just another day...

why so serious?

2008-07-18T20:37:00.006+05:30

This town sleeps at night. Deserted highways, creepy by-lanes and egregious exits were encountered us as we made our way to the midnight premiere of The Dark Knight today morning. (Ok, the exits weren't that egregious)... As we made our way into the mall half an hour before midnight sufficiently pleased with our idea to come early to get good seats, the mile long queues to enter the movies just as quickly got rid of all our smugness. Batmans (batmen?), Jokers and Two-Faces filled the hallways. Holy weirdness, Batman!

Feeling out of place in a t-shirt and jeans, I quickly put my head down and strolled into the theatre... I could swear the ticket checker was smirking at me. Luckily, we did end up getting good seats - way back in the last row. Not all together though - no way! The last fifteen minutes are always the worst. And here we go... cheers all around as the film begins...

Frankly, I just can't come up with words to describe this movie. In one word, I could say - unbelievable! I may be biased here by the initial euphoria seeping through, but somehow - anytime, any day - I think this is a five-star movie.

Simply put, Chris Nolan's 'Dark Knight' is simply the best movie of the superhero genre ever made. And the Joker is up there as the best villain ever to be seen on the silver screen to date. The nightmarish look with the white face paint and the ever smiling scars, the menacing voice, the sadistic mind games - I cannot imagine anyone surpassing this performance anytime soon. Heath got into the mind of the Joker - and that's why I wonder if this was what killed him. Did he die for his art? Because undoubtedly, this was the performance that will make him a legend.

The other actors have done their part - I thought Aaron Eckhart handled the transition from Gotham City's white knight as Harvey Dent to the coin tossing maniac Two Face great. And did I mention the make up job on Two Face? Classic.

In discussing them, Christian Bale has been reduced to a mere supporting role. Doesn't mean he didn't do well - in fact, he was great as a Batman confronting his demons - once again. He's been my favorite Batman so far - but this movie - it totally belonged to the villains. Batman was totally owned by the Joker here.

The visuals of the movie are awesome - Gotham City has never looked so dark, dismal and scary at night. (Loved Batsuit 2.0, btw) The story was gripping, fast-paced and exciting - leaving you wanting more. All the characters and roles are given the opportunity to mature - you can actually see the slow transition of Harvey Dent as he fights against all odds and loses everything. All through the movie, I kept wondering how this movie was going to end. The tone of the movie said it all. The ending was particularly fantastic - something I never expected.

Looking at the academy award nominations for the last few years, I just hope that the Dark Knight is not overlooked - commercial successes tend to somehow fail at the Oscars. Heath Ledger is undoubtedly my choice for this year's best actor - not supporting, mind you - this movie belonged to the Joker who will give us nightmares for years to come.

Gotham needed a better class of criminal. The Joker has given us that - and more. I pity the poor soul that has to fill in his shoes. RIP, Heath Ledger, and thank you for the role of a lifetime.

the dark knight - tonight!

2008-07-17T20:09:00.003+05:30

It's just about time for my most awaited movie of this summer. The Dark Knight hits theatres tomorrow, and I'm going in for the first day's first show - a special screening at 12 am tonight! Wow, right? If not, please have the courtesy to act impressed.

Of course, that's assuming we're getting tickets. As I write this, one of my friends should be in possession of 8 tickets to tonight's show. He better be - or else he's going to be having a close encounter with a different kind of bat.

There are two reasons why I'm pretty excited about this movie - the first of course, being Heath Ledger's much hyped about performance. Of course, that's the reason that would also disappoint me - will it live up to the hype? That's the scary thought.

Secondly, the prequel to this movie. Batman Begins was, for me, the best Batman film ever. I hadn't like any of the earlier movies because of the toned down 'family movie' feel of them. Of course, the favoritism could be highly prejudiced because the film drew inspiration from the books of Frank Miller - especially Batman: Year One. I'm a big fan of the graphic novels of Miller - and B:Y1 is no exception. The fact that this story continues in this vein - it's enough to make me salivate. Add to the mix Christian Bale - you got the ingredients for what could arguably be the best movie of the year.

I say it once again, graphic novels make the best movies. Remember Sin City? Rock on, Frank Miller.

summer's here....

2008-06-30T17:08:00.003+05:30

The end of June... which means summer's here, and as oxymoronically as ever, we've got thunderstorms popping up all over the place. To adjust, spring was hotter than summer is right now.

On the bright side, the 4th of July is coming up, and that means long weekend! I need that... it's off to sunny Florida for me! Tampa - Orlando - Daytona, here I come!

July's also great for another reason - it's Kingsport's fun fest time! The annual local festival around here starts in 2 weeks time... there ain't a whole lot of events that interest me though - hopefully I'll write about it - don't hold your breath though!

Also, my new handy dandy camera's finally here! The Canon Powershot SX100IS - 8 MP & 10x Optical Zoom! The initial assessment - Awesome! I'll be checking it out in Florida more thoroughly, of course...

I guess that's about it for June... sometimes makes me wonder if it's worth it keeping ze ol' blog updated any more. :(

the smokies, yet again

2008-05-25T07:53:00.004+05:30

The last days of spring before the usual June heat wave sets in. Which means it's time to take a break from work and head off for some rafting in the only tourist attraction nearby - the good ol' Smoky mountains. It has something for every season.

Rafting was the only thing we did y'day, and I ended up with a close encounter - being the only member of the group to start on one raft, and end the trip on another.

Sitting with a laptop in the Smokies is not an ideal way to start the day, so here's a couple of rafting pics from yesterday 'til we get back home. Maybe, just maybe, this time I will blog. :)

a year in the good ol' us of a

2008-04-27T19:40:00.004+05:30

And here goes my customary post for the month of April, just to let the world know I'm alive (barely) and (in the) well.

It's now been a year since I landed here, in what I refer to as the good ol' US of A. It was a hot summer day in India on the 7th of April last year, as I walked down the tarmac to board a Kingfisher flight to Mumbai. Now as I think back over the last year, and its ups and downs, it seems as if it was a lifetime ago. (excuse the cliché)

I've travelled extensively over the past year - probably more than the rest of my life put together - which brings me to the reason I call Kingsport the good ol' part of the US. It looks exactly how someone uninitiated doesn't expect the US to be.

Most of the folks back home imagine the US to be endless miles of concrete jungle and skyscrapers - an extension of New York City. Heck, I've had friends visiting from US metros shocked by the greenery around. The biggest building over here is the office I work in - it has three whole stories!

Kingsport is the sort of place where people can still leave their doors unlocked (although I wouldn't advise it, and I hope my insurance agent isn't reading this)

When someone asks me where I am in the US, I almost never say Kingsport. Simple reason - a conversation would generally go like this:

Uncle/Aunty: "So beta, where in the US are you?"
Me: "It's a place called Kingsport, uncle/aunty" (and knowing fully well that no one apart from Kingsport-ians? would know that this place exists...)
Uncle/Aunty (if I'm not fast enough): "Accha beta, which state?"
Me: "It's in Tennessee, uncle/aunty"
Uncle/Aunty: "Haan, is that near California? My son is working there..."
Me: "No uncle/aunty, it's in the East"
Uncle/Aunty: "Oh, does US have a east side? I thought US was in the West"
Me: "No no uncle/aunty, US does have a east side, that is where New York is..."
Uncle/Aunty: "Oh, my nephew works in New York, you should visit him some weekend"
Me: "I'll try to... New York is also pretty far from here, nearly 10-12 hours by drive"
Uncle/Aunty: "Acchaa...." (still wondering about this mythical state of 'Tennessee' and convinced that I'm making it all up to avoid meeting their relatives)

That's why most of my conversations go like this:
Uncle/Aunty: "So beta, where in the US are you?"
Me: "New York, uncle/aunty"
Uncle/Aunty: "Acchaa...."

Happy belated anniversary to me.

spring has sprung...

2008-03-30T17:54:00.002+05:30

Spring has sprung,
The grass has riz,
I wonder where
the flowers is?

aquarian thoughts...

2008-02-29T23:32:00.005+05:30

Finally, a post for February. On the very last day of it. Just before 12 am. Just to let folks know... if they still visit this blog... that I'm still around.

I've been virtually incommunicado for the past month - for various reasons that simply take up space here. Since the last snowfall, which was literally, a 'snowstorm' in our case, it's been pretty decent weather... with a tad of rain in between.

January ended with a trip to sunny California - a re-union of cousins. From three different parts of the country - Kingsport (yours truly), Minneapolis & Los Angeles - we ended up at a fourth cousin's place in Fremont.

The trip was great, except for the storm on our departure day, which caused me to miss my connecting flight to Minnesota... I was planning to meet my cousin there and fly with her to SFO. I took a direct flight to San Fran instead, and ended up waiting 4 hours at the airport because her flight just wouldn't land!!

Apart from that, the trip was pretty good... the usual California spots were visited, the Golden Gate bridge was walked, photos were taken, and photos were uploaded. In case anyone has time to waste, they're here.

Here are a couple anyway:


The Golden Gate bridge	A streetcar named Desire

February's my favourite month of the year. Of course, that could be due to the fact that my birthday falls somewhere in there. This year's birthday came and went, and I hardly noticed. There was, however, the 'surprise' birthday party at 12 am.

A few pics just for the heck of it...


Bal-loony!	Life begins @ 25!

Cake cutting...	...followed by face painting

The surprise was, however, a bit unsurprising, especially when one of the surprise givers-to-be turned up earlier than the others to my house at 11.30. When the unknowing surprisers knocked on my door, I was on the floor with a laptop on me. And of course, laziness abounded. I yelled 'Come in'... and they didn't. So the friend opened the door for me.... to find a few balloons thrust in his face, and being yelled 'Happy Birthday!!!!!!!' at.

The surprisers became the surprised.

winter wonderland

2008-01-19T14:50:00.000+05:30

Last week, in a remote, little, relatively unknown town on the eastern edge of Tennessee called Kingsport, it snowed. Living in this place, I am but naturally biased, but this town, pretty as is it is during the rest of the year, transforms into a magical-looking white wonderland (Pretty much like Narnia - we even have a lamp - Pic 2) when it snows. Which itself is pretty rare - happening maybe a couple of times every year. We finished that quota last week.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. (cliche warning!!!) In that case, this will probably be my longest post yet! More pics here, and will be updated if it snows again!


Pathway to....?	Narnia?	Snowy trees...

Allandale falls...	... where I live!	17F... way below freezing!

More photos to follow, when I get 'em from other seemingly reluctant cameras, and of course, when it snows more!

an old friend returns...

2008-01-13T10:27:00.000+05:30

Last week, I met an old friend who I haven't seen in months. Haven't heard from for longer. When I saw her, I wondered why we ever lost touch. I missed listening to her.

This story begins with me cleaning out my room last week. I was just pondering over the mystery of how junk in a closet can defy the law of conservation of mass as I picked up a couple of my t-shirts and dumped them out. And there she was - my brand new (when bought) iPod Nano (black, of course - with a six month coating of dust brown)!

It's been a long time since I've used the iPod... quite some time. In fact - I can't remember the last time. After landing in the US, my use has been minimal. Maybe for a couple of trips way back in June perhaps, and then I don't remember when I stashed her in the closet.

Now that she's back, I have to find some time for her. I think I'll join the gym, so that I can show her off proudly while running on the treadmill (unless the guy next to me is wearing an iPod touch). But ah, he will never know. The new fancy-schmancy iPods will never have the heart and soul of my classic iPod. Mental note: Despite all that, be very selective in choosing my treadmills.

Now, Sunday is movie day. I've started downloading and watching movies by the dozen - right here at home on a 42" Plasma TV, and Philips home theatre system. Yes, the iPod is probably jealous. Now that I think of it... is that why I lost touch with her?

six degrees of separation?

2007-12-15T20:11:00.000+05:30

Frankly, I can't think of anything to write about. It could be 'coz I haven't done anything much worth writing about in the past couple of weeks, except for lazing around at home. And of course, watched a few movies. Actually, seems to me it's the cheapest thing to do. The weather's been relatively good over the past week, and I even got to come home with the Mustang's top down a couple of days.

Speaking of weather, I keep hoping for some snow, but I don't see it happening anytime soon. So if the snow won't come to you, I'll probably do the next best thing - go to it. I'm planning a few trips over the next couple of months, but I'll keep the destinations to myself until I really get around to them.

Speaking of my blog, I don't know when this happened, but some of the pics I've linked to in Picasa have had their links changed, and I get a page not found error. Thank you, Google. I've got to check out them pics and get 'em fixed now. I've also been thinking of changing the look of ze ol' blog, but at the current rate of my procrastination, I hope to get around to it by next Christmas.

Speaking of Christmas, it's just around the corner, and half the folks in my office are already off on vacation. I've got two four-day weekends coming up - one next week at Christmas, and one at New Year's - for which I really need to think about going somewhere. Get out of Kingsport at least a couple of days.

Speaking of Kingsport, the ol' city's really getting spruced up for the holidays. Downtown's already been prettied up... although I must say, it's not much of a downtown compared to other cities I've been to. Yet, it's our downtown. Hope I can get some photos before it's over.. if I ever get time to visit. Work reduces my life by about 50 hours every week. And that of course, is just at the office.

Speaking of work, I've got a test coming up on Monday that I absolutely need to pass. By the way, have you ever had an exam that you didn't need to pass? Jokin' apart, I thought I was done with exams once I left college. Unfortunately, my employer doesn't see it that way, and they figured we could do with a couple of tests every year. Also, they saw that the only way to get folks to write these tests is to link them to their performance review. You don't get nothin' if you pass, but you're screwed if you flunk. Nice, no? I can't wait to get this over with, so that I can last here for another year, and start lazing around the house some more.

Speaking of lazing around the house... read from the beginning.

so short, and thanks for the vacation - II

2007-12-09T22:09:00.000+05:30

Author's note: This post is so long overdue that I had to pay a fine on it. I was lucky they didn't revoke my blogger membership...

As I was saying before I rudely interrupted last time, Thanksgiving weekend was a movie-ful weekend. Friday night was, as usual, guy's night out. Except that we stayed in, and watched another RGV classic, Darwaza Bandh Rakhna. I don't know if it was a bad movie since I nodded off for most of the movie. For some reason, it reminded me of those hour long lectures that we used to have back in college. I kept expecting the bell to ring any minute.

Saturday was a lazy day, and I nodded off till 10. After the usual boring morning, Nithya - the only other person in our gang who skipped travelling on Thanksgiving - came over to watch Om Shanti Om. And I sat watching - for the fourth time! And on Saturday night, the guys got together again for two movies - repeat telecast, of course - Men Of Honor, and Kal Ho Na Ho. Worlds apart. I don't know what we'd been drinking. Luckily, common sense prevailed and I didn't watch a movie on Sunday. I don't even remember what I did on that Sunday though!

However, the week before that, Monday to be exact, we visited TriCities very own Nascar racing track at Bristol, about half an hour's drive from here. No, it wasn't for a race, it was at 9 pm to check out the Christmas lighting at the place. It was a drive through show of sorts with a dazzling display of moving lights. It's hard to describe, and unfortunately, there aren't too many good photos.


Lights @ BMS	More o' the same


Even more!


Scrambling for a photo!	Drivin' in an open sleigh


Missing the train...

We stopped at a 'village' midway through the display for a hot cup of chocolate. Dev's winter tip: Keep the top up on your convertible. And the obligatory group photos were clicked here. Dev's any season tip: Do not pose for a photograph below a person with a cup of hot chocolate in their hands. Following my chocolate shower, we were on our way back.


All together now...	Let's pour chocolate on him!

Dev's impossibility theorem: It's impossible to get all the chocolate out of your hair.

so short, and thanks for the vacation - I

2007-11-25T18:44:00.000+05:30

As the end of my 4-day Thanksgiving vacation approaches, I feel a strange sense of sadness. While most of the folks around here made plans to go all around the country, yours truly spent the best part of the last 4 days just lazing around the house. After the hecticness(!) of the last few months, a big break like this was just what the doctor ordered.

Perhaps apart from the Chicago trip, this was probably the best vacation I've had in the US. And of course, the best part is that it was the cheapest. I finally rolled up my sleeves... or at least I would have if I wasn't wearing Ts... and managed to get the house in good shape. The last time the house looked so clean, Alam Ara was being released. The kitchen floor looks clean enough to eat on (although I prefer a plate). Here's a pat on the back for me.

And of course, there were the movies. I've watched 11 movies in the last 4 days. Most of them were once-agains, with only a couple of new releases. Starting with Murder at 1600 on Wednesday evening on DVD, and continuing with RGV ki Aag. Yes, you read that right. I watched RGV ki Aag online. I'd wanted to see this film, ever since I've read the reviews - Jabberwock's for example. And how was it? Pure paisa vasool entertainment! Of course, that's because I didn't pay anything. I pity folks who might have shelled out their hard earned cash to watch this movie.

On Thursday, it was Fight Club (my favourite - for the nth time), and the new Italian Job (for the 5th or so time) on DVD, and Rush Hour 3 (for the 2nd time) on TV. No reviews for these... they're too old to review. Friday of course, was the day for new releases. The first was Beowulf in 3D. This movie is a must watch just for the animation. In 3D, the movie looks so real. Contrary to popular belief, I didn't go to the movie to see Angelina Jolie in the buff. That is one of the fringe benefits however. Wonder that was why they were charging $2.50 extra? Well, I must say that Angelina 3D is better than Angelina 2D.

You know, I have a very simple way of rating movies. Awesome movie - no. of times I glance at my watch = 0. Great movie < 2. Good movie < 5. Bad movie >= 5. Cant-take-it-anymore movie - when my watch seems more interesting than the movie.

Anyway, immediately after that, we rushed into the next theatre to catch Hitman - which was also released this weekend (I think). Starring Timothy Olyphant (or some guy like that), this was based on the supposedly popular video game. Good movie, worth the money. Short movie, which is just the way I like it. And of course, I don't do reviews. At least, not yet. Perhaps one of these days, I shall see the light...

If you've read the title, it shows a little 'I' at the end. This was, as a matter of course, added about 5 seconds ago, when I thought it was time to end this one right here. Part II will have the rest of the movies, and a small flashback to about a week ago when we visited the Bristol Motor Speedway. At night. And not for a race. Till then.

i'll be down in an hour mom!

2007-11-04T01:21:00.000+05:30

In less than an hour from now, it'll be time to set the clocks back an hour as we 'fall back' to Standard time. Must admit, it does feel kinda odd to know that I'll be living the same hour twice, as 1.59 am becomes 1.00 am. Any TV shows that should've run for half an hour tonight between 1.30 - 2 am, run for an hour and an half. Wonder what they're gonna show during the extra hour. Musings....

If I was sleeping, I'd have had an extra hour to sleep. But not me, oh no! I'm looking at it as 1 hour more that I'd be staying awake. Blame it on the caffeine.

You know, I'm pretty excited though. It's my first daylight saving change and I'm just bursting with questions - what do they do with all the daylight that they save? How do they store it - I mean do they just like, y'know, keep it in a box or something or is it stored in a maximum security vault? Huh? Whaddyou think? And while we're at it - why do they do the daylight saving thingie during night? There isn't any daylight to save at this time of the night, is there? If you know any of the answers, drop a comment below. Wowee.. it's almost time! I'm so very excited! (duh)

of fall colors and holloween

2007-10-30T18:17:00.000+05:30

October, right here in the US of A ushers in three things - Fall, freezing weather and Halloween. And when it's Fall, it is but obvious that it is the 'in thing' that you go out and take lots and lots of pictures of the "fall colors". After all, you don't want people thinking you're not impressed with all the flora and fauna around, do you?

So that's what I did for the last couple of weekends - a drive down to the Smoky mountains - I'm sorry... to the Great Smoky Mountains nearby. Some people tend to get a tad upset when I leave out the 'Great'. It's a trademark. There's a national park down there, which provides you ample opportunities to do the things you've always wanted to do - or at least pretend you wanted to do. So we went there and did some o' them touristy things - taking pictures, hiking of sorts... you get the idea.

The first weekend was when Vivek came down to return the Chicago visit. This was in the works over the course of 2 months... which basically meant that he would call every weekend to ask "Are the colors there yet?". He finally confirmed his visit the night before he left, after I assured him of seeing every color in the rainbow here.. including black and blue. I spent the next day searching for cabins nearby... what we finally got was eerily named 'Bear Skin Lodge'. I was fine with it as long it wasn't Bare skin lodge. I had my doubts though, since the cabin next to ours was named 'Romantic Retreat'. Wonder if they ever change the letters around and offer a package deal.

Anyway, the trip did go pretty smoothly after a bit of mish-mash at the beginning. Fall season is peak time in Gatlinburg... which means you'd probably find less people in our old filmi style 'Kumbh ki mela'. We did get to see the 'fall colors' and these pics prove it. We managed to get a bit of 'hiking' in there too.

Smokies Trip

The next weekend saw us taking another trip to the Smokies (Great, of course). This was a pure 'fall colors' trip - which meant all people did was go around taking pictures of every leaf and twig they could find. This time, we did manage to take a drive on the Blue Ridge parkway, where you can see all the colors on the trees, except blue. Pics have been uploaded. Before you get in, I must say that the album looks like an ad for National Geographic.

Fall 2007 - Smokies & Blue Ridge Pkwy

The weather's turned a bit cold as well... it's now in the single digit (celsius) range. I'm told this is good weather when it comes to winter here. Mental note: buy coat this weekend instead of next month as scheduled.

And now, it's almost the last day of the month, and tomorrow is Halloween. I plan to scare my colleagues tomorrow by going to office dressed as an employee. And of course, the kids will be at the doorsteps tomorrow night, trick or treating - which reminds me - I need to go get some candy. Or else I might just wake up on Thursday and see my windshield soaped up (which might not be such a bad thing after all - I do need my car washed anyway)... or worse. Adios.

septembrance

2007-09-30T16:39:00.000+05:30

And here I am again, in time for the obligatory monthly report. I really wish I'd pay more attention to this page these days, but unfortunately,

This is my first post on my new laptop - well, not mine actually. It's a client laptop - loaded with Windows Vista. It works great, whatever time it's up. I've to save this post every minute in the hope that it won't crash before then. Seriously, I've had the blue screen of death more often than my wallpaper. Maybe I should just make it my wallpaper.

Speaking of my wallpaper, my new wallpaper has a great pic from my last trip to Chicago. In the 'olden days', this trip would have been on my blog the moment I got back from it. These days, I'm writing it so late that two of the five folks that met for the reunion are already back in India.

(From L to R) Sheetal, Pradeep, Apy, Vivek and Me

Well, in short, it was one of the best trips I'd had since I've been here - probably the best trip. In fact, it was so good, someone up there decided it should extend by a day by canceling my flight back. The trip consisted of a short journey to Lake Geneva in Wisconsin and shopping at Gurnee Mills outlet (which I felt was bigger than Mangalore considering how much I walked around). Apart from that, it was pretty much sitting around and talking about the good ol' days, peppered here and there with some jokes and huge amounts of laughter. That happens when you get five good-humored Konkanis like us in the same room. ;)

And how can I forget the cooking? Sheetal and Apy made some wonderful dishes that I miss even now. We responded in kind by making some makeshift egg curry. Everybody ate it... so I assume that no comment is good comment.

Pics from the Chicago trip here, for folks who're jobless enough to take a gander.

The next trip was during the Labor Day long weekend - the first of September, to the sin city of Las Vegas. Maybe it was the fun of the Chicago trip, or my work took its toll, but I really didn't enjoy this trip as much as I should have. Felt like sleeping away the whole day... and I pretty much did. Of course, that could be 'coz we were roaming around the whole night, coming back to the hotel in time for breakfast. Anyway, we did the usual things - gambling (and losing of course), a show and a lot of sight seeing.

Moving further, a five-hour drive on Monday found us at the Grand Canyon, which is, as everybody puts it, awe-inspiring. How a big hole in the ground can be so much of a tourist attraction is beyond me. And Tuesday saw us at Antelope Canyon in Page, nearby. This was a hole in the wall, literally. Barring jokes, both the canyons were amazing. I don't have pictures yet though. Have been just too lazy to get it from others.

Other than that, there's nothing much to speak of, but there's been a lot happening back home, I see. There's already the done-to-death Indian World Cup victory, for instance. And as usual, there are the jokes surfacing again and again - Kalam's vision of India becoming a superpower in 2020, Misbah ul Haq's not knowing there is a Malayalee in every corner etc etc. If you get these jokes, please do not forward them to me.

Anyway, I guess that's about it for September. I don't think I'll be going on too many trips. I'm currently on a saving mode, for a trip to India next year. Dharmu has threatened me with severe bodily harm if I don't make it to her marriage. And this time, she's serious.

august files

2007-08-18T04:54:00.000+05:30

I guess it's time for my monthly update. As I write this, I'm at the Charlotte Intl airport in North Carolina, waiting for a flight to take me to Chicago for the second time in three months.

I have been a busy little (big) boy recently - firstly, I finally got my new car! A bee-yoo-tiful Silver Mustang convertible! Pics have been uploaded here, for gloating purposes. Most of my friends would have seen this already, but hey! It's a Mustang!!! No harm in visiting again now, is there?

Secondly, I've moved into a new apartment, which I've already decorated with a 42" plasma television, and a Philips home theatre. Haven't had a chance to upload those photos yet, but maybe sometime soon. Or maybe not. It all depends on when I feel like doing something good in life.

It's time for my flight now. I'm off to Chicago. Be back Monday - to yet another week in the office. Drudgery, I say. Just don't feel like opening up my laptop anymore these days. Is it any wonder why my blog lies neglected?

4th of july...

2007-07-05T05:13:00.002+05:30

For the first time, I've a holiday for an independence day other than the 15th of August. And I celebrated it with my first visit to a casino in nearby Cherokee. Call it beginner's luck if you want, but I started with 5 dollars, and walked out with 85 bucks. I was up 145, but lost quite a bit at the Blackjack table. :( But heck, a profit like that - I can live with it.

As I write this, I'm watching another in a long list of movies in a marathon spree I've been on since last week. It's a Telugu movie, and I cannot understand a word, but I've a faithful translator in Sangeeth beside me. This is the second Telugu movie I'm seeing this week, and it seems to be becoming quite a habit!

It's been a barrage of movies since the last weekend, starting all the way from Ocean's 11, ending with Ocean's 13 on Sunday. In between was the Silver Surfer, a Telugu movie and Ocean's 12. Yes I know, Ocean's thirty-six over the weekend. Of which, unfortunately, the sequels as usual were not even close to recreating the magic of Ocean's 11.

And of course, it's back to work tomorrow. *deep sigh* Luckily it's just two days to the weekend. I just can't wait. After a barrage of travel over the last month, it feels really good to sit back, kick off your shoes and relax over the weekend. And speaking of travel, I've finally uploaded (most of) my pics, and here are the links, if you're jobless enough to check them out...


Florida - Seaworld and Disney!	Chicago

Indianapolis!

the month in review

2007-06-27T06:23:00.000+05:30

Today, I logged into blogger after a gap of over a month. I really can't help but feel guilty over the way I've been neglecting blogging after reaching here. I console myself by saying that I don't have the time, which is true, sort of... to an extent. Well, maybe it's not all that true.

Ok, you got me. The truth is that I am a very evil (non) blogger. Once a month, when the moon is full, this evil blogger updates his blog. *cackles evilly* (Is there any other way to cackle anyway?)

Actually, it's been a fun month. Loads of travelling all over the East Coast, road trips left, right and center. Every weekend this month was pre-booked for yet another journey. Starting right from Florida the first week, where we visited the Disney world theme parks and Universal Studios. Next up was a trip to Chicago, the land of Al Capone. Coming in third was a trip to Indianapolis, where we caught the F1 Grand Prix. Amazing pictures were taken, which will be shared soon. Finally, last weekend was a trip to Atlanta, which at 7 hours of travel one way, was by far the shortest! Our motto for the last month, in short, was that a journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single turn of the ignition.

Yes, I just put in a month of travel into one paragraph, when I could've written at least 5 posts on it. But it's just the evil blogger in me. Maybe I will write an entire post or two about the highlights, but for now, that's it. People who know me well will not hold their breath for that post, though.

The highlight for the last trip to Atlanta was that we bumped into none another than A R Rahman and Hariharan. We were just hanging out at the mall on a lazy Saturday afternoon, getting bored out of our skulls, nursing a cup of tea, when we saw Rahman stepping off the escalator! He was in Atlanta on tour, and had come to visit the promotions office. Unfortunately, before we could recover from the shock, he'd already gone in, and all I managed were a few grainy pics with my mobile. We'd no cameras with us, since we were just in the mall. As we went down the escalator, we see Hariharan going up the other escalator. We must have set a record for running down the escalator and running up the other. We finally caught up with him, and managed to get one quick pic. And luckily for us, Rahman was about to leave at the time, and we managed to get another pic with him. One which I can cherish for some time to come. Check these out.


With AR Rahman!	Nitin & Debu with Hariharan

If you've got it, flaunt it, I always say. Until the next full moon then.

just another post...

2007-05-23T05:29:00.000+05:30

Well, there's been complaining from all corners that I don't update my blog often these days. Heck, I thought that was something to cheer about!!

It's been a month and a half here in the US of A, and things have been moving. Finally got a mobile (phew! Was that a struggle) and my driver's license. Ooh la la! Now all that I need is a car... :)

My cell arrived over a week late since they were apparently 'out of stock'. I can't complain though, when I got the actual phone for free. They more than make up for it with the phone charges though. The driving license was ok, though. Luckily, they dont make you parallel park here... phew!

One thing about being in the US is that you miss all the good stuff that's happening back in India. Not really. With all the Indians out here, I was treated to a detail-by-detail synopsis of the Ash-Abhi wedding. I knew more about the wedding than the bride n groom themselves. Does anybody even remember that it happened last month???

Hmm... and so on and so forth, I found a lot of folks who paid 200 dollars to watch Bangladesh & Ireland battle it out on a fine Sunday morning last month. I really do hope they weren't expecting India v/s Pakistan. Tch tch.

Man, I've really dulled out, filling this page with month old news. I think I'd better stop now.... and post a couple more pics of my new surroundings. Until I get something to write about.

a long awaited conclusion

2007-05-13T18:53:00.000+05:30

It's been what, a month since I was stuck at the Amsterdam transit lounge as per my blog? The Terminal, anyone?

Well, moving on, after a delay of about an hour, it was soon time for my flight to Detroit. The flight itself was uneventful. I did catch the movie, 'The pursuit of Happyness' on board, and although it'd been nominated for the Oscars and had gotten rave reviews, I really didnt like it that much. Perhaps I really didnt grasp the 'intricacies' of the movie, or whatever, or maybe it was just that I watched it on such a small screen with headphones, but I found it real boring. In fact, I think I fell asleep, coz I couldn't remember the end later!

Ah, Detroit! My first point of entry to the US of A. I had a seven hour wait over here, and with my immigration over in a matter of an hour or so, I had about 5 hours to kill. I started by checking out the Starbucks counter. After all, it's the first thing that one does in America, no? Especially if you're a caffeine addict. I settled back, with a good book and a steaming cup of coffee for a couple of hours, but there's only so much you can wait. Then I started the five cent tour of the airport. And boy, did it turn out to be a long walk!


Starbucks - the first sign of America	A funky tunnel

Dancing fountain @ Detriot	A travel weary me

Well, to cut a long story short, I managed to somehow while the time by. And soon it was time for my final flight for the weekend - to my final destination of Kingsport, Tennessee. After a couple of international flights, this plane looked a teensy weensy bit small to me. Seemed to me that if they had one more passenger like me, the plane would have had a bit of a problem taking off. A very relaxed plane journey later, it was 9.30 at night when I saw the lights of Kingsport a few thousand feet below.

The sun and the clouds - a bird's eye view

As we came in to land, I could see the logo of my client, a little distance away from the airport. Must say it was strange to see a logo I've seen only on document headers for the last two years, all lit up live for the first time. Made me realize I've actually arrived half a world away already. And as I climbed down the gangway onto the tarmac to take my first steps in this far off country, I thought to myself, "One small step for Dev, one giant leap for America!" Actually I didn't, but I thought I'd have a grand ending for this post.

there's no time like snow time

2007-04-17T07:17:00.000+05:30

Well, I was supposed to write about the second part of my trip to the US. But something happened this week that pre empted that. It snowed! :)

Here's a couple of pics of my first tryst with snow in the US of A...


This is summertime?	When in America, do the style...

Slippin' n slidin'	Snowy trio

This photo session was followed by a full fledged snowball fight, unfortunately which could not be captured on film. Everybody wanted to get in on the act!

All in all, a great first weekend in ze ol' US of A.

amsterdam ahoy!

2007-04-12T19:45:00.000+05:30

For those who might have been wondering where in the world I am, here's the answer. I've crossed half of it and, as I write this, am getting settled in the sleepy li'l hamlet of Kingsport, Tennessee. Finally, I've shaken off the jet lag and feel awake enough to write a small mail on my journey to the land of the great American dream. After days of sleeping off in the evenings to clear my poor li'l head, a post from the lonely traveller finally graces this diary.

This tale, a journey of a thousand miles (ten thousand, more likely) began at the airport in Mangalore. The time, last Saturday afternoon, 2 pm IST. Actually, the tale began a week earlier with the arguments about packing with my mom about what to pack and what not etc etc etc. My mom started calling up all my cousins, my uncles, my aunts, my friends, my cousins' uncles' aunts' friends and a host of other folks for advice. If you ever needed an example for too many cooks spoiling the broth, this was it. No matter, as the packing was going along smoothly, in the sense what whatever my mom added to the suitcase, I removed from the other side. Finally, as we managed to compromise, 2 suitcases were filled with clothes, food and the usual knick knacks and weighed. Just right for the international limit.

Coming back to Saturday afternoon, an early lunch and lots of goodbyes later, we were at the airport. A long drawn farewell with family and friends was on the cards, as long as my mobile was in range. Among those who came to see me off was Dharmu who, for a change, presented me with a Rum n Raisins chocolate.

The announcement for passengers on Kingfisher airlines to Mumbai to proceed to security check was er... announced. As I walked through security, a strange twinge of homesickness hit me, as I realized I would not be seeing my home for more than a year. However, it was soon quelled by the sight of the Kingfisher airhostesses in their skimpy uniforms. I boarded the flight and started on a long, long journey that was to conclude at Kingsport, Tennessee nearly 40 hours later.

I spent most of the flight to Mumbai thinking about how different life was going to be for the next year. I was missing Mangalore and my friends already. Loneliness was personified. Sigh. I'd a 9 hour wait in Mumbai, which I'd planned to spend at the airport, counting on my fingers. However, luckily for me, one of my dad's friends was in town, just for the weekend, and I could go to his home. He's travelled far and wide, and gave me the total fundae on things, which really helped me a lot on the trip. He dropped me off at the airport at night and waited for nearly an hour as I completed my check in. I can't really thank him enough.

With the check in done and over with quickly, I'd over two hours wait at the airport before my flight in the lounge/post security check area. The last calls from India with my now defunct hutch number (God bless its soul) were made. Then off I was, stepping into the aircraft, and off the soil of India, for quite some time. By that point, it was 1 in the morning, and as soon as the flight to Amsterdam took off, I was out like a light. Slept like a baby (a very large one, at that) for most of the 10 hour flight. I wouldnt say I was snoring much, but my co-passenger had ripped his pillow and stuffed the cotton in his ears.

When my eyes opened (literally, not metaphorically), we were just about a hour and a half away from the Netherlands. I always wondered why that place was called so. Perhaps because it's neither here nor there, wherever that is. If you're confused, don't worry. So was I. Ahem. Moving on, it was 7 am local time when we landed, which meant it was about 10.30 back home. Used my credit card to call home and assure them I was in one piece... almost.

The Schizpol (I think) airport was huge. And I'm just talkin' about the transit area. And here it was that I waited. (a bit monotonous, no?) After a quick trip to the restroom, I made my first transaction in foreign currency (for some years) for some breakfast here. The only thing that looked palatable on the menu was chocolate donuts, so had that and a cup of coffee (old habits die hard). The caffeine withdrawal syndrome, and all that. Then it was off to wait, another hour or so, before my connecting flight.

... to be continued... with pics!

not a funny story at all...

2007-03-19T23:17:00.000+05:30

A bit out of character for me, but I must say I'm well and truly shocked. I'd mentioned in my last post that I'd a funny story to tell. However, moments after I published it, a story by no means funny broke half a world away, and rocked the cricketing world with the force of a hurricane.

Barely 24 hours after Pakistan became the first team to be knocked out of the World Cup, Bob Woolmer was no more. The stress seems to have finally got to him. And he paid the ultimate price.

Sometimes, I wonder if he's been given a divine way out. Let's face it, he wasn't a popular man in Pakistan at the moment, and heads will roll soon. I just wonder...

Make no mistake about it, the pressure that the subcontinent teams face to succeed, especially India and Pak, is incomparable. As some bloke once said, "If you play well for India, they name a street after you. If you fail, they chase you down the same street." As I write this, India have just hammered 413 against a hapless Bermuda, and the paint cans are coming out for the street signs. Deja vu - once again. Remember 2003?

Coming back though, one of the best coaches ever has ended his career. Unfortunately not in the way he would have wanted. Pakistan cricket is now at it's lowest ebb. And he will be sorely missed.

Rest in peace.

a journey of sorts...

2007-03-18T22:27:00.000+05:30

Yes, I know. It's been another long 'short break' here on my diary - which seems to be becoming a regular feature these days. I guess I've become real apathetic as far as the ol' blog goes. *sigh*

Haven't been logging on to the net at home for various reasons since the last couple of weeks. Which is why most of the blogs I frequent haven't been blessed (or tarnished - as you see fit :P) with my comments. Firstly, our Electricity Board has been following Murphy's law to the letter. I swear they must have some sort of a sensor which causes a power cut as soon as I come home. *double sigh*

Secondly, a lot has been happening in my life recently - good and bad, in spades - and I've been taking time off to reflect on all that, which is why I don't feel like spending much time in cyberspace. Sometimes we tend to forget that a real world exists outside this virtual one, anyway.

Which brings me to thirdly, loads of travel and books. Been around for the last two weeks, travelling here n there. Too many places to write about - and too lazy too. Apathy at its worst. The last bit of travelling was with Dharmu to Moodbidri, a small town about 40 kms from here yesterday. The day was good - to the temple, followed by lunch at Padiwal's next door. Dharmu, being on a diet, had considerably less than her usual meal, which meant she hogged from everyone else. No ice cream for her as well - since she ate more than half of her sis-in-law's 'Padiwal Special'! :)

Also been devouring books by the dozen, thanks to the power cuts - finished a huge 2 tome Ruskin Bond omnibus - the usual short stories. Followed it up with John Wright's 'Indian Summers'. This is an amazing book - recommended reading! And now started up with Mark Tully's 'Heart of India'. As I maintain, I'm bad at reviews - which is why my review is limited to either a thumbs up or a thumbs down.

Anyway, this 'self realizing' journey of sorts continues, and until I see an end - some sort of sign perhaps - I need some time for myself. Perhaps I'm being too melodramatic, but that's the story. I know Mel would lurrrrve to put it down to mid life crisis. Huh!

However, the fun in being unpredictable is that for all you know, I might start blogging tomorrow itself. Yes indeedy, tis very likely - as I've a veddy nice humorous story to tell! :)

new look for de ol' blog

2007-03-01T22:08:00.000+05:30

As Melody has so sagely commented on my last post, they came, they saw, and they commented. On the template that is. So, to give you all a chance, I shall, with extremely great enthusiasm, write this post about my spankin' new template, so that people may comment on the movie I saw yesterday, thus redeeming themselves in my (and Mel's) eyes.

Well, the first thing you might see here (if it loads) is a shiny banner on top. At this point, I must endow regards of the highest order, with full credits to Adobe Photoshop, and to my stone age 2MP Fuji A305. As you can see, I have captured the poignancy of those sublime moments in the subtle simplicity of classic black and white. There were a couple of other pictures which were initially part of the banner, but were sadly withdrawn later owing to some encouraging suggestions from the initial reviews. If you have managed to get this far without a dictionary on your lap, I humbly request you to continue.

Archana, the lovely lass, second from left in the center photograph here, has requested me to move the description to the left, so that she could be seen. Here you go, milady. Your wish is my command.

I'd decided to go for the two column template solely for one reason - photos. With my old template being a two column one, I'd generously used the wide space offered in the main column for a table to display two photos side-by-side, as you see in most of my recent posts. To keep the ol' bloggy looking neat and clean, the wide main column stays.

With my new project at work being mainly in the area of Microsoft's CMS for website development, it'd become a sort of a dull thing, doing the same thing at home and work, which is mainly why I pushed doing this template way back.

And as a side effect of this now, one of the main things I look for after the look n' feel is user comfort. Of course, along with the compliments, I would like to know if there is anything that you might feel is difficult to use or not properly working. This is a work in progress, and if you'd like something different, please lemme know. :)

For those rare folks (god bless you) who might feel the need for the feeds from dev's all new diary, feeds are provided for a couple of feedreaders at the very end of the sidebar column. Do comment if any other feedreader may be needed as well. After careful consideration, I wisely decided not to show off how many people are using the feeds, so as not to chase away my only reader.

I've never been one for widgets on my blog. Clocks, dropdown menus for previous posts are all well and nice, but the fact is that they take too long to load, and they mean unnecessary download bandwidth. The only thing I've used right now is blogrolling for my blogroll, and at most, I might go in for an archives widget after a couple of years, as the list increases, but right now I see no need.

If you have made it till here, congratulations! You can now stop yawning and comment. Or alternatively, you may also contact me @ udmallya(at)gmail(dot)com. I must thank you for your patience and perseverance, especially since I dozed off in the third para itself while reading this.