Straight on the road

I think one of my new year resolution should be "Stop Complaining" but unfortunately that won't go well with my other resolution "Blog more".

Anyhoo, let's get back to my current complain. As it happens to anyone who has just moved to a big city, I am always lost in London. Okay, not so much now as I was in my initial days but still I do get lost quite frequently. The good thing about London is that people on the street always help you with right directions (unlike Delhi). My problem is the way I am given the direction. More often than not, they tell me to keep straight on the road I am on (I am usually not as lost as I think). The trouble with that direction, at least for me, the roads in London are never straight, unlike US. They bend and curve and turn and split in twos or threes. Initially, I used to follow the direction literally. Keep straight on the road. Result: I would get more lost than I was.

For example, at point X, I asked someone how to reach Richmond Rail station (point B). They told me to keep straight on the road. So I reached point Y and kept straight on the road (well as straight as I could). It was a dead end. What they really meant was: "Follow the road' and not, 'keep straight on the road' (Click on the image to see what I mean).

Trust me, it's very confusing for someone who has spent 7 years in US, the last of which was in great state of Texas. They have straight roads. Seriously straight. I mean just look at them:

Moreover, when they give direction in Texas, they will tell you that the road turns/bends towards left (even the slightest bends) and you have to keep on it. No such luck in London...

Revisiting Resolutions 2011

We all make them at the beginning of each year, the resolution that is. I guess its a fashionable thing to do.  But what's the point of making them if we don't revisit them towards the end and see how we fared. I know I am a bit late ( I started this post in beginning of December, actually) but I think I will first revisit my last year's resolution before making a new one. I might be able to catch up on my weaker areas that way and get them back in this year's resolutions. What do you say? Well, as if you have a choice. Like it or not, I am ranting about it today.

So ladies and gentlemen, here are my resolution from beginning of this year.

- Drink less soda. I don't think I fared well on this one. Although there was an entire month that I didn't drink any soda in 2011. My soda consumption is directly related to my stress level and this year has been quite stressful. So ergo, no success. I don't even see myself succeeding in this area in any recent time. Still too many changes, too many things to deal with.

- Exercise better. I am so proud to say that I actually kept this one despite all the crazy things going on in my life. I think I didn't exercise for about 1.5 month this year (September mid to October end) due to back pain, other than that I had been pretty good about it. I lost weight, gained muscles, lowered my cholesterol and have been pretty much in good shape. I am kind of proud of myself.

- Eat healthier. Again a big tick mark. I travelled a lot this year and still I did manage to eat healthy. Not all the time, of course, but more often than not I avoided unhealthy options and ate healthy. How else do you think I got my cholesterol from whooping 350 to borderline 200?

- Read more. I did. Although I am not very proud of selection of books I read (mostly young adult fiction) but I did manage to read about 22 books so far (not including the re-read of Harry Potter etc). As I said I spent most of my year travelling this year but I discovered  the Kindle for PC. I am not big fan of reading books on computer or devices but this was the only way I could have read books while I was away from home. So I give a big plus to Kindle on that. A friend of mine gave me Kindle fire as farewell present so I think 2012 will be a better year for reading. Also I will be travelling about four hours each day so I will have plenty time to catch up on the reading.

- Be more social. Oh well. Again, I travelled a lot this year, met a lot of strangers and made quite a few friends. So I guess I can tick this off my list as well.

- Call home. I never imagined the way my year would turn out to be when I made that one as a resolution. This year my mom spent about 6 months on bed-rest due to various reasons. The only bright spot in her days were my daily phone calls. I have actually spoiled my parents so much that if I don't call for a week, I start getting frantic calls and emails from them. Till last year, I wouldn't call for a month and it used be perfectly normal. How life changes...

- Read scientific journals. Hmmm...I failed at this one. I don't have any excuses for this one except my travel and stress levels. I guess I should keep this one in 2012 resolution.

- Blog regularly. Oh well, I failed miserably at this one. I have to definitely pick on this one in 2012.

- Take more photos. This one is a big Yes agan. I started a self-portrait project (taking a self-portrait per day) in May and kept on it till now, apart from visiting a lot of different places and taking a lot of picture.

That's it for today. I will be back with more soon. I hope...

Complain Complain Complain

That’s what I do these days. Well ok, I have always complained about one thing or the other at any given time (the reason I have this blog) but I think I have even more complains in UK than in US. As a friend put it loosely for me:

“If you are moving from India to UK, you are moving from a developing country to a developed country but if you are moving from US to UK, its like moving from a developed country to a developing country.”

Ok not entirely true, but it does come close. My biggest complains in UK: snobbery and customer service.

The entire world complain about American being rude, blah, blunt and loud but seriously, I have never been treated so badly anywhere in US. My bank in US treated me so well even when I was a student and didn’t have enough money. In UK the bank which has my salary account treats me like dirt. I am the one saying all please and Thank you’s, crossing my t’s and dotting my i’s while they send me bulleted emails about things I should send them without any hi or hello or even an acknowledgement. I am their customer and not their employee, for heaven’s sake! So much for being prim and proper in England.

Don’t even get me started with the help lines. Do you know you have to actually pay to talk to a customer service representative? And the average wait time to reach a customer service representative is same, if not longer. My BP rises every time I need to call one of those numbers. Okay, I have got a plan on my mobile according to which I am only charged for my mobile minutes when I call them and not their ridiculous charges but my BP still rises every time I call them. Its just so unfair! Its not my fault that I need to call them. In most cases its their fault or their requirement (as in activating the credit card etc.) that I need to call those numbers and then I am charged for it! Seriously? Forget about the quality of service provided. I am already seething by the time I am connected to an actual person. Its not about the amount of money I have to pay but the indignation over the system. I don’t think I will ever be okay with this system. Call me spoiled American if you like.

And then once in a while you meet the famous British snobs. I had misfortune of sitting next to one such English gentleman in the flight from Houston to London. Unfortunately, I had the middle seat in the flight. This “gentleman” deemed it proper to dump all the stuff from his seat (pillow, blanket etc.) to my seat without asking me first or saying Thank you after. Then the stewardess gave me his breakfast while he was sleeping and he didn’t even as much give a smile, forget about Thank you, for keeping it for him. And then they have the audacity to tell me that Americans are rude. Seriously? (Ironically, on my other side was an old French lady who was friendly and polite).

Going off topic a bit, Why do all the women in London wants to look 25 regardless of their age. No seriously, why? The teenagers want to look 25 and women in their 50s want to look 25. How can everyone in a city be 25? What’s so bad about being young or being old? Me thinks London is as bad as, if not worse than, LA in that respect. Well, judging by what I know about the two cities. 

I have never lived in New York but I think Londoners are as bad as, if not worse than, New Yorkers when it comes to brand name obsession. I have never understood that obsession. May be its just my upbringing. I am still an Indian middle class girl who can’t accept throwing money on things you don’t need, and definitely not for sake of brand names. I have perfectly good bag that serves its purpose. I don’t want Louis Vuitton and such. I will be actually scared of owning anything like that since they are so ridiculously expensive. I will keep them in a safe place and continue using the one I have. Don’t take me wrong, I do appreciate quality and will like to have a good quality product but not necessarily an acknowledged brand name. But then, of course, I have to deal with the fashion snobbery for my choices. (Did I mention I miss US? Well, I do. Big time).

At times, I feel like I am trapped in a shallow, arrogant, rude, gossiping society. Thankfully, I do have a nice set of friends in London so I am getting along. Hopefully I will settle down soon and start accepting the life in UK. I will stop complaining so much eventually. After all, I didn’t like US during my first six months there (I didn’t have a credit history or a car back then. If you know US, you would know how difficult it is to survive in US without either). But for now, I don’t like London.

Scary..

I was mailing a friend with an attachment using gmail. As usual I forgot to attach the file. And this popped up:

Gmail is scanning my messages now!! I mean its a useful feature and everything but I kind of feel exposed and vulnerable now. I know with onset of social networking sites everything the personal boundaries have shrunk. People no longer mind posting very personal messages on the wall for the world to see (I have been guilty of that on few occasions as well), but a machine scanning my personal mails is kind of scary. What if they are reading all my private messages? There is a reason I am using mail to write them and not Facebook...

London, here I come...

Okay, I am making it blogosphere-official. I am moving to London. Tomorrow. After about seven months of turmoils, the ups and downs, the uncertainty about the future, living the life out of a box (well apparently that will continue for another month though this time I will have two boxes, I mean, suitcases), moving from hotel room to hotel (I kinda know how nomads feel) in cities I didn't know anyone, I am now moving to the next adventure: LONDON.

Good thing about London, I have loads of friends there. I already have invitation from three different friends to crash at their place while I look for an apartment.   And of course, it is nearer to home ( I haven't gone to India for 4.5 years now. I am finally homesick).

I am still sad about leaving US. Not as sad as I was when I had to leave Stanford but still sad. I never got a chance to form a bond with Houston. But still, I do have friends around. I have a great support system in place here. I have to again start from scratch: Get to know people especially new colleagues, make friends, get used to a completely new culture (second one this year, first being the Canadian culture: I was stuck there in summer for five months due to visa issues), the new system and the big city (did I ever mention I hate big cities?),  and the worst part is to do all this while getting mocked for being rude, ignorant American (which technically I am not. I still have my Indian passport: Mera Bharat Bhi Mahaan). Oh well, so much to look forward to...

P.S.: 1.  Hopefully I will be able to be a bit more regular with blogging once I have settled down in London a bit (= find an apartment and get a working internet connection). So sit tight for the adventure of rude, ignorant American in London.


2. A fair warning: There are still a lot of things that can go wrong from now till the Thursday morning (the day I land in London). With the luck I have had lately, anything is possible. Last seven months have taught me one thing very well: Never say Never.  Nothing has been working out as planned for seven months so I have become very reluctant to commit to anything. For example, I had cancelled all my utilities (electricity, phone, cable etc) once before about a month ago only to get them all reinstated within two days. I have cancelled everything again today. Let's hope it sticks by this time...

The Rules of Life

Today as I was sorting through old things, trying to decide what to keep and what to throw, I found an old diary of mine. A diary from late 1990s when I was just stepping out of my teens. The only thing that’s written in that “locked” diary are 17 rules of life. I started reading them, thinking it would be some corny, mushy stuff I wrote, stuff that teenagers, or rather I believed in back then.

Well I was right but somehow, those rules don’t sound too bad even now. May be I still need to do some growing up. Anyway, I have decided to throw away that diary so I am copying those rules here, just for future reference.

Basic Rules of Life:

1. Get as many laughs as you can. Life is too short to be wasted and getting depressed.

2. Never take life or yourself too seriously. There are 4 billion people on this Earth and you are just one of them. So…how important are you anyway?

3. The truth is like an injection. It hurts then it makes things better. Don’t try and hide the facts from yourself. Be brave and accept your faults and facts just as they are. (I do live by this rule. I didn’t realize that’s where I got it from).

4. Be optimistic. You might have some flaws but you can always overcome them.

5. If the situation is out of control then just wait and watch until they are better again. Always remember “Time waits for none. Time changes for all.”

6. If the situation gets worse then simply move on. An end to a path does not mean the end of everything.

7. A firm mind leads toward a definite path and can take you out of any problem. It gives a clear perspective and helps you think in a mature way.

8. Be patient. Frustration arises when you ignore the time factor and want the results instantly.

9. More important than being the best is doing your best. If you had put your heart and soul in whatever you were doing then there is no reason to feel depressed or despondent. Not every one can come first. Accept that there are others who are better than you.

10. Always be ready to help others. And help everyone, even the person who are not good to you. For if you don’t then there would be no difference between you and them. (I did apply this rule for a long time in my life but eventually I rejected it. Learned this lesson very hard way)

11. Always appreciate other’s talent. It makes you a better person. Never be  hesitant in giving compliments to others.

12. Never gossip. Before saying anything bad about someone, reflect on yourself: Are you any better than them? (Ah, that’s why I feel so guilty whenever I do gossip!)

13. If your expectations are not fulfilled, analyze your expectations whether they are justified or not.

14. Avoid pride. There are always people who are much more talented and more fortunate than you are.

15. The most important thing in life is “SATISFICATION”. Just be glad for what you have and for being the wonderful person you are. (Doesn’t the last part contradict the Rule 14? Hmph. Teenagers!)

16. Be ready to apologize when you have done something wrong. There are some people who are too precious to loose.

17. The true measure of success is not your bank balance or your position and status, but the type of relationship you share with people close to you, the time you spend with them and the amount of ‘happiness’ (not money or comfort) you can give them.

 

I am not sure why I wrote them down. Just remember coming out of a lot of sadness while writing those. Either way, that was me in 1990s…

Thursday Challenge: Golden

Well almost. BTW, it’s a sunrise picture, and not sunset, in Calgary downtown…

This picture is posted as part of Thursday Challenge: Golden.

Weekend Wednesdays: Lake Moraine

Being Green

Okay I have a big time problem with this ad:

Why you ask? I am so glad you did. This advertisement implies that electricity is a “pure” source of energy because you see it comes form an electric outlet. But do they show how electricity is actually generated? Because news flash, electricty is not produced in their wall and supplied to the wall socket. Let’s see how the world energy is produced.



Well what do you know, 87% of world energy comes from, wait for it, fossil fuels (coal + oil + gas). Actually about 30% of it comes from coal which actually produces worse green house gases than the petrol you use for your car. And let me not get started with the environmental impact of nuclear energy and for that matter, even hydro-power.

The best solution, you ask? Well lets all stop using electricity or any kind of technology. Let’s go back to the caves. What, can’t do that? Then stop screaming environmental impacts and how much you love this planet.

Like it or not, the Earth is currently over populated by human species. That is enough to destroy the natural balance of this planet. And then we have our luxuries and comforts that we can’t survive without anymore, which makes a bad situation worse. So unless you can give all those luxuries up and are ready to live in a cave without electricity, technology or even so called basic necessities, there is no point saying that you love this planet and care about the “environmental impacts”, the “environmental foot-prints” etc. Those are just fancy words.It can make you feel good but they don't mean much. So stop using them. If you do want to do something then save electricity, lower the heating system a bit (if possible don't use it at all) and for God’s sake, stop reproducing like, well humans. (Can’t think of any other species in the animal kingdom that grow faster than them humans. They surpassed the bunnies long along..). Its not much and it will definitely not save the planet. It will just slow down its demise..


PS: I realize the chart above is for world energy and not electricity per se. Well the electricity  statistics is a bit expensive for me at the moment (they are asking me to pay! The nerve on them..). However, the past data suggest that the statistics for the electricity generation is slightly better but still about 67-70% of world electricity is produced by fossil fuels and about 15% from Nuclear. Again not very environment friendly, is it?

Weekends Fun: The moon, the sun and everything else

Well I have missed posting these for past few weekends. So what have I been doing over the weekends? Taking pictures, of course. However, I have been experimenting a bit these days. Something that you tend to do when you are all by yourself without any friends or foe in a strange city. So here are some of the results:

The first picture is a combo of two my experiments: night photography and panoramic pictures. This is the Calgary skyline in the night time:


The night I took the above picture was the night of full moon (the night of Rakshabandhan). As I crossed the Bow river to return back to my place, I saw this amazing scene. Obviously I had to take the picture. The river looked simply breathtaking!



Two weeks later, it was time for the new moon night. So I took this picture this Friday (well nearly new moon night, I am not sure I can take picture of a new moon).



Next picture is of the sun rise. I woke up at 3:30 AM on a weekend, drove 2.5 hours, stood in freezing cold to take this picture. It’s the shot taken at the moment the first ray of sun hit the top of the mountain. Trust me that moment was worth all the effort.



The next is picture from few moments later. (Blogger is messing with my colors for some reason. It was beautiful. You have to take my word for it.)



One more panorama before I leave. This one is taken on the road in Banff National Park..



That’s all for today folks! Catch you later…

Random thoughts

- Is there something called photography block? I have been taking pictures but somehow they never come out the way I want them to be. I see them, delete them and go back again to take some more pictures.

- Why do almost all the comedies in US revolve around a male lead actor who is a douche bag, who, miraculously, is married to a beautiful woman who for some unknown reason tolerates him? Where is the comedy in seeing the douchebags messing up things and then boasting about it?

- Speaking of comedies, why is it considered funny seeing a man dressed in woman’s cloth? Why then, by the same logic (whatever it is), isn’t a woman dressed in man’s cloth considered funny? What’s so funny about it?

- How can anyone ever justify the looting hooligans of London? Why is media even trying to justify them? How do so called deprived youth be satisfied by stealing HD TVs and designer clothes? Is that what they are deprived of? They should all be sent to Somalia and they would know what deprivation really mean.

- Speaking of Somalia, what is with Indians and charity? Why don’t they ever donate? Seriously, few bucks out of your pocket won’t make a difference to you but it can make huge impact in someone else’s life. Please donate.

Oh well, I have been meaning to write all these as posts for past two weeks but carpal tunnel syndrome is raising its ugly head again. So I thought of simply posting these thoughts.

Wordless Wednesday: Paradise?

Weekend Fun: Banff National Park

The weather forecast for this Saturday was sunny with 40% chance of rain. So I  decided to go to the mountains and take some pictures. The day started with some clouds but they didn’t look ominous. Actually they added a nice tone in the scenic route. 

However, it did not last. It was soon raining cats and dogs.

However, it did clear up and it was a beautiful beautiful day after that. The clouds shifted and you can almost see the blue sky. The fresh tress, the road, the clouds and the mountain - everything together made it almost magical. It was so hard to leave any one spot and move on to other. It was so hard to stop clicking pictures. How many times in your life do you see such a beautiful scene unfold in front of your eyes?

It was simply gorgeous. Needless to say, I had a terrific weekend.

Wordless Wednesday: Raindrops

… and the inverted reflections. (Yes, I am a science geek).

The Deathly Hallows-2

Spoiler Warning

And the saga ends. The saga of Harry Potter. The story of an orphan who longed for his parents. The story of a boy who kept losing the people he loved. A boy who had the responsibility of the whole world on his shoulder. The boy who lived. The boy who willingly died for others.

The Deathly Hallows was the saddest book of the Harry Potter series. From the death of Dobby to the death of Fred Weasley and finally, to the death of Harry Potter. It was one emotional ride. The movie was every bit emotionally challenging as the book. The entire audience was sniffling yesterday when they saw the bodies of Remus and Tonks, when Snape died, when Harry went through Snape’s memories especially when Snape found Lily’s dead body, and when Harry Potter said

“There is a reason why I can hear the Horcruxes. I have known it for sometime now and I know you do too.”

Thankfully it didn’t elaborate on Harry’s journey through the forest.

The movie started with You-know-who taking the elder wand from Albus Dumbledore’s grave while Harry sat in front of Dobby’s grave with the tombstone that said:

“Here lies Dobby, A Free Elf.”

The trios breaking into Gringotts Wizarding bank and their escape on a dragon was beautifully pictured. The massacre of wizards when You-know-who heard the news was something I didn’t imagine when I was reading the book. It was one of those moments when you realize how brutal and scary You-know-who really is. It was re-emphasized by the way he murdered Snape. 

The movie is brilliantly made and very well directed. I wouldn’t say that it matches up to the book, no movie can do that, but it is the best a movie could have done.

Having said that, I should also mention that I didn’t like the epilogue. The three teenager by no way look older. They look comical especially when kids clearly few years younger to them call them mom and dad. I think they could have either skipped that part entirely or could have done a better job with it.

In all, a great movie. Try to watch it in 3D. The 2D version is slightly out of focus, at least it was in the theater I watched it in.

P.S.: Pardon my grammar today. I am always confused about which tense to use when writing a report, review etc.: past or present?