Inter-Nyet!

Hi all,

I apologise for not being regular in updating this blog, but a stupid chick that i know apparently opened a virus-laden email attachment on the communal P.C, frying the internet access. i've finally gained access via another system, and i tell you, it feels like a breath of fresh air...

my god, have i become so dependant on modern means of communication, that it makes my life unbearable whenever my daily fix of the internet is prohibited? I then remember that ten years ago, we were still writing letters on paper, adding little postscripts, drawing doodles and mailing them, waiting weeks for a valued piece of paper, crisp, clean, and scented by your lover's hands. now, if you don't get a reply to your brief email the next day, it's an insult.

getting back to News&Developments, I've obtained a Social Security Number, But mom and dad Haven't, and the Greencard is on it's way. We've moved out of the Sodhi's place(finally!) and we're temporarily settled in the apartment one level below theirs. The place is O.K, but, like all other american homes, feels like it's made of cardboard.
We will soon have to move from this place to another town, Exactly which one we don't know yet. it's where mom will get ther job posting and naturally, we'll be with her. So the apartment is basically a halfway house and we treat it as such, not going around and buying stuff to fill it with. the only furniture is a small dining set, and several old matresses.

We will soon buy a laptop, and get a internet connection to go with it. i'm looking at a Dell Inspiron 1405, which has a good configuration, but, you know, it's...a Dell. I'm told by a reliable source that the customer service can be made to work your way, and it really is the only thing we can afford at this time. The mac will take some time...

So the prospective date we will move is around the 10th of this month, and after that, we'll see...i've applied for a driver's licence today, and i have a driving test in about an hour, so i'll sign off and go fortify myself with some good food.

Frustation level- 4.6

Ever since we've been back from our little vacation into the american heartland(where there's a church on every street) we have been living with the Sodhis, in the hope that we will soon get an apartment nearby in the same locality. what was meant to be a night's stay may now strech to 5 days, by the latest reckoning. Two prospective habitats have been scrutinized and shortlisted, but it will be a while before the repairs are done and the apartment is ready to be occupied.

of course, all of us are a bit testy these days, having to live out of a suitcase for close to a month is not a pleasant experience for most people. I'm coping well, and keeping myself as mobile as possible since i realised earlier that if i start taking root too soon, it will be harder when we will have to move elsewhere eventually. I want to keep myself mentally ready to dislodge from anywhere at any time because i think that will be the reality of my situation for a long time to come. On the other hand, Permanency is something of an issue with mom and dad, but it is completely understood when you consider the fact that they've spent 23 years in the same house without having to experience moving pains.

Anyway, the Sodhis have been very welcoming and extremely accomodating. It's really hard to live in a house without having some sort of mark, a trail, or impression that you are there, while you try to be as invisible as possible; and try your best not to impose upon your hosts, who are all out to make you feel as comfortable as possible...

In penance, i have decided not to shave my growing stubble until we get an apartment. For readers who know of my fanatical devotion to the early-morn-after-shower shave, a habit from my Maurya days, this will indicate how rotten i feel about having to live in someone else's bedroom while they sleep on the floor.

OK, but can it roll over and play dead??

So, i've gone ahead and moved all of my stuff to the BETA version of blogger, which is more flexible in terms of web design...tell me if you like the new look!!!

Oh, and did i mention... (No.1)

That Canada is absolutely GORGEOUS during the fall?

I'm serious, because after seeing the bleak-or-boring Michigan and Ohio landscape, The countryside of Ontario was like seeing, say, Latetia Casta, or Gisele Bunchen after a lifetime spent with a large water buffalo for company. The camera was at a loss of resolution and depth when it came to taking pictures of all the colours we experienced. It was a very short incursion into a relatively well-populated area(meaning there was not not a soul for miles around) but the effect was far more indelible. The Weather was less than perfect, but it didn't matter.

i guess the reason i'm gushing maple syrup is because i was with my cousin and my sister-in-law with their very lovable baby boy. It made the experience doubly good, being able to make faces and get incomprehensible utterings in return.

Life in these United States (No.2)

Since when has the humble bicycle become a lifestyle accesory?

When did it evolve from a simple, cheap and clean form of transport to a pastime requiring the posession of several auxillaries and large sums of money?

When was the last time you wanted to do a Paul Newman-on-bicycle routine, only to be deterred by the traffic whizzing at 100 K's around you?

My body was relatively unscathed from the collision that night, but my bike's taken some long-term damage. It's still rideable, but being the perfectionist, i can't bear to see it in anything but top-notch shape. The front wheel has gone out of true, and the front forks are bent, albeit very slightly.

I thought i'd pop over to Village bikes on lakewood ranch, to get things lined up, instead of going all the way south to bikesenjava, where i had $pent 100 dollars to my satisfaction, a few days before the accident. the staff was a curious mix of aussie salesperson, eastern european mechanic and american receptionist. They were so busy, they couldnt take 15 minutes to do a simple wheel alignment for me.

'we're very busy up till wednesday, as you can see' said the aussie bloke, pointing to a handful of bikes. I requested them to give me 15 minutes of their time, explaining how i had no other means of transport, and how handicapped i'd be without the bike, at which the aussie bloke said that they could give me a wednesday appointment.

Dentists give appointments.

I'm quite annoyed at how most of these specialist, 'performance' shops actually perform for thier customers. An illiterate bicycle mechanic from India would put these guys to shame, in terms of efficiency, flexibility and multitasking. Just because you have a clutch of bikes to build, doesn't make you so busy as to deduct 15 minutes from your critical operations and help a potential customer who can bring in more buisness. these guys do have previous undertakings, deadlines and commitments, but going out of the way for a walk-in is what really sets you apart from the crowd. That's what makes your customers prefer you over the others, and bring in the dollars.

I'm not going back there for the wednesday 'appointment' ; that's for sure.

In all, it seems getting things like a new fork will be twice or thrice as expensive as getting a new bike altogether.

the weather, shopping and computers

the days are getting colder up here, and i'm quite disappointed with the fact that i'll not get to wear all of my favourite Vetements when i get back to florida. Most of the days have been consumed in pointless window-shopping, where i had the chance to try on 250-dollar coats and jackets i'll never get to wear if i stick around in sarasota. the only fruitful outcome was the purchase of a Wusthof 10" honing steel, that was badly needed, and the procurement of a pair of HI-TEC trekking boots. the time inbetween was spent trying to find a decent cellular phone, in which americans have no taste. Phones that have been discarded and fallen out of favour in India(and the rest of the world) are in vogue here. I asked a salesperson if his company stocked Nokia cellphones, to which he responded by offering me a rubber-keypad-4000k screen-plastic brick. It was all they had, save the various models of suspect-looking clamshell phones(only the sony/ericcson W330i managed to whet my appetite)

It costs close to 300 dollars to get a phone connection if you bring in your own handset, but it'll cost you a pitiful 50 if you accept any of those dinky toys they call phones. Strange.

I finally managed to get my hands onto a MacBook yesterday, at the apple store in columbus, and needless to say, i was enraptured. the prices are quite steep compared with the likes of Dell, whose notebooks felt like they were cast out of paper mache. The black one looked like a tricked out IBM thinkpad, and didn't impress me. the price tag for the 2 Ghz with Superdrive in white finish, plus the 1 Gb RAM upgrade is nothing short of scandalous, but if you are smart enough, you can buy 2 gigs for less money and swap chips yourself. if you are willing to void the warranty...the 5400 rpm drive is also something of a 'nyeh' factor, i mean, with all the processing power available, it would make sense to get a higher-speed disk, to keep pace with the data flow of the CPU. but i guess the 5400 rpm disk is quieter and consumes less power, so maybe that's why apple went with it. the onboard GPU isn't an issue for me, but hardcore gamers don't buy macs anyway, and there's always the MacBook Pro. but i'd have to say, those apple people have kept a number of people on tenterhooks, waiting to pounce on the new leopard-equipped notebooks, and keeping us salivating at the prospect of a Core 2 Duo based mac.
I've also been secretly eyeing Sony's Viao TX, especially when it comes paired with Vista. But at just about the same price, i'd have to go to the fruit vendor. I'm so beyond the windows universe...

Out of Canada

hullo all!

I'm back in Springfield, and i've had quite a trip. Driving through an international border was an experience i've never had before, and like other experiences in life, such as your first kiss, marriage, kids etc. it was as bland as a Shepard's pie. nothing more cursory than a wave of a hand, and that was it. At that point, i felt like a Gladiator who'd just fought off a motley bunch of hardy cuthroats imported from Gaul and Africa, waiting for the amused emperor to give me the thumbs-up or down. A gesture for one man, a question of life and death for the other.

Actually, it wasn't that bad for me at all. I guess those immigration officials are so used to the process, they might be secretly rolling dice under the table to decide who goes through or not. It's also funny how Canada lets greencard holders through, but the ol' U.S.A deems that immigrants are trying to take over the country via the Canadian border. My cousin was denied permission to go into the U.S a while back, even though he's a bonafide immigrant in canada, in line for his permanent citizenship.

The idea of citizenship also strikes me as quite funny. How does one shed his natural citizenship(if there is truly such a thing...) and voluntarily accept another?? I've been asked if i'll stay on in America, and in 5 years or so, give up my Indian passport and pick up an American one...the truth is, i have no feelings of loyalty towards both these nations. Sure, i'll live among their people, engage with their economies and pay their taxes, but why must i bind myself to a particular nationality? Perhaps the answer lies in these two words-

Democratic responsibility.

then again, is it absolutely neccesary for a person to become involved in all aspects of national life?