Gone house-hunting

Well, now that we are not moving to Naples, we had to find an accomodation that will be ideal for mom, in respect to her work. So off we went today to Bradenton; to look up a place that was suitable. We found a tiny 2-bedroom apartment located in a decent area just 5 minutes away from her clinic on foot. The rent is $925, exclusive of utilities such as water and electricity. A little pricey, but considering the convienience to mom, we decided to go with it and filled out some papers.

Now, the flipside is, my new job is located at the other end of sarasota, about 15-16 k.m from the new place. The buses don't start until 6 am, and it'll take about an hour and a half to get to the job. I have to be there by 7 am sharp everyday, and there's no telling if i'll be able to reach the buses in time or not.

Getting a car is an expensive proposition for me, i'll have to pay about $200 for my insurance, plus $200-250 for petrol, as well as some money for the actual buying as well. a new car on a lease will be anything between 250-300 dollars a month, while a used car will have to be financed. So i'm weighing all the options, and thinking what to do now...

Hold the Press!!!

On the cusp of our expected move to Naples, Bart dropped a bomb on us by cancelling the whole shebang. Just yesterday, my prospective employer had called in to confirm if i was moving, and i had affirmed that i was indeed. Now, out of the blue, Bart calls me and asks if i still have the offer...

You can imagine the turmoil that followed. Inbetween calling Bart a thousand names and calling up mom, i called up the employer, and informed them that i was now availiable. To my incredibly good luck, they asked me to come on down and sign a few papers rightaway.

So now, I've signed up with a firm called Morton's gourmet market, as an assistant pastry cook, and mom has been placed in a clinic in Bradenton, which is about the same distance as Panchkula and Mohali. We've decided it will be best if we moved close to mom's workplace, and let me do all the travelling for work. Now, a Car is a priority, as Morton's is pretty far from Bradenton, by most counts.

I also checked in on Dell today, where i was cheerfully informed that my laptop would maybe arrive sometime in December. I told them to take my incomplete order, roll it up into a tight bundle, and shove it up their collective arses. I mean, why the hell should i wait so long for a stupid PC when i can just go and buy one in a store, even if it's more expensive? it's outrageous! I cancelled the order straightaway, and now, i'll have to start looking all over again.

Play da Muzak...

Yesterday, i went to the Opera, and it was beautiful.

The Sarasota Opera House holds a free session every tuesday and friday, in an open courtyard lined with shrubs, and filled with about a hundred listensers.

The show was actually a sampler of the upcoming operettas and performances that were to be shown later this season, and consisted of a two Sopranos, a Tenor and a Baritone accompanied by a gallery piano. Pieces from the classics such as Rossini's 'The Barber of Seville' and Faust were part of the show.

It is impossible to comprehend the dramatic impact the live human voice makes on a listener, vis-a-vis a recording...comparing the two is a folly. Their voices were powerful, pure, and melodic, and they did not need any electric interface to send their soul volleying across the audience; like a tidal wave...

On the other end of the spectrum, i visited the 16th Annual Sarasota Blues festival about ten days ago, and was soaked to the bone in pure american music, surrounded by a crowd full of of tatoo-festooned bikers, middle-aged white folk and the occaisonal young person. The gig was presided over by some local veterans of this genre, who played the more laid-back and relaxed tunes, as opposed to the heavily rock-influenced output of the younger set. All the lead guitarists were brilliant, particularly the Greg Allman and friends group, where all the 'friends' are lead guitars too...one bassist made his axe so some truly scary things.

all in all, a very cool show...

Oh, and did i mention... (No.4)

That we got our Greencards?

we got them along with my driver's licence today...now we have to buy a car, and i have to teach mom to drive.

Review - BoratMovie

Borat : Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

I thought i had seen it all, when along came something so shocking that i literally had to avert my gaze from the screen in order to preserve my mind.

This is not just a movie, or an out-of-the-box comedy, but the tale of a ficticious charecter called Borat Sagdiyev, played to the hilt by the british comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Borat is a silly, simple, and very sweet fellow, who also happens to be an extremely perverted individual, with an interest in incest, homosexuality, antisemitism and anti-gipsy-ism. In his professional capacity as a journalist, he goes to the USA to report on the american way of life.

made almost entirely on-the spot and extempore, Baron Cohen shines with his ability to stay in charecter, even when his life is in peril, such as when he riles a red-neck rodeo audience. Borat does other things like defaecating on the street, harassing men by trying to kiss them and generally propositioning every woman he meets. Often extracting the worst out of his unwitting victims, the movie is not so much about borat, but about what really lies beneath all that americana. Baron Cohen is able to make most people what they really want to say about anything, including how they feel about jews, gays and women in general.

At times, the movie is extremely funny, by most standards, and at times, it is disgusting. at times, you have to question the comedy as well. but in all, it is one hell of a movie...go watch it.

Oh, and did i mention... (No.3)

That we finally know where the heck we're going...After several locales such as Ft. Lauderdale, Ft. Myers, Bonita Springs, Tampa and several others seem to have fizzled out, the folks at CPI have finally settled in on Naples, which is a larger town, and may have some opportunities for me. We're due to move this saturday, so it's Chop-chop-chop from now on...

Greasemonkey

I, am a greasemonkey.

I love the smell of the acrid gunk under my nails when i go about tooling machinery that does not need any specific attention. I love the uncertainity, when i'm stripping apart anything with absolutely no idea whatsoever how to put it back together.

Today, for the sole reason that the chain looked a little crusty, i decided to open up the bike. I acquired a chain remover tool and a large bottle of degreaser, and went to work on the rear end of the bicycle; removing the wheel, the derailleur and the chain.

I still haven't put it back together. i need time to figure it out. maybe i will. maybe...

More news...

Hello all...

Mom's and Dad's Socials have finally arrived, and now mom can finally get her salary, which after all the deductions and reductions comes down to a paltry $15 an hour...I could hope to earn that much after a few months myself.

we're relocating to Bonita Springs at the end of this week, so we have to get cracking and get our stuff in order. The only negative fallout for me is that i've finally got a social life going here, and now i'll have to piss off to god-knows-where.

Bollocks.

Written to the beat of Gospel music

Dad has got it into his head, that we must visit one of the various outlet malls and carry out a thorough shopping expedition...so here i am, googling away.

the chocolate cake was a dissapointment, as i stupidly chose to disregard my tried-and-tested method and looked at the larousse's recipe...but then again, no recipe ever written is foolproof, and somewhere, all of us make a tiny mistake that ruins your hard work...Most recipes also need to be tweaked to suit real world requirements, and need repeated experimentation to produce perfect results.

In any case, my recipe still rules.

Music-Desi christian gospel music (yes, such a genre does exist...)