Future of music??

Went to Mount Bonnel - the highest point in Austin (785 feet above downtown). The view of the city was scenic from there. On return, we stopped over at Starbucks for a coffee.

This Starbuks had several kiosks which were music centers. The kiosk had all music that you can imagine (only English though). You can sit there for as long as you want, listening to the music of your choice on those really cool headphones. And if there are songs you really like, compose an album containing only those songs, burn a CD and walk home. No more do we need to buy expensive CDs which have only 1-2 songs that we like to hear. I know we can still do that with MP3s - here, however, you can listen to entire songs before you put them into your album (and I am not talking of music piracy here) - infact listen to them as many times as you want. I think this is value for money - to the last cent!! You pay for each song (here it was a dollar a song)!!

This way, not-so-good songs of an album cannot free ride on the success of those one or two good numbers!

Sixth Street

Today I ventured out to explore the much vaunted clubbing scene in Austin. And it lives upto all the hype.

Nightlife in Austin spoils you for choice! A walk down the ‘Sixth Street’ would tell you why! There are pubs wall to wall, for over half-a-mile... each with its own live music, and very few have a cover charge... and lots of them have big studs and hot women appealing to you to come to their club. Clubs seem to be distinguished by the genre of music they play. I ended up going to one that was into 'rock n roll', and another that was primarily guitar based (now this is one thing I really regret not having done in life - develop a sense of music - I really admire those that have that sense. and if you can play an instrument, then you are my hero (or heroine, as the case may be)!!).

There is something about music. I think it is very internal. It is something that comes from within, and provides satisfaction within. If you have admirers, it is great, and in case not, it is just as good. One can just play music by herself/himself and be at peace. I guess this is true about any passion. If one enjoys drawing, then she/he would continue to do that regardless of anyone being around. Appreciation helps – but that is after the act. The process of drawing is what gives the real bliss to the artist. In effect, passionate people really don’t need company - they are just as happy alone (while pursuing their passion), as they are in company of people. Only people comfortable with their own self can be loners. Not to say that a gregarious person is not as comfortable with himself or herself. Just that I strongly believe that true bliss is internal. It is not a function of anything outside of oneself. Those that look for it outside are only living in a make-believe world. There is NO, and I stress on no, external event, object, person that will give you a feeling that is not transient. It has to be internal. External events/people give you pleasure and pain in equal measure – and all such pleasure and pain is transient. In summary, don’t be a deuteragonist in your own life – take control. Be the protagonist – take control. Do things that YOU feel comfortable with – take control. Be at peace with yourself – take control. Everything else will follow!!

Yet, I pause and think…

For every high there is a low!

So here I am, sitting
Alone in the dark again
What a perfect fucking metaphor
I'm so tired of this
I know I have no reason to feel this pain but
Of course I can't stop it now

It's nights like this when
I don't want to hear solutions
And my dreams just tease me
With promises of a better tomorrow
That isn't today yet
And patience isn't one of my virtues

What, you mean this isn't normal for me?
Either I'm damn good at hiding this or
I spend a lot more time than I like to think
Lost in my head
Angst may be fashionable these days, but
I'd much rather be a happy geek

...plagiarized from http://www.tomorrowlands.org

Roller blading, taking to the next level, and ISKON

In rollerblading, there is something called ‘moving in a pack’ – skaters line up behind each other, and skate in one motion. The idea being that the first guy in the pack faces the wind, and sets the speed and direction for the rest of the pack. This helps people skating behind conserve energy. Of course, they take turns to lead a pack. People with similar skill levels form a pack.

Isn’t that what we all do, get ourselves into a pack, and let our speed and direction be set by the leader in the pack – just that in our case, we don’t even know who the leader is, and the size of the pack is rather huge. Also, here there are no taking turns in leading the pack. We are all so happy just being part of the pack, and happy at not having to face the wind. An interesting point to note here is that the leader of the pack is of the same skill level as the rest of the pack.

There is this famous inline rollerblading NorthShore Marathon – it is a 26-mile race. The record for that race, till 1997, was one hour and five minutes. In 1998, the race was taken to the next level. The national champ, Eddie Matzger, was also taking part in the race. There were three skaters that were part of the pack Eddie led that most of the time. These three guys simply chucked the pack very early on in the race – and took off. That year, 27 people completed the race in a time less than the previous record for that race. Eddie was shocked!! These three guys finished it in well under an hour. This is what I call taking to the next level – and it takes getting out of the pack to achieve.

The thing that I most admire about the US is its ability to take everything to this next level. Even the real estate agent, yep the guy who helps us find a place to rent, has made it an organized business – multi-million, if not a billion dollar business. If it were a sport, then they would pursue it with so much more passion, and approach it so methodically, and with so much science so as to push the limits. There seem to be more role models, and sources of inspiration in this country than any other place in the world.

For long, I have strongly believed that aptitude is secondary; it’s the attitude that matters. There was this guy in my wing at IIT that seemed really dumb. He could barely speak English, and the questions that he asked in class were anything but trivial, and most of the class could but control their laughter when he spoke. And true to the belief of others about his ability, he scored really poor in the first year (I think his gpa was just about hitting 6 (on a scale of 10)). He passed out as the top ranker in his department with a GPA of over 9 (for those that know the IIT system, a gpa of 9 is NOT easy – very few manage it, especially, outside the comp sc dept). That guy slogged. I saw him studying on the evening just after the exams. That single-minded approach, made him overcome his limitations – it wasn’t about his aptitude, rather his attitude, and the passion to excel.

A talented person (no matter what the talent) deserves respect. But I kind of tend to respect those more that have an attitude. Those that really take it to the next level are not necessarily (infact, I am definite not) the ones with the aptitude (talent, intellect or skill), rather the ones with the attitude – the attitude to think beyond their limitations.

Last evening, we went to the ISKON temple in Seattle, and chanted Hare Krishna for close to an hour. The lead guy was a firang, and he exuded so much energy that it was difficult not to follow him, and chant alongwith. A trivia: there were a lot of children there. Indian families seem to bring their kids to this temple on every Sunday – to give them a feel of the Indian culture. Another trivia: It was the birthday of one of the devotees there. Dressed in Indian attire, she could speak Hindi, and used her hand to blow off the candle!! This lady had turned 60 – and had been a Krishna Bhakt for 20 years. She and her husband run a FREE restaurant in Seattle called ‘My Sweet Lord’.

Am back in Austin now, and its office from tomorrow.

Seattle - the suicide city

I am having a very tight life in Seattle. Went for an almost 100 mile drive (one way)- on a car with ~180bhp (fyi M800 is 37 bhp). We cut short the drive because after a point it was snowing heavily - and the car was skidding, and we dint have snow chains to drive in such conditions. Midway we stopped over for a 5.5 mile treck - made a video of the treck - will post it soon. Evening, went to dinner with a dapartment-mate from iit, Nazan, and she has not changed one bit in four years. and it was scary sitting in a car with her driving! But it was great catching up on old times (Manish, may disagree - but we made sure we had a good time :-)).

Post dinner, we went to a club - dancing - that was fun!! absolute blast. and again, this morning, we were off to a drive to another falls... check out the pictures of Seattle - it is breathtakingly beautiful.

More later, for now, the gang is up to some cooking, and then we are off!!

PS: Seattle is called the suicide city!! There are more suicides reported in this city than any other in the US (world??) I wonder why - maybe coz the weather here is very depressing - cloudy, rainy... hardly any sunshine!

Seattle

Landed at midnight here. Somehow all these US cities seem a copy-paste job. Every city looks the same.

Manish was at the airport. One of my best buddies from IIT, Manish is a personality of his own. He lives life the way it should be. For me, he epitomizes the 'just do it' attitude, and the notion of the killer instinct. Infact, some of my folks from IIT, Birjoo, Tirpoo, Bala, Sanjay - what really sets them apart was that killer instinct - the ability to not give a shit about anything, and 'just doing it' - we called it 'jehad'. However, US seems to be packed (end to end) with people that have such an attitude - infact taking it to the next level.

Seattle is 2 hours behind Austin, so you need to adjust your body clock by two hours. However, as Seattle is way in the northern part of the country, the days are really short. So sun sets around the same time as it does in Austin (almost).

Next four days I am in Seattle. I hope to look around quite a bit.

Coldest I have ever seen

when it looks bright and sunny at first sight, but when you step out it is well below zero (-8 degrees to be precise) - it is not funny. Especially, if you aren't adeuqately layered (somehow I have been too lazy to go and buy a warm coat - which is not easy to find in Austin). Minneapolis is the coldest city in the US... the landscape is white, with grey roads running thru. Why is there no ice on the roads? I am told it gets colder in the evening. That scares me!!

I am travelling with the VP of my company. He has been a serial enterpreneur. Born in NY, he has lived in almost every nook and corner of the US. He was a paper boy when he was 10, and guess where.. in Minneapolis. He used to go out throwing papers at 5 in the morning, when it was 55 degrees below zero - YES, 55 degrees - 'spit used to bounce', he said!! 'and with the wind,' he continued, 'it felt like 75 degrees below zero.' He started his first company when he was 31, in Switzerland - this was about automobile components. Then he started another in France - again related to automobile components. There he faced some problems in managing his inventory. He not only solved the problem for himself, but also started another company that sold this solution to other manufacturing companies (he said its was an Internet company). Currently, he has faith in the capability of the Internet - and so he is in Trilogy.

I dont like cold places. I wonder why companies have huge establishments here?

Hope

Two interesting quotes on hope:
Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. (Andy to Red in Shawshank Redemption)

Hope is the quintessential delusion of the human mind, simultaneously the source of its greatest strength and its greatest weakness!! (The Architect to Neo in the Matrix)

At first glance, the first quote looks good and inspiring, while the latter, a little skeptical.

Merriam Webster defines hope as "to cherish a desire with anticipation.” Desire and anticipation - one of this is clearly a vice, as per some Krishna. And so is the other - to an extent. Remember, Karmanye vadhika raste maa faleshu kadachan - performing the right action without any desire for fruits! Clearly, if you go by the Gita, anticipation of any form should be avoided. So hope is made of two vices. So why is hope a good thing? This quote is an oxymoron!!

Coming to the second quote, lets look at it a little more closely. Quintessential - the essence of a thing in its purest and most concentrated form; delusion - a persistent false psychotic belief regarding the self or persons or objects outside the self. Hope is intangible, and therefore, is characterized as delusion – and any choice/action based on hope is inconsequential. Hope is beyond comprehension through logic. In other words, this quote has a lot of meaning if logic is the only thing that runs through us. Clearly, that is not the case. Haven’t we heard of stuff called ‘intuition’, ‘passion’, ‘love’? I am sure more than one of these defies all logic – and yet bears consequence. How often our intuition turns out to be right, even though there is no logic that can explain that. Besides, doesn’t the definition of the word delusion itself contain the word ‘belief?’ Besides, what is a pure vs. a non-pure delusion in pure mathematical terms? Also, stuff that looks logical at first glance may turn out to be completely illogical later on – and how often the most logically executed plans turn out to be duds. In summary, this quote also seems to conclude towards something that it didn’t set out to mean!

I hope...

Liberty, US Infrastructure, Hayek and Keynes

I ventured out to figure out a little of Austin yesterday. I am gradually beginning to understand that figuring out directions is not so much pain here afterall. It is a grid structure - with appropriate directions everywhere. You just need to get onto a freeway and keep an eye for exits - and be sure of which exit to take.

Ravi (a UT, Austin alum, and one of the smarter guys I have known) sent me some ideas on places I could go check out. So I went to UT, and places around - supposedly the downtown of Austin (called Guadalupe). This was the first time in Austin that I actually saw people walking on the streets. It was like any other place. What struck me was this HUGE British flag flowing down the balcony of an apartment right in the middle of the most happening street of the city - and no one seemed to care.

That's what I admire about the US. The concept of Liberty is in its most mature state in this country. You can speak the language you want, practice the religion you want, proclaim the love to any country, marry the person you want (regardless of the sex), pursue the weirdest interest, eat the food you like, chuck everything and be your own, there is freedom to do whatever – and to everyone that comes to this place. Your freedom is respected in so far as you respect the other person's freedom.

The only historical place that I went to see, while in NY, was the Statue of Liberty - and it truly seems to summarize the attitude of the country. Liberty – Enlightening the World. It stands on the mouth of the Hudson welcoming all that come to this land. (The thing I really like about Liberty is the breaking free from chains - there is a broken chain at the left leg of the statue) It kind of symbolizes the concept of the great American dream – “all men are created equal, that they are endowed by God, Creator, with certain inalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.” Some interesting stuff I picked up about this ‘dream’ from the Internet: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/sermons/650704_The_American_Dream.html

I am not saying that the concept is perfect here - it has its own share of pain and trouble and wackiness. But it is better than any other place on this planet – atleast what this country stands for is inspiring. This country is not known to give birth to a lot of great intellectuals, but it is the ability to attract the best in every field that really catches my fancy.

Later in the day, one of my ex-bosses called me over to this dining and entertainment place called Dave and Busters. We played a couple of video games, and hung around examining the place for a while. I am sure we will soon have similar places coming up in India – there is a place where adults can have quite meals, there is a pub, and there is this gaming zone with all sorts of fancy games. The idea being that families can come here, and there is something to cater to the needs of every one in the family – i.e., captures the entire ‘wallet’ of a family. Thereafter, we went to another similar concept (I cant recall the name, chek o cheese or something), just that it is more targeted toward families with much younger kids.

While on the way, I got to learn a couple of interesting things. For one, bowling alleys, malls etc were a rage in the US in the 60’s just as they are currently in India. That was the time when the concept of free markets was catching on in the US and the middle class was beginning to get more affluent, and were upwardly mobile – exactly what is happening in India these days.

Another interesting point - this one about the infrastructure in the US: the basic road structure here is mind blowing – huge roads, complex flyovers, smooth expressways – running right through the city – city after city. Even the interiors of the city, the most uninhabited places, have really smooth and reasonably broad roads. The airports (domestic/international) are massive and very well done. All this was constructed in the 1930’s and 1940’s, the period following the great depression. This was when Franklin Roosevelt backed a new set of economic and social measures (called the Second New Deal). The idea was to counter widespread unemployment with work. So it was: buildings, roads, airports, dams and schools were constructed all across the country. (Remember John M Keynes, ISB’s macro eco prof KK, and the notion of increasing Govt spending to stabilize economy). I think Keynes did his share of good, coz this infrastructure is what keeps the US up on its feet ready to embrace free-markets in the truest Hayek sense!

New York Trip: December 31, 2005

Am currently in Austin... nothing interesting to write about, so I thought may be I should go back to my NY trip.

Dec 31, 2005: Woke up around 7 AM. Others were sleeping. Made a call to India. Grabbed a quick cup of tea at Jose’s place (I made that tea :-)). Went to Bryant Park for ice-skating with Varma, Bodha and a bunch of other Lehman folks. Putting on those ice skating boots was a pain. And the skating ring was packed with people. I would say over 100 people. Some could do it pretty well; infact oftentimes they would get into a dance (something like what you see in movies). I was reasonably ok on the skates. Dint fall even once. Infact by the end of it, I was coaching my friends on how to skate :-) - some things just come naturally to people!!
Post skating, we walked out on the streets of New York – it was very cold. Along the way, we stopped by at a store, which sold real cheap stuff – and I bought a $2 NY cap, another $4 batteries for my camera. The cap lasted exactly two streets. I took it off for a picture in front of the empire state building, only to lose it (comeone man, wearing a cap is not cool ;-)). I mean, I dint realize when the cap fell off my hand. And this wasn’t the first time this happened with me in NY. Once, on the first day, while I was waiting for Jose, I dropped one glove. Thankfully, someone was kind enough to pick it up and put it on the telephone booth, which Jose located. Anyways, even the batteries dint last for more than 10 pictures - got fake stuff.

We had lunch in some south Indian place, and then picked up tickets for the standup comedy show. Late afternoon was again spent walking around. Pankaj took me to the WTC site. They are trying to construct something there. It is inspiring to see that the US has moved on after 9/11. Looking around the place one would never figure that there had been massive destruction around the place – absolutely no remains – well almost.

Evening was good. Gotham’s stand up comedy show was good. There were three artists. An interesting joke: the world calls football by that name, but Americans – they call it soccer. Why soccer – well, coz that’s what they call anything that is dominated by someone else… ‘sucker’!! Another good one was about Germans – England and Germany were playing this world cup game. England was losing, and the German fans cheering loud. Then the English fans said – ‘those that won the war stand up’... and a section of the English crowd would stand up… and they form a Mexican wave this ways. There were jokes that we understood while others we dint. We laughed heartily on the ones that we did… and those that we missed… we laughed even more :-).

The show got over around 10. We then went to this Kathi roll place for a quick dinner. (Imagine, I am off 15000 miles from home to have Kathi roll in foreign land!!). Around 11 we went to this pub which had a live band. That was fun. We sat right in front of them – and requested songs, once in a while – and the group obliged. At midnight, I went out to make a couple of calls. Had to keep this wishing business short coz was calling from a friends phone. Now the mobile telephony in the US stands nowhere compared to that of India. India is damn cheap. Here, I pay for incoming calls as well… and a bloody 25 cents a minutes – high by any standards. The billing is on minutes used – incoming or outgoing. Anyways, after making calls etc, was standing out with Bodha and this realllllllllllly pretty and unbeleivably hot girl comes over to me and says – ‘hey, your hat looks better than mine’; ‘its yours then’, I replied.

We walked the streets of NY till around 2-2:30. Thereafter, I went to Pankaj’s place. Now that was very nice of him. He requested me to come over to his place. Once there, he made efforts to make me feel comfortable – I wonder desh mein itni hospitality koi dikhaata hoga! I guess, it’s nice to be back with old friends – especially from back home. Pankaj’s apartment was really well done. He had all the gadgets one can think of. His table had 6 remote controls – I dint bother to find out which one is for what – but we listened to some good Hindi music… and dozed off around 4:30.

...

Car bang

before you get thinking... I banged my car into a truck today. Not much, just the side rear view mirror went flying, and the front passenger door would need a replacement, and the back door would look just fine with some work.

An accident here is a pleasant experience. You get to know atleast two more people in the city - the other being the cop. So I bang the truck, the truck driver 'requests' (YES requests - with a smile, and apologising and thanking at the same time - apologising for having me to get late to wherever I am headed, and thanks for me agreeing to pull over) me to pull over. He brings out a slip - tears it to two parts, he fills out his information on one, and I fill out mine on the other. He calls the cops... and would constantly apologize for holding me up - and promise it would be over soon.

Now comes the scary bit. I checked my wallet and I couldn't locate my license. I told the truck guy that, and he was like - 'hey man, you don't carry your license?', in a tone that said, 'man, you are screwed'!!. For once, I really freaked out! I madly ransacked my wallet again - and I think God din't want me to leave the US so soon (from what I've heard, even such minor episodes can get you deported). Found the license. Now for those that have any clue of what my license looks like, you would understand why I was still VERY VERY worried. The name on the license is 'Amiresh Kumar', the DOB is not mine, the address on it is Humayunpur, Gorakhpur ( I dont know whether such an address exists in real life), the license number - I wonder whether the license authorities would also be able to tell what the number is, and the picture... anyone can claim that picture to be theirs!

The cop came over in 20 minutes. Asked for my license. I shoved it amongst a whole bunch of papers and passed it on to him. For once, I was wondering whether I could get off by giving him a $50 or $100 bill - atleast that would save me from being arrested - alas, I dont think this works here. The cop was very nice - he addressed me as 'sir' - I was blown away by the respect. He looked at my license suspiciously, and then asked, 'where is the number?' - I pointed at the portion where the license number should have been - and started reading out something. I really hope that the number I read out was the same as the one on the license.

We shook hands and the cops let me off. He gave me a slip which I need to show to the rental car agency to get a NEW CAR! yipee... I get to drive a new car from tomorrow on... all things have a happy ending :-)

Mall of America, American babies and women

I woke up a little late today, but just in time to not miss my flight – was amongst the last people to board. Minneapolis is cold! When you look down from the airplane, you see a white landscape. Stepping out of the airport I could see ice all over – Cars in parking lots were covered with ice/snow. Thankfully, I did not have to spend much time in the cold. The meeting with the client went off well. It was funny, over a dozen people turned up for the meeting from the client side – and most hardly knew each other – they were from different divisions of the company. It is interesting to be in a meeting that has people from different divisions of a company. Each has his/her own agenda, and all questions/concerns raised are entirely around their issues. I guess ISB did a good job of educating us on this. Overall, things went well. Interestingly, some of the issues raised here were similar to what Ranjit tells me about the tussle between his company and the retailers there, and also the ones we faced with mobileuncle.

Was free by 4 PM. As I had 3 hours before the flight back to Austin I decided to drop by to the ‘Mall of America’ (yep that’s what they call it). The mall is huge – I guess something like the one they have in Chennai – maybe a little bigger (ok a lot bigger). But it’s mostly like any mall in India – the only difference being the size of stores – they are huge; and the number of people- there are very few. Center of the mall was like appu ghar in Delhi – water slides, ghost chambers etc. I guess this section is dedicated to Snoopy (the peanuts guy).

While in the elevator in the mall, I saw these two American babies in trams. Now these firang babies are real cute. They are fat, smiling, don’t make a sound, and don’t give a shit about people around them – they are in a world of their own. Coming to think of it, as I had heard from people earlier, babies here don’t cry, cars don’t honk and dogs don’t bark (well… whatever of dogs there are – only pets, and they are all kept as well, if not better, than any human baby). I think the only painful creatures in this country are teens – they kindda are irritated with their parents around. (Ok, I haven’t seen enough to make a statement like that, but then what the hell, this is my blog – I can pass judgments.) I guess that is the case with any teen anywhere in the world, but here there is more visible display of disgust. Coming to think of it, teen is the age of rebellion – we all have had our share of it.

An interesting observation about women here: young women are well kempt and pretty (yes, in every flight that I take, there are atleast 1-2 women that would give any super model a run for their money). Infact, even if you walk on the streets, you are sure to find more than a handful of them that you just have to give a second glance – bloody lucky Americans!! However, most married women are fat and extremely untidy. I wonder how this comes about –is it that beautiful girls prefer to stay unmarried, or do they keep pretty to find a husband?

Trivia on Vegas/Minneapolis

One of the better gifts i have got in my life is the 'Rough Guide to the USA' - Ranjit, the marketing dude, an aspiring media shark, and my fortunate housemate in Bangalore (ok, you can put it the other way round), kindda got over generous one fine morning - it doesnt hurt to have bdays with good frnds arnd :-). I use that book the night before I leave for a place, and also inflights from one place to another... besides giving details on what to see, what to do etc., it includes some interesting trivia about places, including its history etc. Interestingly Nevada (the state in which Las Vegas is) was the first state to outlaw gambling, in 1909 (only to reallow in 1931 - since when it has never looked back). Another interesting trivia on Vegas is that besides gambling, the other reason why people come to this city is to get married. Over a hundred thousand weddings are performed there each year. Some so informal that the bride and groom just wind down the window of their car during the ceremony!!

Am off to Minneapolis tomorrow, for a day. Minneapolis is a hybrid Sioux/Greek work meaning 'water city'. I think it should be something more like ice/snow city - Yahoo weather tells me that the high temperature there tomorrow will be -3.3 degree C, and the low will be -8 degrees C. As this is a formal meeting, I cannot wear layer on top of layer, neither do I have people there who would lend me their coats etc, as was the case in a little less cold NY; and I can't wear the jackets i have atop a business suit.

So in case you you don't see much of blogging from tomorrow on, then assume I have been put on cold storage, and will be back only with the summers in Minnesota!!

The Sin City

Las Vegas is a sin city and everything is 24X7. Right from the time you land at the airport all you can see is sleaze and money.

First the money. Stretch limos all over the place. Casinos are filled with people. And there are more casinos than you can count. The ground floor of every hotel is a casino with zillions of slot machines, black jack tables and others. (And all of this is occupied with people – with tons of dollars.) Infact, even the airport lounge has a series of slot machines for people who want to give it a last shot before they leave the city. I tried that too…albeit just a dollar – and it vanished in a jiffy.

And the sleaze. Every cab has this directory of erotic shows, stripclubs, massage parlors, you name it – placed right in front of you as you sit in. In the hotel that I was staying, there was this show called ‘Zumanity’ – guess it was some sort of an erotic show. Now every nook and corner of the hotel advertised that; to the extent that my room access card had the poster of it on one face! All along the streets there are huge hoardings of seductive women with contact number – for their show, mind you! Streets have porn magazine sort of vending machines. ‘Sleazy’ pictures are littered all over the place – to the point of embarrassment. And there seems to be a tussle amongst the women folks that come down to the city on whoz the sleaziest (in how they are dressed)!

I went to the casino with my immediate boss, another senior colleague at work, my CEO (who happened to be in town) and his wife on the first night. Second day, his wife invited the two of us (another colleague at work – senior) for dinner and some gambling at the hotel she was staying. While we were gambling $10-$30, they gambled $100-$1000; to the extent that they really had no clue whether they were up or down. I like Joe – he has one attitude, unlike anyone I have seen, and has a style about everything that he does. They told us several stories of him courting her. Joe would call Andra on Friday afternoon and ask out for Friday eve; and she was like… what does he think, I can’t have plans!! And in case she refused once or felt she wasn’t as excited talking to him, he wouldn’t call again!! All the time hoping she would call (same was the case with her). Now there is a guy who has some characteristics like me ;-). We agreed that WOMEN should call :-). She turned him down a zillion times… (and this on an off thing lasted for quite some time) – somehow good guys suffer for no fault of theirs. Anyways, more on their story later – it is damn interesting. Joe’s wife is a very lively person. She called us over the next evening, even tho Joe had gone back, for dinner and some more gambling. The dinner was cool. We had a candy as dessert (ok chuck it). Thereafter, there was gambling, and I lost more than all I would have won in my last five lifetimes. Joe and Andra were kind enough to finance my gambling – clearly, I would not have been in a position to survive my remaining days in the US, if I were to lose this money of my own. But believe me, it hurts as much, if not more, to lose when someone else has put a stake on you. DAMN!!! :-(

Oh yes, I went to Vegas to attend the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show. It was huge – and some of the technology – out of the world! Spent lots of time there, attended a couple of panel discussions as well which had whoz who of the industry. That was neat.

Back to Vegas, in summary: Vegas is a must see – atleast once in a lifetime – it is unlike anything you may have seen before!

Losing >$270 in an eve

In Vegas, it happens all the time. Am no longer going to gamble this year. But it is an experience... Black Jack was the game, and today was just not my day. Well, it wasnt exactly my money, coz Joe and his wife, who I spent most of my evenings in Vegas with, kind of gave me the $s to gamble!! And I had to say no, coz they would just keep pouring in - I just realized I aint that lucky afterall :-(

Spent some good time with Joe's wife. She is really cool, and fun to be with. She treated us to dinner at this really cool place. We gambled, before and after that. I came back when I was too tired to keep my eyes open. She is still onway. At times it is good to hangout with the rich - she was gambling $5k at a time, with minimum bids being $100. Vegas is a place for the super rich - there are more stretch limos here than ordinary cabs.

Anyways, am too sleepy right now to write anything...

zzz..........

Vegas

today was unbelievable! was working in the morning from 4-9. Was in the Exhibition from 10-5. back to work from 5:30-6:30. Sleep from 6:30-8. And 8:30-3 .. well it was Vegas at its best. Bumped into Joe Leimandt (our CEO)- and those that have heard stories of him from me - u can imagine! it was gambling till 3 - i dint mind as long as he considered me a worthy investnment... finally the walk down the strip!! one day it was.

more later. right now, a little sleep and work in the morning.

Las Vegas

I will continue with the NY post later. Right now I am in Las Vegas.

Landed here last night. and this place is crazy. I waited in queue at the airport for over 45 minutes before I got to a cab. But midnight, and this place is so full of life. And if you care to look around at hoardings etc, you would know why it is called the 'city of sin'. I am staying at a hotel called New York - New York. Its theme is New York - infact I am told that all hotels on 'The Strip' are based on one city or the other. The ground floor lobby is a huge casino - intercepted with restaurants, pubs, you name it. Will explore more today, if I get time.

Before you get thinking, I am here on an official trip. Am here on a CES conference, apprantly the largest consumer electronics show on the planet... details later.

Have been working since 4 today morning... and have a lot of stuff lined up. Pray that I get enough time to enjoy Vegas!

The New York Trip - Friday, Dec 30, 2005

I landed in New Ark International airport at 11 AM. Changed a couple of trains to reach Penn Station, New York. Stepped out to the cold streets of New York (not literally). Right alongside was Madison Square garden. Then, walked along 7th avenue across streets. I started off on the 23rd street, walked right upto the 43rd street - which has Times Square. Before I talk about Times Square, a quick review of how Manhattan is set. It has avenues and streets. Avenues are the ones parallel to the coastline, while streets run perpendicular to the avenues. These coordinates can define any point in Manhattan.

The streets of NY were crowded, and still cold. First thing I did was to cover myself with whatever warm stuff I had. Believe me, even with 5 layers, I was just about surviving. The thing about New York is that it takes everything to the next level. The streets are similar to what you would see in CP, Delhi – just that everything is grand. The buildings are higher, and sleeker (NY is a concrete jungle. There are so many high rise buildings – not a single tree!); the billboards are bigger, and sleazier; and the people… I could see so many different faces, and hear so many languages – there were Chinese, Europeans, Indians, Africans, Australians, you name the country and I am sure you would find someone from that place. And everyone seemed so much friendlier, and relaxed. Partly because most of them were tourists, and this was New Year's time. Also, walking down the streets of NY, you get a feel of why the GDP of NY is almost twice that of India (yep it is over a trillion). Every shop is filled with people; every counter in a shop is lined with people out with their credit cards (ok, the high GDP is due to the financial industry here)!!

Times Square is (7,43). It took me 5 minutes to figure I was at Times Square. It seemed like any normal intersection. Except that it was heavily crowded. And there were preparations on for the New Year ball. Lots of police folks. Then there were these bunch of cops on horsebacks. Lots of people were going up to them for photographs, and they obliged each one of them. It was here that I decided to take my gloves off, and soon enough I was rubbing my hands together. This pretty looking girl that was passing by stops over and says, ‘why don’t you spend two dollars and get yourself a pair of gloves’; ‘I have one in the bag’, I replied. ‘Then go ahead and wear them’, was her response, with a huge smile! Followed it up with a ‘Happy New Year’. I liked the friendliness in the air!!

Went over to Starbucks at Times Square to catch a coffee. While I was waiting for my coffee, this gentleman comes up to me and says, ‘you work for Trilogy’?, 'Sure I do'. We got talking for a while, and I got to exchange greetings with the three pretty girls he was with. New York, I tell you, is a very friendly place :-).

I walked the streets for around 2 hours before Jose came over. Let me tell you a little about Jose. JJ (we call him all sorts of names, from jj, to j, to hosay– as in San Jose, to mean ones based on the color of the skin) was with me at Evalueserve (somehow, EVS has this knack of attracting some very bright people to its ranks ;-)). He holds the highest ethical standards, is exceptionally brilliant, has one sense of humor (try beating him at words), and a guy you would definitely want to have as a friend – with you in thick and thin. He spent hours on the phone from NY (and he was the one who called) to help me prepare for interviews while at ISB, besides ofcourse reviewing my resume – so now you know how I managed to land Trilogy.

Anyways, we walked the streets of NY, looking for a place to have lunch. Walked quite a bit! Finally settled on some Indian place, and had some chicken roll or something. Soon Varma and Bodha joined us. Varma was my junior at IITK (same wing, same dept), as well as at EVS. Another very bright guy – very simple, and so full of life – NY trip wouldn’t have been the same without him. Bodha I had met on my trip to IIMA while at ISB. First thing that I did was to get onto Varma’s coat – not because I wanted anything warmer, but because it looked really sleek. You should check out the pictures :-)

I dropped my bag at Varma’s place. Now Varma’s apartment is really cool. It reminded me of Abhishek Bachchan’s apartment in Bluff Master. On the 26th floor of a building overlooking the Hudson, the view is beautiful – you can see the Statue of Liberty from his window, as also the Jersey skyline – which is pretty by any standards. I am sure he pays a fortune to stay in such a place.

After spending hours figuring out where we must go for dinner, we decided on a place in Jersey. Picked up Shweta (jj’s wife), and Vinay (w/ wife) on the way.
We took a train to get to the place. Nothing in the US seems to be manned. The ticket vending machine was automatic – you need to swipe your credit card, and get your tickets. And trains seem to run for 24 hrs, at regular intervals. And they are spotlessly clean! Went to a Malaysian restaurant. It was the first time I was having Malaysian food. It is quite similar to Indian food, just as spicy. We had some strange dish – but it was good; must mention the litchi juice kindda thing (it called itself lichi as well – yes, hindi waala lichi), which had actual lichis!!

After dinner, we went over to the apartment where lots of Indian junta from Lehman stays. We decided to play Poker. This is one of the two games, that I’ve heard of a lot, but never really played (the other being Bridge). First 10 minutes, Jose, Vinay and I were taught the rules of the game. Poker is a very interesting game. It is gambling, just as in flush/teen patti, but a little shorter. Poker involves each player holding a couple of personal cards, and five community cards, i.e., five cards are open for everyone to see, and form part of her/his hand. After getting the hand cards, people get turns to bid. Each person can either raise the bid or stay equal to the current bid. A player can raise the bid only once in a round. So there is no random rising of stakes to keep ‘low-risk players’ out. Once everyone agrees on a bid (put the money where the mouth is), three cards are open… etc. hey this is not a blog on poker. Anyways, there are two versions of the game – Texas and Omaha. We played both. Initially Bodha made a killing – had Vinay bankrupt within the first couple of games. And you should see the way he would get deep into music after raising stakes – would freak out a normal person!! Poker went on till the wee hours in the morning. All the while, we had soothing Hindi music playing the background. Bodha has this really cool Bose system at his place. Imagine, listening to hindi music, thousands of miles away from home – I din’t mind.

Dozed off at around 4 in the morning.

The New York Trip- getting there

Thursday, December 29, 2005 - getting prepared
Jose sent an email giving detailed instructions on how I get to Manhattan from the Newark International airport, including fare, weather, etc. Very honestly, I have never been so excited about going someplace, as I was about New York. It just wasn't about the place, but also because of the people I knew there, Jose, Varma and Manty - friends from EVS, had spent some great time with them in the past.
Jose called - and we discussed in detail on how I would get to Times Square, where he would find me. I think my thing with directions played on his mind :-)

Friday, December 30, 2005 - getting to the airport
Was awake all night, managed just one hour of sleep. Spent time on the Internet figuring out directions from where I stay to the airport. Believe me, I was on the edge of my nerves - spending 10 minutes on every turn mentioned on the map. I took prints of the map, and set out to the airport. Just in case you haven't figure out till now, I was driving all by myself to a place I had no clue of in a city I had arrived just 4 days back. Set off almost two hours in advance, even though I was told that the airport is a mere 15-20 minute drive. And guess what, rightly so, coz I could just about follow the first three directions on the map before I got lost. I This is when I did the most difficult thing I have ever done - keep my cool. I started wondering what I would do in case I missed the flight. I have had not many as depressing thoughts in my life. Thankfully, I saw a gas station (yes, that is what they call a petrol pump here). Saw a lady filling a car. Walked up to her, and asked for directions. For once, she thought I was asking for a drop to the airport - drop????, who would ask a gas station attendent for a drop. It was then I realized that she kind of was the one with the car, and in the US gas stations are also self service :-). Anyways, I got the directions and this time dint get lost (well... given that it was just one straight road, it was difficult to get lost). Parked the car, and managed to board the flight to New York.

Coming soon (bloody soon): The New York Trip

Three days of New Year's weekend in New York. Total sleep time of close to 5 hours, give or take a couple of minutes, during the entire stay. Did more things in the short span than I do in an entire year! Couldn't have asked for a better start to 2006.

Easily my best New Year's weekend to date; not only for the place, but also the people... spent some great time with Jose, Shweta, Varma, Manty, Bodha, Pankaj, a bunch of other lehman folks, Gary, Sam (with his German gf), and the pretty one!!

Details to come...for now, I need some sleep!!