Alert to All

To Everybody,

I may not be able to update this page for quite a while from now on. I'm moving away from my point of internet access, so hang in there until i get a computer and everything......

This Page has moved to http://....

So we've finally got all the paperwork necessary to initiate our move to the new place, and now the problem of how to get our stuff across the distance arises. Bart asked us to take some of the matresses lying at this place along with us, but it's a problem to move those Gaddas...we really have nothing else to move, just about 12 pieces of luggage and a small plastic box. It could be accomplished with a few cab rides, about $20 one-way. Movers charge $90 an hour, and we really don't need a 24-foot truck to get our stuff out of here...so let's see how this goes.

Looking at the current bus schedules, it looks like a touch-and-go situation for me to get to the job in time. My week has different timings everyday, and not all of them fall within the operating hours of the Sarasota County Area Transit bus service. The new place is about 15 miles from the job, so biking down is a lengthy proposition. Since we have next to no money to make even a statutory down-payment, leasing a car is a no-no at this point. In any case, a car means an expenditure of at least seven hundred dollars a month, which is more than half of my monthly pay.

Looks like i'll have to haul-ass for a while.

first day, first show.

hi all,
my first day on the job was basically an induction and training sort of gig. I start regular work tomorrow, and i have to get some new chef coats and pants to work.

I'm going to go with bart and see if we can get the realtors to lower our rent at the new place. Bart is looking for a place to stash some more nurses expected in the next year, so if he can work out a deal, we want to be part of it.

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.