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...