Desi In Toronto

My daughter just visited the Kumon center for the last time this Saturday.

It was a bittersweet moment for me. Rhea joined Kumon in 2007 (she was 5 years old) and as far as I am concerned, it was one of the best decisions I have made as a parent. I am a huge fan of the center and they helped nurse Rhea’s reading habits (even though they are non existent right now!) and helped her with the basics of mathematics.

When my wife was away at NYU, the stress of running the house, taking care of Rhea and working in downtown did not leave me enough time for my daughter’s  studies. Thanks to Kumon, there was some sort of focus in that area.

But over the past few months, I noticed that her studies at school have progressively gone on a tangent with relation to Kumon. Don’t get me wrong! What they teach at Kumon is vital. Basic building blocks stuff. I am also aware that at higher levels, Kumon (or similar institutions) are more aligned to the school curriculum. Therefore, my wife and I decided to book a tutor for Rhea. Add the fact that we are moving to Kitchener soon, it was time to say goodbye to Kumon.

Rhea wrote this lovely letter to the head (Terri). Love the way she thinks she is super smart :)

Here are some other pictures from this month (tagged):

Regina Spektor Is Back!!

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Been a big fan of The Black Keys for a while now. I had thought that they had lost a little direction with their previous album Brother but they proved me wrong. Their latest album came out in December. Since I had put ordered it (yes i’m one of those fans), I was able to form an opinion on the album on the first day. This is the best album from the Keys to date. Even better than their earlier catalog.

So when I was offered the chance to see them live, I jumped at it. And the opening act was The Arctic Monkeys!!! What could’ve better than the combination. I was really looking forward to a fun evening of fantastic music. And then I see the seats at the ACC. That’s when I remembered the reason why I stopped going to large venues. I was wedged tightly between a woman making out heavily with her boyfriend and a guy who seemed to be having a competition with treat of the crowd. As in he was trying to prove he could drink more than 10 people put together.

The Monkeys were outstanding but the sound system was horrible! i’m surprised no one really complained about it. Since I was alone and wedged between the make out couple and the drunk, I kept quiet.

The enthusiasm I had for the show was dying by the minute. The worst was the time between the opening act and the feature act. Drunk got himself three beers, people behind me lite up a joint and the make out couple would not stop taking cute pictures of themselves, with the flash.

The moment The Keys came on, everything changed! From they opening song (Howling for you) till the end, they were outstanding. The art work on the screen was amazing but quite distracting. The music was good and the band was tight. I still had issues with the sound but the songs were good enough to tide over that short coming.

Overall it was a good experience but I have decided no more large venues. Young people are fun to around but sometimes they are too much. And with that statement I have officially become old!

btw, this is my first post on the Samsung Galaxy. Tried it several times on the iPod and the iPad but I was never able to finish a post on those devices.

Last week has been a whirlwind of wok at “WORK” and on the home front.

The business I work for is changing my role from developer (which I love) to deployer. Which I love but not as much as the former. It means that there will be a lot more work on the weekends (something I am not looking forward to as this would have an impact on my daughter’s extracurricular activities) and late nights as my reporting boss is in China. Not looking forward to the new set up at all!!

As to the home front, we are moving to Kitchener Ontario! Wifey bought a clinic in that city so we are moving closer to the investment.

We went house hunting last Sunday. The first thing I notices is that Kitchener is quite a hilly area! Perfect for hill repeats! The second thing I noticed was the conspicuous lack of non-white folks. Maybe I was in the wrong part of the town.

So, the entire Sunday was spent looking at houses ranging from the fabulous to beautiful. Seriously! We did not come to a single “ugly” house. Which just makes the decision harder. So far we scouted Waterloo (a very close neighbour of Kitchener) and some parts of Kitchener. I think we will be deciding by end of March on which houses to put an offer on.

Since we had these plans, I decided to do my long run on early Saturday morning.

The first thing I did when I stepped outside was to run back in and change from my shorts to slacks. My god was it cold!! The weather has been playing mind games with us poor Ontarians. So, I started with the intention of finishing 20K. My dreams of running a 50 K live on but I know I am not there yet. I am still in the process of building my long runs which have not topped 25K so far. Never mind. I have time. I think!

So I ran a random 20K.  It was surprisingly tougher than I thought it would be. My legs were really aching by the time I finished. The only reason that comes to mind is because we slept really really late on Friday and we were all coughing or sneezing the whole time. I still have not fully recovered. I am hoping I do so cause I will run no matter how much snot I spew!

The week on the whole was tough. Probably the cold I was battling. The best run was on Friday. Sunshine + Friday + Downtown Lakeshore = Happiness all around. Except for the surly runners. Not a single one, barring a young lady (who received my best winning smile) returned my hellos. WTF! And Toronto is supposed to be a friendly city. Bah!

Hope to get in a solid week of running! Happy running everyone!

Yes. I am alive and well and kicking it!The last two months have been a blur as life around the Sharma household went up a gear. Here’s what’s been happening :

Wife bought a clinic. Yup. It’s official now. Charu bought a practice in Kitchener, Ontario and has started working part time at her clinic. Why part time? She has retained the previous owner to ensure that the transition is smooth. As you can tell, she is very proud of herself.

Rhea, my daughter, has been, as usual, has been handful. She has found out that I can be lied to quite easily and has been taking advantage of that fact. I am just afraid that her lying will go from innocent remarks to putting a spin on me. Anyway, am really enjoying this phase with her. She is funny…..

….she is laughing most of the time….

….she is learning how to swim better. And despite her complaints about swimming being complete boring, I think she has a pretty good time in the pool….

….and our bed time ritual is our favourite. We read a book to each other. She has been reading Dear Dumb Diary to me and I have been reading  Macbeth to her these days. There was a yikes moment when we stumbled on the word WHORE and all the linguistic jujitsu from me was not enough to satiate her curiosity. She being born in 21st century, activated the dictionary on the kindle and tried to read ”Promiscuous Person”. Saved! .

We have been trying to keep ourselves occupied this winter. Thankfully, mother nature has been good to all of us. No mountains of snow. Just enough to walk about in

As far as I am concerned, I have realised my role in this place called earth. My role is a supporting role. Supporting my wife through her business and supporting my daughter through her childhood. I accept this roles and am happy to see them fulfilled. The only time I get to spend with myself is during my commute to work and when I am running.

Yes, running is still a big part of my life. I am planning to run the Mississauga marathon on 6th May, 2012 and am seriously considering the 50 K Sulphur Spring Run in end of May. Still on the fence because I have not been able to do a really really long run yet. We will see how my training progresses in the next few weeks.

One of my aims is also to keep updating this blog. I know I have promised so many times before but this time I will aim low. I hope to update this blog once a week. And then we will see how to proceed from there.

Hope to talk to you soon!

Update : Here are some other pictures from the past few weeks that you might enjoy.

As you can see, her modesty just shines through :).

Can anyone guess why I took this picture? :)

Had the great pleasure of seeing the Heartless Bastards at the Horseshoe Tavern. They were, in a word, outstanding! Erika Wennerstrom pipes are just out of this world! Love the band and their new album.

Here are 11 runners who cheated during a marathon. A typical case would be :

4. Skip Miles 13-23: Anthony Gaskell (London, 2010)

At the 2010 London Marathon, 69-year-old Anthony Gaskell smashed records when he crossed the finish line at 3:05:00. It was the fastest time on record for his 65+ age group. But upon closer analysis of his recorded statistics, it was discovered that Gaskell supposedly ran the second half of the race (13.1 miles) in less than an hour – an impossible feat for even a world champion. It turned out he forewent running the there-and-back portion of the course entirely, skipping miles 13 – 23. Gaskell would later claim he hurt himself and was simply trying to get to the finish to receive medical attention. Nonetheless, his honorary plaque and title were revoked.

Each of the 11 cases presented above, the cheat was caught with consummate easy.  So why bother to cheat?

I know it’s easy to ask that question but I think the answers are always fairly complicated.I mean, running a marathon is a very big deal. Of those 11 cases, how many had run a marathon before and just wanted to finish and miscalculated and finished with fantastic times? I am not talking about the ones who either gave their chip away to another runner or just did not run at all. I am talking about the ones who were dedicated enough to make an attempt.

I have to confess that one I had a strong urge to cheat during my running as well. I did not do it, but almost did.

The run was the 30K Midsummer Night’s Run. The run was fairly grueling because the humidity was at around 85%. I was woefully unprepared for the run and went just because I had signed up for it. A crucial mistake I made was to switch from water to Gatorade  for my run. I never have Gatorade. Ever. And my stomach rebelled. At the 26K mark, I had to go to the bathroom and I was in for almost 10 minutes. When I came out, I realised that the bathroom was at a juncture of a loop. I could have easily walked into the bathroom at the 26K mark and come out of the bathroom at the 28K mark. And that’s what I started to do and then the little voice in my head said”what the fuck are you doing?”. I did not bother trying to answer and I turned around to complete the loop from the 26K back to the 28K mark. And then at the end of the run, I puked my guts out!

Looking back my reasoning was not to aim for the best time in the run. I was already doing awful. My reasons to cheat was to finish the run as soon as possible. But thankfully the Jiminy Cricket inside me was able to convince me that it was moronic to try and cheat. I mean, what for! So that I can tell the world I finished the run 10 minutes earlier than I actually did?

Here we go! I always look forward to these kinds of posts.

10) Hey Rosetta (Seeds)

One of the most intelligent bands from Canada. Their songs are a remarkable blend of grunge, strings and melodies. Songs are a little too long but each one carries a build up that’s hard not to rock out on.

9) Feist (Metals)

Saw her live with Broken Social Scene and what a fantastic performer! Totally rocked the crowd with her songs from The Reminder. And that’s what I was worried about. Feist would be remembered by that one album. But she proved me wrong. Metals is an excellent follow up album! There are no outstanding singles like 1234 but the whole sound is amazingly lush and quite pleasing to the ears.

8) Fucked Up (David Comes To Life)

This album is a concept album and runs for 1 and a half hours! Needless to say that you need quite a few listens before the blazing guitars and the screaming start to make some sense. However, once you get over that “hump”, the wait is totally worth it. Amazing album!

7) Yuck (Yuck)

I hear influences of Yo La Tengo and Sonic Youth in this album. What drew me to this album was the emotion in the songs. And the hooks in all the songs were quite hard to miss. A band worth watching in the future.

6) The Black Keys (El Camino)

Finally an album from the Keys which does not have a single slow song!! Even the slow starting Black Submarines blasts out midway. Excellent work. I am going to see them at the Air Canada Center in March next year!!

5) TV On The Radio (Nine Types Of Light)

Another excellent album from TOTR. These guys never seem to cease to amaze me. Although this album is not as powerful as their previous work, but it’s good enough for year’s top 10!

4) The Chemical Brothers (Hanna)

This is probably the first I have put in a soundtrack on top 10. Well, it helps that the soundtrack was by one group only. I remember watching the movie and being completely mesmerised by the music in the background. It just fit in so well with the scenes. It’s mostly instrumental which means that without watching the movie, the music is meaningless.

3) Beirut (The Rip Tide)

Solid album from Beirut. Songs are seamlessly sewn together with the melodies packed on more melodies. Wonderful album and one of the few albums that my wife and daughter liked on first listen! Rarely happens.

2) Bry Webb (Provider)

After disbanding (?) the hard rocking The Constantine, Bryan Webb came out with this folk rock album inspired partly by the birth of his child. The album is a complete anti-thesis of what we have come to expect from Bryan which is why this album works so well. It’s got one of the best ‘growing old’ song I have ever heard (Ex Punks). He also provided back vocals on Feist’s album. Looks like everything he touches will turn to gold!

1) Yellow Ostrich (The Mistress)

Why I find this the outstanding album of the year is because it is so strange! I mean, how can album be haunting and catchy? Low key and bombastic. That’s how I would describe it.

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New Canadians will be required to remove veils before swearing the oath of citizenship, Jason Kenney, the minister of citizenship and immigration announced on Monday.

Mr. Kenney said he had heard concern from citizenship judges that some Muslim women wearing face-covering garments may not actually be reciting the oath when taking part in the ceremony.

“They told me last month that it’s a fairly common problem. Every week, in every region of the country, we’re dealing with situations where applicants arrive with a veil on,” Mr. Kenney said. “Frankly, I found it bizarre that the rules allowed people to take the oath with a veil on.”

In recent years, the face-covering garments worn by some Muslim women have come under increasing scrutiny, as governments and courts have wrangled over when women should be allowed to cover their faces.

Mr. Kenney, who made the announcement in Montreal, dismissed questions of religious freedom.

“When Muslim women do the Haj (pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia) they’re required not to wear a veil. They’re required to show their face,” he said. “The idea this is a religious requirement I do not accept.”

Additionally, Canadian law takes precedence over religious edict, Mr. Kenney said. He also announced measures to boost language testing for new immigrants.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.

So far the headline and the articles I have read are “no veils allowed during the OATH CEREMONY”. Why? After the identities have been verified, the due process of citizenship is done, why is it truly necessary for a “no veil” policy?

I have been to a citizenship ceremony. It’s a CEREMONY. Nothing really happens there except your name is called and you are handed your
citizenship certificate and you may get your photograph taken with the judge. There are usually 300 people at the ceremony. Do we need ceremony monitors to ensure all the 300 people are reciting the oath? If saying the oath is so important, may I suggest that we recite the oath individually in front of the judge? That would make far more sense. But the armchair patriots want to throw up a tantrum over the fact that some from the crowd of 300 or so are not reciting the oath hence they are not Canadians! Absolute crock!

It’s this kind of stupid jingoism by the Tories that makes me cringe.

I am not part of the occupy movement. I do not go out in the camps, I do not write letters to my MP(s), I do not sit in protest in Bay Street, I do not approach random people and demand that they hear me.

However, I am part of the conversation about the movement.

The movement to me represents a sign of discontent by the masses (including me) about the natural order of the system as defined by capital. The small number of people deciding on what role everyone has to play is bound to crash and burn. This message is not lost on white collared workers like me. The disparity in North America between the rich and the poor, not as horrible as it is in the third world country, cannot be scoffed away in this continent. Anyway, working in a bank that keeps declaring losses every quarter is bound to affect my job as well. How much longer before I am trolling the roads for a job while the executive class lives off my taxes?

The attraction to the movement also stems from the reaction of the powers that be. “Health and safety concerns”, the main stream media’s parroting of the politician’s line of attack. And once the camps have been closed, FUCK YEAHs from these parrots suggests that the movement is over. Far from it.

The dysfunctional system in place in North America, favours the massively rich at the expense of the rest (the poor and the middle class) is too strong a message to be ignored.

Let’s begin!

So this weekend we (wife, me and the lil_brat) ended up at Niagara Fallsview Hilton Hotel & Suites. The wife, who is fast becoming a GroupOn, WagJag & XYZ online coupon queen found this deal and we all took a mini vacation.

Overall I was not very impressed. I mean it was a good change from the daily grind but for the money we spent, it was quite ho hum. The lil_brat’s favourite was the pool, hands down! She and I spent at least 1 hour in it. Playing, swimming, splashing…….and lil_brat joined me in it. Before the swimming we took part in a winery tour at Hillebrand winery. The tour was really interesting mostly due to the guide but also due to the fact that the lil_brat kept it entertaining for us (and all others in the group). At one point when we all circled the guide as he was about to demonstrate how to taste wines, he asked who here knows how to taste wines. No one raised their hands except for the lil_brat! Everyone was laughing away while we were mortified!! Great tour but expensive wine. Since she has accompanied us to a few wine tasting/tours, she is well versed with the ins and outs of playing with the wine.

Anyway, I ran on the treadmill for a 5 K but somehow ended up injuring myself which I can only attribute to the different shoes I was using. I am familiar with this injury. A sharp pain on my left side of my knees which will go away after a few days. Am limping right now but hope to recover soon!

7km run after the Scotiabank marathon last week. Not a bad run overall. I was basically trying out my legs and they seem fine even though I had an ache in my IT band. Lots of rolling with the foam in the next few days. Got the treadmill fixed so looking forward to putting in some KMs every now and then.

>Listened to the new Coldplay album and so far I like what I am hearing even though it seems repetitive (compared to their previous music). But I guess that’s the beauty of Coldplay. Lovely melodies all around and they always manage to throw in great guitar lines and lyrics.

My running schedule this year included, a half marathon in Feb, a full in May, a 30K in August and a full in Oct. Each of these runs represented it’s own problems and I could not give 100% on the day of the respective runs. Reasons varied from running in slush in Feb, to IT band problems (excessive training) and no strength (severe lack of training). I know it’s silly of me to focus on the time but I am a very egoistical person (in some matters :)) and I want to prove that I have it in me to improve my pace and be as good as my peers.

Therefore, I have decided to focus on distance rather than pace. Next year I am aiming to run a 50k. Have not decided which one but I will. To help me reach my goal, I will need to put in at least 40k every week until my “true” training begins. What does that entail? Lots of time on the dreadmill during winter months (hello gym!!) and at least one LSD on the weekends. This will put pressure on the home front (wife not a enthusiastic supporter of my running) and my on line activities (I love to wake up early in the morning and just surf the net).

We will see how it goes. Wis me luck!

….I keep trying to remind myself that Google is another corporation that is in the business of making money but then they go ahead and do a little thing like this on my birthday, I slip ;)

A timely reminder of our place in this universe :

What a beautiful shot! This is a picture from the craft Juno on it’s 5 year journey to Jupiter where it will explore how the planets were formed, amongst other tests. Carl Sagan’s words come through loud and clear :

http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorialopinion/article/1045749–siddiqui-the-people-behind-the-prayer-protest?bn=1#article

The group demanding an end to Muslim Friday prayers at a Toronto school is militantly anti-Sikh and anti-Muslim.

Canadian Hindu Advocacy’s director Ron Banerjee has said: “In its entire history, Islam, the Islamic civilization has invented and contributed less to human advancement than a pack of donkeys.”

He wants to “fight the Islamization of our society” and, lately, of the Toronto District School Board (TDSB). He’s demanding that Valley Park Middle School in Flemingdon Park stop giving space to Muslim students in the cafeteria after lunch on Fridays.

He does not live in the area but claims to have “received many complaints from terrified Hindu students and parents (who) felt that the TDSB was so thoroughly infected with Islamist sympathies that they would suffer consequences for speaking up.”

He does not say how many parents complained. Nor does he identify them. When I asked him that by email, and also inquired how many members his organization has and who funds it, he did not respond.

“Frankly, I don’t believe what he says,” principal Nick Stefanoff says. “I’ve not had a single complaint from any non-Muslim parents. We have dozens of Hindu students and we have a great relationship with them and their parents. When the Indian cricket team played Sri Lanka in the World Cup final (in April in Mumbai), Hindu and Muslim kids came to the school at 4 a.m. to watch it together. They had a great time.”

So, as you can gather, some students who on Fridays, instead of going to a local mosque, use the school canteen to pray. This is being done so that they avoid missing out on classes.

I am afraid that’s a big effing no!

If a student (or his/her parents) think that praying is more important than attending the classes, then please by all means go ahead and pray. But you cannot use a school for religious purposes. Period.

Now, regarding this person, Ron Banerjee who bought this whole issue to light. Haroon Siddiqui is bang on target when describing Banerjee and his activities. A racist to the core and one who proudly wears it on his sleeve. This guy is one of those low life parasites who has probably too much time on his hands and not enough distractions. Sounds like a typical mind set of a delusional right wing politics of India.

……in shambles.

Another day, another attack.

Another mindless bombing, innocent people dying.

It’s become the circle of life in Mumbai. I wonder how much can that city take before the psychosis of living with the fear that a bomb could go off next to you drives people over the edge. Already there are statements appearing on the web that border on mob mentality where you go where ever your anger leads you. Here are what some of my close friends are posting on their wall on Facebook :

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. Time to get up and take control. If you agree let’s make this a movement. Hang that Kasab (Pakistani Islamic terrorist who was involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks) or I am not paying taxes to the government for them to sit and feed the man who injured the soul of Mumbai!! An appeal KILL THAT KASAB OR CHANGE THE GOVERNMENT!!

I understand you are angry and upset but I do not understand how killing Kasab will stop terrorism? Once Kasab is dead will the terrorists just stop? It did not happen when US go Osama Bin Laden so why would it work in this case?

And if the person is saying that we should hang Kasab because he is guilty and the government is just dithering by not hanging him right away, then I have to ask, do you want to be like the terrorists? In other words do you want to take Kasab in the back and shoot him just like the terrorists do or do you want to go through a process that are entrenched in a democratic society. Yes, they can be slow but that’s why it’s called a due process. Leave no stone unturned. That’s how you fight terrorism.

I have been very disappointed by the response to this later attack from fellow desis (some of them are my very friends). There have been shouts across the board for more security. What does that mean? Do you want an Orwellian police state? Do you want to be told what you can do each moment you step out?

If yes, then may I suggest you try North Korea.

I was also disappointed with the response to the bombing by the authourities. I mean, I do not expect them to have a police presence at every corner (I would hate that kind of society). My problem is that I saw pictures of injured being carried in the back of delivery vans, injured lying about with no professional help, no fire men, nothing. WTF! I thought after repeatedly being bombed, the authourities would have learned by now how to RESPOND to a bombing even if they cannot PREVENT one.

And the media. Oh my god! What is wrong with the desi media? The hyperventilating reportage from the scene of the blast with no concern for the privacy of the victims and their loved ones makes me want to puke.

I have no idea how to end this post on a positive note because there is nothing positive about this tragedy. It’s happened before and it will happen again.

In our household, we have the following items:

1) iPod

2) 3 Laptops

3) 1 netbook

4) Phone

5) iPhone

6) Play Station 2

7) Wii

8) Xbox

9) Runner’s GPS (Garmin 305)

10) GPS

My family (yes, that includes my 7 year old) ask why I think I need a new gadget in my life (more on the gadget later), I decided to explore the technology in my life.

So let me explain each and everyone one of the items on the list above.

1) iPod : This is basically as useful to me as my right hand. I am a big music fan and I need to listen to music during all my activities (except when I am reading), in fact I am listening to music right now! The iPod really comes in handy during my long runs. I listen to podcasts, new music and books so needless to say without an iPod I feel naked.

2) Laptop #1 : My Windows 7 laptop is my workhorse. It’s the one where I run my web server, stores my photographs, acts as my entertainment centre and acts as my education centre.

3) Laptop #2 : My wife’s Mac book. It’s my wife’s workhorse. It’s the one she always uses for her minimal internet usage.

4) Laptop #3 : My old laptop. This is the one I use for experimentation. Although the last time I switched it on was about a month ago, I install everything and anything on it. I have Ubuntu and Vista. It’s a super slow machine but it helps the learning process.

5) Netbook : This one was purchased for my daughter. We were getting into dangerous territory when my daughter started using laptops. She would either borrow mine or my wife’s when we wanted to use it at the same time. As a pre-empt exercise, I bought a netbook for my daughter. Although I use it most of the time on my commute as a learning tool. I am practising MySQL and PHP on it at the moment.

6) Play Station 2 : Oh man!! The fun times I have had with this electronic piece! I remember staying up till 4am playing games :), all before my daughter was born!! Since her birth in 2003, I have not spent more than a few hours on the device. Time to sell it.

7) Wii : My daughter’s entertainment centre. She uses it regularly. In fact I have to cajole and threaten her to get off the Wii because she spends an inordinately long time on it. This is a keeper for the moment.

8) Xbox : Borrowed it from my friend to play Halo a few times. But ever since he upgraded to Xbox 360, he told me to keep it along with the games (apparently, Xbox games will not work with Xbox 360. How stupid is that???). But I have played it to my hearts’ content and it is now time to get rid of it.

9) Runners’ GPS : The reason why I cannot spend too much time on video games is mostly my daughter takes up my time and I have started running. I need to balance out my time so I decided it’s best to focus on what keeps me healthy (for the time being ;D ). This is a great piece of equipment and gives great data in real time! I have used it on my occasions including my first marathon run.

10) GPS : Well, this is a given. Everyone needs this to save arguments with your ‘better half’ when driving in a new part of the town.

So when we started to discuss about the iPad (the new gadget), I could not counter any argument put up by my family as to why I needed it. And I agree, for the moment, the iPad is basically an idiot laptop. Not of much use if you have all the above.

FOR THE MOMENT!!

Hmmmm……but what about a kindle?

Here is what I see when I try and go to the site : Skeptics Guide To The Universe at my work place. I think Steve Novella will blow a fuse when he sees this :)