Heading back

I am leaving for India first thing tomorrow morning. There is a 6 hour stopover in Detroit.

Lots of mixed feelings. I will really miss Austin. I just love the city - beautiful, lively, fun, peaceful, serene... you name it. I was almost beginning to feel a part of this place. Like one quote said about Texas... 'I wasn't born here, but I got here as soon as I could'!

I am going back to India with lots of ideas, and some plans. I hope that I get to apply atleast a bit of what I have picked up here...

Adieu...

Niagara falls

Niagara is a small town in NY. Popular because of the Niagara Falls. I saw the falls twice - once in daylight then at night under lights. And both times, it was just the same... lots and lots of water falling. That's it!! Din't take more than five minutes to cover that!

The US side is not very lively. Infact, most of the restaurants were closed (of the few that exist in the first place). Saw a lot of lights on the Canada side. Unfortunately, the blue passport does not allow you to cross the border. But I guess it must be the same from the other side as well... lots and lots of water falling. There are a lot of casinos around... if I need to gamble, then might as well go to Vegas.

I guess this is what happens when you too much of something in a short time.

On the way back to the Buffalo airport, we lost our way... and could just make it in time to board the flight - another couple of minutes and we would have surely missed the flight.

Food, Six Flags, and BI-2

This was another of those really packed weekends. Drove quite a bit - in and around Austin with Jose, Shweta and his cousin.

Thursday night was a walk down Sixth Street. I think that is an experience in itself!

Friday was driving around Austin. Went to Rudy's for lunch. I think part of the immersion process in any new place is trying out different kinds of food, in different kinds of eating joints/restaurants. In the last month or so, I have eaten more different kinds of food, in different kinds of places, than I would have done in all of my life to date. Due credit to Ravi for opening my eyes to this aspect of life. I have tried Shrimps, Salmon, Lobster, Chicken, Turkey, and God knows what other kinds of living beings... to even buffalo meat. On the veg side I have tried different kinds of salads, broccolis, lettuces, beans, all sorts of green leaves... and what not (with wierd names that I can't even pronounce, leave alone remember). Cuisines varying from Mexican to Italian to Chinese to Thai to Malaysian to Tex Mex to... American, and yes ofcourse Indian - both Indian-Indian and American-Indian. Eaten at really cheap (student) places as well as the some expensive ones. From the ones in the middle of a downtown to the ones floating on a lake. Oh yes, I also learnt that desserts are an art (though I haven’t tried much). The amount of craft into any dessert is really admirable.

Saturday we went to Six-Flags theme park in San Antonio. We reached there within 15 minutes of its opening, and did not leave till they announced its closing – and were still not able to do all the rides. The place has some really thrilling roller coasters. Average wait time for any good ride was anything from 30-45 minutes. But usually the ride was worth the wait. For us, the wait was an additional 10 minutes, because we would want the front row in every ride. There is some thrill sitting right in front, and seeing the ground as the ride races downwards. The day just zipped past – but great fun I tell you!

In one of the rides, I saw this obese woman, otherwise on a wheel chair, getting off a ride. That was neat! I would not imagine someone who has problems fitting into a seat wanting to do a ride – but like someone said it’s the attitude that counts… and I love the US for it.

Saw the first movie here – Basic Instinct 2. What a waste! The plot was interesting… mind games at its best - but the movie got slow at times! Sharon Stone has clearly grown a little old – and her cold, cool as a cucumber attitude went over board at times.

Overall, it was a great weekend!!

Weekend and the Gospel of Judas

This was easily the laziest weekend in a long long time. For three full days I did nothing – absolutely nothing. Slept, lazed, idled… and ofcourse ideated :-)

Saturday night went to Sixth Street… and sat in a rooftop pub. There was some special event at Sixth Street, which we could not figure out. The street was packed… the entire city seemed to have come down to this one place at the same time. There were a lot of motorbikes in that area doing the rounds… never saw so many Harley Davidsons, BMWs and Suzukis, all at the same time. It makes for a good sight, I tell you… and coupled with that sound of those bikes – wonderful!

Slept through the entire day on Sunday. Saw this program on History channel called ‘The Gospel of Judas’ in the evening. A two-hour show, it just din’t seem to come to the point. The first hour was spent talking about how the Gospel was found, and how it went from hand to hand and from place to place. The next half-odd-hour was spent on how it was dated and what the other Gospels talked of… for heaven’s sake (literally) get on with it. I mean, initially it was the suspense that kept us glued… but they stretched it to the point of irritation. What makes it so difficult to get to the point? History channel never irritated me so much as it did today. Anyways, then it happened. It talked of what the Gospel said.

To save all those who wish to see the program, let me summarize the Gospel of Judas. Jesus asked Judas to betray Him. The idea being that the betrayal would free His spirit from the body. The act of betrayal by Judas was indeed the biggest sacrifice in the History of mankind, as Judas submitted himself to condemnation for the rest of History… agreeing to become the most notorious villain ever. The Gospel ends with the betrayal. It does not talk about the crucifixion, or Jesus’s subsequent coming back to life. Clearly, the focus of the Gospel is on a deeper meaning. I wouldn’t get into any meaning and stuff here… time to get the lazy weekend to a lazy end!!

Mind over Matter in Winning

I read this interesting article by Eddy Matzger on winning. Though he wrote it in a skating context, I think it applies as much to business, starting up, or just life in general. Here are some of the key points that I really liked (it has some verbal jugglery from me). To read the actual article, visit:
http://www.skatecentral.com/custom/articles/inline.magazine/beating.the.dutch.html

Don't hold back. Attack, attack, attack. Live every breakaway attempt (trying to go out on your own, testing an idea in the market) as if it were your first, your last, the only breakaway of your life. If you only make a half-hearted effort at trying to stay away (or whatever you set out to do), the pack will catch up at a leisurely pace while you slowly tire out, then pass you as if you were standing still.

Grin and bear it (my mom says "suffer in silence"). If you broadcast how tired you are, a feeding frenzy will take place and you'll be chewed up and spit out. Smile instead of grimacing in pain, lest your competitors sense your weakness and drop you mercilessly. One telltale sign of being really tired is a blank face, like the "uh-oh" look of a cross-eyed baby pooing in his diapers. You can also gauge someone's strength by how talkative they are. If you try to engage them in conversation, and they either don't respond or talk back in one or two word grunts, you know they're hurtin' and it's probably time to attack.

Offer encouragement to your break-mates. The success of any group always depends on its chemistry, and if you have somebody who's just along for the ride, the venture can be doomed. Mutual cooperation is the name of the game before the finish draws near. If you are verbally supportive of the people with you, you increase the chance that the venture will stick, because your team will put in their fair share of work as well.

Don’t look back. Any decision taken in the past does not matter. It is what you do with what you have right now that does.

Be mentally strong. Even if you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of winning, always race for 1st place. The minute you settle for anything but a win, you've basically given up, and it becomes too easy to do it again next time. Never give in. Never settle in your head for anything less than 1st place. When you don't win, throw up your hands and tell yourself you'll get it next time.

Have a gambler's mentality. Take your chances and lay it all out on the line when you're at it. The more you gamble the better your odds of winning become.

Doubts

Manish forwarded me this article (the link below) today, and I like it enough to put it here. Especially note the last few lines which go...'The biggest competition in life is not against others, but against our own self-imposed limits. The true challenge in life is not to go farther, faster or higher than everybody else. It is to go beyond ourselves.'

http://www.skatecentral.com/custom/citysports/fear.html

'Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.' said one of the characters in the Shakespeare play 'Measure for Measure.' Thanks to Tina, I got to see it when it was staged in Bangalore sometime back.

Sanskrit play on a Saturday evening

Today was a nice relaxed Saturday. Spent the entire morning sleeping by the pool, enjoying the bright sunshine, trying to tan myself, lest I pass off as a ‘white’ :-p. Came back to my room, and slept even more.

In the evening, Ravi, Gup, and I went to this Sri Vyaya Nama Ugadi celebrations and cultural program presented by the Telugu Cultural Association of Austin. It was neat. First there was this ‘Parade of Indian Cultures’ – sort of a fashion show (if I may call it so) with kids showcasing the costumes from different parts of the country. Interesting to note was that although the garment was the same (i.e, the saree), the way it was worn varied by state. Towards the end, the kids got together on the old DD song ‘mile sur mera tumhara…’. That was nostalgic!

Dinner was fulfilling… to say the least - South-Indian vegetarian food. Post dinner was a Sanskrit play called ‘Daanasya Mahatmyam’. As much as I tried to follow it, there was no way I could. I asked Gup. He seemed to make sense of some dialogues… and, from time to time, would keep me updated on what various characters would say - and what was going on in the play. Some 20 minutes into the play, I said to Gup, ‘If only I had taken Sanskrit a little seriously in the 4-5 years that I was taught the language in school, I would not have had to face the ignominy of not comprehending the root language of my own country.’

At this point, Gup looked at me and asked in a very puzzled tone, “Dude…is this Sanskrit????????”

I was laughing to my wits end at that point,. So instead of being thrown out, I chose to take a walk and enjoy the beautiful weather of Austin.

PS: Another thing I learnt today - I like ABDs (the fairer sex ofcourse)...atleast the way they speak their English. yep, I dont agree with the C of the popular ABCD (it sure is a creation of an envious mind). ;-)