Salinas : The City of John Steinbeck

As I promised, I am writing my blog from my Cali trip, perhaps fittingly delayed. I've been here for 4 days already, and my travels around have been quite amazing indeed.

Mind you, this is my fourth trip to the Golden State, however I had never been to the agricultural region of California. It boasts almost every major fruit and vegetable crop we enjoy in the rest of the United States. The fresh produce is readily available, and the quality and cost is incomparable (i.e. cheaper and of course fresher). The nation's capitals of artichokes, lettuce, nectarines, strawberries, garlic, dry fruits, vineyards, and many more are within a few miles around this region.

It is quite ironic that I am currently based in Salinas during this trip. I'm writing this blog from the home city of one of our nation's great writers (and one of my faves), John Steinbeck. I fondly remember reading his writings while in school, mostly the Grapes of Wrath and Travels with Charley. I mostly remember the way he used examples of his hometown in his writings, which were very vivid and detailed.

I had a chance to visit the National Steinbeck Center today, which to some might be boring, but to me it was worth it. The story of Steinbeck's life and literary works are broken down with displays. It shows the influences and reasons on why a certain book, short story, or even play was written. The other side of the museum shows the agricultural history of Salinas (of which Steinbeck was influential), and how it shaped the country's agricultural technology as well.

True to the stories of Steinbeck's works, the description of Salinas of then is somewhat similar to even this day. Low income workers, with low income housing continue to exist, who work on the fields. As agriculture was the dominant economy of 100 years back, agriculture is still the dominant economy till this day.

Well I know this post might be a boring read, but I wanted to at least give an idea of where I was, and share an experience.

Next up: Carmel & Big Sur

Travels with the G-man: California

As a unique and unusual surprise for all of my readers, I'm taking this blog on the road from the West Coast of the USA, California. So for the next few days I'll be writing about my travels in and around the Bay Area-Monterey area. I hope you will enjoy these series of postings.

The G.O.P. : Growing Obnoxiously Pathetic!

Last year we had Mark Foley for being caught for breaking his own law, and then coming out with his sexuality. And now we have another few scandals in the making with the Republican party, who touts itself as the "cleaner" one of the two main parties of our country.

Idaho Senator Larry Craig was arrested at the Minneapolis-St.Paul International Airport for lewd conduct in the mens bathroom a la George Michael style. The senator who campaigns with anti-gay rights and a family values, quite ironically, finds himself on the side he has been working against. Well the Senator plead guilty to the charges, but now is saying that he regrets doing so. Pretty much a confused person.

Then we have Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska taking bribes to give federal based contracts to a contractor. The bribe of course was the doubling the size of his house, which currently the Justice Department is investigating.

And it continues to get bad if not worse, with Louisiana Senator David Vitter being involved in a prostitution ring. His reply of "I committed a very serious sin", doesn't even sound serious in my opinion. What's ironic here is that he replaced Congressman Bob Livingston after his infamous adultery scandal during the Clinton-Lewinsky affair, which the Republican party used to their fullest advantage of making the public believe it is an ethical party. What's absurd is that Republican senators gave Vitter a "loud standing ovation" after his scandal broke, which is hypocritical by contrasting that with the Republican attitude towards President Clinton's marital infidelity.

Comically Senator Vitter's wife, Wendy Vitter commented on the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal by saying, "I'm a lot more like Lorena Bobbitt than Hillary. If he [Vitter] does something like that, I'm walking away with one thing, and it's not alimony, trust me," referring to the incident of Lorena Bobbitt severing the penis of her husband and to Clinton's wife, Hillary Clinton. I have one word of advice for Mr. Vitter......RUN!!!!

And with now former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales's resignation yesterday, more cans of worms might be opened with the political fight brewing on Capitol Hill. Maybe many more scandals and resignations might be on their way.

Outsourcing Bollywood

Well you've heard of outsourcing and off-shoring of resources in many fields, especially the one I work in, Information Technology. A lot of them of course are ending up in India. But lately I've been seeing an opposite trend happening, especially in the field of acting.

I've been seeing a lot more European, Australian, and some American actors making their appearances, however minimal, in Bollywood movies. And a lot more of these actors are becoming prevalent as side artistes, be it dancers or a semi-important character.

However the one woman out there to change it, and who is trying to become the next big lead actress in India, is Linda Arsenio. The Texan and former New York theatre actress who has had her hand in some South Indian films, was recently in a Bollywood flick 'Kabul Express'. She's recently moved to Mumbai, and is pursuing a career in Bollywood itself.

Not only is she doing such, but it seems Ms. Arsenio has a big heart. Her philanthropic endeavors include hosting dinners and movie outings for unfortunate children. Let's hope her unselfish work pays off in gaining something for her acting career in B'wood.

A Pretty Face In The Crowd

What a way to (re)start a blog, but to talk about beautiful women. Since I have the 'privilege' to watch Desi (Indian) TV, thanks to Dish Network, I've been seeing a lot of cute desi chics, and for some time.

Lately, there is a New York Life advert on rotation on these networks, which is geared of course towards the Indian community. The advert features facts about India, and her contribution towards the world community in her 60 years of independence, and at the same time shows a model putting on makeup. Unfortunately, the model who is Bharat Mata (Mother India) personified in the ad, isn't clearly shown. But from the basic features you see of her face, she is quite beautiful. A fitting tribute to India to say the least. Too bad I don't have a video clip to show you what I am talking about.

I'm Baaaaaaaack!

Yes, after a 2 month or so hiatus, I've returned.

Long working hours, a vacation to the South (no not Florida), and being busy with other things, it's really taken me away from one of my hobbies, which is writing. And now I'm going to go out of town for a week from next Friday. So hopefully this 'being back' isn't a brief spell.

Seeing is Believing...

This is something quite unusual, and comes directly from the make-believe world of Bambi. What I'm talking about is the real life friendship of a rabbit and a deer. Here's some evidence.

Speaking in Tongues: Are You Talking to Me?

Long gone are the days when we only talked on the phone at home. Since the inception of the cell phone, and its use becoming more of a necessity rather than a luxury, a lot of things have become common with the use of them.

One thing that is common nowadays with the cell phone is the hands-free option. And lately it's not the wired types, but the bluetooth headsets. Thanks to these gadgets, I have witnessed people in public places who seemingly are talking to themselves from a distance, only to discover that they weren't. It would make you think that there was something mentally wrong with the person especially when they start laughing or arguing. Not to eavesdrop on someone, but when a person is loud, you tend to hear it.

Well I finally succumbed to the idea of having a bluetooth earpiece for my cell. It's cool and actually nice to have when driving or doing some work using your hands (as you don't need to hold the phone to your ear).

So the other day I went to the grocery store, and realized my mother might need some some stuff, thus I had to make my phone call. Lo and behold, I whipped out my shiny new toy, and placed it on my ear. It synced to my phone and I proceeded to make the call.

Normally when I talk with my mother, I speak with her in Marathi. So my conversation with her started, asking what she wanted from the store, and what not. Standing next to the bakery section, I noticed from the corner of my eye that I could see a middle aged guy looking at me curiously, peering at me as if I had come from another planet. I chose to ignore him, but he kept looking at me, like he was waiting for something.

I kept wondering....why is he looking at me like that? Is there something wrong? Is it something I'm wearing? Does he not like brown people? Is he from Amway? Or is he gay?????

The guy approached me and asked, "Are you talking to me? I don't understand what you are saying, sir." To which I replied, "Sir, I wasn't talking to you."

He realized at that moment I was wearing a hands-free, pointing to his ear with a facial expression of an "Oh!". Feeling like a fool, the guy turned red, apologized and walked away swiftly. I couldn't help to laugh.

I guess in a few years the hands-free will be a norm, that people who seemingly look like they are talking to themselves, are really talking to someone else. We might even have headsets built into our ears like they had in that Tom Cruise movie, "Minority Report".

But then again what if some is talking to themselves and need some mental help? Or what if the person is really talking to you, and you are ignoring them?

I see issues coming about! Hehehe....

Words

I have to admit I have one of the nicest and most down to earth senior colleagues at work. A very nice person to work with. But something does annoy me about this individual.

This particular individual, Mr. J as we will call him, is using different "buzz" words daily and it seems he adapts it to every situation we go through, throughout the day, be it at meetings, work related issues, or just plain common talk. A less intelligible person might think that he/she is talking to a wordsmith, but I beg to differ.

Take for example the world "emancipate". Mr. J will then take that word and somehow use it in every conversation he has in the day, even if it really doesn't need to be used in the conversation.

So it will be like, "I will try to emancipate you guys from the issues we are facing" to "Emancipation of our team from this tedious exercise is a trivial matter" and then, "Do you feel emancipated from the situation?".

I don't know if he is looking at a "Words of the Day" calendar or diary, but it seems to be a daily occurrence. It's like a little kid with a new toy showing off his new find to the people he knows.

Hmmmmmm.....I have to admit....I'm waiting on the word which will be featured for tomorrow.

An Anthem for My Blog???

So guys, I came upon this pretty nice song, by the group The Killers, which come from Las Vegas yet sound like they are from the UK. The song is aptly named, "Read My Mind".

I know this song has been out for some time, but the new Gabriel and Dresden Mix is pretty good.

Check it out:

Gabriel and Dresden Mix

Original version

Life's Next Step...

The big day is today, the day when one loses his 'freedoms' and enters a new arena of life. The day of new excitement, the day of new beginnings. The day which you look back on in happiness and hopefully not in regret. The day when most likely, the rest of your life is made with the person who you know you can love and trust.

Cars and Dogs

Driving around town you at times see the most oddest and funniest things. Other than seeing people eating/drinking food, singing to a song, talking to themselves/on the phone, picking their nose, or going nuts with their fellow passengers, I've noticed dogs in cars.

Yes, dogs in cars are a fun treat to watch, especially when they are running around in the back seat trying to make sense of what they are doing in the automobile and licking the windows. Some of course will sit attentively, watching the rest of the traffic go by, like a human would.

But I must say, I witnessed two incidents in the past month where one dog must've regretted in doing what it did, while one must've been having the time of his life.

The first one happened when I was driving back home from work during rush hour. I was on a busy stretch of the highway, where I noticed a beige colored car in front of me, with a poodle walking on the back window ledge behind the passenger seats. I was thinking, why is the owner not yelling at the dog to get down? It seemed she was merrily driving in high speed down the freeway, talking on the phone. Just then, there was a sudden slow down in traffic. And the old lady driving with her poodle
prancing around on the rear window ledge, suddenly hit the breaks. The next thing that happened was something that could be on America's Funniest Home Videos, yet it was mean to laugh at. The dog, due to the force of the sudden breaking, flew off of the back ledge and hit the back of the headrest of the front passenger seat. It then proceeded to fall below into the rear passenger foot rest area. I was shocked to see
what had just happened. I could just see it in slo-mo like a highlight reel on TV or something (and I still can). I wanted to ask the lady if the dog was all right, and I'm sure other drivers around us must've noticed it too, but the traffic started to move again in a medium pace. And sad as it might sound, the lady seemed to have
not noticed the dog's fall. I'm not sure what happened to the dog, but if it was all right, it must've been shaken up.

The other incident was somewhat surreal. What I saw was so peculiar, that I wondered if us humans and animals do have similar tendencies that cross-over into things that are unique.

Let me explain:

I'm not sure if some of you tend to do this, but some of my friends and I, whenever driving down the road and travelling at a reasonable amount of speed with the windows open, put our left hand out and catch the drift of the wind, moving the hand in a 'wave' type fashion. In essence, you feel the air hitting your hand, and then as you move your hand down in an 'aerodynamic' position, you can feel the air going over it.

Well a few days back, I saw a dog doing the same thing!!! It was sitting on the lap of the driver, sticking its head out from the window, as dogs usually do. As the car would start moving, the dog would put out its left paw, and as some of us humans do, was 'catching the air', bobbing it up and down. And as the car would come to a stop at the signal, the dog would take back its paw. Again, as the car would start again travelling with some speed, the paw would go back up. My mom was with me, and showed it to her. She was even amazed. Then she started her typical Indian story of somebody most likely being re-incarnated into a dog, hence the human characteristics.

I really don't know what to say on that, but yes oddly enough, like a human, the dog was really enjoying the drive. I myself wish I had taken a video of it with my camera phone. But nonetheless, what I saw does show how we beings try to adapt and enjoy our surroundings, perhaps curiously in a similar fashion.

Just To Be Smarter Than You.....

Anything, anything to make you better, and smarter than your friends, co-workers, and relatives. Sure, a lot of things like memory exercises, meditation, omega-3 fatty acids, or even just being born smart would be good. But how about drugs that
made you smarter?

Yes, there are drugs that you can get to make you smarter and more attentive towards your studies and work. And no I'm not making this up, it's true. They are called 'cognition enhancers'. These drugs were made to stop making people from sleeping (who suffer from a sleeping disease), but in effect it makes one more aware of their surroundings and adding power to their memory cells.

And now there are college students and busy work professionals who are using these drugs for obvious gains. Hmmm....cheating I say! It has now become a cause for concern in some governments, and a crackdown might begin before the 'memory pill' revolution begins.

So if you notice your colleague at work or some fellow student doing something extraordinary, and it's not what you would usually expect from them (cause they aren't that smart), you might want to ask if you could borrow their 'memory enhancer' pills.

To Travel Like a King

Being busy with work for the past week, and then falling sick for the past few days has kept me away from posting on my blog. Since I'm feeling better, and working from home today, I guess I finally have some time to do some writing.

Well yesterday one of my best friends called on his way to India for a 2 week trip. Since he lives in Cali, his best way to get to India is taking a long sorry ass trip over the Pacific which takes about 13 hours or so to complete. And not only after that, you have about 8-10 more hours of flight to get to India, if the layover (which is usually in Singapore, Hong Kong, or Bangkok) isn't long enough. So all in all you might have a trip that equates to or exceeds 24 hours in total (yuck!).

In the idea of a long trip, you surely would hope to have a bit of luxury. And my friend longed for such (and certainly I would too). We then started talking about our experiences going on first class in the past. For his first out-of-town interview, the company flew him out on first class. I remember how jealous me and our other friends were with him. Lucky dog!

Well I remember the first time when I flew on first class (pre-9/11), a flight from Cincy to NJ. Back then everything for passengers came very easily. I had amassed frequent flier mileage which I could convert into points for a free upgrade. Like nowadays, airlines weren't crying foul, and flying was fun back then.

So I got onto the flight, not knowing what to expect, other than the comfy seats. As I entered, a flight attendant approached me and led me to my seat, taking my coat. She then asked if I would like to have something to drink, and by drink she meant alcohol. I asked her about the wine selection. The options were Chardonnay or Merlot. I went with the white wine. As I was being handed the wine, I realized that the glass size was LARGE, not something I expected. So I felt that for the 2 hour flight, it should be good enough.

Then just before taking off, the flight attendants went around asking each passenger if they would be interested in a 'light snack'. Of course my answer was in the affirmative.

Once we got onto cruising altitude, the 'light snack' came into being served. The snack was anything but and nor was it light. It was a HUGE bowl of Cobb Salad. I was in awe, and was thinking to ask, "Were you guys joking when you said light snack?" And unlike your typical crappy airliner food, it was delicious.

My surprise continued as the attendant asked me if I wanted more of the 'light snack'. I was about to say yes, but realized that the 'snack' would disturb my 'meal' plans with my cousin that night. Then she returned to ask if I wanted more wine. I was shocked to see my goblet empty. I hadn't realized that I guzzled it down. So I thought, free drink, why not more? At the end, I have to admit, I had a buzz.

We were then given some warm scented towels to get refreshed, and some gift pack, which I recall leaving on the plane.

And as I got off the plane in Newark, along with the other first class passengers, I noticed something quite peculiar. There was this distinct difference of look on the faces of the people coming out of coach class versus the ones from first class (which kind of reminded me of the Seinfeld episode, "The Airport"). I kind of felt guilty about my short pleasure trip. But it brought to light the humongous difference between both classes, and the reason for the ridiculous price difference. The treatment was worth it (without me paying).

Post 9/11 I've had the chance to travel via first class a couple of times, but from what I have noticed things have been pared down, and the service a little less. Some people even say it may not be worth paying for first class nowadays due to the cutbacks the airlines have made. Nor do I intend to pay such crazy fees for short domestic flights.

Whatever the case, a long ass trip like my friend's, does warrant some luxury indeed.

Early to Rise, On Someone Else's Time

I have to "thank" my new client for giving me a new head start to my day. Due to the excuse of saving money, I have to get my lazy ass up earlier than expected.

My client's way of saving money is of course the new found way.....OUTSOURCING & OFF SHORING!!!!!!

Well one of the resources we have in our team is based in Bangalore, India, so that means odd hours. And yes odd hours it is. So in order for me to have status meetings and other catchup calls with this resource, I have to have meetings with this guy at 7:00 AM almost every other day, until he catches up. So I have to get up VERY EARLY for this meeting.

Mind you, I'm not a morning person at all, but I have to do this for the company and keeping a job.

Well today, he sends me and the team an email stating he's not going to be attending the phone session, since he is not feeling well. The message he sent was during our bedtime. So we 'merrily' went ahead with our sleepy eyed meeting. No sense in skipping it.

Now I have gotten more news today! MORE RESOURCES FROM INDIA!

That can only mean one thing.....more early morning meetings! Forget about getting any beauty sleep (dreaming about a beauty is what I mean)!!!

If You Go, Then I Go.......maybe...

As a love and hate relationship goes, so does India's and Pakistan's. We can't live with or without each other. And I guess that "symbiotic" relationship carries on to the World Cup of Cricket.

With the departure of Pakistan from the World Cup last Saturday due to Ireland, I'm sure a lot of the Indian supporters were happy to see their next door foe go home with ease. But on the same day, the Indian team lost miserably to an upstart Bangladeshi team.

So while the Pakistanis had booked their tickets to go back home, India was in the process of inquiring with the agent about the next flight after theirs. Today it was the do or die match up with Sri Lanka. For India, a win and they were in to the next round. A loss and you had to call that agent to confirm and make your final bookings to go back home.

Well the over-hyped Indians did what they weren't supposed to do. They lost, and lost badly. The ill-fated team was, for the lack of a better word, SMACKED. The billions of people back home were decimated. The ones who had bet on India to be winners or finalists lost a good chunk of money.

In the meantime, Pakistan have a huge mess on their hands, with the murder of their coach. Suspicion is rampant, and Pakistani cricket is in trouble. The mystery of Bob Woolmer's death is grabbing more headlines than the matches itself. Actually the news was even headline news on CNN, Yahoo! and other American news outlets, outlets where a report on cricket might be about the insect, not the sport.

And now, since both South Asian giants are virtually out of the World Cup (virtually cause India is technically still in it; read on), I'm sure the neighbors can chummy up and share watching others take the spoils of this tournament. It could bring the peace process along quite well, especially figuring out what went wrong with both of the teams' performances. At least for now, we can support each other's grief.

Now as I said before, India virtually is out of the Cup. The reason why I say that is because on Sunday the Bangladeshis play the lowly Bermudans. So far, Bermuda has been thrashed by both India and Sri Lanka. For the Bangladeshis, they need to win or draw to go to the next round. However, a loss would put India through. But the chances of the Bermudans beating Bangladesh is like asking for pigs to fly (although they do in Cincinnati).

Well I'll be superstitious, and wear my Bermuda shorts this coming Sunday.

Where's the Beef?

Inspired by a friend's post, I felt that I needed to add to the story on how and why beef is not a part of the Indian-Hindu culture. A lot of my non-Desi friends have always been curious to ask about this cultural "phenomenon". However there is this misconception that all Hindus do not eat beef or are simply vegetarians. It's the stereotypical nonsense we always hear.

For me while growing up, I had parents who were both on the opposite spectrums of non-vegetarianism. My mom, more of a vegetarian, hates the idea of beef and sticks with seafood and chicken. She isn't so fond of red meat and will have it only in rare circumstances. My dad however was totally different. He loved meat.

He was a fan of "all of the above", if there is such a category to explain all the options of non-veg food. He even used to tell us about the frog leg samosas (fried turnovers) that he once had (trust me, it seemed as if he was still salivating about that experience when he would describe it to us). And of course the one other important thing he liked was beef. If we ever went out to a place where steak was the main entree, you knew what he was going to order. He once even went as far as tricking my mom, who was new to this country, into eating a hamburger by telling her it was "ham". And not so surprisingly, like any other immigrant Indian, he never had beef back home.

But over time, his beef eating curtailed. I guess it had to do with my mother's influence, especially due to one incident. My dad had brought home some steak when I was about 6 years old or so. Under the protest of my mother, he cooked it anyway. I didn't have whatever he made, but somehow the next day I fell severely ill. I was sick for a while. And as superstitions tend to influence ideas, my mother's words of warning were realized, thus effectively bringing in a ban of cooking beef in the house. In fact it still exists to this very day.

However, the ban didn't extend to my diet. My father's thought was that since in America vegetarian food is hard to find (as it was during the 70's/80's), I should be able to eat anything. Not a bad idea. Oddly enough, my mother relented. So having beef for me wasn't so special. Going out to restaurants, I had it, but at home never.

Funny enough though, at school, a friend once said to me, "You're a Hindu! You just ate a hamburger! You have sinned!!!", to which I laughed and replied, "What's even bad, I'm a Brahmin, so my sin is a lot worse!!!"

But the truth is, Brahmins and the rest of the Indian social strata did eat meat including beef, before it became a "sin".

Traditionally a puja (veneration) is offered by Hindus to the Gods and at the end a prasad (offerings) is given (sort of like the wine and wafer given by Catholics at communion, signifying Jesus' blood and body). These offerings were usually animals used as sacrifice. These animals, then in turn would be made into some edible offering to be given to the devotees as well as the priests (Brahmins). Some of these animals included cows.

This activity continued, until certain influences came into Indian society.

One of the first influences was due to Lord Krishna. The philosophical hero of the Bhaghavad Gita was from the cow herder class, and was known to be a lover of dairy products, especially milk and butter. The love of Krishna by many people prompted them to deify the cow, as it related to his love for the animal.

The other influence was due to the impact of Buddhism and Jainism. Both added elements of "ahimsa" or non-violence. Those teachings made vegetarianism popular. Sacrifices to the Gods dwindled. In essence a lot of Hindus became vegetarians, especially the Brahmin class.

But looking at these reasons on why the cow has been deified in Hindu/Indian society it does call to the fact that it is more of an agricultural impact, rather than just religious. In Hinduism, the cow is looked upon as a 'mother' who gives. This giving of course is essential for the child's growth with milk (with the exception of lactose intolerant people), and also helping man in tilling the land. And knowing that since ancient times India was a culture heavily dependent on its agriculture, the cow's deification isn't so surprising. The agricultural economy spoke for itself. The philosophy was only a part of it.

But nowhere in the religion does it state that we as Hindus cannot eat beef or any other non-vegetarian food.

So why do many Hindus still not eat beef (or are vegetarians for that matter)? Most likely by choice, and possibly due to religious ideals that have become the cultural norm.

Actually for me, beef eating has changed considerably. My intake of it has declined over the past 10 years. I rather prefer things like chicken and seafood (kind of like my mother), instead of beef. The last time I had steak, I genuinely felt sick after having it. And it was well done, something those steak eating aficionados would laugh at me for. I do still crave a hamburger every once in a while, but seriously I rather eat something healthier.

It kind of brings me back to the statement my school buddy had made of me being a sinner. As a kid, I once had gone to McD's with my Pakistani-American friend who I grew up with.

We were en route to a soccer game we were to play and stopped for some breakfast with the rest of the team. He promptly ordered an Egg McMuffin. I expected him to order it without the Canadian Bacon, but he didn't. I reminded him that he was about to eat ham and might be committing a sin according to Islam, to which he answered, "So what? I love Egg McMuffins with the bacon!".

Well a few years ago I met up with him in the Windy City, and jokingly asked him if he still frequented McD's in the morning for his Egg McMuffin. He laughed, wondering how I still remembered that. But his next answer summed it all up with a great big smile, "No man, I don't have Egg McMuffins anymore. Remember, I'm a Muslim!".

I guess personal convictions finally seem to take over.

America

I usually don't post links to songs or videos on my blog, but this song which I heard not too long ago just couldn't get out of my head. It's the song "America" by the Brit-Swede band Razorlight. I feel it's not a bad song, but it is somewhat lyrically inept to a degree. But still it still sounds good, and is buzzing in my head for the moment.

Here's a link to the video of the song.

A Recession is Coming, A Recession is Coming!!!!

Like the famous saying of Chicken Little, "The Sky Is Falling", we have financial analysts similarly running around telling us that a "Recession is Coming". But jokes aside, their forecast seems to be on track.

Over the past few months analysts have been predicting that we are in for a hard recession this year. And that recession might be a very unpleasant one. It could even be worse than 2001's economic bust.

The reasons? Well one known fact is the falling housing market. Houses are not moving off the market as they were a few years back, and a lot of people are defaulting on their house payments. As foreclosures increase, the banks are losing their reserve funds.

Add to that the rising debt of the American consumer. And it's not only about credit card debts, but home equity loans which have inflated the economy's health to a degree. As this borrowing has grown, the savings versus debt ratio is growing along with it.

The GDP of the country has also shown the trends of this slowdown, as it had gone down quite considerably at the end of last year.

But at the same time inflation keeps growing. The Fed really has its work cut out for it, especially looking at the problems plaguing our economy.

In the meantime Fed chief Bernanke feels that the economy is a good shape, and there is nothing to worry about, yet his predecessor Greenspan feels that there are issues, and the recession is very possible. True that economic trends are cyclical, but some analysts believe that the dip in the US economy are going to be a lot worse than expected.

Listening to an analyst's predictions this morning on the radio, I felt some butterflies in my stomach, as he stated his feelings. His thoughts were that if the current housing bust and defaulting of loans continued, it will surely cause a recession. Also he stated that the US Dollar was losing a lot of power overseas. This loss of 'strength' could cause a downward spiral in the economy of the US of course, especially in consumer related goods and services. The rise of imported goods would impact those two areas quite considerably. His feeling was that the recession could lead us to a depression, and maybe even a change in lifestyle, and that being not for the good. He felt that the European and Asian countries might come out well ahead of the US if such happened. His 'doomsday' style prediction does sound very frightful indeed.

Let's hope that somehow this economy isn't as bad as they say it is. Hopefully there's a corner we will turn which will save us from any economic downfall.

Why Shouldn't They Hate Us?

Yesterday evening while driving to a friend's house, I switched on my XM Radio, which I usually do when I get bored of listening to my iPod. I put on the BBC World Service channel, which I normally listen to get the latest world news, or even listen to programs which are quite unique.

And what I heard yesterday was unique. What I heard yesterday confirmed my feelings for the current state of affairs happening between us, the USA, and Iraq. What I heard yesterday was a personal account of the "cancer" that was enveloping Iraq.

The program I was listening to was World Drama, which showcases radio adaptations of popular stories or plays from around the world.

The play that was showcased was "Baghdad Burning", the first hand account of a girl using the pen name "Riverbend", from Iraq whose blog has caught a lot of attention. The international attention has made her blog a dramatic play.

Listening to the play, I could see the scenes being painted, as much as my imagination would let me. I could feel the anger, the pain, the anguish, and the sadness that Riverbend was conveying. The change of the Iraqi landscape and the livelihoods of people have changed forever. I'm not condoning Saddam's dead regime, but at least the majority of the Iraqi people had a life. Now they live in a living hell.

No, of course I'm not an Arab nor Muslim trying to sympathize with my "brothers" and "sisters". I'm just another human being who can't understand what drives people to make certain decisions which have nothing to do with the propaganda led efforts, when in reality the underlining reason is something else. It's sad how we follow the other sheep when the dogs start barking at us, scaring us into believing that going that certain direction is the right way.

It also makes me wonder about the war mongers and Neo-cons who think the American hegemony will change the Middle East along with the rest of the world overnight. That change however overlooks the years of ethnic divisions and traditional rivalries. How soon we forget that there was a reason why we had learnt World History in school as well as college.

Yes, we are great. But as Americans we shouldn't be the aggressors I feel. Afghanistan made sense. Iraq didn't, and it still doesn't. But now we can't leave. Abandoning the mess would put egg on our face. Whatever we do now, the curses will continue to grow as adjectives akin to describing us Americans. It's a classical Catch-22 situation. To put it bluntly, we are screwed.

For my fellow readers, I feel you must listen to this play on the BBC. Please do listen to it, as it does show the reality of what has happened to Iraq. I am not sure how long the play will be available online, so I would advise you to listen to it ASAP.

Thankfully you can still visit Riverbend's blog, where she continues to report on her daily life in Baghdad.

You Know What's Scary???

When a man looks like a bad looking woman!

Ummm...yeah....that's exactly what I said!!!

A MAN WHO LOOKS LIKE A BAD LOOKING WOMAN.

Sorta like those old grannies from down the block who would give you the creeps just by looking at them, and not necessarily at Halloween.

And it's this guy who is at my client site. Uuuugghhh!!!!

Luckily I don't have to work with him. And I hope I never do!

Color Me Red: The Field

Growing up as kids we tend to idolize certain people in society. Some of us idolize our parents, while some of us idolize someone who we look up to from our families or friends. But more often than not, we tend to idolize celebrities. Although usually we don't become those 'celebs', we try to emulate them in certain ways. For boys, especially like me and some of my friends when we grew up, it was sports stars. Greats like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Johnny Bench, Griffey Junior, Boomer Esiason, Joe Montana and others were some of the faves we dreamt of being.

Such dreams would come to life in the old neighborhood I used to live in. The one place where we would act out these "fantasies" was a place called "The Field" which we had nicknamed as kids.

"The Field" was an aptly named place. It was a flat grassy vacant lot at the back end of an apartment complex lying between two houses. The area was quite huge, and it had its own natural settings, somewhat like what old vintage ballparks did. It also had its part as a "multi-purpose" type venue where we would play Football, Soccer, and most importantly, Baseball.

The dimensions were quite unique, somewhat borrowing the look from Fenway Park in Boston. The fences, although not of white pickets, were of the chain link type. The right field fence was short and lengthy, while the left and center field fences were about 12-ft tall. We had nicknamed the left field wall the silver monster (in comparison to the Green Monster at Fenway).

And as summer came, we would play our baseball games with our Louisville Sluggers and aluminum bats with tennis balls. We also kept track of our individual stats, boasting upon who had hit the most home runs, triples, and most wins as a pitcher. We never knew if one was telling the truth or lying, but everyone was given the benefit of those 'bragging rights'. Other than home runs, the other bragging right I had was maybe I was the first and only person of Indian-origin to play at "The Field".

We even at times had spectators who generally would be the two neighboring house owners from both sides of "The Field". They would put out their lawn chairs just to watch us play a game of ball, and even be our secondary umpires.

As time went on, we grew out of our 'games', having other things to do especially when we got into high school. But the tradition continued, with a new breed of neighborhood kids playing their sports like we used to. And funny enough, it was still being referred to as "The Field". But since then I had moved.

Just the other day, one of my very good friends who I grew up with in that neighborhood, asked me if I had seen the "the Field" since the last 4 years, with some feeling of disgust in his voice. I certainly knew what he was talking about.

"The Field" supposedly belonged to the apartment complex, and kept it for future expansion. But since it was in an awkward place, they left it alone. They were also fully aware that the place was a playground for kids, and for them it was fine.

Well the apartment complex got a new ownership, about 5-6 years back. Knowing that the lot was empty, they proceeded to build an incommodious 2-building condo set. Due to corporate greed, "The Field" was no more.

I sometimes still drive past that area, reminiscing the days of 'past glory' having witnessed and played them. Seeing the two ugly buildings making up the new landscape makes me feel sad and angry.

If I had the money, I would buy that plot of land, move those tenants out of the condos, raze the buildings to the ground, redevelop the field, and give it back to the neighborhood kids who can use it to be their "heroes" for the day.

Warming Up Like the Windies

What a day to enjoy cricket, especially the first day of the World Cup. A warm sunny day, where you could wear your shorts, tank tops, flip flops, and whatever that suits your fancy. The nice warm breeze gave the air a most exhilarating welcome for the mind and soul. And to top it all off, the hosts the West Indies, played an enjoyable match giving Pakistan something to think about for the rest of the World Cup.

Yes, I could be the 'King of Wishful Thinking', wishing I was in the Caribbean right now witnessing this month long event, but today I didn't have to. The weather I was describing above was over here in Cincinnati. Yes, a temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit, blue skies, and a bright shiny sun made me break out my shorts, and flip flops and tee-shirt after coming back home from work. I could dream I was in Jamaica relishing the West Indian victory. Again, I said DREAM and I am not comparing Cincy to the Caribbean (as some thought I was comparing Cali to NJ in my last post; it seems controversy surrounds me at times).

But what does bother me is that it is unseasonably warm, especially this time of the year. I don't quite remember the last time we had such high temps so early in Cincy. Global warming could be the reason, while the naysayers will say it's just an irregular day. Whatever the case it was a beautiful day, but I hope this isn't a precursor to what global warming has in store for us. We need all of our four seasons, don't we???

Losing My Home, Away From Home

Yesterday, I got a call from my brother-in-law in New Jersey giving me some good news. Actually for him and my cousin, it's very good news. He just got a promotion from his company, and has been asked to move for the new opportunity. The new place, California.

Understandably, my cousin is excited. She has never been to Cali, and for her it is one of her dream places to be. My sweet little niece is now going to grow up to be a Cali girl instead of a Jersey one.

For me however, the news is somewhat sad.

I hate to sound selfish, but I am losing one of the places which I have grown to love. For the past 10 years I have been going there to visit family, and enjoying the area and lifestyle. It is a total change from the typical Mid-western life, more like an retreat to re-energize your soul. Sounds weird, and its not like I'm comparing it to Goa/West Indies/Hawaii, but New Jersey is cool.

I will surely miss things like the multi-cultural mix, its vicinity to NYC and Philly, the Jersey shore, the NJ transit/Amtrak train rides, the variety of desi food joints, the Bridgewater temple, the Jersey Turnpike and its EZ Pass toll booths, the jug handle turns, and many more things which I'm sure would fill this page up. Heck, talking about the jug handle turns, I think by now I've mastered the roads from Princeton to Rahway.

I guess in the process of visiting so many years, I became an adopted New Jerseyan with Ohioan blood.

Yes, again I am sounding a bit weird by saying NJ is like this for me, but I'll tell you I have never missed home when I go there.

Granted that Cali is a nice place to go visit, but I would say a large chunk of my relatives and some of my very close friends are already over there. It's like the saying, "Go West, young man" that comes up in my mind when I think of going there. Not that I don't like visiting Cali, but I don't think I could frequent the West Coast as I have been with the East.

With one of my cousins already moving overseas last year, I was happy that my other cousin was still in the Garden State.

But come this May, New Jersey will not be my "second home" anymore.

It Begins Today....

With the Opening Ceremonies of the World Cup of Cricket taking place today, it will signal for us cricket fans a month long "feast" to savor great matchups with great players.

According to analysts, this World Cup is wide open, and any team (other than the non-Test playing nations) could win it. There is no clear cut favorite to win it, as it has been in the past. The only thing I hope for is that Australia isn't that winner.

The first match is on Tuesday (hosts West Indies v Pakistan). Unfortunately I will not be able to watch many live matches due to the match times being the same as working hours. Bummer! Luckily having a DVR makes up for that, but it's not fun to watch something that has already happened. Oh well, I have to live with it.

And for those non-enthusiasts, who don't know much about cricket, but want to know some basic terms, here is an ABC's of Cricket.

As for those who know baseball and want to know cricket (or vice versa; since both sports are somewhat similar), here is another good page to read up on.

And We Spring Ahead....

Thanks to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, I have to accept an earlier date to lose one hour of sleep!

But who knows, efficiency might improve with the new DST start/end dates. Only TIME will tell.

Speaking in Tongues, Partie Trois

Today I was reading an article on Rediff.com about some Dalit (low-caste) activist in India claiming that the only way India can be successful and have no ethnic and caste based issues is by getting rid of all the other languages spoken in the country. His solution is to make English the ONLY language.

The activist, Chandra Bhan, feels as if removing the rest of the languages in India would create harmony and unity between the caste structure.

I myself find that hard to believe in a society like India, where you can't force people to do only one thing, and that is speak only in English. Currently, India cannot make its population of a billion plus to accept Hindi as its national language, so what makes this guy think that this would be possible?

And English, being a foreign language, is not something that will be accepted as the only language so easily. Even to this day, the language draws ire from people who feel it is the remnant of the British Raj. Though that being the case, India is very well off due to those remnants. The IT industry, call centers (although some might argue), and current economic influx in the country are a big indicator of that.

As I have written before, I feel language is a key to people's identity. Knowing about India, or Indians more like it, everyone is different and unique due to their cultural ethos. Language is one primary part of it. Me being a Maharashtrian and Marathi speaking sets me apart from the Gujaratis, Punjabis, Bengalis, Tamilians, and whoever and what not from the desi community. There are differences, which do set us apart, yet there is a lot to learn when you have different cultural aspects to things in life.

I feel that the emancipation of the lower caste people or certain races is not related to language at all, although to a certain degree it might. Looking at the African-American population over here, their gradual rise hasn't been due to language, but more due to the educational and economic resources available to them. And of course with education, comes language. But even with that being said, it wasn't that African-Americans weren't speaking in English before that. So it wasn't that common factor of language that led American society to gradually accept African-Americans over time.

Changes in society usually don't happen overnight, and with India it is hard to accept such things will happen. What is ingrained in society for centuries isn't going to die down so easily. Steps have been put into place to give more accessibility for lower caste people, but still they lag far behind. As I said, it won't happen overnight. Majority of India's population lies in the villages and small towns, which doesn't come across a cosmopolitan brand of life like in Mumbai or New Delhi, where you have to accept these differences. Old traditions such as socially set barriers don't die down so easily in small places. That is not to say that caste differences don't exist in big cities, but those differences have gradually lessened.

As for language, English is the key to gain a place in modern day Indian society and even in this world, especially a good job. But it doesn't mean you have to forget your "mother's" language.

Domo Origato, Mr. Roboto

Robots, my dear friends, are to be treated as beings too. And yes, this will become law in South Korea pretty soon.

A code of ethics is being drawn up in the country about human to robot interactions. The code will be applicable to users and manufacturers of the robots, and to the robots themselves.

The ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy in South Korea state that, "The government plans to set ethical guidelines concerning the roles and functions of robots as robots are expected to develop strong intelligence in the near future."

To me it's quite bizarre, especially reading Asimov's books in the past about these ethics. If you have seen or read I, Robot, then you know what I am talking about. Not only has Asimov, but other writers have written books which may or may not have exactly predicted the future, but have laid foundation for such ideas to be made into reality.

As we evolve, a lot of what we see in movies/tv, and read in books will perhaps become reality. Cool, yet scary. There are a lot of things I don't want to become real, but some I do.

Now if only if they could figure out how to do that transport thingy from Star Trek. Maybe I could save money on airfare then.

Tishani Doshi

You might ask who Tishani Doshi is. Well she is a poet and writer of Indian and Welsh background, who grew up in India, and has been educated at Johns Hopkins University.

She has won the Eric Gregory Award in 2001, and the Forward Poetry Prize just last year.

Her current collection of poems, Countries of the Body, which is a journey within itself, uses methaphorical poems. And now she's about to have her work of fiction, The Pleasure Seekers, published sometime soon. She's also working on a biography on Muralitharan, the Sri Lankan cricketer.

Not only is she a writer, but a dancer as well.

Seems this girl has a very bright future ahead of her.


You can read more about her here.

A Good Deed for the Day

It's not everyday that you hear a politician doing good deeds, other than kissing babies for their campaign.

Well in Bosnia, the Croat President of the Republic, Mr Komsic did his part in the birth of a child. The president had noticed a distressed couple driving fast in the town he was in.

He personally asked what the problem was. The couple told the president that they had to travel to the hospital in a town 30 miles away because of possible complications with the birth.

Mr Komsic immediately had his motorcade escort the couple in high speed to reach the intended destination. Not only that, but Mr Komsic helped carry in the mother to be into the hospital.

The grateful couple now intends to name their child after the president.

Kayne West Loves Indian Food!!!

Kayne West loves Indian food a little too much!!!!

A report has it that rapper Kayne West recently ordered some Indian food for a party in New York, to be flown in from the UK. His order has onion bhajees, chapatis, biryanis, pappadums, a specially prepared fish dish and vegetables on the side. Not only that but he has requested the restaurant's head chef to be flown over as well.

The importing of the food and the chef, plus travel and staying expenses will yield Kayne upwards of $5000 or more. Seems like a big party.

Agreed that the UK has some of the best Indian food in the world, but he could have saved some money by going to Dawat instead. Oh well, I guess when you have the money, you can do anything.

Those "Other" Indians...

Being of Indian descent it is commonplace to seek and find a person of the same persuasion whenever you come across them, especially when you are in a group of people of different race or culture. It's not to say that you are being racial or trying to prove a point of being different. I really don't know what it is, but like seems to attract alike, although it is true that at times opposites do attract. I think sometimes that this is an innate feature in all races.

As many people think, not all Indians are the same. Yes, ethnically we are different with our language and culture, but there is more to it.

Over time I have come across people of Indian descent (Person of Indian Origin; PIO) who are NOT from the 'mother country'. And I am not talking about people like me, whose parents migrated in to this country. I am referring to those who are of Indian origin, but have had generations of their family well established in the country they have adopted as their homeland. I've met such people like African-Indians (Kenyan, Zimbabweans, Tanzanians), West Indian Indians (some of who tend to have that funky Caribbean accent), Mauritian Indians (from the island of Mauritius), and Brazilian Indians (a guy fittingly named Junior Kumar).

Last year I came upon a Malaysian Indian at a company conference in Miami. We had an outing one night going into the South Beach area on a chartered bus. By chance, this person sat right next to me. He was a Sardar (or Sikh in general terms).

I struck up a conversation with this guy, expecting to find a person with a heavy Indian accent, but I was quite wrong. Which brings me to the point on how it is hypocritical when we complain about stereotypes, but at the same time we make assumptions about certain people. I know, I complain about such issues, but I guess that I myself am guilty of doing such things at times, mentally at least.

Well I asked the guy where he was from, and he told me he was from Malaysia. He continued to tell me that his father was also born in Malaysia.

Never having met a Malaysian Indian before, I asked him about the language he spoke at home and his cultural ways of life. He said that they spoke in Punjabi and Hindi at home, and very much so, was very Indian in his lifestyle.

I asked him if he had any linkages back in India, and sure enough he did as he had some cousins who still were in India, and some who had moved back recently seeking new economic growth in Punjab and New Delhi. He himself visited India, and loved going there, but felt that Malaysia was better for him.

His kids he said, were into Bollywood movies and identified themselves as being Indians rather than Malaysians. He added that many Malaysian Indians were like this, still carrying on their culture and traditions. There were even Indians who had migrated into Malaysia during the late 1800's who were still "Indian", even though being Malaysians for many generations now.

The thing that I noticed about this part of the 'Desi Diaspora' is that even though they had gone through generations within these lands, they still have maintained their identity. Of course there are some who have assimilated into the local population, thus losing their identity in the process, but a majority have remained "loyal" if you could say that. The continuation of traditional and cultural values with some local variance continues, but overall it is very much Indian.

Many cultures in other countries however, have assimilated to the point that they have kept names as the only identifiers to their background. Take for instance the Italian, Irish, and Welsh immigrants into Argentina. Even though they have kept their last names, which signals the origins of that person, they have uniquely become Argentine. It is similar here in the States too, where many people of European descent have assimilated in a similar manner.

Assimilation though, has brought upon different attitudes and adoption of different cultures into the mainstream culture. A lot of words, foods, and traditions have been adopted into American and other societies over time.

For me it makes me think about my future generations living as Indian-Americans. Since we still are the "new" immigrant population in this country, we tend to be linked with the 'mother land' quite strongly. However this bond isn't going to remain so strong with successive generations.

So, will we become like the other immigrant populations who have become just, "Americans" or "Argentines"?

Or will we be like the "Other" Desi diaspora who are Malaysian, African, or Trinidadian, yet still very much Indian at heart?

Sore Losers.....

I am so happy Duke lost to UNC. Finally the "Goody-Goodies" are going the opposite side of the rankings. I guess the first in my life time maybe.

And Duke players know how to fight???? Wow that was another first. I'm impressed. Coach K is teaching his boys something new now.

I guess a couple of my friends and cousins will not be happy if they read this post cause they are Duke alumni or still current students there. They really are loyal to their university.

Not to say I'm not to my Alma Mater, but when you trash talk to them about their Dukies, they come after you like you have caused some kind of sacrilege. They might even have some fatwa declared upon you.

Oh well, after being on the top for so long, the next thing is on your way down.

Face it, your time has come, oh Blue Devils. You suck!!!

Stares

Yesterday, while coming home from work, I was in a joyous mood. I guess since it was a Friday, I was just looking forward to this weekend, which so far is boring as nothing fun has happened! No one wants to do anything! Hopefully tomorrow (Sunday) it will be better!!! But what a wasted Saturday.

Anyway, so while coming back home, I turned up my stereo enjoying the mood with some good music. I was really into it....lost into it.

Well at a stop signal, I was waiting for the signal to turn green. Some signals just take forever to go green, so the wait was just that. I looked to my left with a smile on my face, head nodding to the music, singing to the lyrics, to see a middle-aged couple in a mini van staring at me with a stern look on their face. I nodded my head in acknowledgement with a smile, and turned back to look ahead.

The signal was still red. But the song in my car stereo was keeping me happy. Who cares? I can sit here for some time. I again peered to the left. Much to my chagrin, the same couple was still staring at me, looking at me like I was some criminal.

I started to think, what the heck was their problem? Why were they staring at me? It's not like they haven't seen brown people before is it? What was it???

So I decided to look at the couple again this time turning my radio volume down as I was making a call on my cell phone. The couple smiled, and gave me a thumbs up. The person behind me started honking, letting me know that the signal had turned green.

As I took a right turn, a few yards down I saw a sign for the township I was in stating, "Loud Noise Ordinance. Fines for Violators..."

I had realized why the couple was staring at me.

Happy Holi!!!!

No, I haven't misspelled the word "Holy", although this day is holy for us Hindus.

I rather not get too complex in explaining the festival, so you probably could do your own research here.

The only sad thing....people in India celebrate this event in grandeur, like throwing around colored powder, having bonfires, parties and feasts, while here we eat traditional Maharashtrian sweets like Puran Poli (jaggery filled chapatis; ho hum) and say "Happy Holi!" to our friends and family.

We usually have our Holi celebrations at the temple here, but I'm sure with freaking freezing temps out there, I don't think anyone would like to get sick. And no "Holi" parties or events at other places surprisingly this year.

Anyway, Happy Holi!

Rebirth 3x

The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 was very devastating, especially for the people of Aceh in Indonesia.

A police officer from that area, Darmi Ali lost not only his wife, but 3 of his daughters. He tried saving them, but unfortunately he wasn't able to.

Mr Ali remarried trying to move on. But now in a good twist of fate, it seems his 3 daughters have come 'back to life'.

Mr Ali's new wife gave birth to female triplets.

"After my female triplets were born, all the worries have gone and turned to happiness," Mr Ali said.

Definitely, God works in mysterious ways.

Life

Each today, well-lived,
makes yesterday a dream of happiness
and each tomorrow a vision of hope
Look, therefore, to this one day,
for it and it alone is life

- excerpt from a Sanskrit poem

Speaking in Tongues, Partie Deux

Knowing multiple languages is key in understanding other cultures, let alone the person. I also feel that it makes the person stronger in many other facets of life, and opens many other avenues in possible career opportunities and other small situations one might face in the future.

What irritates me the most is when some people ask, what use is it for me to know other languages in the USA? Some Indian parents tend not to teach their kids their mother tongue with that same excuse, "What benefit will it bring?".

Well I have benefited in a way, since I am multi-lingual. Speaking English and Marathi, and learning French while in school has added to my experience in life.

Me knowing English is trivial in American society, but Marathi and French have been key for me. My knowledge of Marathi enabled me to get a waiver in college for 'Foreign Language' studies (although I kind of regret that now since I want to learn more languages). It also helps me communicate with my relatives back in India. It also enables me to understand if people are talking about me behind my back. I have at times surprised people in making them realize that I had perfectly understood what they were saying, by simply responding to them in Marathi. Likewise, it has also helped me and some of my friends in switching our conversations to the language so others around us wouldn't understand what we were saying. We still tend to do it.

But the other important thing about knowing Marathi is that I can understand my culture. Without me knowing the language, I don't think I would know a lot about my heritage, people, or its traditions.

Knowing these things in a way, brings about pride and an identity to oneself.

French on the other hand has helped me quite a few times. My trips to France and Quebec really showed me that I was lucky to know the language.

If you have gone to Charles De Gaulle airport in Paris, you know it is one of the pinnacles of chaos in airports around the world. The information you get for your flights is quite bad, and no one speaks in English, or rather should I say, wants to speak it even if they know it. A question in English might yield an "Eh?" or some half-hearted answer. There are exceptions to that, with some being very helpful, but a lot of people tend to be proud that they are French.

As I once was going through on transit, I had to find some info about my next flight. Some people in front of me inquired in English with the gate attendant about their next destination. They were going to the same place as I was. The attendant with a frown on her face, in perfect French-accented English said, "I don't know. Go to the information desk and find out from them!"

Nervously, I approached the attendant, and followed to ask the same question, but in French. She immediately responded with a broad smile giving me details on the gate number, the directions to the gate, and the customary, "Have a good flight". She knew most likely I wasn't a Francophone, but it seemed she was very happy that I asked her the question in her native tongue.

Similarly in Quebec, knowing French came in handy, even though the language is a little different from the one you learnt in school. As I had gone on a week long trip to Montreal with my cousin, we came across parts of the cosmopolitan city which were more in tune with French than with English. Communication wasn't so hard as people spoke enough English to get by, but a little use of French really came a long way at times. Although this was true in Montreal, it was totally a different story outside of the city.

We took a day trip on Greyline Tours to Quebec City, where on the way we stopped at a family owned roadside restaurant. The couple that owned the place had no knowledge of English, and only spoke in French. Any person who would ask the couple a question would be promptly pointed to their young teenage daughter who was sitting at the register. The girl was the only one in the family who spoke in English.

As typical as some of us Americans are flabbergasted when someone doesn't speak English when expected (or as one expects), they started to ask the bus driver how on earth this could be in Canada? The driver, a Quebecois, laughed and said that this is what Quebec is with the exception of Montreal and some parts of Quebec City. The rest of Quebec ONLY speaks French. He added that it was the youth of nowadays that were becoming multi-lingual, as they are seeking opportunities outside of Quebec, and even Canada.

But it is quite a culture shock, as you feel you are not in Canada any longer.

My take, we should learn more languages, especially at a younger age, as they are beneficial to us. I feel that every kid in this country should be bilingual from an early age, like the way it is in Europe and India. I think the impact of Spanish will bring about that change in when languages are taught in school.

You never know when that 'other tongue' will come in handy.

Thought for the Day

We are rich only through what we give, and poor only through what we refuse.

- Anne-Sophie Swetchine

Love in the Middle of Hate

As everyone knows, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a never-ending story. It affects everyone in both countries (yes I feel Palestine is a country or should be one) in many facets of life.

It also affects love stories. This love story, between an Israeli woman and Palestinian man, is very unique and sad. Both are married, but have not been accepted by either society, and are forced to stay separately. Their marriage has also become a political issue. But now a new dawn for their relationship seems to be on its way.

Read more about it here

Color Me Red: Mr. Red

With Baseball's Spring Training looming upon us, I always feel the excitement that leads up to Opening Day. I also reminisce about the times when I grew up following my beloved hometown team, the Cincinnati Reds. So I have decided throughout the 2007 season, to dedicate some postings to my team called "Color Me Red".

In my lifetime, they have only won 3 World Series Championships (of which only one I can remember). If they were only the New York Yankees. But a storied franchise nonetheless.

One thing I do remember is going down to the old Riverfront Stadium with my parents during the summer watching great and not so great players come and go. Getting to witness Pete Rose, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, Dave Concepcion, Eric Davis, Barry Larkin, and many other greats is something special to me.

The other thing that I remember is meeting the Reds mascot, Mr. Red. Although the Reds have added another mascot to their line-up, Gapper (just think what would happen if Elmo, the Cookie Monster, Big Bird and Grimace had a genetically enhanced child), there's nothing like the original, Mr. Red.

Mr. Red is a mascot with a human body and a baseball head. He was cool to go up to and shake hands with. Kids adored him. He would also come out during the 7th inning stretch and do some silly things like run around the bases the wrong way.

Well over time, the look of Mr. Red has changed considerably. When I grew up, Mr. Red looked "human" enough. But if you look at he latest Mr. Red, he looks like some alien being. His eyes are just frightful. It's as if he stepped out from a horror movie or something. If I were a kid, I don't think I would like to go down to Great American Ball Park, cause seeing him would give me nightmares, let alone the way the Reds have been playing the past few years.

I think if Mr. Red looked like this when I was growing up, I think I would've had to turn to other alternative "sports" like NASCAR (thank God that didn't happen).

Rumor has it that Mr. Red will be changing his look, especially with the new uniforms the Reds have gotten for this year. It seems he will adopt the old Mr. Red look with a handle-bar moustache. Nice for nostalgia, especially for those baseball purists.

Now with these changes, if only if the Reds could add more pitching and one more power hitter.

Speaking in Tongues

Over the past few years, I've been noticing a cultural shift in language around this area. I know for a fact that such things aren't so foreign in cultural aspects especially in the NY/NJ, Chicago, Toronto and other multi-ethnic based metropolitan areas, but here it's really changing.

With the gradual influx of Hispanics/Latinos the past few years I have been seeing dual signs posted in many places of business. Where you once had an English-only speaking clientele, you now have even a Spanish speaking one. Also, I often overhear a conversation taking place in Spanish whenever I visit a store nowadays. It's become a common thing.

Likewise with the Indian community growing here day by day, the cultural language impact is changing some of your typical norms. One place I've noticed this is at work. Being in IT, you naturally will come across the 'Desi' diaspora, especially the ones who have migrated here recently. And with the offshore projects my company handles, there's more to the speaking in different tongues than usual.

Case in point, was just the other day where I was in the office, and the guy behind me started speaking in Hindi and Marathi with some colleagues over in India on the phone. They were surely talking about work cause he was using the typical jargon that we use in our IT projects. Then a cube just on the other side I could hear a conversation going on in a South Indian language. I couldn't tell what the heck they were saying, but it had to do with work.

Later I got up to go out for lunch and as I was passing by, I could hear a project team speaking in Hindi and some South Indian language discussing the milestone on a project.

It was totally turning into a culture shock for me. A few years back I didn't have the "luxury" to listen to people speaking in different languages at the workplace, especially Indian, but now its commonplace at my office. Even the English-only speaking crowd doesn't find it odd anymore. It's the part of the business they say.

For me though, it's cool. Sometimes I can imagine I am working from India.

The Changing Food Culture in India

Ahhh....coffee...one of my favorite drinks...and my favorite place to get it is of course Starbucks. Not that I drink Starbucks everyday (as it would be expensive), but if I am in the mood for a caffeine rush, it's where I turn to first.

Well now the first Starbucks will be opening up in India in December. This will add to the American food/retail outlets in India which have found a great following by the freely spending Indians. McDonald's, Subway, TGI Fridays, Pizza Hut and Domino's are a few that have been tasting success in recent years.

On my trips to India I have had McD's a couple of times and it is quite different. Not the typical menu items from here. Quite tasty. And one thing I had noticed long time before it was made public here......the fries tasted different. It wasn't until the infamous case a few year's back against McDonald's by an Indian person that the truth was revealed that the fries in North America were flavored with beef flavor enhancers. So that means a lot of people who were eating the McD's fries over here as a veggie snack have been converted to something or rather.

I even had a chance to peruse the menu for Subway at a mall in Mumbai and it was very Indian in comparison to its American counterpart. But the aroma of the baking bread smelled the same.

Actually when I was in college a friend of mine (an Indian from Kenya; we called him and such fellow students a politically incorrect term, African-Indian-Desi Student or "AIDS" for short; yeah that was MEAN) had this idea of taking Taco Bell (aptly named "Toxic Hell" in our college days) to India, as a lot of vegetarian people would love the concept of eating 'rotis' filled with mushed beans. He used to say he would contact Pepsi (now owned by YUM! Brands) and get a marketing plan going for it and obtain franchise rights. He was very serious about it. I don't know what happened to his plan, and have never asked him. I should ask him whenever he comes to the States on his occasional visits.

Since all these food and retail outlets are coming into India, I wonder IF I ever went there on an extended stay or even lived there, would I miss the USA? Not that I eat this crap regularly, but with almost everything American popping up in the lifestyle of the country it seems you would not feel like you left home. Then again there are some things that I would miss.

For one thing, this food trend is like the outsourcing of getting a heart attack that you would potentially get from your typical fast food from over here. That I would like to miss!

Well with Starbucks opening up in India, I will have a familiar place to go to when I go next time. The other cafe places I had been to just last year were not so impressive.

That however brings me to the question. It would be odd, but would they have Chai/Chai Lattes ????

The Battle of the Babas

I felt that I wanted to write about the current yoga phenomenon happening in India, which I had been putting off for sometime now. Thanks to a friend's post, I have finally decided to delve into the subject matter.

Yoga is enjoying a revitalization in India. The popularity is growning day by day. Yoga hasn't disappeared in India, but as old customs and practices do, they kind of fall to the way side in the popular culture. Don't get me wrong as yoga is still practiced by many people in India, but a vast amount of people seem to forget what's good for them. Well thanks to two men, the practice of yoga has become a mainstream media event in India, and some parts of the world.

One person is the saffron robe wearing Baba Ramdev, and his Divya Yoga Trust. The other is the white robe wearing Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (not to be confused with Anoushka and Norah Jones' dad), and his Art of Living Foundation.

Both are promoting yoga as a science to alleviate one's personal trauma caused by stress or even health related matters. Both are even doing their part in making lives easier to live, especially charitable work.

Both are also showing breathing related techniques which in their words should revitalize the body and mind. Baba Ramdev does his pranayama, while Sri Sri Ravi Shankar does his Sudharshan Kriya (which is patented suppossedly).

Both give lectures about basic living and ways to improve it.

Both of these fads have reached everyone in India and the desi diaspora from the top to bottom of the social order.

I have some friends who are involved in the Art of Living. They say they like it. I even know a couple of girls who I was talking to, on separate instances, who were trying to get me involved in it. Both of these girls were acting as if I was missing a big thing in my life in not taking these courses. Believe it or not, I was admonished. It felt as if they were in some cult or something. Thank God those two girls didn't work out.

My mother has caught on to the fad as well. One of her sisters is really into this thing and has been sending her VCDs of Baba Ramdev and his yoga techniques. Since then my mother has been become a fan of this yogi. She keeps telling me to join her in the exercise routine the Baba does.

So I sat down with her a couple of times, watching this video showing the Baba demonstrate his pranayama. But one day started this freak show. The guy was able to suck his gut to the point that it seemed as if he was touching his spinal cord. Quite impressive I say, but I am not sure if I really want to see something weird like that. My mom all excited was like, "Wow! Amit, if you did this regularly you will be able to do that!!!"

Uhhh.....Mom, I don't want to be able to do that. A six-pack would be good enough!!!

Not a fan of either schools of yogic thought, but I must say the breathing techniques are relaxing.

Anyway, I really think both men are doing a very good job in conveying their message of peace and harmony, and keeping oneself fit and fine thus reducing the stress caused by our everyday lives. Kudos to them. We need many more people like the Baba and Sri Sri, sans the freak shows.

Justice Served?

Last summer, here in the Cincinnati area, a gripping story hit the front headline news on a daily basis which pretty much is playing out the last few days. Reading about the story makes you shed a tear. It definitely has for me.

Foster parents David and Liz Carroll along with their live-in girlfriend, Amy Baker reported that their foster child, Marcus Fiesel, was missing as they had gone to a park.

The concerned community came together, joining in a massive manhunt for little Marcus. The Carrolls even went on TV holding press conferences and demanding the return of Marcus. However it was going nowhere.

A few days later, the trio was charged with murder (upgraded from manslaughter) and inducing panic among with other slew of charges.

The string of events that led to the Marcus' death and how the Carrolls went about hiding it makes the story even more gruesome.

The story goes that the Carrolls and Baker left Marcus, bounded and locked in a closet while they went to a family reunion over the weekend.

Marcus, the blue-eyed boy, lived with a cute adorable smile, but his life was anything but happy. At age 1, he lived in a flea-infested home that reeked of mold and feces.

More than once, police had come to the house when Marcus' mother, Donna Trevino, called to complain about abuse from her boyfriend.

On one visit, the house smelled so horrible that police asked his mother where the animals were. There weren't any, she told them.

By the time Marcus was 2, police were still responding to domestic abuse at his mother's home.

Child welfare workers were also investigating complaints from Trevino about physical abuse, too.

As he approached his third birthday, a foster family in Clermont County offered Marcus a safe, new life away from the turmoil with his mom.

Unfortunately that transfer didn't offer any safe haven.

The 3-year old little boy who was left behind by his foster parents, didn't make it over the weekend. Cincinnati summers are humid and hot. And being locked in a closet for 3 days, without any food or water, he ultimately died.

Upon the family's return from the weekend celebration, they found the little boy's body.

The trio, as with any perpetrator, made up plans to hide their guilt. David and Amy proceeded to take Marcus' body to a remote area in a park and burn it repeatedly until it was pretty much gone. Then the Carrolls went to the police and public claiming that Marcus had disappeared while he was playing in the park with their own kids.

But the stories they made up didn't make sense. The police found doubt, and eventually the case was cracked.

The cases against the Carrolls went ahead. Liz Carroll was tried and convicted this week. David Carroll is to go on trial in a few days time.

And as for Amy Baker, she has been set free. The reason, is because she was offered immunity by prosecutors to testify against the Carrolls. But according to many sources, Ms. Baker's involvement in Marcus' death was more than what she is getting off for. The talk is that it was her idea to keep the boy behind, and also to burn his corpse. Liz Carroll, not an innocent bystander by any means, wasn't the main culprit here.

What makes me sick is that the prosecution isn't really using the law as it should apply. They know that Amy Baker was involved directly in Marcus' death, yet are letting her go. Now they are giving David Carroll about 15-20 years if he pleads guilty. And for Liz Carroll, who probably wasn't the main villian in the whole scheme of things is eventually going to end up dead in prison as she was sentenced to 54 years.

No, I don't feel sorry for her, as to me her maternal instincts should've known better what to do for Marcus instead of listening to her husband and girlfriend and leaving him in a swealtering closet over the weekend. What I don't agree with is the justice that is being done for Marcus. Two people involved directly with his death will be set free (one being already) one day, while one pays for their heinous act. To me all three should be given the maximum.

Sometimes these trials just don't make sense. I really wish there were prosecutors for prosecutors.

Regardless on how this case goes, no child should be made to suffer this way. I cannot understand how people can be so ruthless and selfish to sacrifice even a kid's life.

May God have pity on your soul, Marcus.

Blog Like An Egyptian (rather don't)

To all my fellow bloggers, just be happy that you live in a country that allows freedom of expression (or at least it seems so).

Today an Egyptian court sentenced Abdel Kareem Soliman, a blogger, to 4 years of imprisonment for criticizing the country's top Islamic institution, al-Azhar university and President Hosni Mubarak, whom he called a dictator.

He also called the institution "the university of terrorism" and accused it of suppressing free thought.

The university expelled him in 2006 and along with that pressed prosecutors to put him on trial. What's even sillier is that the whole trial lasted only 5 minutes.

So I wonder what would happen to me if we were that strict here, cause I've made fun of Dubya on my blog many a times, and rightfully so.

To Lead By Example

Usually when old nations or kingdoms went to war, the leadership, especially the king or queen would lead the forces onto the battlefield. Nowadays such examples are very rare, and are pretty much nonexistent.

Today, a part of the monarchy of the British people has decided to step into the battle front. Prince Harry has been called to duty into Iraq, and will join his fellow compatriots commanding a tank squadron.

Prince Harry graduated from Sandhurst, the Royal Military Academy, last April and qualified as an armored reconnaissance troop leader in October.

In a statement made by the Prince last year, he said: "There's no way I'm going to put myself through Sandhurst and then sit on my arse back home while my boys are out fighting for their country."

Well done Prince Harry! Keep yourself safe, and lead your nation. You are truly doing your duty. May God Save the Prince!

I'm King for a Day!!!

Or was rather!

Yesterday we had a Mardi Gras party at work. Not many places you will find those kind of parties at the workplace, but it was much more subdued than the celebrations you have down in New Orleans.

Well we had some Cajun-Creole food for lunch, and with that we had something called the King Cake. The King Cake, as some of you may not know, is a tradition that came to New Orleans with the French settlers around 1870, continuing a custom dating back to twelfth century France. Similar cakes were used then to celebrate the coming of the three wise men calling it the feast of Epiphany, Twelfth Night, or King's Day.

The New Orleans tradition is that each person takes a piece of cake hoping to find a plastic baby inside. The recipient of the plastic baby is then "crowned" King or Queen for the day.

As luck would have it, I found this teeny tiny plastic baby (as you see in the picture above) before I could bite into it. That wouldn't have been nice. Well when one of my co-workers found out that I had the baby, I was proclaimed to be "King of the Day". Sounded very pleasing to the ears. Was I to be a director or some other upper level management person for the day? Was I being given the permission to go home early that day?

Well, what I was told next really put me in a state of shock. I was told that since I was the King for the day, I would have to buy the cake for next year's Mardi Gras party!

Eh? So for becoming a "King" for the day, I get punished for next year??? I don't mind buying the cake, but c'mon, this is silly. What would be worse, is that I buy the cake next year, and find the baby again!!!! And one thing I noticed that a barrage of people went to get the cake AFTER the baby was found by yours truly! How fitting. As we say in Marathi (the Indian language I speak), "Mala Uuloo Banavla!" (I was made a fool!).

But really, if you were made "King" or "Queen" for the day, what would you do?

Do You Guys Have Nothing Better to Do?

First we went into Afghanistan to stop the rise of Al-Qaeda and remove the stronghold of the Taleban. Granted it was a worthwhile exercise, but it's still unfinished business.

Next we go after Iraq, cause Dubya wanted to accomplish his personal vendetta against Saddam. It worked with toppling Saddam, but the country is now in disarray and our men and women are being sacrificed for a senseless war. All excuses to go in were all but lies, and now there's no way of turning back from the mess we have created.

And now we have on the horizon, Iran. Yes our biggest enemy from the 1980's is rearing its ugly head by trying to enrich uranium, ultimately creating a nuclear device. A big threat in that Iran could supply this material to any terrorist faction and all hell could break loose is somewhat of a reality.

Now according to the BBC we are now finding out that the US government has put in a contingency plan to attack Iran, IF it doesn't yield to our demands. The attack could also be launched if there is a link between the terrorist activities in Iraq and Iran. Rightfully so, but this makes this 'war' a neverending battle. Quite sad.

So that brings me to the biggest question in regards to our current Middle East adventure......where did Al Qaeda go in all of this???? Wasn't that our main reason for the war on terrorism?

When the Land Down Under Goes Down Under

For the first time since the inception of the One-Day rankings for Cricket in 2002 the Australians are not on the top anymore. Thanks to England and New Zealand's sudden domination of the usual dominator, the Aussies slipped from the top spot as South Africa took over.

Australia's defeat to the Kiwis (NZ) couple days back was their fourth consecutive loss - the first such sequence since 1997 - and fifth in their last six matches. South Africa on the other hand, have been in stunning form, having won seven of their last eight ODIs. What's worse is that the Aussies are without their top 2 batsmen (Ponting and Gilchrist), on a respite before the World Cup, and 2 other stalwarts who are off injured, and still doubtful for the tournament.

This leaves the World Cup wide open. Just maybe. You never know with Australia. We have faves like South Africa, the current number one and all perinnial chokers; the West Indies, the home team but very unpredictable, and even India (who might do it this time around). But I have friends making comments (and know cricket more than I do) that New Zealand might pull it off. The other lot of England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka might have a chance, but I personally don't think so. And the other minnow teams....they are just that...minnows. Hmmmm.....let's wait and see.

Also, this March the Cup will be played on this side of the Western Hemisphere for the first time in the West Indies. So thank God we don't have to stay up during un-Godly hours watching a match. The only problem.....it's gonna be during work time!!! :(

Let's hope there are some desi (South Asians) managers at the clients sites!!!