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Which is the recent memory which looks like a nightmare for me? The flight from Hong Kong to San Francisco? May be not…there is another ridiculous memory coming in to my mind..
It happened about two months ago, when I was back in India. I got a discount coupon (when I had coffee from a café) of a premium saloon and spa. I went to that saloon and did haircut (usually I do not visit such places since a haircut can be done for less than one forth of the amount these kind of saloons charge). It was a nice experience. The ambiance, the chair, the equipments, the process involved, and the way the guy behaved etc.
I was coming back with a happy feeling. When I passed my regular saloon on my way back to home, this thought of doing a facial came into my mind since I got very tanned due to an one week long travel in a hot place. So, I dropped in to that saloon and told that I want a facial. He suggested a ‘Papaya’ one. This was the first time in my life so far that I was trying out any such grooming other than haircut.
He started with a bleach and it I did not feel any issues (well, any difference in my skin tone too) and then he applied something and started massaging my face in such a way that I felt like he thinks that my face is a road and he is running a road-roller. At some point of time, he poked my nose and it became watery, even the eyes (he applied that thing on my eyelids too). I thought I better stop the whole thing and save my face from his barbaric acts. I realized that he don’t know even the basics of facial massage. I was waiting for him to wipe off the stuff he applied.
When he did that, I opened my eyes and…
My eyes were red and my face was yellow ! how can I go home this way? He was trying his best but the color stayed there… I asked him what this is and he said it will go when he finish the whole process. I don’t know what he was applying on my face but he applied couple of more things on my face and continued his brutal massage…it took about an hour for him to finish his ‘work’
Then he asked whether I want to go for a head massage. And I politely said no coz I didn’t want to lose the precious hair that is left on my head in an hours time and end up in a severe headache. When I paid the money, he expected some tips but I did not give any…he stared at me and I just said thanks and left the place…May be he thought I thanked him for his ‘work’ , but no…
All that ‘feeling good’ that I got from the haircut place is gone now…its replaced by feeling bad…
Same day, same kind of place and opposite results….
Some days are like that, can't help it...
Monday, December 21, 2009
Wednesday, December 09, 2009
Californian Thoughts V 1.0
It’s 11 days here in California. I am still in a hotel and yet to get settled here. Settled in the sense living in our own (rented)house, getting the Social Security Number, getting California driver’s license, sending my son to the school, having an idea where my wife is working, getting familiarized with the neighborhood place I am going to live etc. So far I have no idea about how our income and expenditure account would be. But it looks like we can’t save much (or anything) because of many factors.
I spent this weekend with a relative in San Francisco. Had lots of Indian food (thanks a lot, guys!). It was a beautiful place in a hilly area. We can see the downtown San Francisco from there. Their neighborhood had more Filipinos than Indians. I did not miss any chance to visit shops there. Almost anything and everything had further choice here. Milk and yoghurt is available in varied fat levels and in big big quantities (I did not find any half liter milk)....onion, orange, apple they all comes in different varieties..
We can see obese people everywhere. U.S has everything that can make you fat. I was surprised to see some teenage looking girls wearing kind of plus size (may be its not plus size here) jeans. This is not the case with India and that is not because Indians do not have anything to eat. It has everything to do with what and how people eat and their physical activities. Here even the trash bin is sensor monitored and we don’t have to press the pedal and waste our energy to open it. Just place the hand over the lid and there it opens. Machines to wash and machines to dry too (yes, its catching up in India too). Most of the food available here in the restaurants is packed with tons of calories. And the funny part is I hardly saw anybody walking here (there are exceptions like school hour and some odd people taking their dogs out).
I happened to read a statement by our governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that biking (bicycle) is a healthy option to commute. But here in California, one can hardly live without a car. It looks like people are scared (of mugging, mostly…Why do people mug? For fun? Not really.. its mainly coz of poverty and unemployment) to walk. Back in my apartment in India, people start morning walk and jogging by 5-5.30 in the morning. This is one aspect that I liked about Hong Kong (this could be the case with many other Asian countries too...same is the case with Paris). People walk, they have excellent public transport system too.
There could be business behind this. It’s all about marketing. Capitalism…I believe in science but also believe in applying commonsense. Do normal kids need vitamin supplements just like that? We can find vitaminized candies (for kids), milk and eggs, fortified rice, ‘heavy weight’ potato and onions, tons of frozen foods etc at one end and organic products at the other end. At one shop, I saw a strange over-the-counter tablet. This offers comfortable sleep (apart from acetaminophen, it contains a mild sedative). I wouldn’t have minded testing one but it came in a double pack containing 250 tablets each ! One bread company says ‘Eat more bread’ and I saw it written on a white bread. It looks like most of the health issues here starts from stomach. And what about the health system? Its damn expensive. If you do not have insurance, you are done with it. The other day a taxi driver told that a doctor charged 250 dollars for a check up (for his kid) and finally he had to shout and bargain to reduce it (he told this coz we hired his taxi for an appointment with a doctor. On our way, when we almost reached the hospital, they called up and cancelled the appointment saying that the doctor went for an emergency). Now I understand why India is promoting medical tourism. Last month, I happened to talk to a dentist and he said if people have some major dental things to do (like couple of root canal and a cleaning), it is cheaper to fly back to India and get it done. These days, we can get high quality health care in India and Singapore at cheaper rates compared to developed countries. In some ‘developed’ countries we need to wait for our turn even for surgeries.
As I mentioned earlier we need to apply commonsense. Nobody here force you to take high calorie food. No rule says one should not walk. But in the contrary, here in California, pedestrian has the right on road.
I was checking out the possible part time jobs here and I found one strange job. ‘Interns to lead campaign’. Campaign means next governor election campaign and this campaign is against human trafficking. This was a surprise for me. (The CIA fact sheets about many Asian countries states that human trafficking is a major issue in these countries and thy keep mum on U.S). This is what that organization says:
“17,000 slaves are sold in the United States each year—70% are female and 50% are children. At the same time, American minors are being exploited as sex slaves in the pimping industry. Today, a convicted human trafficker can walk free after 3-5 years under California law”
(check out : http://www.californiaagainstslavery.org/)
So, women are treated ‘equally’ everywhere in the world? Even in the U.S.?
Another shocker for me was the internet connection which drops very often..
Am I being critical about US? Nope, I was just observing things around me and naturally, my head and mind started comparing it with the places I had been, especially the place from where I am from. May be I had a different picture about U.S in my mind. or too much expectation?
I spent this weekend with a relative in San Francisco. Had lots of Indian food (thanks a lot, guys!). It was a beautiful place in a hilly area. We can see the downtown San Francisco from there. Their neighborhood had more Filipinos than Indians. I did not miss any chance to visit shops there. Almost anything and everything had further choice here. Milk and yoghurt is available in varied fat levels and in big big quantities (I did not find any half liter milk)....onion, orange, apple they all comes in different varieties..
We can see obese people everywhere. U.S has everything that can make you fat. I was surprised to see some teenage looking girls wearing kind of plus size (may be its not plus size here) jeans. This is not the case with India and that is not because Indians do not have anything to eat. It has everything to do with what and how people eat and their physical activities. Here even the trash bin is sensor monitored and we don’t have to press the pedal and waste our energy to open it. Just place the hand over the lid and there it opens. Machines to wash and machines to dry too (yes, its catching up in India too). Most of the food available here in the restaurants is packed with tons of calories. And the funny part is I hardly saw anybody walking here (there are exceptions like school hour and some odd people taking their dogs out).
I happened to read a statement by our governor Arnold Schwarzenegger that biking (bicycle) is a healthy option to commute. But here in California, one can hardly live without a car. It looks like people are scared (of mugging, mostly…Why do people mug? For fun? Not really.. its mainly coz of poverty and unemployment) to walk. Back in my apartment in India, people start morning walk and jogging by 5-5.30 in the morning. This is one aspect that I liked about Hong Kong (this could be the case with many other Asian countries too...same is the case with Paris). People walk, they have excellent public transport system too.
There could be business behind this. It’s all about marketing. Capitalism…I believe in science but also believe in applying commonsense. Do normal kids need vitamin supplements just like that? We can find vitaminized candies (for kids), milk and eggs, fortified rice, ‘heavy weight’ potato and onions, tons of frozen foods etc at one end and organic products at the other end. At one shop, I saw a strange over-the-counter tablet. This offers comfortable sleep (apart from acetaminophen, it contains a mild sedative). I wouldn’t have minded testing one but it came in a double pack containing 250 tablets each ! One bread company says ‘Eat more bread’ and I saw it written on a white bread. It looks like most of the health issues here starts from stomach. And what about the health system? Its damn expensive. If you do not have insurance, you are done with it. The other day a taxi driver told that a doctor charged 250 dollars for a check up (for his kid) and finally he had to shout and bargain to reduce it (he told this coz we hired his taxi for an appointment with a doctor. On our way, when we almost reached the hospital, they called up and cancelled the appointment saying that the doctor went for an emergency). Now I understand why India is promoting medical tourism. Last month, I happened to talk to a dentist and he said if people have some major dental things to do (like couple of root canal and a cleaning), it is cheaper to fly back to India and get it done. These days, we can get high quality health care in India and Singapore at cheaper rates compared to developed countries. In some ‘developed’ countries we need to wait for our turn even for surgeries.
As I mentioned earlier we need to apply commonsense. Nobody here force you to take high calorie food. No rule says one should not walk. But in the contrary, here in California, pedestrian has the right on road.
I was checking out the possible part time jobs here and I found one strange job. ‘Interns to lead campaign’. Campaign means next governor election campaign and this campaign is against human trafficking. This was a surprise for me. (The CIA fact sheets about many Asian countries states that human trafficking is a major issue in these countries and thy keep mum on U.S). This is what that organization says:
“17,000 slaves are sold in the United States each year—70% are female and 50% are children. At the same time, American minors are being exploited as sex slaves in the pimping industry. Today, a convicted human trafficker can walk free after 3-5 years under California law”
(check out : http://www.californiaagainstslavery.org/)
So, women are treated ‘equally’ everywhere in the world? Even in the U.S.?
Another shocker for me was the internet connection which drops very often..
Am I being critical about US? Nope, I was just observing things around me and naturally, my head and mind started comparing it with the places I had been, especially the place from where I am from. May be I had a different picture about U.S in my mind. or too much expectation?
Thursday, December 03, 2009
The California Thing..
It wasn’t an all of a sudden affair. But I took it lightly since I already had a bad experience in a similar situation. So, I kept it low. Did not get excited about it…did not make any plans in advance… Finally, when things looked like a reality, I had very little time left to arrange things properly. This does not mean that I had no plans. My plans got interfered by many others. When you stand alone against many, it’s a different experience coated with frustration and pity. I always believe in planning in advance and I believe that some times we need to compromise money over convenience if we can afford it. When one is doing things alone, one can stick to his plans otherwise it’s not easy.
26-Nov-2009, Thursday
We are supposed to travel tomorrow. This is a long term assignment and hence we need to carry lots of things but even the packing was yet to start. There were many things to buy plus lots of things to move out from our apartment since we are going to let it out. We had one dinner invite too. My wife and I had to be at our apartment till almost 9 and thus reached the dinner place bit late. We stayed at my in-laws place. I could not sleep coz of two reasons – I was very tired then I did not get enough space to sleep (might sound silly but its true that I prefer to sleep alone in the bed…but this time the whole family, the three of us, had to share a single bed).
27-Nov-2009, Friday
Woke up with headache since I could not sleep last night. But there were still lots of things to be done, including some last minute shopping. I decided to do the out door chores and my wife decided to start packing. She did not get enough support since she did not want to blindly follow others opinion and thus it became a tiring job for her. I was running around till 6 pm that too without drinking enough water. Thus I was really tired.
We left at 10 in the night ( I wanted to leave at least by 9-9.30). Since we could not get the boarding passes early, we did not get window seat. Our first flight was from Bangalore to Hong Kong (Dragon Air). The flight was at 2.35 in the early morning. Couple of people in the flight had cold, it seems. I heard some sneeze and finally, I too started sneezing..then I had a tablet to arrest sneezing and headache.
28-Nov-2009, Saturday
I could not sleep well again and hence there was terrible headache. I wished I could lie down somewhere. This is the second consecutive day without much sleep. So, as soon as I boarded my flight (Cathay Pacific) I tried to sleep. The headache did not stop but increased heavily and hence I had one more tablet. Headache was not affordable for me since we had lots of luggage (we carried the maximum that airline allowed, in terms of number of suitcases and weight. This wasn’t my idea and I always prefer to travel light). We got two window seat and one middle seat. But we exchanged the window seat (a Chinese guy…this poor guy accepted one Indian vegetarian meal delivered to him which was supposed to be ours). I lied down on my wife’s lap for almost the entire trip (18 hours) but I could hardly sleep coz of the headache. The third tablet started suppressing it..
We reached San Francisco around 10. The officer who interviewed us was a Chinese man and he was very friendly and he gave 3 years permit though we had only 1 year visa. Now we can stay here for 3 years in one go (if we go out of US after one year, once again we need a new visa). My sister-in-law (who live in Seattle came here just for this purpose)was there to receive us. And within a few minutes, there came another relative (who are settled in SF). As soon as I came out of the airport I felt the coldness and this made me very happy (I love it, though my body might not like it many a times).
We straight away went to that relative’s house and within 10 minutes I went to a nearby Chinese store to have an idea about how the US stores are like….Then we had lunch, Indian food. It was a nice house and they had an apple tree in the backyard. Since we were surrounded by our own people, I did not feel like I am really in the US. It was a surprise for all of them seeing me not sleepy coz of jet lag (my wife and son were sleepy). Yes, I wasn’t sleepy though I could not sleep for couple of days plus this long travel crossing time. (But this doesn’t mean that my body does not need sleep. It does need sleep just like anybody else. For me, this happens so coz of my mind. But body warns me with headaches and heartburn/acidity and sometimes even with chest pain).
In the evening we checked in to our hotel and then went to Starbucks to have coffee. Most of the malls here are not single huge building with escalators but lots of small but independent buildings/shops. It was cold and windy outside, but sunny too.
For dinner, we went to a place which sells pasta, pizza and some Mexican and American food. I did not much like the food but I had no issues in eating them. Everything had lots of cheese. Food was expensive.
29-Nov-2009, Sunday
Woke up very early. The complimentary breakfast wasn’t good. Re-arranged and re-packed stuffs and came to know that baniyan (an inner vest for men made of cotton which is worn under shirt/Tshirt) and the sandal that I bought as last minute purchase turned to be wrong size (they showed me something and packed something else). The only Indian traditional dress I brought got spoiled by some mango pickle (we were not supposed to bring this, I guess. But I was helpless…the one against many issue again).
Checked out many apartments. The houses were spacious and neat. There was one neighborhood full of Indians and my personal choice was to keep away from that. Finally we decided on one and told them that we are interested.
Did some essential goods purchase. Sister-in-law, who was driving the car, bought a GPS. We even got Indian roti/chapatti from one store. The variety available here in the US is amazing. We have lots of choice here. Even eggs come in many different varieties and sizes. Same with milk, it comes in different fat levels. One particular store called Costco sells everything in big quantities but at lesser price. There are so many chain shops specialized in different stuffs like food, grocery, stationery, saloons etc…I really enjoyed the shopping experience. Happened to be at a McDonald’s which did not have any vegetarian stuff and thus I had to go for a burger without anything inside.
30-Nov-2009, Monday
First working day after we arrived here. But woke up little late and hence had to hurry. We had so many things to do. First was to return a mobile phone which did not work and when returned, came to know that it was billed more when we purchased. There was a difference of $5. The we proceed for the most important thing in the US, the Social Security Number. I will never forget this visit, coz…
We entered the SSN office and parked the car. I got down from the car and started walking and heard a lady saying:
“Excuse me”
I saw a tall, athletic looking blonde lady saying that to my wife. She continued:
“You made a dent on my car”
Then my sister-in-law interfered
“There is no dent, nothing happened, its just a..’
She tried to wipe it off
Then that lady took her wallet and took an id and showed it. The first thing I read was
“POLICE” in bold red….
She was a police officer. I checked her car and yes, there is a dent. And that was caused by our car when my wife opened it…it ended up in claiming insurance…
26-Nov-2009, Thursday
We are supposed to travel tomorrow. This is a long term assignment and hence we need to carry lots of things but even the packing was yet to start. There were many things to buy plus lots of things to move out from our apartment since we are going to let it out. We had one dinner invite too. My wife and I had to be at our apartment till almost 9 and thus reached the dinner place bit late. We stayed at my in-laws place. I could not sleep coz of two reasons – I was very tired then I did not get enough space to sleep (might sound silly but its true that I prefer to sleep alone in the bed…but this time the whole family, the three of us, had to share a single bed).
27-Nov-2009, Friday
Woke up with headache since I could not sleep last night. But there were still lots of things to be done, including some last minute shopping. I decided to do the out door chores and my wife decided to start packing. She did not get enough support since she did not want to blindly follow others opinion and thus it became a tiring job for her. I was running around till 6 pm that too without drinking enough water. Thus I was really tired.
We left at 10 in the night ( I wanted to leave at least by 9-9.30). Since we could not get the boarding passes early, we did not get window seat. Our first flight was from Bangalore to Hong Kong (Dragon Air). The flight was at 2.35 in the early morning. Couple of people in the flight had cold, it seems. I heard some sneeze and finally, I too started sneezing..then I had a tablet to arrest sneezing and headache.
28-Nov-2009, Saturday
I could not sleep well again and hence there was terrible headache. I wished I could lie down somewhere. This is the second consecutive day without much sleep. So, as soon as I boarded my flight (Cathay Pacific) I tried to sleep. The headache did not stop but increased heavily and hence I had one more tablet. Headache was not affordable for me since we had lots of luggage (we carried the maximum that airline allowed, in terms of number of suitcases and weight. This wasn’t my idea and I always prefer to travel light). We got two window seat and one middle seat. But we exchanged the window seat (a Chinese guy…this poor guy accepted one Indian vegetarian meal delivered to him which was supposed to be ours). I lied down on my wife’s lap for almost the entire trip (18 hours) but I could hardly sleep coz of the headache. The third tablet started suppressing it..
We reached San Francisco around 10. The officer who interviewed us was a Chinese man and he was very friendly and he gave 3 years permit though we had only 1 year visa. Now we can stay here for 3 years in one go (if we go out of US after one year, once again we need a new visa). My sister-in-law (who live in Seattle came here just for this purpose)was there to receive us. And within a few minutes, there came another relative (who are settled in SF). As soon as I came out of the airport I felt the coldness and this made me very happy (I love it, though my body might not like it many a times).
We straight away went to that relative’s house and within 10 minutes I went to a nearby Chinese store to have an idea about how the US stores are like….Then we had lunch, Indian food. It was a nice house and they had an apple tree in the backyard. Since we were surrounded by our own people, I did not feel like I am really in the US. It was a surprise for all of them seeing me not sleepy coz of jet lag (my wife and son were sleepy). Yes, I wasn’t sleepy though I could not sleep for couple of days plus this long travel crossing time. (But this doesn’t mean that my body does not need sleep. It does need sleep just like anybody else. For me, this happens so coz of my mind. But body warns me with headaches and heartburn/acidity and sometimes even with chest pain).
In the evening we checked in to our hotel and then went to Starbucks to have coffee. Most of the malls here are not single huge building with escalators but lots of small but independent buildings/shops. It was cold and windy outside, but sunny too.
For dinner, we went to a place which sells pasta, pizza and some Mexican and American food. I did not much like the food but I had no issues in eating them. Everything had lots of cheese. Food was expensive.
29-Nov-2009, Sunday
Woke up very early. The complimentary breakfast wasn’t good. Re-arranged and re-packed stuffs and came to know that baniyan (an inner vest for men made of cotton which is worn under shirt/Tshirt) and the sandal that I bought as last minute purchase turned to be wrong size (they showed me something and packed something else). The only Indian traditional dress I brought got spoiled by some mango pickle (we were not supposed to bring this, I guess. But I was helpless…the one against many issue again).
Checked out many apartments. The houses were spacious and neat. There was one neighborhood full of Indians and my personal choice was to keep away from that. Finally we decided on one and told them that we are interested.
Did some essential goods purchase. Sister-in-law, who was driving the car, bought a GPS. We even got Indian roti/chapatti from one store. The variety available here in the US is amazing. We have lots of choice here. Even eggs come in many different varieties and sizes. Same with milk, it comes in different fat levels. One particular store called Costco sells everything in big quantities but at lesser price. There are so many chain shops specialized in different stuffs like food, grocery, stationery, saloons etc…I really enjoyed the shopping experience. Happened to be at a McDonald’s which did not have any vegetarian stuff and thus I had to go for a burger without anything inside.
30-Nov-2009, Monday
First working day after we arrived here. But woke up little late and hence had to hurry. We had so many things to do. First was to return a mobile phone which did not work and when returned, came to know that it was billed more when we purchased. There was a difference of $5. The we proceed for the most important thing in the US, the Social Security Number. I will never forget this visit, coz…
We entered the SSN office and parked the car. I got down from the car and started walking and heard a lady saying:
“Excuse me”
I saw a tall, athletic looking blonde lady saying that to my wife. She continued:
“You made a dent on my car”
Then my sister-in-law interfered
“There is no dent, nothing happened, its just a..’
She tried to wipe it off
Then that lady took her wallet and took an id and showed it. The first thing I read was
“POLICE” in bold red….
She was a police officer. I checked her car and yes, there is a dent. And that was caused by our car when my wife opened it…it ended up in claiming insurance…
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