Compared to my trip to Vancouver last weekend, my weekend in San Francisco was a blockbuster smash! To be fair to the time in Canada, the trip had its memorable moments - the sight of the kid turn 180 degrees and hit the deck when the hose sprayed his face, Geda Geda being the first song that came on at the reception, the searing heat all weekend...
As I sat in the aircraft on Saturday morning, waiting for it to take-off for more than 2 hours, I almost gave up on the SF trip. The optimist that I am, I figured that things could've only gotten better - sure! I land in SF and turn my phone on - no service; turns out, no iMate fucking phone doesn't receive T-Mobile in San Francisco. My friends' Motorola, Nokia, etc phones just worked fine. So much for the $200 the phone would've cost me if I paid for it! Surd was a master mind on Saturday morning - he woke up when I called him after having landed. Vista wouldn't start up because wireless wouldn't work so I was all but ready to bore a hole in the wall. I resisted, bought myself coffee and a croissant and people-watched instead. The coffee was brilliant and the Chocolate Croissant was scrumptious. Surd showed up (finally), he ordered the Tomato Salad at lunch (which is this trip's unforgettable moment) and things started changing for the better.
The weather was gorgeous as we sat on the deck of Moma's overlooking AT&T Park, the site of many a Barry Bonds home-runs. The rest of the day is a blur of events mingling with one another, the warm weather being the only constant. Entering Madjool is when I felt like I was awake again. The people were just beginning to pack the place in, the DJ was starting to spin some tunes and the tables were being cleared to make way for the crazy dancing that ensued. I loved the place for the ambience, the three levels and the snooty people. We went to Lush around 1am to hang with some of Surd's friends; Nina was an extremely amiable person and an engaging conversationalist. Surd is a lucky guy to have a friend like her!
Wake up, make tea, call the world - a usual Sunday. Okay, I replaced calling the world with a great run by the Bay and brunch by the Bay Bridge. My mortal fear of running has dissipated and with Surd being in Seattle through the week, this running thing might recur regularly. Sitting out in the open and eating while watching cars whiz past on the Bay Bridge was calming and invigorating at the same time. This is a beautiful city, especially the areas by the water and the way the environs have been maintained is exemplary. A place like this in India wouldn't exist or thrive!
I finally saw real family today; that she brought me goodies from home was but a fringe benefit of our "rendezvous". Hanging with her and Kunal took me back home again and brought me a little closer to them both. Kunal has changed in the past year, he definitely is more docile than I remember him and Vishaka is visibly happier so them two must be settling down into a healthy, balanced relationship. Two hours didn't seem enough time but she had to get back to work and I had to head back to the city but this was a parting well made. "Till we meet again" I said to her as I drove off into the sunset. I blame all these prose-filled thoughts for what made me turn left on to the wrong side of the road.
The rest of the evening went by without incident. We ate great Sushi in the Mission district and watched Clerks after coming back home. I read about the Yankees acquiring Bobby Abreu and started typing this blog when I realized something. I needed to get out of Seattle to see that I had gotten myself into a rut. The timing of this weekend couldn't have been better and Surd couldn't have been a better host. I feel healed now, happier too and ready to take on the challenges that face me till my next break. Waking up and smelling the coffee tomorrow morning might be easier than it has the past couple months...
Monday, July 31, 2006
Sunday, July 30, 2006
June - Use your Cell Phone Month
Total Minutes - 5482
My left ear is gonna fall out sometime soon. Ironic that I am on the phone as I type this usage info. Enough talk, time to drive over the Bay Bridge now.
My left ear is gonna fall out sometime soon. Ironic that I am on the phone as I type this usage info. Enough talk, time to drive over the Bay Bridge now.
Friday, July 28, 2006
The Nature of To Do Lists
Them To Do Lists get longer and longer by the day. I am going to try and knock off some of the items from the latest list but this ties in to a tendency of mine to procrastinate till the last moment. I delay doing something even if I have the resources to get it done because of either laziness or indifference till I can't delay any further. It's just a chance coincidence (or a divine conspiracy maybe) that the deadline to get all my stuff done is usually the same day.
I have to get the following done today:
- Work on the Full Test Pass
- Get a failed emissions report
- Go to Accurate Auto Body to get my car damage looked at
- Fax a copy of my I-797 to the immigration folks over in SF
- Get ready for SF tomorrow
Time to get off my ass and get cracking on this list. Late...
I have to get the following done today:
- Work on the Full Test Pass
- Get a failed emissions report
- Go to Accurate Auto Body to get my car damage looked at
- Fax a copy of my I-797 to the immigration folks over in SF
- Get ready for SF tomorrow
Time to get off my ass and get cracking on this list. Late...
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
It's Going Down
anywhere you meet me guaranteed to go down
To say the last week was hectic would be saying it just right. I have become the owner of a component in Scott's absence that I have very little prior testing experience with. Every time a test breaks, I have to first understand the test code and ensure it has no bugs before diving into the production code. Review time is upon us so there is the added workload of ensuring the right things happen for my people. All of this is manageable when my social life is going through a lean patch. Nothing in my life can be described as lean these days...
Ishmeet has been in town, it's summer time, a large chunk of people I know (their mothers too maybe) were born between June and September and people have suddenly decided that there is no time like summer to tie the nuptials. So yeah, it's been hectic! Okay, I'll quit complaining because a wedding provided me with the excuse to go to Canada.
The only difficult leg of the drive to and from Vancouver is the 5 mile stretch on either side of the border. The lines can be serpentine and it is no surprise if you have to wait for around half an hour to get past the gates and march onward. I expected the worst - a car search, more stamps on my passport, a new I-94, etc, etc but was glad to be disappointed. I didn't need any new stamps, the border officers weren't even interested in seeing my face (hallelujah) and once we got to the patrol booth, we were done in maybe 2 minutes. Sometimes no action is the best kind of action!
The hottest weekend of the year was also the only weekend I spent without air-conditioning in a house that wasn't well ventilated. The coldest room in the house was in the basement and spending time there meant dealing with its dank environs and musty odor - I'll take those (and then some) over the 110 degree temperature without blinking an eyelid! The wedding parties - the ceremony, reception and pre-parties - were lavish but I didn't know too many people so they petered into boring events. The folks I did know were incommunicado because they were elbow deep in ensuring that every event went as planned. I am not faulting them at all, I'd do the same for my immediate family :)
Akash and I drove back after the reception on Saturday night and I slept through most of Sunday. The feeling of sleeping at home, in familiar territory is unparalleled and I reveled in it. Sufficiently rested, I actually wanted to come in on Monday but the bus ride delayed my eventual arrival. Meetings, some work, more meetings, a presentation, coffee break - the humdrum routine can be so satisfying.
To say the last week was hectic would be saying it just right. I have become the owner of a component in Scott's absence that I have very little prior testing experience with. Every time a test breaks, I have to first understand the test code and ensure it has no bugs before diving into the production code. Review time is upon us so there is the added workload of ensuring the right things happen for my people. All of this is manageable when my social life is going through a lean patch. Nothing in my life can be described as lean these days...
Ishmeet has been in town, it's summer time, a large chunk of people I know (their mothers too maybe) were born between June and September and people have suddenly decided that there is no time like summer to tie the nuptials. So yeah, it's been hectic! Okay, I'll quit complaining because a wedding provided me with the excuse to go to Canada.
The only difficult leg of the drive to and from Vancouver is the 5 mile stretch on either side of the border. The lines can be serpentine and it is no surprise if you have to wait for around half an hour to get past the gates and march onward. I expected the worst - a car search, more stamps on my passport, a new I-94, etc, etc but was glad to be disappointed. I didn't need any new stamps, the border officers weren't even interested in seeing my face (hallelujah) and once we got to the patrol booth, we were done in maybe 2 minutes. Sometimes no action is the best kind of action!
The hottest weekend of the year was also the only weekend I spent without air-conditioning in a house that wasn't well ventilated. The coldest room in the house was in the basement and spending time there meant dealing with its dank environs and musty odor - I'll take those (and then some) over the 110 degree temperature without blinking an eyelid! The wedding parties - the ceremony, reception and pre-parties - were lavish but I didn't know too many people so they petered into boring events. The folks I did know were incommunicado because they were elbow deep in ensuring that every event went as planned. I am not faulting them at all, I'd do the same for my immediate family :)
Akash and I drove back after the reception on Saturday night and I slept through most of Sunday. The feeling of sleeping at home, in familiar territory is unparalleled and I reveled in it. Sufficiently rested, I actually wanted to come in on Monday but the bus ride delayed my eventual arrival. Meetings, some work, more meetings, a presentation, coffee break - the humdrum routine can be so satisfying.
Wednesday, July 19, 2006
The Weekly Roundup returns
Sugar is surging through my veins right now! It has been a crazy week fa sho. All three days have been intense on the work front with new problems surfacing every day. It's a great feeling to have so much to get done though so I'm not complaining. In all of this action at work, I chaperoned Rash and Junior as they shopped, ate and chilled. That was just the first dose of a multi-part family-time prescription handed to me for the week. I head out to Vancouver tomorrow with Rash, Jyot, aKash and Mausaji for Noel's wedding. The first party is on Friday with the wedding on Saturday. I'm kinda nervous because I have never been to a wedding in America so I don't know what to pack and definitely don't know what to expect. Just some button down shirts and trousers should do the trick though, correct?
My nerves aside, I am excited about going up to Vancouver again though. I love that city, the environs, the mountains, and especially the party scene. The bummer is my phone won't have any service when I'm away - that's no phone for almost 4 days. This is going to be really fun. T-Mobile is going to be glad that I'm away ;) and fewer people will get "All Circuits are Busy".
Talk to you when I'm back!!
My nerves aside, I am excited about going up to Vancouver again though. I love that city, the environs, the mountains, and especially the party scene. The bummer is my phone won't have any service when I'm away - that's no phone for almost 4 days. This is going to be really fun. T-Mobile is going to be glad that I'm away ;) and fewer people will get "All Circuits are Busy".
Talk to you when I'm back!!
Whatever
F*** Them VANS
F**k Sweet 16s
F*ck Pepsi
Fuck Wisdom People
Fuck 7s jeans for guys (get a penis already)
Fuck, Fuck, Mother Mother Fuck
Fuck whoever didn't drink Bacardi at the Triple Stuff Ridic pre-party!
Go i860! I'm outta here. Peace out.
F**k Sweet 16s
F*ck Pepsi
Fuck Wisdom People
Fuck 7s jeans for guys (get a penis already)
Fuck, Fuck, Mother Mother Fuck
Fuck whoever didn't drink Bacardi at the Triple Stuff Ridic pre-party!
Go i860! I'm outta here. Peace out.
Sunday, July 16, 2006
It's Sunday night already
Random thoughts occupy my mental bandwidth in entirety. iTunes has been set to Shuffle but I want to keep listening to a song my brother told me about. It goes like this:
I feel you,
in every vein,
in every beatin' of my heart,
each breath I take.
I feel you, anyway,
in every tear that I might shed,
in every word I've never said.
I feel you
I wonder if I am capable of loving another human like this. In the past, being totally in love with someone else has left me equally vulnerable and exhilarated. That we experience emotions, that we fall in love is a sign of our inherent imperfection. Being perfect is overrated, as is being intoxicated or high.
Actually, getting buzzed is an inexplicable delight. Liquid courage makes you do stupid things but for the most part, putting your inhibitions on hold for a few hours is liberating. Triple Stuff Ridic - Deux will be talked about for all its ups and downs, for the copious alcohol consumption and has officially put Spice on my list of places to party at. As for my part, I feel like I woke up a little crazy. I was going to celebrate the birthdays of my closest buddies in Seattle and that was reason enough to be excited all day. So much energy usually leads to a night of inapp ridicness.
Entourage is my new must-see TV show and I have two people to thank for this reason to smile - Juggy and Senior. Now that I am all caught up, I need to figure out a way to watch the new episodes every week. Hmm, after missing all the tennis action, the F-1 races, world cup games, etc. I am considering upgrading my cable plan to include some more channels. A la carte cable is a pipe dream that I can't wait any longer to come to fruition.
Last week was really hectic at work and I am excited to go back in tomorrow morning. The brownbag presentation on the 12th was well received (ok, it was a slam dunk), we got a lot of issues under control and I have done some research for work that I need to do over the next couple of days. Exciting time for me, hope you have a great week too. Oh yeah, good luck with the GMAT Gundapps - God Speed!
I feel you,
in every vein,
in every beatin' of my heart,
each breath I take.
I feel you, anyway,
in every tear that I might shed,
in every word I've never said.
I feel you
I wonder if I am capable of loving another human like this. In the past, being totally in love with someone else has left me equally vulnerable and exhilarated. That we experience emotions, that we fall in love is a sign of our inherent imperfection. Being perfect is overrated, as is being intoxicated or high.
Actually, getting buzzed is an inexplicable delight. Liquid courage makes you do stupid things but for the most part, putting your inhibitions on hold for a few hours is liberating. Triple Stuff Ridic - Deux will be talked about for all its ups and downs, for the copious alcohol consumption and has officially put Spice on my list of places to party at. As for my part, I feel like I woke up a little crazy. I was going to celebrate the birthdays of my closest buddies in Seattle and that was reason enough to be excited all day. So much energy usually leads to a night of inapp ridicness.
Entourage is my new must-see TV show and I have two people to thank for this reason to smile - Juggy and Senior. Now that I am all caught up, I need to figure out a way to watch the new episodes every week. Hmm, after missing all the tennis action, the F-1 races, world cup games, etc. I am considering upgrading my cable plan to include some more channels. A la carte cable is a pipe dream that I can't wait any longer to come to fruition.
Last week was really hectic at work and I am excited to go back in tomorrow morning. The brownbag presentation on the 12th was well received (ok, it was a slam dunk), we got a lot of issues under control and I have done some research for work that I need to do over the next couple of days. Exciting time for me, hope you have a great week too. Oh yeah, good luck with the GMAT Gundapps - God Speed!
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