But work’s been very very busy. I usually blog from work, but I don’t get much time at work, so I haven’t been able to write much.
And at home, we are in the process of re-setting our computer configurations (read: get rid of the desktop, and get a laptop), so I don’t sit much at the desktop, since it has been given the second-class treatment.
Anyway, it is Sunday night and it is time to start thinking of the damn week ahead. A lot of stuff at work, of course, but settling down into a rhythm here at the new place is on the cards.
Of course, sports-wise, it is time for the NBA playoffs. Quite a few good matchups. Talk about that in another post.
And I am so glad. Finally the Russian monotony may be broken. I am so glad that Clijsters won two in a row and now, Henin-Hardinne won a title.
What we needed was some competition against the Russian domination. And this may truly make the rest of the year exciting for women’s tennis. Not that it needed more excitement - the Russians have created good competition among themselves. But this is better for me because I work around some Russians and they do so much trash talking, I had nothing to say.
I am not giving up yet. Dish network last time installed the dish and we were able to see the final match. Right now, we get most of the channels, but apparently there is one satellite whose signal we cannot receive, for some reason.
That satellite carries a few HBO channels and a few Cinemax channels. These are important because we pay for them. But most importantly, it carries the enhanced program guide, which goes 9 days into the future. I really need it because I set a lot of timers in the future. That’s the whole point of a DVR, right?
So in order to see if the previous installer was lazy or whether we really cannot get the ‘110’ signal, I called dish network and asked them to send their installer, as opposed to a contractor. I think cotnractors are paid by how many work orders they close, not by how many are successfully closed. So last time the guy came, he did not even remove his compass and said it was not going to be possible to set it up.
I am not giving up. Just like the dish itself was installed against pretty much all odds, I will give it all I can, to get the 110 reception taken care of. Wish me luck!
Two days back a cousin forwarded a stupid link to me (on a yahoogroup that a lot of us cousins are a part of) from indiatimes.com about Sachin and how maybe it is time for him to go/get benched/dropped.
And whoa! Little did he or I or anyone else know how heated that email thread would become, or how long the replies would get, or how passionate everyone would be on the subject.
I am actually a critic of the ‘new’ Sachin. But when it comes to arguing with this cousin, I go totally on the offensive and make myself a biased ‘pro Sachin’ guy. Because he does not think Sachin deserves anything today. He keeps saying Sachin’s past was past and that’s to be forgotten and that he needs to go now.
So it started rolling and rolling and then someone else who is truly a ‘spectator’ (vs cricket enthusiast) said something to the effect that he does not deserve the superstar status and it is right that he needs to go. That got me even more pumped up to respond to those emails.
All in all, I spent most of yesterday responding to those long emails. By this morning, the momentum slowed but the emails kept flowing. Of course, everyone’s momentum slowed, so the emails got shorter and that’s how the thread finally stopped.
I will try to create a blog post with related comments so that everyone can see what was discussed and how wild it got.
I say the best way to tidy up a place is by inviting tons of people over. We ended up in the situation this time, and we have seen it work quite a few times before.
We have our weekly potluck hosting duties this weekend and so we worked (well, I would say 70% work was done by the wife) our behinds off through the weekend and this week, and are finally ‘settled’ in the place. Right on time.
Now, the only thing is that there are quite a few things that I especially have shoved in some drawers just to make the outside look neat. I hope I can get to those after this weekend. I really want to make sure the crap that I don’t need, gets thrown out before it is time for us to move again. :-)
Yes, it has been confirmed now that any time I plan to watch a cricket match with a lot of arrangements done, it does not work. India loses badly and we either go off to sleep halfway or we are p-eed off through the next day or more.
So India lost the series 4-2, and Ganguly did not play yet again. I am not sure if he has a way back into the team or not. Can the selectors automatically include him the next time he is eligible to play?
And what about Dravid going 15 or so minutes over the alloted time??
Try and try and try, and you will succeed. This was proven last Saturday when, after an earlier tech came and failed to install the dish for us, this guy was able to do it.
He had an extension pole (about 1.5 feet) which he used to project the dish out of our balcony, and was able to get the signal. The international channel satellite’s line of sight was clear and that was no problem at all.
But now the problem is that we are not getting channels which exist on “110 satellite”. I am not so good at satellite positions and names and such, but after two techs came in and talked in satellite lingo, I know that most of the basic channels come on 119 and some high-end ones come on 110.
But on a critical note, the extended program guide is on 110, so at this point we can only go 3 days into the future to see what is going to be coming. With the extended program guide, we could go 9 days into the future to see what is coming up and what to set for timer recording. So I really miss that.
Besides, we don’t get some of the HBO channels, most importantly, HBO Comedy.
So I scheduled yet another installation trip with dish. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. I am waiting for a miracle to happen this time.
In what I considered a dead match (for the series), Afridi cracked another smashing century (only 45 balls - second fastest) and took away the game from India.
Earlier, I was told that the pitch and the ground are such that 220-240 would be a fighting total. India managed 249, thanks mainly to Dravid and Kaif (and Mongia - 33 in 28). And needless to say, with Afridi’s knock, the others in the lineup had to simply play out the balls and take the odd single or two to go past India’s total.
So it is now on to Delhi, the capital, with Musharraf and other bigwigs watching. India needing to win to draw the series and Pakistan needing a win to take pride back home. The stage is set. It is going to be on Saturday night here in the US, so most likely we will be watching it. I hope it is at our place (second attempt at dish installation is Saturday between 12 and 5pm).
Had Ethiopian food the other day. Can’t believe I like it now so much that I actually recommended it!
There was a time when I did not like the taste at all. The sour anjira was just too hard to swallow. Also, the vegetables seemed to be saltless or something.
But that restaurant in Campbell, and also the one in Berkeley along with people who know what to order, has made me a fan.
And the folks we went with, were going there for the first time, and they truly enjoyed the meal. Glad to make some more fans :-)
Looks like Ganguly is suspended for 6 one day games! Wow, that is a steep penalty, but I guess he asked for it - going so much over the overrate for two games in a row.
Is it a blessing in disguise for India? Will he be able to come back if his replacement makes a good score in those 6 games?
We missed the 4th one day match because I did not have dish line of sight. But in a way, I think it was a blessing in disguise. It must have been a cracker of a game and because it was so close, I am sure I would have stayed up all night to see what happens.
And since Pakistan won, I would not have had a good feeling of staying up that late.
Instead I followed the game online till Sachin scored his century and then just slept off.
So it is 2-2 now, and just as I had predicted, the last two games are basically playoffs for the series.
I will definitely not watch the next game because I don’t have dish yet. But hopefully will be able to see the last game on Saturday night.
I have said this before, briefly, but I wanted to devote a quick post for the point.
The new apartment feels good. The boxes and stuff lying around is ok, but in general, it feels like home.
I was skeptical about it, because no matter how nice it looks during the walkthroughs and the tours, it is only after you stay there for a night or so that you realize if it is clicking or not.
Man oh man. Just the day we plan to see the match(es), India performs badly and there is absolutely nothing to cheer about. It was a Friday night, no pressure of waking up too early next morning, it was a belter of a pitch, and if India batted first, it would have been just perfect.
But it was not to be.
Ganguly lost the toss. Pakistan batted first. Despite getting Afridi out early, India was not really up to the mark in the field. Pakistan was able to get 300+.
Still not all was lost. We believed that if India got a good start from at least one of the openers, it would be all ok.
Again, it was not to be.
Sehwag went early. Sachin went soon after.
And I did not bother to stay up for the rest of the innings. Thankfully. Because I slept off early, and was able to get good rest before the day of the move.
Should’ve realized that with India 2-0 up, there was no way Pakistan would have been ‘allowed’ to lose. If India went up 3-0, there would be no interest in the rest of the matches. Especially with Musharraf planning to be in Delhi for the last one dayer, it was important that the series be at 3-2 after the 5th game. And the closer they keep the series, the better the spectator interest.
So it was of course meant to be a loss for India. Oh well.
Another hectic weekend. But we are finally moved - physically, though not completely. Meaning, we have moved and we live in the new apartment now, but some stuff still needs to be brought from the house.
But what a weekend. Instead of taking Friday off, I ended up working till 4 or so. So as soon as I came home, we had to hurry up and finish off the packing. Plus that evening was the match too, and another friend was also coming to see the game, so we had to make sure we were done-done by 7.30 or so.
And we were. For the most part. We still had last minute stuff like the bathroom stuff to be used the following day, and some plastic cups and stuff. But generally, we felt ok about the packing.
The match was sad, and more about it in another post. But thankfully it was sad and we were able to sleep earlier which means we woke up at a reasonable time, and without any sleep deprivation.
Saturday was hectic - we closed some of the open boxes and were ready for the movers. The movers came, surprisingly, on time and started loading up the truck. They were quick and they were done with the entire load in about 1 hour! Amazing, how quick they were.
We locked up and drove to the apartment and that is when we realized it is not going to be easy unloading. The elevator was a bottleneck, and so was the carpet in the lobby, which made it tougher for the guys to push/pull their carts and dollies. It took them easily 3 hours to completely unload the truck and there we were - with an apartment full of boxes, ready to start living in a new place! Yay!
We unpacked just a little bit before we took off to have dinner with some cousins. We had Ethiopian food and after that, we took off.
Good Gudi Padva day for us. Very satisfying. I am really liking this apartment.
Since I did not want to have too much downtime for TV and internet, I had scheduled appointments for dish network and comcast cable internet for the day after we moved.
So Sunday morning, at 9am, the dish network guy came for the installation. He came, took a look at the balcony and the directions and such, and said that he might be able to hook me up! I was so glad, because at the back of my mind, I knew that we did not have a direct line of sight to the South Eastern skies, which is required to get dish installed.
Then, for the next 45 minutes to an hour, he tried his best, but could not install it for us. That was a bummer. I had meanwhile inquired with comcast for their cable TV. It was more expensive and I really did not want to go with them. So I asked the installer, very casually, if we could get a cable strectched from my neighbor, who I know, has dish. He said, sure, as long as the owner does not mind it.
So we spent the next 20 minutes or so trying to see how, if at all, we can throw a cable from my neighbor’s balcony to ours. And after much thought, we decided not to go for that idea.
Finally, after coming back to our apartment, I asked him what other options I have and he said to get a foot-and-a-half pole to stretch out the dish outward. And then he left.
So here we are, without dish, and most importantly, unable to see the last 3 one day games for which we have already paid. :-(
I just read about Google Maps new satellite link. Check it out at maps.google.com. Enter an address and just click on the Satellite link at the top right.
You can even get driving directions on the satellite images. Wonderful. I love google maps. Don’t know why I would use any other mapping system.
I have been advising the wife about getting the carpal tunnel syndrome because of the way she works with the mouse. She has been ignoring my suggestions and ‘strong recommendations’ for some time now, and since last week her wrist has been paining and she cannot lift some relatively light things.
She has been in denial ever since I told her ‘I told you so’ and ‘It is carpal tunnel’. She has set up an appointment with our doctor for next week, and I am pretty sure he is going to say ‘carpal tunnel’. I know the symptoms because I have been there, done that.
Hopefully, she’ll understand that she does need a desk to work on a computer. Especially if it is work, and not just idle surfing.
After a good tip from my cousin, I have started loading up on water. The cramps have gone. Not that they were happening all the time. But it was just weird that they would even show up.
But the water therapy has been good. I feel good to take so much water in a day, and can’t believe I was not doing it for so long!
Dhoni. Man. What an innings. He was looking so damn confident in whatever he was doing. This lad looks like a good prospect for India. I thought he will hit a few blows in his 70’s and get out, because he looked so tired.
But man oh man. He took the initiative and really hammered the bowling. He was a little streaky to start with, but I think it was because of the pressure on him. But once he settled down, he hit some lusty blows. He is well built for a ‘keeper and has the strength to hit the ball out of the park, anywhere.
The next match is in Jamshedpur, in his region. Let’s see how he performs in his pseudo-home ground.
Meanwhile the match was a good one. Made me stay up till bloody 4am! On a Monday night!
In the innings break (12.30am) we thought we’d go to a Starbucks and get some coffee, but pretty much all Starbucks we could think of, were closed. Sadly, we settled for Taco Bell drive through (Diet Pepsi and Pepsi) :-(
We are moving back to rental living. In a way, I kinda like it. I know, there is a different joy in living in your ‘own’ house. But hey, the mortgages nowadays are 30-years and it is not ‘our’ house for 30 years! So instead of living in a 30-year leased house, we are going to move to a 1-year leased apartment.
The new apartment is pretty good, and different from what we have lived in so far. It is a large complex (730-odd apartments), with a lot of professionals living there. A lot of amenities in the complex itself - two swimming pools (one heated throughout the year), full-sized gym, large jacuzzi indoors, hot tubs outdoors, a nice little cabana, steam, sauna, business center with a conference room, an office a few computers with free access to the internet, fax, printer, high speed internet wirelessly served, and much more.
The apartment itself is also quite nice. It is on the second floor, but it is more like a third storey, because the first level is the guest parking garage. The resident parking garage is underground and gated. The community itself is also gated. And then, the building itself is also gated. The building we are in, has elevators. Yay! Its the first time I am going to stay in a building with elevators. Feels good.
The apartment is decent-sized, but my only concern is that we may not get dish network signal :-( It means going to comcast cable and feeding the pig! :-(
But looking forward to hassle-free living coming this weekend, which is Gudi Padva!
Yes! We accepted an offer for our house last week and it is in escrow now.
I could not resist saying it out till Apr 19th, when it is scheduled to close, because most of the stuff I am doing nowadays is related to moving out. And if I don’t write frequently enough, I would forget what I had on my mind.
So just to avoid missing out on important stuff going on in my life, I decided to throw it out in the open.
Phew! Feels like a huge weight off my shoulders :-)
I just cannot imagine this. We are moving (yes! more about that in another post) this week and need to pack and all that, and I was really hoping for a slow week.
But Murphy’s law came into effect and just when I needed some nice and easy work, things just started falling apart at work. There were so many HUGE holes to plug, I just did not know where to start. Plus, based on my constant pushing earlier, the client has started involving me in some new work, and that work has reached fever pitch too!
Just no time to leave a little early or some a little later, so that I can finish my part of the packing!
Body: I really love American Dreams and I would strongly request you to bring it back next season. Please don’t cancel the show. If you want, you can simply click here to get the email composed automatically.
