Desi In Toronto

So I had an opportunity to travel to New York city and I took it :)

This city is absolutely fascinating. One can actually feel the pulse of the city and I have raved and clapped numerous times about New York here and here. But on this trip I have had some bad experiences.

I mean Mr. Bus Driver, I did not see the disabled man trying to leave the bus and there was no need for you to shout at me and my daughter to “stop blocking the way”. Ms. Dog Owner if you want space to walk your dog please take it to a park. Don’t expect me to take a bow because “your dog needs space too” on the pavement.

And my favourite, Mr. Cyclist. I know you earn pittance delivering food around the city and the faster you go, the more money you could make. But as a pedestrian I have the right of way and you were out of line shouting at me. BTW, next time, be a man and stop if you want to argue and not run away. I am pretty sure that the nasty weather had some role to play in it. It is quite cold and snowy and slippery and generally gloomy here in NYC at the moment.

But that will not stop me from loving this city. Every gloomy and bad experience can be blown away by a scintilating walk (on the one sunny day) by the lake on central park, by meeting good friends from one’s teen years, from having the best pecan tart with awesome coffee at a small cafe, walking on the streets of NYC with Rhea, my daughter who was using our umbrella to make sure her Barbie did not get wet.

New York, even in the throes of winter, you continue to rock!!! I salute you.

Tracking my training for the Mississauga Marathon through dailymile.com. As you can see it’s not going very well.

For some reason the idea of death come to my head the other day. Not what happens after I die. Throw me in the furnace after harvesting me for organs. I don’t care. But what I have been thinking about is the Moment before I would die. What would happen? What would I be thinking about?

This question has been bugging me quite a lot. And the worse thing about me is that the way I answer troubling questions is to actually imagine it happening. And that’s what I did twice today. I placed myself at the moment of my death. I am on bed, wearing PJs with sheets covering me and I am dying. The thing was that the only thing that I was fretting about at that moment was how sad it would be not to see the people who matter to me anymore. Literally bought tears in my eyes.

At first I was really upset about it but then it occurred to me that maybe that’s what the IDEA of death is…..to make us live more fully. I know I will die one day but as long as I am alive, I am going to make the most of it!! And my main purpose in life is to make sure that everyone around me knows that I love and adore them a lot.

Since then I have been feeling better and feeling more alive than ever before. Try it yourself. Place yourself at the moment of your death and everything will become clear about what you really want out of life.

Good luck :)

Update : I just realised the massive Cliché in this post. The simple fact is that it’s the truth and that’s why it’s a Cliché!!

So, I love to run. A friend introduced me to running 3 years ago and slowly, but steadily, I have gained immense appreciation for this sport. On twitter I follow all sorts of runners. From ultra runners to casual runners and each one has their thoughts on running so I guess it’s my turn to put in some thoughts of my own.

Some of my observation on running are :

• Always keep an eye on the road. Since I run on the pavement, I always look over my shoulders to make sure there are no vehicles approaching when I am about to cross a road. This has become a habit for me and has saved my skin a number of times. And a few times when I know I have kept my eyes open and the driver has not, I have let the driver know what I think about him/her. :)

• I work in an area which is surrounded by hills. So I have been trying to conquer the hills without compromising on my pace. It has not worked very well so far. When I run up the hill, I lean forward and keep my head straight. For some reason, this seems to be the least stressful position. And when I am running down hill, I lean back and look up which shifts my centre of gravity backwards.This lets me maintain my speed/momentum. However, I always, always get shin splints so maybe I am doing something wrong.

• I always keep my head straight. I do not know what the body mechanics are but if I hang my head when running, I get tired very quickly.

• My nipples chaff very easily. Something I learned from my last 1/2 marathon. The worst feeling EVAH!! And it took me 1 week to recover and had trouble wearing cloths…..so no matter what, I will never ever wear a new t-shirt for a run.

• Music is very important to me. It’s been one constant in my life and I listen to it whenever I get an opportunity. But 3 years ago, the opportunities began dwindling because of added responsibilities in my life. I could have always kept on listening to music during my long commutes but for some reason I would always take a nap so that opportunity was lost too. It was running that saved my love for music. During a run I had no one to talk to me, no chance of falling asleep, no one telling me the music sucks so I should turn it down, no one to tell me how the music I listen to hurts someone’s ears etc. I began to consume music passionately.

• After a run, the warm feeling is one of the most amazing feelings I have ever experienced. I know it’s mostly the endorphins but there is also a part in me that’s super proud of the run I just completed.

• I am a weakling when it comes to food. I just have this propensity to hog and feel really guilty after my meals. But on the days I have had a run I do not feel guilty at all. In fact I use my running to justify a super big meal!!

• Till last week my mode of running was to set a pace and keep at it until the end of the run. I do break into walks because I still have not learned the art of drinking water and running at the same time. Now I am trying something new that a colleague mentioned. During the week I am going to run short (5K to 8K) runs but run as fast as I can. And then after a couple of short hard runs, I will be going for a really long run (aiming for 20K over the weekend). Well, that’s the plan but god knows if I will be able to do it.

Updates to the list to follow!!

So, I found this site through stumbliing (what did people do on the internet before stumbling?) called 8tracks.com. This site presents itself as internet radio managed by you, the user. You essentially create lists of songs you like and then broadcast it to the world. That’s it.

As with every technology in the world, the ones that do well are the ones that are simple and intutive. You upload songs from your computer and then start mixing them up and create lists. If you like a certain mix by another user, leave a comment, follow that person’s mixes, or click on “next mix” and the site is intelligent enough to present you with a similar mix. Simple as ABC. There are numerous categories for you to choose from. And if you really like some music (e.g. I found I love CocoRosie‘s music), there is a link to amazon and you can purchase your music.

As per their Legal  page, their site works because the bitchy organisation called RIAA (and it’s counterpart in Canada called CRIA) is paid for each song uploaded and played on the site. Which is probably why RIAA has not issued takedown orders to 8Tracks. (note : Isn’t it funny, RIAA does not care where the song originated. (I may have downloaded it ileagally and uploaded to 8tracks.com) But because RIAA gets paid, they say “aw shucks”).

Anyway, there are restrictions. Only 2 songs from one album and you cannot skip songs more twice on a mix which I think is fair. If I create a mix, please listen to it and don’t skip over and over every song. If you think the mix is not good, just skip to the next mix.

The things I like about this site it how easy it is to find music of your taste. All I had to was to click on my desired categorise and off I went. And I did create a couple of mixes for your listening pleasure (you do not have to sign on to listen – that’s another amazing part!!). Here are the lists. Hope you like them :

Why Indie Music Is Awesome!

Indie Music For Your Pensive Mood

For some reason I am really missing India a lot these days. I guess not having visited my place of birth for 7 years would bring about the yearning. A part of it is because the places I used to love in India have gone through a drastic change (as everyone loves to tell me) and I want to compare the changes with the image in my mind. My hometown of Patiala, as my folks say is now unrecognisable. The places I used to hang as a youth have either been razed or have been altered drastically. Another place I really want to visit at my hometown is the engineering college I used to attend. I have a lot of wonderful memories of that place and visiting it after 7 years would surely bring all those memories rushing back into my mind. And to be able to share them with my daughter, who will be with me, is something I am looking forward to.

Delhi is another place where I want to spend some time. Again, a lot of memories. Delhi was the place where I really matured (stop snickering, mom and dad). I had a lot of tough decisions to make in Delhi and more often than not, I ended up making the wrong decisions. Those were moments that really taught me valuable lessons which I like to think I continue implementing to this day.

I am not really sure what the big noise is about NOT getting vaccinated against the swine flu. The argument seems to be that there are unknown dangers about the swine flu shot. But those risks seem to be unknown and the risk of getting swine flu and dying from it are very real.

So, once the rush at Ontario clinics die down a bit, I and my daughter will be getting the swine flu shot. Of course, convincing my daughter to get a shot is going to be herculean task.

I am trying to take my blog into a new direction. I know I have not been posting for a little while but I had fallen into a rut and could not break out of it. Hopefully, my mood is now changing for the better and I will post more often.

Here’s what I want to focus on

• Music
• Running
• My life
• and everyday funnies.

I do want to talk about other stuff too but I prefer twitter for that….hopefully I will not lose too many readers!!

Well, I have been in Canada for 7 and a half years and I am finally going to give it a shot……developing an interest for Hockey (that’s Ice Hockey to you non-North Americans).

This season I promise to follow NHL……ok that would be too much. I promise to follow the Leafs this season. That’s how I learned to appreciate football (that’s American Football to non-North Americans). I forced myself to watch the games and over time, I realised that football requires a lot of skills and strategies which really appeals to me as a couch athlete.

So here are my thoughts on the Leafs’ game last night (which I was able to watch in peace and quiet on account of my wife and in-laws). Keep in mind that these thoughts are from someone who has never in his life watched an entire game of hockey.

Leafs and the Canadiens played quite an engaging game of hockey. Never was there a dull moment and when the fights started, it was even more entertaining!! I guess there is a fair amount of animosity between the two teams because they came to blows fairly regularly. I thought it was the Senators from Ottawa that the Leafs hated.

From what I can gather, the offense was top notch from the Leafs. They were playing hard and most of the time the puck was in Canadiens’ half. But it was their sloppy defense that basically lost the game for them. 3 of the 4 goals by Canadiens were from power plays in which, I swear, the scorers basically walked over to the goal and scored. It’s start of the season so let’s see how it unfolds.

I hope to watch more games (now that I have a PVR, it would be easier). I will not bore you with the details except to let you know from time to time if I have any passion developing for the game like most of my colleagues and friends do.

Later.

I have taken running half marathons in the last two years or so and I have never felt as alive as I do when I finish a 21 KM run. The delicious ache that flows through the body for a day or so is exhilarating although the the crash that follows is PAINFUL on the legs.

The thrill that one experiences as the run is about to start is pretty amazing!

• The leg muscles are tense.
• The crowd’s thrill starts to infect you.
• The iPod is switched on.
• Just before the start, you start focusing your mind towards the run.
• And the start……I feel as if I have just sprouted wings and am ready to fly.

I am usually able to maintain my enthusiasm until the 10 KM mark. After that for the next 3 – 4 KM it’s a struggle to gain back the momentum. I start popping more gummy bears, start drinking more water which is probably what I should stop doing. This stopping and starting kills me. Once I get my runner’s high back, I can run fairly well until the last 3 KM or so. I feel like I have bricks for legs and I start plopping to the finish line.

And that’s what happened on Scotiabank Marathon as well. I was sure I would crack the 2:15 hour mark but I finished with a pathetic 2:21 hour.

On the whole, I really enjoyed the run except the last 3 KM. Need to practice more.

I did have an issue with the organisation of the event. I mean, the organisers had done a superb job on the course but the approach to downtown (by car) where the event was to start from was absolutely pathetic. I had given myself enough time to reach the venue but because all the approaches to the downtown core were closed (and on the site there was no information that these approaches would be closed), I barely made it to the run on time.

Moreover, once the run was finished, the runners were carted to a cordoned area (understandable, as the organisers did not want anyone other than runner to eat food) where we were squeezed to the point where I was actually claustrophobic. I mean, we have just finished a run, we want to relax and enjoy some food but no, we were squeezed and had to go through back ways to get where we wanted after jostling with fellow runners. Very annoying.

But I will come back to the run again and maybe, just maybe, I will run the full marathon next time

:)

……so what’s happening in my life?

Well, went to Montreal for a visit. What an awesome place!!! I mean that whole town is geared for tourism. Everything screams “come have fun as long as you spend money here” and we were happy to oblige. Montreal to me is like New York’s alter ego. Fun, but not as fast paced and definitely not as dirty. The only bad experience we had there was when my wife’s purse was stolen from a restaurant when we were in Montreal for only a few hours! Wife was quite upset about it until she realised that she did not lose anything of value. Other than that, we had a great time!!

Montreal is a city that lives and breathes architecture. Beautiful cathedrals, beautiful waterfront, beautiful old Montreal and really, really beautiful Notre Dame. And the people are quite friendly too…..granted we met only the people from the tourism/service sector and never really the “common” folk but the outlook of everyone we met there was sunny (except for the bastards who stole my wife’s purse).

We had taken the VIA train to Montreal. The ride to Montreal was pretty lame because there was a jumper (a suicide!!) on the tracks so the train we were on came to a halt for 3 hours!! After that it was smooth sailing.

Why does one attempt suicide? I have no clue what would push someone to commit this act. Actually I would probably kill myself if anything happened to my daughter.Anyway, I hope this person now rests in peace.

Saw District 9 over the weekend and have named it one my top 10 movies of all time!!! I will not review the movie here as better people have done a better job elsewhere but the story, the presentation style and the excellent acting of the unknown cast is what sets this picture above the likes of other summer projects like G I Joe and Transformers.

Regular postings to follow!

Been terribly busy…..Will start regular postings soon.

Dear readers, I have hit a wall. Give me a few days and I will be back.

Good riddance to bad rubbish.

In another sign of the music industry’s recently announced retreat from a five-year-old antipiracy strategy, the Recording Industry Association of America has dumped the company it used to help it gather evidence for mass lawsuits it filed against people it claimed were illegally uploading copyrighted music. The RIAA long used a company called MediaSentry to troll the Internet in search of people who uploaded large amounts of music.

This company was responsible for:

Is Warner Music, EMI, Vivendi Universal and Sony BMG ‘investigator’ MediaSentry operating illegally in your state?

The Massachusetts State police have already banned the company, it’s been accused of operating without a licence in Oregon, Florida, Texas and New York, and now similar charges have been levelled at it in Michigan.

A complaint was filed by a Recording Industry vs The People reader with the state’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth resulting in confirmation that MediaSentry has no official authorisation to carry out so-called ‘investigations’ there.

“We encourage parties to pursue complaints against unlicensed parties and the local prosecutor,” says the response.

“The prosecutor can prosecute these cases as felonies, with a maximum penalty of a $5,000 fine and/or up to four years in prison.”

The Big 4 and their RIAA are already on very shaky ground with MediaSentry.

Not to change the topic but the subject, I am not a big fan of illegal downloads but I still do it.

I recently downloaded the new Guns & Roses album and gave it a listen before deciding if I want to buy it from a store or not. Thank god I gave it a listen before I purchased it. It would have been a waste of money. In the meantime, I downloaded Beck’s Modern Guilt and loved it!! I then downloaded it legally from amazon.

The music industry is really in doldrums as far their current business model is concerned. They really need to ramp up this digital presence in a way that does not seem like we the customers are being screwed out of our money.

…………this is where I was………so excuse me while I get back into the groove…..

I knew, I knew, I knew there was a reason why I detested romantic moveis.

LONDON: Planning to go for a romantic comedy with your boyfriend this weekend? Well, scrap all your plans, for according to a study, ‘rom-coms’ can ruin love lives.

The study has found that romantic comedies such as Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill give people unrealistic – and potentially unhealthy – expectations about real-life relationships. Unlikely happy endings, improbable plots and faux philosophy are to blame, they say.

Ladies, I rest my case. And please never insist I have to watch some x, y, z movie because it will make you “believe in love” again.

Diwali, the Hindu holiday of light falls today. It is the festival of lights as celebrated by most of India (and parts of Sri Lanka and Nepal) for differing reasons. Think of it as christmas for non-christians.

From wikipedia :

Hindus have several significant events associated with it:

Return of Lord Rama to Ayodhya

The Killing of Narakasura

Austerities of Shakti

Birth of Goddess Lakshmi

Krishna defeating Indra

In addition to Hindus, Sikhs celebrate diwali as well as Buddhists and Jains, basically, as I said before, the whole of India more or less celebrates diwali.

As a child I used to love Diwali. The lead up to the day was the best times I have had in my life. The whole world would be light up for a week before Diwali and there was a deep sense of joy everywhere, even in my dad’s acrimonious household in Nabha!! You could not escape the sheer force of Diwali no matter who you were, how much love you had for your family and what your place was in the Indian society. The big feature, of course, was the firecrackers on the evening of Diwali. Frankly I used to hate the firecrackers and would “enjoy” them from a distance. The whole festival was loud and pollution from the firecrackers was intense but I LOVED it. There was scrumptuous foods, assortment of sweets and deserts, and lots and lots of enjoyable company throughout the evening and deep into the night.

I remember the day would start with us taking a bath and wearing new clothes and then going off into the market to window shop for firecrackers. This would take us to afternoon and we would drive to my dad’s house in Nabha from Patiala, where we lived.

My grandmother would then take us kids to the small temple behind the house and makes us pray even though we would looking at the sky to see how soon the sun would set so that we could start partying. We would them go to the intersection near the house and place diyas (earthen lamps) in the middle of the intersection and soon, it would become a make shift round about. That image for some reason is burned into my memory. I loved the look of the lamps in the middle of the intersection in dusk, with all the foot and scooter/bicycle traffic avoiding the lamps carefully.

We would then proceed to our house for the main prayer of the evening where everyone was required to attend. I remember that my grandmother would lead the prayer and everyone would join in although after sometime, everyone would start joking and making fun of each other while my grandmother would try, in vain, to shush all of us. Then all of us, from the senoir most onwards, would dip their palm in flat plate with clay like solution and then place it on the freshly painted wall in the temple. Again, I have no idea of the significance of the ritual but again, it is something I re-live every diwali.The whole time our ears were rotating about like a radar to hear the first signs of firecrackers so that we could begin our whining to leave the prayer room.

And once the prayers were over, we kids were let loose. Out came the packets of firecrackers (or in my case, the ones that did not make a huge boom) and we went to the roof (which was the highest in the neighbourhood giving us a vantage point on who had the best fire display going) and then we proceeded to drown out neighbourhood with various types of bombs, rockets, strings of small crackers etc. My uncle was big into spending as much as possible on firecrackers and when questioned why, he said that it is auspicious to spend money in Diwali so that it will bring him good luck. I think he just wanted to show off!!

This would continue for an hour or so (yes, that’s how many firecrackers we had!!) and then it was time to ignore the mess and go instead for a movie or just relax around while the elders indulged in another auspicious activity – gambling. Yup, it is auspicious to gamble in Diwali. It is supposed to bring you luck!!

Before we went to sleep, everyone made sure that the doors were unlocked and most of the lights in the passage were switched on. This was done to welcome the goddess Lakshmi who would bring us luck and wealth (something like Santa Clause with intangible benefits).

Now, living Canada, the holiday is completely devoid of any joy. Sure, we get together with the family during Diwali but the boisterous nature of Diwali is missing in Canada. The low point of course is trying to explain to your kids what Diwali means. I tried the other day to explain what Diwali is to my daughter, Rhea, and the whole conversation fizzled when I tried to explain to Rhea that she is Hindu and Hindus celebrate Diwali. And she kept insisting the whole time that she is not Hindu but a little girl!!

I leave you with something I found on Hindu Blog and wish you all a very happy Diwali :

Satguru Bodhinatha Veylanswami on the Significance of Diwali:

The inner significance of Diwali is that it is a joyful celebration of the victory of good over evil, of our spiritual qualities dominating our basic instincts, intellect and ego. Light is a universal symbol of spirituality. Thus bringing more light into our homes and therefore our lives symbolizes each of us becoming a more spiritual person.

The light of the soul can transform our baser qualities of greed, distrust and hatred into selfless giving, trust and helpfulness. It can inspire us to be consistent in our efforts to progress on the path of spiritual unfoldment. And it can reveal to us our true identity as immortal souls living and growing in the great school of earthly experience.

• Because I am between jobs, I and my daughter moved to New York City to visit my wife.
• In the first few days of living in NYC, realised that this city is actually quite a beast.
• The cliche “city never sleeps” is so, so, so, so, true.
• Looking for the punk/rock music scene for a parent, with a child in tow constantly, is not easy.
• Central park totally rocks!!!
• Navigating the streets is so freaking easy.
• The subway system is at least 10 larger than the one in Toronto and twice as cheap.
• People ARE friendly despite what you might have heard.
• City is both the cleanest and the dirtiest I have ever scene.
• Saw a homeless man eat out of a garbage can in front of Macy’s on the 5th Avenue.
• Booze shops and eating joints are everywhere. Still have to find a decent used book store.
• Natural History  Museum is absolutely awesome. Do not take young ones with you or spouses who get bored within 20 minutes of being there.
• Runners rule the roost here.
• Some of the women are stunning.
• Some of the men put me to shame.
• Love the fact that I can walk into a grocery store and buy beer.
• Hate the fact the selection of beer is nowhere nearly enough. The Beer Stores in Canada are much, much better.
• The price of beer is about 75% of what it is in Canada.
• Tried Sushi here and have fallen in love with it.
• Living places are tiny and expensive.
• Kid’s parks are everywhere but they are really dirty.
• Large South Asian population here.
• Noticed that most of the obese people are black. Why?

More later……on the whole, I really like New York but cannot see myself living there.

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It was at that point that the Air Canada clerk at Gate 27 approached me.

“Excuse me,” he said, “you can’t say those words. Those words are illegal.”

“What words?” I asked, bewildered, given that by then I’d said probably 2,000 words.

“Suicide bombing,” he whispered.

Now, I know of course one is not to make jokes or threats about bombs at airports, and properly so. But I hadn’t been doing that, rather recounting some of the public evidence heard that day at a public trial in the nation’s capital.

“That’s not illegal,” I snapped, barely restraining myself from adding “You ninny.” Besides, I told him, I was a reporter telling another reporter about my work day, which was true enough.

“Do you want me to call security?” he asked primly. “I’m supposed to call security in these situations.”

“You do what you like,” I said, talked to Rose a bit longer, then sat down and resumed reading my book.

About 10 minutes later, a fellow passenger warned me that she thought the clerk had called security. I couldn’t believe it, and kept reading, and sure enough, within a few minutes, a young woman with a walkie-talkie in her hands (I guess so if I suddenly turned into a human missile she could call for help) asked to speak to me. She’d had a report about “an incident,” she said. So I told her through gritted teeth what had happened, she magnanimously agreed it was “not illegal” to say what I’d said, apologized and went on her way.

When we boarded a little later, I asked for the ninny’s name. He refused and hissed, “If you make a scene, I’ll call the pilot and you won’t be flying tonight.”

I was so very tempted to tell him to go ahead, but I knew he probably would do it and I wanted badly to get home, so held my tongue. I was quietly praising myself for my steely calm when another passenger remarked, “I didn’t know you were an anarchist, Christie.”

Here is the comment I left :

I despise Chritie’s comments, I think DiManno is a douche bag and Steyn is a racist. However, we need these voices. We need them to remind us that there are people out there who still think that racism is ok and being one is very, very “brave”.

I would, however, prefer that these commentators be a little more consistent. The other day Chritie wanted Canadians to be less polite and now she is complaining about a `less polite`Canadian. The other day DiManno said that everything is going fine in Afghanistan and a week later soldiers are being killed, Taliban breaks out of jail and Dimanno bemoans lack of security in her next column. And Steyn. Oh boy, some are racists subtly, but this guy wears it on his sleeve.

I am brown and I would gladly (and have) submit to racial profiling at the airport. It is annoying, humiliating and embarrassing esp. when my daughter is with me. And all because I worked in the UAE for 3 years. I don`t like it but it`s the sign of the times. And I am not even a muslim.

So for all the times that you white folk have been stepped on lightly by airport security, we brown folks have had to endure much worse. So stop whinning and get back to your lattes and newspaper at the airport while we are subjected to intimidating interviews. we will try not to delay your flights.

Sorry about the lack of posts……early last week I lost my job. I was kind of expecting it but more so after a few months than just before summer. Oh well, it happens. I am now actively looking for a job so if anyone has a need for an AS/400 programmer, call me.

Regular posting will commence from today. On that note, check out this song by Spoon.

Update : OMG!!! This is totally me in the last 2 months!!!