Want to get around? Leave your car at home!

Departing from our Thanksgiving tradition of a Vegas trip, I insisted we go either to San Fran or Napa. Really, with the kind of rents and taxes we pay here in the bay area, coughing up air fare and car rental fees is really painful. So, we decided to have a short and sweet night out in the big city. Parking at the Sunnyvale caltrain station was cheap, just 2 dollars for 24 hours.

The train ride was painful though - a really long hour and fifteen minutes. However, after we reached San Francisco, I realized the true bliss that comes with being a backpacker. We did not have to worry about traffic, or maps, or finding parking, or dodging crazy bicyclists. Of course, on the sidewalks, we did have to contend with a lot of second hand cigarette smoke and spitting (oh yea, they do that here as well...ewww...)

But the beauty of the city eclipsed all the grubbiness around us. San Francisco derives much of its character from the various hills that the city is built on, giving a quaint old world feel to the city streets. Amidst the boring sky scrapers, flashes of beautiful architecture still remain. The city's population is incredibly diverse, and much to my chagrin, there were a lot of incredibly good looking women around, intent on giving me a complex.

We contained ourselves to the Union square area for this trip. It is a lot of fun, and a shopper's mecca, surrounded by immense flagship stores (Macys, Armani, Tiffany etc etc). I paid for not doing my due diligence as a tourist by missing the Macy's Christmas tree lighting ceremony by ten minutes. Still, we managed to find our way to the base of the tree squeezing past milling crowds that you would normally find only in Ranganathan street.

A short trek past Union Square took us past several fancy art galleries. Of course, most of them had their doors shut to ward off pesky tourists (self included). One art gallery seemed welcoming enough, and we were rewarded with glimpses of rare prints of Renoir and Rembrandt. We then made our way to the Millennium restaurant for a spectacular meal (and it deserves an entire blog post, so more on this later).

After a lazy morning with lots of shopping (I now consider it my patriotic duty as an American resident to stimulate the economy with my hard earned dollars), we finally made our way back to the oh-so-dull bay area. I cannot wait for our next day trip - I really want to relive the sixties and its magical flower power in the legendary Haight-Ashbury neighborhood.

Media matters...or does it anymore?

No, its not a tween bitching about her hotter classmate on Myspace - its Maureen Dowd writing for the New York times. And is there any difference between said tween and Pulitzer prize winning Maureen? Not really, if the barometer for judging is Maureen's columns over the past few months.

Check out the titles of some of her recent columns - "Watch Out, Meryl Streep! She’s a Master Thespian', "All about Eve", "Is she a Trojan rabbit", "Surrender already Dorothy". Oh yea, the terms Trojan rabbit, Master Thespian etc etc applies to a woman who is a former first lady, currently powerful senator, and almost won the democratic primaries (till the establishment chose to bury her)

If this is the kind of trash talk from a female journalist, you can imagine the nature of the commentary from male journalists. Seldom have I seen any character assasination to the scale of what has happened in the recent past. Mike Huckabee did exactly the same thing as Hillary - he chose to stay in the race, till McCain reached the requisite majority of delegates. Was there even a whimper of protest? Not really.

And if you still do not buy into my rant against misogyny, do check out this youtube montage that Judith Warner mentioned in her blog in NY times (she is my new favorite now).

If the tables were turned - if it had been Barack who had won all the major states like California, Pennsylvania and Ohio, and a claim to the popular vote majority, and if he had been asked by Hillary's supporters to get out of the race, can you imagine the backlash and accusations of racism?

After obsessively following the primaries (I have been a rabid Obama supporter from 2004), I completely stopped following any of the races after March 18. My reason was simple - the only response the mainstream media could come up with for Obama's historical speech on race was this - "Did he throw his grandma under the bus?".

I gave up then, and did I miss a thing? Absolutely not. And by not listening to the news or reading political blogs, I got back two whole hours back every day; I could easily stay informed by skimming the headlines for a few minutes and listening to NPR radio on my way in to work.

The pathetic primary season ends...no wait...the media will still extract as much viewership as possible from speculation about the vice presidential candidates. Does anyone have any inside information or the ability to accurately predict who the Veep candidate from either party will be? Absolutely not - but do expect to see endless speculation and tripe from "panelists" who speak with more certainty about Barack's intentions than he himself would.

Will we see any real debate by the media on the pros and cons of the candidates' views on economic reform, education, national defense, and the environment? I am not going to hold my breath. But at least, I can delete Maureen's feed from my google reader page. Thank God for Paul Krugman, and NPR!

Some random thoughts when travelling...

1) In every Southwest flight I board (where seat numbers are not assigned), there is ALWAYS someone occupying the aisle seat and pretending to be asleep so that no one will occupy the middle seat next to them

2) The air hostess ALWAYS walks right past me during her trash collection rounds even though I desperately try to catch her attention and frantically wave my empty coffee cup at her. Why oh why does she not notice me?

3) There is always the one person that looks at me, takes in my laptop bag and desi looks, and triumphantly asks if I am an SAP implementation consultant. I am not sure if i should take this ethnic stereotyping as an insult, or if I should feel flattered that he considers me a brainy techie type

4) Women in California have a curiously uniform way of dressing.
San Francisco woman = knee high boots + tight jeans + chanel/gucci sunglasses + black turtleneck + tight jacket + high ponytail
Los Angeles woman = Long baby doll style blouse + gray sweater much shorter than blouse + capri style pants/jeans + fabulous boots

5) America is BIG. Really really big. I have lived here for many years, traveled quite a lot, and I can still never get over how magnificently big this wonderful country is

Its the season again...

Sometimes I just...

Love all the wonderful songs of the season and the memories they evoke..
But hate it when said songs are endlessly played in every shop, every second of the day making you long for jan 2

Love the cool deals in every store and the free pass to shamelessly self endulge...
But hate the crass commercialism

Love traditional stories about the resurgence of kindness and hope during this season...
But hate the anger and ill temper exhibited by harried shoppers

Love the sound of the word "holidays"...
But hate the fact that every magazine has self help articles on beating "holiday stress"

Love Starbucks for their heavenly gingerbread lattes and cranberry bliss cakes...
But hate Starbucks for overpricing said goodies, and introducing the holiday red cups earlier every year (whats next? frosty the snowman on labor day?)

Love the idea of baking and gifting homemade cookies...
But hate the fact that I cannot find any eggless cookie recipes or live near friends to gift cookies to

And then, there are times when I....

Hate the fact that there will be no white christmas for me this year...
But love the fact that I do not have to spend four hours on icy roads, dying of fright, trying to driving the 10 miles home from work during a snowstorm

Hate the fact that another entire year rushed past before I even realized it...
But love the fact that a long cherished personal goal of mine finally came true this year

Hate that I will not be celebrating the holidays with all my wonderful friends and family
But love the fact that I have such wonderful friends and family to cherish and miss...

Bad food and good coffee in San Francisco

Take this word of advice from me - if any restaurant has a sign saying "Under new management", DO NOT GO THERE!

We went to San Fran yesterday, to check out the Mind exhibit at the Exploratorium. It was not too bad, but I would recommend it to you, only if you plan to go with kids. K and I mustered up all the enthusiasm we could and had a pretty good time.

And then disaster struck - in the form of lunch. Guided by Yelp's reviews (or should I say misguided), we went to a place for lunch. Despite the veggie dishes in the buffet and menu, this place is most definitely not suitable for vegetarians, especially if you are the squeamish type prone to frequent "komatals"!!! With the channa nesting a little too close next to meat dishes......ewwww....i cannot type anymore...

My frustration increased when we realized that we could have gone to Ssan francisco's north beach neighbourhood for some authentic mozzarella paninis and cannolis. I've been to many Chinatowns in the US (again, not generally recommended for sequeamish vegetarians prone to frequent komatals) but never really to Little Italys. Anyway, K and I jumped off the bus when we saw five consecutive restaurants all having Italian names and hunted for some good coffee.

We lucked out by choosing Cafe Greco. We had what could easily be called the best cappuchino this side of the atlantic. Rich, dark, foamy....the creaminess lasted through even the last mouthful. I kinda killed it a little by adding too much sugar, but sitting on the sidewalk and gaping at the lean san francisco women (all dressed exactly alike), the coffee finally got the bad taste of lunch out of my mind.

Life in California..

You know you are in california when -

1) Even the office vending machine offers healthy triscuits and 100 calorie snack packs
2) You need sunglasses and high SPF lotion - in december
3) A lean bicyclist overtakes you up an incredibly steep mountain slope when even your car engine has trouble coping
4) The safety guide at your hotel includes instructions on what to do in case of an earthquake in addition to fire safety procedures
5) You see more shoppers at the (over-priced) whole foods store than the local walmart (wait....i havent seen a local walmart yet....)
6) You begin using shopping baskets instead of shopping carts because you cannot afford groceries anymore

And you know you still do not belong when -

1) You spend more and more time away from the computer to silently protest and rebel against the hyper-wired silicon valley lifestyle
2) You begin longing for some rain and clouds and curse the endless blinding sunshine
3) You wistfully read weather reports about winter alerts in the midwest and northeast
4) You fondly reminisce the days when you could (but never really did) build snowmen on your deck, settle down with a cup of hot chocolate on the couch and listen to let it snow..let it snow...

Sin city for thanksgiving...yaay!!!

I will not be updating this blog till monday. K and I decided that we could not face one more thanksgiving sitting quietly at home with nowhere to go, when the rest of the country is shut down and overdosing on family and turkey. So we picked the one place in the country that will be functioning no matter what......Las Vegas!!!! We are going with great expectations. I have promised K that my winnings will pay for all meals and idhara selavugal for the next 3 days. Wish me luck!

I finally said goodbye to Food network

I used to be a major addict of the Food Network (FN) channel. With FN, I could visit houses and restaurants all across the country. I could celebrate each month of the year, with something special from FN - sweets for Valentines day, Tailgating party ideas, summer barbeques and ofcourse, Thanksgiving turkeys and Christmas cookies. But two things did it for me, and I had to say goodbye - Olive oil and scary people.

You know that the Olive oil cartel (if something like that even exists) has a fishy (or should we say oily) deal going on with the FN. Olive oil seems to have replaced water in most recipes. They no longer drizzle it over dishes. Each recipe calls for CUPS of oil. And ofcourse, it has to be Extra virgin. Sure, it may be good for you, but it does have calories (more than canola oils), is very expensive, and has a very strong flavor and heating temperatures totally unsuitable for different kinds of cooking.

And then the scary people. You could watch FN just for the kicks and giggles from watching these "chefs".

There is Rachael Ray. Anything I type here is purely redundant, as there are many Anti-Ray websites. My grouse? She knows exactly three recipes - a basic tomato+onion+garlic gravy, a burger/meatball, a grilled cheese sandwich that she endlessly recycles, and also totally insults the wonderful world of food, and earnest cooks who try to make healthy meals, and hard working chefs who really know how to cook.

And then there is scary Giada. She is reed thin, but every recipe of hers calls for 2 sticks of butter and 5 cups of cheese (and ofcourse, endless bottles of olive oil). And the low-cut-blouses on every single show? So much for women's liberation!

And then the scariest of them all - Sandra Lee. Someone, PLEASE take her to AA. Every episode has a cocktail recipe, with her tasting the drink the second she pours it into the glass (the food that she makes is mostly untouched). She looks at alcohol with great desire and longing, advocates a "tablescape" which would set you back atleast a 100 bucks each meal, and finally, wears clothes to match the dish she cooks!!!!

So its bye to FN, and a great big hi to Fine living TV

I'm all shook up

So last night, hubby and I were spending some quality time together on the couch, analyzing the dems debate. Just as I finished declaring my solidarity with Dennis Kucinich (he is a vegetarian and now has also announced on national television that he has seen a UFO!!!), the couch rocked. I immediately looked at the hubby in accordance with marriage law 1 "your spouse is the usual suspect for any domestic disturbances". It was not him. We could feel the whole house shudder and the blinds rattled. For a second we were in a what-the-f? mode, and then we realized it was an earthquake!

With great drama, we ran outside the house. I picked up our shoes on the way out (and entirely forgot about our wallets, passports, cellphones and car keys). To cut a long story short, the tremors lasted only for a few seconds. No damages were reported. We went back inside, and found our rickety book shelf still standing (which meant the condo was still structurally sound). In times of duress like this, we decided the best thing to do would be to get some icecream and so we did. But we parked our car outdoors and not inside the garage just in case.

Turns out, the earthquake was about 5.6 on the richter scale, with the epicenter about 15 miles from us. No damages were reported in the area (except for a few broken wine bottles). Forgive me for resorting to cliches, but I truly have a bigger appreciation for life right now. I am thankful the condo that I furnished just 2 days ago is still in one piece, and that the bookshelf which literally fell apart during it's long journey from Chicago to San Jose was still on one piece last night. It may have been a really insignificant event (did not even make national headlines), but it reminded me how significant all the little things in my world are to me.

Only 99? Where did the other 1 mark go?

I had a big smile on my face as i read this sentence from the NY times' article today about Bobby Jindal elected as the Louisiana governor) -

"The younger Jindal, growing up in Baton Rouge, was not expected to come home from school with anything less than 100 on tests"

(American politics note for my mom - Governor is the equivalent of our chief minister, and Bobby is the first Indian-American to be elected to such a post)

For any desi born in the 70's (yes, that includes dinosaur me too), this was probably the story of all our lives. A lot is being written about the meteoric rise of Indians all over the world. To me, the reason is really simple. Growing up, we didn't really have a choice. We had to get the 100. The loss of that 1 "mark" was really bad - a sign of how our "future could spoil aaidum". We bitched and moaned, but somehow, that attitude has helped all of us.

Do I want my kids to grow up in fear of the much dreaded 99? Maybe not. But there are times when I am glad my parents brought me up that way. We FOB desis do seem to have come a long way, and we probably have our dads and moms to thank, and maybe the heaping servings of vendakkai curry too!

It is easy to move, but why is it so hard to move on?

I'm moving on to bigger and better things. Then why the heartache? A cosy not-so-little suburb near Chicago was my home for the past four years. I loved it. The dreary gray winters, the searing summer heat, the incredible loneliness of saturday evenings....for some reason, I loved the place inspite of all these, and maybe even because of all these. Maybe it was the gorgeous forest preserves. The fact that you could truly live through the four seasons. Or the fabulous downtown area. Or the proximity to one of the most dynamic cities in the country.

Or maybe it was because of certain incredibly wonderful people. Who did not really have to love me. But did. And endlessly, unconditionally.

Ofcourse, as is expected of me, I will move on, going through the motions, making a new home in the land of sunshine and silicon. New friends, new job... the works. And obviously, Chicagoland and its wonderful people will move on too. Someone new will take my job. It will be business as usual.

But a little part of me will always be in the midwest, just like I left a little bit of myself in Madras. I will always cry a little for everything I left behind, everything that I loved and lost - the little birds that faithfully returned to my deck every spring and patiently waited till I filled the bird feeder, the lofty american flag just outside my window that I silently saluted almost every day, the forlorn howling winds from the lake that kept me company, the beautiful tree outside my house that was my barometer for the various seasons, the friendly indian grocery store where i bought 2 samosas as a guilty pleasure every friday, and last but most certainly not the least....my incredible friends who loved me endlessly and wished me only the very best, even as I chose to move on.

I went to California and found myself in India

There are neighborhoods in the Silicon Valley fondly referred to as Gandhinagar. This weekend, I could see why. The Blockbusters and Kay jewellers were replaced by "Sur sangeet music and dvd", and "Something-ji jems and jewels". We walked to komala vilas at 8:30 am for some hot filter coffee accompanied by MS Subbulakshmi's Vishnu Sahasranamam. For lunch and dinner, it was a literal embarrassment of riches - was it going to be Madras Cafe or the Jain diner? Tiffin or meals? South indian or North indian style buffet? And why eat icecream when you can get fresh cham-chams at Rangoli?

It was fascinating. I saw a mini mile-sur-mera-tumhara video by just watching the parents going for their customary "walk" (do they make it a requirement when approving someone's visa? "thou shalt walk for 3 miles a day through deserted suburban streets"?). I saw a traditional Sardarji, a kadar wearing thamizhian , and a pretty mod jogging Mama - all in exactly 2 seconds.

It was a little mind boggling. I immediately crawled into my virtual shell the way a desi typically does when in the company of other unknown desis. Oh, you know what i am talking about - The soundtrack that runs in our minds as we avert our eyes and frantically (but discretely) head in the opposite direction - Oh...please don't ask me about my employment and GC status and force me to lie and downplay my general good fortune in life..and no....I don't want to become an Amway agent for you...and no....I can barely hold on to my job, there is no way i can sell your "consulting services" to my company....And no, please don't stereotype me by asking "which software platform"....not all we desis are software types

Anyway, I need not have bothered. The junta were pretty cool, nobody gave us as much as a second look. After all, I was in little India, just another face in the crowd. I banished the defensive soundtrack playing in my mind and reveled in my new found status -someone that fits in. And, at the Udupi palace, as I unapologetically attacked my third-trip-to-buffet plate (scaring my husband with my immense appetite), I felt like I was at home. And it felt really good.

I HEART NY TIMES!!!!!!

Its a dawn of a new era....free speech that is truly free! For many years, NY times restricted access to articles by some of it's most important columnists via a subscription only service - times select. NY times has finally figured that there is one thing people truly expect from anything online - free stuff. So, they are offering access to the likes of Maureen Dowd, without the annoying Times Select log in screen!

And why does this matter? NY times is an important voice in the Murdoch era. Their columnists spoke their minds even during the years when toeing the party line was the in thing. So, do yourself and in turn the planet a big favor. Do read the NY times.. its free after all!

Blogging after a long time

There is a lot going on in my personal life...I do not want to bore you with the details just yet, but, things are very busy. Just thinking about the list of things that I need to get accomplished both at work and at home makes me want to drop dead out of sheer exhaustion. Most of my fatigue is due to the workings of my mind.....I am simply tired. I wish I didnt have so many miles to go before i could take a little nap.

Anyway, I had a wonderful all american fourth of july holiday. Luckily this year, we did not have a long weekend, just one short and sweet day off in the middle of the week. My husband, my lazy friend, and lazy friend's nice husband all went to Naperville's rib fest to watch the fireworks. I was totally into the moment, lying down on the grass and watching the beautiful golden showers in the sky, thought of a nice blog article to write, and then, my anti-blog husband and lazy friend totally killed it by saying "so are you going to write about this in your blog tomorrow? ha ha!!". Jeez....i dont know whats more troubling..the fact that i am so predictable, or the realization that my "anonymous" mom and loyal cousin are the only people who take my writing seriously...

"Gas prices fall more than 7 cents"- Is this the end of the tunnel?

 

price for gasoline declined for the second week in a row, dropping to the lowest level in two months, the government said on Monday.

 

Source: Gas prices fall more than 7 cents - Automotive - MSNBC.com

Where I live, I have not seen the 7 cent drop yet. The prices have slowly dropped by 2 cents, and it may be a while before we catch up with the rest of the country. I'm still holding my breath every time I drive past a gas station. As many statistics show, we are not driving any less - just cutting back on other things. Car pool anyone from the west burbs?

The Art institute of Chicago

Chicago is a magnificent city, and it is a tourist's paradise. I have lived in the surburbs for the past few years, and I can still find novel places to visit on a sunny weekend in Chicago.

Yesterday, we took advantage of one of the last few summer weekends of the year and visited the Art institute of Chicago's museum. It is a fabulous destination for art lovers and even interests the easily bored!

Getting there...

Driving is not a bad option, the trick is finding parking. The millenium park and other garages are close by, but pricey (about $25) We got lucky, and managed to find parking on the side of a parallel road (Columbus), for $3 an hour. The metra (you need to catch a trolley from union station) and CTA are other good options.

Make it a day trip...

The beautiful Buckingham fountain and the Millenium park are very close by. You can also take a walk down the Magnificent mile for some heavy duty window shopping and see the beautiful Chicago river. The big bean at the Millenium park (officially known as Cloud gate) is a must-see. It was created by Anish Kapoor (a british indian).

At the museum...

Check out the museum's website at this link. I spent the most time, in the gallery showcasing scupltures from India. The displayed idols encompassed the Hindu trinity. I really enjoyed the detailed descriptions posted next to each diety. The write-up for the Nataraja idol was profound, condensing major Hindu beliefs in one simple paragraph. Another beautiful sculpture was a Varaha avatar depiction from Rajasthan, with a delicate Bhoomadevi gently resting her hand on Vishnu's (as the boar) snout.

Check out my photo blog for some pictures.

The museum also has a fantastic collection of impressionist era paintings by artists like Monet, Van Gogh, and Renoir. I have always loved the water lilies by Monet, and I couldnt believe i was standing simply two feet away! The most spectacular painting is "Paris street, Rainy day" by Gustave Caillebot. The effect of rain on the Paris cobblestones of Paris is unbelievably realistic.

The Ohare international terminal

I spend my days rushing through my regular routine - work, home, work, home....And then, a couple of times every year, I am jolted from my inertia, and reminded of the big world outside of my little cocoon, and the land I left behind for my new home.

A trip to the international terminal at Chicago Ohare to pick up my parents or my mother in law is always a memorable experience. The people watching experience is great fun.

Every arriving flight brings the same kind of people - the nervous young grad students, the tired and bored business traveller, the shy and apprehensive new bride, the harried mom with hyperactive children, the overwhelmed grandparents... And the reaction of the people who have come to receive them is also identical - we are nervous, excited, impatient and finally, immensely relieved when we see the face of our long awaited loved one.

It makes me think of how small the world really is, and how alike all of us really are. Why then do we fight?

The exhilaration of bicycling!

Summer in the midwest

I've lived in Chicagoland for nearly three years, and I've only now discovered the beauty of the great outdoors. I used to try and run, but found it really boring. You require a tremendous amount of energy, no skills (except the ability to constantly propell yourself forward), and you really do not see new places (how far can you run before you should turn back?). I've finally discovered something i truly enjoy - bicycling! Dupage county is a haven for bicyclers. There are trails in the various forest preserves (Herrick, Blackwell, Mcdowell etc). The different forest preserves are connected by the Illinois prairie path, which is a gravel path running through many counties.

Cycling is deceptively easy, but it really is a superb workout for your lower body. You are so busy having fun, you barely notice your pumped up heart rate. Some tips, especially if you are a newbie like me -

* Avoid backpacks especially in hot weather. I just sling a little handbag over the handlebars
* Always carry a water bottle. You get dehydrated faster than you think. Gatorade is also a good option
* Carry some identification with you, and a little cash. You can stop by a gas station and get water if you need
* Carry a digital camera if you can!

Orlando - without the Disney Universal visit

I have already completed the Disney - Universal rounds. So I did'nt exactly jump for joy when we had to include Orlando in our Florida trip itinerary (we wanted to do an east-coast to west-coast road trip in Florida, and hence the mandatory central florida halt).

We reached Orlando late wednesday afternoon. After a massive all you can eat all-veggie lunch buffet at the Orlando Woodlands (great dosas, mediocre sambar), we couldnt muster up the energy for a theme park visit (by the way, to get to the "world's happiest place", does it just take a plane ticket, and an admission fee?).

If you reach the airport and go straight to Kissimee (where Disney is) and then drive to Universal in Orlando, its hard to get a taste of the real Orlando - a tranquil vibrant city. We drove to Lake Eola, which is right in the heart of downtown Orlando. Late in the evening, the one mile trail around the lake was filled with joggers and shoppers, along with geese, cranes, pelicans, and duck/geese families (the babies were the cutest!). There were little ponds around the lake, and a huge lighted fountain in the middle. It was the perfect evening getaway - a simple walk, fresh air and baby geese without a $50 admission fee.

Travel notes:
Parking was not hard to find (I was there after 6:00 pm). There is a Panera bread across from the lake. Grab a breakfast or lunch to go and enjoy it by the lake. Even though Orlando is located in Florida, do NOT let anyone kid you into thinking its warm and sunny all through the year. Winter in Orlando is fairly chilly, especially with the wind. You will need a light pair of gloves and a warm jacket. Woodlands and Khasiyat are your indian all-vegetarian choices.

Thanksgiving again

Imagine being in Madras on Diwali morning. The whole city is celebrating, but you have nowhere to go and no family to meet. You are still in your night clothes, and you spend the day cleaning the house, cooking etc. Sounds like fun right?

Its that time of the year again here in the US of A. Only thing, its Thanksgiving. and the equivalent of the same scenario (as described above) happens every year for me.

As you can tell, I am not a big fan of the holidays. I have another two days to tide over (Christmas and New Year) and then, thankfully, we will not have anymore holidays till the end of may. Yeaa!!!! I love my routine - going to work, seeing people around me, being able to shop whenever i need to etc. Its really awkward when everything shuts down for a day, its freezing cold outside, dark by 4:00 pm, and then ghostly quiet.

Forgive my grumpy post.

As for the pressure to do lots of shopping on the friday after thanksgiving...dont even get me started!