Umm Starbucks..

“The whole purpose of places like Starbucks is for people with no decision-making ability whatsoever to make six decisions just to buy one cup of coffee. Short, tall, light, dark, caf, decaf, low fat, non-fat, etc. So people who don't know what the hell they're doing or who on earth they are can, for only $2.95, get not just a cup of coffee but an absolutely defining sense of self: Tall. Decaf. Cappuccino.”

A dialogue from You’ve got mail, one of my favorite movies. I love watching this movie and I bet you can’t find anyone as charming as Meg :-)

Cappuccino… In recent months, Starbucks has become a favorite pastime for me. It’s one of those places where I can spend hours without looking at the time. Although I am not a great coffee lover, I do enjoy trying different coffee types and flavors at Starbucks. Today, I am a big fan of Starbucks! Sometimes you don’t like the things at first sight but as time plays the game, you start liking the things. When I landed to this extreme west of the world, I didn’t like green tea. But, today I usually have 3-4 cups of green tea daily at my office.

Starbucks Vanilla Café Latte – I simply love it. Café Mocha is good but a bit stronger than Café Latte. French Roast and Italian roast are the strongest of all! Ambience plays an important role in any place to make it out of the world! Starbucks is no exception to this rule - Great soothing music, with pristine smell of great taste. I still remember my first experience at Starbucks when I saw a charming, beautiful young lady, with turquoise eyes, at the counter. Eventually, I couldn’t resist myself praising her eyes.. May be this is the reason that started loving Starbucks ;-)

All in all, it’s a wonderful place for hang out - Great music, wonderful coffee and charming ambiance!

Happy New Year 2008

Hundreds of eyes were locked up on the watch of famous watchtower at San Francisco peer 1 from 11:45 PM. It was an electrifying atmosphere with people shouting and screaming. Time ticked away and camera clicks started so as celebrations, jubilations, and exultations. It was perfect 12:00 and beginning of a new year, new hope and new colors. Then all eyes turned to the lights! The most awaited fireworks started with a bang over the bay bridge. Dark sky glittered for around 15 minutes with all types of colors and fireworks. Truly, a fascinating experience!

Unlike last year, this time I couldn’t see the reflections of lights in the bay. But, I did enjoy the beauty from the branches of palm trees. From the day one, I fell in love with this beautiful city. Every time I visit, I started liking SFO more and more. After the fireworks, people came from nowhere and streets were densely crowded. It was a hard time for the cops as well. While coming back home from Embarcadero, I experienced Mumbai local traffic. Just stand in public and you will automatically go along with them.
All in all, it was wonderful yet another time.

So, it was the start of 2008. :-) I always like welcoming new things so as New Year. Like last year, this year also I have jotted down my resolutions. They do help in analyzing yourself. Ultimately, it is all up to you how you follow these resolutions. The funniest thing is one of my resolutions – “to be an early bird and not night owl” started in such a fashion that I went to bed around 4 AM and got up at 11 AM ;-) But still resolutions will continue and continue with persistence.

Wish you a very happy, satisfying and wonderful new year! Spread the wings, expand the horizons, follow your dreams and live life delightfully :-)

Does God Love you?

Last week, it was a bit hectic. Almost every day I traveled through light rail from Montague to San Jose downtown. It was one of the best experiences that have helped me to understand the lifestyle of a common man in Silicon Valley.

One day, when I was traveling, I saw a folded paper on the vacant seat opposite to me. The seat was set apart for disabled people. With my tiny eyes, I could see the title and it was “DOES GOD LOVE YOU?”. I couldn’t resist myself to go to that seat and read the article. It was a small guide of some Christian radio ministry. There were a number of questions and answers in the article related to God, his love, Heaven, Hell, Jesus Christ, Bible, etc. While reading this, it reminded me the slogan, "In GOD We Trust" and I just smiled.

Well, over the years I learned that God is present. But, he is not present in the skies. He is among us and always meets us in some or other forms. He is for good, for the betterment of all lives. Take it as a temple, a church or a mosque, these places help people to calm down and think for the best. The holy books and stories teach us about living. Ultimately worshiping God means being pure and honest, being good to the people around you, being good to the society. The God and his feeling is the greatest thing in this universe and surely one of the major things that bind us.

And about the question, "Does GOD love me?".. Yes, he does :-)

Life in Silicon Valley

"If we hadn't put a man on the moon, there wouldn't be a Silicon Valley today.”

- John Sculley

Its one more quiet but stunningly beautiful Sunday in "High-Tech Heaven". In my fanatic engineering days, I always used to think about this place called Silicon Valley. The land of technologists and venture capitalists, situated in about a 30-mile radius around San Jose in California. Blessed with wonderful weather, the "Valley" is nestled between Diablo And Santa Cruz Mountain ranges. Pacific ocean also adorns the beauty of the valley. There are excellent places nearby like San Francisco, Napa Valley, Santa Cruz beach, Yosemite National Park, Lake Tahoe, Reno and many more.
It is first home for most of the big names in engineering and IT like Apple, IBM, Google, Yahoo, Intel, Oracle, Cisco and lot more. Their concentration and sheer size create melting pot of opportunities in this area. There are more jobs than workers in the valley. Consequently, resulted in insane cost of living with apartment owners increasing their goody bags. To be very frank, here you have to pay for your breathing as well. The houses are relatively packed but a lot of ostentatious showing of wealth. Most houses don't have basements and there's no such thing as an all-brick home, both because of the threat of earthquakes. Unfortunately, a black spot on the glowing beauty.
Commuting is relatively good with local trains and buses but its better to have car to save the time. I found good air but you better watch out for water. San Jose is titled as the safest big city in US for the past several years. But, its always safe when you are safe. ;) I saw a small India resides in the valley with 20-25% of Indian population. There are many DESI turned American families in this area. Some of them are maintaining the culture and ethnicity. DESI restaurants and grocery shops are booming with most of the south Indians and gujjus making their business. Importantly, you can find any Indian grocery item whatever you want from Parle-G to Chavanprash.
This is about living in High-Tech heaven. :)

Nature rules!

Baseball, अमेरीकेचा राष्ट्रीय खेळ. त्यामुळे येथे Baseball च्या मैदानांची संख्या अनगिनतच. समजुन घेतलं तर कोणतीच गोष्ट अवघड नसते आणि शेवटी हा तर एक खेळ आहे. Baseball च्या ground वर Baseball नाही पण Cricket खेळण्याची मजाच वेगळी आहे. तसे पाहिले तर Cricket कुठेही खेळल्या जाऊ शकतो, भर रस्त्यावर असो वा Basement parking मधे. सप्टेंबर च्या सुरुवातीला संध्याकळी 8 वाजता दिवसभराच्या Cricket चा शेवटचा ball खेळला होता. त्याच मैदानावर डिसेंबरच्या शेवटी संध्याकळी 5 वाजता उघड्या डोळ्यांनी ball पाहनेसुद्धा अवघड होते. Actually, फ़रक आहे दिवसाच्या लांबीचा. जगाच्या ह्या भागात generally दिवसाची लांबी maximum 14.5 तास असु शकते आणि minimum 9.5 तास. Equator च्या दुर असल्याने असा हा फ़रक साहजिकच आहे. I can imagine life on poles... मला आज बर्याच दिवसांनी 9-10 चे भुगोल आठवत आहे. ;)

हुशार लोकांनी DST (Daylight Saving Time) concept सुरु केला. Thanks to Benjamin Franklin ह्याची सुरुवात झाली. Energy वाचवण्यासाठी, traffic injuries आणि crime कमी करण्यासाठी दिवसाची सुरुवात पुढे-मागे करायला लागले. They say that "Run for Daylight." (In US, in Spring, clock moves forward by 1 hour and in fall, it moves back by 1 hour. Previously, it used to start on the first Sunday of April and used to end on last sunday of October. But, from 2007 Bush presidency signed a new law in which DST will start on second Sunday in March and will end on First Sunday in November. Here is the link)

बर्याच देशांनी DST concept implement केलाय. त्याला महत्वाचा अपवाद आहे जपानचा. आपल्या भारताचा अभ्यास केला तर उत्तर भारतात maximum length of the day 14 तास आहे आणि minimum 10 तास. Southern ईंडियात हा concept निरर्थक आहे पण Northen ईंडियात may be फ़ायदेशिर ठरु शकेल.. जेवढा आपला विजेचा वापर आहे ते पाहता DST concept Northen ईंडियात implement करायला काही हरकत नाहीये. पण, आपली लोक हा complicated concept implement करायला तयार आहेत का?

There are complications but it's fun to adjust our clocks accroding to the nature. Afterall Nature rules :)