Just another weekend again.. Amadeus/Munnabhai-2/Two and a Half Men S9 Premier

Yeah, so just another weekend like last one. Nothing exciting or special has happened yet. Was mostly relaxing & not doing nothing much. However did go to Lincoln Park yesterday & it's SO BORING. It just sucks. It's like in middle of industrial area with nothing to it. Half of it seems unsafe to visit even in the day time. Maybe okay to go with big group & play games etc. But otherwise it's just BAD. Except that, Here's what I watched at home on my awesome TV..

• Amadeus (9/10): Really good movie!! Very well made & great performances storyline is great to. It's a movie about Antonio Salieri & Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The Amazing part was How Salieri loved & hated Mozart and it was portrayed amazingly by F. Murray Abraham's performance. he did a great job in portraying the struggle of the character. The crazy Mozart was excellently presented by Tom Hulce. The music was definitely beautiful and so was cinematography. Also the way it represents that hwo huge artistic talent may have to suffer and not achieve real greatness until death.
• Munnabhai-2 (8/10): The Sequel to Munnabhai MBBS, also called Lage Raho Munnabhai, is one of my favorite movies. Munnabhai is stuck with Gandhi & Gandhigiri giving message of honesty & integrity to all of us. Rajkumar Hirani really knows how to convey great messages in simplest forms, great director & great movie.
• Two and a Half Men: I am not a big fan of this show but its alright. This ninth season premier killed Chalie Sheen & Brought Ashton Kutcher and I wanted to check that. Episode was boring until Ashton came in. But after his entry, it was funny & nice. He's not Kelso kinda dumb guy or neither Charlie kinda womanizer. But it would be interesting to see how this goes.

Thats it from me. What do you think of above? Anything else to share??

Qwikster: The New Old Netflix

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings wrote a letter to me & blogged this yesterday explaining why this DVD vs streaming split happened. It has been making me mad how they increased the prices by splitting services in two. But I eventually decided to keep both because nothing can beat Netflix DVD/Blu-ray collection & I Blu-ray is AWESOME on my Awesome HD TV. Although lately the netflix's disk shipping has been very slow & disappointing. Netflix streaming is pretty awesome & convenient too as I can just play & watch on my PS3 anytime I want. So, both are good. But as per last night, the old netflix of disk shipping will be renamed to Qwikster and the Streaming service will be called Netflix. Qwikster will include video games & will remain pretty much same except new website & little more hassle for user. Seems like an attempt to divorce the DVD business by branding it separately & letting it live or die. Netflix streaming is supposed to have lot more great things coming, soon. So, i'll stick to both & wait & watch what happens next. I still love/hate NETFLIX/QWIKSTER.

Just another week-end.. & just how we worry too much!!

Another nice one.. This was quite an uneventful week/weekend I guess. Just went to work, came back home and didn't do anything else much. Can't remember, so probably surely didn't. Doesn't it sucks how time just passes in our life. I mean, we worry each & every day, bother ourselves with one thing or other and  when you look back there is not even much you can remember. But we sure did worry about dozen of things on that day, pissed/angry/mad/sad/excited and everything else. But can't remember anything right now, just nothing. That's why we should worry less, I guess. Atleast not about the unimportant things. Worry about important things which are in our control, not about things which are not in our control or we can't do anything about...

Although all that reminds me of four things - 1) How I have to pay more than $2000 for my hand surgery even after having health insurance. This is the "co-insurance". The total cost just for the surgery is 12000+. Should write a separate blog about this. 2) I lost my nice cap & sunglasses y'day. Just while walking out from home, dropped it from my hand, JLT. 3) Went to & walked through the Highline Park in NYC taking pictures of park & the city. Guess I am finally getting hang of taking pictures than just getting taken pictures of. 4) I watched The Expendables (6/10) & Marigold (5/10): The first is a decent action movie with big ensemble cast & nice action etc on a thin plot. The second is another example of a good movie done wrong. It has a good plot & I would say god actors. But very bad screenplay, poor dialogues and horrible direction. It was not painful to watch but not as fun as it could've been. So, that's all I remember of just another weekend. Rest... All izz Well!!

10 years since 9/11

U remember what was going on with U that day/time? I remember I was in India in the train going to village I think, or coming back and I heard that plae crashed into some very tall building of America in New York, the World Trade Center. Kinda couldn't believe it. 19 Terrorists had deployed the most horrible plan killing 2977 people. I moved to NYC last year and went to Ground Zero WTC site on 9/11 last year. I was there last night as well. And then went to Liberty State Park 9/11 Memorial this morning. Feel sad for all who died in the plane, the people who died  in WTC Buildings, the people who decided to die to save the plane collision in Pennsylvania, they had a tough choice to make. All these innocent people died that day. Innocent people died in 2001 Parliament attack in New Delhi or Attackers in Mumbai or just few days ago in New Delhi. What's wrong with these people? What's wrong whith this world?? UGH... May god bless the soul of people who had to give there lif and peace to there soul & there family may survive this terrible pain. May there be peace in this world & everybody's heart.. AMEN!! (feel free to share your experience/opinion)

'How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' review - My First Broadway Musical

( I watched, not I did.. LOL) So YAY!! Thanks to Tani - who bought the wonderful tickets, I finally (click here to know more) saw my first Broadway Musical & it was AWESOME. The story is about a young man J. Pierpoint Finch who lands his hand on a book telling him all secret to corporate success... umm you know what, click here to read story/synopisis. I'll tell you that I really enjoyed it. Maybe also because I enjoy watching singing & dancing thing since I grew up with Bollywood movies; and this had  Daniel Radcliffe, the Harry Potter (If you don't know Harry, there is no point in me telling U. Just think Daniel as a somewhat famous British 'child' actor) as Finch, who was very good at singing, dancing, acting and specially at American Accent. This boy needs to watchout, he's very talented but needs to pick right roles and all that. He's lil short & not any Tom Cruise or Brad Pitt. But lot of energy & talent. Hope he doesn't becomes Michael J Fox. John Larroquette & Rose Hemmingway were good too and so was most of the cast actually. Also it has a funny satirical story on corporate & business world, office politics etc. Performances are excellent; songs, music & dancing is great. Total FUN.. Also got some very good pictures of most of the  main cast, including Daniel Radcliffe as well. It was just nice.. I just LOVED it!! (My score would be - 8/10)

Bombing in New Delhi by Terrorists & then Earthquake

There was bombing near New Delhi High Court killing 11 & injuring more than 77 people. Why do these damn terrorists try to injure & hurt & kill innocent people.. WHY?? What will killing people on the street is going to give you, just other than bad name/fame & possibility of getting killed/eliminated very soon. Why can't people live just peacefully with love & caring or just minding there own business.. WHY?? & My dear Dilli was not only rocked by a bomb blast but also an earthquake later in the day with not much damage I think. I just wonder, what's going on? The nature is trying to hurt us, but been kind to spare us it seems. And we are making it just worse by fighting each other rather than holding hands joined together & work for Peace & Happiness. WHY??

4Peaks @ Adirondacks-dacks-dacks

That's where I celebrated my Birthday Weekend.. and it was AWESOME, but better (Thanks!!). I was at 4Peaks in Adirondacks-dacks-dacks. It's a privately owned 700 acre land with 7 back-country cabins/camps. We stayed at Sugar Camp there, which is very secluded with no one around for quarter mile. We had a beautiful & big log cabin in middle of a small field, surrounded by woods. There's a well/water-pump & privy right outside. There's a screened porch, wooden chairs outside, hammock (which was broken with a down tree this time), a brook flowing right next to camp too. Just beautiful surrounding.. The cabin is nice too, its kinda old, built in 1974.. but beautiful & pretty & very comfort-full. There's a nice full size bed with pillows & blanket (you do need your own linens), wooden fire-place, dining table, rocking chairs, full kitchen with oven & all kitchenware as well. there's also another small room with smaller bed for kids I guess. You can hear the brook outside in night & see the starts in dark. Nights & dark could be scary as there is no electricity (just gas lamps, gas stove, gas oven & gas fridge too). We did our own cooking all 3 days/nights & enjoyed the serenity & awesomeness. So it's a really nice setup.

4Peaks has 4 mountains, one brook and lots of deep woods & wilderness. We did hiking to two mountains - Rattlesnake & Lookout. The First trail ended right in our camp, just amazing. The hiking was not like any other, but real hardcore & more like walking in the real woods. No real trails/path but following the ribbon markings or being on your own (like when we got lost off of  a trail & had to just follow our gut feeling for half an hour until we landed on our destination.. such a relief). The view2 from top of the mountains is as nice as the hike. Also there's Ausable river just a mile away for swimming & hangout, beautiful & nice. We sat with our feet in shallow water, getting fish pedicure for free. It was just SO NICE. Went to Lake Placid on the way back. IT's beautiful but kinda very touristy. just had lunch there & drove back. The drive to Adirondacks-dacks-dacks is not very scenic except the parts close to Lake Placid etc. But still it was lot of fun.

Martin the owner is cool, but kinda weird too. He seems unfriendly in person & kinda obnoxious thinking you don't know anything about living in wilderness and all that. But he truly tries to take care of you & make sure get the best customer service & experience possible. Following his advice on  what to do is good too. His website looks weird too, kinda like brochure & very old school but maybe that's his style. The place is nice & you'll have a good time if you are looking for an "off the grid" experience.

Now some of you might be thinking that why anyone will spend 400-500 bucks to be stuck in middle of woods with no electricity, internet, phone service; and where you have to cook & clean by yourself, bath in open & use a privy. Why would someone do that? Well, because many of us like it. If you don't you don't have to worry about it. If you do, then go & DO THIS!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!!

Wow.. so I turned 28. Yeah, that's the magic number. 28. I don't know what to say/feel. I am not where I would have wanted to at age 28. Still not a successful businessman, big superstar, famous social activist, great leader & many-many other things I wanted. And shortened another year from my life. Sucks, huh?? Sometimes I don't understand why people celebrate birthdays. Is it really a happy day? Isn't it just sad day which just lets your reflect all you have not accomplished till date & how your life is getting shorter... how you don't have enough/lesser time left... how things are not as good as you wanted... & how they may not get any better.. & how you have just less of your life left!!

Or I could look at it this way: I just turned 28 & I have lived more than a year in New York City now, many peoples wish.. successfully working with a great job at Wall Street, many people's dream.. have a great & blooming business in hand.. great experience/learning in all the awesome things I have learned in all these years.. some really great friends and special people in my life.. and last but not the least, a great year of new accomplishments & achievemenets to look forward to. I already have some great things starting right in this month which will go a long way forward in fulfilling my dreams, goals & aspirations. With all the awesome experience and love I have collected in past 28 years and specially in last one year, I am definitely goingt to make this a special year & looking forward for many-many more special & amazing years ahead. With that, all I have to say is...

Irene was here & she was not bad...

This is not my girl or friend, this is Hurricane Irene ofcourse. People were heavily panicking & all that. Putting tapes & boards on window glass, buying grocery/ration for days/weeks, buying tons of water, infact all the flash lights were sold out at home depot. Stuff closed early Saturday & was closed until today. BUT.. it wasn't that bad, & that's good. I walked out yesterday afternoon & it was windy but not bad. It did rain with wind all saturday night & mild flooding, but all ok. I hear some places lost power, internet, cable etc & flooding etc too but all was fine here in Jersey City and there was no extensive damage. BTW, few people were complaining that they were disappointed with Irene, how it wasn't as bad as they expected. REALLY? So, you wanted it to cause serious damage & devastation  Be thankful that it wasn't as bad & we are all safe & fine. Like Earthquake pretty much.... I honestly ended up having good time at home though - Thank God!!

The cast & Pin removed from my Hand | Warrior 2011 Movie - 8/10

So... after the injury & surgery, I had a cast on until today. Today the cast was taken off & the hand is free. Feels much better to not have cast on. Now I need Therapy for few weeks to get range of motion & strength back, hope all goes really well. Poor hand  looks like a Prisoner of War...

Also I watched Warrior with an advanced pre-screening again. Such an awesome movie. I'll easily give it 8/10, I would've given 9 but the plot is not exceptional. But definitely one of the best action movies related to boxing/fighting kinda stuff. For a change, there is no "bad guy". Both the fighters are not just male lead actors but also brothers. Brothers separated after parent's divorce, with an estranged relationship with their father. One guy is an ex ultimate fighter of lower caliber changed to High School Math teacher; and other is an ex-soldier & war hero. One is fighting for saving his house & family and other for helping his dead friend's family. Both have noble cause & good reason to fight. Both are kinda underdogs. But they come through challenges & emerge is Winner Warriors. The fighting & action sequences of mixed martial arts are very well choreographed and well done. The performances by all the lead actors - Tom Hardy & Joel Edgerton are great and Nick Nolte as drunkard old father, Jennifer Morrison as a struggling wife of struggling family, Kevin Dunn as the school Pricipal are just great. It's quite tight & crisp movie which is very enjoyable & lot of FUN. Go watch it!!

Earthquake in New York.... Hurricane Irene coming!!

Well, some of you might have heard that already that yesterday there was an earthquake in East Coast U.S. affecting Virginia, Washington DC, New York and even North Carlina & Boston areas. I didn't feel anything, guess I am used to 'rocking the world'. I think it's good I didn't feel it i.e. it was not bad enough.  No serious/considerable damage, it was quite lemurable.. oops, I mean bearable. But people at work said they did. Some buildings around here were evacuated in Downtown NYC, not ours. I was at Chipotle getting my lunch, no affect/reaction there, just get your food in loud/crowded environment. Last time I did see/feel something was in India during the great earthquake of 2001 in Bhuj, Gujarat. I was at Mother Dairy booth in New Delhi, buying milk & I see this high rise building swaying. The guy said nothing happened but then we heard news of earthquake in Bhuj. Nature is strong, very powerful. Even with all advancement & technology, we cannot control natural calamities. Katrina & other hurricanes, earthquake in Japan & all of that. I hear that there is a Hurricane Irene coming here. Good Luck, to all of U.S.!!

My Dad's reaction/response:....

Yaa bete,
Saw public reaction... People are gathered here n there. THANX GOD, it's not of higher scale. May GOD bless and save people of America.
AAYUSHMAAN bhao bete. Take care.
 Your loving DaD
....... (OPEE)

Jai Sri Krishna.. Happy Janmashtmi!!

Sri Krishna's B'day again.. Full day fruity fast until midnight & then b'day celebrations at the temple... chatting... chanting I mean. all the lovely bhajans, singing & then swaying krishna's cradle. wow... reminds me of my younger days in India. Going out with parents or sometimes without, to have fun by myself or friends. Decorations all over in streets, lights, people dressed, celebrations in all the temples around & everywhere. The waiting in long lines for Krishna Darshan i.e. to see Krishna Idol. Saw similar madness at Govinda Temple in Journal Square, Jersey City. It was interesting/nice.... Haathi-Ghoda Paalki, Jai Kanhaiya Laal Ki!!

Captain America | Fright Night

Captain America is good movie. Another not just super hero movie but more than that. Captain America  (reminded me of Tiranga) seems like a real man, a man with more than average or more than above-average powers but still human. A guy who hates bullies (guess who's the world's Big Bully now?), Nice!! A thin, weak & bullied guy turns into this super hero who decides to fight against Nazi' special division head Red Skull. After a stint with singing & dancing on stage, LOL. Good performances by Chris Evans as Captain & others as well. Good to show Japanese Americans & African Americans fighting with White Americans. I would give it 8/10.

And ofcourse I had to watch another movie Fright Night, to recover cost for expensive ticket. Fright Night was surprisingly interesting too - 7/10. I like Colin Ferrel, good performance as next door Vampire. Anton as next door human & David as fake Vampire Slayer/Expert were good too. It's a so called horror comedy & I guess I like the genre. Although I didn't watch it in 3D cuz I think 3D is becoming a scam to just mint more money from us, I H it.. Anyways, nice weekend overall!!

Happy Independence Day India!!

Today is Indian Independence Day. India was liberated from British Rule in 1947, on this day. It's been 64 great years of Independence. I hope we understand the true meaning of it, & the sacrifices many-many people made to make this happen. I hope we are able to take our independent great country on our shoulders to greater heights of success & prosperity. And we all have to chip in, every single person counts. So let's do our bit & make it happen.... JAI HIND, JAI BHARAT!!!

Last year, I went to the NYC Indian Independence Day Parade; this year maybe Jersey or Washington DC (Press Statement byHillary Clinton for today). Preity Zinta was the Flag Carrier plus Sridevi (like anyone cares about her.. actually ppl do) was a guest too. Was kinda cool. I hear they do it third Sunday of August, so maybe next Sunday... Today reminds me of childhood too. There is no fancy parade like January 26 Republic Day Parade on Independence Day. Only flag hosting etc. As a kid, we used to have flag hosting in the school in morning & rest of the day off. That was the high of the day, plus getting the pack of sweets 'boondi or boondi laddoo'. Which I never liked, but would try to get as many as I can, just to boast about it. LOL, sweet memories...... Happy Independence Day to all my fellow Indians & to our great nation of India - VANDE MAATRAM!!!!

Happy / Sad | Rakhi / Shammi Kapoor

HAPPY: Today was Raksha Bandhan, rakhi festival. Happy Raksha Bandhan to my sweet sister!!

SAD: Shammi Kapoor, the great Indian actor died today. OMG, so sad. So many memories, of Chitrahaar on Wednesday nights & YAAHOOOOOO. It became my favorite song. And his dancing style, like monkey or junkey, dunno.. but Awesome. He was a great actor, a fun actor. I loved him. Many of us.. all of us will miss him. But he'll always be there & live in our hearts.... Rest In Peace!!

Visit to Amish Village... Memories of my Indian Village

So, I had an opportunity to visit Amish Village in Lancaster County, PA. This was my first time at an Amish Village/Property. It does reminds me of my village in childhood a little, just richer. they don't use electricity but use the electrical equipments by making it Air/Gas operated. They live in handmade houses with almost all the usual luxuries you'll expect: like nice bed, fridge, gas stove, fireplace, nice kitchenware etc. They don't have A/C though. They don't have lots of clothes, as they wear plain clothes & have 3-4 pairs to change. Women have to pin there dresses like all over, kinda funny/ridiculous/hard. They are not allowed art & stuff on wall but allowed calendar. So they can have 10 calendars in a room with fancy pics/portraits etc. Our tour guide didn't seem to b a supporter at all & was bitching & bickering about them a lot, LOL. They ride horses & buggies and have goats, chickens etc too. They run there own schools where they teach English, German, Maths, Religion etc. The school we went to, teacher didn't know german herself. I hear there are 250,000 Amish people living in U.S. now, big number. They are a closed community which believes in working hard & helping each other out and following there culture. BTW, the tours are not run by Amish People but others, cuz they are not suposed to....

When I was a kid, we didn't have electricity in our village so no electric appliances etc. Wooden fire stoves were used for cooking. We had cattle we took for grazing. Oxes fro ploughing land. And it all ran fine & seemed fine. Now, it's all changed. We have all modern equipments etc & grew with time. I think that's good except we don't do as much farming etc.... Anyways, weekend was fine. Still unpacking etc going on & will go on for a while. I got A/C off of craigslist & bough bunch of other small things from C-Town, CH Martin, Target etc. Still need to shop more & this unpacking will go on for a while. Wish me LUCK!!... & U too, for w/e U may need it.

Was Jesus Black, Jewish, Italian, Californian, American Indian, Irish, or a Woman?

 

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Jersey City to New York City - PATH vs NYC Subway

Well, I haven't moved back to the city (yet), NO. Just talking about my first day of commute from Journal Square to Downtown Manhattan, FIDI (pronunced as Fie-Die, Financial District) as New Yorkers call it. I walk from my place to Journal Square & then take PATH.  I get off at World Financial Center (not WTC anymore) station & walk to my work at Wall Street (I had to mention that to let you know that I work at mighty Wall Street). It's not bad at all. The commute from Jersey city to NYC could be probably less than even being in Manhattan (If you live above midtown, far from Subway.. & you are close to Path in Jersey CIty coming to FIDI etc), or almost same as other Burroughs. You are not in the "City", but I am just talking commute here, which is cool. And there are benefits to living in Jersey too (gotta convince myself, U know).....

So lets do a quick PATH vs NYC Subway check... PATH's monthly pass is $54, $50 less when compared to NYC Subway Monthly Pass. You have to buy a $5 plastic card  called smartlink card from automated vending machine & then refill or recharge it at another machine. Kinda non-intuitive (I struggled like a dumbo for 10 mins) & lotta work  (I had to be "walked through" the whole process) for first time. But there was someone to tell/help which was good. The PATH looks cleaner & nicer too. There is no food & drinks allowed, which must help. I don't see any trash/garbage cans in PATH stations either, which is weird. People might bring stuff & you gotta have place to throw. Frequency & service is good, almost every 10 mins in peak hours. It runs 24 hrs as well. So, I like PATH. But unlike many people, I liked subway as well. You have to understand that there are so many lines & trains they have to run, with so many stations to manage. PATH just has 4 lines & 13 stations. And subway is so old as well. At least is 24 hrs unlike most of rest of the world I guess. LA, Boston, DC, London, Delhi, none of the places have 24 hrs metro service. It may not be very comfortable but it's absolutely convenient. So my verdict is, both are great public transport... Love NYC, Love JC!!

Moved to Jersey City... I am not a New Yorker??

I left Manhattan yesterday to move to Journal Square, Jersey City. Quite a move.. I got movers to move my stuff which cost me $200 + cab ride of $45. Movers were $55/hr + tip, 2 russian guys. And the cab guys says that as soon as they go out of Manhattan, the cab fare doubles + toll $9, so I didn't tip him. Also to went Newport Mall & did some shopping for curtains, rods, home stuff, fan, brita jar etc. So much to do when you move in to your own place. & SO much to unpack/adjust. I am really stressed I guess. Moving is not as much fun, specially when you have to do so much, all by yourself, & my not that enabled/capable hand. But I do like Journal Square so far. I ma 10 mins walk away from PATH, lots of stores around - 99 cents, C-Town, CH-Martin & Bunch of Indian stores at Indian Sq. Also was able to get chinese food at 11.20 pm on sunday Night. Impressive & happy so far, lets see how it goes. BTW - Got lot of help in this move from Tani, thanks a ton!!... So, until next time, Good Bye & Good Luck!! (Am I still a New Yorker??)

Hand in 4 week cast / Dinner Cruise in Manhattan

So I went for  doctor's review after last week's hand surgery. The 7 stitches were taken out, although pin has been left in, with the new blue cast which I have for 4 weeks. I have to go back after 4 weeks when they take the pin & cast off & then I have to go through occupational therapy until I get my strength & motion back. My right hand did look thinner & weaker than left hand (like it's starving), but otherwise it's okay so far. The new fiber casting is quick & impressive. It's like a wrap which they wrap around after putting some cotton base, then applied some sorta medical lubricant & it hardened into a cast in few minutes. I had choice of white/blue/black color; I picked blue because it's darker but you can still write on it... So, Doctor says it's all okay, so I have to take his word. I'll only know when I get my hand fully back!!

In the evening we went for a dinner cruise (7-10pm) with Bateaux Cruise New York from Chelsea Piers. It goes all the way to Interpid first & then back south to Downtown & then towards east side of Manhattan until Empire State - cross Manhattan Bridge & then very close to Statue of Liberty (it's beautiful at night) & then back. The food was nice on the cruise & live music was very good. Only bad thing was their photographer, who was really mean/selfish & bad. Tried to force people to buy pictures, not give enough time to think or try good positions, just ridiculous.... Anyways, overall we had a wonderful & great time!!... You should try it too, if you can, & feel free to ask any questions/comments..... I am HERE

MY MOTHER'S VISA APPLICATION GOT REJECTED AT US EMBASSY IN NEW DELHI... AGAIN!!

OMG... REALLY?? HOW CAN YOU DO THAT. I AM A LAW ABIDING LEGAL RESIDENT OF USA, PAYING BIG TAXES & DOING MY SHARE TO HELP THE ECONOMY, ALONG WITH VOLUNTEERING & STUFF LIKE THAT. AND MY MOM'S TOURIST VISA TO JUST VISIT HER SON FOR 1-2 MONTH, WITH HER HUSBAND, IS GETTING REJECTED 2ND TIME. WTF?? WTF IS WRONG WITH THESE PEOPLE?? I AM UPSET, REALLY UPSET & MAD, REALLY MAD. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?? AND THEY DIDN'T GIVE ANY REASON EITHER, NO REASON. THIS IS JUST RIDICULOUS!!.... ANY COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS??

Fight Club | True Grit | Perfect Host

The week was busy & scary(?) with my hand surgery, but the weekend was nice. Good Movies:

Fight Club (9/10) - Great movie, amazing plot, great performances. This was a BIG-BIG surprise just for me, cuz I didn't know about this movie. I would have given it 10, but I could guess even before half of the movie, the real identity of Tyler Durden. But it's just a great movie with excellent camera work, story line, editing & performances. Great job done, great movie made!!

True Grit (9/10) - Great movie, very good plot, excellent performances. One of the best westerner movies I have seen. The cinematography & camera work is awesome. Everything looks real & convincing. The story of a 14 yr old girl trying to hunt her father's murderer with the help of 2 bounty hunters is just amazing. Everyone has put in great performances & its just a great movie to watch.

Perfect Host (7/10) - Good movie, nice plot, very fine performances. This was a surprise actually. Never heard & never knew abou t it. The story is about a escaped prisoner/convict who takes forced refuge into a man's home & ends up being the victim. How? Just watch the movie... David Hyde Pierce is mind blowing!!

+ good food & lot of nice rest. That's what good time is all about in this HOT New York Weather!!

My first surgery in US - MCP Joint RCL tear & subluxation

The surgery was at Beth Israel center at Union Sq. I was there before 11 am, 2 hrs before surgery as suggested (surprisingly... very unlike me). I was alone, all by myself. They had me fill this huge 10-20 paper form with my injured hand, funny!! Then this lady filled all info on computer, which was using DOS based system, with me. She told me that  I NEED to have an escort or somebody to pick me after surgery. Thanks to my roommate Eddie who agreed to come.  I had to wait little more before they took me in & asked me to change into hospital clothes. They gave me free Beth Israel bag & asked to put my stuff in locker. Now i waited in this small room with a TV for more than an hour. Then nurses, anesthesiologist & my doctor came asking same questions & filling more paper. In another hour, we were ready to go for surgery. I go in surgery room & start feeling cold even before anesthesia. They cover me up with blankets & stuff & sedate me. Sedate me fully to make me asleep & nerve block on right hand to do the surgery. I remember talking to anesthesiologist & assistant surgeon (I was asking if I am talking too much or everyone does that?.. r u angry/pissed at me?.. good luck!!) and then passed out. Next I wakeup, I am in recovery room surrounded by nurses/doctors & with no feeling in right hand. And suddenly it starts hurting, a LOT - 9/10. Nurse gave me some injection & I pass out again. Then I wakeup with 8/10 pain. Injection again & passout, wakeup again with 8/10. She forces me to take percocet & now i feel 6/10 for few mins. But then 7/10 again. The nurse says I can't leave with pain like this. I am smiling. She asks a question from her Nursing stuff: 2 patients saying 8/10 pain, one is smiling & other is crying/screaming. Who you treat? BOTH... Different people can have different pain thresh hold & reaction, but all need treatment. Good Point!! So now I lie to nurse that I am feeling okay, so I can leave. They do let me leave after this, with my roommate Eddie who was there by then. We first went to pharmacy to get my prescription medication & then we go for dinner at Coffe Shop Union Square - I hadn't eaten since last night. It's nice place & I got nice burger but I am in pain again. So we take a cab to go home. Takes almost an hour in cab to go to Hell's Kitchen from Union Sq. But finally I got home, straight to bed. That was my day of my first surgery in US.

I had hand surgery... MCP Joint RCL tear & subluxation

This is just a quick note for all of you who must(?) be worried about me. Surgery is done & was successful as per the doctor. I am back home & resting. I do feel moderate to severe pain right now. Also the pain medication is making me drowsy/groggy. Right hand is not usable atall, which kinda sucks & has to be kept elevated. Its fully wrapped from fingers to below wrist. So I am just resting. Anyways, All izz Well overall. Thanks to everyone for your help (although I did take care of this myself), support (expectedly/unexpectedly offered/not-offered)  & well wishes.... All the Best, to ME!! (U realize this is all written by left hand only. I'll provide full details of surgery tomorrow..)

Good Weekend - Journal Square/Harry Potter 8 & Super 8

The week didn't start as nicely with the news of Hand Surgery. This weekend was supposed to be celebration weekend for my 1 year completion in NYC. It was celebrated by me finding a new place in Journal Square, Jersey city to move out of NYC. Ironic.. huh?? I think it's fine. I have kinda finalized on this place which very close to PATH Station, 5-10 min walk south/south-west of it. Let's try Jersey & see how it works out.

Then went for Harry Potter 8 last night, quite an ordeal. We had thankfully tickets in advance & went an hour early but still were way back in line & had to sit on side row. It's because we watched it in IMAX 3D which is $19, so expensive. Sometimes it seems like this whole IMAX & specially 3D is just a scam to mint more money from people. And AMC gave such cheapo glassed which sucked & I was very unhappy. The movie is alright, 6/10. I expected better. I think it's the worst movie in the series. Specially the second half which is so ungrand & unconvincing. They are trying to be funny & cheesy & it just didn't seem to work. Expect poor Snape who did make few 'people' cry. The ordinary & silly way Voldemort died was pathetic. Not the finale I expected.... But still, it's kinda funny to see Harry & friends grow old like this. It's like our kid who were small & young in front of us & now grown up. Goodbye Harry Potter & friends...... I also saw Super 8. You have to see 2 movies to recover the expensive cost of movies I guess. It's a nice (8/10) sci-fi/horror movie, right between E.T.  & Cloverfield. Also watched Tees Maar Khan (4/10) on Netflix and Incredible Hulk (7/10) & Pirates of Carribean 3 (7/10) on T.V.

So... who do you think will be next Harry Potter? Any opinions/suggestion about Journal Square & Jersey City?? I have the hand surgery coming this week, let's see what do I have to report. Until then.... Thanks, Goodbye & Good Luck!!

I am a New Yorker... 1 year in NYC!!

I have spent ONE YEAR in NYC. Big Deal? I guess. It was exactly an year ago when I came here to live. When I came here first time more than 4 yrs ago, I used to say I have a love & hate relationship with NYC. Now I have to say that I have a love-hate-love relationship with NYC. More like a real New Yorker, huh? I don't know. I did get cheated a while ago, that's not a good sign. But isn't that part of experiencing real NYC? (Probably more of getting fooled & not being a smart New Yorker). It's been quite a journey, living in THE CITY, in REAL CITY i.e. Manhattan. 3 blocks from Times Square. 15-20 mins walk from Central Park. 10 mins walk from Bryant Park. (these are all walking times of New Yorker, not regular walk. New Yorker walk, a lot), Next to Western Piers. Working at WALL STREET. Dream life, huh? Dunno... It did used to feel special walking through Times Sq to get home everyday. Now it feels maddening. FUNKING TOURISTS!! I do say that. It could take half hour to just cross Times Sq. They walk so slow, i.e. not walk. Take pictures, ask you to take pictures, expect you to not come in there pictures... GRRRRRRR (like I never did that myself). And I still walk from there everyday, sometimes still feel cool, special. I never thought this will happen. Not while growing up all over in India - Gujarat/Bengal/Delhi and playing around never worrying what to become, what to do in future. USA was not in the dreams, surely not NYC. And now here I am, 1 year in NYC. I tell people: If you can survive in NYC for an year & still like it, you are a New Yorker. Immigrants who moved here in recent future agree & like it. People who grew up here, H(ate) it. But yeah... I am a NEW YORKER!!

I need hand surgery... MCP Joint RCL tear & subluxation

of my right thumb injury from last weekend. I have a grade III tear which mostly can't be successfully fixed by casting/immobilization, so requires surgery to fix. How do I know all that? Cuz I am smart & awesome. And also because I went to Hand Orthopedist at Beth Israel in NYC today. He did a review, some X-Rays (no MRI) and said that surgery is best solution to ensure (although doctors never 'guarantee' a fix from surgery, it just mostly works) full recovery/fix where they'll do an incision at the RCL joint of MCP, put the dislocated joint together properly and sew/fix the broken ligament, then put a pin in there to stabilize it, immobilize it with a cast. Then they take off the pin in 10 days & keep hand in cast for another 3-4 weeks. After that they take off the cast & put a splint/brace on & I start occupational therapy/rehabilitation to gain strength back. And after all this, I am back in motion. If I don't do surgery, it might heal by itself with the splint/cast/brace (at least it looks cool) they have put me in. But it might heal crooked or with bump. I might not get full range of motion or have pain or even future arthritis. All "might" happen (or I might get totally fixed!!), kinda SUCKS!! Doctor's suggestion is surgery & I am not very excited about it. But 2-3 months of pain for lifetime of no problems (guaranteed?) isn't that bad. I am still thinking of getting a second review... Any suggestions/comments??

The week & weekend was spent mostly relaxing & taking it easy, still working though. Got outta bed after 4(pm) on Saturday and 2 pm on Sunday. Sometimes its just god top lay in bed to feel that it's really a day-off, I felt good. Went to Sheep Meadow in Central park for sun-bathing; I love central park & I am even a member & do donations to them. It's so big & confusing though sometimes, need to explore more. Also went to Bryant Park which is small & cool & nice. That's it. Will keep posted of new updates, until then.... Good Luck to me, & U!!

Hurt Again... I injured/broke my thumb

First, Happy Independence Day & 4th July!!... Second, it totally sucks. Not 4th July, my injured/broke thumb. Total Bummer... How? We went for White water rafting to Harpers Ferry West Virginia. As per RiverRiders, the place we went to, 'White Water Tubing' is there most popular & exciting sport. They put you in a tube in the river & you flow down through the rapids. No protective gear like helmet, gloves etc or paddles; you just have to use your hands. They do give you a life jacket thankfuly so non-swimmers like me & you cna put there life in danger (just kidding!!). It's lotta fun actually. Very different form rafting & very independent too. If you are not with big team or wanna try something new, tubing is kinda cool. They had this luxury tube with cup-holder & bottom too, so its liek mini raft of yours. You could pick flat-water tubing but the adventurer in me wont do anything less than  AWESOME, which in this case meant White Water Tubing. It went well, I had a good time.

EXCEPT... There was a big rapid/mini fall & I got stuck by the flow in there. I did think it'll be more adventurous so I went for it. It was kinda cool but the tube flipped over & I fell out. I hit my right thumb on a rock & it was injured. Not bent or anything but swollen & hurt, really HURT. But I continued the sport with some help from "awesome people". Went to historic town of Harpers Ferry & had nice Dinner there. AND then drove all the way back to Virginia too. The next morning was not good. Thumb was hurting & swollen & I thought I had a fracture. I ran to Urgent Care and they did an X-Ray saying there is no fracture but just some subluxation at MCP Joint i.e. the second joint of right thumb may be little dislocated. Suggested to see Hand Orthopedic. Gave  me a sad looking finger splint to put on thumb.

Anyways... also watched the July 4th Fireworks in DC, awesome but too short, just 15 mins?? And also watched Transformers 3 (6/10), Kinda nice. All in all, still had a nice weekend!! What about you????

Funny National Flags Made Using Food

Funny national flags made using food

View more presentations from Rahul Tiwari

Happy Birthday Maa...

Thanks for everything you have done for me. There is nothing I could ever do to payback or even get close to what you have done for me. With your love, care,  guidance, support, teachings and everything else; you have made me the person I am and I am really glad to be what I am today (which is awesome) & what I will be tomorrow (which would be awesomer). I really wish that you get your visa and be able to visit me here in US so I can spend some time with you, my dearest mom. I miss you.. I love you... Happy B'day Maa!!

Attack The Block... (Happy Father's Day Daddy!!)

I watched my third pre-screening in New York after Bang Bang Club & Beastly, on this Wednesday. This is a British movie from the producers of Hot Fuzz & Shaun of the Dead with Nick Frost & bunch of new/unknown actors.  The story is about a bunch of teenage kids who are like a small local gang of hoodlums in southern London. They are mugging this nurse who apparently lives in there building, when something falls from sky. Turns out its an ugly looking monkeyish alien, with no super powers or anything. So they kill it, cuz it scratched the leader of the group Moses. They are celebrating the kill when it turns out there are many more aliens dropping from sky into the city. These don't have any super power either but they are Bear+Wolf kinda strong things with no sight but smell only & great strength. The story us what happens next cuz they are trying to kill Moses. It's a well done movie which is funny & scary at places. I hear its getting great reviews. Performances are very good & music is great too. I would give it 7/10.

The weather has been weird as usual. Rainy or coldish or Hot. I still have some sorta cold that's why. This weekend is going to be exciting & fun though. I am going to Philadelphia for a conference. Excited!! Also, we re-applied for my mother's visa. Hopefully this time it will be alright. I bought a nice navy jacket at Macys, love them. Great customer service & great stuff too. I bought it for $145 on Tuesday but they had a special one day sale today line they have 10 times a year; I went gain & they gave me $15 back as it was marked down for sale today. Awesome!! BTW, did netflix android app, take off HTC EVO from there supporting devices? Sucks..... Anyways, rest is all cool, hope you are doing great too. Tell me, wassup?? Thanks for visiting, see U again soon. Same place & anytime u want.... Hast--La-Vista!!

Tony Awards.. I can't believe I haven't seen Broadway yet!!

Even when I have been visiting NYC for4 years & been living here since almost one year; and I am supposed to be an artist, a theater performer & appreciator myself & all that, but still. I have been visiting stand-up comedy shows & even some plays but not a single Broadway or even off-Broadway show yet. What a SHAME.... I realized this after watching a wonderful performance of 65th Tony Awards last night. Presented by Neil Patrick Harrison who opened the show with a "comic" and edgy number "arguing that Broadway, with its con artists, Mormons and nuns this season, is 'not just for gays anymore.'" (is it??). No Comments... There was a show/stand off (click here to see) between him & Hugh Jackman (3 times Tony Host & Emmy winner for one his hostings) which was pretty cool too. & Lots of performances from different Brodway shows which were nice. The one with Daniel Radcliffe (yup, the Harry Potter.. he sings & dances) for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying  was pretty cool too. I really wanna see The Book of Mormon (Romney) as well which won the Best Musical Award. My other favorites are The Lion King & War Horse & many others too (any suggestions?). I did want to see Spiderman too, but with all the recent reviews & jokes, I am not sure if it's worth risking my life. In addition to the CBS television broadcast, the ceremony was simulcast live to Times Square and included the Tony Awards Red Carpet and the complete Tony Awards show, including the Creative Arts Awards. I was there for while in beginning but decided to go back & watch from home cuz of weather, time concerns & my sickness...

On that note, I have been little sick (feeling between 50-80%) since Saturday & going out in weekend for Belmont Stakes and not enough rest (maybe) and the weird weather (for sure) of hot & cold & rain & thunder-storms etc was not very helpful either. I did go to gym both Friday & today and did some weight training, as doctor has said that my shoulder is better & I can go back to doing some weights. What else?... Why don't you guys tell me something?? I still need to go back & update my vacation blogs. I've been so lazy/lousy after coming back form vacation. I guess it's not that easy to turn off vacation mode & get back to normal, especially after such an awesome vacation like mine. Anyways, Hope I feel better & so do you. Thanks for visiting/reading/commenting (more will be appreciated :), until next time - B-Bye!!

I enjoyed Stakes... Belmont Stakes

Today was the day of Belmont Stakes 2011 & I really enjoyed it. No wonder people are crazy about horse racing (not as much though I hear). We ended up betting $64 & won $48, which is not bad considering first $10 was practice/trial & another $20 got screwed because of all the top horses 'Animal Kingdom, Nehro, Mucho Macho Man, Shackleford & Master of Hounds' (look at the names, they sound like Fantasy Super Heroes or something??) were not competent enough to even make it to any of the top 3 slots (called 'show' in horse racing). The winner was Ruler on Ice (apparently he has a Wikipedia page for him, I should've checked that & that would've told me that he's better than the other 3 horses). It was a rainy day (yep, yet again... rainy & COLD after a heat wave all week) & apparently most of these horses suck at raining in mud which I should've been told earlier, they should put this on the ticket, 'Horses suck when it rains & its muddy' (like I would've done something different then). This whole horsey thing started after watching Secretariat & now I am watching horse racing & betting money. Phew!! 

Anyways, the day ended with a nice Indian dinner at Sagar Restaurant in Jamaica, Queens, NY. Oops, actually the day ended with Apollo13 the movie on Netflix. It's a nice movie (7/10) with good performances & nice visuals etc. I was at NASA just few days ago so it feels even nicer. so BTW, the day started (i.e. previous night, after midnight) by watching The Missing Lynx which was nice too (6/10). Good to see foreign (Spain) animated movies, very different & innocent & childish humor & feel good movie. That's it for this one, keep visiting/reading/commenting. Until next time... Good bye & Take care!!

Black Eyed Peas & Friends Concert in Central Park, New York - Got canceled :)

& I still had a agood time. How? Well... It's a long story. There was this Black Eyed Peas & Friends (Taylor Swift, LL Cool J, Debbie Harry (of Blondie), Carol King, Natasha Bedingfield and more appearing) concert from Red Robin Hood Foundation in Central Park New York today. I won four tickets as part for a contest with lucky draw (you make "donations", but don't pay for the ticket). I sold 2 tickets to this retired FDNY guy. He took half an hour inquiring & ensuring I & ticket are genuine before buying, although I was cool because of my experience last time. Being inquisitive is not wrong & he seemed like a good guy. I sold him two tickets for $70 (he payed me $60 & said will pay $10 after the concert when we meet, or when he gets in). I was hapy cuz he seemed good guy & he is retd FDNY guy Greg which I respect. People were selling these tix for $100+. I sold another ticket to this guy for $50 who came at 2 am in night to buy this ticket, driving half an hour from outside the city. People are crazy for such stuff, aren't they. Anyways, I reach for concert at 5.30 pm (leaving early form work.. earlier than usual) and gates haven't opened which were supposed to be open at 3 pm. It was rescheduled to 4.00 pm first because of heat& then 7.30 pm because of thunderstorm. It started thundering & raining actually. I met Greg & his friends & was hanging out with them. Seeing the rain, they rescheduled it again to 8.30 pm. We were in some restaurant at Upper West Side so we were having nice time. At 8, guess what? They canceled the concert. And because no one officially paid for the ticket (it was all donation), they don't even have to reschedule I guess. Sucks for people who were hanging in rain from 12 pm & came from far places. I hung out with Greg & his friends all over Upper West Side & had a good time still.

Rest been okay. Really HOT in NYC now. We humans have a tendency to complain... Cold & Hot & Rain & this & that... whatever we can complain about. Everything else is okay here. Just feel bored/tired/weird after coming back from Vacation. Vacation was so much fun. Anyways, it happens. So, until Next time... good Bye, Take Care & Jai Ho!!

Savannah, GA to Charleston, SC to Washington DC : End of Florida Vacation

Arrived at Charleston, South Carolina last night with a stop at Savannah, Georgia for dinner. After a day at Charleston, drove from Charleston with a stop at Cracker Barrel in Rocky Mountain, North Carolina, arriving at 2.30 am to Washington DC. More details to come soon...

Daytona Beach is really COOL... Ocean View with Balcony & Drive on the Beach!!

Arrived Daytona Beach last night & spent wonderful time here. More to come soon...

Orlando - NASA Kennedy Space Center & Sea World Orlando

Was at NASA Kennedy Space Center yesterday & at Sea World Orlando today. More details to come soon...

AlliGator-Land: Everglades National Park & City (to Orlando)

Spent all day yesterday at Everglades National Park & City and then drove to Orlando. More details to come soon...

Florida Keys (Islamorada) to Naples, Florida

Started the day yesterday by driving to Florida Keys & then drove to Naples Pier fro beautiful sunset. More details to come soon...

FLORIDA Vacation begins... New York to MIAMI Beach

Landed in Miami yesterday & its been REAL FUN, more details to follow...

BTW, this happened during stay:
http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/122820534.html

My mother's VISA application got rejected at USA Embassy in New Delhi

I really can't believe it. Seriously? Why?? Please just tell me WHY??? The guy in charge said why didn't she apply with my dad. Really? My dad got visa almost 2 years ago, when he visited me. Now we were planning for both my parents to visit me. So now we are applying for my mom's visa. What's wrong with it?? I live in USA legally, pay huge taxes & everything and I am inviting my parents to visit me. I am paying all the fee, covering all there expenses which I provided proof for & am taking care of everything. What's your problem in giving visa to an almost 50 year old lady who's son lives in USA & she wants to visit him for 2-3 months??

Anyways, seems like I am complaining a lot these days. Is late say just raising awareness by raising my voice against injustice. I am not sure what will we do next, need to figure it out. I'll keep you posted at this same space..... So, any comments or suggestions??

Century 21 is horrible, really sucks... No End of World / Shackleford wins Preakness / Bloodworth

I liked Century 21, everyone knows that. I promoted them a lot & have referred so many customers there & all that. I have appreciated them in my blogs too. I said that they don't have the best service but great product selection, nice prices & stuff like that. But I have to say today that they are horrible. WHY? Well, one of the worst Customer Service ever I have encountered. There Store Manager Steven F. (I am not saying 'F' word, I just don't remember full last name) is the worst Store Manager kinda guy I have ever met, just completely inadequate, incompetent & HORRIBLE.... WHY? We bought some clothing there last weekend & the cashier forgot to take off the alarm lock thingy they have on the clothes. Even the security didn't notice it when we got out (even when it did buzz). Of course the clothing was not usable and we were very-very disappointed. I went back to store last Friday and went to Customer Service on 3rd floor. I waited in line for a while & when I reached the representative she said that she can't help me & will have to call the Store Manager. She called him on Walkie-Talkie & he was somehow already pissed. He comes & first thing he tells me that it's my fault I couldn't use the stuff because I could have gone to any store & could have had it taken off. Really? I am supposed to know that? Or if I was traveling, am i supposed to be traveling with the receipts do I can take it to other stores? He was very rude & inconsiderate through out this conversion. & I am really pissed by now. He tells me all they can do is refund me my money & take it back or take the lock off. You know: C21 has a policy that if the cashier forgets to give the receipt, they give you $10 coupon. If the cashier forgets to ring an item & you come back with original receipt, they give you the item for free plus $30 gift card. Why would someone come back if its not ringed & it wont be on receipt, right? BUT ANYWAYS, they have nothing for this case. can't do just anything. The manager was SO RUDE & ready to do nothing what so ever. Can you believe that. What a horrible service & horrible store manager. I am planning on complaining further to corporate office etc & see what do they do.....

BTW, wasn't it supposed to be End of World yesterday? Ohh, the true one is 2012.... No idea why & how people believe in this kinda stuff. This guy was shooting a documentary in downtown about End of World & they interviewed me in it. There view was that this one is fake but 2012 is REAL. I should write a separate post about this some time, but it's ridiculous. This MTA employee spent all his savings to promote this, another woman spent kids college fund & left her job and all other stuff. Seriously?? I spent my evening shopping at TJ Max & Marshalls and watched Preakness Stakes. My prediction of Shackleford winning came out to be true. Went home & enjoyed Bloodworth from On Demand. I'll give it 7/10, it's interesting tale of E.F. Bloodworth who abandons his wife & kids for a life on road. Val Kimer is good & Hillary Duff was okay as well. The story line is not very clear but its inteersting & music is nice too. So that was my EOW day.

Weather's been rainy & cold lately which kinda sucks. Today I was in New Jersey & had to take NJ Transit for 2nd time. Not bad at all, just takes an hour or so. Maybe I should/would move to New Jersey. I went to Rasoi Restaurant in Edison & had lunch buffet. I was BAD after long time.. ate rice, naan, fried food, sweets etc. Couldn't resist. How often do I go to NJ anyways. It was good food. I did workout really hard yesterday though & my abs still hurt. Will try a controlled diet for now.

Enough for now, more will come when I am on vacation maybe or we'll see. Thanks for visiting, reading & commenting. Until next time... Take Care, Have fun, keep visiting/reading/commenting. JAI HO!!

Fish bone stuck in throat/ almost choked2death/ Bug in Salad

Lot happened in last 24 hours, a LOT...

• Had a fish bone stuck in my throat: Hmmm, wonder how it happened? Wanna know the TRUTH?? I killed this dinosaur last night & I was ofcourse eating him (or her, don't wanna be sexist.. & it's tough to tell), who probably had a fresh-water fish with bones for meal. And I was little careless or excited feeding on this Dino, & ended up getting the bone stuck in my throat. Or I could LIE, that all this happened in a Bangladeshi food place in Jackson Heights, Queens, NYC. I tried many things to take care of it. Immediately after the meal, the guy at that place suggested me to swallow some un-chewed rice & banana which I tried. Didn't do much I guess. I slept at home but was feeling weird all morning today. Then I had a protein bar & salad for lunch (bug in Salad story below) & that didn't work (was it supposed to?). Was getting little painful & all my online research seemed to refer me to Doctor. Later in evening I tried swallowing banana again (the choke2death story below) which seemed to do something. Then I tried eating crackers & water of boiled olives. Crackers & bread etc is supposed to knock the bone down (I have heard people spitting it too) & olive water, olive oil & vinegar etc is supposed to make it dissolve. Back at home I tried eating muesli & dried wheat bread followed by sipping vinegar & olive oil too. I guess I tried everything by now and it does seems better. We'll find out more in time but hope its OKAY!!
• Almost choked to death swallowing a banana: Wonder how this happened? TRUTH: It's an annual tradition in India to try swallowing half a banana to please the "Banana God" and he blesses you with super powers (I guess swallowing super powers?... no-no Banana Powers). LIE: Just trying to take care of the fish bone stuck in throat. Half a banana without chewing, feels weird in throat when stuck there. & Gagging & Choking SUCKS. I felt I'll die. And my whole life flashed in front of my eye (as it's supposed to). I (kinda) fell down on floor & was able to throw up the banana (good to stick your tongue out, i guess). Took me a while to grasp my breath. Good News: No one saw ME!! Bad News: No one saw ME!!... It would be a ridiculously funny way to die though: Died while swallowing a banana & choked on it. REALLY?
• Found a bug in my Salad from FRESCO On the GO: TRUTH about how this happened? The Super villains of the earth/universe (who's that after Osama's Death?) found out that I am the Super Hero, the biggest threat to them. So they planted this biological weapon to defeat me; in my salad. I eat it & lose all my powers & they could capture me & do all bad things villains  do to Super Heroes (laugh like maniacs & reveal all there secret plans etc). And the bug did try that, it transformed into this huge Monster BUG & I had to fight it with all my super powers & 'defeat' it. LIE: Just an accident or ignorant mistake by Fresco. Natalie, the manager said it culd be because they use pure organic vegetables with no pesticides (& yes pests) and may not been washed properly. She refunded my money and said she'll buy me a lunch next week. Not good but what to say. I have had worse things happen to me in last 24 hours.... so it's ALLITE

So, that's it & that's all for now. Weather's been rainy, lil chilly which isn't most awesome. I have been very-very busy with work, business & all the other stuff going on. I did manage to watch Resident Evil - Afterlife, it's usual action etc & not too bad, I'll say 6/10.  Looking forward for nice weekend and upcoming AWESOME vacation (starting next weekend) to FLORIDA: Miami>Keys>Everglades>Orlando etc... Feel free to put any suggestions or comments you may have. Thanks for visiting & reading, until next time - take care, have fun, be happy... & JAI HO!!!

I just gave $25 to a roadside fraud... or person in need??

Hmmm, dunno. I was walking out from work and this Indian Hindi speaking guy Sunil supposedly from Delhi tells me that he is visiting from Boston & got pick-pocketed losing his cellphone & wallet. Of course I though he was a fraud but still somehow & somewhy I gave him $25. I told him Taft if he's lying, I probably will never help a person in real need. He said he'll call me & return my money. I doubt... why?? He had good American accent when he said be just came here 4 months ago. Says he lived in London & New Zealand. Didn't have anybody's no# on him but could call phone & credit card company to cancle. Didn't need ride to bus station, had a cop looking out for him. Seems total fraud. I dunno why I did it, but just did. Guess I am not true New Yorker yet. Should have taken his pic atleast or a collateral, no?? Anyways, just an experiment I guess. We'll find out by tonight. Or an interesting story/blog to share. Lemme know what you think...

Burlington Coat Factory SUCKS... more than The Last Airbender!!

Why? I bought winter booots there for $49.99 but I had to return them cuz they were not comfortable. I go back to return & they (rudely)  tell me that it's marked down by $10.01 now, it's for $39.98. So if I don't have the reciept I can only get store credit for $39.99. I didnt have the reciept so I took it & bought a brown leather shoe for $39.99. Turns out this shoe was not comfortable as well. BTW, I am not talking about my bad choice of shoes or bad quality of shoes at BCF. The problem is when I went to return it. The girls at counter were not only rude again but the girl tells me that these shoes are marked down by $10 again. SO now I'll get $29.99. I tried to go with reciept this time but it turned out I had return reciept & not the correct one. They tried (tofake like last time) to find it with credit card I used & said they can't. This time I said I'll get the reciept. I go back home & bring teh reciept next day and they give me $39.99. However, I check the same shoe on the rack, it's still $39.999. They lied to me about it being marked down. What the Funk.... REALLY???

Anyways.. the weekend was nice. Shopping as you just heard. Shopping for my upcoming Florida/Miami/Orlando Vacation. But fun shopping was at Century 21 as usual. I just love C21. Not best service but GOOD STUFF & not horrible service. The weather's been not horrible but rainy & still kinda cold. I dunno what to say about that. It's just weird. Like the movie I watched this weekend, The LAst Airbender. I like M. Night Shyamalan & think people are usually hard on him. I usually liked her work. Even the movie Water Lady. But this one.... ummmmm... not so much.... or not at all!! I'll have to give it 4/10. I mean the visuals were good & the concept ain't bad (its kinda popular with many). But horrible direction & acting. Movie is just weird the way it moves around. No character development, no sense & just WEIRD. Anyways, need to do more shopping & prepping for vacation. Thanks for reading, keep visiting & commenting.... JAI HO!!

I am on DIETING... & watched THOR, RIO, King's Speech

You can tell that I am not on diet against movies (but maybe I am on diet of movies). The dieting is against Calories, Carbs & Sugar. I have been on 4 week diet since starting of this month where I am trying to not consume (i.e. eat.. consume sounds like I am a machine... or a FAT guy... which I am not.. totally... not that there's anything wrong with it.. or maybe there is... stop talking!!)

• NO White Flour & White Rice. So only wheat/brown bread & brown rice.
• NO Sugar/Sweet. Basically no desserts, chocolates, sweets or sweetened dishes/drinks. Only fruits & honey maybe (& maybe sugar-free stuff??).
• Less FAT consumption, which I already try. But no Deep Fried stuff or EXTRA Cheese etc.
• NO ALCOHOL (doesn't applies to me, of course!!)

Had a nice weekend in DC. The weather was mostly nice too, surprisingly (except Friday was kinda cold). Got my teeth deep cleaned (finally). Love the new clean look & I hope I can maintain it. I failed to watch Madmax as well on Netflix cuz streaming sucked on Boltbus (on my trip to DC), otherwise internet was fine. Also went shopping at Leesburg Outlet Mall & bought 2 new pair of shoes, one Bostonian & one Dr Scholls. They both seem very comfy & nice, we'll find out. BTW, here's the movie report:

• THOR is nice movie. Good special effects, nice action, decent plot & fun movie. Chris (this guy has some abs on him & good bod.... eww) looks good as Thor, Natalie is sweet as usual & it seems interesting prep-work for The Avengers. I do think Iron Man was a better movie than this, but it goes well along lines of HULK etc. - 7/10
• RIO is FUN. It's a nice fun family movie & very well done. George Lopez, Craig Robinson, Jamie Fox & Tracy Morgan are really good in their character's voices. - 7/10
• King's Speech has great performances which is awesome. Story line is ofcourse kinda expected but it's still fun to watch the movie. Inspiring (maybe) & pleasure to watch movie. (Basically more B/S about ROYALS, if you hadn't had enough dose yet) - 8/10

So... that was my weekend. Hope you had fun as well. Keep visiting/reading & checking/commenting. Refer your friends & family & everyone else to read. Make it POPULAR, more POPULAR.... & have a wonderful time in great weather (I hope you have great weather)... until next time JAI HO!!!

Happy Mother's Day to the best mom in the world, 'my mom'... & all the moms!!!

Today is Mother's day & I want to take this opportunity to thank my mom & all the other wonderful mothers in this world. My mother is definitely the best woman I know of. She is loving, kind, compassionate, understanding, forgiving, very patient (you definitely need a lot of that with me) and one of the most wonderful person I know of. Whatever good or worth I am today or whatever more I'll be tomorrow, she has a huge & important contribution to all of that. Thanks a lot MAA.... & very-very Happy Mothers Day!!!!!

Obama: Osama Bin Laden's DEAD

Obama declared the BIG NEWS: Osama Bin Laden's DEAD!! People all over USA were celebrating, gathered near WHite house, WTC Center & Times Square. And considering I live blocks away from Times Square I thought it would be a shame if I don't show up, so I did. However, I was scared to walk up there as a "brown guy". I thought, I have been learning spanish so I could pull off the Espanol!! Anyways, I went & came back safe, so it wasn't that bad for sure, right? It was alright actually. Looked really GRAND on TV, as most of the things do, specially when they are on FOX NEWS. That's all FOX news was showing and making sure they don't mention Obama's name or give him any credit. NY1 was there too. In reality there were lemurly (i.e. barely) 20 people there, on the south end of Times Square. Cabs/Cars were honking, some waving American Flag. It was still cool. Celebrating the win of USA over Al Qaeda & terrorism. Thanks to President Obama, his team & the soldiers who pulled this off & made it happen. BTW, lots of news/questions/speculations going around since & will be going around for quite a while....

• Is Osama REALLY Dead? I don't know... Obama declared the news so I'll assume its true, right?
• Pakistan was hiding & supporting him? NO COMMENTS. I mean, he was found hiding there next to the big Military Training camp or something. Been living there for YEARS. What do you think...
• Is Al Qaeda & Terrorism finished now? Dunno, I don't think so. But it's a BIG step & great win. It will become Al-Qaedead soon & so will terrorism. AMEN!!
• Are we in danger of retaliation from this? Hope NOT. I have seen heightened security & stuff and I understand the concerns. I am too. But hopefully everything  will be alright... AMEN!!!!

Weather was alright over weekend but lil chilly AGAIN on sunday night. SUCKS... I am on a 4 week diet starting yesterday, will share more later/soon. Until then... Happy reading.. Thanks... & JAI HO!!

Happy Anniversary MnD... from Bryant Park NYC

Happy Anniversary to MnD (the short form I use for my Mom & Dad). Today is their marriage anniversary, a lots of great wishes & love for my most awesome Mom & Dad... I am sitting at Bryant Park in nice cool weather; it's still kinda chilly but nice. The weather has been nice today and most of the week has been good. Its May starting & it's still kinda chilly, which is really weird. But what can we do. Bryant Park is cool, I like it. It has Wi-Fi, has seats, fountain & I hear they have shows & performances here as well. I heard a a lot about Bryant Park but never came here. I must've crossed it put I always thought it as "some park" cuz it's kinda small. From what I had heard, I expected it to be huge & big like Central Park. But it's not, which is good I guess. I had a nice week I guess. Not lot of activity like last weekend but nice..... Keep coming back and feel free to comment & surely check your reaction below. Thanks, take care & JAI HO!!

If you are Smart & Persistent Customer, Good Customer Service may make up for bad shopping experiences...

LONG heading I guess. But this is true, dunno if it's cool though. You shouldn't HAVE to be Smart & Persistent customer to get good service. But I had to. Remember (don't? then read it)my last blog below where I shared tons of bad online shopping experiences. Have sent emails for other issues which are currently on & will try to get whatever solution I can. Sometimes you just gotta act & be persistent on getting right service which is your right. This should give you some hope that if you DO ACT, you can get what you deserve. Here's what I already did...

• Emailed & then called Amazon. Good customer service they got. Just explained what happened & they gave me $7 credit to my order. COOL..
• Called backjoy 2nd time & made them not only refund my money with shipping but give me free upgrade to their highest model (memory foam) with expedited shipping. NICE.

Haven't talked about other stuff in a while I guess (You ppl must've been missing, NO??). The weather is finally getting WARMER, now in April end. Still is rainy/cold sometimes but kinda okay. Been very busy at work (as you can see)... Continuing the Chiropractor & Acupuncture which has been helpful but not as much as I would have liked. & suffering from hurt shoulder (again!!) so off GYM for 3 weeks. Will try to update more over the weekend.... Until then Good Bye & JAI-JAI HO!!!
P.S. Congratulations to Will & Kate on there wedding today (that's all I got for Royal Wedding)