9:50AM - bombay

Needless to say, being a staunch Mumbaiite, i am left shaken by the blasts. I lived there for 22 years of my life, and most of my family still lives there. But i just read this little pice by Anil Thakraney, and it made me feel better, and reminded me of true-blue Bombay spirit. I thought id share it with you guys.
*******************************************************************************************

I happened to be at 'Ground Zero' of the Gateway blasts, moments after, and the usual thoughts crossed the mind. Why? Who? How serious? And, of course, how will it affect us?

While answers to the other questions still remained unanswered, the last one answered itself, by simply looking around. Within minutes of the bodies being removed, life was back to normal - at the Gateway, inside the Taj, in the lanes of Colaba, in the entire city.

The mad work ethic of this city never allows any catastrophe to come in its way… it was life as usual in less than 15 minutes.

Moral of the story, for the terrorists: Yes, we have gone immune to RDX. Nothing you can do will bring this great city down. The little crater too will get filled up soon. The debris removed. Wounds healed. Kashmir is still ours. The pigeons are already flying by the Gateway. It's a battle you'll never win.

-Kartik

1:37AM - Blackout

Really, if I wanted to see blackouts, I'd have stayed in India, not come all the way to NY. But you gotta give it to them here, they do it in style.
No your-locality-losing-electricity-for-two-hours-for-load-shedding business. No sir, that wouldn't be good enough for NYC. Here, we go all out.
at 4:15 pm EST today, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Michigan, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Vermont and some parts of Canada lost all power right at the same time.

now, almost 9 hours later, some parts of some states are restored. New York, sadly is not.

when it started, EVERYONE was freaking out. it was too 9/11-ish. Everyone was thinking terrorist attack. Rumors were flying about anywhere, from co-workers, to media, everyone was convinced for a while that this is it. the big one. and then, details started coming out, and it got better. Then, of course, we see smoke coming from NY and NJ, and mass panic sets in for a little while. And then we see all these people on TV and hear them on the radio trying to calm us down, saying its just an accident, no threat.

Of course, we're lucky, having generators, so that we have TV/Internet/Radio etc. the common guy out there, who's not in his office, has nothing. But things calmed down. Me, being the luck guy who lives two blocks away is told that whatever happens, I have to be in the office tomorrow at 7 am, since rest of the people might not be able to get there. Subways, buses, all have stopped.

Finally, when we're told that we can leave for today, we realize that none of us have anywhere to go. so, we step outside, and sit down on the benches in front of the buidling. we look around, and EVERYONE's drinking on the street. Wanting to fit in with the crowd (no other reason, I promise), we go and buy beer, and drink on the street. Till the cows come home. or till everyone realizes that its time they left if they want to go home, anyway.

I've never seen the city like this. EVERY street corner, is a party. there's 40-50 people at least at every corner, drinking, being loud, some getting into fights. Once it started getting dark, it felt a lot like a disaster movie. Or like a book I've read: Nightfall, by Asimov. read it, if you haven't already.

but things are quieting down. someone or the other is on TV every ten minutes saying electricity for the city is JUST about to be restored. I've heard it about 4 times an hour for the past three hours, and no joy so far. Should make for an interesting night. Sitting in the office at 1:45 am, with no A/C, and no-one around, and pitch dark outside.
One things I've seen though, NY is a really beautful city. I used to think the city lights made it beautiful. but even in the darkness, there's something about this city, that always makes you happy. you have to live here to know.

Here's some quotes of the day
1. I don't believe its a real blackout - its must be them con-edison people trying to increase rates. - random guy outside the exchange. OINY (only in new york)
2. We are a major superpower with a third-world electrical grid - Gov. Bill Richardson of New Mexico
3. they're coming duuuude, I see them. Kobe Bryant is a poster-child for gay men. - homeless guy at Bowling Green. WTF?
4. "And what do we have for Bachelor Number 3? He gets to come in all by himself at 7 tomorrow morning!" - my manager.
5. "..." - two co-workers who fight all the time, making out

anyways, I'm going to go and loiter on a street corner as is my duty as a new yorker.

sorry for rambling, but I'm really really bored. I definitely had a point when I started, but now I've lost it. its either the heat, the late hour, or the beer. oh well.
This was going to be an interesting post. no really, it was.

-Prashant

P.S: Happy Independence Day

3:05PM - Enjoi...

 Doston Aaj Delivery ka Aakhri Din hain,

 Aur sabhi ne kuch na kuch file check-in kiya hain

 Par maine koi file check-in nahin kiya hain

 No really I mean it. Aaaj, Aaj mujhe bar bar ek hi khayal aa raha hain



 PM ( Project Manager ) kehte hain bada kam karega,

 TM ( team member ) hamara bada code likhega,

 magar yeh to koi na jaane ,

 ke iska template hain kahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn

 PM kehte hain bada kam karega,

 TM hamara bada code likhega,

 magar yeh to koi na jaane ,

 ke iska template hain kahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn

 PM kehte hain bada kam karega, 

[jazzy music in the manner of TDD being typed]

 Baithe hain milke,

 Sab reviewer apne,

 sabke dilon mein armaan yeh hain [eh he eh]

 woh Review mein kal kya bharega,

 har ek defect ka Owner kaun hain.....

 koi reviewer ka kaam karega,

 Defect resolution main koi apna naam bharega,

 magar yeh to koi na jaane ,

 ke is defect ka owner kahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn

PM kehte hain bada kam karega, 

Mera to sapna,

 Hain Onsite Jana

 Jau jo wahan,

 Jhume Bahar

 tension badhati,

 UAT ka mausam,

 client ki masti,

 OC ka haal....

 bandha onsite main 0 defect try karega....

 good show mail mein apna naam payega

 mujhe bus itna kaho yaaron...

ki mujhe onsite jana kahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn



 PM kehte hain bada kam karega,

 TM hamara bada code likhega,

 magar yeh to koi na jaane ,

 ke mera appraisal hain kahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaannnnnn

 [applause and sounds of developers destroying

cubicles......]

-Ashwin

10:53AM

Coolpeopleonly was a really good idea initiated by two very good friends of mine, Anik and Sonal. I thought i should post something here..its been over a month since Prashant posted the last post. Increasingly hectic lifestyles and time constraints have resulted in some of my favorite bloggers (including, but not limited to Anik and Sonal) either deciding to stop blogging or closing LJs down altogether. Unfortunate, but inevitable, i guess..

As Sonal and Anik stand at important junctures in their respective academic and professional lives, i thought id use this space to say Good luck. :)

Dopey

4:33PM

When you're having the shittiest day at work ever, there's nothing better than a nice message from three girls from Colorado, who shall remain nameless, to cheer you up.

This day so far was the worst ever...but not any more.

Thanks guys. I owe you one.
:-)

-The Dashing Devastatingly Handsome Dude

3:01PM - New York, New York

The City

Caviar, 18 carafes of vodka, assorted appetizers for four people at the Russian Vodka Room - $1,400

Cab ride to friends' birthday party in East Village - $7

Two extra dirty gin martinis at party - $22

Two kati rolls - $9

Walking a mile home at 3am from Kati Rolls, eating said rolls, when the weather is perfect, there's very light rain, and realizing this is why you love New York - Priceless


For the best things in life, there's New York City, for everything else, there's the corporate amex. :-)

-P

11:58PM

Apts in New York

I've heard all sort of analogies about the real-estate market here. From "its like finding the right girl to marry" to "its like looking for the bermuda triangle" to many others.

really, they're all true. You have to work as hard as you can, in the shortest time possible. Coz some people are devoting 24/7 to it, and you can't take time off work, so they have that edge.
and the apt. has to be perfect...you have to live there for at least a year (minimum leases here are 12 months, no exceptions).

Its frustrating too.

I spent at least 30-40 hours on it already, and it looked like it had all paid off. I found a gem. the perfect NY apt. till now, an urban legend. but I had turned it to reality.
it was actually on Wall St. a 3 minute walk to work. white-glove luxury building, with roof-deck, rooftop lounge, gym, elevators, doorman, driving range, valet service, dishwasher and laundry in apt. AND my own entrance. and for a great price.

and at last minute, fate struck and screwed it all up. My room-mate couldn't provide the financial proof that she can afford to make rent (you have to earn 52 * 1month's rent to qualify), and we lost the apt. I don't think I've ever been this sad.
To hold perfection in your hand, and then to watch it fall away. its so sad.

you have to experience it to know it...

I've never cursed a girl before...but when I hung up the phone with her, I think I used every profanity I know. but that didn't help.

I'll end up living in some shit-hole in the upper east side. I just know it.
dammit dammit dammit.

I think I'll bite the bullet, and get a broker. (brokers here charge your first born male, to take him and convert him to a broker when he grows up...if you don't have kids, they settle for a minimum of $2,500 or 15% of a year's rent, whichever is more).
I'll pay him with money that I don't have, and then go to jail. maybe riker's island. close to NY...and won't have to pay rent! hey, this makes sense. :-)

-P

5:21PM - the 59th Street Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the mornin' last.
Just kickin' down the cobblestones,
Lookin' for fun and feelin' groovy.
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy.

Hello, lamppost, whatcha knowin'?
I come to watch your flowers growin'.
Ain'tcha got no rhymes for me?
Doo it doo doo, feelin' groovy.
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy.

I got no deeds to do, no promises to keep.
I'm dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep
Let the morningtime drop all it's petals on me
Life, I love you, all is groovy!
Ba da da da da da da ba bap a dee...

(i know spring break is over, but i'm still feelin' groovy..:D - sonal)

3:03PM - Philosophy of Life

Hey people,

Ive been told that this piece is pretty old, and that everyone has read it. But i liked it so much that i figured even if one person gets to read it for the first time, it would be worth the effort. Life, in laymans terminology..here it is.

"A philosophy professor stood before his class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with rocks, rocks about 2" in diameter.

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles, of course, rolled into the open areas between the rocks.

He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else.

He then asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous -- yes.

The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and proceeded to pour their entire contents into the jar -- effectively filling the empty space between the sand.

The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The rocks are the important things - your family, your partner, your health, your children--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else. The small stuff."

"If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued "there is no room for the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes for your life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your partner out dancing. There will always be time to go to work, clean the house, give a dinner party and fix the disposal. "Take care of the rocks first -- the things that really
matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I'm glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of beers."

Kartik

11:58AM

Is there a pepper flower ??
I've been trying out perfumes at The Body Shop and they've got six new fragrances.. don't remember their names but two of them smell like apne Indian kitchens !!
Seriously, picture your Mom brewing kadak gavti chaha with elaichi and other chai masale and that is precisely the smell this perfume (Pink Pepper) has.
Then there is a bottle of Passionflower which smells of Lemon grass and some other spices that I can't quite place but it's typically Indian...
They're selling them for twenty pounds a bottle... and they don't even know where Bombay is... tsk tsk...

On another related note, why can't some enterprising Indian do this ?!?
Take FabIndia for example, it's an American enterprise... why can't we start off something like that ?!?

~Shuchita

2:54PM - Interesting dialogue

An interesting dialogue between a peacenik and a war-monger. Read on, folks!

PeaceNik: Why did you say we are we invading Iraq?

WarMonger: We are invading Iraq because it is in violation of security council resolution 1441. A country cannot be allowed to violate security council resolutions.

PN: But I thought many of our allies, including Israel, were in violation of more security council resolutions than Iraq.

WM: It's not just about UN resolutions. The main point is that Iraq could have weapons of mass destruction, and the first sign of a smoking gun could well be a mushroom cloud over NY.

( Hmm... sounds interesting? Click here to read more! )

cheers!
- supersam5

11:39PM

All I want to say is

Frodo Has Failed

-P

10:15AM - Stock Tip and news

Hot Stock Tip for one and all: Buy low, sell high.

In other news, they're about to let slip the dogs of war. Working 2 blocks from Ground Zero, I feel the sense of impending doom. But that just might be the take out chinese I had last night.


I honestly do think that something's about to happen though. Lets wait and watch the day's events unfold.

What're your thoughts on the war? for it? against it?

I personally think they're doing the right thing, but for the wrong reasons. Saddam is, in fact, a nut who needs to be removed...their reasons aren't so altruistic

Breaking news just recvd: Bush addressing us all at 8pm EST. will apparently lay down the law, and tell saddam to get out.

Getting back to topic, their interests are oil, and having another pro-US country in the middle east, other than Israel. If Iraq becomes the 51st state, they're all set. Mostly the oil though.

But living in the city that's the second most likely target for an Iraqi attack is quite unnerving. These things never seem scary from far away, but when you're living in the middle of it, you notice things. How people act on the street, in the subways, in the offices, everywhere.
And the media doesn't really help. Every day, there's a story about possible chemical/biological attack in the subways. And their stupidity is immense. Its like a blueprint for the terrorists. It goes like: we found that the worker's entrance on 116th and Broadway doesn't lock. And between 3 and 4 am, there's no one around. All a terrorist would have to do is...
they list every vulnerability that they find. Very smart. i know you need to inform the public, but wouldn't it be better to inform the authorities, and not give the public the specifics?
This war will bring some good, but many people will lose their lives...soldiers and innocents. All because of the political ambitions of one man, and the craziness of another. If it were up to me, it wouldn't happen. But important decisions are rarely made by reasonable men :-)

anyway, those are my thoughts on the war, what are yours?

-P

1:11AM - Just to liven things up :-)

YOU KNOW YOU'RE FROM NEW YORK CITY WHEN...


* You think Central Park is "nature."

* You're paying $1,200 for a studio the size of a walk-in closet and you think it's a "steal."
(make that 1500)

* You've been to New Jersey twice and got hopelessly lost both times.
(once, and yes, I did get very lost. took me 4 hours to get back)

* You pay more each month to park your car than most people in the U.S. pay in rent.

* You go to dinner at 9 and head out to the clubs when most Americans are heading to bed.
(3 days a week minimum)

* You have 27 different menus next to your telephone.
(only have 9)

* Going to Brooklyn is considered a "road trip."

* America west of the Hudson is still theoretical to you.

* You're suspicious of strangers who are actually nice to you.
(very true...if you ever visit here, and someone's being nice, PLEASE BE CAREFUL)

* You take a taxi to get to your health club to exercise.

* Your idea of personal space is no one actually standing on your toes.
(that's more than you need)

* $50 worth of groceries fit in one paper bag.
(groceries? what groceries?)

* Your doorman is Russian, your grocer is Korean, your deli man is Israeli, your building super is Italian, your laundry guy is Chinese, your favorite bartender is Irish, your favorite diner owner is Greek, the watch seller on your corner is Senegalese, your last cabbie was Pakistani, your newsstand guy is Indian and your favorite falafel guy is Egyptian.

* You say "the city" and expect everyone to know that it means Manhattan.
(one of the truest things on this list)

* You secretly envy cabbies for their driving skills.

* You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building.

* You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park at 3:30 on the Friday before a long weekend, but can't find Wisconsin on a map.

* Hookers and the homeless are invisible.

* The subway makes sense.

* The subway should never be called anything prissy, like the Metro.

* You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual.
(doesn't it?)

* You think $7.00 to cross a bridge is a fair price.

* You've considered stabbing someone just for saying "The Big Apple."

* Your door has more than three locks.
(this is a requirement living in Manhattan)

* You go to a hockey game for the fighting. In the stands. To participate.

* Your favorite movie has DeNiro in it.

* The most frequently used part of your car is the horn.

* You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression.

* You call an 8' x 10' plot of patchy grass a yard. You complain about having to mow it.

* You are a skee-ball juggernaut.

* You consider Westchester "Upstate."
(isn't it?)

* You run when you see a flashing "Do Not Walk" sign at the intersection.
(its a City rule...you must)

Below are my own additions
1. You read the journal on the subway
2. You wear a suit to work
3. You pay $9 for a drink, and call it reasonable
4. You pay $5 for a drink, and think you have found the bargain of the century.
5. You can use the subway when completely drunk/half asleep/unconscious
6. You hear the fire truck more than once a week
7. You check mail once a week
8. You order food delivered from a place that's a less than 5 minute walk from your apartment
9. You never see your friends who live in Jersey unless they come to the City.
10. You never leave the island
11. You consider $300,000 for a one bedroom apartment a great price
12. You make more than double of the average salary of the country, and live in an aparment that's smaller than 300 sq. ft.
13. You regularly wear something you bought off the street (jacket, gloves, scarf, hat)
14. You pay a person (broker) $2,500 to find you an apartment
15. Nothing shocks you

I think that's enough ;-)

-P

5:50PM - Jivachi London zali ?!?

On the Tower of London (aka Tower Hill ??) Rohan and I were jumping and stamping our feet to stay warm while waiting for the Beefeater warden ( Yeoman something ??) to start the blasted tour ( hey, I was cold, tempers obviously fray !!) when I saw a family of Indians come in - there were two grannies, one grandpa, one Baba, and a daughter. Now I don't know if I was smiling while observing them coz both the grannies gave me HUGE toothless smiles and so I smiled back at them and was left standing so warm that I didn't need to jump around anymore :-)
And you know wot the icing on the cake was - they were marathi :-))
Felt great to hear that old lady fuss over the lil girl in marathi - of course the girl couldn't answer back in marathi - she spoke in pucca London ishtyle English !!

9:41AM - Fixtures

Do you ever notice the things around you that you never notice? I mean the things that are se regular that you don't even notice them any more. Somethings that happen with such regularity or puncuality, that you take them for granted?

I've recently noticed that if you slow down a little, and make an effort to notice what doesn't get noticed usually, it can be a nice feeling. Some of these fixtures in your life, are good, and some bad. but they're all there, and there isn't much you can do about it. And sometimes your day is not complete, without getting your fix of the fixtures. And they affect your mood whether you know it or not.

as an example, when I get out of the subway in the morning, the subway lady has a deep deep voice, and is always saying "Goooood Mooorneeeng" in a very interesting accent that I still haven't placed. After exactly 4 good mornings, she throws in a "Happy " in there, and then repeats. And I always walk out of the subway with a big smile...it just cheers me up. Don't know why, but it does. Last thursday, she wasn't there. For certain reasons, I had left home pissed off that day, and because of her absence I got to the office pissed off. bad bad thing. Getting to the office is when I realized that this is the first day after a while that I haven't got here happy with a smile...backtracking, I realized that this was the first time that the subway lady wasn't there. That's when I had the realization.

a fixture doesn't really have to be a person. It could be the drip of a leaky faucet, the creaking of a door, or the midnightly bark of a dog, or the 3am project-across-the-street elevator alarm. Without that last one, I can't get a good night's sleep in.

what're your fixtures? take a minute to think about them.
-Prashant

9:57AM - YAY!

Its something. Being in an alien country, sitting down with 30-odd Indians (most of whom you dont know), late at night, watching an India-Pakistan cricket match. We draped ourselves with the tricolor, cheered every wicket we took, every run we scored, and of course...gaping with disbelief at the feats of one Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar. :)

GO INDIA!

K

S, i hope you got to see it..i ended up getting invited to Sheetal Doshis place. :)

9:14AM - what the..

Hey guys,

So something really funny happened today. Ive spent my first 22 years in Bombay, and the last 2 here in Boulder, Colorado. Which means ive survived 22 rainy seasons in Bombay. Now thats normal. But ive survived 22 rainy seasons, WITHOUT being drenched in muddy water splashed on me by mad drivers who dont care about driving their vehicles into mudwater-filled potholes and the effect that has on unfortunate pedestrians..cool na?

Cut to Boulder, present morning. In the lovely stretch of road that i was gazing at, there was ONE pothole..just one. Pretty close to the bus stop i was standing at. As i saw this huge 6 wheeler come towards me, i was completely, completely lost in my thoughts. *dreamer* What happened next can be summarized as:

*THUD*-*SPLASH!*

Drenched to a nicety, i could not help but laugh loudly at my rotten luck. Luckily, no one was around to see me laugh at myself (it was 6:30 am)..:)

K

9:08AM - Free Fallin'

Yesterday, while going home from work, I was listening to the radio. Somebody sent an SMS to the RJ requesting him to play a song and gave a reason why he wanted to listen to that particular song...

The song was Free Fallin' by Tom Petty and the reason was... "because some days, life does not give you a parachute."

So true!

- Sameer

7:52PM - Needs, wants, haves, have nots...and so on and so forth

To think I have a really amazing car, but I have been travelling in chaotic, second class local train compartments for the past 2 days. (Don't even get me started on that)
To think I have the most enviable set of friends in the whole wide world, but I cannot hear them or see them for months.
To think I like my privacy/solitude, but now that I am all alone, all I can think of are people.
To think I find silence enchanting, but the pin drop stillness of last night frightened me.

Well, that was just an outburst for I feel like I have just come back from a long, never ending journey. And what I need right now is a hug, rug and some grub.

And before I forget, Sonal...u make me rich in every which way. Thanks for being there. :-)
Sukanya