Pacifica

Its been almost 2 months since we moved to the Pacific coast of the Americas, and looking back, it sounds like a wise decision. Good weather, lots of places to see and lots of friends and ppl you know..
Its taken a while, and now I am getting into the groove on the workfront too. It wasn't a simple start by any standards. Its a new company,new place, new colleagues and a new environment. On top of it, I was squeezed between buying essentials for our apartment, and work. To top it, my brainy had started to get a bit rusty for no apparent reason.
There was another contrast which I had to juggle with, and that was the difference in the working style I was used to, in India and on the East Coast vs. the one here in Cali. Now that I have realized what nuts and bolts need to be fixed, the jig saw puzzle is gradually finding its way out...
Though it will take some more time to get firmly rooted and have my juggernaut rolling..

Last month was great on the excursion front. Rahul, Aditi, Vaidehi and I had a great day in San Francisco, the cute city.The weather was chill and at its foggy best...The golden gate park and the golden gate bridge were real treats for us. We also had our first rendezvous with the waters of the Pacific Ocean, and it was biting cold to say the least...Its almost winter here, and the beaches of Cali are know to treat people coldy, they say..hehehehe
The Golden Gate bridge was truly marvelous, but we could just catch a glimpse of it, due to the extremely foggy conditions..Good reason for us to catch it later in the summer.
Thanksgiving weekend was an even bigger outing for us, with the Kakades and Deodhars setting off to Southern California on our maiden sojourn. it was an action packed trip for 4 days, starting with the riches of beverly Hills, Rodeo drive, thru the scintillating Hollywood and LA city, and leading us to Universal studios. The next day was in the sunny town of San Diego, just off the Mexican border, where we got a more than fair share of oceanic fauna, amongst sea lions, manatees, whales and dolphins, not to forget the flamingos...
On our way back we took route 1, going thru Sa Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara, and I had a nice adventurous 3 hours of driving in pitch dark along the winding state road besides the Pacific. What a shame we could not enjoy those moments of exuberance felt during a game of roadrash by the Pacific drive...There's always a next time, ain't it ?

My favorite season

The last quarter of the year more often than not tends to usher in good tidings for me.
Until last year, way back in India, it marked the onset of the festive season, with Navratri coming with a big bang, and Diwali crackers adding that icing on the cake....
The air gets so better, the scorching heat is gone, the monsoons have retired back to their abode in the oceans, and winter is round the corner. Its a trilogy of sorts; as a student there are more challenges to be faced in the form of mid-year exams, but once you are out of the clutches of this education system and onto a job, then things tend to get more relaxing on this front.
Its not just big festivals that leave an impression and give that feeling of gay to us, even the smaller and yet fun filled ones, for e.g Kojagiri Pournima today leave a distinct feeling of elation on my mind...The radiant, resplendent fully waxed moon shines its riches upon Mother Earth and we human mortals try to capture this parent-child romance in ounces of Milk and devour upon its crisp pure creamy taste ...Kojagiri makes me reminiscent of the nice dinners I had with my family in Pune on the terrace and more recently, the Sharad Pournima on the beaches of the Radisson Inn in Goa last year, with a bonfire and waves lashing incessantly onto the shores, with us folks merrying amidst all kinds of music and dance....
Even as I sit in my living room on the other side of the globe, the feeling of joy is pretty much the same..On the personal front too, I have begun this period of the year with lots of reasons to cheer for. The brand new job @Vmware, the brand new car-> Yes, the Honda Accord if you missed those sound bytes from me. I cant but help remember the commercial of Asian paints where Sunil babu gets a naya ghar, nayi gaadi, nayi mrs.. (well, my wife is nayi too, and I am still a naya husband) :-)
Being in the temperate part of the world has other side effects and advantages..I got my first exposure to this phenomenon called Fall (aka Autumn). ANd then there is a big gung-ho about how the leaves turn into rainbow colors and display the Fall colors to mankind... Its almost like a competition between states like Maine, MN, WI and NH as to where the carotenes and xanthophiles are most vivid and colorful....
We came down to the West not expecting any kind of Fall in Cali. But Palo Alto has had its fair share of Fall and its beautiful colors, and has been a treat to our eyes...
Overall, it feels good, being in the hub of Silicon valley, in the midst of the Googles and Yahoos and VMwares of the world..........Enjoy the season guyz..!!!!!!!!!!!

The new dawn...

The summer here is turning out to be better.
Vaidehi is in Atlanta now, and suddenly my mundane existence has sprung back to life.
The ghar ka khana is back and I am already feeling at home now.
Got some plans with Abhi for the labor day weekend, we might go around the city a bit, and probably further, time permitting.
Last weekend we spent a handful of hours in Atlanta downtown, and being here for almost 5 months, I hadnt ventured anywhere close to that part of town. Suddenly I explored the East-West Marta link for the first time, and also took a bus ride.. Underground Atlanta wa buzzing with activity and some pockets there reminded me of Tulshi-baug in Pune :-)
I had a few more exploits of interest in the last month, and some force in me has sailed me thru the objective I had in mind, cant spell it out here for fear of pre-maturely leaking out the news...but yes, life does promise to get even better in the next few months....
Haven't read any novels in quite some time, the last one being Five Point someone, and not Harry Potter, which is what people would expect to have read latest by default :-)

My culinary skills have been put to rest. Thankfully..Yeah, I was almost reaching a point where I wud rather succumb to burgers rather than spent a few hours daily in the kitchen besides the electric oven, trying to get tadkas and Indian cuisine cooked for my stomach.
Planning and will power are the keys to success, i have realized, and I hope to be more and more systematic to make this mortal existence one with lot of substance.
I Pray to thee Lord...

I'm still here

Last month was a blog drought for me, without a single post. And its today that for lack of better alternatives, I find myself blogging again. Also once in a while I need to send KeepAlive(), so that people know my blog is still on :-)
July proved to be a routine mundane month, lacking the action of any sorts....
and now its August, getting warmer day by day in the Southern state of Georgia....
When I suddenly look back, its been 3.5 months out of India and still there are those moments, where I fail to come to terms that I won't be going home anytime soon....Luckily my wife would join me soon later this month and this is a big reason to cheer, since I hope it takes away half of my boredom.......
I have been planning some other things too in the meantime, and am hoping that by dint of my efforts and that element of luck, I should sail thru and successfully complete the project which I have set sail for.....
Today for the first time I went to the movies here, and watched the Bourne Ultimatum, and it was good to watch..Lot of action packed, a bit too fast to palette at times..but some kind of entertainment in general. I also came to terms with the buckets of popcorn that are gorged upon by fellows here. What a contrast compared to the small plastic tini-wini bits of popcorn we used to buy back home, from the market in Pimpri for like 2 bucks...(Rs..not $ hehehehe )

Exploring the US is going to be my next part of the agenda, and I hope to really see some good places and enjoy with Vaidehi when she's here...That would be really something to look forward to...
Let me end with an expression which I learnt from the Wonder Years which ran in the late 60s and early 70s...Have a neat summer !!!!

June te June..will naveen be sone ?

Before I realize the last week of June is here, and as the Sun passes over the weekend, July will dawn. Not that any of these months are real special to me, but I am suddenly faced with the stark reality that half of 2007 is gone..and also means another thing, that it will be 6 months since I got married. Now whenever I look at my marriage photos, doesn't it just sound like yesterday ?
With office chores, this week has been a listless one, and one where my Ashwamegh of triumph, success and glory has been suddenly halted, also stealing away my luv(love) and kushi (khushy) feeling ..
I guess there are always these moments of lull which help us to reflect back on life, take a breath and analyze what has gone right -n-wrong, and whether the boat of life is steering in the right direction. So, I too have taken stalk of the situation and have set the ball rolling for what should lead to my heart's desire.
Tony Blair has resigned today, and for some strange reason, I felt a tinge of emotion for him, guess its always big news when the excited electrons need to return back to their normal state. Back home, the rains are continuing their now yearly routine of lashing onto cities, towns, mohallas and dwarf villages, bringing life to a standstill. As if to remind people, that the surge in technology cannot annul the forces that Nature is made up of. But it does mean a good year ahead for farmers, agriculture, and even the manufacturing sector in general, and makes the bourses even more bullish...
With Presidential elections in India reduced to a two-way battle, the sword-lines have been drawn, and I am a bit unsure myself whom I want to support. I would also like India to have its first female President, and notwithstanding the fact that she hails from Maharashtra, I have some respect for our VP too..anyways..good that this is one election where I do not miss out casting my ballot..
Far away in Western Europe, a bunch of 11 guys belonging to Team India are playing a game called cricket, and I hope it remains sincerely confined to such corners of the world rather than Hindustan, so that our nation continues to be more productive and stress-free...anyways, hope the desis back home are listening....What I am really missing this time around is the tennis action, since the absence of a TV is preventing my thirsty eyes from savoring the green lawns and strawberry with cream that defines the persona of Wimbledon.!!! too bad...

Rains in Atlanta

Its getting warmer here in SE of USA in Atlanta. I can easily feel the contrast in the weather now vs when I got here first in mid-April. Then, it was touted as spring, but the early mornings and nights were really chill, atleast by Indian standards; now its much warmer early in the day and stays like that until late at night. In fact, the sun is scorching at times , in the afternoon..they say more so because of the lack of the ozone layer in this part of the world.

Its been overcast here for the past few days and the weather here reminds me of the monsoon season way back in India. One good thing is not having to face the potholes for sometime now..:-)
On work front, I am really liking the new technologies I am working on, which have been truly refreshing. Its fun to learn stuff urself and then implement it in code. Already new buzzwords like WSDL, web services, SOAP, XML, C# are making me feel elated, and increasing my knowledge.It does feel good to work on cool latest technologies in this fast-paced world of IT.
The new domain also feels nice for a change, outside the BE-lake, where I swam for quite some time. Its only when u get outside the lake, that you realize its a big world outside for us to explore...

This weekend, I will be taking some driving classes, before my test next week, and I hope I do learn the nitty-gritty of parking so that will pave the way for me to get my driving license..and then I can rent cars and visit places and have more fun...
Its strange but already Atlanta sounds like a home to me, i.e when I go outside, and come back it does give the feeling of being in familiar territory, though it lacks the warmth and charm of good ole India and amche Pune...well kuch paane ke liye kuch khona padta hai ...

After a month..

Its hard to believe, but its been just a month since I have been in the US. It sounds like much longer...and believe me, most of the time and energy gets spent in booting up.
Yes, there are things you need for survival here, and each one comes in a specially packed Pandora's box. its all about ur SSN, then debit and credit cards, leasing apartments, paying deposits, setting up utilities, and credit checks.
This must be the only place which trusts credit more than cash. sounds ridiculous to me at least..
Anyways, who can change the law of the land of Uncle Sam?
I am now almost into the groove of coming to office, doing my job and going back. There is a monotony of sorts about it, since there is a traditional difference in the office culture I am used to versus what I find here in AT&T. Its so much sombre and business oriented here..yes, its good to be professional, but don't know what harm a few playful moments or chatting with ur cubicle neighbor would cause...
And in my team, there are just too many Indians, still haven't got the feeling of working in the US in the true sense, since my work and interaction remains more or less shielded from the Amrus.
This time, trying different international cuisines is also conspicuous by its absence. I remember being in the US for just over 3 weeks last time, and trying Chinese, Mexican, Thai, and a few more other places. this time the farthest we have gone with respect to a non-Indian meal is the Pizza..LOL...
India has changed a lot in the past 3-4 years, and so being here doesn't make you feel necessary more privileged. save the cleanliness which is next to Godliness here..(well almost). Is it because In God they trust ? :-)

company gave me a laptop to work, so its good at the moment. Not having internet at home has advantages like not having to check office mail from home, nor bother about work. and yes, i can coolly watch movies and catch up episodes of Wonder years which I was dying to see after some rave recommendations from some colleagues..
One big thing for me to get here has definitely being getting out of the atmosphere at Symantec India, which was turning out to be maze, without the outlet that the free man of today aspires for...
Looking fwd to the Memorial day weekend coming soon; me and my pals planning a nice trip to the Smoky mountains..it should be fun...

Samland blog

Its been over a week since I stepped into US territory. The first few days were gruesome and very boring. Just wanted to take the first flight back home, its only now that tings are getting a little better.
Cooking meals for dinner is a good past time and also allows us to taste the Indian cuisine which is some much in demand by my palette.
I decided to go out blogging with hihg spirits, but looks like i have got bored along the way. So just have to prematurely truncate this one till I really feel like it..Schuuz

Just for gags

Ambivalent feelings run thru my mind at this juncture in life, when I am ready for yet another leap. Though this is not a leap year,I have suddenly accelerated things happening in my life. First I got married, so as to solve the all important issue of companionship, and with this mission having succeeded, I set my issues on other goals in life.
Change is always a difficult thing, and it was this inertia or the affinity for homeostasis that made me stick to what I was doing for the past couple of years. But finally, the simmering within, with the help of a few external catalysts made me take steps towards a brighter future.
With things shaping up well now, I am ready for the Occident to propel myself into the orbit.
Suddenly, since the past couple of months, i find in myself a new sense of confidence about work. Things sound within grasp and my sharpness seems to have increased. Ideally, I would have expected this transformation to be a gradual process, but some kind of magic wand has done the trick, or so I feel. How else would I be brimming with confidence out of the blue, atleast on the work front....
Its not been all hunky dory, though I make it sound that way. At times, the feeling of wretchedness takes its toll on me and sags my spirits to such an extent, that the frustration manifests itself in different forms like anger, anxiety etc. But some kind of divine intervention ensures that I come back on track in some time, only to repent for my actions in the last few moments.
One good thing in the process is that good sense seems to prevail and things dont get out of control. Maybe its just those minor adjustments that need to be made in life. I should be learning to enjoy more out of life, and be more open and magnanimous..this will make life a lot simpler than what it sounds in some trying moments.
Some blogs are from the heart, some out of the mind, this one seems to be a good blend of both...So its as natural as it gets when the mind is without fear and the head is held high, just to quote Gurudev Rabindranath !!! just for gags :-))

Spring has arrived

The new regimen after marriage is still taking a while to get normalized. This has led to procrastination of several tasks, very alike blogging regularly. I just decided that before people think I am out of this world, I need to send in a heart-beat message. Also its important to train oneself to cling on to good habits, which take a while to develop and be ingrained in the mind, but just require a few loose threads to be snapped off easily !
Days and nights are more eventful than they used to be say about a couple of months back. Well, classically speaking a couple of months more than a couple of months, since I was already in the transition phase from single->committed->engaged, until the ultimate wedlock happened. But coming back to the point, the monotony that had set in got broken and was replaced by a more welcome set of changes.
Joining office after that marriage vacation hiatus hasn't been that simple, since getting into the groove sounds simpler in theory than in practice. The pace of things has suddenly picked up for me, after the new work assignment, and being a feature owner gives the feeling of having to shoulder a lot of responsibilities. Also, you become the cynosure of public attention and have to learn to take the credit as well as the blame...
There have been a lot of personal chores to attend too as well, and they are keeping me and my mobile busy for quite some time...This weekend we will be traveling close to my erstwhile native place and meet up with Vaidehi's old granny, and I hope the blessings of the left and right trunk-sided Lord Ganesha will prove to be a double beatitude for us...Spring has arrived, and I can smell the freshness that is floating around in the ambient air like a lilting melody !!

The dawn of 2007

2007 has dawned and the first month has slipped past pretty quick., well almost. The month will always remain special to me as the one in which I got married, besides it has the dubious distinction of being the month of my birthday; winters in India are excellent and that's because the weather is just perfect for that travel recipe. Me and Vaidehi did travel to Udaipur and were truely mesmerized by the lake city, resplendent with its gardens and palaces surrounding the beautiful expanses of pristine water bodies. It gives the city a nice bohemian look, and gives the impression of a European setting.

Mt. Abu also turned out to be an excellent getaway, and not many people go there for the post-marriage trip, is what someone quoted. But within a span of 2 days, I met two people saying they went to the same place when it was their moment of pleasure and joy !!

Vaidehi flew her maiden flight and me my maiden one in the new year...Looking back the whole ceremony and trip sound like a nice dream which came and passed by smoothly. There are moments when I think if this has really transpired or whether it is just a figment of my imagination. Our family watched the marriage CD and it seemed like a fairy tale to us; but it was thoroughly enjoying to relive those moments again and again. I guess, there will be many more iterations over the same before they r back in the wraps, waiting to be watched again....

The pace of life is picking up again, especially this week since I joined office. There are some tasks that I need to gather momentum on, plus some personal priorities to factor in...Abhijit flies out this weekend and I hope i get to see him much sooner than the chasm of 18 months like this time...

Guten abends..