Toe Tapping

एका तळ्यात होती, बदके पिले सुरेख
होते कुरुप वेडे, पिल्लू तयात एक

कोणी न त्यास घेई, खेळावयास संगे
सर्वाहूनी निराळे ते वेगळे तरंगे

दावूनि बोट त्याला, म्हणती हसून लोक
आहे कुरुप वेडे, पिल्लू तयात एक

पिल्लास दुःख भारी, भोळे रडे स्वतःशी
भावंड ना विचारी, सांगेल ते कुणाशी ?

जे ते तयास टोची, दावी उगाच धाक
आहे कुरुप वेडे, पिल्लू तयात एक

एके दिनी परंतू, पिल्लास त्या कळाले
भय वेड पार त्याचे, वार्‍यासवे पळाले

पाण्यात पाहताना, चोरुनिया क्षणैक
त्याचेच त्या कळाले, तो राजहंस एक

Thanks giving trip -- ek chintan!

Disclaimer:

Following material is meant for people with specialized (read: abnormal) interest in Golmal Dialogues as well as Sandeep Khare albums. Above average familiarity with Shahrukh Khan's style will be an added advantage.

Intended audience for the following material includes but not limited to Chetan Rao, Chetan Rao pant, Jui Devi, Sandeep Saheb, Mandar Rao , ani "Aamhi".


Highlights and Lessons learnt:

1. The best time to visit Liberty Island is when it rains cats and dogs. You will feel like you are on a private cruise as no one else is fool enough to be on-board that time.

2. Newport Mall is closed on Thanksgiving afternoon (including "Vishranti Gruh"). So visit the mall only to enjoy the tour-de-escalator.

3. Milk which is out of dated or may be "out of weeked" has wicked effects on one who consumes it and even deadlier effects on others who are in consumer's close vicinity. The side effects may last for 4 days after consumption.

4.'Tari asto pakdayacha hatat rumal gulabi' yacha artha neet samjayacha asel tar SubWay ne ratri pravas karava.

5. Atlantic city trip a real 'nightmare came true'. I guess Dunkin Donuts should open up their outlets over there to serve coffee at odd hours. They will make good bucks.

6.Never dare to get into a Dining hall in Atlantic city and order a small coffee simply because you will never get it there.

7.Atlantic city trip was end-to-end great. Means both the ends ( Dinner @ Mugal and Ghrrrrr ..zope ) were good. What happened in between was a thing of past.

8. Dhooooom - 2 ..."tari hi aamhi ethech ka aalo??"

9. Remember there are no Dunkin Donuts on the 250 miles long way to DC so get into any of the others as soon as you are hungry/thirsty.

10.Never allow Cinnamon to be in Ovan for more than 15 seconds.

11.DC Special "Piyo to jano" tomato soup .. a must for everyone who like suspense in everything.

Addendum from Mandar -- ( "The milk effect")

12. Cricket can be better played indoor, especially on the dining table. Also it is more fun for the batsman to hit the bowlers/fielders/umpires/commentators rather than scoring runs. and bonus points to hit the non-striker!

13. It is better to wake someone up and ask whether he was sleeping or what rather than just guessing.

14. If you see something, say something. if you see nothing, say anything!

Aso.

Second trip to my second nation!

Second trip to my second nation!
Wait a second ... second trip is fine .. but what is this "my second nation" thing all about?
Let me explain
I am back to USA ... one more time. And no way it feels like I am in a "phoren"... Nothing comes to me as a surprise .. rightfrom I-94 stammping to the hotel and then the office culture. Even though I am now on extreme east cost as opposed to where I was, extreme west coast... things havn't changed much. Ya, I mean I get to see the Lady holding a torch in her hand right in the middle of Hudson bay instead of a 378m tall tower in Seattle.

When something is not alien to you then it is obviously yours .. that's why I said Second trip to my second nation!" gottcha!

First Time in My Life

I am not sure whether it is a fad or what .. but read this on lots of blogs .. what is that which you did for the first time in your life recently???

Hmmmm.... gotcha Bowling !!

Surprises ---
1. The ball is a really heavy one. I totally understimated it before lifting. Thank God, it didn't fail on my feet when I tried to pick for the first time casually.

2. You need skill to get your finger out of the ball quickly at right time otherwise be ready to loose your one of the fingers .. don't worry you have 9 more to go.

3. It's all about foot work.

4. It's all about "Instru" --- the robotics arm which picks up the bottles and arranges them,the underground conveyor belt .. lots of gizmos!

5. It is costly affair :-( Doncha think 24 bucks per hours + 8 bucks for shooes is little more

6. Lastly ... I luv the game and wanna go again to Techcity Kirkland to cry "TAKE THAT, YOU!!!"

31st @ Space Needle

57..58..59..60..... the lift was going up on Space Needle to celebrate yet another year end...

I was fortunate enough to get a glimpse of this spectacular Fire Works.

The lift touched the top most floor exactly at 12:00 and the colorful sparks started dancing everywhere around the Space Needle...

I was really nostalgic ... just thought about 2k5 ... by any parameter the 2k5 was a memorable and successful one..

Let 2k6 be even more...

Tathastu... Amen!!

Everybody Loves Raymond....

After a routine grilling at office, I come home and find solace in watching "Everybody Loves Raymond" on TBS.

I don't need to write a whole new blog to tell you what "Everybody ..." is all about.

It's about a fun loving family. Though Everybody loves Raymond .. I love Debra too!!

Debra(Patricia Heaton) is a cute & homely lady . I did a lot of soul search why I like her. I could come up with 3 reasons
1. Her looks are Indian ( mano ya na mano)
2. She looks like Gayatri Joshi ( Geetli from Swades)
3. Her role is of a housewife. It is a simple role which typically reminds me of "Tu Tu Mein Mein"

BTW she picked up Emmy twice.

I know what I did last summer

I know what I did last summer
.. savored the potpourri of these books and movies.

Books -

1. Life of Pi By Yann Martel
I am intrigued by the cover of this book. It's stunning: A small brown figure lays huddled at the rear of a tiny boat. Underneath and around the boat the sea is streaming with marine life while at the front of the ship lays a fully grown tiger, head resting, and one paw dangling over the water.


2. The Monk who sold his Ferrari by Robin Sharma.
Just another self help book.

3. Good to Great by Jim Collins
A sequel to "Built to Last". Jim tries to figure out why only a handful of companies become great leaving behind a pool of good companies.

4. Sands of Time by Sidney Sheldon.
Author ka bas nam hi kafi hai.

5. Are you afraid of dark? by Sidney Sheldon.
When finished reading Sands of Time, I just thought to read one more novel by Sidney Sheldon. There is something about this guy. He really makes the reader "feel" the plot.

6. The Saint, the Surfer, and the CEO by Robin Sharma.
Don't know whether it is a prequel or a sequel to 'Monk who....'

Movies -

1. The Constant Gardner Directed by Fernando Meirelles ( "City of Gods" ) Cast :Ralph Fiennes & Rachel Weisz
Exploitation of a Third World country by a Pharma company makes Rachel Weisz (Tessa Quayle )concerned. She gets brutally murdered by the bullies in this game. Her husband, Ralph Fiennes (Justin Quayle) , haunted by remorse, embarks on a personal odyssey. Using privileged access to diplomatic secrets, he risks his own life but stops at nothing, to uncover and expose the truth - a conspiracy more far-reaching and deadly than he could ever have imagined.

2. The Man
Hollywood never runs out of such "Cop-Comedy" movies. Samuel Jackson and Eugene Levy are found making humble efforts to make the audience (is there anyone BTW) laugh. Thanks to a "less" well-known director Les Mayfield, this movie is a flop. Even the humble efforts by Samuel Jackson and Eugene Levy couldn't save this movie.

3. The 40 Year Old Virgin:
Paisa Vasul Movie ... great job Steve Carell. Keep it up.

4. Monster In Law
Watched for JeLo.

5. Wedding Crashers
Why can't David Dhawan think of such a theme? I bet, Govinda and Aarshad Warsi would knock down Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn.

6. Something's gotta give
I can not stop myself watching this one thrice over a weekend Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton are at their best. I added Nancy Meyers in my list of favorite directors.

7. 50 First Dates
"Can I have the last first kiss?" sums up everything. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore are awesome.

8. Ant Z
Just watched again.

9. Finding Nemo
Just watched again.

10. A Beautiful Mind
Russell Crowe's Cinderella Man directed by the same director Ron Howard is now on my TO DO list.

11. The Transporter - II
Jason Statham is the "six-sigma" compliant transporter with a simple mantra "Rules are made to be broken" .