Slumdog Millionaire

I saw Slumdog Millionaire the other day and I must say I loved it. My friend who saw it with me couldnt stand the first half saying it was too depressing. Well, denying it to yourself doesn't make poverty and abuse non-existent.

I just realised something as I am writing this. This blog has helped me learn a lot personally. I get frustrated when somebody doesn't see something that is obvious to me but when I sit down at a later point and think/write about it, I can understand their point of view. In this case, now I can some reasons why some of us dont want to know about these things. Maybe we don't have the stomach for it, or maybe it makes us feel that life is even more unfair that we originally thought.

On a seperate note, I wonder how the story would have panned out if the Jamaal had entered Deal Or(Ya) No Deal instead.

Gossip

This is a rant, so some might not like it. Why do we feel the urge to talk about somebody to somebody else? Does talking them down make us feel better? It must be, since most of them appear to be smiling. I sure hope they realize that somebody is doing the same thing behind their back. I feel that only if our self-esteem is low will we need this crutch to carry on with their lives.

Gossip does help bond, but at what cost? Alienating yourself from some to be with others?

P.S: I just had a bad experience which was a result of gossip where the outcome was like a typical telephone game. Total misrepresentation of facts. Thanks for bearing through this with me.

House fire in Bethesda

Last Wednesday just before my shift started there was a house fire on Jamestown Road in Bethesda where 2 yr old triplets were trapped. Two fire-fighters from my squad went into the burning house and rescued 2 of them. The third triplet was rescued by another FF. Heres a Washington post article about this incident. I am glad to know that two of the kids are doing better. I hope they make a full recovery. I feel proud that the two FF's are from my squad and am happy to say they didn't suffer any serious burns.

Courage, is not a very hard quality in my opinion, and neither is it rare. Almost all of us have it, just that its dormant. All it takes is a moment of calling to awaken it. Most of us never get that opportunity, some of us do.

Update: heres a video of channel 9 interview.

Hate

It was the day before thanksgiving and I was happy I was going to get a 4 day weekend. I just about reached home when I learned about the attacks in Mumbai. My first thought was the safety of my sister and her husband. After a quick phone call checking that they were safe, I started reading more about what happened and what was happening.

Few days later I was talking to people about this and wasn't surprised to find that they blamed Muslims for the attack and that its obvious that all around the world terrorism is happening around "them". No amount of explanation would budge them from their stand. Its sad but true, some people who call themselves followers of Islam are setting a bad name for the majority.

Heres my take on terrorism:

Poor + Nothing to do + Answer(e.g. Religion) -> Hate -> Terrorism

We cant do much about the 3rd variable since religion will always be misinterpreted, but the other two are something that can be modulated. Create prosperity by involving the local population and you now have people who go to work, have families to care for and no longer are interested in hurting others. Well, for the most part. I understand that it is not as easy to do, but atleast is a start.

Its sad that these things happen but I see solidarity in the country this time. Its a good sign, but people, please please don't turn overly patriotic. Its not healthy for the world, as it will eventually lead to hate.

Well, what do you know, the continents have shifted again!!

I was organising my pictures which also contain pictures my mom took when she was here.

We had gone camping by the Chesapeake bay during the summer. On our way, I had explained the oceans around here and what Chesapeake bay is. Well, we came back after 2 eventful days and my mom sat down to download the pictures she took. She had totally forgotten what I had told her and wanted to know where we went. I refused to provide her with any information and asked her to google it if she wanted to know. (I am not mean, just wanted to teach her how to look for information) This is what she came up with.

Crisis Management

This morning, I was woken up by my roommate's call to give me a ride. At first I was wondering why, since she has a rental she has been using, but then she told me that her car had been stolen! I was surprised since I live in Bethesda, in a pretty quite neighbourhood.

I don't want to get into the whole story here since we are sorting it out and things look like they will be OK, but it did make me realise something, and I knew this all along. This morning was a wakeup call. We, as in normal people, do not take crisis very well. And this is not just from todays experience, I had lost all my documents a year ago and it took me a little while to figure out a plan of action.

The first few hours/minutes/moments are the most crucial and most of us lose that in panic. Instead of thinking of the possibilities we start thinking of consequences, which really is no help at this juncture. Worrying is of no help either. All they do is take up precious time and distract you from doing what you need to do.

Persistence is the key, to get things done, most people, who we depend on during a crisis, need motivation, so just keep bugging them, they will eventually give in.

That said, when something does happen, you can only do so much, and once you have done all you can, theres no point in worrying about the outcome. Some of these situations have been defined and addressed in our society and have pre-defined processes, which is all we need to follow. The hard part is finding about them. Heres where good friends become useful. Don't think twice about putting them to work, there are there for you.

At my squad, we do drills about mock scenarios to test/practice our ability to handle certain situations. I cant tell you how valuable they are. They really help you cope with what we see out there. I just wish there was something like this for life. Wouldnt that be wonderful?

Another myth demystified

There were a couple of good things that happened this weekend.

Saturday was a rainy day. It pretty much rained all morning and into the evening. I was lucky that I had class until 5, though I wish I was sleeping all cozied up. That has been a favourite thing to do since I was a kid. You know, the school's closed for the day, you open up the windows just a little bit to let the cool/cold air come in just a little bit and then you curl up under the sheets and sleep away. Anyway, I was coming back from class and it had just stopped raining. I saw a double rainbow again(the first time it was mid-summer), but this time I saw it up close. Infact I saw it touch the ground. Both ends! Never knew that was possible(talking physics here). It was one of the most beautiful things I had ever seen. The colours were so bright and vivid. I was probably 100/200 ft from both ends. I was waiting at the light when I had noticed them and rushed to take pictures. Of course, thats when I got the green. I did manage to take some pictures, which are more like proof that I saw them, but it will give you an idea of how it looked for me. :)

On a lighter note, my friends think the tail needs to be "tailored" a little more.

"You Too"

When not to say:

1. When the lady at the ticket counter says "Have a nice flight". (Its embarassing, and has happened to me a lot)
2. When the nurse says "See ya later" as you leave.

When to say:

1. When somebody says "Screw you".
2. When somebody asks "Whats the name of the band Bono plays in?"
3. When you know somebody's gonna say Brutus

I know, I know.. Thank you

Life's not thankless, just a wait a little longer and you will get your reward

We were driving back to the squad in our ambulance and were waiting at the light. A woman pulled beside us and asked me to lower my window. She said that we (our squad) do a great job. We had saved her 2 month old a long time ago. She was grateful and thanked us a couple more time before she drove away.

These are some of the moments which prove that I am not just spending my time at the squad.

Flickr has been updated

I have finally, finally uploaded some of my favourite pictures on to my Flckr account. Please take a look and let me know if you like'em.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/setdosa/

Fall pictures

I have uploaded some pictures I took yesterday. It was a gorgeous day and I have to thank my land lady for forcing me to get out. You will find it at http://www.flickr.com/photos/setdosa/sets/72157608425756653/

I havent been a good boy lately and post my pictures. Heck, I have never been a good boy, but I will try to upload them soon.

Fall has come

Look, the car now matches the leaves!! A few more days and who knows what colour the car will be. Last Saturday was rainy, I wish I had a camera. The phone is all I had with me that time. I am still glad I had something atleast. I came back the next day, but the car was turned around and wasnt exactly parked underneath. It just wasnt the same.

Fall is still my favourite season of all. Coming from South India, all I saw was green all the time. Though that is beautiful in its own way, seeing colour is gift I am very grateful for and more the natures throws that at me the better.

Speaking of colour, it reminds of my photography teacher, who has a PHd in physics. He wrote a paper that colour doesnt philosophically exist. The theory being that if nobody was there to see an object then the object would have no colour. By that theory, nothing in the world exists right. Anyway, beside from this, he was an amazing teacher. He taught me all that I know about photography, not that I know very much.

In case you live around DC, his name is Dick(cant remember his last name) and he teaches at the Maryland hall of art.

How to go 20mph for 20miles on a beat up bike

...on a mountainous path.
1. Get on your bike.
2. Ride halfway for about a hour
3. Have dinner at your friends place
4. Open his car's trunk.
5. Put your bike in it.
6. Return home in 10 min.

That said, I had fun getting to my friends place. I was in Alpharetta,
Ga last week on business and took to riding my colleagues bike
around during evenings. The trees are gorgeous, the whole place is so
lush with vegetation. This pond was right across from my hotel. I
would step into it but the algae and mud made for a surprisingly
colourful look.

You know, all this time when I was there, couldnt wait to get home but
now, that I am back, I miss it. The funny thing is, I didnt even do much there. Life is funny.

Now I can call it a day

It was the perfect ending to a long day. I had a fun night yesterday &
came home around 4. I then to wake up and go to hand out fliers for
saving my trail( it's a long story). The county is planning to build
the purple line metro along the trail and they are going to cut about
15 acres of trees in the process. I want the purple line just as much
but not at the cost of my trail which I ride everyday. We gave
proposed alternatives, but it's gonna be a tough battle. So, that
said there was a half marathon taking place on the trail and it seemed
a good idea to get public support. Anyway, came home and hit the sack
and woke up at 5.

I had to go downtown to pick some some stuff for my trip tomorrow and
just I was starting back my lieutenant called me and asked if I wanted
to for a quick bike ride. I rushed home and got ready. We started
around 6:30 from the River rd trail and ended back there at around
7:45 after making a 7 mile loop. I never had an idea there was such a
cool trail right in my backyard. I will try to put the trail route up
once I get it. Unfortunately I didnt take any pictures. There was some
beautiful spots like this really small beach kinda area by a creek
and a some cool ascents and descents. Its not as technical as Schafers
farm but still was fun riding it.

One of the reasons why I do mountain bike and other physical activities is that it takes my mind of other things. You have to fully concentrate when you are going downhill with rocks and what not or when you have steep climb in front of you. Its hard work for the body but rest for my mind :).

Update:

Heres the link for the trail that we went on Dashboard

Birds eye view, lit3rally

Am very much looking forward to next weekend. I have signed up for hang-gliding next Sunday. I have been wanting to do that for such a long time, found close to where I live. I am not jumping off a cliff which would have been cool but according to the website, we would be tagged to an airplane, taken up to 2300ft and let go.

Man, cant wait!!

Back in DC

Just got back after a week in Alpharetta, GA. It's been a fruitful
week and am glad to be home. It's interesting, this feeling that I
having. I have loved to travel all my life, never grew tired of it,
but for some reason this trip just made me wanna come back. Maybe, it
could be that I really worked :). Its like after the first day at the
gym. My mind must be feeling sore after a long period of unuse. Should
be home shortly. Have another loong weekend ahead with the fall fund
drive @ my squad and all.

I am leaving for Alpharetta again Monday, but it should be easier next
week since I have most of the stuff figured out. I am planning to go
around downtown Atlanta Monday/ Tuesday night. I know that's a bad
choice of day, have no other option. Really wanted to see the whale
shark @ the aquarium but it closes at 5.

Keep you guys posted

Mini-me

The real one...

We have a cat!

He's been around the house all day yesterday. Very friendly too. Guess
his owners on vacation. Bought him some cat food which he gorged.

It was such e welcome sight when he came to greet me after a tedious
return trip from NJ.

I was hoping to see him this morning but he had moved on. I kinda miss
him. He reminds me of my dog I had to give away 2 years ago.

Edit:

After some digging, I found his picture

Sivaraatri tonight

That just means no sleep tonight, my leg muscles are sore all over. Went Mountain Biking at the schaffers farm http://www.more-mtb.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1205 this morning. It was good fun riding. The trail is single track but people were coming in the other direction too. There were some decent climbs but nothing too hard. The day wasnt too hot but did gulp 3 litres of water from my backpack.

My favourite part of the ride was where the track would have a short steep decent which would end in a stream and then followed by a short steep climb. You would splash the water, get dirty(which I love) and the cool water would make your feet feel refreshed.

80% of the track was through the woods but we did come across these gorgeous fields and open spaces which made the whole trip worthwhile. Should have taken more pictures, maybe next time.

We plan to go to Baltimore next week. Lets see how that pans out

Empty House

My mom left yesterday. The house feels empty now that shes gone. I woke up this morning not hearing her call my name that its late for work, no breakfast ready or lunch packed. No smiling face greeting me when I got home this evening.

I just wish I knew how to tell her that I am missing her.

Getting ready for the olympics

Well, the geeky way that is. Setup a personal video recorder called
mythtv. That way I can watch it whenever I want.

Btw, WTF is up with only 56 atheltes from India? I must say I am
embarassed about this. We need to support sports other than cricket
and hockey. I hope this really works out. Feel bad for all the
talented people who can't do anything about it

Fwd: Gimme a break is not to be taken literally

Well, the good news is that we won that playoff game, the bad news, have to be careful again :). Just got back from a 2 hour ordeal in the ER.


Sent from my iPhone

My first blog from the iPhone

>

> I got my hands on a 1st gen iphone for $50. I plan to use it until a
> phone which is more open comes out. I have been wanting to start
> blogging again and just found out that I can blog thru email. So
> here goes.
>
> Sent from my iPhone

Well, what can you say!

My colleague had to bring her kids to work due to the presidents day holiday. The kids are like 7 and 11. They were playing around my desk when their mom came in and said "do you want to go to the other room and finish your homework?", to which the little one said "No...".

My colleague was like "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY NO?!!" to which again the little one replied (and this caught me by total surprise) "Well, you asked me if I wanted to go to the other room and finish my homework and I said No"

I had to admit, she was right. Couldnt hold myself back, ROTFL.

The wheel goes round and round

Today was one of the most fun I have had in a while. With so much stuff going on right now, I badly needed this. I am exhausted, sore all over but satisfied and feel fresh inside. Before I begin, I must tell you something about me. I am a very impatient person, so for me to actually sit and type this whole thing is only because I enjoyed the day so much.


As some might know DC weather is probably the most screwed up I have seen. Its Feb and it was 55 deg F (about 10 deg c). I called my friend asking if he would want to go for a ride today hoping he would agree. We have tried to plan this couple of times before but never worked out. Well it turned out that he was planning one already with another friend of his. So everything was set for us to meet in front of Dean and Deluca in Georgetown at 10:00. I was thinking it will be a trail ride probably around 10-15 miles, but boy, was I wrong! before we started out he told me that its just going to be a mellow ride around the city. The thought of riding around the city sounded exciting but a mellow ride kinda brought me down a little bit. Again, thats just my hastiness talking, I am glad to say that the day proved me wrong.

The route really was all around DC and its vicinity. In all I biked around 50 miles (80 kms) today in about 6 1/2 hrs. It is amazing how big DC is actually. I have lived here for 3 years now, but more than 80% of what I saw today was new. You actually get to see the DC for what it is. Ah! the simple pleasures of life.You get to curse and be cursed at.

Anyway...This is the route we took. Started off with the white house, world war II memorial, through the canadian embassy to eastern market, RFK stadium where we found a newly built trail which goes along the Anacostia river(on the other side of Anacostia park) which then took us all the way to the newly built National Stadium crossing the river and cutting through the Anacostia Park. On the way, I was surprised to see a Battleship anchored on the river, only to learn that that was the Navy yard. Duh! of course it is, why else would it be there! We kinda got lost every once in a while and had to find our way around, which sometimes led us into these gorgeous view of DC from across the river. The sky was sunny but misty even at noon so the city looked like a bright shadow far far away. We also went through a couple of Marinas. One can tell the difference as we moved from SE to SW. The marinas on SW were much cleaner, boats looked more expensive. By this time we had capped around 27 miles(43 kms).

Surprisingly, I wasnt tired at all. Well, mostly because I was seeing things I had never seen before and had good company. Where was I? oh yeah, we had crossed over. Just into proper DC, not into another realm. On second thought, might as well. The difference between SE and the rest is appalling. I certainly dont want to get into that topic. I really cant figure how we did it now(even after looking at the map), but we somehow reached the Zoo cutting through GW univ and turning at various roads(hmm..isnt that a given!).

So, we started heading back home when my friend wanted to go through Georgetown univ also. So, we branched out and again somehow reached Georgetown univ from the rock creek park trail, and then headed to go through American univ which isnt that far and is on our way back. The final ride back home took us through Cabin John, Glen Echo where I saw the building which might have housed the first Red Cross.If you are interested, look up Clara Barton. This covered 46 miles and rest of the 4 miles, almost all of it uphill was just by myself. The only thing that got me home was that I wanted to pee so bad and the route didnt offer me any chances :-).

So, in all a very satisfying day. Until next time, you guys have fun out there.