Kiss...I mean Run...its an Earth Quake !

We friends decided to go shopping on Monday evening , probably owing to the inertia of the long weekend of partying in clubs and night hangouts. I was surprised to find many people at the shopping mall on a Monday and my wait outside the shops while my friend selected what to buy, was not too boring. So after a longggg wait for the friend who wanted to finalize 6 out of 15 T shirts he selected, we went to an outlet of California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) which is supposed to have great pizzas.

Half way through our Pizzas (i will give 6/10 to them), the whole place started shaking.This was the 2nd Earthquake i had felt so strong while the many others were just a jolt or two in office,wherein you just smile at the guy sitting next to you and continue with your work.

At first we felt the table shake, then the plates and glasses on the near by tables added to the clatter..Only the young doorman looked worried while I guess the 'experienced' Californians expected the shaking to stop pretty soon. Only one friend at our table was not feeling the quake while the rest of us were looking at the exit and waiting for a sign when we know its time to make a run for it. Once he also felt the shakes we all stood up in unison and made a run for the door. Being on the first floor of a big shopping mall made me uneasy as open ground was no where near.


5 seconds later we all were standing outside the restaurant, standing on the edge of the railings at the first floor balcony and looking at all directions to see if the shaking had stopped or not, as the quake was not strong anymore. We could still see the lamp posts in the parking lots shake and also felt the vibrations in the iron railings running through out the perimeter of the shopping mall. We were standing at a place overlooking the open center podium of the shopping mall, looking in all directions for signs of damage when a friend smiled and pointed out something in the center of the Shopping mall in the floor below...Slowly my eyes also found what he was pointing to...a couple holding each other tightly and sharing a passionate kiss at the center of the shopping mall floor, when the whole world was shaking around them...

It was not like in movies where in all the shopping mall started to clap and the couple suddenly broke away from the kiss only to look around sheepishly... In reality people just returned to their life and we returned to our Pizzas before they got cold, giving the couple their 'privacy' at the center of the shopping mall floor.

Sometimes Life is much more beautiful in its plain simplicity...


PS : The quake was put at 5.7 on the ricther scale and was an after shock of the Easter day quake of 7.2 magnitude. Click here for details on California's quakes.

Memorial Day : Remembering all Soldiers

Well for a change, Monday is a Holiday...Hurray !!!

The long weekend is about to come to an end with me having done absolutely nothing (and having had a blast doing it). Three days spend alone at home sometimes going to bed at 6 pm, waking up and eating dinner at 3am, watching movies till morning, listening to songs (and shamelessly trying to sing along out loud), going to the gym at noon, all without ever considering what the clock showed. Its been a really long time since i spend so much time alone without ever having to consider the clock, and I have made a promise to myself to do this once in a while...

Last night i was watching Twilight movie, and just as i saw the new town with the dull sky and big trees, i got reminded of seeing such a town in my all time favorite movie - First Blood.

Immediately, i stopped seeing Twilight and went for First blood.




The opening sequence reminded me when i had come to San Diego early this year, and used to walk to my room back from office (1.5 mile walk) in the cold late evenings,i always had this image of Rambo in my mind...Alone in a new place, walking in the cold with cars zipping past,almost no pedestrians in sight, and trying to pull tight my jacket collar to keep my neck warm...

Finally i came around to think about the reason for having Monday off here in US : Memorial Day, to commemorate the death of US soldiers. (Similar to Army Day in India on Jan 15th)

Went on to listen to songs related to soldiers n war like Como Estais Amigos (Iron Maiden , strong lyrics), Winds of Change (Scorpions), Buffalo Solider and lastly to the haunting song from We were soldiers

Lay me doon in the caul caul groon
Whaur afore monie mair huv gaun
Ains a year say a prayer faur me
Close yir een an remember me (Scottish Version,Translation in below video..)



What ever may be the reason for the war,where ever it may be,who ever may be fighting it, in all cases people at the either ends of the gun barrel have no personal enmity...They strengthen their hearts, and do what is required in the belief that all this blood shed is for the greater good.
So dont blame the hand that pulls the trigger in the battle field, but maybe blame the hand that sends them to the field.

All across the world, lets pay tribute to the soldiers, maybe walk up to one and say a big thanks for what they do for the country...hope none of them ever feel like our dear fictional John Rambo when they comeback from the battlefield to lead a normal life.

As Col.Jessup said in Few Good Men,

"You want me on that wall,you need me on that wall ! "



A big standing Salute to all Soldiers of this world !


(The Videos and songs listed here are what came to my mind while blogging this, and are not intended to mean any disrespect to any Soldier)

Perceptions : Miscellaneous incidents from life in San Deigo

Perceptions sometimes get changed in an instant and a few occupy a permanent place in a cozy corner of one's memory...

Helpful Lady @ the Airport -

I was waiting for my connecting flight to San Diego from Los Angles and it suddenly struck me that i still didn't know if anyone was coming to pick me up in San Diego. As i hadn't yet used dollars with me, i didn't have any coins for the pay phone. All around me were people hurrying about to catch their flights or busy minding their own business. I tried to make some eye contact in the hope of asking for some help but to no avail. As luck would have it, i couldn't see a Indian around . I wish i saw that proverbial Malayali who is supposed to be in all corners of the world.

So i decided to buy a burger and went to a nearby shop. I ordered the burger combo and asked for the balance in coins but the girl at the counter had only 1 quarter with her. Wondering what to do next as i slowly walked towards the soda machine and filled by glass (way too big for a new comer from India) with diet coke. As i was moving towards a vacant table, a lady dressed in boardroom formals with a sleek briefcase, a laptop bag and a big shiny leather overcoat called me from behind and asked if i was the one asking for quarters at the counter. When i told yes, she gave me 3 and hurried away...I made my first call later in San diego with those quarters...

Austin 3:16 @ Office -

It was my second day at office and since everyone here had individual rooms, the office corridor looked more like a hotel one to me, being more used to seeing at least 50 people in any direction if i stood up in my India office. As i was standing in front of a office map of room numbers trying to find the conference room i was supposed to be inside 10 minutes ago, i heard a booming voice from behind... "Are you trying to find someone ?"

I turned around to see a guy looking like Austin 3:16 (yep - dark Tee,blue denim shorts with frayed edges , shaved head and a french beard) who then patiently explained the 'route' i had to take to reach my conference room.

'Little Man' @ Vons :

I was on my way to a popular grocery store called Vons and was walking through the big and pretty much empty parking lot when i heard some one call out to me...I turned and looked around but didnt see anyone as it was dark. As i was about to continue my walk towards the store, i heard a loud "Over here" and saw someone waving to me from a dark corner of the parking lot. It turned out to be a guy leaning onto his sport car's door wearing a bandanna on his head with chains all around his neck. I could make out 3 of his friends in the dark close to him and mugging scenes from Hollywood movies flashed through my mind for a second.

The guy called out : "Little guy, do you have any smoke on you ?"

I replied no and walked on...

Among all the customers entering/leaving the Vons store that day, the 'Little man' had the biggest smile for being called so.


...We don't see things as they are. We see them as we are....
- Anais Nin


...

Persistence hunting : How our ancestors used to earn their 'Burgers'

...the 8 hr chase has come to an end...the hunter pays tribute to his quarry's courage and strength ; with ceremonial gestures that ensures that it's spirit returns to the desert sands which it came from..

... while it was alive he lived and breathed with it and felt its every movement in his own body...and at the movement of it's death he shared it's pains...

...He gives thanks to the life he has taken so that he may sustain the life of his family waiting for him...

Having seen Avatar in all its 3D glory in the theater some time back, I was seeing it yesterday on DVD by chance. The story as such is like a 70s Hindi movie but then its the whole colurful 3D package that the audience loved...Anyway while seeing the movie, specifically in the scene where the hero completes a successful hunt and thanks the animal for sharing its energy, a faint memory of seeing something similar in National Geography cropped up in my mind...some good old web search (yes it was google) brought me to what I was looking for...Persistence hunting.

To someone who had ordered Jake's special Cheese Burger for lunch, the video was a reality check and reminded how we take the daily food for granted...Philosophy about earning ones own food is good but not the topic I had in mind ...

Persistence hunting is a hunting style where the hunter chases down his prey till the end...its practiced by only one tribe in the whole world even now and the video is worth a watch...its a good one...of course as an icing, you have Sir David Attenborough narrating the scene for you...

Chennai Memories & favourite part of Polladavan Movie

After being away from Chennai for around a month, for the first time I thought for some time about my Chennai friends today...Actually I was seeing one of my most favorite portions of the Polladavan movie (guilty of the habit of watching specific scenes of movies repeatedly when bored ).

The scene has great comedy, superb background music, showcases the tensions of nonreciprocating love and comradeship (Disclaimer : YMMW).




Now i have watched this portion of the movie many many times...but today it brought back the memories of Chennai weekends...dont ask me why...maybe its because of hearing Tamil, or maybe becuase it was seeing friends spending time together...

We used to have a gang of 10/12 guys who used to meet on Fridays and Saturdays and do nothing except hang around and talk about anything and everything under the sun and after mid night, we would go to Gopal Chettans Tea Shop and have sizzling omelet and hot Tea..The talks would resume once we are back and continued many a time till the wee hours of the morning...




Times have changed and some of us have moved to other places but i am sure that every once in a while we all think about those weekends spend on top of terrace or on the wall overlooking the vast ground, laughing and pulling each other legs while waiting for the Kerala Barbaque 'in Velachery Style' getting ready...Well that's another post in itself...but later...not now... for tonight my dear friends, is dedicated to going through the photographs of those weekends...

There's a saying that revenge is dish that tastes best when its cold ... I think such a person just has to try the dish of nostalgia and i am sure he will be hooked for life

Its yet another normal workday coming to an end (its 10 past 12,so its over I guess) and apart from the fact that i slipped and fell twice in the bath tub in a span of 1 min (first one was accidental and then second when when I tried to reproduce the bug), I had one of the best dinners of my life...it was nothing special other than 3 room mates getting together and cooking a normal dinner with no special occasion to speak of.

If you have read my old blog on cooking, you would know I am not even a average cook. But as my roomate upon hearing my shaky confession (that i have never cooked a vegetarian dish ) told with a serious face on day one , " Once in US everyone learns to cook..."

Well today we cooked Rice,Alu fry and Shahi Panner and in a span of 3 weeks I have got hands on exp on the following items :

Alu fry
Shahi panner
Panner masala
Bhindi curry
Mix veg
Mushroom curry
Egg curry
Pasta
Chinese Noodles with soya sauce
The humble Rice & Dal (which is highly under rated when its freely available)
Veg biriyani
Gobi masala
Cabbage roast
and last but not the least , the daily ritualistic Masala Chai with ginger,cardamom and masala...

This blog started as a notepad list of the items I have cooked in such a short time and when I saw the number of things in it, I thought about blogging it.

For someone to whom cooking equated to chicken curry (made with no specific plan, other than adding all the masalas that one could lay hands on) its been a fun ride which just seems to be getting better each day...this may not be the case for the guys who have to eat up all this...a.k.a. my room mates...

PS : I do ensure there is milk and cereal in stock before I start cooking

....

America's Finest City is really Munnar with beaches

(Having been in US for only two weeks as i write this , and having not been to any place other than San Diego, i have no reference to validate the city's 'Finest City in America' tagline. But many friends who have worked in other states confirm its true and since this tag is very popular it must be true indeed.)

The climate in Munnar in and around summer consists of cold chilly winds along with bright sunlight where you feel cold in the shadows while love the warmth of the sun when in sunlight.San Diego has similar climate (at least in feb- march but its getting warmer now). Plus the city has great beaches, so for someone who lived in Munnar for 4 years, this place is a blessing compared to the more extreme temperatures of other states.


Lesson #1(in US) :
The first and most important thing you learn in the US is being independent in all aspects.

When i landed in San Diego airport and reached the entrance,there was hardly anyone around to be seen . I had four quarters (how i got them will be told in another post) with me so without reading the instructions on the payphone i put in the coins and dialed my new colleague's number whom i have never met till them. Needless to say i never saw those 2 quarters again and nor did i get my call connected ! Now stuck with just 2 quarters i dialed first, then put the coins, and was relieved to hear my colleague on the other side, who gave me the directions for the hotel which was to be my stay for a week.

Standing at the entrance of the airport with the cold chilly wind blowing fast and the sunlight vanishing behind the horizon among the gray clouds, i felt a bit alone...There was hardly anyone around at the entrance so i asked the security guard about the cab and then got one. I had noted only the address and not the name of the hotel so when my cab reached the address i was not sure if it was the correct place. Coming from a country where one is used to see std/isd booths at every nook and corner, the rarity of seeing a pay phone was a discomfort indeed when you dont have your own phone.


Lesson 2 : What you took for granted in India like payphones everywhere,cheap phone plans,cheap taxis,cheap and more importantly robust public transport connecting even the remote nooks and corners of the city were blessings indeed.


Lesson 3 : You seem to have lot of free time in your hands when your new to a city, but more so when your new to US.


Will keep posting about what i see around here and give my lessons learned gyan as i really feel the need for a outlet of my thoughts after coming here so God save any readers of this blog :-)