My Bloody Valentine

Who came up with the Idea of converting St. Valentine birthday into this melange of gift-buying, going out for dinner and later, maybe, perhaps, if things work out, getting into bed? Hand me my elephant gun, for the perpetrator is asking for a dose of soft lead in his arse.

So, as it was the cursed day, we were expecting a heavy rush. But at the end of the day, we had served a staggering total of over one thousand and seven hundred people. That is not a heavy rush. That, ladies and gentlemen, is the gates of hell opening up in a kitchen. My station, the Grill, was so heavily loaded, that I needed the backing of two additional people to get the orders done. every now and then, the POS screen was filled with sixteen or seventeen orders, each going out in a different direction. I wasn't stuck in the weeds. It was quicksand. 5 T-bones, 6 skewers, a few dozen filets and other stuff in the fryer baskets is too much for one guy, especially if that sort of situation will last all evening, without a pause.

Thankfully, the Chef was able to bail me out, and I was able to perform even under the tremendous pressure, without ever needing to raise my voice, or losing my cool. That, for me, is the milestone I have had in my mind for a while. A lot of people out there are faster than me, but for the most, the speed comes at the cost of losing their calm, which always leads to problems, and often slows others down. I realise what a valuable asset a calm mind can be when things are getting rough. Other people are more likely to help a guy who is trying his best and not making a fuss about it, rather than a person who is spewing venom.

Music - N.F.A.K - Woh utha rahe hain Pardah , Halka Halka Saroor

The Mad Hatter

As it is with most new cars, the Accord developed a few niggling quirks over the last two days, such as a propensity to pull to the right side, and an annoying buzz emanating from the door panels. Nobody likes to hear buzzes and rattles in a new car, so I drove down to the Honda dealership and requested a checkup.

Now, car service in the U.S is quite difficult to get used to for a guy who likes to caress and talk his vehicle through the ordeal. they take your keys, put you in a room and drive your car to parts unknown for the procedures. Because of this, I had a few hours to kill, so I asked the salesperson who sold me the car to get me a temporary means of transport. He obliged by handing me the keys to a large Honda Odyssey van.

I decided to go down to a large Multiplex-cum-Sears-cum-Macy's-cum-JCPenney-cum-numerous other stores-shopping mall, since they usually have free Wireless around there. There, I proceeded to waste my money on several things such as food court cuisine, and a personalised hat, the image of which you see here...

I think the message on the chapeau speaks for itself. It is our way of saying 'how are you, brother?' and also serves as an efficient ice-breaker in many social conditions.

this kind of stuff can be done at the ridiculous price of $20 and up at a chain of stores called 'Lids', that specialize in caps, beanies, hats(but dont expect them to stock a fedora or a top hat) and the ability to create a custom hat with your own logo. A lot of guys wear hats with the 941 area code embroidered onto them, so I thought 0172 might be a good thing to have on a hat. As I debated and played with Illustrator over a 'gourmet' food court meal, I came up with this. It really stood out among the other things I came up with, mostly centering around the Punjab/Chandigarh/Sardar psyche, such as-'Sardar Inside', 'Surdey' , 0172, and so on. I thought this was probably the best of all.

Cellphones of the future

Browsing around YouTube, I found these cool videos from Nokia, showing some concepts and ideas for the next generation of cellular devices...worth the look just for the slick production work...

I look at the ideas these guys are coming up, and then I look at the iPhone... which seems like it is designed with only the niche markets in mind, where style and one-upmanship matters more than substance; since I am willing to bet that those crafty Koreans will give us Asians the same thing at less than half the price.

In a lighter vein, there is also an advert for the 'Sumsing Turbo 3000 Xi multitask' Uberphone- a parody(in German, i think.)