The last day of 2002 is upon us. Very very very weird. I am back from Europe...got in last night around 9:00 pm and I leave for Milwaukee tomorrow afternoon. So, I ain't around for too long. Today is all about seeing people and I am going to try my best to see as many as possible. Tonight, going to go to Arthur's party first to see all the Waterloo posse - can't wait for that and then, I am going to end my night at the Marathi posse party to hang out with the childhood gang (it'll be a reunion of sorts too so I'm excited).

Last night, I couldn't sleep so I was watching the Gladiator DVD. It was really weird cause I was lying in my bed in suburbia Scarborough watching Romans fight at the Colleseum - a place I just was about 5 days ago. Very strange feeling to be home but can't wait to see you all...

Happy New Years today.

Merry Christmas everyone. Hope that you are all doing well. I am in Rome now...have been here since yesterday afternoon. I am typing on an Italian keyboard so there might be the odd punctuation mistake...sorry for any confusion this may cause and if I am implicated of anything, I will claim that I was not aware of what the computer was typing. Last night was an incredible experience. I was at St. Peters Cathedral in the Vatican City and the Pope was doing Christmas Eve Midnight Mass. My family and I didnt go in because we didnt have tickets but we did hang around outside and they had large tv screens and loudspeakers everywhere. There were a bunch of pilgrims there who had come from all over the world - China, India, America, various other European countries. The funniest thing happened during mass. I was standing watching the screen and listening to the pope and then I looked over and there was this girl who had just pulled a lighter out of her bag and who was lighting up a fattie! Yeah, you heard correctly...she was smoking a phattie while the pope was giving mass. It was quite comical but really, what can you do I guess.

This trip has been fantastic so far. Learned a lot of history. So far, Ive been in Paris (for about 20 minutes), Fontainbleu (where my brothers school was), Lyon, Cannes, Nice, Monaco, Monte Carlo, Genoa, Florence and Rome. Tomorrow we leave and we are off to Geneva (gonna stop somewhere on the way) and then eventually back to Paris. My parents then leave. Then its me and my brother for a day and then he leaves. Then it is me on my own for a day in Paris when I will do the Eifel Tower, Arch de Triumphe and The Louvres most probably.

Whats going on back home. Anything exciting. Actually, anyone know what is going on for New Years yet. Well its time to get going...gonna go rest up cause I think that I might be partying tonight with some girls we meet during breakfast. Should be a good time...

Bonjour tout le monde. Je suis en Paris maintenant. Actuallement, je suis en Fontainbleu, la ville be l'ecole de mon frere. Mes parents et mon frere sont ici. Cet apresmidis, nous allons visiter Lyon et Nice et cet nuit, nous allons pour un grand dine. Maintenant, je veux changer a anglais...

My flight yesterday was absolutely crazy. Got to Milwaukee at 12:20 for my 2:15 flight. Checked in. Got my boarding pass. Had some Lunch. Went through security. Got to the gate, only to find out that the flight had been CANCELLED. Then, went back through security. Back to the ticket counter. Found this really nice United employee or took me to another computer (because the United and Air Canada systems don't communicate with one another). We were looking for alternative ways for me to get to Paris cause there was no way I was going to make my 7:00 pm connection in Toronto to Paris. I found a Milwaukee - Chicago - Paris flight that seemed to work so I was booked onto that one. Unfortunately, I couldn't get upgraded to business class or anything. I did get a $7 meal voucher which was okay I suppose. So, I rechecked my bag. Went back through security. Got some food. Went to the gate and sat. After about an hour (it was now 3:30), I decided to check the board to make sure my flight was still leaving at 4:30 as scheduled. Turns out the flight is delayed till 5:15. There is no way I am going to get to Chicago in time now to catch my 6:30 Chicago - Paris flight. Damn - I am screwed again. So, I go back through security. Back to the ticket counter. Get my bag that had been unchecked and found out that they were sending all Milwaukee - Chicago passengers on shuttle buses. So, I hopped in a shuttle bus and we left Chicago by 4:00 pm. The bus driver was so slow it was aggravating. Finally arrived at O'Hare at 6:05 with 25 minutes to spare. Thank god I already had my boarding pass so I ran through security, didn't check my big black bag this time (I took it as carry-on) and ran to my gate. Got on board the plane at 6:27. The plane stopped boarding at 6:30.

Man that was crazy. Okay time to jet but happy holidays to you and all your families. Have a safe holiday and I'll speak with you all soon.

Well ladies and gentlemen, I just finished my six sigma training and I just wrote my online test (well, I've been doing the test in portions for the last 3 days). I passed so now, I am an official greenbelt (well, I still gotta do a project but I am definitely getting there). The test was pretty hard but I persevered and applied my stats knowledge. I am starting to sound like a nerd but I actually don't mind this stats stuff. I am understanding it. Damn man - when Smith and I took that BIOL 361 Experimental Design course last year in 4B, who would have thunk that it would have been as beneficial as it has been. To be honest, when we graduated - we both said that that was one of the most beneficial courses we've ever taken (in terms of actual good stuff that we learned). Now - with this Six Sigma stuff, I am applying it and learning more. I can totally see how stats and process design is very important in the business world.

I am off to the gym now (for the last time of 2002) and then, I'm going to come back to finish packing for Europe. Wanna get that done by about 10:00 cause tonight - we are hitting up downtown Milwaukee for one last time before 2003 as most people are going home or elsewhere for the holidays.

Talk to ya'll later,

Quick note. I went to the Raptors game tonight here in Milwaukee. It was fantastic! The Raptors won (ending their 4 game losing streak) in overtime by a 122 - 117 score. It was such a fun evening. I was the only Raptors fan cheering in my entire section of the stadium. I definitely gots some stares throughout as I was heckling The Bucks and their fans. Lindsay Hunter hit a huge three with 1.5 seconds left on the clock to tie the game at 104 and send it to overtime. Then in overtime, the Raptors came back from another 7 point deficit to take the lead, and this time, didn't look back. What a great game and great time. I went with 13 friends (all from work) that I organized this outing for. Hopefully, they all had a good time. But really - how could you not have had a good time. The game was entertaining and I'm sure that I probably looked pretty stupid at times wearing my purple headband and dancing/cheering all alone.

A great night no doubt. I was just on the phone with work, then Dell Customer Service cause my laptop LCD screen is really bruck up. There was this 1 inch thick vertical line down the right side for about a month now. But today, when I turned it on, there is also this turquoise tinge all over wherever it should be white. Needless to say, typing this blog is very hard on the eyes right now (see what i go through for you guys). During the call, as he was taking my info to get a new LCD sent to me - he had to ask me a series of questions. The first was "Is this machine going to be used in any activities involving nuclear weapons and/or the creation of them?" The other one regarded "my current status in the U.S. - they wanted to know if I was a spy or going to use this machine for secret government activity, etc" That was some funny stuff....

Off to bed now. Big training day ahead of me!

I just watched Sleepless in Seattle tonight and I am currently watching When Harry Met Sally. This has been a Meg Ryan night but it's been really good. These two moveis are great...man i am a sap. But whatever - I really like both of them. The Meg Ryan fake orgasm scene in the diner is absolutely priceless. And Billy Crystal has some fantastic lines about the dynamics between men and women. Rob Reiner is the director of both of these movies and he definitely has two masterpieces. Absolutely perfect date movies! That is for shizzy.

While watching the movies - I had a really good msn conversation with an old friend of mine. Nanda from the Science Centre School. She is one of the coolest, most put together people I know. It was a really great conversation about a ver interesting topic. Isn't it always about relationships? Anyway, I hope that I see her over the holidays. It would be cool to see the rest of the Science Centre posse some time again soon. Roppa, Julie, Bosco, Gus, Luke, Katie, Sylvia, Veronica and the rest of the gang.

Okay - so I just got laughed at by Dave who just got home and saw me watching the end of When Harry Met Sally. I am officially a sap!

Check out the picture on Tchao's site. Look at the top right corner. It's pretty money, eh?

Going to bed now...
Good night

Wow, I feel a lot better now. I am well rested - all I did today was sleep. Last night was a lot of fun but at the expense of how I felt today...not so great. Tonight, I went to our TSLP Christmas party and it was pretty good. It was cool to chill out with my classmates. We had this White Elephant gift exchange where you bring a present and then each person gets a number. The first person picks a gift and you just go from there. The cool part is that as each next person's turn comes - they can take the gift from anyone who has already chosen, or they can choose one for themselves. Today, we were supposed to bring a gift that was funny or cheesy or something...I bought condiments and gave that as my gift (ketchup, mustard, relish, mayo, bbq, ranch and sweet/sour sauce). It was a pretty funny gift...I though but also kind of useful. A lot of the other stuff was crap.

I gotta start thinking about my Europe trip. I leave in 5.5 days and I haven't packed or thought about what to take or anything. I should start wrapping my head around that. It's just that I am pretty busy and not sure when I will get to it. Packing for my backpacking trip this summer was easier cause it was summer stuff which isn't very big and bulky. This is going to be harder cause it's winter and I have to have sweaters and pants.

Haven't said hello to many of you in a while so here goes:

Etch - hope you are enjoying your relaxing days and getting ready for the new job. you wanna plan that boarding trip for the 31st?
Smith - how was the first week of work buddy? hope it's going well
Karen - miss you man. i am trying to see if i can find some cheap milwaukee - seattle flights...hopefully in the new year. when you going to be in toronto for the holidays?
Christine - congrats for finishing this term of school. can't wait to see you in toronto
Luen - work sounds good...it was great to speak with you yesterday. we gots to do this boarding trip
Ingrid - you around town over the holidays? esso still kicking but?
Amisha - half way through school, eh? wow...time flies
Julie - what are you doing over the holidays? chilling in so-cal or going anywhere?
Malloy - haven't heard from you in a while. you never replied to my e-mail. by the way, the new computer looks awesome - well done.
Kevin - new site is absolutely money. how do you find the time to do that man? it is really impressive
Tai - the job going good? it's been a few months now so i guess the "new" feeling is wearing off. cook any gourmet feasts lately?
Flo - what's up with you? celestica still paying the bills? any news to report?

It's Saturday morning and wow did I have a crazy night yesterday. It was nuts because of one reason, and one reason only. WINE. I had a little too much...well, a lot too much but we don't have to get into details. I've only passed out due to drinking a couple of times in my life but it happened again yesterday. I went to an office Christmas party. It was at the house of one of our bosses (well, not my boss but the boss of some of my friends). She had an absolutely gorgeous and HUGE house. The insuite bathroom for the master bedroom is bigger than my room here in Milwaukee and absolutely dwarfs my room back home. There is a jacuzzi and the shower has two shower heads on each wall...very efficient for cleaning I guess.

I forgot to tell you guys...last Sunday I had a driving lesson with Dave in his RSX. It started out pretty bad but by the end, I was doing a lot better with the stick. Since his car is a sports car, it was tougher to get into first gear because it revs so high when you just touch the pedal. I gotta keep practicing but I definitely feel like I'm learning.I need to know how to drive standard cause next week in Paris/Italy, I am going to be driving with my family in a rental car.

I think that I'm going to take a nap now cause I still kind of feel like a tub of poo.

It's been a few days since the last blog but they have been very productive. Hard to believe that it's actually Thursday now. Monday night - I made tandoori chicken. It was my first attempt and it actually turned out pretty tasty and moist. Unfortunately - our bbq was either out of gas or it was too cold outside to start it. So, I baked the chicken instead. As a result, the taste was there but it was kind of soft and not the greatest texture. I probably should have broiled it for the last 5 minutes or something. Oh well, lesson learned - it can only get better. Maybe you can try it sometime...

Washed the car yesterday - it looks mint! Now, I've just gotta vaccuum and amour-all the inside this weekend. Then it will look money. Last night, Dave got tickets from his manager to the Bucks-Pacers game at the Bradley Centre. It was a really entertaining game that went into overtime. The Pacers won in the end and our seats were really good. about the 5th or 6th row in one of the corners. That place was pretty empty (the upper deck that is) so there was definitely space to move around. I'll be going next week on Tuesday for the Raptors game (They are in town to play the Bucks) Can't wait to see my team but I am a little scared to see what transpires. Vince, AD and Alvin are all out with injuries right now. That is the top 3 players in the lineup. The team is fielding a very sup-par squad these days and as a result, getting their asses kicked by everyone, including the lowly Cleveland Cavaliers last night.

On the drive home from the came, myself, Dave and his two buddies, Ashok and Sunil - the four of us were having this conversation about happiness. The example of Hugh Heffner came up. Now here is a guy that ever since he was in his late teens, has been a "party guy" For him, there is no segregation between work time and play time. His professional life is his personal life. It's a neat concept to have that he can live that way and totally enjoy both aspects of his life. On the other side, for most of us - work is just that, it's work. It's not our passion, it's not what we want to be doing all the time. If we had the choice every morning when we woke up..."What do I want to do today?' For most of us, it wouldn't be "sit on that conference call", "chair that meeting", "produce that fiscal report". Then we started talking about society's roll in our choices of careers, etc. In this day and age of an economic society that we live in - it's tough to say: "You know what, I am going to break away from everything that is stable and go after ___________" The thing is that ____________ is that passion that we have. Whether it's music, athletics, film, cooking, programming, finance, etc. It's hard for everyone to devote their lives to those passions because chances are - we will not be able to support ourselves and our loved ones. Perhaps one day, we will be able to but the steps to get there will be a lot longer and harder.

Not sure if I've just talked in circles over the past paragraph or if I've actually been somewhat poignant but in any case, there is my sphiel for the morning.
Back to that job of mine...

Just got a great e-mail from Christine this morning and it has totally inspired me. She is a really great person with a big heart and I'm glad that things are going so well for her these days. It's cool to see how things are going well for a lot of my friends of late. All of this always cycles.

I am doing really well these days and just got some things that I want to concentrate more on. Work is one of them. Of late - I have just kind of been floating along but I really wanna start performing well and kicking ass. I want to prove myself while I'm here in Milwaukee cause this is where I can be noticed. I really wanna start applying myself more and being more proactive in my projects. I realize that this sounds like some crap from the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People or something like that but I think that by actually writing (or typing) it and having a concrete record of it - I will be more inclined to actually doing it, as opposed to just saying that I want to do this. I'll let you know how things go.

Last night, went to the Red Room Inn here in Milwaukee. It was kind of a cool place. A pretty small but chilled set up with funky furniture, a well stocked bar and some funky trip hop/acid jazz playing. I get the impression that there are some other cool places like that hidden around this city. The trick is just finding them. We found this one on www.onmilwaukee.com. There are other e-mail distribution lists that I'm becoming a part of such as YPM (Young Professionals of Milwaukee), 501 (some other list that throws parties every Friday night). The idea is to meet people other than work friends. So far - all my friends in this city are from work. They are all cool people but I wanna meet some people outside of the office. I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about.

That entry I had the other day about Chicago definitely was funny. I just re-read it and wow - did that make any sense? Anyway, I did have a great time in Chicago. The conference was great. It was huge - at least about 80,000 people were there over the 6 days. I like the general vibe in the city and want to go back and experience it more. The trick as well is meeting more people. So far I have a friend named Ashley who is studying at Loyola and my buddy Ravin from Waterloo. Ravin will be a good partner in crime so I gots to go back soon and start checking out the scence. Apparently the Funky Buddha Lounge is a chilling place to go and they mix in live percussion (african, indian drums, etc) with hip hop and old skool. Looking forward to checking that out.

It's Sunday. It's beautiful outside. I am gonna get my car washed and do some groceries this morning. I didn't get to bed last night until 5:00 am but I woke up today at 10:00 am as if I was ready to go. That's good though cause I'll get to bed at a decent time tonight and be ready for the week ahead. Enjoy the remainder of your weekends everyone.

CONGRATULATIONS MR. TCHAO.
my brother - the time has come...let's sit around that nice dinner table we were talking about and share stories about the working world.
well done and congrats.

And Mr. Smith - knock em dead on your first day on Monday...

You boys have made me proud.

good evening everyone. it's friday night and i just finished dinner. i am updating my site and drinking some wine. Actually, it's not some wine...I am just about finished the bottle that I opened up earlier during dinner. So you can see - it's been one of those nights. Let's see how this blog ends up...as it gets more and more alcohol induced.

The week in Chicago was great. I really like that city - there is a tonne going on and lots of people say that it is a bigger version of Toronto. I think that I could kind of agree with that. I definitely have never seen a city with as many taxi cabs and hotels. It's got a cool vibe with all the restaurants, skyscrapers, jazz and blues bars. There is a tonne going on. I went up the Hancock Observatory yesterday. I was on the 94th floor looking down at the city and learned a lot about it too. I learned about the great fire of (1861 I think) - it's the one that gutted almost the entire city. As a result, Chicago is one of the only modern cities that actually had the ability to start over and re-plan what was going on. Also - do you know why it's called the Windy City? I think you think you know but in fact you don't. It's a coincidence that's it actually so cold and windy there. The relal reason that it has the nickname is because back during the Columbian assembly (whatever that was) the politicians of the city were lobbying for something and whatever they said was perceived to be very long winded and full of hot air. As a result - the city slowly got referred to as the windy city due to the nature of the politicians. Interesting, isn't that?

I am watching the Mavericks - Lakers game right now on espn. The Mavs are 17 and 1 this year so far and absolutlely kicking ass. They are killing the Lakers by 27 points right now in the 4th quarter. It is pretty awesome. I've gotta say - Steve Nash is money. He is such a solid player. Definitely probably my favourite in the league. I've gotta find a Steve Nash Dallas Mavericks jersey - that would be a cool pickup.

Well - I'm not sure how much sense this blog made. I am going to blame the wine nonetheless so have a good night and talk to ya'll tomorrow...

I wrote this Blog about a week ago but didn't get a chance to upload it. Here it is for your viewing pleasure. Updates to come about Chicago tonight. I had a great time...
_______

I am sick. I am sick. I am sick.
I hate it. I hate it. I hate it.

Hopefully, I get better soon cause I've got a full week ahead of me in Chicago at a conference/tradeshow.

Today has been pretty eventful. I helped Ketan move into his new place this morning. He is moving in with his girlfriend, who is really cool. They've got a nice cozy apartment in an old part of Toronto and it's really nicely set up. This afternoon, I went to my favourite Indian
Restaurant in the city, Bombay Bhel, with my parents and a good friend of my brother's from San Francisco, Fiona. It was great to see her cause it's been so long. She is Irish and has this great accent. She's such a lovely person as well. At lunch, Fiona brought her new boyfriend, a brown guy from Toronto. Get this - he represented Canada on the Mens 1988 Field Hockey team that competed at the Summer Olympics in Seoul, Korea. It was pretty cool cause that is the closest I've ever been to an Olympian. Man, if I was really talented at something and got to represent my country...that would be the biggest thing in my life. Speaking of being really good at something, tonight I watched this movie called Bend It Like Beckham. (by the way, don't mind the German site - can't find the English equivalent...the movie is all in English though) It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival this year and it was a fantastic movie. It's about an Indian girl growing up in the UK who loves David Beckham and only wants to play football all the time. Her parents are traditional Indians who don't think that is a lucrative career and think she is wasting her time. The story unfolds and it is really well done. I am definitely going to watch that again soon. You should all rent this movie - it is brilliant.

Last night, I went to Shmooze (the hottest new club in Toronto, or so I've heard). It was a pretty good place with a ton of people and I went with Eric and the Marathi posse. The observation I made was that everyone there seemed to be having a great time, whether they were dancing, chilling, chatting or drinking. It was great. The only thing that the club needs to put it over the top is a new DJ. I must say - that guy was GARBAGE. No one plays every song for their entire 5 or 6 minutes! You gotta switch them up after like 30 seconds or a minute dude! You gotta keep the crowd guessing, and more
importantly anticipating, the next tunes. That is how you keep the crowd bumpin' all night long.

Gonna start reading the first Harry Potter book tonight. Also, gotta start my Digital Camera research - the self imposed deadline is next Sunday night (the 8th of December)

I've been home for about a day so far and things are going well. It's nice to be home in Scarborough. It's funny cause whenever I come back, there are always new things around but it feels like I've never really left. I guess I've only been in Milwaukee for about 3.5 weeks so that doesn't really qualify as being away for too long. Last night, I went to the movies with my friend May and we saw Bollywood/Hollywood. It was a really funny movie and a great mix of spoofing Bollywood movies (the "sing-songs" and such). Lisa Ray, the lead actress in the movie is beautiful. She went to grade school with my buddy Vas and after high school, I think that she decided to leave Scarborough and go taking acting lessons in India. It's slowly paying off and hopefully the lead roll in this film (with a great director, Deepa Mehta) will kickstart her career. By the way, if you haven't seen any other Deepa Mehta films - you've definitely got to. Check out Earth or Fire. Another great Indian movie to see, if you haven't already, is Monsoon Wedding.

Tonight, my niece is coming over (my favourite one). It will be great to see her and hang out. Not sure how I am going to tell her that Goldie died. In case you guys didn't know, my last gold fish from the terrible fish mishap (scroll 2/3rds to the bottom for pictures) of last year died a week ago. He lived for over a year which was pretty incredible.

Tchao, thanks for linking to that one more time.
I needed that ego boost.

oh those silly Americans

Air Canada won't let me fly standby if it's not on the same day so I've gotta fly home on Wednesday morning. I am taking the 9:45 am flight that arrives in the Tdot at 12:09 pm so Tdot - HERE I COME.

The Raptors are in complete disarray right now. What the hell is going on? Is it going to be the same crap as the end of last year? I am kind of scared. Because now, Antonio is upset. It's never been like that before....Something is definitely wrong and I don't like the looks of it...

Ok, I have a problem. We got cable installed on Friday and ever since then, when I haven't been cooking, cleaning, sleeping or out...I have been watching tv (and movies at that). So far, I've watched Dangerous Minds, Castaway, O, My Cousin Vinny, Spy Game, The Wedding Planner, The Negotiator, American Pie 2 and Rush Hour 2. I've seen all of those movies at some point in my life but cause they are on and available so easily, I just keep watching them. I've gotta be more productive. Well, I think that after this weekend, our free movie channels will expire (it's just a promo when you sign up I believe).

Dave is in Toronto right now and will be back this evening. Hopefully, I'll have all the cleaning done by the time he gets back. There isn't much more to do. I've gotta clean my bathroom and vacuum the place. Then - I HAVE to wash my car. I haven't washed it yet (since the 10 hour drive here) so it is pretty filthy. In addition to washing, I gots to figure out how to vacuum it. Hopefully the gas station has one of those portable vacuums as well.

Last night, I made dinner and it was rather crappy. I tried to make chole (Indian chick pea dish). I am really good at making chole but for whatever reason, I wasn't feeling it last night. Also - I tried to make a new bhaji with mushrooms, carrots and peppers. Forgot to put masala and salt in it so it was really bland. I think that I just gotta cook more. It's all about practice and routine. Like anything I guess, once you do it more - you get better. My problem was that during the first three months of my job, I was just eating my mom's cooking all the time and never really doing too much so I got rusty (from my University Days). This will change though... I'll cook for any of you anytime.

The Leafs are improving! Huge win over Philly last night. Now, the Raptors have gotta dispose of Philly this afternoon and we'll be much better off.
Have a good one everyone.

I just finished watching ER and every time I watch that show - I realize how much I love that show. I was absolutely hooked on that show back in the early 90's when it first started and then, when I got to University I stopped watching it as much because when you are living on a floor in residence in first year, it's hard to fight for the tv in the common room. Also, you kind of get a little busier in university with homework and such. I have recently gotten back into the show and it might be also because I am in the industry now. I am going to be selling a lot of the equipment that they use on the show so that is really cool. At our headquarters, we have a show room with all of our top of the line equipment. We bring prospective customers here. It's cool cause the entire cast of ER has signed some of the equipment. The perks of working for the company that also owns NBC.

Who watched the final episode of the Bachelor last night? I certainly didn't. I also missed the Victoria's Secret fashion show. That would have been good.

Yesterday, my brother and I were starting to plan our Europe trip and this is what it's looking like so far (we only have about 8 days which is way too short). Looks like we are doing South France (Nice) and Northern Italy (Florence, Rome and Venice). I can't wait cause it's gonna be so awesome.

Today, I was invited to a luncheon with the CEO of our business. It was called the Key Talent Luncheon and there were about 40 of us newer recruits. It was really awesome to sit around for a couple of hours with Joe and ask him candid questions about the vision of the business and what he sees the future to be in terms of globalization, the competition, our stock price, etc. It was a great experience and quite motivating actually.

I think that I am going to go to bed early tonight. Tomorrow morning - the cable guy is coming anytime between 8 - 12 so I've gotta be around all morning. Hopefully, he comes sooner rather than later cause I've got a meeting at 11:30 so I'll have to take off by 11:00. This weekend - I've gotta do some serious cleaning. Our place isn't that bad at all but you know how I am and how I need to be (eric you definitely know me...)

Allz I gotz to say is that a little OCD never heart anyone.

One more thing - Mr. Malloy - have a very happy birthday today (November 20).

I just bought the Orinoco wireless card for my laptop so now I can surf anywhere around the house. This is pretty damn cool. Dave is the man for setting up this wireless network. I am definitely digging this so far.

Guess what happened to me this weekend. I just found out that i left my CIBC ATM card at the airport in Houston. I took money out and dumb-ass American ATM machines don't make you take your card out first before you get your money. So, as a result - I have my money, I have my receipt but I don't have my card. The only reason I realized today was that I was trying to go on cibc.com to check my statement. Only to realize that I was cardless. After this blog - I've gotta call them to cancel my card and issue me a new one.

Luen and Karen - I just read your pages after a long time and it sounds like you are both having a great time. Seattle and Toronto are both oodles better than Milwaukee. I think I've gotta try one of those Gingerbread Lattes when I am home. Karen - how long are you going to be in Toronto during the holidays? I'll be back from Europe on the 30th and going back to Milwaukee on the 1st. Hopefully, you will still be around...And Karen - I really like the tie and your apartment photos.

Toronto peeps, I'll be home in the Tdot next week for U.S. Thanksgiving so I would love to see you. My flight is booked to arrive in Toronto on Wednesday night (the 27th) at around 8:30 pm. I am going to try and fly standby on the Tuesday night flight at the same time. So if it's not full - I'll be home a day earlier. My time in Toronto is going to be all about relaxing and eating mommy's homecooking. I can't wait for that... While I am home, I may try to do some work in there too but nothing is confirmed on that angle just yet. I am heading back to Milwaukee on Sunday evening (December 1st).

Tonight, we had the best dinner here at home. Risotto, Mashed potatoes and Salmon cooked on the BBQ (which was absolutely money!). We ended up eating so late that it's now 11:30 and we just finished dinner. I definitely have the sleeplys now and cause of all those carbs...even more so. I've gotta be at a training session for 8:30 tomorrow morning so I better get some rest tonight. One good thing is that I've been pretty good with my workout routine so far. It's going well and soon enough, I'll start seeing the rewards of all this hard work.

Last question of the night...I am shopping for a digital camera. Any and all suggestions are welcome. Please help me out. I want to get it soon. I have been reading and found that Canon and Olympus seem to be my best options. I am looking at somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 megapixels. Thanks guys.

I really liked this quote that one of my friends said to me today...They described me as someone who "besides just living, loves to be alive". She was talking about my love of meeting different people, experiencing different cultures, trying new food and traveling. I really like that quote and think that it definitely applies to me. I have my days when things aren't great but those are few and far in between. For the most part, I love just doing the things I do...

Here's to having fun and experiencing everything!
Now - who wants to go have a big mac, fries and a coke and watch some mindless FOX television tonight?

:o)

Back from Pizzeria Uno. Didn't have deep-dish cause I got scared from all the cheese. Just had thin crust instead. I had this pizza with eggplant, red peppers and artichokes. It was really dry - could have definitely used some sauce. It's good though...I satisfied my craving. For whatever reason - I had this inkling for pizza when I got home from the gym and I wasn't in the mood to cook so we went out.

Now - back to my stories from last week. Sunday was great seeing all those sites. And that night - the conference (called Leadership Essentials) actually began. It was cool cause there were about 80 people attending the conference and they were from all over the world and all the different business units that we have like medical, industrial, aircraft, power, etc. There were people from Canada, America, Mexico, Hungary, France and Italy so that was really cool. Every day of the conference started at like 8:00 am and we were working pretty hard till about 10:00 pm most nights. Monday night of the conference - there was a huge group of us who went to the Hard Rock Cafe. Monday night football was on but it was so crazy. All the Mexicans in the place were making so much fun and a bunch were all dressed up in crazy costumes like the devil and other really crazy-looking stuff. It was pure madness and it was so loud. Really a wicked atmosphere.

During the week, I went out every night and I don't think that I've ever drank as much as I did over the past week. This was definitely some of the first times that I've ever woken up and still been drunk. That was quite a funny feeling. I had all sorts of tequila and cerveza and I also had these crazy shots called Cucarachas (tequila and kahlua) and Bandaras (three alcohols, red, green and white - look like the mexican flag) - both shots are lit on fire and then you suck them back through a straw. It definitely made for an interesting evening. Especially the time my hand caught on fire cause the flaming Cucaracha spilled on me. That was pretty funny (scary looking back now...but funny at the time). I didn't even realize that it was on fire (it had all this blue smoke around it) until after about 5 or 6 seconds when I freaked myself out. The night ended up well but pretty much every night thereafter were more of the same. The next night after drinking, I was really hungry so I had a couple of "pero caliente" which were okay - Mexicans have mayo on their hot dogs...that was definitely different. Another night, I went out for tacos and had Tacos Al Pastor - some of the best damn tacos I've ever had. The meat (usually pork) is cut off of something that looks like the middle eastern meat you see hanging on that big skewer. The shave it off (just like for shawarmas) and then put it in a tortilla. To that, you mix salsa, guacamole, coriander, onions and pineapple. SO YUMMY!!!

This past weekend, I left Mexico City and flew to Merida (on the coast) about 2 hours from Cancun. On my flight, I was sitting next to this really nice old guy (probably about my father's age). He was retired from his job as a former Sales Territory leader for Pharmaceuticals. He was based out of Mexico City for that time and now lives in Merida where it is much more peaceful. We got to chatting and he was telling me all the stuff I had to do while I was down in Merida. He was so nice and friendly and then the best part was that he offered to give me a ride from the airport to where I was staying in the city. It was awesome cause I got door-to-door luxury service (I forgot to mention that he drives a brand new fully loaded Audi A4 wtih leather interior). I went to Merida to visit my friend Reva for a couple of days cause she's down there working on an Engineering project. I haven't seen Reva in a really long time so it was great to hang out with her and see what Merida was all about. Merida is a really relaxed coastal city (about 30 minute drive from the Caribean Sea). It's so peaceful and the people are so nice and helpful. Reva and I danced salsa in the middle of the street while a band was playing so that was really awesome on Saturday night. We then went to this club where they wanted 60 pesos as cover but somehow, we managed to convince them to let us in for free. We got in around 2:00 am and stayed till 3:45. I woke up the next morning (yesterday) for my flight home at 6:00 am.

Mental note to you all - when flying international, always have a minimum 1 hour in between your connection flights. I arrived in Houston at 10:03 am and my connection to Milwaukee was at 10:35. Customs, changing terminals, security and one last sprint were not enough. I managed to get to my gate at 10:36 but the doors were already shut so I couldn't get on. I had to wait till 1:55 for the next flight to Milwaukee. While waiting, I was sitting and talking with a U.S. Security official who was telling me about all the crazy U.S. security measures at airports nowadays. He was telling me the stuff he has found like people trying to sneak pen knives aboard. Then, he started telling me about idiots who (in Texas noless) forgot to declare their handguns and proceeded to try and get through security with a concealed weapon because they totally forgot they were carrying them. This leads me to my thoughts about the damn American constitution and the fact that anyone and their freaking mother can carry a gun down here. WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THIS DAMN PICTURE???!!!??!! Why is this allowed and why won't they ever learn?

Overall - I would have to say that my stay in Mexico was an absolute blast. The culture, the people, the food, the drink - all were fantastic. And - my religious habit of drinking litres upon litres of water before going to bed totally paid off every night.

I am not going to re-read this entry so I hope that it makes sense. It's late, I am ti-red and it's time for the sac. Good night everyone. And, a special thanks for the kind words on your site Christine.

So the next day in Mexico - we took a tour and went to this place called Teotihuacán. Prior to getting there, our tour bus took us through the heart of Mexico City and we saw Basilica Guadalupe and the Circle of Three Cultures.

Going to eat some Deep Dish pizza now. I'll be back in a second.

Mexico was a blast. I was there for 8 days in total. Arrived last Saturday (the 9th) and just got back to Milwaukee today (the 17th). Here is the recap...

To start...last Saturday at the airport, there was this girl on my team who almost didn't make it with us. She's born and raised in the States and has never left. She didn't know that she needed a passport or birth certificate to get across the border. I was completed shocked when I heard this...I guess it just seems like common sense to me but really, who knew? In any case, she ended up getting through after getting a copy of her birth certificate notorized. But, damn - that was pretty funny. We arrived in Mexico City last Saturday and my first instinct when we were waiting for our driver and then driving through the city to the hotel was....wow, this is like Bombay. There were people everywhere. Absolute chaos on the roads. It was definitely an adventure. We pulled up to our hotel. The Presidente Intercontinental. This was a 4 or 5 star hotel and pretty damn good. It defintely didn't feel like Mexico City though - it was more like Miami. Our hotel was in this really posh part of town with all thse designer stores like versace, dkny, etc... after settling in and drinking some corona's to get aquainted with Mexican life, I rode the bus with Michael and Marie-Pierre and the three of us went to the Museum of Anthropology. It was really great and I saw some neat stuff. It got me thinking...in 100 years or whatever - what is going to be in the museum exhibits for our generation in terms of art, creations, sculptures, ideas, etc?

It's going to be highly technically-focused I believe. Not sure if that is a good thing but it's something for now.

I am getting really sleepy so I will have to conclude this tomorrow or mid-week
have a good night everyone and sorry about the lack of insight into the events of my last week....

Back from a fantastic week in Mexico. Milwaukee is drab, boring and dry as ever. I've got plenty of stories to share...more to come shortly.

My first week of work in Milwaukee has come and gone. Just like that...poof and it's done. Now - there will be 23 more of those and before I know it, back to Toronto! Don't take this the wrong way though. I am not counting down the days or anything. I am only commenting on the fact that time flies and it most certainly will during this phase of my training. The last two days, I was in a workshop entitled "Think on your Feet" and it was really cool. We were taught how to be more effective communcators - but even more specifically, how to give clear, consise, logical and memorable talks without rambling and/or sounding fake. It was a really neat class and I feel that I've learned a lot. I should be able to apply some of the skills I learned to everyday life. Let's see how it goes...

So Vince is out for about a month. Damn that is not good news. I was thinking today. One thing that truely separated great players a few years ago like the Jordan's or Gretzky's was that they never had really serious or chronic or lingering injuries (until much much much later in their careers). But, until then...they were fine and kicking butt. Why is that? Is there not enough respect for superstars in these games anymore?

By the way, the quesadillas and the guacamole that I made last night were absolutely money!

I really don't have any horseshoes up my butt however you are going to hate what I have to say next. I am going to Mexico City tomorrow morning for a week. I am being sent along with my team for a training seminar. It is going to be really great cause there will be other students from other Leadership Training programs there and in total, there will probably be about 50 or 60 students in my class for the next week. I've never been to Mexico City but I'm not expecting too much in terms of culture or substance or anything like that. However, traveling always give you a nice opportunity to see new places and experience new cultures. Also, next weekend after the course, I am going to visit my friend Reva in Merida (which is on the northeast coast of Mexico). I'll hang out with her for a couple of days and then come back to Milwaukee. Merida will be great cause it's a lot smaller, a lot let busy and full of locals (as opposed to tourists). I am going to try and see some tequila making factories and some Mayan ruins.

I've already packed the Immodium so have no fear!

I have fantastic news everyone. I am going to Europe for the Holidays after all. My brother will be graduating form INSEAD in December and my parents and I are going to France to see him. I am really excited cause I've never been to Europe. We are going to rent a car and drive around in the south of France and Italy. This is going to be a great trip. I've gotta start reading up on those countries though and figure out what I want to see. I'm leaving Milwaukee on December 20 and will be coming back to Toronto on December 30 (just in time for New Year's so keep me in the loop for all the New Year's eve parties in Toronto). I then fly back to Milwaukee on January 1 to get back to work. Damn - this ticket was CRAZY EXPENSIVE but I really want to go and travel with my family. We haven't gone anywhere as the 4 of us in probably something like 8 or 10 years so I am definitely looking forward to it. I guess it also helps that I am looking to travel at the heaviest time of the year and I am buying so last minute.

Today work went by pretty quickly. Most days as I was previously saying are just going through a lot of administrative crap. That is expected until we actually get some projects. I went to the gym afterwards today as well and I'll be heading back tomorrow for some more. I feel okay right now but definitely not in pain so I've gotta work harder tomorrow. I cooked some pasta tonight and it turned out okay - you know what sucks though? When you cook the pasta too long and it gets rubbery cause it's overcooked - Not Cool At All. I am going to a Mexican party on Thursday so I'm making quesadillas and guacamolee...I am looking forward to that.

Did I tell you about my shopping experience at the Pick N Save yesterday? My first official time grocery shopping in the U.S. and it was an adventure. I was there for about 1.25 hours when I should have only been there for about 30 minutes. I was just so confused by some of the newer brands that I've never seen before and that whole non-metric way of measuring down here (absolutely stupid if you ask me). I was having the hardest time figuring out gallons vs. litres or pounds vs. grams. Some of the prices were absolutely crazy as well. I saw Kraft Jam concoction for something like $6.85 (I'm pretty sure it's like $1.45 CDN back home). One funny thing happened when I was paying. I had some hand soap and the lady was scanning it but for whatever reason, the bar code wasn't being read. So - she just asked me how much it was and I said something like $1.40 so she just gave it to me for that amount no questions asked. Anyway, that was my shopping experience. Nothing to extravagant but news nonetheless.

Gotta hit the sack now...

Hey - did you see??? The Leafs won tonight! Beat one of the best teams in the League (yes, I am serious - the Tampa Bay Lightning).

i've been here in Milwaukee for two days now and so far, life is grand. The city is not too bad so far. The training is going well but it's kind of disorganized at times when we are just sitting around waiting for meetings to start.

Last night for Diwali - I went to the temple with a bunch of Indian folks from around Milwaukee. It was great to go to the pooja and sing along to the aarthis (as best as I could) and just be a part of the celebration. I haven't been to the temple in a long time so I'm glad that I went and took part. It was just nice to be there, especially since I couldn't celebrate with my family this time around.

i was just chatting with christine about how we often have these great ideas to blog about but when it comes time to write, we always forget. Case in point...today while driving, I thought of so many great things or I saw so many funny things and I actually said to myself, I should write about that on my website! Then, I went and forgot of course.

That's all...I just wrote it cause I didn't want to forget about it. Did you catch the irony?

Greetings everyone,

I have arrived safely in Milwaukee. It's currently 9:35 CST and I've been here for about 7 hours. I've unpacked and set up my room. It's pretty funny cause I've never had a room this big and it just seems to have too much space. I might have to buy a bean bag chair or something to fill it up. The drive from Toronto wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. In total, it took about 9 hours which wasn't bad at all. I was going pretty fast but I don't think it was absurd. I stopped in Ann Arbor last night and hung out with my friend Manju. She's finishing her residency at U of M so it was goog to see her and just hang out in Ann Arbor for a bit. We had some great Japanese food for dinner so that was great. One downer about last night was that my allergies of cats came back. I hadn't been too allergic in a long time but last night, my throat was all itchy and it was so tough to fall asleep. Needless to say, I eventually did...but it was definitely tough. I do know though that cats are a definite no-no for me.

American drivers love to park their asses in the left lane!!! What the @&#& is up with that? The funniest is when they merge onto the highway and immediately go to the left lane...without even checking their blind spots. It is just very very annoying. While I was driving today, I saw the funniest billboard in Michigan. It was for a strip club and the slogan was: "Come see hundreds of beautiful ladies and three ugly ones". That was priceless.

My last few days in Toronto were great. Thursday night was especially fantastic. I got to see a bunch of people who came out to wish me off. We went to Alleycatz, a new jazz bar in Toronto and we saw Carlos Morgan play. He was pretty good. Thanks a lot to all of you who came out. It was cool to see my marathi posse, waterloo posse, l'am posse and work posse all together.

Before I move on...what the @*@^&@(#@&%$"^@#*#& is going on with the Leafs? I am utterly pissed off. There is something fundamental missing from this team. Just don't know what the deal is. Is it Quinn? Is it a lack of heart? I think one major point is that they are missing Yushkevich, Cujo and Roberts from last year's team. Roberts is the only one they are getting back. And, will he be 100%? I highly doubt it.

Well, you haven't heard the last of me. I am in Milwaukee now (for the next 6 months) but I'll still be blogging as often (and of course, as long) as possible.
Good night from the midwest...

A tribute to Jam Master Jay

He has a little soul, to rock n' roll
Every record that he touches turns to gold
He's well conducted, self-instructed
His styles were plied, heavily constructed
Mechanically inclined, and if you don't mind
We add spice to your life, time after time
And think about times, where he's a long laster
We rock our rhymes for the Jam-Master.


(i did not write this rhyme)

Hello everyone,

I hope that Blogger is nicer to me this time around. I will give you a quick sinopsis of last week since it feels like so long ago now.

Monday of last week - my uncle from India arrived. This is Sumant kaka (the uncle that I was travelling around with in India for about 10 days). He is still here and leaving tomorrow morning. It's been great having him around but I feel really bad cause I haven't really been able to spend much time with him since I've been so busy with work. And, I want to see a lot of you guys before I leave for Milwaukee so I've been trying to juggle everything.

Tuesday was cool. Met up with part of the Udub SCRUBS posse for Thai food at a restaurant called Circle Thai. The food was pretty good but the guy working was a bit confused. Saw Malloy's apartment after - it looks great. As Tchao said, one of these days, we will all have our own places and we'll be having a nice dinner at some funky restaurant on the company tab.

Wednesday night - helped Tchao prepare for his interview. He was doing really well with the case questions so that was great. Danielle and I were also helping him with brain teasers - man you can tell that both of them are very creative and right brained (that's the correct side right?) cause they were getting those brain teasers really well. They like those things. I seem to always get frustrated. I mean, I love finding out the answers but I don't seem to want to spend too much time on them. I want to get better though so if any of you have some good ones - please let me know. That will be my personal goal from here on.

Thursday night - some folks from work took me and Marie (the other TSLP) out for a good-bye dinner. We went to Indian Motorcycle club. I've never been there for dinner before but the food was surprisingly pretty good. I really don't like that place too much though cause it's that "over 30 downtown toronto working crowd" that all looks the same. All the guys have leather jackets and have the same body type. The girls are a bit more intriguing but still pretty much cut from the same cookie cutter. Overall, it's just not my scene.

More to come...

By the way - if you can make it - tomorrow night (Halloween) a bunch of people are getting together at Alleycatz Live Jazz Bar (2409 Yonge Street) around 8:30 or so. There is no cover and at 9:30 a band (Carlos Morgan et al) are coming in so it should be pretty groovin'

Maybe I'll see you there...

okay well, blogger seems to be working again. last night - i typed up this huge update but when i clicked on post and publish, it all vanished in midair. of course, i didn't save a copy of it first (not like i should have learned from last time or anything). in any case - i will have to re-write it all soon. sorry for the delay. but this week is gonna be hell. i leave for milwaukee on saturday and i've got a lot of loose ends to tie up...

and i think i'm coming down with a cold.

:o(

testing testing testing

Friday night was a very cool and very unexpected evening. Before I move on, I must thank Tony (one of my former co-workers from ExpressVu). He works in Pay-Per-View and got some tickets to a boxing match held in Mississauga on Friday night. Tony and I wanted to see each other before I left for Milwaukee in a couple of weeks so we arranged to meet up for this match on Friday night.

Now the story...

I met Tony in front of the Hershey Centre and he gave me my ticket - a Media Pass that I wore around my neck. After seeing this, I already knew that this was going to be an interesting evening. We walked in and got some stuff (program, etc.). Got a quick bite to eat and then walked down to our seats. We were on the floor somewhere. The setup was pretty cool. This boxing ring was set up right in the middle of this hockey arena (boards were down covering the ice). And there were a bunch of circular tables surrounding the stage at which about 8 people could sit, eat and drink while watching the fights. Then, along one side of the ring - there were a bunch of seats setup in rows (very close to the action).

We were looking around and couldn't find our seats and then Tony, looking straight ahead towards the ring says to me "Look over there" I looked and didn't know what I was looking at. "Is that so and so, I said" (referring to some big guy who I thought was a boxer). He scoffed at me and then said What's my name?" I didn't understand what he was talking about so I didn't answer him. He said again "What's my name?" I finally answered him and said "Tony N". Just as I said that, I realized what he was talking about.

Straight ahead of us, inside the apron (which separates the ring and surrounding perimeter from the other seats), there were a row of about 8 seats. The last two on the row - closest to the entrance of the boxers had a sign on them that said "Tony N". I couldn't believe it! I was sitting so close to the ring that if I had stood up and reached, I could have touched the ropes. Right in front of us were the guy who rings the bell, the announcer who gets in the ring and introduces each fight and says something like "LLLLLLLEEEEEEEETTTTTTTTTT'SSSSSSS GGGGGEEEETTTT RRREEEADDDDDDYYYYYY TTTOOOO RRRRUUUUUMMMMMBBBBLLLEEEE!!!" If you couldn't read that - that was Let's get ready to Rumble! The doctors and all the judges were sitting in front of us as well.

The story gets better though...

Beside us, there were 6 seats and in about 20 minutes, some wonderful people arrived for those seats beside us. They were the Mojo Radio Girls and the Appleton Jamaica Rum Girls. Yes that is right - these are the girls who hold a sign that says Round 2 or Round 3 or whatever round it is in between each round. They are wearing next to nothing and of course, looking pretty good. We were speaking to them and a couple of them were definitely very very very stupid. But, there were a couple that we pretty smart and could carry a whitty conversation. Anyway, it made for a good site to see - that is for sure.

It gets better...

The promoter of the fight came to see Tony part way through just to make sure that we were doing all right and enjoying the seats. We both said that were having a great time and couldn't believe the location we were sitting. He then said to us that we would like what was coming next. He told us that someone very important to the boxing world was going to be making an appearance that night.

Then in about 15 minutes, none other than Mr. Lennox Lewis arrived with his entourage. Yeah, you heard me correctly - the WBA Heavyweight Champion of the World. So many people were going up to him and bothering him for autographs. He signed a few but I don't blame him and his entourage for slowly refusing cause it was taking away from the action in the ring and no one was really paying attention to any of the fights. I got some photos of him but the best thing was that just before the final match of the evening, he came out into the ring to say a few words. Since I was sitting right beside the entrance, I was the closest to him at one point as he entered - I was within 4 feet of him. And no, I did not say anything stupid to him like I did to Latrell Sprewell 6 weeks ago)

All in all, a fantastic evening that was totally unexpected and ended up being really fun. I can't wait to see my photos - hopefully they turned out. The actual boxing action was awesome too. There were 5 fights in total and they were all pretty impressive. It's amazing to watch the endurance and agility of these athletes. Over the past couple of years, I've started appreciating the sport of boxing for its skill and strategy rather than thinking of it as some sport where two people beat the crap out of each other. Sitting so close, I heard every blow and saw all of their facial expressions. It was really pretty exciting.

Wow - I've written a lot. I got to get some work done now .
Have a good Sunday.

in following eric's words...i must also congratulate tai and smith on their new jobs. tai - great work landing that one dude. eric told me the story...well done. smith, i am proud of you my minority loving brother. as i said in that mail to you and tchao today...i fell big things coming for you both shortly. i had a vision last night. perhaps it was the inspiring conversation i had with tchao. maybe it was the work out i did. or maybe, it was some of my mom's homecooking. whatever it was - i'm feeling it and get ready for the ride! tchao, your vision will come soon...don't you worry.

Hello everyone,

I have returned from my westcoast journey and I absolutely loved it. It was fantastic and I can't wait to return. I've got lots to write but not tonnes of time so I am going to write until I get tired and then continue more tomorrow.

First off - My heart goes out to everyone that has perished or was injured in the terrorist bombings in Bali. I feel a lot closer to this particular event cause it was only 5 months ago that I was at both of those clubs partying with Eric and Karen. And, now - they don't exist. It's absolutely crazy. I don't really know what to say...it's weird cause Bali really is like an island paradise tucked away from everything else. It's very commercialized and there are tonnes of tourists there but it's really pretty peaceful and beautiful for the most part. I think that out of all of Indonesia, Bali is definitley the most visited island so tourism dollars are mucho mucho in Bali. Indonesia is completely Muslim except for Bali so if Al Queda is behind this - that kind of makes sense because I don't know if they would bomb somewhere with majority Muslims. I'm not sure what else to say right now except I was pretty overcome with emotion last night when I heard about this story. I had a tough time falling asleep last night and was worried I was going to have some crazy dreams.

Happy Birthday Ashvin, Manasi and Sachin. Hope you guys all had fantastic days.

While in Vancouver - it came to my knowledge that a lot more people than I knew are actually reading my webpage. I think that is really cool but I also think that I gotta do something with it now. I mean, it's fine for news about me but really, people want more than just text. There has to be some colour, some picture, some sound. I gotta work on this thing so please bear with my while the transition process occurs. And sorry for writing about my morning routine some time over the past month (according to Vas). I still don't know when I did but I apoligize nonetheless. You know how it goes though...some days, there just ain't any news.

This past weekend, I was in Whistler with Vas and it was...well, words can't really describe how good it was. I mean - the scenery, the views, the people, the climate. You can't go wrong at all. It's just out of this world but actually, it's only a 5 hour flight and 1.5 hour drive away so I think that I might go again...SOON!!! I think that out of all my friends, Vas definitely has the best gig and I am totally envious of his life right now. Damn, how can you compete with that. Great job in a great location doing what you love to do.

On Friday of last week (before going up to Whistler), I finally did the Grouse Grind . I've wanted to do this hike for a long long long time but I haven't been in Vancouver for the correct season. I'm glad that I did it (it took me about 62 minutes) but it's not a very fun hike. I am really glad that I didn't do it on the weekend cause I've heard it is a little crazy busy (actually very crazy busy). I wanted to be under an hour so I'll have to test myself again sometime and make sure I beat my time. Here are some specs on the hike - "The trail itself can be summed up in a few words. 2.9 kilometers. 2800 feet elevation gain. Slope of up to 45 degrees. Rugged terrain. The trail has been compared to a non-stop climb of one and a half times the CN Tower in Toronto.

Time for bed now but I must share my displeasure with the radio before I leave. I hear the same damn 8 or 9 songs every two hours. What the heck is up with that? What are some of the good radio stations I can start listening to? Either on the radio (from another city or country)? Or, some Universities have good stations that play funky non-commercialized stuff. The reason I just thought of all this is that the Nelly/Kelly song just came on for the 3rd time tonight.

BOOO!!!!

Good night,

I love Vancouver, British Columbia. I arrived here this evening around 7:00 pm and immediately, had perma smile ever since leaving the airport. I am just about to go to bed and I am still feeling great. It was a fantastic evening cause I had Thai food with Jen So and Kris (one of my old roommates from UBC). After, we went to Goo (A Japanese Bar) for some drinks and Kris's girlfriend Leanne joined us. It was a great evening just chilling with those guys and reminiscing with Kris about our times at Fairview Crescent at UBC. Luen, Rachel and Smith - you guys know what I'm talking about.

I am staying at the Sutton Place right in the heart of the city at Robson and Burrard. I walked up and down Robson today and it was so great. Kris told me that UBC has changed (especially the plaza with the McDonald's) so I am excited to go and check that out.

Time for bed but I will talk to ya'll again soon. I still gotta tell you about the rest of my time in Calgary. I did go to Lake Louise on Sunday which was absolutely breathtaking.

Once again - Vancouver is amazing!!!

It's Saturday night in Calgary. I just got home from the Flames-Oilers game at the Saddledome and Nitin's hockey game afterwards. So far, Calgary has been great fun hanging out with Nitin and Manju but it is pretty damn cold here. It was snowing quite a bit this morning at about 8:00 am (luckily I was still sleeping through that). I arrived here last night around 7:00 after taking ZIP Airlines (new Air Canada Discount Fair like Tango) from Winnipeg. The flight was okay but I was fortunate enough to sit beside a couple and their two young children - a 3 year old and a 5 year old. That made for a rather loud and somewhat annoying experience. I tried to sleep but I don't know how effective it was. Last night after coming home and resting up, I went out to Nitin's first hockey game. It was at he Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary campus. Really nice arena inside the speed skating track. There were a bunch of kids taking speed skating lessons and that looked really cool. The game was interesting (actually, quite entertaining). They got smoked (and no better this evening). In defence though, the two teams they played have clearly been playing together for a year or two whereas his team is still trying to figure out each other's styles. This afternoon, Nitin and I went golfing (9 holes here in Calgary). I had a really fun time although, it was a little cold - no more than 4 degrees C (40 degrees F). My putting was totally on today and my 6 iron was absolute money. After golf, we got some McSh*ts (haven't had that in a while) and watched some playoff baseball. The Angels upset the Yankees today (YEAH!) and the Cardinals beat the Diamondbacks. The Twins forced a game 5 tomorrow against Oakland so that should be exciting. Tomorrow - Nitin, Manju and I are thinking of going to Banff so that will be great.

I saw the craziest thing today. While driving on the highway, we overtook two cars:
The first licence plate was NOV 805
The second licence plate was NOV 804

Can you believe that??? Yeah, the little things amuse me.

The rest of my week in Winnipeg last week went well. My work at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre all ended up really well and I learned a lot about the products that I will be selling and more importantly, the needs of our customers. I had some great dinners while I was in Winnipeg so that worked out well but I must say that eating out isn't a novelty anymore. In fact, I am getting sick of this whole traveling and eating out all the time routine. I haven't event done it for very long and already, I am complaining. The whole act of eating out isn't cool anymore because it's actually "eating". It's not a new luxury, it is neccesity. And, every meal is usually pretty fatty and processed so you can't be as healthy. Also - staying in hotels has lots it's lustre...it just ain't as comfortable as home. One thing that I did discover was that the nightlife in Winnipeg is pretty crappy. On Thursday, I tried 5 different places and found nothing so I was back at the hotel and in bed by about 11:45 pm.

Speaking of bed, I should make my way there...big day ahead of me tomorrow.
Goodnight.

Did you guys all hear about the whole Ron Maclean thing with CBC Hockey Night in Canada? Ron Maclean is the pillar of the show and he can't go. He is as charismatic as Bob Costas on NBC in the States. He's a great broadcaster and would be sadly missed. It seems like they are off by about $25,000 per year which is absolutely crazy considering what athletes in the actual game that he broadcasts make. I think that Labatt (who is the major sponsor of Hockey Night in Canada) should pony up some money and help CBC out (considering they are a crown corporation).

Today at the hospital was fantastic. I saw a bunch of crazy cases including some etopic (spelling?) pregnancies, a scrotal study and some breast studies. It was pretty cool seeing all of that.

Now, it's time to go out for some Japanese food (again). I know there are other options, but damn, I am craving sushi again.

How long has it been since I last wrote to you all (not counting the quick hit last night)? Well tonnes has happened as it always seems to. One of the biggest things was that I ran a 10 km run on Saturday (the 18th of September). It was at Waterloo Park and it was for Brain Tumor research. I ran with people from work and also, Cristine, Flo and Ruth. I am really glad that I did it cause I've been talking about doing a run for the longest time and I actually finally did it. I ran it in about 52 minutes which I think is a great time considering I wanted to beat 55 minutes. That night - a huge group from the Waterloo posse went out for dinner (to a Korean restaurant, which I heard was good) and then out dancing at the Living Room. I had a really good time at the Living Room and it was really great to chill with the gang, especially Mae, Tchao and Birdie (cause I hadn't seen them in so long).

I left on Sunday to go travelling through Western Canada for 2 weeks. I'll be here in Winnipeg until Friday the 4th and I am hanging out here in the hospital learning in the Radiology department. Then on Friday, I leave for Calgary for 5 days where I will be hanging out with our Sales guy next week. The weekend should be great cause I'll be able to hang out with Nitin and Manju. After Calgary, I'll be on my way to Vancouver and I'm really excited about that. I haven't been to Vancouver in a long time (over a year I think) so it will be great to go and see the posse. The beautiful part will be Thanksgiving long weekend. I'll be up in Whistler with Vas chilling out for a couple of days - I can't wait for that.

Since my Latrell Sprewell story, I have had some other brushes with greatness. Except this time, I didn't say anything (perhaps I learned my lesson). When I was flying to Dallas a couple of weeks ago, Forest Whitaker was in the security line behind. I couldn't remember any movie that he was in, except afterwards, I was reminded that he was the star of your favourite movie and mine, Ghost Dog. Then, on Sunday - when I was flying to Winnipeg, the entire Edmonton Eskimos CFL team was at the same gate as me cause they were all flying home to Edmonton. It was interesting to just sit there and see how big these guys are. They were all absolute beasts.

There are tonnes of other things that I've wanted to write on this page for you all. I just can't remember them now. It's weird cause as the week goes on, I encounter things that I think would be interesting to speak about on the site. Except, I always forget what they are when the time comes.

I an watching Game 1 of the Yankees - Angels baseball playoff series. The Angels were leading 5 - 4 in the bottom of the 8th inning. There were two outs and then all of a sudden, the Yankees exploded for 4 runs (including a 3 run dinger by Bernie Williams). Now, Mariano Rivera is coming in to close out the show in the top of the ninth. How do the Yankees seem to do this every year in the postseason?

I'll leave with this. There is a chance that I am going to the Tragically Hip concert here in Winnipeg tomorrow night (with really good free tickets) and then on Thursday, there is a De La Soul concert going on so that will be hype for sure.

Have a great day...

it's 12:00 am in Winnipeg right now. I am pretty drunk cause I had 1/2 a litre of white wine with sushi tonight. dinner was fantastic at this restaurant in winnipeg called Meiji Sushi (like the Meiji Shrine in Harajuko, Tokyo).

I have been meaning to blog for a long time now but cause it's late, I should get to bed. I promise to write more soon though. I definitely promise.

Thanks to Amisha for sending this message:

>Below are the lyrics to Missy Elliot's new song: Work It
>(I believe the line in question is the last one...)
>*****************
>
>Is it worth it, let me work it
>I put my thang down, flip it and reverse it
>If you got a big [elephant], let me search it
>To find out how hard I gotta work ya
>
>******************
>(close to aneil's interpretation of the last line as:
>itz snurf ama within id nayet chrup)

Yeah, so it seems like I didn't know what I was talking about. But then again, did any of you?

Also, happy birthday to Reva and Bina today. Hope you both have excellent days and I would love to see both of you soon. Reva - good luck in Mexico when you leave next week.

Did I mention that I hate ironing????????

I've only been away for about a week but it seems like it has been forever. There is a lot to write so let me get started. September 11 came and went last week and it was pretty much what I expected. A couple of the shows on TV that night were pretty interesting - CBS had some really good stuff like 60 Minutes 2 and that footage filmed by those 2 French filmmakers.

Aside number 1: that new Missy Elliot song - what the heck is she saying in the course? I can't understand at all...This is my take:
itz snurf ama within id nayet chrup (just in case you were wondering - that is not English)

Dallas is nothing great. It's pretty flat (flatter than Toronto if you can believe it}). It's hot as hell. Damn hot! It is very white and black in pockets. Fair share of Hispanics too. I guess it's just like almost every other big city in America. The suburbs are straight out of TV or the movies - bungalows, huge lawns, SUV's, other nice luxury cars, 2.3 children, white picket fences. in my cousin's neighbourhood, the city had actually painted all the fire hydrants silver cause the residents of the neighbourhood thought the red was an eye sore! The biggest tourist attraction in Dallas is the site of the JFK assassination. I saw the grassy noll (spelling?) and the book depository window from where it is said that Lee Harvey Oswald shot one of the bullets. The one cool thing about this historical attraction is that there are a bunch of people there who sell replica newspapers, books, etc with all sorts of information on the shooting. But they all have their own conspiracy theories about who was involved and their motives so it is relaly interesting to hear what they have to say. Most of them claim that they were there in Dallas when it happened. On Saturday night, I stayed at my cousin Ratheen's house and had a good time. His mom made some wicked fajitas and at night I went out with his best friend, a Puerto Rican guy named Eddie who is a pilot in the US Airforce. He was a really fun guy so that was fun. The first bar we went to was kind of like places on King West in Toronto but we didn't stay long cause the music sucked. Left there and went to a bar that was totally a university hang out. Reminded me of a Waterloo bar. I was so psyched to talk to this one Spanish girl in a pink shirt but I chickened out in the end. What a loser!!! (I am referring to me, not her). Before going to my cousin's for dinner with his family, I saw two of my other cousins from my dad's side. They both have young kids so it was cool to see Meera and Anusha for the first time. Unfortunately Eshan was not home cause he was playing with one of his buddies but the other two girls were so adorable.

Flew home on Sunday and in the paper, I found this funny article about airplane security - check it out: "... There are already imaging machines capable of seeing through clothes and talk about developing brainwave-monitoring devices supposedly capable of detecting agitated minds that could be harbouring hostile thoughts." - I thought that was really funny.

Sunday night when I came home, some family friends - Priya and Ashwin came over with Priya's sister and mom. Priya just had her first child - a boy they named Rishi. He is a really cool kid - only about 45 days old so that was really cool to see and meet him. Ashwin said the funniest thing..."It's a wonder that someone so small can make so many loud noises from every part of his body". He was referring to his son, not me. This week has actually gone by really quickly. I've been busy with work so that is probably why. Actually, this week I've been on the road a lot going to Cambridge, Hamilton and Kitchener. I really gotta work on getting more sleep at night though cause the days come and I get so tired by about 10:00 am and then again at around 2:00 pm. It ain’t good cause I am gonna fall asleep on the job one day. Went to Jay and Meeta's house in Hamilton yesterday night and that was a lot of fun. They've got two kids - Ashwin (10 months) and Dineesh (3 years) - they are both cool kids as well. Man, I am seeing a lot of cool kids of late and I seem to get along and play with all of them...they all like me too! What message am I supposed to take from all this?

I’ve got some stuff to do over the next while…

1. Gotta get back on the work out routine – I have been getting very apathetic and lazy and haven’t been to the gym once in the past 3 weeks.
2. Gotta stay true to the diet (I’ve been slacking of late)
3. Gotta study more for work so I can really know my stuff (especially stuff like anatomy and how the products work)
4. Gotta do some shopping (suits, WRINKLE - RESISTANT Dress Shirts and dress shoes) - anyone wanna help me?

Karen, Amisha, Ingrid, Rachel, Luen, Christine, Julie, Tai, Kevin, Tchao, Craig, James, Reshma, Ketan, – how ya’ll doing? Sorry I haven’t read some of your pages of late but hope that you are all chilling.

Good night everyone,

Sorry about my absense everyone. I have been pretty busy with work stuff of late. I just got back from Milwaukee. I was there from Sunday afternoon until this morning. It was for a Sales training course which went really well. And, tomorrow, I am flying out to Dallas for a Sales Meeting. I am going go stay until Sunday so I can chill with my cousin Ratheen on the Saturday night. I've got 3 other cousins there so hopefully, I will be able to see them as well.

So ladies and gentlemen, I did fly today. Yep - I flew on September 11th. It was weird. I woke up in my hotel room this morning and was getting ready. Then, this crazy thought went through my head. I was thinking that exactly a year ago at that time, the hijackers were probably in their room getting ready after sleeping or whatever - basically, what the hell must have been going through their mind in the hours before they got to the airport and executed their plan. That must have been an entire mixture of emotions. Anyway, there was tonnes of traffic but when I got to the airport, it was virtually empty. I checked in and got through security in under 10 minutes cause it was just so empty. When we arrived in Toronto, Pearson was empty too. So basically, most people, other than business travellers tried to stay away from the skies today...The flight itself consisted of me reading the USA Today and Globe and Mail and just about every page had something to do about September 11. It got to be a bit too much in the end but it was still quite interesting reading the different articles and viewpoints.

I wanna go and spend some time with my parents but I'll write more later.
Have a good one everyone.

I watched The Sum of All Fears last night and it was pretty good. A little slow at times but overall the concept was neat. I thought that the whole thing about the U.S. and Russia potentially going to war over something that neither of them started was very plausible. I also liked the fact that a bomb actually did go off and kill people as opposed to most movies when the bomb is averted at the last minute. Once again, Ben Affleck did nothing for me. I really think that he is a crumby actor!

Today, went to my first hospital site. I was at The Hospital for Sick Kids this morning and it was really neat to be there for the first time walking around seeing what our products actually do to help patients and doctors. Sick Kids is a very unique hospital and it is really hard to see some of the kids in the shape they are in. Those kids are some of the most courageous people in the world. And to think what their parents are going through as well...man it is just way too sad. At the same point though, an institution like Sick Kids is so groundbreaking and it is doing so much to improve the health of ill children so that should be commended.

Went car shopping with my mom again tonight. We've narrowed it down to a short list (it's actually a pretty common shortlist for most asian families)

Honda Civic LX Model
Toyota Corolla LE Model
Mazda Protege LX Sport Package

We've test driven them all. Like some features on one...some on another. Cost is virtually the same. Do any of ya'll have any suggestions?

E-Mail me if you do.
Thanks and good night.

The drive in this morning surprisingly wasn't that bad. With school starting today...I was all scared that it was going to take forever so I was out the door at 6:59 am and at the office by 7:35 so that was great. Worked out for an hour and now, I am at my desk starting the day. It's clearing up outside so that should be make for a pleasant afternoon and evening. I slept well last night... wasn't up all night with nervous excitement - that was two weeks ago before my first day of work.

I take back the comments I made about the anniversary of September 11. I was thinking about it this weekend and I am an information hound, especially when it comes to stuff like this. I am sure that I will be watching all the special tributes and memorials about the lives of people since...all the heroes....all the people lost. I just watched this thing on CBC tonight about this Italian-Canadian gentlemen who was on the 84th floor of the second tower when the first tower was hit. He stayed up there for a while...then realized he should leave...and you know the rest of the story. It was still remarkable to actually listen to someone speak who was physically a part of all that. I will try to absorb as much information about September 11 as possible but I still do think that there will be too much American propaganda that day (and that week actually).

It's the night before the work week starts and what have I done today? Well, my normal Sunday night routine (Holiday Monday night in this case) - I filled up gas in the car AND I ironed my dress shirts. How crappy is that? I really hate ironing. Really hate it. I gotta start buying all wrinkle-resistant clothing. Even that stuff though has to be ironed if you wanna look crisp.

So - let me tell you about Saturday night. I am so embarrassed to admit this but I stayed home the entire night, watched Breakfast at Tiffany's alone in the basement. I was in bed by 11:00 pm. Is that not pitiful? I am 24 years old and my parents were out more than I was this long weekend. Damn, that is said. But - I did get a lot of sleep and now I am ready to tackle the work week. Next week, I've got some partying going on so I am not too worried. By the way, Breakfast at Tiffany's was pretty good. The best part for me was definitely Audrey Hepburn cause she is money.

Played baseball with Scott today. That was a lot of fun. It would have been great if we had one or two more people but it was still good nonetheless. Gotta get out and do more physical exercise though. This diet (no snacks and lots of fruits/veggies) is going well but now I also gotta keep up the physical work.

Overall - I would have to say that life is good these days. Work is keeping me busy. I am learning a lot of new stuff. I am working out. Getting to see lots of my friends. Spending time with mom and dad. Can't ask for much more.

GOOD LUCK to everyone starting school tomorrow. Man, I used to remember this night. The last night of summer - the night before the first day of school. I never could sleep cause I would always be too nervous. Hopefully, I won't have any problems tonight. Sweet dreams everyone,

By the way,

Yesterday was my brother's 29th birthday so happy birthday buddy! Hope the debauchery last night was good times...

It's Labour Day weekend and I actualy forgot this was a long weekend. Very weird cause I expected that once I started in the working world, I would turn into one of those people who look forward to their next weekend every Monday. Slowly, I will probably turn into that guy but for now, it is all still new so I guess it's okay that I am not that way yet. I am a big nerd right now cause I am working on my laptop and my desktop at the same time. I've got two mice in my hands navigating on two monitors...what a loser!!!

Last night was a lot of fun. Su-Lin is moving to Kingston for the next 5 years for her joint Law/Masters degree which is really awesome. Congrats Su-Lin! So, we all went out to Marche last night for dessert and just chilling out. I really had a good time hanging out with most of the old high school posse. It was fun just catching up and finding out what everyone else is up to these days. It was also great to see etch who I haven't seen in almost a month. It was just like old times which was great. Joking around about business cards, breathmints, shoehorns and of course intria. $hit I can't believe that Eric's job at CIBC has him dealing with Wendy (my former boss from Intria ). There is a name I didn't expect to ever hear again. She was a pretty bad boss back during that co-op term. That is where I got my satisfactory evaluation (and all the rest have been excellents or outstandings). That job was so bad too. Most of you, I am sure have heard the stories...

I watched Fight Club the other night. Haven't seen that movie in a few years. It was pretty good again but I still don't totally get it. I am not sure if you are supposed to totallly get it though. In any case, good flick and norton and pitt were a great combo. That night, I went to Ashvin's place with Ketan and we chilled out. Had some awesome steaks on the barby so that was great. Thanks a lot for dinner Ashvin...it was some good $hit.

It's Saturday night and I am sitting in my room updating my webpage. What a loser! My parents are out at someone's house for dinner so I get to reheat some leftovers when I get hungry. I ask you, who is the man??? In any case, I was sitting here thinking about things. It seems that almost everyone I called today to see what they were doing tonight seems to have plans with their boyfriend or girlfriend. So, I get to sit here at home on my own. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I mean, it would be great to find that special someone but she ain't out there yet. I'll know when I find her though and so will all of you.

In any case, work is keeping me super busy so all's good. I got to see my first customer yet. That was an interesting experience since I totally forgot what it was like to sit in a boardroom with another company discussing strategy and implentation of a plan. That'll be me leading the conversation soon enough. I was doing this online sales training CD yesterday and in the office and it was the funniest thing in the world. I failed it 5 times before I finally passed. Man, I am an absolute idiot. It was out of 35 and if you got more than 4 wrong, you failed so I really had to know my stuff. I wrote down most of the questions cause they were repeating a lot but damn, it still took me too long cause I got lazy and stopped paying attention to my notes. Did I tell ya? I am going to Milwaukee next week for a couple days of training. That is exciting but the weirder thing is that I am flying home to Toronto on September 11, 2002.

The one year anniversary. Man, that is gonna be weird. I think that that week and especially that day is gonna be filled with so much U.S. patriotic propaganda. There are gonna be so many tributes and memorials. I am definitely gonna try and avoid the TV for a few days.

Off to eat some thawing hot dogs in the sink...

:o)

didn't see my big fat greek wedding tonight cause it was sold out by the time we got to the theatre. so, i went home and instead, i rented gosford park with winnie and we watched that. i didn't think that highly of it. perhaps i was tired but it just didn't do it for me and i actually fell asleep briefly twice. for a murder mystery, whodunit - i thought they kind of gave away a lot! also, all the characters pretty much looked the same so it was so annoying trying to figure out who was who and making sure you had accounted for everyone. i definitely wouldn't have given it all the oscar nominations that it got. that is for sure.

off to bed. good night.

The last week has been pretty hectic. I have become a Toronto Commuter. By that I mean that I am out of the house everyone morning by about 6:55 am and I arrive at the office by about 7:45. I then work out in the gym most mornings for about an hour. After that, I take a shower and get ready for a long day at the office. I get to my desk (actually, I don’t' have a desk yet and I am squatting at someone's who is away on vacation for 2 weeks) and turn on my laptop and begin the day. It goes strong with meetings, projects, etc. Then, before I know it, it is about 6:45 pm and it's time for me to leave so I pack up and I am back on the highway by about 7:00 pm getting home by about 7:45.

12 hours…just like that!

Needless to say that my days are pretty long but I am not complaining because I am busy, I am learning, I am meeting tones of people and I am enjoying myself. Can't really ask for more than that, can you?

Saw Signs on Friday night. I thought it was a good movie. Shayamalan is a very good director. His foreshadowing is great and he makes the story flow nicely. This movie was also good because there was a tint of humour as well (the aluminum foil scenes). You wanna know something silly? In the scene where they are showing Mexican TV footage and in the final scene when Mel Gibson's brother "swings it", I actually had pins and needles all over my body because of what was on the screen. It was a weird feeling. I was actually sitting there in my seat at the theatre and I was kind of freaked out. That is what made that movie so enjoyable! I also saw Blackhawk Down last night. That movie was pretty good too and the thing that I really liked was that it wasn't as American as I was expecting. With Jerry Bruckheimer - I was expecting crazy huge explosions and US flags everywhere. I had the crazy explosions all over but there was actually fewer American propaganda than I expected. The story was actually pretty good too. Unfortunately I am pretty ignorant about the entire Somalian civil war that occurred in 1993 (and is probably still occurring now) so I didn't know how accurate the story was. War strategy is pretty intricate but when Americans or other peace keepers go into these foreign lands to do their thing, all strategy is thrown right out the window because the people they meet on the other side (whether it is Africa, Afghanistan, India, Pakistan or China) are in such large numbers and are looking to kick some ass.

This weekend was pretty good. Friday night after Signs, I went out for dinner with Cristine at a Chinese restaurant in Mississauga. It was really funny cause Cristine asked the waitress for "another menu" in Mandarin. Sure enough, she came back with a different menu that was for Chinese people as opposed to the "generic white Chinese food menu" they had given us at first (all because of me probably). The "secret menu" actually was quite different and we found some good stuff on it. Ashvin had a bbq at his place yesterday so that was fun. Most of the Marathi posse was there which made for good times. Then today, Ashvin, G and I went golfing at an executive par 3 course in Unionville. It started out really poorly but by the end, my wedge and 9 were hitting really well and I was totally getting under the ball almost all the time. Right now (and for the last 7 hours or so), my neighbours are having this huge cookout in their backyard. They are playing some wicked hip hop, soca, calypso and funky beat music. This one guy has been cooking on the grill for easily about 6 hours. He is right in there marinating, making the fire bigger and tasting the meat. It all looks really good and there are a ton of people that seem to be enjoying themselves. Some cute girls are there too so that is always a good thing.

Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. I'll keep this story short but it was very very very frustrating and made me very angry. Last Tuesday during my drive home from work, I got cut off by this chump in a little white Civic. I slammed on my horn for about 15 seconds or so while I was right on his ass. I waved at him through my windshield cause I wanted to make sure he knew what he did was wrong. He was oblivious to the whole thing and proceeded to go to the centre lane where he thought he was gonna overtake some slowpokes. I stayed in the right and ended up passing him so when I did, I gave him the stare and left it at that. Then as I was driving along, he managed to catch up I guess and overtook me now on the left. But as he was doing that, he was swearing and giving me the finger (among other things). He caught me so off guard and I was so shocked that he did that. What a complete ASSHOLE. You know what got me too, he was definitely a father's age. He was an older Sri Lankan gentlemen - probably in his 50's. Man, the never of that punk!

On Thursday, I went on my very first Toronto Harbour Boat Cruise. It was a work sponsored event with an open bar and great food right on one of the tall ships called Kajama. We cruised around the harbour for about 4 hours and it was getting pretty cold by the end but it was so worth it. I had such a good time and it was really beautiful. The Toronto skyline is fantastic. We just have to get something done with that damn waterfront and then we'll be the bomb. Mingling with work people that night was interesting and it is usually interesting in general. Some of them are really awesome and no matter how much I know them through work, I can still chill with them and have a good time. Conversations with others though, damn that is like pulling teeth.

I'll leave you with one final question. Recently I have been in a debate with someone about what the tallest structure in the world is. It's still the CN Tower right? Followed by the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur.

Good night and sorry for the long blog but that's what happened when you haven't written in a while…