"Chat is disabled"?

That's the message Gmail threw at me just now.

There was some trouble the chat part of the Gmail window was having in connecting to the server, but usually you get a message saying that there is a problem connecting and whether you want to retry.

Just now, I got a "Chat is disabled" message. I refreshed the window and the message disappeared.

Funny, huh?

I've been noticing a gradual decrease in the service quality of Google and Gmail / Google talk. Hope they solve the problem.

Not sure if Darling's darling will like this

Further to this and this, the O2 service station have given me a loaner O2 XphoneII.

For the people who don't know, or couldn't care less, this is the smartphone version of the O2 range (not the PDA kind). So it looks like a real phone and talks like a real phone. Has a keypad and all.

What it also has is a list of contacts belonging to the guy / gal who loaned it before me. And there is a number in the contacts list called "Darling" with messages to go with it which are "Why not answering?" and more mushy stuff.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that the guy / gal is extremely pissed off at the fact that I have his / her Darling's number and some of the messages that go with the number.

Now don't think I am a peeping tom. I would never have noticed the messages on my old phone, but on this one, it takes you to the messages application to read a new message. So when I got a message from a collegue, it took me there. And the message right below it was from Darling!

Which brings me to a very important lesson. I need to know how to reset this phone before I return it...cause I don't want my sensitive information leaking out to just anybody who loans the phone next.

I think that was a bit unprofessional on the part of the O2 service center. All they had to do was reset the phone after every customer returns one.

I'll put that as a suggestion when I return mine.

3 to 5 days become a week and a half

An update to this post.

I just got a call from the O2 service center. It seems that they need to replace the entire main board of the phone (no wonder it conked off!), but they don't have the board in stock. It will arrive only by Friday this week and so the earliest I can collect it is on Monday the next week.

Now this sucks!

A simple ROM upgrade should not zap an entire board. But then, maybe the problem was there all along and was causing all the intermittant problems I was facing earlier.

I hope this board change make the phone stable. Cause it it doesn't, I'm in deep trouble.

I will be left with a $1000 brick and an angry wife!

The only 2 days when I am really religious

Sunday and Monday were part of the Ganeshotsav festival honouring Lord Ganesha.

To me, this is the single most important of all the numerous Hindu festivals thro the year. For a simple, solitary reason.

Lord Ganesha is my chosen representation of the Ultimate Being, of God. Of his many forms, I find this form the most endearing. And also the most potent.

Lord Ganesha is known as "Vighnaharta", literally meaning "Remover of obstacles". But to me, he is a lot more. He is my benefactor, my friend, my sounding board and my strength. He is the one I go to when I don't feel strong enough, and he gives me strength.

I never thought myself religious. I am not a devout Hindu, I don't hold much store in rituals, I refuse to chant things that I don't understand. But when it comes to these two days in a year, I am a completely different person. I pray, I chant, I bow and I watch.

As you might have read - in between the lines - in my previous post, I have always felt blessed. Always felt guided. As if He is watching over me.

And I am thankful for that!

Ganapati Bappa, Mourya! Pudhchya Varshi Lavkar ya!

Interview

Don't worry...I'm not quitting my company. Not just yet, anyways :-)

Had to go to the US embassy this morning for an interview. Since I have to go to the US in the next couple of months, and since my US visa had just expired a couple of months ago, I had to apply afresh here in Singapore.

When my travel agent put in the application, the embassy came back with the requirement of an interview for me. So I had to go there this morning.

It's not much of a hassle, not when I compare it with my first experience with the US embassy in India. There, one had to start as early as three in the morning to wait in the queue to enter. And the queue was still a huge mammoth thing that one had to negotiate. It was also a fairly unique experience for me.

As I progressed thro the queue and reached the final destination, I was asked to move to the "final" queue, which was directly in front of the Interviewing Officer. And I could see and hear the questions and answers. And here's the funny thing.

I had more than 8 guys in front of me. Every single one of them got rejected!

Every single one of them!

The reasons were of all types: "I don't think your English language skills are good enough to live in the US", "Your documentation is incomplete", "You look like a potential immigrant". Just about anything could have been the reason.

But it did not really worry me. Despite the fact that this was my first trip to the US. I guess the trip did not matter to me that much. And I got the VISA.

Today, here in Singapore, the queue was a lot shorter (but still formidable) and we were allowed to enter the embassy a few at a time. After I got in and showed my documentation, I was asked to move to counter 8 for my interview with this pretty American woman.

The usual questions ensued: Which company? How many years? Why are u going? How long? Why don't you want to work in the US? Why Singapore? How long? etc.

And at the end of the interview, she smiled and said that she was giving me a 10 year multiple entry VISA "so that you don't have to come for the interview again" (in her very own words).

Maybe be disliked my face so much, she didn't want it anywhere close to the embassy, neither did she want the photo in the application to be seen ever again :-)

But whatever the reason, I walked out with a 10 year multiple entry VISA to the US. Now I don't have to worry about spot decisions to attend my conferences.

At least something good this morning.

Renault's "aero suspension" deemed illegal

The FIA ruled against Renault's "Tuned Mass Damper" as illegal, which leaves the team scrambling to accomodate this in their design.

As I understand (after reading from various sites), the Tuned Mass Damper is a mass of approximately 10 kg, at the back of the cars nose, that reacts on a spring against the movements of the chassis and this results in a much smoother ride over bumps and kerbs. This system that was invented by Renault engineer Rob Marshall and has been in use for some time (specifically since the Italian GP last year)

Why is this illegal?

Not sure how many people have read the FIA rules, but I think I see why the FIA has declared the mass dampener illegal. If you read the rules, you will see that

• Section 10.3.3 states "Non-structural parts of the suspension members are considered bodywork"
• And if you look at the fi.com Technical Analysis for Germany you can see the mass dampener is a non-structural parts of the suspension members, so therefore is body work.
• Now rule 3.15 on bodywork and aero influence states that body work "Must remain immobile in relation to the sprung part of the car."
• Since the mass dampener is mobile (as it is designed), and a part of the body work is therefore illegal.

While a lot of teams have been known to use this innovation, the reason I think Renault will suffer the most is that their entire aero for the 2006 car has been designed around the TMD. And that is why their performance has slackened in the last few races (not taking credit away from Michelin for supplying pathetic tyres during the same time Renault has a gasp in performance...double whammy)

We'll see how the race comes by this weekend and the effect of this ruling on the performance of the Renaults.

One of the best decisions I made

When I moved to Singapore, I put off everything until I had decided on the school for my daughter. When I finally decided on the Overseas Family School (OFS), a lot of folks at home were surprised with my choice.

Last evening, we were invited to the school to attend the "Back to school" initiation program for parents of Grade 1 students. After spending two hours listening to the Principal, the curriculam organizers, the Home-base class teacher, the special languages teacher and the other teachers, I realized how perfect my decision to enroll my daughter in this school had been.

There was so much thought put into every single action and every single intent of the school. Apart from learning what is part of the curriculum, there was a very disciplined approach to HOW everything was learnt.

Also, as they say, company matters. All the parents, including us, were very concerned and involved with routines and the learnings of their children. The attention levels were that touch higher than I would have expected at most schools.

And I loved it.

I think enrolling my daughter at OFS has been one of the best decisions of my life. I can see the changes in her even now. She's a lot more confident, a lot more authoritative, a little more inquisitive than before and a little more independant. She's become quite the leader, from what we hear from school.

As a bonus, she loves the school. So it's perfect.

My phone has conked off!

My O2 Atom has died on me!

It was misbehaving the last couple of days and would hang every few days for no apparent reason. The only way out was a soft reset, which would bring the phone back to working order.

So I decided to rezap the latest firmware on the Atom this morning. Maybe the last time I did it, something did not install right. Very unlikely, but not impossible. I already had the update downloaded (I have every single ROM upgrade that has ever come out, even for my old O2 XDA II, and I have kept them all) and so all I needed was a backup of my data and my settings and everything was in order. By experience, I knew that the phone would be unavailable for around 20 minutes, which is an acceptable downtime.

So I plowed ahead with the task, only to find that after the upgrade completed, the phone turned into a hi-tech brick. Nothing would come on. Not a glow.

I took out the battery, I hit the reset button a few times and tried everything I knew to revive it. But it was not to be.

So I went over to the service center at Bugis and handed it over. Now it will take anywhere between three and five days to get my device back. Until then, I have to manage with some phone.

Don't know what I am going to do, but I will have to manage.

I think I passed the test...don't you?

If you remember my post a few days back (Sinking in), I had written that I had quit smoking.

You may also recall the test that most of my friends had put up for me. They had all said that the ultimate test for any ex-smoker who has just quit is when he is having a few drinks with friends (who also smoke).

Well, I had a few friends over for dinner and we had a few drinks and we all went down to the first level so that one of us could have a puff. And I am glad to say that I did not. Did not even feel like having a puff.

So there you go. I think I passed the test with flying colours.

As I always said, it's always a state of mind.

SHANTARAM

Every once in a while, a book comes along which is so perfect in every aspect that it makes you want to read it. Which makes you flinch at the thought that you have almost completed it and there is no more of it to read.

"Shataram" is exactly this kind of book.

Written by Gregory David Roberts, it's a (true?) story which begins with his escape from an Australian prison which prompts his arrival in India. After his arrival, he stays in a Mumbai slum, runs a free medical clinic there, falls in love, works for the mafia, gets beaten up in a Mumbai prison, runs illegal passport and black market currency operations, works in a few Bollywood movies and fights by the side of the Mujahedeen in Afghanistan.

Phew!

For someone who has had so many tumultous events in his life, he has kept a surprisingly detailed account of his life.

All the characters are very well defined and more often than not, you find yourself floating along with the story to all the different places that "Lin", the central character (the author himself), takes you with him.

I wanted to post this here for a while now, but wanted to finish the book before I did.

I usually take very little time to read books, even if they are giant 1000 pagers. But this one, I was savouring every single page. So I took it slow and enjoyed it a bit more.

I personally loved the book. And I very strongly recommend that you pick it up. It is a bit big and intimidating when you see it, but once you start reading, you cannot get enough of it.

Trust me. Pick it up.

The first time I actually SAW racisim being committed before my own eyes

My pals and I had decided to go to a Karaoke bar in Mumbai for a couple of drinks and then some. Before we landed there, we decided to grab a bite of a pizza before we started our drink binge, mainly because we were starving and more importantly, had we not eaten, it would have caused us to drink less.

So we finished our food and left for this place.

At the entrance, we were told that stags (that's people like us who don't have feminine company along with us) were not allowed. Before we could raise our voices in protest, the manager gave a very subtle wink and nodded to his right.

Standing there were two Muslim guy. Both of them were with the traditional long beards and head caps and both looked like a lot of the Iranian exchange students that I have seen often during my college days.

I agree that both of them looked and fit the description of today's vision of terrorists, but I am not sure that they were even remotely close to being one.

This could have been the classic example for an entire faith being maligned because of the actions of a few.

But I did not stop it. I did not step in and say that they should be allowed to access the club. That is a decision of the management of the club and what they feel threatens the security of the place. And I am sure they were not doing it to make trouble for these two people. Mumbai, after all, has been known to be fair to all kinds of people.

I think the entire getup, with the beards and the head caps...the modern world's view of a conservative - and often considered hardline extremist - muslim, was what caused the people at that bar to react the way they did.

When they left, the manager even walked up to me, put his hand around my shoulder and said in the local lingo "Pataa nahin, terrorist jaise hi lag rahe the naa?" Didn't you think they looked like terrorists?

I had to agree. It was a better-safe-than-sorry approach.

But it was also discrimination. And I am not proud of it. That is not me. And that is not Mumbai.

I have a lot of Muslim friends and I know them for their warmth and their love. I have shared a lot of Id festivals with them, often quarelling with my friend's mother that she did not invite me for the delectable Biryani and Sheer Korma.

I hate what these few people have done to dishonour an entire faith. In the name of waging a holy war, a jihad, they have managed to malign their own faith.

After all, a terrorist's bomb or bullet does not discriminate between an infidel and a muslim. It kills regardless of religion.

My folks are in town

Before I begin, I must say I apologize for disappearing for the last few days. What happened, see, was that a customer of mine had a kind-of technology conference. And since I am one of the vendors there, I was there catching up with all the customer business people and their IT people and explaining my company's stand. It was a pretty good couple of days.

I even managed to make a few connections with people working for my competitors. >:)

Coming back to the point, my mom and dad landed here yesterday. They got off their uncomfortable flight from India and walked out into my open arms as I waited for them at the Changi arrival lounge.

Both of them looked fresh and yet tired. Some from seeing me and being glad that they're here. Some from the lack sleep on the airplane.

So, all said and done, this will hopefully be a long trip for both of them. It is, in fact, my dad's first international trip in more than 30 years. The last time he was out of the country was even before I was born. So this is a significant moment in time for him. And for me.

My momhas been here a few months ago. She left early cause her back was causing a lot of trouble and she wanted it checked by some doctors known to us in India. So her trip was cut short the last time. I hope that nothing of the sort happens this time round and that they will stay their full stay and have fun.

My daughter is thrilled that they both are here. More than anything, she missed the two people she gre up with as a baby: her grandparents. There is a very special bond that exists between a child and the people she grew up with, and that bond is for all time. It is unshakeable. And it shows in the way my daughter reacts when she sees her grandparents for the first time.

Hope this trip for them is long and sweet.

Fingers crossed.

Talking like Sylvester Stallone

I have a pimple on the edge of my mouth for the last couple of days and it just refuses to go away.

By nightfall every day, it becomes the size of a zit and threatens to burst, but doesn't. It throbs with every beat of my heart and just is a major irritant. Twice, I have emptied it's disgusting contents and twice it has come back with full force. And the pain just intensified everytime my heartbeat took a jump.

Only yesterday did it calm down and is now showing signs of going away. The throbbing pain still remains, but at least my mouth looks like it used to. And I can talk a little easier than I could the last couple of days. Like Sly Stallone.

I almost felt like I was spewing Rambo dialogues the last couple of days.

Can you believe this rain?

It's been raining for the last couple of hours. Apologies. I should have said...It's POURING!

Visibility is really low and there is no hope of even crossing buildings or going out for lunch (not that I want to) without getting drenched.

But what I noticed was that the traffic flow is even, the water never gets clogged up, the underground expressways don't have accumulation and the city barely notices the rain. It's an incidental. Something that happens on and off.

The only thing that happens of any significance, for people like me who don't drive, is that cabs are a lot harder to find and so we have to call for them. That's a little bit of an inconvenience that we have ourselves to blame. Had we a car to move around, that problem would be resolved as well.

I was just wondering, what if this was Mumbai? The city would have come to a standstill by now. All the train tracks would have been underwater and the traffic would have been maddening. Tempers would be flying and in general, there would be chaos.

Why doesn't the city learn? Year after year, they face the monsoon as if they were seeing rain for the first time. There is no preparation, no contingency, no change. It's not like the city cannot be made resilient to the rains. It's just that nobody's doing anything to make it that way.

I hope they do. Else that beautiful, vibrant city is going to be tagged forever as a disaster during the rains.

Happy Birthday, My Love

My love has turned 59 today!

She is the most beautiful, the most kind, the most loving and the most tolerant of them all. She accepts all in her arms and gives without question. There are no outsiders, everybody is her's.

She does not discriminate, she does not provoke. She has never walked into another's house to start a fight. But she has always defended her own. Ferociously and aggressively.

She is the wonder, the glory and the splendour. She is the definition of love and the meaning of emotion.

She is India. And I am mighty proud to say that I am Indian.

Happy Independance Day, my love!

Well said, Mr. Covey

Is this the perfect example of a quotable quote or not?

"It's not what people do to us that hurts us. In the most fundamental sense, it is our chosun response to what they do to us that hurts us."

Isn't that just right? Isn't that how we go about life, once we actually pause and think about it?

How many times do we react and then decide against that reaction? How often does the reaction get followed by regret? How often the reaction is justified, but still not appropriate? How often does life make you screw up when you are trying so hard not to?

Is this the best time to up and look for a guru in the Himalayas? Is this the time for mental peace and quiet? Or is it just me? Am I thinking too much? Should I just shut up and let the river of my life take me to the pre-decided destination?

Am I insane in putting up so many questions on this post?

It's almost like I'm guided

Last evening, we (my family and I) were just listening to music and pretty much doing our own thing.

At some point in time, I felt the need to switch on the television and just surf. My usual channel list is the sports channels, the news channels and the movie channels. But this time, for some reason unknown to me, I switched to Star World and just as I did, the advertisement for Andrea Bocheli's concert in Las Vegas came on informing me that the concert was coming on at 9pm...just 30 minutes away!

Why was I so thrilled? If you feel this way, I am sure you have never heard Andrea Bocheli sing. The man has probably the most beautiful voice I have ever heard in song. So serene, so calm, so full of emotions. I don't understand a word he says (because he does not, for the most part, sing in English), but the power of the music is what captures me and makes me buy CDs of his music.

So I ran to get my blank DVDs organized, primed my DVD recorder and then recorded the entire show.

How easily an hour passed by is testament to the amazing music and the voice of Andrea Bocheli.

But what I was left thinking about was the sense of being guided.

It's not like it has happened just last night. If that was the case, I would not have bothered. But it has happened too often to not take notice.

I managed to get the John Lennon 25th Anniversary show that way. I casually surfed to the Sistic site and found out (on two completely seperate occasions) that Billy Cobham and Dreamtheatre were playing in Singapore. There have been so many other incidents which make me believe that there is someone looking out for me.

As if I am holding on to an invisible finger and being led through life.

That's a bit rude

I accompanied a collegue of mine to a customer to discuss some technology solution they needed.

During the meeting, one of the attendees from the customer side started to talk in Chinese (I am presuming it was Chinese, though I have no idea) and soon everybody in the room was talking Chinese. I quickly realized that I was the only non-Chinese person there and so was not invited to the conversation.

I thought that was a bit rude. Not the part where people broke out into Chinese. That sometimes happens naturally. What I felt miffed about was the fact that nobody realized that they were excluding someone from the conversation.

I know I try consciously to avoid making this mistake. I expect people to do the same. I guess my expectation from my fellow people are a bit to high.

So it's grade 1, now

My daughter is no longer a kindergarten student. Today she starts Primary School. My baby has grown up.

So she left this morning all dressed up in a new uniform. With a new stroller bag and a new lunch box. And new stuff. I was teasing her that she was taking all the new stuff to the same old school. And she got quite angry at me. So I decided to back off. Didn't want her to start the day with a fit of anger.

So jumping and happy, she went into class. Today, she will meet all her old K2 classmates and a new teacher (Scottish, in case you are wondering...not sure why you were wondering, in case you were, tho).

Have fun, sweetie. Hope grade 1 is better for you than K2 was.

Happy Birthday, Singapore

I've been in Singapore for just over a year, but I've had the pleasure of being party to two National Day celebrations (I managed to get in before the last year's celebrations...which, incidentally, were Singapore's 40th).

So Singapore turned 41 yesterday.

What amazes me is the number of people who swarmed down to the Marina to watch the ritual fireworks show in the evening. The fireworks show is a standard feature as part of the celebrations, yet people from all walks of life come down to have a look.

I have been told that the high level rooms at the Westin Hotel usually go at a premium during this time as people book these suites to have a high-rise view of the spectacular fireworks display.

Sinking in

The vacation is truely and completely over. I realized that today the moment I woke up.

Though I am still in the India time zone (which makes me feel like I have woken up way early in the morning India time, but actually I am way late as per Singapore time), I have been able to reach office at a decent respectable time today. Poeple around me keep telling me that I look refreshed from the holiday. Maybe they are just being polite, but that's the last thing I feel.

The last week in Mumbai, what with all the partying with friends and the entended chats and the eruption of emotions, was a completely exhausting seven days of my life. Not that I would miss a single day. If given a chance, I would probably do exactly what I did every single day. Well, maybe I would have done one thing differently, but then....who's keeping track?

So it's back to the grind. Back to the routine. Back to the things that promise to make us sane, but actually drive us insane.

One change, though. I have completely stopped smoking.

This is, and was of course, according to plan. I had decided even before I left on vacation that I would not smoke the moment I landed here in Singapore.

The decision was more in terms of my long term health. I am in my early thirties now and if I keep abusing my body the way I do now, I will be in real trouble when I reach my fourties. This is the start of the corrective action I want to take so that I will have a livelier and healthier life when I am older. That way I can spend more quality time with my daughter as she grows up. That way I can play tennis with her rather than watch her play. I can dance with her rather than watch her dance.

So, as I had decided, I have not smoked since I landed here 3 days ago. Forget smoking, I have not even thought of having a smoke the last couple of days. In fact, I stood talking to a collegue of mine as he smoked and did not have the slightest temptation to do it myself. As I knew my mind would switch off just as it has.

The only test that remains, as per a lot of my pals who are skoffing, is when I am having a few drinks with my friends. They claim that only if I avoid smoking then will I have truely quit. They'll see. They haven't seen my resolve.

"Father, forgive them. They know not what they do." :-)

I hate goodbyes

I've said so many of them, I'm sick of them!

The last 2 weeks have been a bit of a revelation. In terms of the tautness of the bonds of friendship, the relativity of time and the fact that the sheer presence of a friend and his words are more important than most things in life.

In the last 2 weeks, I have realized how many people need me to be strong. That being strong is the only way they have seen me. That me being weak or negative puts them in a very different state. A lot of my friends look to me to be the one with the positive words. Words which say that we can pull through. That everything will be OK. That we will make it happen, no matter what the odds. I have realized in the last 2 weeks that I have to be strong...even when I don't feel like it. Just for the sake of my friends.

I also realized how deep the bonds of friendship run with the friends I met. Each one known to me for varying lenghts of time, some older than a 12 year old bottle of single malt scotch, some younger than freshly brewed beer. But each, exerting the same effect that friendships makes people do.

People who had no direct connection to me spent more than half a day cooking a special dish that I like just because I asked for it. My golf buddies threw a party to celebrate the occasion just cause I was there. Three days of office were ignored just cause they wanted to play golf with me. And the intensity of the hugs in the parking lot as I was about to leave said everything that was actually not said. That these guys miss me as much as I miss them. That I have never been happier than the time when I was playing with these guys. That I miss them so much that I almost want to up and leave from Singapore and head back to Bangalore. Thanx a lot guys! I really appreciate what you mean to me and am glad I found such great pals.

A couple of pals flew in from as far away as Delhi just to meet me. Just so that they could talk to me over lunch. So that they could share what they felt and hear what I had to say about my life and theirs. Just talk. And that's it. When one of them said, he was flying down to see me, I did not take it very seriously. Only after we finished our counversation over lunch did I realize how much it meant to him...and to me.

I realized how much I miss my friends. How cranky we all had gotten because we had not met for more than a year. How we function as vents for each other's frustrations and are the billboards where each other's triumphs are displayed.

Saying goodbye to so many people who love me has been an extremely difficult - what's the word for it - event. In my heart, I did not want to leave, but my head kept getting in the way. Good things cannot last forever. In fact, good things don't last long at all. Or maybe time moves so fast when you are enjoying that it feels like a blur.

That's what it feels like, the last 2 weeks. A blur! Every day, a different friend to meet, another life to reconnect with. Or disconnect with.

The disconnection is the hardest part. Something that I have had to do more often than ever. A goodbye to a person who I probably will not speak to for a long time. I just hope my eyes conveyed everything that I couldn't say and that my hands betrayed all the composure I was showing when I said goodbye.

I wish all my friends a happy and fruitful life. They have made mine a truely enjoyable one. It feels good to be wanted. It feels even better to be wanted this much. I have always felt that I was special. Now I realized why.

I have been blessed with the gift of friendship. Friends who have and always will stand by me throught thick and thin. Friends for whom I will go to any extent. You make my life special, my friends. You're the reason life is worth living.

Mally is back in the alley!

The vacation is over (SIGH!) and I am back on the treadmill of life. Not moving anywhere, but running as hard as you can and telling yourself that somehow all this hard work will be worth it.

If I'm sounding hard and bitter, what else did u expect from a man coming back from vacation. I am pissed off as hell, and yet, in some corner of my heart, I am glad to be back.

So, since I have not posted even once in the last couple of weeks, I will try and make it up with some really long and hopefully good ones that I thought of posting when I was in India.