I want to be there where the days run long
I want to be there where I was first born
I want to be there where happy summer springs
I want to be there when June begins...
I want to be there where I grow happy feet
I want to be there where everything is sweet
I want to be there where I enjoy little things
I want to be there when June begins...
I want to be there where nothing ever fails
I want to be there where life never wails
I want to be there where joy is in giving
I want to be there when June begins...
I want to be there where the spirit never dies
I want to be there where the norm is being nice
I want to be there where it's a special feeling
I want to be there when June begins...
I don't know why I feel this way
But I know for sure it's here to stay
Of all my life's favorite things
I want to be there when June begins...
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Monday, May 30, 2011
No more reason not to blog...
It's 745 pm on Monday 30 May 11. It's the memorial day holiday in the US and just at the end of what has been a pretty good holiday weekend, I have just discovered my next new reason to keep blogging. I recently upgraded from a Blackberry curve to the BB Bold and just a couple of hours ago I figured out how to get past the http 400 error that I was getting on several favorite websites, sometimes as simple as gmail. Ever since I have jsust checked the latest cricket scores on cricinfo, watched a couple of favorite videos on youtube and then I had an Aha! moment. "Why don't I try blogger.com", I thought and it worked. Having been a while since I posted something here and given that I did not have much else to do, I threw myself on my black couch, stretched out my legs on to the center table and decided to do this right away (even as I move my eyes away every now and then from this screen to a larger one where my son is witnessing a replay of the baseball game today between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals).
Honestly, I've been thinking about returning to my blog page for quite a while. The list of excuses for why I didn't can be a post in itself so I'll save it for another day. However, with everything that's been going on in my life, coming back any sooner may have resulted in me only venting and nothing productive. Also I firmly believe that there is a right time for everything in life and now is the right time for this. A good weekend that has livened up my spirit, a BB Bold that let's me go beyond phone and email and all this right on the eve of June.
June is my favorite month. It's a no brainer, I was born in June, but June is also special to me in many more ways. So every year in June I try to do something new, to re-invent myself, include a pep in every step and work really hard. So this year, on top of everything I have decided to do to become a better professional, I have decided to go out and run at least 3 times a week and blog every single day. I did this in the last ten days of 2010 and it wasn't bad at all. Now I'm going to take it up a notch. And what a better time than June to try this. Especially given that I can blog from pretty much anywhere with my BB Bold.
No reason not to blog at all.
Honestly, I've been thinking about returning to my blog page for quite a while. The list of excuses for why I didn't can be a post in itself so I'll save it for another day. However, with everything that's been going on in my life, coming back any sooner may have resulted in me only venting and nothing productive. Also I firmly believe that there is a right time for everything in life and now is the right time for this. A good weekend that has livened up my spirit, a BB Bold that let's me go beyond phone and email and all this right on the eve of June.
June is my favorite month. It's a no brainer, I was born in June, but June is also special to me in many more ways. So every year in June I try to do something new, to re-invent myself, include a pep in every step and work really hard. So this year, on top of everything I have decided to do to become a better professional, I have decided to go out and run at least 3 times a week and blog every single day. I did this in the last ten days of 2010 and it wasn't bad at all. Now I'm going to take it up a notch. And what a better time than June to try this. Especially given that I can blog from pretty much anywhere with my BB Bold.
No reason not to blog at all.
Monday, March 14, 2011
Quake, shake, heartache...
An earthquake in the Pacific moved Japan's coastline by 8 feet and changed the earth's axis. The force of nature terrorized the people of Japan and shook their deep-rooted belief that they were well prepared for such disasters. The rubble is still clearing and if that's not enough, nuclear plants are now threatening to cause irreparable damage to the environment.
While the Pacific is boiling, the Atlantic is no cooler. Heartaches persist. Relentless toil amounts to nothing, leaving at the end of the day, only the feeling that something is still missing. Nothing really suggests that life is falling apart but surely life is not whole. It's like I have everything and I have nothing. I like the silence. At least, it says something.
Technology helps. Chat and email have helped people stay connected to their friends and family in the far east to ensure their well-being. But look at the irony. Youtube and Facebook enjoyed record viewership, participation and perhaps advertising revenue as people the world exchanged pictures and videos of the misery. Don't forget the smartphones, ipads and other mobile devices!
And yet, nothing helps. Sleep only delays the inevitable. It only hastens the deadlines on the multi-various project plans I have to coordinate in India time, deliver on UK time and follow up on US Eastern Standard time. The fun is fun while it lasts but the magic wears out faster than I know it. Then what? The mind soon follows the laws of physics and gravitates to what's missing.
Even as Japan is struggling to restore, afteshocks have appeared. Though not enough to disrupt the recovery activities or damage life further, they have been enough to provide hungry news channels with more reels of footage and attention. The Nikkei plummeted even as the Richter hit the high. Business and life have come to a stall, not much is really moving in the world's most industrious nation.
Everyday I think I have accomplished something, I only receive some feedback that suggests I need to do more. I wind up at 10 PM thinking I have addressed everything I need to for the day only to have a rude awakening at 5 AM about something that is due at 8. I'm spinning the wheels at a frenetic pace but not moving forward. The impasse is only good. It makes life seem so certain.
Don't stop watching the news yet. Japan will come back, soon and strong. Do Hiroshima and Nagasaki ring a bell? And they won't even need help from the immensely larger or notionally more powerful nations of the world. They will recover through sheer diligence and ingenuity. Fear will be replaced by faith, horror by hope and human loss by the indomitable human spirit.
It's just a matter of time for me too. When time tests me, I choose to Endure. Ask me why Ernest Shackleton is My Hero! I know I have to go through it because I'm not asking for anything lesser than the MOON. And I'm working hard enough to give myself a reasonable shot at getting it. But most important of all, deep down in my gut I BELIEVE that's the only way it will be. I WILL BE BACK...
While the Pacific is boiling, the Atlantic is no cooler. Heartaches persist. Relentless toil amounts to nothing, leaving at the end of the day, only the feeling that something is still missing. Nothing really suggests that life is falling apart but surely life is not whole. It's like I have everything and I have nothing. I like the silence. At least, it says something.
Technology helps. Chat and email have helped people stay connected to their friends and family in the far east to ensure their well-being. But look at the irony. Youtube and Facebook enjoyed record viewership, participation and perhaps advertising revenue as people the world exchanged pictures and videos of the misery. Don't forget the smartphones, ipads and other mobile devices!
And yet, nothing helps. Sleep only delays the inevitable. It only hastens the deadlines on the multi-various project plans I have to coordinate in India time, deliver on UK time and follow up on US Eastern Standard time. The fun is fun while it lasts but the magic wears out faster than I know it. Then what? The mind soon follows the laws of physics and gravitates to what's missing.
Even as Japan is struggling to restore, afteshocks have appeared. Though not enough to disrupt the recovery activities or damage life further, they have been enough to provide hungry news channels with more reels of footage and attention. The Nikkei plummeted even as the Richter hit the high. Business and life have come to a stall, not much is really moving in the world's most industrious nation.
Everyday I think I have accomplished something, I only receive some feedback that suggests I need to do more. I wind up at 10 PM thinking I have addressed everything I need to for the day only to have a rude awakening at 5 AM about something that is due at 8. I'm spinning the wheels at a frenetic pace but not moving forward. The impasse is only good. It makes life seem so certain.
Don't stop watching the news yet. Japan will come back, soon and strong. Do Hiroshima and Nagasaki ring a bell? And they won't even need help from the immensely larger or notionally more powerful nations of the world. They will recover through sheer diligence and ingenuity. Fear will be replaced by faith, horror by hope and human loss by the indomitable human spirit.
It's just a matter of time for me too. When time tests me, I choose to Endure. Ask me why Ernest Shackleton is My Hero! I know I have to go through it because I'm not asking for anything lesser than the MOON. And I'm working hard enough to give myself a reasonable shot at getting it. But most important of all, deep down in my gut I BELIEVE that's the only way it will be. I WILL BE BACK...
Sunday, March 6, 2011
When the World is Interestingly Poised...
The world is waiting with bated breath on what will become of the Middle-East. The Mobaraks and Gaddafis have ensured that 2011 has kicked off with no shortage of excitement. After England forced India to a tie, Ireland shocked England in the ICC Cricket World Cup in what became the highest run chase ever in the 36 year history of World Cup cricket. England came back strong to rout South Africa in a low scoring tie all within a week. Certainly, the World (Cup) interestingly poised...
"My World" in 2011 has been no less exciting. After being on the road for work across the US, Canada and India since the 3rd of January, I ended the month of February in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania, picking up a new skill, namely skiing, and some new friends on what turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the 40s, making for a perfect family one day outing.
2011 has been a mixed bag so far with work, family and social musings evenly interwoven. It's also had its share of ups and downs with extreme pressure situations, minor victories and even some utterly funny moments. But amidst all these, there has been a singular focus (like my honorable cousin from Albany likes to call it). And as Sunday the 6th of March has rolled by some interesting ideas have taken shape in my mind.
New projects are getting added by the day, new plans are being made and new insights being gained. New lessons are being learnt and a new confidence is emerging. The next few days will be critical as I continue on the path of focused execution while keeping my ears and eyes open. Listening to what those around me are saying is critical and converting the opportunities into happy notes will determine success. And of all the virtues I have grown to develop and represent over the years, patience is going to be prime...
2011 has also been different in a strange sort of way. While I have only grown stronger about what I BELIEVE IN, I have also been asking for a lot more out of LIFE and also getting it. I'm deeply grateful for the lucky breaks but am also increasingly sure that I will get what I deserve, so long as I keep giving it everything I have.
It's 1037 PM on Sunday 6 March 2011 and it's time I went to sleep. There's a lot more to give when I wake up in a few hours from now. Cause it's only 65 days done in 2011, 300 more to accomplish everything that I WANT to do this year. And my only prayer to the ALMIGHTY is, "Let me DO only what I WANT TO DO" now and forever to come...
"My World" in 2011 has been no less exciting. After being on the road for work across the US, Canada and India since the 3rd of January, I ended the month of February in the Blue Mountains of Pennsylvania, picking up a new skill, namely skiing, and some new friends on what turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with temperatures in the 40s, making for a perfect family one day outing.
2011 has been a mixed bag so far with work, family and social musings evenly interwoven. It's also had its share of ups and downs with extreme pressure situations, minor victories and even some utterly funny moments. But amidst all these, there has been a singular focus (like my honorable cousin from Albany likes to call it). And as Sunday the 6th of March has rolled by some interesting ideas have taken shape in my mind.
New projects are getting added by the day, new plans are being made and new insights being gained. New lessons are being learnt and a new confidence is emerging. The next few days will be critical as I continue on the path of focused execution while keeping my ears and eyes open. Listening to what those around me are saying is critical and converting the opportunities into happy notes will determine success. And of all the virtues I have grown to develop and represent over the years, patience is going to be prime...
2011 has also been different in a strange sort of way. While I have only grown stronger about what I BELIEVE IN, I have also been asking for a lot more out of LIFE and also getting it. I'm deeply grateful for the lucky breaks but am also increasingly sure that I will get what I deserve, so long as I keep giving it everything I have.
It's 1037 PM on Sunday 6 March 2011 and it's time I went to sleep. There's a lot more to give when I wake up in a few hours from now. Cause it's only 65 days done in 2011, 300 more to accomplish everything that I WANT to do this year. And my only prayer to the ALMIGHTY is, "Let me DO only what I WANT TO DO" now and forever to come...
Friday, December 31, 2010
The 3 Hour New Year Eve Blog - 2010 Tribute, 10 of 10!
Rest assured, it only takes like 15 minutes to READ...
It's 911 pm on the last day of 2010. Home for the Holidays has been our policy this season and in line with that, we decided we were going to stay home this New Year's eve too. We just ate a wonderful home cooked dinner and are watching some TV (the Holiday Edition of the game show Minute to Win It on NBC!) and I was beginning to wonder what was the right way to ring in the New Year.
On another day, we would have watched a film and ended it that way, but my son is keen on watching this show (it's actually good, I have to say!) and my wife has declared it's going to be NBC all the way tonight as she wants to watch live coverage from Times Square starting 10 PM which will go on until the ball drops at midnight.
With not even a millimeter of the 32 inch Samsung left for myself, I had to decide what to do. The choice was instant and obvious. The only thing that is going to keep me alive at this time (when I'm suffering from a headache) is writing. And given that I've really gone the whole nine yeards (or should I say eleven) with this 11 days to 2011 blogging spree, I decided that I would close this year with the final piece of this tribute.
If I'm writing this for the next 3 hours, it means you're likely reading this in the New Year, so first of all LET ME WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011.
The Holiday season really begins with Thanksgiving and then comes Christmas and ends with the New Year. So I'm going to start this piece by talking about all the great things in 2010 I'm grateful for.
Let me do this right. First things first, let me thank my wife for all the NEW TREATS she made me to eat in 2010. Thank you Kannamma, for the Biriyani, Bhel Puri, Bruschetta, the Chocolate Cake (on my birthday), Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tomato+Onion+Chilli+Panneer Dosa, Kalakand and I'm sure there's plenty more that I can't remember at this moment when I am stuffed with a pile of her special New Year's eve Adai Aviyal. And I hear there is some special lemon rice coming up tomorrow morning. Thank you Pondatti.
Next I have to thank my son, MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WORLD! For being a nine year old, he brings a lot to the table (like food, crayons, socks, hat, karate weapons to name only a few). Seriously, he is AWESOME. He made my chest swell with pride this year by creating his own website (www.tejaskaushik.com), becoming a serious cricket fan (thank you IPL 2010), formally accepting Sachin Tendulkar as God, wearing a batsman's costume to his school Halloween party, readily accepting not to have a lavish Birthday party, creating all those mind blowing LEGO models that adorn our fireplace and finally by starting his own blog. In fact, he started writing his own pieces when I started this one today and is now on his 3rd piece (http://tejaslkaushik.blogspot.com). 2010 was the year I first heard my wife complain why she wished for a son like me!!!
Now on to other but not insignificant things. God knows how tough it is to build a credit history in the USA as an immigrant. It's also a crazy conundrum. You can't get credit without a history and you can't make a history if you don't have credit. Excuse me!@#$%^&? 2010 was the year when both the credit and the history magically happened for me and I'm thankful for that.
Everyone knows I completed a 15 year MBA dream this year and that too from Columbia Business School. But what was really special in 2010 was that in the 2 semesters I had in this year, I scored Honors (highest grade) in 6 of the 8 classes I took and made it to the Dean's list based on my GPA in both semesters. I have to thank all the wonderful professors and my fabulous classmates who made this possible for me. I am especially proud of my performance in the Systematic Creativity in Business class which was the very final exam of my course and let me walk out of school with my head held high.
2010 was the year I got Windows 7 on my computer, an SD card for my Blackberry (on which I now hold 273 of my favorite songs and am able to click endless photos), a GPS for my car and an IP phone for my home office. For a man who whose first article as the Editor of a company newsletter in 1998 was about why he hated technology and computers, so many gadgets in the same year was one too many. I am thankful I figured out how to use all of them well and glad that I am actually fond of them now.
I went places in 2010. I have already talked about my Silver Elite status on Continental but more than that, I am thankful for the places I went with family and friends for fun and frolic. Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Hartford, Long Beach Island, Jamestowne & Williamsburg and memorable visits to New York city and India. I also savored a lone trip to the Canadian capital of Ottawa. Though I only went there alone to get my VISA renewed and ended up working from the hotel most of the time, I enjoyed the 8 hour car drive up North and across the border.
A quick timecheck shows me I am at the halfway mark, it's 1032 PM. I'm thankful I have to only shift my gaze to the bottom right hand corner of my computer versus having to crank my neck and look up left at the clock to know the time is so. And I'm truly thankful to my wife who turned the TV off a little while ago so she could read her Bible (the Sai Satcharitra). It is so peaceful at home and my headache has started clearing up.
Maybe the right time for me to move on from my thank you mode to other things, but not before I thank life for the one thing I enjoyed this year more than anything else. SPRING. I am certainly a Sun & Warm person than the Snow & Cold types. What else can one expect from someone who played 8 hours of cricket on a day that had the mercury at 42 degrees celsius in the tropical town of Chennai in South India?
That said the months of April, May and June this year were absolutely wonderful. The sun shined all the while and I was smiling every minute. I was working long hours and working very hard but still, I always spent quality time with my family and friends. I was on the phone every waking minute of the day, but every single conversation added cheer to my life. My energy was limitless and my confidence was boundless. I felt a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment like never before. I don't know what it was, but I have heard my wife say, "I've never seen you happier than this in the last 12 years I've known you". May be it was the fact that my company had agreed to extend my stay in the US (as of March), may be it was the expectation that I was about to graduate in Summer or may be it was the people I was with in the places I was, but if I God ever gave me the chance to have something back from my life, I would ask for those 3 months again. Thank you God, once again...
11 PM sharp, now down to the very last hour of this wonderful year that has been 2010. I am so THANKFUL TO LIFE for what I am doing this very moment. I could be a million places right now, singing, dancing, playing or simply enjoying. Or so I would believe. Nothing has given me more pleasure than "Writing" in this year and I am especially proud of what I have done in the last 11 days. I truly think I've found something that will be my own for the rest of my life, that will never leave me, never judge me, never ask anything from me but always be there for me whenever I choose it. Truly, THERE'S NO PLACE I'D RATHER BE...
The trouble with writing a 3 hour blog is that at some point, you don't know how it started and where you are. Honestly, I don't know where I want to go either!!! So I just took a few minutes and read this from top to bottom. And I also wanted to make sure this 3 hour marathon does not become unreadable ardor. Which is why I went back to line 1 and inserted the time it would perhaps take you to read this. And it's also how I brought the clock to 1130, just 30 minutes from touchdown!!!
I'm not running out of ideas. I could go on and on about 2010 but that would take me several years to write and still only a few days to read. But I think I have said what I wanted to say. I have also done everything I should have done in 2010. So let me take the next few minutes and talk about the year that's about to begin.
I'm not making any resolutions. THAT'S SO LAST YEAR (it's also one of the best things I heard my son say this year, by the way). But there certainly are a few things I want to see happen in 2011. I want to say less and LISTEN more for starts. I want to say it like it is and never say 2 words where there is a need for only one.
I want to work harder in my one job and not need an MBA or another vocation to keep me motivated. I want to pick up at least one new skill in this new year, be it photography or playing the piano or plain simple cooking. I want to travel the world, to Canada & Mexico, Bulgaria & London, India & the Philippines, Columbia and Egypt and every other location that my wonderful company will put its footprint on.
I want to talk to my Grandma every week of this year, no matter what's going on in my life. I want to spend more time with my son and learn from him the amazing things he knows at 9. I want to do whatever I have to do for people around me but I want to do that one thing that I feel I want to do from the bottom of my gut. I don't want to sound rhetorical, but I want to write a lot more than I ever wrote before. I want to make sure I hurt no one wilfully. I want to make this year, not about myself, but about YOU.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 TO ONE AND ALL (and thank you for your patience reading this...)
It's 911 pm on the last day of 2010. Home for the Holidays has been our policy this season and in line with that, we decided we were going to stay home this New Year's eve too. We just ate a wonderful home cooked dinner and are watching some TV (the Holiday Edition of the game show Minute to Win It on NBC!) and I was beginning to wonder what was the right way to ring in the New Year.
On another day, we would have watched a film and ended it that way, but my son is keen on watching this show (it's actually good, I have to say!) and my wife has declared it's going to be NBC all the way tonight as she wants to watch live coverage from Times Square starting 10 PM which will go on until the ball drops at midnight.
With not even a millimeter of the 32 inch Samsung left for myself, I had to decide what to do. The choice was instant and obvious. The only thing that is going to keep me alive at this time (when I'm suffering from a headache) is writing. And given that I've really gone the whole nine yeards (or should I say eleven) with this 11 days to 2011 blogging spree, I decided that I would close this year with the final piece of this tribute.
If I'm writing this for the next 3 hours, it means you're likely reading this in the New Year, so first of all LET ME WISH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY A HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011.
The Holiday season really begins with Thanksgiving and then comes Christmas and ends with the New Year. So I'm going to start this piece by talking about all the great things in 2010 I'm grateful for.
Let me do this right. First things first, let me thank my wife for all the NEW TREATS she made me to eat in 2010. Thank you Kannamma, for the Biriyani, Bhel Puri, Bruschetta, the Chocolate Cake (on my birthday), Chocolate Chip Cookies, Tomato+Onion+Chilli+Panneer Dosa, Kalakand and I'm sure there's plenty more that I can't remember at this moment when I am stuffed with a pile of her special New Year's eve Adai Aviyal. And I hear there is some special lemon rice coming up tomorrow morning. Thank you Pondatti.
Next I have to thank my son, MY FAVORITE PERSON IN THE WHOLE WORLD! For being a nine year old, he brings a lot to the table (like food, crayons, socks, hat, karate weapons to name only a few). Seriously, he is AWESOME. He made my chest swell with pride this year by creating his own website (www.tejaskaushik.com), becoming a serious cricket fan (thank you IPL 2010), formally accepting Sachin Tendulkar as God, wearing a batsman's costume to his school Halloween party, readily accepting not to have a lavish Birthday party, creating all those mind blowing LEGO models that adorn our fireplace and finally by starting his own blog. In fact, he started writing his own pieces when I started this one today and is now on his 3rd piece (http://tejaslkaushik.blogspot.com). 2010 was the year I first heard my wife complain why she wished for a son like me!!!
Now on to other but not insignificant things. God knows how tough it is to build a credit history in the USA as an immigrant. It's also a crazy conundrum. You can't get credit without a history and you can't make a history if you don't have credit. Excuse me!@#$%^&? 2010 was the year when both the credit and the history magically happened for me and I'm thankful for that.
Everyone knows I completed a 15 year MBA dream this year and that too from Columbia Business School. But what was really special in 2010 was that in the 2 semesters I had in this year, I scored Honors (highest grade) in 6 of the 8 classes I took and made it to the Dean's list based on my GPA in both semesters. I have to thank all the wonderful professors and my fabulous classmates who made this possible for me. I am especially proud of my performance in the Systematic Creativity in Business class which was the very final exam of my course and let me walk out of school with my head held high.
2010 was the year I got Windows 7 on my computer, an SD card for my Blackberry (on which I now hold 273 of my favorite songs and am able to click endless photos), a GPS for my car and an IP phone for my home office. For a man who whose first article as the Editor of a company newsletter in 1998 was about why he hated technology and computers, so many gadgets in the same year was one too many. I am thankful I figured out how to use all of them well and glad that I am actually fond of them now.
I went places in 2010. I have already talked about my Silver Elite status on Continental but more than that, I am thankful for the places I went with family and friends for fun and frolic. Albany, Boston, Buffalo, Hartford, Long Beach Island, Jamestowne & Williamsburg and memorable visits to New York city and India. I also savored a lone trip to the Canadian capital of Ottawa. Though I only went there alone to get my VISA renewed and ended up working from the hotel most of the time, I enjoyed the 8 hour car drive up North and across the border.
A quick timecheck shows me I am at the halfway mark, it's 1032 PM. I'm thankful I have to only shift my gaze to the bottom right hand corner of my computer versus having to crank my neck and look up left at the clock to know the time is so. And I'm truly thankful to my wife who turned the TV off a little while ago so she could read her Bible (the Sai Satcharitra). It is so peaceful at home and my headache has started clearing up.
Maybe the right time for me to move on from my thank you mode to other things, but not before I thank life for the one thing I enjoyed this year more than anything else. SPRING. I am certainly a Sun & Warm person than the Snow & Cold types. What else can one expect from someone who played 8 hours of cricket on a day that had the mercury at 42 degrees celsius in the tropical town of Chennai in South India?
That said the months of April, May and June this year were absolutely wonderful. The sun shined all the while and I was smiling every minute. I was working long hours and working very hard but still, I always spent quality time with my family and friends. I was on the phone every waking minute of the day, but every single conversation added cheer to my life. My energy was limitless and my confidence was boundless. I felt a sense of accomplishment and fulfillment like never before. I don't know what it was, but I have heard my wife say, "I've never seen you happier than this in the last 12 years I've known you". May be it was the fact that my company had agreed to extend my stay in the US (as of March), may be it was the expectation that I was about to graduate in Summer or may be it was the people I was with in the places I was, but if I God ever gave me the chance to have something back from my life, I would ask for those 3 months again. Thank you God, once again...
11 PM sharp, now down to the very last hour of this wonderful year that has been 2010. I am so THANKFUL TO LIFE for what I am doing this very moment. I could be a million places right now, singing, dancing, playing or simply enjoying. Or so I would believe. Nothing has given me more pleasure than "Writing" in this year and I am especially proud of what I have done in the last 11 days. I truly think I've found something that will be my own for the rest of my life, that will never leave me, never judge me, never ask anything from me but always be there for me whenever I choose it. Truly, THERE'S NO PLACE I'D RATHER BE...
The trouble with writing a 3 hour blog is that at some point, you don't know how it started and where you are. Honestly, I don't know where I want to go either!!! So I just took a few minutes and read this from top to bottom. And I also wanted to make sure this 3 hour marathon does not become unreadable ardor. Which is why I went back to line 1 and inserted the time it would perhaps take you to read this. And it's also how I brought the clock to 1130, just 30 minutes from touchdown!!!
I'm not running out of ideas. I could go on and on about 2010 but that would take me several years to write and still only a few days to read. But I think I have said what I wanted to say. I have also done everything I should have done in 2010. So let me take the next few minutes and talk about the year that's about to begin.
I'm not making any resolutions. THAT'S SO LAST YEAR (it's also one of the best things I heard my son say this year, by the way). But there certainly are a few things I want to see happen in 2011. I want to say less and LISTEN more for starts. I want to say it like it is and never say 2 words where there is a need for only one.
I want to work harder in my one job and not need an MBA or another vocation to keep me motivated. I want to pick up at least one new skill in this new year, be it photography or playing the piano or plain simple cooking. I want to travel the world, to Canada & Mexico, Bulgaria & London, India & the Philippines, Columbia and Egypt and every other location that my wonderful company will put its footprint on.
I want to talk to my Grandma every week of this year, no matter what's going on in my life. I want to spend more time with my son and learn from him the amazing things he knows at 9. I want to do whatever I have to do for people around me but I want to do that one thing that I feel I want to do from the bottom of my gut. I don't want to sound rhetorical, but I want to write a lot more than I ever wrote before. I want to make sure I hurt no one wilfully. I want to make this year, not about myself, but about YOU.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2011 TO ONE AND ALL (and thank you for your patience reading this...)
My Love Affair with NJTP - 2010 Tribute, Part 9
I started this year on the Turnpike, after braving the weather to go see the ball drop at Times Square. I was back with HER (I am a HE, you see!) on New Year's Day, have probably been with HER more times this year than any of the last 3 that I have been in the US and every single time has been MAGIC, one way or the other.
I love HER from start to finish. So I guess the best way to do this is to go exit by exit and see why I love the New Jersey Turnpike more than any other road in the USA.
I've never seen Exit 1 (or maybe I have), but life starts for me at Exit 2, in Swedesboro, NJ. What a wonderful coincidence for a TamBram (Tamil Brahmin) becuase right off of Exit 2, on the Swedesboro Paulsboro road is the Raja Ganapathi Temple, by far the closest from our home that has has appealed to my mind. So to say, exit 2 is kind of the Pullaiyar Suzhi.
I love HER at Exit 3 that leads directly to Philadelphia and Atlantic City and will be the course taken by many revellers tonight for New Year's eve celebrations. My home is located between Exits 4 and 5 so I'd be foolish if I don't love HER there. I take one exit or the other depending on which way I am going, 4 when going south and 5 when going north, though taking 4 going north has not been uncommon becuase that is the exit that is technically in Mt Laurel, which is the town I live in.
I love her at Exit 6 where she comes together with the Pensylvania Turnpike and it is only 2 miles from Exit 7, so it is always a landmark for me, especially when I am returning home after a long day. When I hit Exit 7, I know I am only 2 minutes away from Exit 6 and then only one exit to go for Exit 5, which then takes me home in less than 10 minutes. Not that I am happy to leave HER and go home, but a man's got to do what he's got to do...
I love HER at Exit 7A, becuase that is my back up plan for when traffic is piled up miles together. When I'm running back home and I'm tired, I leave HER early by taking Exit 7A, which offers me the alternate route to my home through I295 N, which by the way is the second best road for me in the USA. I have to say the competition is close! Exit 8 leads to Princeton and sure must be an important one but I've hardly ever been that way, so I'm not sure there is much to say.
I love HER at Exit 8A, which is where she splits into 2 tracks allowing the buses, the trucks and monster transporters to move away from the "Cars Only" path and makes life so safe and beautiful for me. I've not been much at Exit 9 but I was there one afternoon in sunny May and I have to say, it was a beautiful day. It was probably my shortest time with HER, only from Exit 5 to 9 and back, but that one hour will stay in my memory forever. It was one of those days I never wanted to end.
I love HER at EXIT 10, where I get directly into Edison, Indian capital of the USA and I love HER more at Exit 11, from where I can take the Garden State Parkway onward to 2 destinations I love being. One into Oaktree Road to go to Saravana Bhavan, which is where I'd rather eat out than any place else in the USA and the other towards Albany, which has become my favorite Thanksgiving destination off late.
I'm yet to explore Exit 12, but I love HER at Exit 13. This is what leads me to the Goethal's bridge, the Staten Island Expressway and further on to Verrazano and the Belt Parkway to finally hit JFK. This airport is 2 hours away versus Philadelphia, which is 30 minutes or Newark, which is an hour, but no one would believe how often I go there. Why I've already been there 2 times in this 1 week and it is a drive that has offered me some breathtaking views that I'll never forget.
I LOVE HER AT EXIT 13A. I've said much about this in my New Year 2010 Blog (referenced at the beginning of this piece), but I will say it again. Between Exits 13A and 14, 14A, B & C lies the Newark Liberty International Airport. I've said enough about how I can watch flights land and take off all day, but riding in a car at 60-70 miles an hour and having a flight take off or land right in your face and right above your head is just breathtaking. So many times this year, I've just wanted to pull up my car on the shoulder southbound on the turnpike near Exit 13A and just stand there and watch them come and go. Maybe next year...
Right after the Newark Airport stretch is a small mound on the road, on crossing which one is offered the first and most magestic view of Manhattan Island and as one treads past Exits 15E and 15W, one can still keep taking in the different views, including Jersey city on the other side of the river. Even if I have a job in New York city, I'd rather live in New Jersey, just to see this view everyday going to work. Believe me, I'd never get tired of it.
I HATE HER AT EXIT 16E. Because this is where I get off. But I have to thank HER at this point becuase that's where SHE leads me to the Lincoln Tunnel and into New York city, which is a lifelong love story in itself and about which I'd probably never stop talking...
You know what's funny? MY WIFE LOVES HER TOO! I'm sure for most of the reasons that I already do, but for one reason more than anything else. The NJTP is the one road that has the most consistent pattern of service areas, all of them replenished with rest rooms, restaurants and full service gas pumps. We've driven a lot over the North East but no other highway here is consistent in this matter. And wait, that's not even the single biggest reason, my wife likes the NJTP. Every one of these service areas has a Starbucks (which BTW is my favorite brand in the USA) and which is where my wife can stop for her most favorite cup of Tall Chai Latte, extra hot.
How much more can I say about HER? I'm starting to believe I can go on forever. It's 1015 AM on Friday Dec 31 and I have things to do like run to the Indian grocery store and get some Tea, which we incidentally ran out of, for my wife. Got to keep her happy, right? After all, she knows everything about me and my NJTP and what's more, she understands...
In case you're wondering, "Wait! This post should have been published last night, right?". Yes you're right. But I got back home only past midnight and was too tired to write. I WAS WITH HER FOR OVER 4 HOURS AND IT DIDN'T SEEM QUITE ENOUGH...
I love HER from start to finish. So I guess the best way to do this is to go exit by exit and see why I love the New Jersey Turnpike more than any other road in the USA.
I've never seen Exit 1 (or maybe I have), but life starts for me at Exit 2, in Swedesboro, NJ. What a wonderful coincidence for a TamBram (Tamil Brahmin) becuase right off of Exit 2, on the Swedesboro Paulsboro road is the Raja Ganapathi Temple, by far the closest from our home that has has appealed to my mind. So to say, exit 2 is kind of the Pullaiyar Suzhi.
I love HER at Exit 3 that leads directly to Philadelphia and Atlantic City and will be the course taken by many revellers tonight for New Year's eve celebrations. My home is located between Exits 4 and 5 so I'd be foolish if I don't love HER there. I take one exit or the other depending on which way I am going, 4 when going south and 5 when going north, though taking 4 going north has not been uncommon becuase that is the exit that is technically in Mt Laurel, which is the town I live in.
I love her at Exit 6 where she comes together with the Pensylvania Turnpike and it is only 2 miles from Exit 7, so it is always a landmark for me, especially when I am returning home after a long day. When I hit Exit 7, I know I am only 2 minutes away from Exit 6 and then only one exit to go for Exit 5, which then takes me home in less than 10 minutes. Not that I am happy to leave HER and go home, but a man's got to do what he's got to do...
I love HER at Exit 7A, becuase that is my back up plan for when traffic is piled up miles together. When I'm running back home and I'm tired, I leave HER early by taking Exit 7A, which offers me the alternate route to my home through I295 N, which by the way is the second best road for me in the USA. I have to say the competition is close! Exit 8 leads to Princeton and sure must be an important one but I've hardly ever been that way, so I'm not sure there is much to say.
I love HER at Exit 8A, which is where she splits into 2 tracks allowing the buses, the trucks and monster transporters to move away from the "Cars Only" path and makes life so safe and beautiful for me. I've not been much at Exit 9 but I was there one afternoon in sunny May and I have to say, it was a beautiful day. It was probably my shortest time with HER, only from Exit 5 to 9 and back, but that one hour will stay in my memory forever. It was one of those days I never wanted to end.
I love HER at EXIT 10, where I get directly into Edison, Indian capital of the USA and I love HER more at Exit 11, from where I can take the Garden State Parkway onward to 2 destinations I love being. One into Oaktree Road to go to Saravana Bhavan, which is where I'd rather eat out than any place else in the USA and the other towards Albany, which has become my favorite Thanksgiving destination off late.
I'm yet to explore Exit 12, but I love HER at Exit 13. This is what leads me to the Goethal's bridge, the Staten Island Expressway and further on to Verrazano and the Belt Parkway to finally hit JFK. This airport is 2 hours away versus Philadelphia, which is 30 minutes or Newark, which is an hour, but no one would believe how often I go there. Why I've already been there 2 times in this 1 week and it is a drive that has offered me some breathtaking views that I'll never forget.
I LOVE HER AT EXIT 13A. I've said much about this in my New Year 2010 Blog (referenced at the beginning of this piece), but I will say it again. Between Exits 13A and 14, 14A, B & C lies the Newark Liberty International Airport. I've said enough about how I can watch flights land and take off all day, but riding in a car at 60-70 miles an hour and having a flight take off or land right in your face and right above your head is just breathtaking. So many times this year, I've just wanted to pull up my car on the shoulder southbound on the turnpike near Exit 13A and just stand there and watch them come and go. Maybe next year...
Right after the Newark Airport stretch is a small mound on the road, on crossing which one is offered the first and most magestic view of Manhattan Island and as one treads past Exits 15E and 15W, one can still keep taking in the different views, including Jersey city on the other side of the river. Even if I have a job in New York city, I'd rather live in New Jersey, just to see this view everyday going to work. Believe me, I'd never get tired of it.
I HATE HER AT EXIT 16E. Because this is where I get off. But I have to thank HER at this point becuase that's where SHE leads me to the Lincoln Tunnel and into New York city, which is a lifelong love story in itself and about which I'd probably never stop talking...
You know what's funny? MY WIFE LOVES HER TOO! I'm sure for most of the reasons that I already do, but for one reason more than anything else. The NJTP is the one road that has the most consistent pattern of service areas, all of them replenished with rest rooms, restaurants and full service gas pumps. We've driven a lot over the North East but no other highway here is consistent in this matter. And wait, that's not even the single biggest reason, my wife likes the NJTP. Every one of these service areas has a Starbucks (which BTW is my favorite brand in the USA) and which is where my wife can stop for her most favorite cup of Tall Chai Latte, extra hot.
How much more can I say about HER? I'm starting to believe I can go on forever. It's 1015 AM on Friday Dec 31 and I have things to do like run to the Indian grocery store and get some Tea, which we incidentally ran out of, for my wife. Got to keep her happy, right? After all, she knows everything about me and my NJTP and what's more, she understands...
In case you're wondering, "Wait! This post should have been published last night, right?". Yes you're right. But I got back home only past midnight and was too tired to write. I WAS WITH HER FOR OVER 4 HOURS AND IT DIDN'T SEEM QUITE ENOUGH...
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Trying to Clean Up - 2010 Tribute, Part 8
2 days and 2 hours to go. "I've got to clean up", I've been telling myself. I'm not talking about the clothes or books lying about. I'm talking about taking all the disappointments, the anger, the frustrations, the mistakes and the losses of 2010 and purging them. I wish I could simply take all of this and flush them down. And start anew on 1 Jan 2011.
Sometimes I think I have taken 2010 too seriously. Agreed, there's a bunch of significant stuff that I have done in this year, but may be it was just a matter of timing. I think the fact that I got my MBA this year, which I had waited for over 15 years was a big deal. And I seem to have wrapped a lot of expecations around that and pushed myself too hard on some counts.
Sometimes I feel even this whole 11 days to 11 has been an outcome of that. In 2010, I have felt this need to have more and do more. I have felt the need to prove myself and the need to possess. A highly respected friend of mine summed it up very well. "It's human nature", he said, "the more you have the more you crave". On the dot, no questions about that, I have to say.
Now that this year is winding down and the last 50 hours are all we have, I also feel the need to assess myself. "What did I accomplish this year? What have I done to grow myself as a person and in my career? What have I done for my family?". Not only to assess what I have done, but also how I have done things. And somewhere in the process, I may feel I fell short of my own expectations, which is part of the reason for the anger, the frustration, the disappointment and the mistakes.
For a moment this afternoon, I considered shutting myself out from the world for the last 48 hours of this year. To neither make nor receive any phone calls, avoid any contact with the outside world and to listen to myself, to introspect, to analyze and to understand for myself, where I am, where I want to go and how to get there.
Now, I will certainly have to run to the store, the library, the airport etc. but what I mean by no human contact is to be there at any place but not BE THERE. Strangely enough, I have certainly developed that ability, though I can't truly call that a 2010 laurel. I guess, it's just a part of me, that's all.
I'm not complaining! 2010 has been a great year. It has been embellished with some magnificient moments and I can write several stories about them. I have had some successes that I always wanted to have in life. And more. That's precisely the problem becuase now that I have seen some, I want more. You are right Arun, you are.
I'm not smart. I don't pick my battles. I go after everything. But I don't give up.
I'll clean up and I'll clean up well. I don't know what I don't know about 2011 and onward, but one thing, I know for sure: I AM MY OWN COMPETITION!
Sometimes I think I have taken 2010 too seriously. Agreed, there's a bunch of significant stuff that I have done in this year, but may be it was just a matter of timing. I think the fact that I got my MBA this year, which I had waited for over 15 years was a big deal. And I seem to have wrapped a lot of expecations around that and pushed myself too hard on some counts.
Sometimes I feel even this whole 11 days to 11 has been an outcome of that. In 2010, I have felt this need to have more and do more. I have felt the need to prove myself and the need to possess. A highly respected friend of mine summed it up very well. "It's human nature", he said, "the more you have the more you crave". On the dot, no questions about that, I have to say.
Now that this year is winding down and the last 50 hours are all we have, I also feel the need to assess myself. "What did I accomplish this year? What have I done to grow myself as a person and in my career? What have I done for my family?". Not only to assess what I have done, but also how I have done things. And somewhere in the process, I may feel I fell short of my own expectations, which is part of the reason for the anger, the frustration, the disappointment and the mistakes.
For a moment this afternoon, I considered shutting myself out from the world for the last 48 hours of this year. To neither make nor receive any phone calls, avoid any contact with the outside world and to listen to myself, to introspect, to analyze and to understand for myself, where I am, where I want to go and how to get there.
Now, I will certainly have to run to the store, the library, the airport etc. but what I mean by no human contact is to be there at any place but not BE THERE. Strangely enough, I have certainly developed that ability, though I can't truly call that a 2010 laurel. I guess, it's just a part of me, that's all.
I'm not complaining! 2010 has been a great year. It has been embellished with some magnificient moments and I can write several stories about them. I have had some successes that I always wanted to have in life. And more. That's precisely the problem becuase now that I have seen some, I want more. You are right Arun, you are.
I'm not smart. I don't pick my battles. I go after everything. But I don't give up.
I'll clean up and I'll clean up well. I don't know what I don't know about 2011 and onward, but one thing, I know for sure: I AM MY OWN COMPETITION!
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