email, or on the phone. It helps to get shit like this off your chest...

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Sachin's Visit to Seattle

The stream of work coming my way seems endless, but this new state of existence is teaching me the lost art of prioritizing activities. The omnipresent workload compels me to spend breaks from work (few, and always well earned) with a chosen few rather than a room full of strangers. Contrast this with a few years ago, when I used to wonder why people restricted their circle of friends. This was a time when "the more the merrier" was my motto, and the yardstick by which the success of an event or party was measured by the number of people in attendance. An evolution of the species, maybe?

This past weekend was one such well deserved, and thoroughly enjoyable break from the humdrum routine - Sachin stopped over in Seattle for 2 days en route to Korea. I could wax eloquent on the depth of our friendship, but some things just can't be described in words. The festivities, and shenanigans of his weekend sojourn weren't far from ordinary either, in fact, I have had more eventful weekends. What made this weekend uniquely singular, and therefore memorable, was his presence in the "team". We are crazier and more care-free in each other's company than we are by ourselves; it's as if the presence of one, exaggerates the vivacity in the other. I see in him the verve that others see in me, a pulse that makes us vibe to the same beat. There is another similar, symbiotic bond I share with a person, that is my relationship with Nikhil.

The conversations we had ranged from the sublime to the utterly mundane - past relationships, the future, work, what's to eat, why we are always late, etc. We share similar but sufficiently divergent opinions on a lot of subjects, so our discussions are both lively and insightful. There is always something to learn from an evenly balanced debate, and I had a few epiphanies this weekend. Oh yes, and a lot of alcohol!

I checked in the culmination of a week's labor a few minutes ago, and my work load is now reduced by a quarter of what it was earlier this morning. Miles to go before I sleep...

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Want to get your PDA on T-Zones?

The linked article provides step by step instructions on how to get your phone to connect to T-Zones, if the phone didn't already have this functionality built in.

Enjoy!

Friday, June 22, 2007

Carpal Tunnel in my Right Index Finger

My right index finger might be showing early signs of Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. This is a scary thought, so I am going to have it checked out soon, as early as Monday even. If you know of a good doctor, please write me a comment, or get in touch with me. I am not freaked out yet since that won't cure me in any way, but I plan to ice, and exercise my finger every day. And yes, no typing over the weekend, regardless of how much I feel the itch. Or I'll use my right middle finger more :)

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Exhausted

I have been on the go since waking up at 6:40 this morning. I finally made it home not half an hour ago, and it took something like "The Daily Show" to help me uncompress. After chasing down the cause for a Priority Zero bug, and finally fixing it, I had nothing left in the tank to go on. Can't wait to hit the sack. I'll take the 3 big accomplishment of the day to bed as my prize - waking up at 6:40, working out before going to work, and the bug fix. Peace out!

In Bed... At Last!

It's past 1am, and though I have been sleepy since midnight, I stayed awake to finish watching "Life In A Metro". The movie had a promising start but ambled on slowly during the 2nd half; I really don't have the patience to write a review right now but will soon. This movie, and other life experiences have taught me this much - falling in love and picking up the newspaper slid under your door every morning are kinda the same. I say this because after a little while, both actions become second nature. Both the newspaper, and the person you fall for are conveniently around when you need 'em most, and you miss both most when one morning you wake up, and they aren't around. You know the worst part - you act like you don't care if they aren't around. You know what I am talking - we try so hard to avoid the truth about being in love with someone. The game is up as soon as you start to miss your special friend when they aren't around. Once you begin to wonder when the person will be back, you're in love.

Case Closed! Manoj Mehta.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Awake, and Ready!! - UPDATE 3

8:42pm
-------------
Back from the Pro
Am still awake, and I didn't even put my back into it
Just ate the other 1/2 of my sandwich
Look at ME!
Friday Night is dinner and movie night - growl!

3:42pm
-------------
Finally ate some lunch
An extremely critical bug kept me awake
Still haven't passed out
Squash at 4:30
The prognosis is good - I might make it through the day...

10:20am
-------------
Sleepy, yawning, and low on fuel
Might get cranky soon
Waking up early is for the birds

Up at 7:15
-------------
Showered, put em shorts on
Cup of milk, simple sandwich
Chill for 15 minutes, crank up the tunes
Ride the bus in
No lies, I am a little tired
Second baby step on the path to a normal sleep cycle

The burning questions -
1. When will I run out of steam?
2. At what time will I pass out tonight?

Unintended Consequences

Often times, your reactions come as a complete surprise to me. By "your", I mean the readers of this blog. There are times when I want a particular reaction from you, and I almost never get it. Other times, I write something, not expecting to hear a peek from anyone, and I get an email within a few days in response to my post. Hey, I am not complaining - the more often I communicate with you, the happier it makes me!

I think I have a solution to my sleeping problem, and I have narrowed it down to doing two things every night around midnight. The first is to pop my contacts out of my eyes, and the second involves making the trip from where ever I am to my bed, turning off the lights, and writing a quick blog post. Fine, the second step involves doing other things but you get the point, don't you?

Instead of going to the gym on what was a beautiful day, I chose to return home around 8, relax for a bit, and go out on a bike ride. I rode my bike for about 50 minutes, the highlight being an exhilarating patch of downhill riding on my way back home. I don't think I quite made it to Woodinville, but it was a good enough workout. The wonderful effect of riding outside was I felt refreshed, and more relaxed after the ride than I did when I first arrived from work. Curious, eh?

Worked a bit after returning back, watched a few episodes of Seinfeld (more on that timeless show at a later point), and am now ready to pass out. Good night!

Monday, June 18, 2007

A Quiet Weekend

After the high ridik factor of last weekend, this one started on a quiet note. I didn't get back from work on Friday till after 11pm, which eliminated any chance of going out that night. In recent times, I have limited my partying to special occasions - a friend's birthday, someone visiting Seattle, or me visiting another city.

Disgusted by the fact that I had lost my phone, I got down to the business of finding my old phone, and rummaging through my move boxes for tools to crack the phone open. Juggy stayed at home too, as did Saqib, so the three of us hung out, caught up on the week's activities, and I cracked my phone open. I slept late that night, but vowed to clean my room up the next morning, even if that meant not doing anything till I was done folding the clothes strewn all over the floor.

I spent most of Saturday cleaning up: I did some chores, cleaned my car, and bought some tools to fix up the busted things I could fix. The shoe glue has fixed my ripped sandals, the screw-driver set was used to fix my old phone, and I finally figured out how to get rid of the intermittent "Brake Light Circuit" message that my car's computer throws. Juggy drove me around in his "new" old BMW as I knocked items off my list, and we ended the evening with dinner at Kanishka.

Two rotis were one too many; the first real meal of the day, and I was hungry. The meal was a fitting reward for a week spent working hard, and working out every day. Despite my best intentions, things just haven't worked out for me. Since there is no point dwelling on the days gone by, I have maintained a positive outlook. All has not been bad though - my progress at work, and on the squash court has been encouraging. Work has been a good hectic, with a lot of bugs to fix. As regards squash, I am hitting a stride similar to my peak in 2004. I blew Steve out of the court, swept Sarat away, drilled one evening for an hour, but was stopped in my tracks by Karan on Friday. It was a tough contest though, the final game score was 9-8 in his favor. No point going to the gym after a week like that, no?

Watched two silly, but funny movies last night - Harold and Kumar go to White Castle, and then Van Wilder. Call them silly, but some sequences had me in stitches. Slept in this morning, and worked all day after conjuring up an interesting brunch of scrambled eggs with spinach, sweet peas, mushrooms, and onions. Coffee at Kahili, a long session at work, and I was ready to wrap up the weekend.

Watching the Yankees pummel the Mets was the perfect way to end one week and start another. It's almost 3am right now, and though it is late, I will sleep a content man tonight. Am back in touch with all my friends, I have a working phone again, have made good progress at work, and am looking forward to elevating my fitness to a new level. Can I get to 185 at the end of next week? Can I have only 10 bugs assigned to me come this time next Sunday? Keep your fingers crossed...

Friday, June 15, 2007

Lost my phone, at Kahili Coffee, and it sux!

I was there till they closed last night, I bused my table, and left. I remember looking at my phone while in the coffee shop, and when I set it on the fireplace, I had a stray thought that I would forget it there. Must learn to not ignore such stray thoughts. Thoughts that start with "would have", "should have", "could have" kill you because they are so insidious, so true, yet so pointless. I am just going to walk over to a T-Mobile store tomorrow morning, and buy a new phone. Or buy one from Craigslist, who knows...

Monday, June 11, 2007

India may get its first Apple Store

This might curb the people's propensity to buy Apple products from the Gray Market.
"Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail is actively negotiating with the $19.3-billion Apple Inc of the US to bring its high-end Apple Store to India. If the deal falls into place, India will be only the second Asian country after Japan and the sixth country outside the US to have an Apple retail outlet. Given that an Apple Store is a single-brand retail outlet, Apple Inc can hold up to 51% equity in the venture"
An Apple Store in India will succeed only if products are priced competitively w.r.t. the pervasive gray markets. A competitively priced store bought product has two attributes that I can never get from the gray market - it is certified original, and it comes with a warranty. These 2 factors put together make me more comfortable while dropping approximately 10k rupees on a device. Go Apple...

Of Goals and Dreams

As I try to drift into sleep, the swirling thoughts in my head keep deep sleep at bay. Thoughts like these are sure to haunt my dreams, so best I type them out. A very righteous person said to me once, "...if you can't sleep, it is because your conscience isn't clear". That can't be true, because if a burdened conscience alone drove one to sleep deprivation, how does GWB ever sleep? This disruption in my sleep cycle can more likely be attributed to work; I spent most of today and a good chunk of yesterday finishing up my work assignments for the past week. Next week is going to be a very busy one with a lot of time spent ensuring that things work as advertised, but I'll take busy over idle in a heartbeat.

The past few months have whizzed by me, and the pace of work shows no sign of abating. A single night of frolic punctuates the week that is otherwise a blur of working and working out. Given the intense pace at work, I would have certainly gone mad had it not been for the Pro Club, and my nights on the town. Take last night for instance - I was stoked at the opportunity to get away from the office to celebrate Pooja's birthday at Tia Lou's. Excited enough to actually shave for the first time in five weeks!

With this change in pace at work, I have devised a new formula to keep myself energized. Work is always going to be around, so the key is to extract myself from the humdrum routine every so often, and witness, better yet, experience the vicissitudes of life, Time to wipe the goals slate clean and write a new one on there - to enjoy whatever I do, take it to the next level, screw balance and max life out! Speaking of goals, regardless of whether I meet my new goal to enjoy myself, I have inadvertently achieved another. The intent of this blog was to commemorate and celebrate notable events in my life, but it has been these quasi-postmortems that have guided me through the quagmire that is growing up. Enough of this rambling now, it's time to dream again...

Friday, June 08, 2007

It Worked

Early to bed
Early to rise

No idea if this will make me either wealthy or wise. It will make me healthy for sure. Have a great Friday, and an even better weekend.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Long Time No Write

I think it is time for me to resurrect "Free Form Writing", the idea that I should sit in front of the screen, and type away for 10 minutes. The post will be my raw thoughts (or blank if I don't have any) sans editing, and post typing touch-up. Here goes my *first* new attempt at this concept...

While I thought this new job would spark the creative juices inside me, the truth is that three months into this stint, I am tired like never before. Earlier, I used to be tired because I'd have worked out too much; physical exhaustion in isolation is completely my fault, and can be dealt with. The excitement of getting better at a sport or lifting more weights leads to temporary aches and pains. It is the physical exhaustion brought on by long and intense hours at work, the kind that accompanies mental exhaustion, which stays with you till you do one of two things - stop working hard or cut out extra-curricular activities.

Part of the exhaustion can be attributed to my wonky sleeping habits. I thought it was all the coffee and diet coke so I stopped, cold turkey. No caffeine, you'd think I'd sleep better now, right? Wrong; I forgot all about what the stress of work can do! I feel like I am constantly behind on my work items, and I have a whole slew of bugs assigned to me. Don't get me wrong, there hasn't been another phase in my professional life in which I have learnt more. But learning comes at a price, a steep one at that, is the lesson I am learning. Turns out, quitting caffeine alone isn't the cure, I must bust stress too.

Having enough work to do during the day has resulted in fewer indulgences, a consequence that my friends and immediate family have begun to notice. I logged on to online chat programs this week after a long hiatus, and social networking has been put on the back-burner to make time for other idle pleasures. This has certainly been a great change in my life - I read more, have more time to do stuff outdoors, and in general avoid spending time in front of the computer if I can avoid it. As exhausting as work has been, I have a strong reason to wake up every morning and work some more; there definitely is something about making a consumer product that my previous jobs lacked. This enthusiastically exhausted state has a lot to do with our tight delivery schedule. If you take into consideration the fact that the last product I worked on was in the works for 4 years, you will realize what a huge change this has been for me. The Zune is on a yearly shipping schedule.

Things have been trudging along on the social front. I have reached my breaking point with clubs. Henceforth, I am going to vote for the team to go to a lounge any day over going into a noisy club. With this being said, I have finally found the perfect crew to hang with, and my moving in with Juggy will only make my social life more tolerable :) I consider myself fortunate to have narrowly escaped the vortex that is the other Indian crew on the East Side; all that gossiping and bitching is bad karma. Given my track record, I don't need any more of that ingredient in my life. Phew!!

First night of the week that I am attempting to hit the sack before midnight. The idea is to wake up at the same time every morning, regardless of when I sleep. Let's see how long I can keep this up. I know one thing for sure, if this does work, I might have to go back to drinking caffeine again cuz there is no way in hell I am going to survive through the afternoon on less than 6 hours of sleep :)