back home from vacation

Whew!!! What a week it was... We all decided to take some time off and take a vacation. The scene:

Dec 21: all day and late into the night/early morning of dec 22, busy packing and last minute travel prep. Go to sleep around 3 am.
Dec 22: wake up at 4 am (1 full hour of sleep), get ready, bundle the sleeping kids into the black beauty and head over to PA where we do a switch to my sis-in-laws SUV and take a ride to the airport. Kids are awake now and beginning to whine. :) We haul 3 huge suitcases to the terminal and check them in and take a flight to San Diego at 7:30 am. Arrived about an hour and a half later at San Diego and it is pouring like anything. Kids are in a good mood and we are looking forward to the vacation in anticipation. After eating some food at the airport, we rush through the pouring rain (kids, luggage and all) to catch a taxi to the pier. After about a half an hour os long lines, we are finally aboard the cruise ship, Carnival Elation. :) Ready to depart on a 5 night cruise to Mexico.

Everyone is in a happy mood. The ship is magnificant. and huge.... Having cruised before a couple of times, we knew our way around and what to expect. Grabbed some lunch on the ship and settled down in the stateroom. Each of the kids got a bunkbed of their own.

Day 2 was at sea with a variety of activities, shows, food and more food. We all had a blast of a time.
Day 3: We reached Cabo San Lucas early in the morning at 8 am. The weather was beautiful and warm. Learning from past mistakes, we had not booked any shore excursion this time. We got ready and went ashore and found plenty of tour operators there at the pier. We took a water taxi from the pier to see the various landmarks and then headed to Medino beach. There after a quick snack, all four of us headed to the ocean. Oh what joy... never seen shruti and nalin have so much fun in the water. Played around in the water for a couple of hours, took a break for lunch and some tequela (sp??) shots and back into the water. Finally headed over to the ship in the evening.
Day 3 night/Day 4 early evening: Shruti developed high fever (probably the water she ingested during water play at the beach). Tylenol and some anxious moments....Day 4 onwards till the end of the cruise, she lost her appetite. Fever went up and down periodically. We visited the discos a couple of times and as I mentioned the shows were great.
Day 5: The ship reached Ensenada at 8 am and we took it easy. Around 1 or 2 pm we went ashore and took a private taxi to the blow hole. It is a shopping area and at the end there is a geyser. Spent a few hours there and made some shopping purchases before heading back to the ship.
Day 6: The ship docked back at san diego at guess what: 8 am. :)
We were off the ship by 9:30 am or so, headed over to the car rental and after some bad screw ups (by the rental company) headed over to the hotel. Shruti was still not 100%. After checking in and grabbing some lunch, we went out and saw a couple of beaches. Later, for dinner we ordered desi food for take out. great food and the kids loved it too.

Day 7: went to legoland and had a great time there. watched a couple of 4-D shows but tll not sure whats the difference between 3-D and 4-D shows.
Day 8: Checked out of the hotel and went to the Wild Animal park in San Diego. Another cool day and Nalin had a great time. Shruti was cranky and clingy. Flew back home in the evening.

Overall a very nice vacation (except for Shruti's illness and lack of appetite). Ironically, she is perfectly fine now that we are home. Today, we are busy unwinding and making preparations for the new year eve party. :)

More later... I better get back to some important pending stuff.

heading south

This weekend was really very hectic - as hectic as it can get. Its 2:50 am in the morning and we are both still awake. Have to go to sleep soon and then wake up in an hour to get ready to leave for our vacaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaation!!!! All I can tell you right now is that we are headed south... towards warmer temperatures. ;) Will post a trip report after coming back.

The last week or two have been quite busy and some of you might have noticed the reduced frequency of my posts. I promise the new year will be much better...I will have more free time (I hope). BTW, we are headed for a vacation but here's a status check: Me: sick; Ruc: sick; Nal: sick; Shru: sick. Wonder what we are going to do there...

alright caio for now!!

PETA

I am now officially a member of PETA (atleast for 2009). I didn't really sign up but I contributed some money for their fund raiser (S is running a half marathon for them and asked for donations) and the next thing I know, PETA starts sending me mails (email and print incl mags) welcoming me as a member. For those still unaware, PETA is an org that is fighting to stop cruelty towards Animals. I believe in the cause but never thought I would sign up as a member. PETA - People for Ethical Treatment of Animals.

For the faint of heart, do not click the link below but for the curious minded... feel free to click and see what is done to make the nice comfy fur coats and jackets by famous designers (in this case Donna Karan aka DKNY)

Check out the site

The pictures are pretty graphic but a reality.

I even fired off an email to Donna protesting this practise. Feel free to do so if you think the same way.

Rains are here...

It's been raining here in the bay area for the last few days. The sky is dark and gloomy. I normally like the rains but more of the Indian monsoon variety.... the weather is hot to the extreme, suddenly the clouds would show up and it would rain proving instant relief... Here, it rains in the winters... But in any case, we can use all the rain we can get, water levels in the reservoirs being as low as they are. The weather has turned so cold that the chill bites you if you step outside. It is supposed to fall to the 30s (fahrenheit) tonight and 20s near the ocean. Also, there is snow on the mountain tops around here.

Keeping my fingers crossed about the weather next week when we go on a long overdue vacation.... the good thing is we are headed southwards... :) more on the vacation later.

Work is as crappy as ever. The De mgr is more worried about why an issue is marked test stopper rather than worrying that with time running out to wrap up the project, critical issues are still cropping up with regular frequency. I am just sick of this project now...sooooooo many issues and now nobody (except me of course) gives a darn.
My boss just wants to know how soon i can finish up ... F*&(*(Y( and when the cap cases come in, these same people will be questioning me why these issues slipped past us. F*&)*)N

ICC night

Ok, I feel guilty about the depressing post (last one) so here's a lighter one. ICC had a fundraiser event today in the evening. They are raising money for expanding the facility (including adding some stuff for the seniors). Ruchi volunteered to do a dance performance on the stage along with a few friends. We dutifully bought our tickets and reached the place by 6 pm. Very few people had arrived by then and the organizers were still testing the mike setting and stuff. A little irritating (adusting the sounds and stuff... this should have been done earlier in the day). Anyways, we are all famished but no food in sight. Suddenly, around 6:30 pm or so, all the guests start coming in (I guess we were there early. The actual seating time was 6:30pm). Anyway, soon the hall is all full (someone said there were 45 tables with 10 seats/table and we had a soldout event). They start off with appetizers which were pretty good (panner tikka, pakodas, french fries, aloo tikki). I gulp down quite a few of them and soon I realize that I am full and no more space to eat dinner. Soon the program starts.2-3 dance performances and then they break for dinner. Midway, during dinner, Ruchi leaves to go to the backstage to get dressed for her performance. Shruti is wailing now... "I want mommy!!!". I am sick in the stomach... If she continues crying, what am I gonna do?? somehow, this idea strikes me... I start feeding her ice cream. As long as she is eating, she is not crying. Soon the ice cream is finished but the organizers are busy with their raffles. With a big roll of my eyes (since shruti has started crying again.. "I want mommy"), I start feeding her chocolate kisses. She is quite again and I am desperate now... "Geez, let the show begin". Ok finally the show starts. The 2nd performance is the performers from Naach (Ruchi's troupe)... wow!!! It is a pretty cool performance and the crowd is really into it... everyone appreciates it. About 15 minutes after her performance, Ruchi comes and joins us and I can breathe again. My daughter is finally happy again. Soon, some live music performances start and people rush forward to the dance floor. I am in no mood to dance (too exhausted). Then DJ Salim comes on and the atmosphere changes completely. Anyone and everyone with 2 feet is on the dance floor. Nalin asks me to take him to the floor to dance and both of us head there. He starts dancing and to give him company, I start dancing too. Now Nalin is totally into it and I am having fun too.... so I put Nalin on the stage where he continues to groove.. :) Ruchi and Shruti join us too and we dance away the night... maybe an hour and a half or so. A nice relaxing night after a long long time. Around 11:00/11:30 or so, we head home. Right now, everyone is asleep and I am blogging away... ;)

Does this make sense?

Normally, I try to keep myself away from criticizing any religion. I believe it is a very personal thing and we must not judge others... but... something has been bothering me the last few days, hence this post.

There was a religious festival of another community last week where millions and millions of animals are slaughtered in the name of god. I find that offensive and downright wrong. So, the next day, I, S and D are in the break room at work having our usual afternoon tea when another colleague SM walks in. He seems to be in a very cheerful mood. Without any warning he kicks off the following conversation.

SM: So, yesterday was our festival and I went and sacrificed a goat.

All of us are shocked.

Me: Really? You actually killed a goat.
SM (boastfully): Yes, I killed it myself. I will get a lot of good credit on judgement day.
S: Why do you do this?

SM goes ahead and and explains the story.

We are all shocked hearing this incident but SM is oblivious of all that.

Now, here is what I find offensive. How can you go and kill/sacrifice a living being in the name of god. A poor helpless animal is killed so that on some judgement day, god will bless you. You got it all wrong dude. Go do something good for a living being (animal, human) and maybe god will be happy with you. And darn it, if you are so hell bent on pleasing god and must sacrifice something, go ahead and sacrifice yourself...not some poor helpless animal.

There, I have it out of my system now. I know I might have seriously offended people of another community but I sincerely believe that humanity and compassion is above all religions. If my religion were to tell me to go take someone's life, I would point blank refuse to do it. Sometimes, we all fail to use common sense.

Mumbai terror attack: Lucky to be alive

Watch the video below - a Charlie rose interview of a couple of survived the terror attack in Mumbai.

Interview with Charlie Rose

My India of the past...

This was India in the past... can it be the same again in the future? Click on the picture below to enlarge.

Speech at Stanford

Tonight I gave a speech at Stanford University. It was meant to be a persuasive speech and the topic I chose was "There is a reason for our existence...". Enjoy the speech and do leave feedback for me about what you thought about it (content, delivery, style etc). Apologise for the low quality video.

Mumbai terror attack...

The events of the last few days have left me dazed. So much has happened, so much has been said and so much has been implied. There are so many things going through my mind that I couldn't get myself to sit down and pen my thoughts on this topic till now.

India is at the crossroads again. It faces the same dilemma once again - to act or not to act, to show some spine or be spineless once again, to show some true political leadership or keep looking at vote bank politics, to unite the nation or keep dividing her for personal gains, to get serious or to keep making a mockery of ourselves. India has faced so many terror attacks, with increasing frequency, yet with each attack, the politicians make the same old beat-up promises, the cops blame the neighboring country and round up some suspects, coerce a confession out of them, and the public moves on with its daily life - watching cricket and movies, hating each other and blaming everyone else for our own problems.

I am outraged at this latest attack due to a number of reasons.

1) Apparently there was intelligence input about these attacks from multiple sources just a few weeks back and no one acted. The intelligence input was as specific as it can get - attacks being planned from the sea at the taj and some other hotels etc etc.

2) The coast guard intercepted the terrorists, checked their fishermen id cards (fake), failed to realize that the cards were fake and let these terrorists through.

3) Maharashtra in general and mumbai in particular has patrol boats for patrolling the coastline but the boats are not used - why? because the politicians do not consider it important enough and that they would rather spend the money on their luxurious foreign junket trips and so forth.

4) The terrorists land on the shore and start shooting at the VT station. The toothless and woefully inadequatedly trained and equipped railway police is helpless and cannot do anything. the result - a massacre of innocent people. The terrorists have all the time in the world to kill thes people.

5) The terrorists move to the hotels and start killing people there around 9:30 pm. Someone is "required" to authorize the NSG commandoes to come in and deal with the terrorists. The authorization itself takes several hours. The commandoes are in delhi without a plane (the organization does not have a plane). A military plan is requested from somewhere else to transport the commandoes who reach the site a good 7 hours after the shooting has started. Terrorists have a free run all this time.

6) No preparation has been done for the commandoes... no layout plans, no one to brief them... they simply attack the hotel as if Rambo has just arrived on the scene. The result - more loss of life.

7) The supposedly elite commandoes don't even have the basic equipment like night vision glasses, gps devices and so on. Why? of course no one thinks there life is of any value.... certainly not the politicians.

8) The media - newsparers, tv crews and so on ar ehappily providing minute by minute updates on what the commandoes are doing - for whose benefit??? the terrorist masterminds are cooly watching these updates and improvising their strategy. The result - more hostages are killed.

9) The NSG commandoes take their time since they haven't really trained to secure safe release of hostages. Case in point Nariman house. The helicopter makes 3 sorties above the house to airdrop the commandoes and then they move floor by floor looking for the terrorists. How long does it take for the terrorists to torture and kill the hostages? No wonder no hostages were saved in Nariman house.

10) Deputy CM of the state says "such small incidents keep occuring in big cities..." maybe he should have been used as a human shield in the combat operation. The CM is still trying to hold on to his gaddi....

The list goes on and on....It is disgusting the way politicians betray the country again and again, the brave men of the uniform needlesslessly have to sacrifice their lives and the public keeps electing these idiots time and gain. The worst part is that the public itself is divided on caste/community/relious grounds and willing to bite off each others head. What does pakistan do - it sits back and has a good laugh.

So, I am outraged. But I know better...so for my bit, here are my suggestions:

1) More NSG units stationed all over the country(major hubs). The response time from them needs to be 30 minutes to an hour at the most.

2) In case of terrorist attack, the orders need to come right away. The NSG chief should have a hotline to all state capitals and the PM office.

3) Co-ordination between intelligence agencies (RAW, CBI, IB, MI). No finger pointing allowed. Ensure redundancy i.e. failure of one agency must not mean the terrorits get through.

4) Educate the people to be tolerant of each other and other communities religious beliefs.

5) Latest equipment and training for the commandoes and the police force. Minimum fitness levels for all security personnel. Rewards for thwarting terror attacks but severe punishment for implicating the innocents.

6) Pro-active thinking and strategising to prevent terror attacks. You need to be several steps ahead of the terrorists rahter than miles behind them. Be pro-active rather than reactive.

7) Infiltrate their organizations.

8) Get pak to destroy the terror camps or take them out unilaterally or bilaterally with US help.

9) If possible capture the terrorists alive. Death is too easy way out for them. They should live to regret the day they were born. Fast track courts to execute the terrorists within 1 year of capture.

10) Take the security decisions out of the politicians hands... i.e. Top security officials answerable to the courts and not the the CMs, deputy CMs or political parties.

As I said earlier, India is at crossroads. Depending on what we decide and how we proceed from here on, a bright future may lie ahead for the country OR people will take matters into their own hands. Either way the consequencies will not be good for the terrorists.

And now a silent prayer for the souls of all the innocents that died in this and prior terrorist incidents.

b'day

23rd november was my birthday. The day came and went by with the usual celebrations. My wife Ruchi really slogged it out late into the night and made a grand gourmet meal. My brother came back from India the day before and we had a family dinner. What made this birthday special were 2 things. I already described in one of my earlier posts how I had a great time with my son. My manager at work sent out an email to the entire group about my b'day. So, today when I came in to work, there were several emails sitting in my mail box, congratulating me on my b'day. Then some people started coming over to my cube to personally shake my hand and wish me "happy birthday". It felt quite special. My manager had already made a lunch reservation at a restaurant of my choice. Since the lunch was voluntary participation, we didn't know who would come... We reached the place about 20 minutes late. It was a bit embarrasing to see so many people turn out for my birthday lunch. The restaurant itself is expensive. We had a reservation for 12 people but it was apparent that we had more people than that in our party. The restaurant could not re-arrange tables to accomodate us in one place so we ended up splitting the party into two. In all about 17 people showed up. Lunch was fun. At one point my manager remarked "I can't help it Umang... you are so popular" :) Food was good, people were in good mood and all in all we all had a good time. A day to remember.

Side Note: In the middle of the lunch, I went over to the other table to chat with the folks there. One of my colleagues who had recently invited me over to his house for dinner started telling everyone seated at the table about how he really likes my dad and how impressed he is with him. To quote my colleague "Umang's dad is a very nice person. Some people have a very nice personaility but Umang's dad has a great personaility and I really like him. We feel like listening to him all the time. He is so graceful....". That was the most awesome thing to hear.

Stallions and Donkeys (workplace humor)

Stallions (high performers) in your organizations are the ones who will win races for you. However they do not come cheap. They are also expensive to maintain as they need special veterinary care, vitamins, air-conditioned stables etc. They are however worth it as they 'win' races for you which brings in the dollars (One idea or a new process created by a high performer can save you millions or on the other hand make you millions).

On the other hand, donkeys (average/poor performers) in your organizations, given the same 'special treatment' will never ever win races for you. In his article, 'The True Value of Hiring and Retaining Top Performers', author Dr John Sullivan (a top HR specialist in the US) states that "Top performers exceed the performance of average performers by at least 25%". When you translate that into dollars and cents it can be very big money.

Never recruit a stallion and use it to carry heavy loads. That is not its primary function and if you continue to do so you will turn him into a donkey or he will leave. You are also wasting talent and skills. On the other hand, never recruit a donkey and then think that through the process of training and development or other methods that you can make him win races. It will never ever happen and is definitely not worth the time and effort!

Stallions want to be treated like stallions. They know that they can win races and therefore know that they are special. They also know that they are very marketable which may make them a little conceited. Accept their egos. It is a small price to pay for excellence. When you treat them like donkeys, they get de-motivated which in turn results in them not winning races or else they leave. It is easy to convert a stallion into a donkey by mismanaging him, de-motivating him etc. On the other hand, try as he may, even David Copperfield will not be able to convert a donkey into a stallion.

NEVER, EVER allow or promote a donkey to manage stallions. He will soon convert all the stallions into donkeys. Curt Coffman, lead researcher at Gallup says that "If you have a turnover problem look first to your managers," he asserts. "People leave managers, not companies." Lastly, identify the stallions in your organization and do all you can to keep them. It's okay to allow the donkeys to leave. Donkeys are easily replaceable, stallions are not.

A special bond...

Nalin is at an age where he is maturing fast. He is quite sensible and I am fortunate that He and I are forming a very strong and special bond between us. He is not afraid to let me know what he likes about me and what he does not like about me. At the same time, I also take a step back and look at things from his perspective. As a result, we both understand each other very well and get along superbly. Just today, I was sitting by myself pondering about something that was weighing heavily on my mind and he walked up to me and said quite seriously.."Daddy, why are you so sad... come, I will play with you." and that really touched my heart. We spent the next half an hour doing drawings and fun stuff. In that moment, we were more friends and less of father and son. He had allowed me access into his little world and it was an amazing experience. We could relate to each other. It is a moment I will cherish for a long time. I hope he treats me as his friend as he grows older since I would like to be part of his joys and sorrows, his ambitions, his victories and successes and be there to support him if and when he ever feels down or disappointed. I believe we have the beginnings of a very special bond... bless his heart.

When you thought I wasn't looking

For us - the parents...

WHEN YOU THOUGHT I WASN'T LOOKING

A message every adult should read because children
are watching you and doing as you do, not as you say.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you hang my
first painting on the refrigerator, and I immediately
wanted to paint another one.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you feed a
stray cat, and I learned that it was good to be kind
to animals.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make my
favourite cake for me, and I learned that the little
things can be the special things in life.

When you thought I wasn't looking I heard you say a
prayer, and I knew that there is a God I could always
talk to, and I learned to trust in Him.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you make a
meal and take it to a friend who was sick, and I
learned that we all have to help take care of each other.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw you take care
of our house and everyone in it, and I learned we have
to take care of what we are given.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw how you
handled your responsibilities, even when you didn't
feel good, and I learned that I would have to be
responsible when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw tears come
from your eyes, and I learned that sometimes things
hurt, but it's all right to cry.

When you thought I wasn't looking I saw that you
cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.

When you thought I wasn't looking I learned most of
life's lessons that I need to know to be a good and
productive person when I grow up.

When you thought I wasn't looking I looked at you and
wanted to say,'Thanks for all the things I saw when
you thought I wasn't looking.'

I AM SENDING THIS TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE I KNOW
WHO DO SO MUCH FOR OTHERS,
BUT THINK THAT NO ONE EVER SEES.
LITTLE EYES SEE A LOT.

Each of us (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, teacher, friend)
influences the life of a child.

How will you touch the life of someone today? Just by
sending this to someone else, you will probably make
them at least think about their influence on others.
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply.
Speak kindly.
Leave the rest to God.

If only I could stop time....

My darling is at that cutie pie stage right now where you wish you could stop time and live in that moment for eternity. Ofcourse I am talking about my daughter Shruti... Just this morning, right after my wife and son went to school, she started saying in her cute voice .. "I want chokolate, I want chokolate..." Repeat about 10-12 times without taking any breath and then she switches gears to "I want ice cream" Repeat that about 20 times without taking a break. Then she goes "I want halley potter" :) Finally, I had to give in and give her a lollipop at 8:30 am in the morning. There are times she will run to me, get into my lap and want "Jhoope maiyya" her way of saying she wants "Jhoote maiyya). At times she will point to the ceiling and say "I want that one" meaning pick me up, throw me in the air and catch me. Sometimes, she will just come to me and pat my face or back, moving her face side to side... a look of sheer joy on her face (as a mother would pat her child). Gosh there are so many of these moments and sometimes it makes my teary eyed. My daughter is growing up so fast. Ever so often she will come and announce in the room " My daddy!!! My daddy!!! I love my daddy". When I go pick her up from the day care, you should see her reaction. Her face lights up and she makes a mad dash towards me...not caring what toy or furniture lies in her path. Without fear of falling down, she will run just to get to me... Ah, wish I could stop the time at these moments. :)

Women unplugged...

Well, this forum is by no means meant for female bashing but I have to post the following two items.... they are so true... its not even funny.

NINE WORDS WOMEN USE

(1) Fine :
This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up.

(2) Five Minutes :
If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house.

(3) Nothing :
This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine.

(4) Go Ahead :
This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It!

(5) Loud Sigh :
This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.)

(6) That's Okay :
This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake.

(7) Thanks :
A woman is thanking you, do not question, or faint. Just say you're welcome.
(I want to add in a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome'. that will bring on a 'whatever').

(8) Whatever :
Is a woman's way of saying F-- YOU!

(9) Don't worry about it, I got it :
Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3.

and this one is from years ago..... :)

Time pass

I think a time pass post is long over due... so here are some cool time wasters. Let me know if you liked them and I can post some more. Enjoy.....

The race

Click on the ball to change its color

Joke

An armed hooded robber bursts into a Bank and forces the tellers to load a sack full of cash. On his way out the door with the loot one brave customer grabs the hood and pulls it off revealing the robber's face. The robber shoots the guy in the head without hesitation! He then looks around the bank to see if anyone else has seen him.

One of the tellers is looking straight at him and the robber walks over and calmly shoots him in the head. Everyone by now is very scared and looking down at the floor.

Did anyone else see my face?' calls the robber.

There is a few moments silence then one elderly gentleman, looking down, tentatively raises his hand and says: 'I think me wife may have caught a glimpse ....'.

Marriage



Before marriage....

He: Yes. At last. It was so hard to wait.
She: Do you want me to leave?
He: No! Don't even think about it.
She: Do you love me?
He: Of course! Over and over!
She: Have you ever cheated on me?
He: No! Why are you even asking?
She: Will you kiss me?
He: Every chance I get.
She: Will you hit me?
He: Are you crazy! I'm not that kind of person!
She: Can I trust you?
He: Yes.
She: Darling!



After marriage....
Simply read from bottom to top.

Burglaries

There is an alarming increase in burglaries in our neighborhood recently ... atleast 3-4 on our street itself in the last couple of weeks. What's surprising is that the thieves strike in broad daylight. The modus operendii seems to be that someone follows the schedule of the occupents of the "marked" houses and then strikes at an appropriate time. One of our neighbors left home in the morning to drop the kids to school (about a mile away) and when she returned home about 10-15 minutes later, her house had already been broken into.

This is so wrong on so many counts. Taking something that does not belong to you is awful. You don't know how many people are involved, are they dangerous if confronted, are they ganf members and/or drug addicts? Are they from the same neighborhood? The victim feels so violated... someone breaking in and turning their lives upside down. The cops are totally ineffective. You can register a report but you can be sure nothing would come out of it. We had a break-in 3 years ago and an attempted break-in about a year ago...

This sucks!!! Well, hopefully these crooks get caught soon.

Naach mania

Oh what a day today has been. Today we had the good fortune to go see the Naach event in a High school auditorium in a nearby city. Naach is a private organization that is involved in teaching dance (to the tunes of bollywood music) to people of all ages. Our primary motivation to go see the event was Ruchi's performance. It was a crazy morning - getting the kids ready, rushing off to pick up Ruchi (who had left early to practise her dance one last time) and then rushing off to the event. Once there, I saw that the parking lot was full and lots and lots of performers dressed in their costumes. There was a contagious excitement in the air. First stop - the samosa/idly-vada-sambar stall. First things first - have to have some grub in the tummy. No fun if the tummy is adding its own music during the show. The food was good and then the tea... mmm. delicious. Then the thing I hate - we snaked our way into the auditorium via a slow moving line. Fortunately, the seating was good. We were at the mezzanine level and had a good view of the stage. I was a bit sceptical about the whole show - kids and adults of all ages would be performing... yawn!! The first performance and I am floored. The audience is really into it and cheering wildly, the performers are awesome, the music is rocking!!!

One after another performers come and do their show to hit tunes from bollywood and everyone is riveted to their seats. Just before intermission, Ruchi and her friend leave us to get ready for their bit. A long 20 minute intermission follows and the kids are getting restless. Finally, the show resumes. Small kids, youngsters and Adults - all belting out great performances one after the other. At that point I wanted Nalin and Shruti too out their performing. It would be a good development activity for them and they would enjoy it too. Finally, it is Ruchi and her groups turn. She dance to the tune of "chak de phatte". The performance was exceptional and you could see how much hard work and effort went into preparing for this dance. Everyone was dancing in unision, no mistakes (as if I would know any better) :) but beautifully done. After the show, we went to have lunch at a community centre before heading for home. It was pretty tiring for everyone but well worth it. A very good job done. What's next? I am hoping Ruchi becomes an instructor and teaches the dances to our kids. Wishful thinking - you never know. ;-)

The castle personality test

I came across this simple personaility test (from a friend's blog). It's only 6 questions, takes about 2 minutes yet very accurate. Here are my results...

The Castle Personality Test



You have no problem diving into new experiences. You're so brave that you don't even notice how courageous you are.

You like to think that people see you as intellectual and wise. You consider yourself to be very smart.

You are a very realistic person. You see the world as it is, flaws and all.

Right now, you feel very trapped in your life. You often feel like there is no way out of your rut.

Overall, your life is calm and steady. Not much stirs you, and each day is full of joy.

You aren't optimistic about the future. You worry about what will happen to the world and if we'll be able to clean up the messes we've made.


Now how about you go ahead and take the test and let me know your result. ;)
The test is here ---- > The Castle personality test.

Obama it is...

It's final. Obama will be the next president of USA. I saw his acceptance speech and am I impressed? Wow. Not only is the guy an excellent orator, his body language, his style, his tone and tenor... amazing. Best of all, I did not see even a touch of arrogance. Very gracious in victory. Let's see what the next 4 years have in store for us.

The bart measure I have been following closely is still undecided. It would generate funds to bring Bart to San Jose and Santa Clara and I am a big supporter. We need 66.66% votes and we have about 66.30% votes. It's that close. The Mail-in votest are being counted and hopefully this measure goes through.

Prop 8 dealing with taking away the right of Gays to marriage and be treated equally passed. Its kind of sad that in this day and age, people still have to fight hard for their rights. On the flip side, straight people are apprehensive that their young kids would be exposed to all this and I totally understand that concern. I guess with time, this issue will resolve itself.

I was a big supporter of Prop 2 and am glad it passed. The farm animals (in california) would get to move around and stretch their limbs even though their ultimate fate remains unchanged. :(

I look forward to the coming months with great excitement and optimism but at the same time I feel we all are being a bit unfair to Obama. To expect him to change everything that is wrong with the country right now (economy, stock market, hosuing, jobs etc etc) is too much to ask from anyone. I just hope that people do not lose faith in him too much too fast.

I wanted to add my views about desi politicians but that's for another day. Why spoil the mood right now (as it is there is very little to cheer). Hoping for better days ahead.

Election day

I was on the fence all this while - not able to decide who would get my vote. Obama or McCain. I was still undecided even 30 minutes before I actually cast my vote. Obama - The guy is good, a bit inexperienced. He can make tall claims (don't all politicians do) but not sure if he can deliver. I don't like his concept of taxing the rich to solve all issues (not that I am rich but I find it unfair to target a segment of society). Otherwise he is pretty good - clear in his thoughts and ideas. McCain is a decorated war hero and must not be held accountable for what Bush did. I agree with McCain when he says that the US cannot turn her back and run from the battlefield (it was wrong to go in the first place but now that you are there, finish the job and then come back - by finish the job I mean bring some stability in the region that you messed up).

Anyway, my decision was made by the most unlikely source in a most unusual manner. Ruchi was on her way to drop off Nalin to School when I got a call from her. Nalin wanted to talk to me. The conversation goes something like this:

Nalin: Daddy, I want you to vote for Obama.
Me (shocked): What?
Nalin: Vote for Obama...
Me: Are you sure? who is the other guy?
Nalin: McCain
Me (now amused): What is this vote for?
Nalin: My teacher said that Mommy and daddy can vote for the president of USA.
Umang (trying to be sure): Do you want me to vote for Biden or Palin?
Nalin: Biden.
Umang: What's his full name?
Nalin: Joe Biden.

Now, I am really impressed. That decided it for me. I was off the fence and half an hour later Obama had my vote. Four years from now, I guess Shruti will be advising me where to put my vote. :) I look forward to that day.

Halloween...

Time flies...Diwali came and went and now it's halloween time. Kids are all excited. Nalin dressed up as a lion and went to school, Shruti will be dressed as a cowgirl. Both have parties at their respective places (which I plan to attend). Then there will be trick or treating in the evening (if weather co-operates...its been raining on/off since yesterday) and maybe a potluck dinner. All these potlucks lately are making everyone's bellies like pots (maybe thats why they are called potluck). Other than tonight's potluck, there are 2 more planned for this weekend (not to mention the one we had a few days back on Diwali). All this eating and no exercise... make me lazy.

Diwali party

I had a Diwali party at work today- this was at the BU level for the test org. I dressed up in a traditional dress and received quite a few compliments. We had a competition for the best dressed male and I came runners-up although many felt I should have been declared the winner. Anyway it was good fun. The food was good and the entertainment was good too. I won a prize in dumb charades as well. Finally to wrap up the party, someone brought in their Kareoke (sp??) system and a few folks sang some old hindi songs. This party was a good idea to get to know the ASR 1k test team.

work-life balance

With a change in my manager, it has suddenly become a lot more hectic at work. Suddenly, stricter deadlines are being proposed and enforced. The next project is also coming up shortly and the pressure from work is unlikely to ease up in the next 6 months. After that, there will be the clamor to get onto the new platform (all work on the platform I am working on right now is being rapidly transferred to India) and I would be one of the last few to move on. So, there is some apprehension that I would let the leftover tidbits once everyone else had had their picks. On top of all this< i have signed up for a couple of classes at Stanford. The assignments and papers from those classes are adding up their bit of pressure.

At home front, since we let the nanny go, we have had one person come to our house to help with cooking but she left town after 3 weeks. Since then we haven't found anyone that can meet our schedule requirements. Kids are demanding as usual. So makes for one heck of a tiring day for both of us (I didn't mention that it is even more hectic at Ruchi's work).

But, both of us are working as a team and managing things quite well. I have a few things to do over the next month or so and then hopefully things will get better (right during the holidays timeframe).

Nalin sprained his foot today while jumping from our bed. Poor fella was in quite a bit of pain. Fortunately, no fracture... Neighborhood Diwali potluck coming up next weekend. Meanwhile life goes on...

Diwali

Diwali is on tuesday - 4 days from today. In my company we had a celebration involving food, music, dance, cultural show, raffle etc. It was a fun affair. On monday, we have a smaller party at work to celebrate Diwali. As a kid, Diwali used to be a big thing for us. We would buy lots of crackers. In the morning, the whole house would be cleaned up. Mum and Dad would go to every close acquaintance's house to give a box of sweets while other people would come to our house to give sweets. As kids we would eagerly wait for sunset. As the sun would set, we would light the diys and the candles and dad would conduct the puja. After that we would be given sweets to eat - no restrictions, eat what you want and how much you want. And then the green signal.... go and play with the crackers. We would rush out and burst crackers. Anaar, chakri, saap, patake (aloo bamb, ladis etc), rockets... you name it. One time I had a candle in my hand and a small pataka in my hand, and just then a close family friend came... I was telling them that mom-dad were inside and at the same time trying to light the candle to ignite the cracker. I was so distracted that instead of the candle I burst the cracker in my hand. That memory is still imprinted in my mind even though it was some 30 years ago. :) I would be scared of the noise from the crackers and would cover my ears. Next day, we would look in the debris for any unexploded crackers .... what a cool time we used to have on Diwali.

Now it is different. We get some crackers and watch Nalin and Shruti have fun. Hopefully, they are forming memories of their own. As is traditional in Americal (all festivals are celebrated on the nearest weekend), this year too, we will have a party on Nov 1st. Instead of hosting it at our house, this time we will go to a neighbors house. Now Diwali is a few crackers and food.... the excitement is gone. The best part now is to watch the kids having fun with the crackers and playing with their friends. I am sure our parents felt the same way watching us have fun when we were kids.

Happy Diwali to everyone!!!!

Book club

I am starting a book club at work within my extended group. The idea behind it is to sign up interested people, give them fun and interesting books focussed on building soft skills (increasing productivity, time management, etc etc). The books are distributed once a month and everyone reads them in their spare time and once a month we meet up and discuss. The company pays for the books and the participants get to keep them. I have several people showing interest to join but most seem to be hesitant that this might involve more work. Anyway, let's see how it goes... Hopefully after the first month, some positive feedback will spur others to join in as well.

I cam across an interesting idea in the book I am currently reading (not the book club rahter the one I mentioned a few postings back). P-T-F-A-R. All of us are programmed to think a certain way (based on what we saw, felt, experienced while growing up...). This programming leads to thoughts in us, The thoughts lead to feelings and feelings lead to Action. Finally, when we take action, we see results. So whatever state we are in (whether good or bad, financially or emotionally or spiritually), it all depends on how we have been programmed early on in life. It is however possible to change this programming such that we become more successful but I digress... after success is a relative term and it means different things to different people.

Work life is busy as hell. Work is piling up and there don't seem to be enough hours in the day to do it all. But to balance work, there is life outside... which is just whizzing by... day, night, month, year..... Kids are growing up fast too... If only I had the power to hold time still.

Anand....

I recall a discussion I had with my dad several months back (on our way from PA to SJ on a friday evening). Everyone's is looking for happiness (Anand) in life. After all, who wants to be in grief? Different people find or try to find anand or joy or peace (whatever you may want to call it) in different things/ways. Some try to work hard (work is everything), some don't believe in work, some look for it in money and others look for it in fame, and so on. I recall in that discussion, we concluded that the joy or pleasure we seek is/will always be short lived as long as the source of that joy is external to us. We may earn a lot of money and be happy for some time but might lose it soon thereafter and be sad... and so on. If we look for joy/peace/happiness within us, and manage to find it, that joy would be everlasting. No, one does not need to become an introvert, rather he/she simply needs to realize that the happiness obtained from external objects is temporary while the happiness/contentment that originates within us can be permanent.

It's a difficult task to achieve but whenever I am bothered by some news or external events, this discussion comes back to my mind and I try to calm myself thinking that instead of looking outside and reacting to things/events, I should be looking inside and find peace. At times I am successful and other times I am not. :)

Going down memory lane

Finally, I finished watching the movie Sarkar Raj 2. The story line is powerful with exceptional dialogue delivery. As can be expected with successful scripts, the makers of the movie have left the plot open for another sequel. Senior and Junior AB excel and Ash is ready to shine in the next one (her performance is not too bad in this one but she does play third fiddle).

Interest in my blog has been growing and a number of people have called and appreciated it. I feel this is a nice idea to keep your friends and family connected to your life. Who know, when Nalin and Shruti grow a little bigger, they might enjoy reading about their parent's life. ;)

I have been thinking of going down memory lane to the earliest memory I have of my childhood and a few incidents come to mind (listed in chronological order).

1) The earliest memory... I guess I was 1 or 1.5 yr old, it was winters, night time. My dad picked me up and took me to the restroom towards the back of the house and tried to get me to pee. ;) poor dad...it was cold. He went the usual "shuuuuuuuuuu...". Needless to say, I did not oblige and we came back into the house. I guess I was being potty trained. :)

2) I was a little older ... maybe 2-3 year old. I was tucked into a rajai with mom and dad and dad read me the story about "Kutchu and his glasses". The story is about an absent minded person who puts his eye glasses on his head and forgets about it. he goes around looking for it and asking his near and dear one where they are but no one can help him. In the end he finds them on his own head.

3) We had three steps in our backyard patio, leading to the garden. Me and my brother were playing cricket (I was maybe 5-6 years old) and I slipped and fell down the stair and broke a finger nail (right hand middle finger... yeah I remember).

4) I was playing gulli danda with a neighbor's son and my brother. The danda slipped out of my brother's hand and hit me smack on my head and there was intense bleeding. My brother cooked up a story about some passing schoolkids hitting me with a stone. I wonder if my parents bought the story?? Our neighbor's son was not seen at our house though after that incident. :)

5) I was bit older... maybe 6-7 year old. During winters, it would get very cold and we would each snuggle into our beds and my mom would go around and give all the kids kaju, kishmish and badaam and we would happily much them (without worrying about brushing our teeth afterwards).

These and some other incidents are deeply imprinted in my memory. Maybe next family re-union and we can all share our memories from the good ol' days. ;)

Karwa Chauth

Yesterday was Karwa Chauth. As usual, Ruchi kept a fast but this time around she did not eat the "Sergi" early in the morning. I felt bad for her, going thirsty and hungry all day for me. In the evening, both of us came home a bit early, cleaned up the house and hosted a Karwa party at our place. We had a couple of neighbor families come over. The kids had a blast playing together till late. There was that occasional kid crying (lost a game or plain simple too tired) but overall they had fun. They even ran around chasing (trying to catch) Shruti with Shruti running ahead, as fast as her 2 year old legs could carry her. Amazing. :) Nalin, too, could be seen "bossing" around in his own house.

The guys took over the kitchen. While it was a potluck and each family had brought something, we relieved the ladies from the task of making pooris. Me, Manish and Ravi happily made the pooris and served the ladies. Overall, everyone had a good time. For a change, this year it was not cloudy and the moon was sighted without much efforts. We missed a close friend and his family, on this day, who are going through a rough patch.

Millionaire Mind

I have started reading the book "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind" by T. Harv Eker during my morning commute to work. Must says, its a good read. Its too early to pass a verdict on how useful it will be but a couple of ideas already stand out. At one place it quotes Stuart Wilde - "The key to success is to raise your own energy; when you do, people will naturally be attracted to you. And when they show up, bill 'em". Food for thought for sure.

A second thing I liked is that the author mentions that people live in the visible world. Just like in a tree, we observe the branches, flowers and fruits without paying attention to the roots, in the tree of life, we fail to see the invisible that is creating the visible. It's that invisible that we need to focus on. There are many other profound ideas mentioned in the book but it will not be possible to mention them here else I will end up typing the whole book here. If you get a chance grab a copy of the book and read it. I think it will be worth it.

11th Anniversary

It was our 11th wedding anniversary today. What a ride it has been - with the ups and downs. Didn't do anything special today. Both of us were extremely busy at work and I had a class in the evening and therefore came home late. The kids were in bed by the time I reached home (although I reached just in time to wish them good night). Time is flying by....

God and Religion

Many people confuse god and religion to be one and the same thing and frankly this misconception is one of the single biggest reasons for the unrest in the world. Think about it - What is the oldest religion in the world? Doesn't matter what your answer is...but think now :- Did god (your god if it pleases you) exist before your religion came into existence. What??? But don't we hear all the time and believe that god is omnipresent, cannot be born, nor can it die i.e. uncreatable and non-destructible. So, it shows that god existed before any of the religions came to exist. hmmm... think about this for a while since this is profound. Now, if god existed before any religion, then why do people go around claiming "My religion is better than yours" or "My religion represents the true god" and so on. God never tied itself to one particular religion. So, God is above all religions.... but

what is god?

God is a He/She/It/Animate/Inanimate/countable/measureable or a figment of imagination. Human beings associate themselves with physical things e.g. if one has never seen what a car looks like, you can describe the car to the person in great detail but that person will not get it. Show him/her a picture of it and he/she will have an "Aha" moment. So, my theory is that in older days, people were used as a representation (physical) of god so people could understand the concept...and over the years instead of going forward in their thinking about god, they tied themselves down into the physical depiction of god and made it to be the ultimate truth.

So, God is/was not a physical human being. So what is god? Is there a god? Who made this entire creation (Shristi)? What was there before it got created? Why was it created? What role do we have to play in all this? Are we real when we are awake or are we real when we are asleep(in our sub-concious)? Happiness and sadness - are they real or are they percieved? Is there something people call true salvation or Nirvana? Is that our goal or Should that be our goal? These are some of the numerous questions that no one has been able to answer but at some stage in life most of us are confronted with them or we confront them. The answer needs to be found invividually through one's own experiences. Consider a complex mathematical problem and someone gives you the solution. If you don't understand the problem or the solution (or both), the solution itself (although known to you) will not help you. So, the journey to find god is an individual journey and it may or may not go via a church, temple or a mosque.... Human mind is always curious...I am sure one day all of us will find the truth - the reason for our existence. Till then, we continue to exist in this material shape and material world.

We like to move it, move it !!!

I showed Nalin the trailer of Madagascar 2 recently on my IPhone. It has this catchy song in it "We like to move it, move it .... He likes to move it, move it, She likes to move it, move it... MOVE IT!!" which is picturized (atleast in the trailer) on a Lion, a Zebra and a Hippo moving their Butt in a rhythm. He liked the trailer so much that he has been singing this song over and over again... :) The movie is releasing Nov 7th, 2008 and I am sure we'll be taking him there to see it esp. since it has his favorite animal in it - The Lion.

Here's the trailer for your viewing pleasure ... :)

Trailer for Madagascar 2

Am I lucky or what??

It's such a nice feeling to know that you have very good friends. I have been very lucky in this aspect. Right from childhood till now, I have been very lucky to have made some very nice friendships. It continued on in college, then in Bidar, onto clemson and then in my worklife. So much so, I have a very good set of friends in our lane where our house is located. Just came back from a party at one of our neighbor's house (originally from pakistan). Very nice people indeed. We are a group of 6 desi families on our street and whenever any of us throws a party/get together, the guest list is pretty much already made. :) The 6 families on our street are so close that we hardly feel the need to invite our "other" friends. I feel so blessed to have such good friends.
Weather is getting colder and my neighbor wants me and him to start playing tennis again. ;) We had quite a bit of fun playing together last year and even early this year. Let's see when we are able to re-start. I am thinking of getting the windows replaced with dual pane since winters are coming and it is getting colder. It's a bit expensive but I guess it will be all worth it. Stock market tamasha is on with stocks plunging like anything everyday. My company laid off about 220 people just couple of days back. Some tough times ahead...

Feeling of deja vu ...

A couple of days back I had this feeling of deja vu.... A colleague at work (who moved back to India a few months back but still with my company) was engrossed in a keen but aggressive tussle with another colleague of mine. There were emails flying back and forth between the two of them. Apparently, the colleague in India wanted the colleague here to implement his library routine a certain way.... and she was getting a bit too aggressive (in my opinion). Needless to say I jumped in and calmed them down. Many moons ago, I used to be like that - agressive, abrasive, I-am-right-and-I-will-tell-the-world-what-I-think attitude. Over the years, I have learnt my lessons and mellowed down. It's just a job. Relationships (work, home, friends etc) are very important and you can accomplish pretty much the same thing in a better nicer way. The real challenge in the art of negotiation is to go to the other party's position and convince them to come to your point of view. ;)

US presidential debates are going on. I am not sure who I will vote for. Obama has some +ves and -ves. The biggest negative is he is proposing tax hikes for anyone making >$250k/year. I don't agree with the philosphy that the "rich" can be the favorite whipping boys all the time... That's like saying - "You worked hard and made money - now give more of that money back to us" Duh!!! McCain on the other hand has some +ves too but on the -ve side I think he is too much into the military aspect of things. So, overall not sure who will get my vote come Nov 4th.

Meanwhile, stocks, economy, housing market ... everything is tumbling down. For a change oil too ;) and here's a funny pic to sign off for now...

That's life...

Life is strange (haven't we heard that before so many times) :) You love/like someone and that person is going through a rough patch... you want to reach out, you want to lend a helping hand, you want to share their pain/suffering, you want to be there for them but words sound hollow (and often hurtful). you mean something but it comes across as something totally different. The one you hold dear to your heart is most hurt by your attempts to heal. What to do? Give up - not an option. Keep trying - but that hurts the other person. You say a silent prayer that hopefully things take a turn for the better for them --- soon!!! During such times, we should remember that even the toughest of situations will eventually ease. Joy and sorrow are never permanent. Future is a mystery for all of us. Maybe something better is in store for us and it might be sooner rather than later. Always keep an optimistic view about the future. Negative emotions/feelings cause a viscious circle in life - they feed on themselves. So, enjoy your good health and the love/happiness of your near and dear ones (friends and family) and forget the rest. Life is too precious to worry or hold grudges. In the end, it doesn't matter how long you lived - rather it is most important how you have lived. If you are reading this, cheer up. We will get through this phase as well - ever stronger.

This weekend was hectic as usual. With Shruti and Nalin around, there is never a dull moment. They can bring out all sorts of emotions in us in a matter of minutes - happiness, sorrow, anger, amazement, tiredness, frusturation, pride .... Ruchi and I are blessed to have such wonderful kids. ;) We had a friend and his family over for dinner on Saturday. We all had a pretty good time. Ruchi was amazing - the way she had a gourmet meal ready in no time. And I just could not stop myself from taking more and more servings. So even though it was pretty cold outside, I and my friend had to go out and take a half hour walk to get things settled. Sunday morning I went to pick up my brother and his family from the airport. They just returned from a vacation in mexico. In the evening, we took the kids to the park and they had loads of fun.... we should take them there more often. My dad saw the movie Drona and recommends it...will try to get the dvd next time.

Commuting by Train

I have been thinking of using public transit services (VTA Light rail) on and off for some time now. Never really tried it out since I always thought

a) the light rail is too slow
b) Without my car, I am stuck at the office i.e. no mobility

Finally yesterday (and today), I decided to take the light rail to work. The drive to the station from my house is about 10 mins and it takes another 18 minutes on the train to get to work. Needless to say, I was really impressed

a) Neat and clean trains
b) efficient and on time
c) not slow at all
d) most convinient

I am so happy I tried it out since I don't need to sit in back-to-back traffic in the morning/evenings (traffic is crazy here as are the drivers ... but that is another post for some other day), its good for the environment, I save on Gas and my company pays for the annual pass (to travel free on the train). It couldn't get better than this. I plan to use the service maybe 3-4 days a week.

On my second day (today), I saw something interesting. As I got on the train, another man in his mid-late 40s got on. He pulled out a book from his backpack and started reading while I got busy checking the news on my IPhone. :) A few station down the line, the ticket checker got on and what a surprise. This apparently well to do guy, was travelling ticket-less. He got cited (fined). The TT was very polite but firm. Then some more people got on the train and a youngish guy came aboard and sat right behind me. The TT came and asked for his ticket and guess what... ;) I heard him groan and say that he just got cited yesterday!!! yup, he was travelling ticketless too. The TT remarked "looks like you didn't learn the lesson...". In all 3 people got ticketed and then my station came and I got off.

I wonder why people cheat. Ok, time for me to go catch my train home.

Times change !!!

Oh my!!! How do times change... I guess I am always late to adopt new things in life esp. when it comes to social networking. I take time making friends (but to be fair to myself my friends last a lifetime), I never signed up for orkut (even though it's a craze among so many people), just recently opened an account on facebook (find it a bit boring) and now finally have a blogging site. I used to think all these were a waste of time but I guess times change.... :) So, three cheers to start off my journey as a blogger... hopefully, you and I will have a fun time along the way.

I will try and share my thoughts, events and memories as appropriate. So, hang in there and I will be back soon ...