When I decided to take a month off before going back to India, I didn't expect it to be so hectic. December started with me putting classified ads in Craigslist and Sulekha for selling my car (Toyota Camry LE 2000). I immediately got bombarded with so many calls and emails, I had to remove the ads within few hours. I was able to sell my car within few days with only a little effort. Now I know why all desis buy Toyota and Honda :-)
After getting this task done, I went to Miami and Key West with friends for about a week. We stayed in South Beach. The beach there is among the top beaches in the world. The weather and the crowd were great. The nightlife was also good.
During this trip we also went to Florida Keys. These keys are small islands, surrounded by shallow water. The keys are connected to each other by bridges. There are 42 bridges connecting more than 100 islands over a 126-mile distance. On the Route 1, 18.8 miles comprises bridges, 15 percent of the total travel time is spent on bridges! From Key West we went for snorkeling. While snorkeling we were supposed to see coral reefs, but because of clouds we couldn't see anything. In Key West we had a great time at Fantasy Fest. This festival is organised in Key West every year during Halloween, but due to hurricane Wilma, it got postponed. It was an interesting surprise for us.
The remaining month was pretty hectic. Even though I had decided to donate all my stuff to Salvation Army, still the effort required to sort everything was huge. Biggest issue was going through all the papers/bills/statements I had collected over the years. Hopefully this will be the last time I will be going through a big move.
Couple of days before Christmas, Joe woke up and decided that we should decorate a tree. After lot of effort from Vaidy, Sandhya and Joe, we finally had a decorated tree on Christmas eve. Talk about JIT processing :-) On Christmas morning, Joe took Bala and me for a mass. After asking for so many years finally I went to a mass with him.
I kept my Christmas tradition of watching the latest blockbuster. I saw Peter Jackson's King Kong. The movie is booooring. I almost dozed off in the movie. Also saw Syriana. That is an interesting film showing how commercial interests trumps respect for democracy. There are many similar cases where reformers or democratic leaders are disposed off to safeguard commercial interests. To top off this months entertainment activities, I went to see Mamma Mia on the Broadway.
Then it was back to the grind. As usual I packed at the last moment. To get all I wanted in two suitcases was a tough job, but somehow it got done.
The flight to India was Continental's CO82 which is 14hours nonstop. I was thinking that sitting continuously for 14 hours will be tough, but I guess working in software had prepared me for it. The good thing about this flight is that it starts at around 9:00 PM from Newark and reaches Delhi at around 9:00 PM. This allowed me to avoid jet lag. The timing was also good for my family as they didn't have to come late at night to pick me up.
The last day of the year I went to see the new face of India. I went to a new gleaming mall. All the stores and restaurants were so crowded, I felt maybe they are giving away stuff for free :-) I guess we need more of these malls to reduce the over crowding.
After getting this task done, I went to Miami and Key West with friends for about a week. We stayed in South Beach. The beach there is among the top beaches in the world. The weather and the crowd were great. The nightlife was also good.
During this trip we also went to Florida Keys. These keys are small islands, surrounded by shallow water. The keys are connected to each other by bridges. There are 42 bridges connecting more than 100 islands over a 126-mile distance. On the Route 1, 18.8 miles comprises bridges, 15 percent of the total travel time is spent on bridges! From Key West we went for snorkeling. While snorkeling we were supposed to see coral reefs, but because of clouds we couldn't see anything. In Key West we had a great time at Fantasy Fest. This festival is organised in Key West every year during Halloween, but due to hurricane Wilma, it got postponed. It was an interesting surprise for us.
The remaining month was pretty hectic. Even though I had decided to donate all my stuff to Salvation Army, still the effort required to sort everything was huge. Biggest issue was going through all the papers/bills/statements I had collected over the years. Hopefully this will be the last time I will be going through a big move.
Couple of days before Christmas, Joe woke up and decided that we should decorate a tree. After lot of effort from Vaidy, Sandhya and Joe, we finally had a decorated tree on Christmas eve. Talk about JIT processing :-) On Christmas morning, Joe took Bala and me for a mass. After asking for so many years finally I went to a mass with him.
I kept my Christmas tradition of watching the latest blockbuster. I saw Peter Jackson's King Kong. The movie is booooring. I almost dozed off in the movie. Also saw Syriana. That is an interesting film showing how commercial interests trumps respect for democracy. There are many similar cases where reformers or democratic leaders are disposed off to safeguard commercial interests. To top off this months entertainment activities, I went to see Mamma Mia on the Broadway.
Then it was back to the grind. As usual I packed at the last moment. To get all I wanted in two suitcases was a tough job, but somehow it got done.
The flight to India was Continental's CO82 which is 14hours nonstop. I was thinking that sitting continuously for 14 hours will be tough, but I guess working in software had prepared me for it. The good thing about this flight is that it starts at around 9:00 PM from Newark and reaches Delhi at around 9:00 PM. This allowed me to avoid jet lag. The timing was also good for my family as they didn't have to come late at night to pick me up.
The last day of the year I went to see the new face of India. I went to a new gleaming mall. All the stores and restaurants were so crowded, I felt maybe they are giving away stuff for free :-) I guess we need more of these malls to reduce the over crowding.