LJ-style

Since I'm really bored, here's another random post. Stolen from imperfectmanx on LJ.

A. FOUR JOBS YOU'VE HAD IN YOUR LIFE:
1. Sales engineer
2. Teaching assistant
3. Research assistant
4. Kid?
(pretty bad eh?)

B. FOUR MOVIES YOU COULD WATCH OVER AND OVER:
1. Kal Ho Na Ho
2. All About My Mother
3. Breakfast at Tiffany's
4. Touch of Pink

C. FOUR CITIES YOU'VE LIVED IN:
1. Toronto
2. Northern VA
3. Baltimore County
4. Bombay, India

D. FOUR TV SHOWS YOU LOVE TO WATCH:
1. Desperate Housewives
2. Will & Grace
3. Sex and the City rerurns
4. Golden Girls reruns

E. FOUR PLACES YOU'VE BEEN ON VACATION:
1. Florida
2. London
3. Las Vegas
4. Rehoboth

F. FOUR WEBSITES YOU VISIT DAILY:
1. Bloglines
2. Toronto Star
3. Gmail
4. My Yahoo

G. FOUR OF YOUR ALL-TIME FAVORITE RESTAURANTS:
1. Alma de Cuba, Philadelphia
2. Cafe Atlantico, Washington DC
3. Spring Rolls, Toronto
4. Straits Cafe, San Jose, CA

H. FOUR OF YOUR FAVORITE FOODS:
1. Pad thai
2. Egg burji
3. Moong lentil fritters
4. BK chicken sandwich

I. FOUR SCHOOLS YOU'VE ATTENDED:
1. UMBC, Baltimore
2. TSEC, Bombay
3. Jaihind College
4. St Xaviers, Bombay

J. FOUR PLACES I'D RATHER BE RIGHT NOW:
1. Toronto
2. Bombay
3. Rio
4. Goa

K. FOUR THINGS YOU FIND YOURSELF SAYING:
1. OMG!!
2. WTF???
3. Seriously?
4. Totally

Saturday Night

Saturday night and I'm home. Totally random post. "Saturday Night" by Whigfield is playing in my head. It would've been playing on actual speakers - but I'm not at my home. I'm stuck in middle America. The sister has retreated with husband and kid to their quarters. The father is glad he found something on TV he recognizes - "The Sound of Music". The mother is cold and feigning interest in the movie. She'd rather be under a warm blanket right now. The son is trying to get over the horrors of a white-trash holiday party he was just forced to attend. Drunk women with bad haircuts and worse outfits dancing to rock-n-roll. Two black women that no one talked to. A skanky bitch in a crotch-length leather skirt (did I mention it's -5C outside?) A pastor who invoked Jesus not once but half a dozen times. A bored Indian girl - home for the weekend - her face betraying her desperate urge to go running back to New York.

And now the Von Trapp family is singing a bad medley of "Do Re Mi" under the watchful eyes of Nazi soldiers. That quickly gives way to Christopher Plummer over-pronouncing the 'v's in Edelweiss - ok you're Austrian - we get it! Oh and now he wells up and is joined by his lovely wife ... Charlotte York ... oops... Maria. So long farewell ... auf weidersehen .. adieu. Just fucking leave!!

Somewhere between age 12 and now, I must've become really jaded and bitter. I actually used to enjoy "The Sound of Music". I know all the lyrics. I can sing most of the songs. I guess time has taught me that life is a little more than running around meadows singing songs and swinging from trees - and escaping from abbeys to dress other people's kids in drapes and to sing your way into marrying their father. And time has taught me that I'm neither Austrian nor white.

There's a new series premiering on ABC - "InJustice". I wouldn't care except the promo spot had Sarah Mclachlan's angelic voice singing "Angel".

I just turned down an offer of more greasy delicious Indian food for tomorrow's lunch. We'll have something delicious AND healthy for a change - yes it IS possible with Indian food. I feel so distended from my two day feeding orgy. It'll take a week of dieting to lose this extra weight. Or a weekend at Fly.

Now Rolf is pointing a gun at Captain Von Trap but just melts under his sexy stare. Oh Rolf, it's ok. We know you're gay and Liesl is just a cover. Phew - they finally climb the mountain and make it across to - I never quite figured out that part. Anyway, the nice folks at ABC were nice enough to edit out the inconsequential details. The TV's finally off.

The battle of the thermostat continues and I should tuck myself under a blanket before the living room gets too cold. Adieu.

Food

A couple of interesting cooking blogs I stumbled upon.

Naughty Curry
White chicks experimenting with Indian spices and everyday foods.

One Hot Stove
Lots of recipes from Maharashtra

Fortress USA

A trip to the US Embassy in Ottawa cast a new light on America's isolation in the world. If there's such a thing as a modern day fortress, there a prime example at 460 Sussex Dr, Ottawa. I won't get into details - but the overall effect is that of intimidation. I feel sorry for the men & women who work in this building. There are signs posted all around, describing the different audible alarms - one for a fire, one for an imminent terrorist attack.


On one hand, it's important to protect the lives of innocent Americans serving their country abroad. On the other hand, don't policy makers realize how much they've pushed themselves into a corner? Something's really wrong if all your overseas missions - even peaceful ones - have to be places under so much security. It sends out the wrong message. That there's something evil and dirty going on inside. Is there?

Outsourced Scam?

I got the strangest telemarketing call today. Some chick (with a heavy Bombay accent) tells me that as a US taxpayer, I am one of 1000 people selected to receive a $7,500 grant from the federal government. Hmm. This was too good to brush off :P

Being as bored as I was, I let her finish her script, while being careful not to divulge information. I learnt that to receive this wonderful freebie from Uncle Sam - just for being a good taxpayer - I'd have to pay a small processing fee of $249.99. She gave me an address in St. Petersberg, FL (which I just verified as non-existent). Finally - out comes the important question: "Who do you bank with?" I learnt that I would have to give her my bank account number and routing code. When she learnt she's not getting anything out of me, she got defensive and aggressive. I pushed her and she pushed back. Finally I hung up.

Ten seconds later it's our desperate salesgal on the phone again. This time she only wanted the last 4 digits of my social security number :) This was more entertaining than anything else at work so I let her talk her lungs out. A few minutes later when she realized she's not getting anywhere, she promptly hung up.

Is this the new era of scams? Was this a homegrown scam from India? Or was this an American scam artist getting stuff done on the cheap?

Oh - and the caller ID was 1-559-0802. Deliberately hacked.

Bollywood to the Rescue

Another interesting US immigration story here.

Seattle

Some pictures from my trip to Seattle last week.

New Drink

Black Cherry Caipirinha

- black cherry infused cachaça
- sugar syrup
- lime juice

Alma de Cuba
Philadelphia, PA

Confessions

This is who I am
You can like it or not
You can love me or leave me
Cause I’m never gonna stop, no no

- Madonna

Crash

"It's the sense of touch. In any real city, you walk, you know? You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."

When a movie opens that strong, you know you're in for a treat. THAT is good writing.

Great movie - highly recommend it.

Dufus

US Immigration Agent at YYZ - looking at my passport:
"Republic of India .... are you lost?"

WHAT THE FUCK???

I'm so glad these assholes aren't between me and my life anymore.

Illusions

As I was watching a movie today, I had my first you-know-you're-from-Toronto-if experiences. I recognized fake scenes of New York - shot in Toronto. York St ducking down under the train tracks. Union Station. Yorkville. One scene actually had a short glimpse of the CN tower.

This got me thinking about why people draw parallels between New York and Toronto. Hollywood has been passing off Toronto cityscapes as New York for years now. It is possible that we're subliminally conditioned into seeing glimpses of New York in Toronto?

Shubh Deepavali

Here's wishing all my blog readers (all 5 of them) a Happy Deepvali .. or Divali .. whatever you prefer. Today marks a year (by the Hindu calendar) since my last trip to Bombay. Time flies. I've got the itch again - but I guess I'll have to wait.

I miss the excitement that rings in the air this time of the year in Bombay. Colorful paper lanterns dotting every little home. The smell of fireworks in the air. Delicious mithai. Shopping sales. Garlands of marigolds adorning every entrance. Little clay lamps. The one time in the year when you don't have to feel guilty about spending money on indulgences (not that I ever do :P ) Oh well... I guess I'll have to wait another year.

Meanwhile today's Halloween!! Can't wait to see the madness on Church St tonight.

Rants on Religion

My response to some controversial, somewhat hateful emails on the KhushDC mailing list.

Power politics is all about controlling people and directing them to your advantage. Happy, content people cannot be controlled, hence politicians have to come up with innovative ways of creating paranoia. The easiest way to do this is to fuel the fear of the unknown - be it another religion, race, ethnicity or sexual orientation (as we saw in the 2004 election). Religious fundamentalism is just another aspect of this power politics - leaders seeking to control their constituency in order to further some vested interests.

I am not a religious person, and I respect everyone's personal belief system. However, I do urge everyone to question their belief system the minute it calls upon you to HATE or KILL in order to ensure its survival.

The conflicts we see in the world today are a perpetuation of age-old conflicts, religious, territorial or otherwise. Terrorism is an aspect of asymetrical warfare. It's moot arguing whether the weaker power is more justified than the stronger power - bottomline is they're both causing hurt and anguish. Hate only begets hate, and war only breeds more wars. Somewhere along the way, we have to break this vicious cycle.

I'll concede that the neo-cons are abusing the US's position in the world as the only superpower. They need a counter-balance, but the answer does not lie in terrorism. The answer lies in replicating the economic and political success of the US as one of the world's most hard-working, open-minded free societies.

New Celebrity Refuge

From today's BBC News:

Pop star Michael Jackson has received a jury summons at his Neverland ranch in California - four months after he was acquitted on child molestation charges. But it is likely he will be excused from serving due to the fact that he has lived in Bahrain since the trial.

Have we discovered a new refuge for celebs and potential pedophiles? Or just a new fetish?

Who Cleans Up?

Anti-war rally? Good
Mounties? Probably can't hurt.
Mountain of doo-doo on the streets after mounties leave? BAD

Who's responsible for the cleanup? That stuff isn't just going to evaporate.

Bleak-onomics

It's hard not to be wowed by the consistently high economic growth rates posted by India over the past few years. Many factors have contributed to this, howerver an underappreciate one is the sheer demographics of India. Over half the country's population is under the age of 30. That not only translates to a larger workforce and smaller burden of supporting the ageing population, but it also means that people are more willing to embrace change. That's a darned good thing because guess what? The world is about to change dramatically in the next few decades.

India has a unique opportunity to use this natural advantage to emerge from the throes of poverty and correct the economic balance in the world. However we must do everything we can to make sure this young population grows up healthy and educated. There are disheartening stories out there, one of which prompted me to write this post. I hope we can build a new world where this never happens.

Walk on Water

I braved the rain & slosh (twice - once I forgot my wallet) and made it out to the local independent video store. Over a smoked salmon sandwich and some Pinot Noir (they don't go together btw - bad decision), I watched an interesting Israeli film called "Walk on Water". It's about a Mossad assassin, Eyal, who's tasked with being a tour guide to a young German, Axel. Turns out Axel's grandfather, Alfred Himmelman, was a Nazi and may still be alive. "I want to get to him before God does", says Menachem - the Mossad bigwig. It's more of a personal mission - Menachem was one of the few survivors of Himmelman's cleansing.

Axel is visiting his sister, Pia, who we learn is estranged from her family and lives on a kibbutz. Axel is an exhuberant young man, spontaneous and full of life. Eyal is cold and colorless - probably the result of years of Mossad training. The movie is about contrasts - between Axel and Eyal, gay and straight, Mossad agents and kibbutz farmers, Arabs and Jews, Germans and Jews, older Germans and younger Germans. It's also about the friendships and bonds that develop between seemingly opposite characters. It seems like a lot of material for a feature length movie. Although it feels rushed at times, the issues are all laid out there one by one.

I won't give away too much, but towards the end we find that the movie's two main characters have rubbed off on each other. I'd highly recommend it if you need a break from Hollywood and Bollywood drivel. Along the way, we're also treated to some interesting scenery from Turkey, Israel, Palestine and Berlin.

So I'm an Uncle

The phone rang at 3:30am on July 26th. The caller ID said it was my sister. After about 5 seconds of staring at the cellphone in agony - the agony of a disturbed slumber - a lightbulb went off in my head and I knew what that call was about. My sister was in the hospital, awaiting labor, four weeks too early. Sleep was then just a distant memory. After about 30 mins of vain attempts at rational thinking, I decided couldn't talk myself out of driving down.

A hurried breakfast, shower, and packing later, I found myself on the QEW at 6am. At 9:15am, somewhere in at a rest stop in PA, my mom called sounding more confused than ever. The event she spent the last 2 months planning for had just happened - and she wasn't there! Oh - the tussle between disappointment and joy!

At 11:15am I finally made it to the hospital. He was lying on his side in the incubator. The most precious little thing I've ever seen. I realized this is the closest I'd ever come to having my own child. I secretly conferred on myself the status of parent #3. I watched him take his first drop of food. I watched him open his eyes and take in the world. I took his first pictures.

The next week was an excercise in adaptation and perseverence. We were getting used to him - he was getting used to the world. By day 4, he didn't care for it too much, insisting on the comfort of a human cradle all day long.

By day 7 it was time for me to say goodbye and return to my world - one I had barely begun to grapple with. Next week, I'll get to meet my family again - new addition included. I wonder if he'll remember me.

There are lots of books on parenting - but none on uncle-ing. What role am I supposed to play in this kid's life? Friend? Playmate? Teacher? Guardian? Only time will tell.

Oh Canada

I've been here two weeks - wondering what all the fuss was about. I think the hard part was extracting myself from Herndon. Settling in is proving much easier. I don't think in DC terms anymore. I'm taking this city for what it is - trying to find all the things I'm used to.

So far it's going well. I already had a packed weekend. Living downtown works great. Why didn't I do this before? Oh well - I know why.

My stuff gets in Friday. We'll see how it feels once I'm reunited with my "baggage".

Almost There

All my stuff is on a truck, or in my car. I don't have any keys on my keyring. I am officially homeless :) I feel a lot lighter. These two days in Pittsburgh are really helping me unwind.

The Day Nears

Tonight my house is officially un-liveable. Computer's unplugged, the fridge has been cleaned out, and there's very little food left. All that remains is to pack some bags for the next 2 weeks, and head out.

Tonight I am gloomy. Undoing three years of hard-work hurts more than you'd think - like a dull throbbing pain. Walking back from the curb today, I looked up at the cherry tree and almost cried - it felt like I'm leaving behind a loved one. I paced through the living room and could almost hear the party chatter.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

Home No More

Today I parted with my home - legally and mentally. I felt nothing as the buyers walked through the place and spoke of remodeling and changes they plan to make. As of today, I cease to be an owner, and will live here as a tenant until moving day. I bid goodbye to my little parcel of America.

Owning property is such a strange state of mind. It grounds you and gives you a stake in the world. I have forgotten what it's like to be free of this responsibility. I am about to rediscover it.

It Finally Feels Like I'm Moving

Sold some furniture yesterday - and I already feel lighter. One couch gone, and the dining set gone. For the first time it feels like I'm actually moving. Craigslist rulz!

The World is My Oyster

The world is my oyster. If I made it here, I can make it somewhere else.

Capital Pride

Today marks a big milestone in my life. I walked in the Capital Pride parade. I held my head up high, smiled, waved, hooted and showed my gay Indian self to the world. There must've been a thousand cameras clicking away in my face. Families cheered on; couples cheered on; kids cheered on; desis cheered on. Someone said I looked "really high" :P

Next year - Toronto!