Guys for now just enjoy the video, i have a story to tell but i guess that will have to wait....too many incomplete posts......but what can i say......am a bit busy :)
Friday, December 29, 2006
Sunday, December 17, 2006
One Woman Short - am I?
I am not much of a reader but when you are single and that too in a retirement town in US where ther average age of a woman would be somewhere between 35-45 you havent got many options. So I read books at times, i try to keep it to the minimum coz once you get into bad habits its difficult to get away from them. So every once in a while i pick up a book that has a catchy title or cover page artwork. I was visinting the county library to drop a couple of movies that i had picked up a week earlier, which if I wouldnt could have costed me $1 fine per extra day. While i was at it just strolled into the book section of the public library, coz i was looking for Smita, she was riding with me and so was Priyank. I dont know she picked up a couple of books and on our way out i spotted a colourful bookcover with the title "One Woman Short" and for some reason decided to pick it up. The back cover read that it was a fiction work by George Nealson about a guy revisiting his past to find the girl that he should have married. Sounded interesting so i picked it up.
This is a work in progress...(i will continue this post later) as of now i am busy looking at 3D images - where the image looks like a random splat of colors but when you look into it you can see a 3D image/scene inside the picture.
This is a work in progress...(i will continue this post later) as of now i am busy looking at 3D images - where the image looks like a random splat of colors but when you look into it you can see a 3D image/scene inside the picture.
Barnes and Noble - Going WiFi
As this post's title reads this is just about my experience at B&N using their WiFi connection or rather AT&T's connection. I always use to thing that these places which boast about their Wifi connectivity should be running into losses coz if they provide free access to the net then why the heck would you want to pay to get a connection at home.
This is how it all started, i have always been facinated by the idea of sitting in a place like B&N or Starbucks for that matter and just get online and do timepass. So finally today i got the chance to get out and actually try it out. My first attemp was Starbucks in Yardley, the simple reason being that its close to my place and they serve good coffee....yeah i know you are probably wonder that since when did i get into drinking tea or coffee....but trust me if you are not much of a coffee lover try out the starbucks "White chocolate Mocha" its great - Shailesh thanks for the tip on this one. So i ended up at the outlet and i compeletely forgot that there was one more reason as to why i chose it, good crowd. As this place was already full (as you would say in bombay english - jam packed) i had to look for another option. But cmon i couldnt leave Starbucks without getting myself a Tall (their way of saying small) coffee.
Now that Starbucks was otta the picture i had only one another option that i knew of and that was B&N. But i enjoyed the coffee on my drive to B&N. So after the usual parking the car routine i was hunting for a good spot to sit and get online and write this post about my first experience with using Wifi at one of these locations. I have been to B&N once in the past and i was really amazed as to howmany people hang out at this place. So getting a decent spot to sit back and open my Alienware was a bit of a fight.
The feeling of starting my laptop here was one of its kind. I dont know why but i was excited like a kid on his first trip to a big mall or something. Then i had to figure out which one of the wireless networks to connect to get online. Now most of the networks were secured, but that wouldnt stop me now would it? So i started attempting to get on each one of them with my own guesses of passwords (which was - BarnesandNobles) but cmon if only life was that simple. So after a couple of tries....i found a wireless network that was unsecure. I connect to it and type www.google.com to test if the connection actually works. Now every story has a villian and this one did too. It took me to a website which was AT&T's Wifi authentication site. Thats when i understood the entire business model of this Wifi business, you gotta pay to get connected to the net....man that makes sense......what was i thinking....there are no free dinners...not even at B&N.
But now if i am writing this blog i had to be online, so i paid a fee of $4 using my creditcard to get online. Guess what i just got a better seat, a love seat which is much more comfortable than the wooden chair that i was sitting on. Ok sorry for that, lets get back to the post. If you think of it isnt this great...you come in spend some dollars for the connection and sitback for a while and enjoy the ambience while you online. This is way better than sitting at home and surfing the net. They get the bucks and you get the experience. Its a win-win situation.
As i was typing this post i got thinking that if i am gonna pay for the net then i better make the best out of it. I would be typing this post for most of the time and wouldnt be using he bandwidth that i am paying for. Pardon my Gujju genes, but i cannot let my fellow gujju's down but now vasooling all that i have invested. So whats the best way to do that. Ofcouse watching video would be the best option but then if i were to watch video i couldnt have posted the blog. So the next best thing was listening music online. So here i am typing these keys and listening to "Tere bin" from Bas ek pal, its one of my favourites from the latest ones.
So while i sit back and enjoy the music..you guys can wait for me to post the rest of it later after i walk out of here...if at all i post it...
This is how it all started, i have always been facinated by the idea of sitting in a place like B&N or Starbucks for that matter and just get online and do timepass. So finally today i got the chance to get out and actually try it out. My first attemp was Starbucks in Yardley, the simple reason being that its close to my place and they serve good coffee....yeah i know you are probably wonder that since when did i get into drinking tea or coffee....but trust me if you are not much of a coffee lover try out the starbucks "White chocolate Mocha" its great - Shailesh thanks for the tip on this one. So i ended up at the outlet and i compeletely forgot that there was one more reason as to why i chose it, good crowd. As this place was already full (as you would say in bombay english - jam packed) i had to look for another option. But cmon i couldnt leave Starbucks without getting myself a Tall (their way of saying small) coffee.
Now that Starbucks was otta the picture i had only one another option that i knew of and that was B&N. But i enjoyed the coffee on my drive to B&N. So after the usual parking the car routine i was hunting for a good spot to sit and get online and write this post about my first experience with using Wifi at one of these locations. I have been to B&N once in the past and i was really amazed as to howmany people hang out at this place. So getting a decent spot to sit back and open my Alienware was a bit of a fight.
The feeling of starting my laptop here was one of its kind. I dont know why but i was excited like a kid on his first trip to a big mall or something. Then i had to figure out which one of the wireless networks to connect to get online. Now most of the networks were secured, but that wouldnt stop me now would it? So i started attempting to get on each one of them with my own guesses of passwords (which was - BarnesandNobles) but cmon if only life was that simple. So after a couple of tries....i found a wireless network that was unsecure. I connect to it and type www.google.com to test if the connection actually works. Now every story has a villian and this one did too. It took me to a website which was AT&T's Wifi authentication site. Thats when i understood the entire business model of this Wifi business, you gotta pay to get connected to the net....man that makes sense......what was i thinking....there are no free dinners...not even at B&N.
But now if i am writing this blog i had to be online, so i paid a fee of $4 using my creditcard to get online. Guess what i just got a better seat, a love seat which is much more comfortable than the wooden chair that i was sitting on. Ok sorry for that, lets get back to the post. If you think of it isnt this great...you come in spend some dollars for the connection and sitback for a while and enjoy the ambience while you online. This is way better than sitting at home and surfing the net. They get the bucks and you get the experience. Its a win-win situation.
As i was typing this post i got thinking that if i am gonna pay for the net then i better make the best out of it. I would be typing this post for most of the time and wouldnt be using he bandwidth that i am paying for. Pardon my Gujju genes, but i cannot let my fellow gujju's down but now vasooling all that i have invested. So whats the best way to do that. Ofcouse watching video would be the best option but then if i were to watch video i couldnt have posted the blog. So the next best thing was listening music online. So here i am typing these keys and listening to "Tere bin" from Bas ek pal, its one of my favourites from the latest ones.
So while i sit back and enjoy the music..you guys can wait for me to post the rest of it later after i walk out of here...if at all i post it...
Friday, November 24, 2006
Guest appearance
Its not often that you would see a guest post on someone's blog, but then this is my blog, so I decide if I can have one. Arindam is one of the very few who replied to my post "Alice in wonderland", the others who did are kept confidential. I know my friends are always concerned about me and so am I about them. But then Ari put a completely new angle to my view and thats why I had to put his reply here on this blog. Yep and I did get Ari's permission before I put this here. So enjoy a new angle to the view....
I read ur Blog Alice in Wonderland.
U r definitely concerned about someone, deeply.
What I got to understand in life till now is that Life follows a Law. Like all things of science follows a Law (Law of Gravity, etc.), life too has a law.
The law is preety much simple and I state it in scientific term:
For all Actions, there is an Equal and Opposite Reaction.
It's called the Cause and Effect, or the Sow and Reap Effect.
We all human beings are interconnected. We may not be believing in this initially, but trust me we are. So, the best part of this inter-connectiveness is, we can make a Cause for someone else and the Effect will also be seen in the other. Not always is the other person wrong, but it's our limited wisdom that we see things that are correct as wrong. So, this Cause that I make may well change our way of seeing, correcting us.
In other words, making a Cause gives an effect always. Good cause, good effect. Bad cause, bad effect. Please remember that each and every cause produces an effect. None escapes.
So, if the person for whom u are concerned has taken up smoking, for example, u urself take a cigeratte and throw it into a dustbin. Tell that u are doing this act, making this cause, so that all people of the world stops smoking. Specially, abt ur beloved person. (All means a bigger dream, ur beloved will also be included within that big dream.)
Never belittle yourself saying that how can cause made by me cause a big change.
Human revolution in 1 single man can bring about a change in a society, a country or even the complete mankind.
All of ur deeds, thoughts and words make causes.
Not sure in ur brighter days, but will always be there in dark with u.
Arindam
Hum
I read ur Blog Alice in Wonderland.
U r definitely concerned about someone, deeply.
What I got to understand in life till now is that Life follows a Law. Like all things of science follows a Law (Law of Gravity, etc.), life too has a law.
The law is preety much simple and I state it in scientific term:
For all Actions, there is an Equal and Opposite Reaction.
It's called the Cause and Effect, or the Sow and Reap Effect.
We all human beings are interconnected. We may not be believing in this initially, but trust me we are. So, the best part of this inter-connectiveness is, we can make a Cause for someone else and the Effect will also be seen in the other. Not always is the other person wrong, but it's our limited wisdom that we see things that are correct as wrong. So, this Cause that I make may well change our way of seeing, correcting us.
In other words, making a Cause gives an effect always. Good cause, good effect. Bad cause, bad effect. Please remember that each and every cause produces an effect. None escapes.
So, if the person for whom u are concerned has taken up smoking, for example, u urself take a cigeratte and throw it into a dustbin. Tell that u are doing this act, making this cause, so that all people of the world stops smoking. Specially, abt ur beloved person. (All means a bigger dream, ur beloved will also be included within that big dream.)
Never belittle yourself saying that how can cause made by me cause a big change.
Human revolution in 1 single man can bring about a change in a society, a country or even the complete mankind.
All of ur deeds, thoughts and words make causes.
Not sure in ur brighter days, but will always be there in dark with u.
Arindam
Hum
Monday, November 13, 2006
Halwa hai kya!!
I still remember the days when i use to help my mom prepare halwa...gajar or dudhi. Ok so now what do i meet by help, basically i use to shred the gajar and dudhi and in the later stages stir the mixture over the stove...indefinitiely.
That would be just a day before we had a big get together or luncheon at my palce..bhaubeeg..man those were the days. If you have ever been at home while your mom cooked up a fundoo receipe, i am sure you would remember the aroma and every time you smell the same aroma again...you will re-live the same time and place. It has happened to me a couple of times, but this time it was strong enough for me to write up this post.
It all started (if i can say that) when my colleagues decided to a charity luncheon at Merrill Lynch. The concept is that we cook the food and people pay the price to eat it. That way we collect one part from the people who eat the food and one part from ourselves (we dont recover the cost of the food) and all the collections go to the Unitedway charity foundation.
Rohan (my roommate) volunteered to cook gajar halwa...with no prior experience. Later he decided to pull me and Pankaj into it too...anyways that was bound to happen.
One day before the finale we had no clue to as to what we were gonna do, we couldnt find shredded carrorts and were in no mood to do the shredding. But in our last try to get the carrots we walked into Giants and walla!! we found some 8 packs of shredded carrots. Then we started the actual cooking....
You can skip this para if you have no interest in cooking gajar halwa by yourslef..and just enjoy the pics!!
Heat up a cup of ghee in a pot and add shredded carrots to it...keep stirring the mix until the carrots go soft. Add almost equal amount of mile, sugar as per taste, gounded elaichi and shredded almonds to the mix. Regularly stir the mix untill all the milk is absorbed. If you like you can also add pista powder and kismis to the mix.
I can tell ya one thing...it tasted great, but then again you will have to satisfy yourself with the pics...
That would be just a day before we had a big get together or luncheon at my palce..bhaubeeg..man those were the days. If you have ever been at home while your mom cooked up a fundoo receipe, i am sure you would remember the aroma and every time you smell the same aroma again...you will re-live the same time and place. It has happened to me a couple of times, but this time it was strong enough for me to write up this post.
It all started (if i can say that) when my colleagues decided to a charity luncheon at Merrill Lynch. The concept is that we cook the food and people pay the price to eat it. That way we collect one part from the people who eat the food and one part from ourselves (we dont recover the cost of the food) and all the collections go to the Unitedway charity foundation.
Rohan (my roommate) volunteered to cook gajar halwa...with no prior experience. Later he decided to pull me and Pankaj into it too...anyways that was bound to happen.
One day before the finale we had no clue to as to what we were gonna do, we couldnt find shredded carrorts and were in no mood to do the shredding. But in our last try to get the carrots we walked into Giants and walla!! we found some 8 packs of shredded carrots. Then we started the actual cooking....
You can skip this para if you have no interest in cooking gajar halwa by yourslef..and just enjoy the pics!!
Heat up a cup of ghee in a pot and add shredded carrots to it...keep stirring the mix until the carrots go soft. Add almost equal amount of mile, sugar as per taste, gounded elaichi and shredded almonds to the mix. Regularly stir the mix untill all the milk is absorbed. If you like you can also add pista powder and kismis to the mix.
I can tell ya one thing...it tasted great, but then again you will have to satisfy yourself with the pics...
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Alice in wonderland....
Small kid....small village....big dreams...go to big city....make it big....conquer destiny...
Sounds like a hindi movie put into one single line. But eventhough the story sounds inspirational at first, the reality in many cases is different.
I am sure that you must have heard atleast one story about a small village kid with big dreams..or a poor kid who couldnt afford education making big in life. I love the line sung by Robbie williams "you made a miracle mother, i'll make man out of me". Now i dont want to be pessimistic but just wipe the dew drops off the window so that we can see whats happening in the world outside. All we hear is the one life that succeeded, what we dont hear is about the 100's of lives that failed. But then its human to look only at the brighter side of life (is it?) even though you know its not as bright as it looks.
Temptation, a single word but means or atleast relates to as many things as one might imagine. Why some people give in on their temptations while others give up on them? I never understood and probably never will, as to how two people with very similar ideas and philosophy take two completely different paths in life, or for that matter even react differrently to the same situation.
All parents who send their kids to the big city (anywhere away from home) so that they can take their flight and soar high into the sky and make them proud, love and believe in their kids. Some parents do it out of choice, others out of compulsion or just to fulfill their kids wish, but each one of them hopes that it all works out.
But do all kids fulfill their parents dreams, do they walk on the path that their parents think they do? Many of us after leaving home lose ourselves...in alcohol...drugs...and other such temptations....and we still manage to convince ourselves that its all alright...coz once you are back at home you will let go of all of it. But to know if it really works that way i will have to wait....
Not that i am addicted to any of it, but then theres someone or maybe somemany who invoked this entire chain of thoughts. (mom dad dont worry, i am sane and will be)
I cannot answer this question for all of us, we have to answer it for ourselves. I am not a saint but neither am i a sinner, but i guess i walk pretty close to what i should. I know from the looks of it i seem to be the sinner, but then there are others who look much innocent not only to us but everyone around and yet they are the sinners.
I guess all of it is about freedom, how much you did or did not get as a kid. But then freedom is just one of the factors and not the only one, there could be many, but i have seen it to be the most important along with the close second, Opportunity.
These two along with you self-control to resist temptations decide as to how far will you ever go on the dark side, or if at all you will ever go on the dark side.
Who am i to deicde the line that defines right or wrong? Nobody, i am nobody at least not in your life. In your life its you who has to make the decision, pick your options, make your choices and if possible not regret it all in the end. I know its tough and at times we all falter but what distinguishes one from the other is how you gather yourself after the break or the fall.
I guess in ways we all are like Alice in wonderland....(i have never read this book in my life, but i still dare to use the phrase)
Sounds like a hindi movie put into one single line. But eventhough the story sounds inspirational at first, the reality in many cases is different.
I am sure that you must have heard atleast one story about a small village kid with big dreams..or a poor kid who couldnt afford education making big in life. I love the line sung by Robbie williams "you made a miracle mother, i'll make man out of me". Now i dont want to be pessimistic but just wipe the dew drops off the window so that we can see whats happening in the world outside. All we hear is the one life that succeeded, what we dont hear is about the 100's of lives that failed. But then its human to look only at the brighter side of life (is it?) even though you know its not as bright as it looks.
Temptation, a single word but means or atleast relates to as many things as one might imagine. Why some people give in on their temptations while others give up on them? I never understood and probably never will, as to how two people with very similar ideas and philosophy take two completely different paths in life, or for that matter even react differrently to the same situation.
All parents who send their kids to the big city (anywhere away from home) so that they can take their flight and soar high into the sky and make them proud, love and believe in their kids. Some parents do it out of choice, others out of compulsion or just to fulfill their kids wish, but each one of them hopes that it all works out.
But do all kids fulfill their parents dreams, do they walk on the path that their parents think they do? Many of us after leaving home lose ourselves...in alcohol...drugs...and other such temptations....and we still manage to convince ourselves that its all alright...coz once you are back at home you will let go of all of it. But to know if it really works that way i will have to wait....
Not that i am addicted to any of it, but then theres someone or maybe somemany who invoked this entire chain of thoughts. (mom dad dont worry, i am sane and will be)
I cannot answer this question for all of us, we have to answer it for ourselves. I am not a saint but neither am i a sinner, but i guess i walk pretty close to what i should. I know from the looks of it i seem to be the sinner, but then there are others who look much innocent not only to us but everyone around and yet they are the sinners.
I guess all of it is about freedom, how much you did or did not get as a kid. But then freedom is just one of the factors and not the only one, there could be many, but i have seen it to be the most important along with the close second, Opportunity.
These two along with you self-control to resist temptations decide as to how far will you ever go on the dark side, or if at all you will ever go on the dark side.
Who am i to deicde the line that defines right or wrong? Nobody, i am nobody at least not in your life. In your life its you who has to make the decision, pick your options, make your choices and if possible not regret it all in the end. I know its tough and at times we all falter but what distinguishes one from the other is how you gather yourself after the break or the fall.
I guess in ways we all are like Alice in wonderland....(i have never read this book in my life, but i still dare to use the phrase)
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
My first snow fight!!
This is one of the first videos that we shot in Morrisville...that it snowed 2 feet...Enjoy the video...
Monday, August 21, 2006
Night Fall...
This once again like a number of other titles that i have used in my blog, is misleading. But this one is more literal that others....
As it says...its about a Night and a Fall...and trust me this one was one of the most exciting and breath taking experience i have ever had. And i know that i am not going to stop at this.
How many days do you know, when you have done more than one exciting thing? Now i know atleast one or maybe this is one more to the ones that i remember....
First one on the day...19th August 2006 was that i completed a 932paged novel. Its more of a biographical account than a novel....Shantaram.....thanks to shrikant for suggesting this one to me. Thanks bro! It took me more than 6 months to read the entire book to completion...and now that its over i really feel bad that i cant have more of it. I would suggest this one to anyone whos facinated about Bombay and how this city shaped to what it is today.....and the life of the people living in it.
I wish i could complete have as many experiences as the autor has...an Australian who was convicted and put in the maximum security prison in Auatralia. He escaped over the wall of the prison and came to bombay....the book is an account of his life in bombay.
The second and more exciting of the two was what i have called Night Fall.....but people better know it as Tandem Skydive. Its a skydive where you are hooked in front of an experienced diver. Its more like the baby kangaroo in the mothers pouch. The day was a very long one as we waited for our turn to take the jump. But i guess all good things require patience. We were the last group to take the jump at around 8pm. It was almost sunset when we took the flight (a small glider) up to the clouds. The interior of the glider reminded me of those war movies where all the soldiers are crammed up into a small plane and then they jump in to enemy territory and fight their wars. The dim light on the top and the red light near the door looked pretty scary. Then when my instructor finally got me hooked and strapped, for the first time i really thought about it...what am i doing here? why the heck did i ever decide to take this jump? and then before i knew it the door opened and the light turned green...indcating that its time to jump....
As we jumped out of the glider.....i felt the cold air and clouds taking me in their embrace....at 13500feet above ground....then the thought struck .....what if the shoot fails to deploy? is it worth the risk...but then as soon as my instructor tapped me (pre-determined sign to say its ok to open your hands) i let go of my hands....and enjoyed the fall.....i dont think i can ever describe the experience in words but for what its worth i guess the video might do it a bit of justice ;)
As we finally landed we ran to our cans of beer and guzzled it down our throats...thats the advantage of taking the last jump...you get to contest in the beer run....where each diver is judged for his landing skills and his beer guzzling skills....
This is one thing that i will never forget....its imprinted in my brain...forever.....
As it says...its about a Night and a Fall...and trust me this one was one of the most exciting and breath taking experience i have ever had. And i know that i am not going to stop at this.
How many days do you know, when you have done more than one exciting thing? Now i know atleast one or maybe this is one more to the ones that i remember....
First one on the day...19th August 2006 was that i completed a 932paged novel. Its more of a biographical account than a novel....Shantaram.....thanks to shrikant for suggesting this one to me. Thanks bro! It took me more than 6 months to read the entire book to completion...and now that its over i really feel bad that i cant have more of it. I would suggest this one to anyone whos facinated about Bombay and how this city shaped to what it is today.....and the life of the people living in it.
I wish i could complete have as many experiences as the autor has...an Australian who was convicted and put in the maximum security prison in Auatralia. He escaped over the wall of the prison and came to bombay....the book is an account of his life in bombay.
The second and more exciting of the two was what i have called Night Fall.....but people better know it as Tandem Skydive. Its a skydive where you are hooked in front of an experienced diver. Its more like the baby kangaroo in the mothers pouch. The day was a very long one as we waited for our turn to take the jump. But i guess all good things require patience. We were the last group to take the jump at around 8pm. It was almost sunset when we took the flight (a small glider) up to the clouds. The interior of the glider reminded me of those war movies where all the soldiers are crammed up into a small plane and then they jump in to enemy territory and fight their wars. The dim light on the top and the red light near the door looked pretty scary. Then when my instructor finally got me hooked and strapped, for the first time i really thought about it...what am i doing here? why the heck did i ever decide to take this jump? and then before i knew it the door opened and the light turned green...indcating that its time to jump....
As we jumped out of the glider.....i felt the cold air and clouds taking me in their embrace....at 13500feet above ground....then the thought struck .....what if the shoot fails to deploy? is it worth the risk...but then as soon as my instructor tapped me (pre-determined sign to say its ok to open your hands) i let go of my hands....and enjoyed the fall.....i dont think i can ever describe the experience in words but for what its worth i guess the video might do it a bit of justice ;)
As we finally landed we ran to our cans of beer and guzzled it down our throats...thats the advantage of taking the last jump...you get to contest in the beer run....where each diver is judged for his landing skills and his beer guzzling skills....
This is one thing that i will never forget....its imprinted in my brain...forever.....
Monday, July 24, 2006
Poem part 1
Obvioulsy if the title reads "Poem part 1"....then theres more to come...
as of now all i am doing is posting the poem or rather just a couple of lines that i wrote in a mail to my friend prassu...to pull his leg...the whole story will follow in the posts to come..till then enjoy this..
a broken heart has its stories to tell..
some tell it with cigrattes...and others use a pen....
some close themselves in a cell other open their heart really well..
some shed the tears others try to hide their fears..
what ever you do...you know it well....
no matter what...its never gonna come back...
the moment is gone..the past is behind
you can either sit there and wait..
or start walking ahead and beat your fate...
no mattter what you do...dont spread the hate..
as of now all i am doing is posting the poem or rather just a couple of lines that i wrote in a mail to my friend prassu...to pull his leg...the whole story will follow in the posts to come..till then enjoy this..
a broken heart has its stories to tell..
some tell it with cigrattes...and others use a pen....
some close themselves in a cell other open their heart really well..
some shed the tears others try to hide their fears..
what ever you do...you know it well....
no matter what...its never gonna come back...
the moment is gone..the past is behind
you can either sit there and wait..
or start walking ahead and beat your fate...
no mattter what you do...dont spread the hate..
Sunday, May 21, 2006
New Hope
If you are thinking that this has something to do with philosophy or life.....or i have suddenly realised some truth about my life....then you are mistaken. This has nothing to do with hope....and its far from being some renewed hope in life.
Log on to google maps and search for New Hope, PA. New Hope (NH) is a small town in Pennsylvania and one of most beautiful one in the Buck's County.
The town is about 18 miles from home, so the easiest way to get there is to drive. We started at about 8p.m., which was a stroke of luck. Today being a Saturday we woke up at around 1:00p.m. in the after noon, the reson being that yesterday we all were at JB's (a local pub) till around 3a.m. playing pool and listening to the live band. So finally we managed to wake up at 1:00 and after getting thru the morning chores, we headed, obviously for lunch. Flavours of India, an indian restarurant nearby was the place where we were headed. The lunch was great, especially for Milind, hes got here from Bombay and he was more than happy to eat all the tandori chicken and chicken tikka, coz he couldnt eat it in Bombay, due to the bird flue. We all wanted to hit the bed after the lunch but then milind and nitin were visiting us from NY and would have killed us if we would have taken them back home. So we headed to Franklin Mills, a huge shopping mall.
After doing some tp (timepass) for a couple of hours we headed back home. On the way back we planned to visit NH in the evening. As we didnt want to reach there late every one took their showers within 10 mins. I guess we set a new record, three guys taking shower and getting ready in under 10 mins, man beat that....
Ashu and AJ had already been to NH but for the rest of us it was our first time. Vish too had been there once but, during the day, so technically it was his first time too in the evening. NH is kind of a bikers heaven, coz when you enter the town you see a lot of Harley's and Honda's. But then the first impression that i got after getting to NH was a lot different. It felt as if i was walking in Mahabaleshwar, it seemed like a hill station in India. The entire town or atleast the part of town that has all the action is just on street, called the Main Street. You will see a large number of shops, jewelery, clothing, antiques, gift shops and other stuff lined on both the sides of the street. You can find a pub, restaurant, bar & grill every 10 steps, each one having its one unique life and ambience. So we walked the main steet and then walked to one of the famous pub "Hawana". It had a live band playing all retro stuff, it was fun to listen to the music while we had dinner. If you ever visit Hawana, dont miss out on the Chicken Fajhita, one of the best i have ever had, too good.......I am surely gonna have it again, someday.
After the dinner we settled in the pub, the real pub. The live band palyed until 12 and then the DJ took over and spinned some good music to dance....so we were 6 bachelors dancing the cool bombay moves in a small town in US. And the locals joined us a couple of times to have fun too. Before we knew it was already 2:00a.m. so we had to hit the road and get back home. And now after writing this post i am gonna sleep......my favourite sport!!!
Log on to google maps and search for New Hope, PA. New Hope (NH) is a small town in Pennsylvania and one of most beautiful one in the Buck's County.
The town is about 18 miles from home, so the easiest way to get there is to drive. We started at about 8p.m., which was a stroke of luck. Today being a Saturday we woke up at around 1:00p.m. in the after noon, the reson being that yesterday we all were at JB's (a local pub) till around 3a.m. playing pool and listening to the live band. So finally we managed to wake up at 1:00 and after getting thru the morning chores, we headed, obviously for lunch. Flavours of India, an indian restarurant nearby was the place where we were headed. The lunch was great, especially for Milind, hes got here from Bombay and he was more than happy to eat all the tandori chicken and chicken tikka, coz he couldnt eat it in Bombay, due to the bird flue. We all wanted to hit the bed after the lunch but then milind and nitin were visiting us from NY and would have killed us if we would have taken them back home. So we headed to Franklin Mills, a huge shopping mall.
After doing some tp (timepass) for a couple of hours we headed back home. On the way back we planned to visit NH in the evening. As we didnt want to reach there late every one took their showers within 10 mins. I guess we set a new record, three guys taking shower and getting ready in under 10 mins, man beat that....
Ashu and AJ had already been to NH but for the rest of us it was our first time. Vish too had been there once but, during the day, so technically it was his first time too in the evening. NH is kind of a bikers heaven, coz when you enter the town you see a lot of Harley's and Honda's. But then the first impression that i got after getting to NH was a lot different. It felt as if i was walking in Mahabaleshwar, it seemed like a hill station in India. The entire town or atleast the part of town that has all the action is just on street, called the Main Street. You will see a large number of shops, jewelery, clothing, antiques, gift shops and other stuff lined on both the sides of the street. You can find a pub, restaurant, bar & grill every 10 steps, each one having its one unique life and ambience. So we walked the main steet and then walked to one of the famous pub "Hawana". It had a live band playing all retro stuff, it was fun to listen to the music while we had dinner. If you ever visit Hawana, dont miss out on the Chicken Fajhita, one of the best i have ever had, too good.......I am surely gonna have it again, someday.
After the dinner we settled in the pub, the real pub. The live band palyed until 12 and then the DJ took over and spinned some good music to dance....so we were 6 bachelors dancing the cool bombay moves in a small town in US. And the locals joined us a couple of times to have fun too. Before we knew it was already 2:00a.m. so we had to hit the road and get back home. And now after writing this post i am gonna sleep......my favourite sport!!!
Tuesday, May 16, 2006
The first step in Bombay
Nope, this has got nothing to do with Bombay. I have never felt the joy of stepping out of the train and breathe the Bombay air. Maybe not, actually I have felt the joy of stepping into Bombay on more than one occassions, but here I am trying to describe a different experience. I have a lot of cousins who live in my hometown in gujarat and most of them are really excited about visiting us in bombay and never understood the reason of such excitement or joy, until now.
Yep I felt the same excitement, the same wierd happy feeling of taking my first step in the big city, and if you are still guessing which city am I talking about, its NY. Yep the city of blinding lights, the city that never sleeps, a city full of people, a city of sidewalks, coffee shops, restaurants, hot-dogs, sheish kabak (yep you get it at most of the hot-dog stall, and its good too). The first step i walked into NY was a great experience but the best was yet to come.....
Thanks jigi for checking out my blog and poking at me that i havent updated it in a long time...thanks for getting here and reading it, and most of all thanks for the NY tour and ofcourse thanks to everyone else who accompanied us in NY (Shailes you too).
I know i am not going to be able to write everything about my weekend in NY, but i will give it a shot.
So i landed in NY (or rather stepped out of the train in NY, but "landed" gives it the style) after a comfortable journey of 3hrs appx. Jigi had chalked out the entire route for me, what trains i need to take from what station, where to get down and everything, but thats jigi, always well organised. One things for sure, if we had the subways/PATH in india it would have been much simpler for tourists to figure the directions, but then who needs them, we have got ppl (manpower) in india. You can ask any panwalla for directions and they will tell you the shortest and the fatest route to go places.
So then jigar cooked up a hearty meal for us, mung-masala and garlic bread. The dinner was a rush as we had a movie to catch "Ice age 2: Meltdown". for the first time after coming to US did i see 25+ indians sitting together in a movie theater and passing commentts and having fun. The movie was great, in fact the shot that i liked the most is the one where the mammoth is walking away from his girl and the 2 possoms (i am sure this is not the correct spelling) walk along with their sis. Then one of them whistles at the mammoth and gestures the peace sign (v fingers) at him and turns back in style. Man its the best scene in the movie, its got more style than what John Woo could have directed ;)
Day 1:
We had planned to wake up early and visit SoL (Statue of Liberty) and then a couple of other places. But then plans are ment to go awry. So we woke up late and reached SoL but on our way we visited the American Stock Exchange, the Trinity church, Ground Zero, NYSE.
The boat ride to the SoL was great, looking at the city from the sea was a great view and so was the tour of SoL. We couldnt climb the stairs to the foot of SoL coz that requires prior reservations, so if you are planning to visit it then make the reservations well in advance.
In the evening we walked the Brooklyn bridge end-to-end and then headed to Darshan's place, where Mukul had made us wonderful uttapas. Then we all took off to the Times Square, visited a couple of cool malls/shops on our way there and then ended up in Hollywood Planet. We had a great discussion over dinner (those who were at the table, know what I am talking about) and then headed back home. I have missed out a lot of details but this is all i could cramup in this post, just to mention we also rode the bull and hung by the Dot.
All in all it was one hell of a day....
Day2:
We met up with Sandy and had lunch with couple of his friends at an Indian restaurant, i guess the name was Amia's or something like that. But the most imp thing of all was that we played XBOX on a 62" TV or was it 53" whatever it was a huge television set. Man it was tooo.......mind boggling ;) It was soon time to return.....so i guess thats all.
Yep I felt the same excitement, the same wierd happy feeling of taking my first step in the big city, and if you are still guessing which city am I talking about, its NY. Yep the city of blinding lights, the city that never sleeps, a city full of people, a city of sidewalks, coffee shops, restaurants, hot-dogs, sheish kabak (yep you get it at most of the hot-dog stall, and its good too). The first step i walked into NY was a great experience but the best was yet to come.....
Thanks jigi for checking out my blog and poking at me that i havent updated it in a long time...thanks for getting here and reading it, and most of all thanks for the NY tour and ofcourse thanks to everyone else who accompanied us in NY (Shailes you too).
I know i am not going to be able to write everything about my weekend in NY, but i will give it a shot.
So i landed in NY (or rather stepped out of the train in NY, but "landed" gives it the style) after a comfortable journey of 3hrs appx. Jigi had chalked out the entire route for me, what trains i need to take from what station, where to get down and everything, but thats jigi, always well organised. One things for sure, if we had the subways/PATH in india it would have been much simpler for tourists to figure the directions, but then who needs them, we have got ppl (manpower) in india. You can ask any panwalla for directions and they will tell you the shortest and the fatest route to go places.
So then jigar cooked up a hearty meal for us, mung-masala and garlic bread. The dinner was a rush as we had a movie to catch "Ice age 2: Meltdown". for the first time after coming to US did i see 25+ indians sitting together in a movie theater and passing commentts and having fun. The movie was great, in fact the shot that i liked the most is the one where the mammoth is walking away from his girl and the 2 possoms (i am sure this is not the correct spelling) walk along with their sis. Then one of them whistles at the mammoth and gestures the peace sign (v fingers) at him and turns back in style. Man its the best scene in the movie, its got more style than what John Woo could have directed ;)
Day 1:
We had planned to wake up early and visit SoL (Statue of Liberty) and then a couple of other places. But then plans are ment to go awry. So we woke up late and reached SoL but on our way we visited the American Stock Exchange, the Trinity church, Ground Zero, NYSE.
The boat ride to the SoL was great, looking at the city from the sea was a great view and so was the tour of SoL. We couldnt climb the stairs to the foot of SoL coz that requires prior reservations, so if you are planning to visit it then make the reservations well in advance.
In the evening we walked the Brooklyn bridge end-to-end and then headed to Darshan's place, where Mukul had made us wonderful uttapas. Then we all took off to the Times Square, visited a couple of cool malls/shops on our way there and then ended up in Hollywood Planet. We had a great discussion over dinner (those who were at the table, know what I am talking about) and then headed back home. I have missed out a lot of details but this is all i could cramup in this post, just to mention we also rode the bull and hung by the Dot.
All in all it was one hell of a day....
Day2:
We met up with Sandy and had lunch with couple of his friends at an Indian restaurant, i guess the name was Amia's or something like that. But the most imp thing of all was that we played XBOX on a 62" TV or was it 53" whatever it was a huge television set. Man it was tooo.......mind boggling ;) It was soon time to return.....so i guess thats all.
Monday, April 24, 2006
Jinke sar ho ishq ki chhaaon, paaon ke neeche jannat hogi
It was saturday evening and we decided to go for a movie. Usually we all go for the same one, but at times the choices differe and we end up going into different movie halls.
So Ashu's pick was "Lucky number S7evin" and we picked...you will know which one we picked.
We entered the hall and found ourselves a good seat, me and Ajay. In the start we had a couple of trailers and teasers on the screen, and then suddenly the song starts, its a hindi song, now the first thing that crossed our minds was that we might have entered the wrong screen. But then it struck me that this Multiplex does not play any hindi movies, it plays only english movies.
Then the realization set in that if hindi movies can use english sound tracks or even get inspired from them (you know which music director i am talking about), then why can the Hollywood guys for a change use the Bollywood soungs.
If you still are guessing which movie I am talking about, its "Inside man". This blog aint a spoiler, so i wont tell you guys about the movie, but one thing I am gonna say is do whatch this movie. Its one of best bank robbery movies made, for that matter its one of the best robbery made. If you liked Oceans 11, you will surely love this one too.
Also dont leave the hall till the end. The remix version of the song at the end is great!!
We stuck to our seats till the end, and would advice you to do the same ;)
Waise Jigi thanks man for sending me the NY pics, keep looking this space, coz i have a lots of pending posts to put inn.
So Ashu's pick was "Lucky number S7evin" and we picked...you will know which one we picked.
We entered the hall and found ourselves a good seat, me and Ajay. In the start we had a couple of trailers and teasers on the screen, and then suddenly the song starts, its a hindi song, now the first thing that crossed our minds was that we might have entered the wrong screen. But then it struck me that this Multiplex does not play any hindi movies, it plays only english movies.
Then the realization set in that if hindi movies can use english sound tracks or even get inspired from them (you know which music director i am talking about), then why can the Hollywood guys for a change use the Bollywood soungs.
If you still are guessing which movie I am talking about, its "Inside man". This blog aint a spoiler, so i wont tell you guys about the movie, but one thing I am gonna say is do whatch this movie. Its one of best bank robbery movies made, for that matter its one of the best robbery made. If you liked Oceans 11, you will surely love this one too.
Also dont leave the hall till the end. The remix version of the song at the end is great!!
We stuck to our seats till the end, and would advice you to do the same ;)
Waise Jigi thanks man for sending me the NY pics, keep looking this space, coz i have a lots of pending posts to put inn.
Thursday, April 13, 2006
Gyaan - 1
Life....something that i have always enjoyed. I have had my share of good times, bad times, really good times and then i have also had my ugly times. But lately its been great.
Never knew what it would be like living away from home, family, friends. But now i do, and to tell you the truth, its a great experience. I always thought that it wouldnt be much different than staying at home, except for the fact that i would have to cook and wash and do a bunch of other household stuff.
I still carry the same opinion, it aint that different than staying at home. Its just that you learn to connect to people, even those whom you wouldnt have talked to if they were around you in India. You realize that everyone has their own story to narrate, and at times is great to stop speaking and start listening. I know its difficult for me to listen and you guys wouldnt believe me if i were to say that i do listen and give others a chance to talk, because the only time you must have seen me quite is when i have my mouth stuffed with food ;)
And if you are still puzzled as to y this post is called Gyaan - 1, its simple, theres more (unwanted) gyaan coming your way ;)
Never knew what it would be like living away from home, family, friends. But now i do, and to tell you the truth, its a great experience. I always thought that it wouldnt be much different than staying at home, except for the fact that i would have to cook and wash and do a bunch of other household stuff.
I still carry the same opinion, it aint that different than staying at home. Its just that you learn to connect to people, even those whom you wouldnt have talked to if they were around you in India. You realize that everyone has their own story to narrate, and at times is great to stop speaking and start listening. I know its difficult for me to listen and you guys wouldnt believe me if i were to say that i do listen and give others a chance to talk, because the only time you must have seen me quite is when i have my mouth stuffed with food ;)
And if you are still puzzled as to y this post is called Gyaan - 1, its simple, theres more (unwanted) gyaan coming your way ;)
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Mercer County Park
Yeh i know the title itself sounds boring, but we had a lot of fun out here. It has been a long time that i have updated my blog. Aisa nahi ki i am bored of it or i dont have much to write, but mere saare photos bikhre pade hai logon ke pass. Yeh they are all on different laptops and i need to bring them all together. Bina photu ke likhne ka koi maza hi nahi hota ;)
Waise i had been to the City of Blinding lights over the last weekend or was it the week before....anyways....met a lot of friends in NY. Wo sab mein alag se detail mein likhonga when jiggi boy sends me the snaps on a CD.
Badi muddat ke baad kisi park mein gaye hum log and man it was worth the trip. When we reached there girls football league chal rahi thi....wait....before you jump the gun.....they were below 12 so dont start getting ideas.
We walked a lot into the park, it has trekking and cycling trails and was fun. Saala baju mein mast lake bhi hai, here they have all kayaking and stuff but people bring their own equipment. Maybe the next time we visit it we will rent some eqipment if possible.
We also played catch-catch, since we didnt have a cricket bat, isise kaam chalana pada but it was fun.
Thats all i have to say, so enjoy the pictures.
Waise we also saw a lot of deers in the park.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Ab Bhi Jiska Khoon Na Khaula, Voh Khoon Nahin Voh Paani Hai
Jo Des Ke Kaam Na Aaye, Voh Bekaar Jawaani Hai
Sunday evening, nothing to do, feeling sad about the Monday morning already. Fir wohi jacket pehno, gaadi nikalo, office jao......chalo lets watch a movie.
Agar india mein hote to reviews search marne ki fight nahi hoti, coz one of my friends would have already watched the movie in question. Lekin yahan pe its different, so after a lot of review searching we narrowed doen to Malaamal Weekly, not that we had many options. So chalo Regal cinemas, much different that apna bombay ka Regal. We reached there and saw RdB on the show list. Choice was obvious RdB for the second time. This movie is too good, its a combination of DCH and Yuva (both are my favourites). I just love the story the direction, the concept, in one word everything.
I love the song Roobaroo, its the best of all.
"abhi abhi huaa yaqeen ki aag hai mujh mein kahi"
"aandhiyon se jaghad rahi hai lau meri ab mashaalon si bhad rahi hai lau meri"
I just wish they would have made this movie a couple of years back, maybe then i would be interested in history much more than what i use to be in those days.
Sunday evening, nothing to do, feeling sad about the Monday morning already. Fir wohi jacket pehno, gaadi nikalo, office jao......chalo lets watch a movie.
Agar india mein hote to reviews search marne ki fight nahi hoti, coz one of my friends would have already watched the movie in question. Lekin yahan pe its different, so after a lot of review searching we narrowed doen to Malaamal Weekly, not that we had many options. So chalo Regal cinemas, much different that apna bombay ka Regal. We reached there and saw RdB on the show list. Choice was obvious RdB for the second time. This movie is too good, its a combination of DCH and Yuva (both are my favourites). I just love the story the direction, the concept, in one word everything.
I love the song Roobaroo, its the best of all.
"abhi abhi huaa yaqeen ki aag hai mujh mein kahi"
"aandhiyon se jaghad rahi hai lau meri ab mashaalon si bhad rahi hai lau meri"
I just wish they would have made this movie a couple of years back, maybe then i would be interested in history much more than what i use to be in those days.
Sunday - Pav bhaji
You can take a man out of Mumbai, but you cannot take Mumbai out of a man.
No ofcourse not, these arent my words. I read them in an article by Jerry Pinto. He use to write earlier in Bombay times. There are so many things that you just cant let go of. Mumbai is the best city to live in, trust me, coz i have never lived anywhere else in India ;)
But if you live in mumbai for a while you are sure to fall in love with it. This city breathes a lot of pollution (pun intended), but when the heavens break loose all the water in the world on this city, thats when you start believeing that this city never sleeps, or even doze off for a moment.
Ok but now thats not the reason why started with this post. As always wanted to show off some of my talents ;)
I had been talking about making pav bhaji since the day i arrived in USA. Ashu, vishal and ajay ke to kaan hi pak gaye the sun sun ke. So i thought that i better cook it or else they will kick me out of the house.
All we do here is a team effort but i guess my roomies wont mind if i take the credit for this one. It was the first time that i cooked pav bhaji all on my own, only cook, vishal washed the vishals. I really thought that we didnt need mirrors with vishal by our side. Ajay and ashutosh cut the vegetables.
I am not going to bore you with the receipe out here, for that you can call my mom, thats where i learned all my cooking from. Thanks mom!! Waise my dad is a good cook too, so i guess its in the genes.
I wish you could have been here to taste it but koi gal nahi, you can drool over the pics ;)
Friday, March 10, 2006
LA Fitness
Yep thats the name of my new gym. When you wanna relieve your head from all the stress, start stressing your body!!
I guess I could post in a pic of me now and then a couple of months post another pic of myself, but then whats the use I will still continue looking darn good anyways ;)
I dont have any pics to post of my new gym, but I will get them soon. If I were to join such a gym in India it would be burning a hole thru me (not just my pocket). I gotta say the facility is awesome!!!
Dont believe me now, wait until I post the pictures.
I guess I could post in a pic of me now and then a couple of months post another pic of myself, but then whats the use I will still continue looking darn good anyways ;)
I dont have any pics to post of my new gym, but I will get them soon. If I were to join such a gym in India it would be burning a hole thru me (not just my pocket). I gotta say the facility is awesome!!!
Dont believe me now, wait until I post the pictures.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Pulao bole to..
I miss India a lot, or rather Bomday a lot. I miss the late night drives to Irla for pav bhaji, tawa pulao, bhurji and masala omlet. Koi gal nahi, its just a matter of time that I will once again be able to enjoy all of these. Jitu, prassu, shriku, situ, vinnu, tannu, gauri, jadu all of you and many more have accompanied me to this place. Bhailog I really miss all of you.
So you think I am getting all senti about missing you guys, yeh in a way thats true but the major reason is to display my talent as a cook. I tried my hand at cooking pulao, yeah i have done it before with not so bad results but this time it came out to be real good so I couldn't help it but post it on the net.
Recipe:
Fry two chopped onions, once the onions are little brown, add some chopped tomatoes to it. Then other chopped vegetables and fry them for a couple of minutes. Then add the Everest pulao masala, salt and then mix the rice to it and pour water and let the pressure cooker blow 3 whistles.
Note: Try out the recipe at your own risk ;)
So you think I am getting all senti about missing you guys, yeh in a way thats true but the major reason is to display my talent as a cook. I tried my hand at cooking pulao, yeah i have done it before with not so bad results but this time it came out to be real good so I couldn't help it but post it on the net.
Recipe:Fry two chopped onions, once the onions are little brown, add some chopped tomatoes to it. Then other chopped vegetables and fry them for a couple of minutes. Then add the Everest pulao masala, salt and then mix the rice to it and pour water and let the pressure cooker blow 3 whistles.
Note: Try out the recipe at your own risk ;)
Let the games begin!!
Hey its been in my blood, on my mind, in my soul and all around me!!
Yep video games, thats what I am talking about ;).
How can you call yourself a game aficionado if you dont have the essentials.
So what was I missing, ok let me list it down for you.
1. I own a gaming PC (not the best but good enough)
2. I own an N-gage
3. I own an Alienware notebook
and now the latest addition to my list....
4. I own a PS2!!!
Yeah a proud owner of PS2.
It doesnt come along with a packaged game DVD so I had to buy one for sure. Out of all the options I had I chose GTA:San Andreas.
I know there are zillions of pictures of PS2 over the net but i had to put in a couple of my own over the net.
Har khushi ke baad ek gum hot hai, its only when I wanted to save my progress in the game did I realize that I dont have a PS2 memory card. But every problem has a solution, I am gonna buy one for myself !!
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Walk the Line
I just returned from the theatre. Out here the theaters are much bigger as compared to back in bombay. This one had 14 screens. I guess they felt more spacious as there was no one else in the movie hall except me and ashutosh.
We watched "Walk the line". The movie is about Johnny Cash's life. It is a great movie, dont miss the chance to see it!!
I know the picture on the left is a pathetic one but with ajay's cam thats all I could capture.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Ek gaj snow ke niche!
Some how I guess that the weather department out here is quite reliable. It snowed almost 12 inches over the weekend. Its sunday morning and when i looked outta the window, all i could see is a thick layer of snow. Everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow.This is me and my friends. Vishal, Me, Ajay and Ashutosh from L to R.
We had a lot of fun playing in snow, having snow fights!!
Saala bhagwan jabbhi deta hai chappar faad ke deta hai.
Is baar aasmaan phad ke snow de diya!
Sunday, February 12, 2006
Pehla snow
I was very excited since past 2 days, as it was predicted that its gonna snow 12 inches over the weekend in morrisville. It didnt matter to me if it snowed 12 inches or 1inch. All i was waiting for was for the snow!!
And finally at around 11:30a.m. today (saturday) it started snowing. I was right there on the street when it started, and i was so darn happy to see snow for the first time in my life. Saala kabhi India mein snow nahi dekha tha to dil to jhuum utha!!!
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