Sparks...you are probably the only person who reads my site that might find this article interesting. Have you seen the latest news between Shaq and Kobe This is some hilarious stuff. Two grown men bickering like little school kids...

It's definitely time for bed now cause I have to get up at 5:30 am so I can be ready for my cab that will take me to the airport.

I'm heading to Milwaukee tomorrow for the next few days. It's really weird cause in the past 15 months (since I've been in this job), I've been on flights to/from Milwaukee about 10 times I think. Never thought that this would be as much of a destination for me as it has been. Work for the past few days has been quite cool cause I've had the opportunity to make some customer pitches and demo some equipment.

There is a new section in the Tuesday Toronto Star called ID. And today, there was an article entitled Solace in tequila nights. It was an excellent article and definitely made me think about stuff (these are thoughts by the way that I almost always have).

Yesterday, I played basketball with a bunch of guys who I met through my friend Sach. We played at a community centre in West Toronto for abotu 1.5 hours. The game was pretty good. Very very tiring! Man, I thought I was in pretty good shape (running and gyming 3-4 times/week) but after a few runs up/down the court, I was dying (as were the rest of the guys). Overall though, it was great and even better to know that this will be a weekly occurance. Incidentally, I suck at basketball now. I used to be pretty good and had some skills but damn, I can't shoot a jump shot now. What the heck happened??? I have no idea. I hope my game gets better over the next couple of months.

Greetings folks. The weekend is just about over and this coming week (although I'm not really looking forward to it) will probably fly by very quickly. I am in Hamilton doing some product demos tomorrow and Tuesday and then from Wednesday - Saturday, I'll be headed to Milwaukee for my graduation from my training program. So before I know it, it'll be next weekend around this time and I'll be sitting in the same chair in the same room doing the same thing.

Friday night for Kevin's birthday, it was the much-anticipated visit to North 44. Now, I'm no fine dining connaiseur by any means but I think I know what good service, good food and good ambiance should entail. So with that, I must say that I wasn't too impressed with any of those three things. The food was just okay. The appetizer I had was nice - these funky shrimp dumplings (in kind of a hoison sauce I think). The main course was halibut in a coconut, coriander and chili curry cooked in a banana leaf. The fish just didn't taste that good. And dessert was pretty good but the manner in which they brought it out (and charged us all for it unknowingly) was a little tacky. Service was also subpar primarily because for parties of X or more, they automatically add gratuity. So, immediately - they didn't need to work as hard and in my eyes anyway, it showed. Lastly, ambiance - I've been to several other "less chi-chi" restaurants in Toronto that have much better ambiance...better music for one and better lighting. So overall - over $100 for dinner at that place was not worth it.

What was worth it was hanging out with all our buddies. It was excellent to hang with Kevin for his birthday and I especially enjoyed seeing so many people together that I've known for quite a while. I met a few new people so that was nice as well. Overall, the people definitely made the evening. I didn't get to bed till past 5 that morning...it was a great evening.

More to write but I've gotta sleep so will have to continue tomorrow.
Good Night all...

Happy Diwali to all my friends and family! May you all have a wonderful holiday season.

I am so hooked on my hockey pool, it is absolutely crazy. I spend at least about 30 minutes on it just about every night looking at stats, contemplating transactions... Blair, it's funny that you wrote that on your blog...I just sent you a message about hockey - go figure man.

This weekend is going to be great. It's Kevin's Birthday dinner tomorrow night at North 44. Should be a fun and rather pricey event. I was looking at the menu online today...looks like some cool grub. I'm always up for new cooking ideas. I clicked on a link from Blair's site - some girl named Kim I think. Anyway, she has an amazing recipe section on her site and I am definitely gonna try some of them (especially the garlic mayonnaise).

I got some Learning Language CDs for my driving while I'm driving to visit customers. I got spanish for now. Let's see how it goes. I think this could be an excellent way to pass the time (especially those days when I'm driving 3 or 4 hours). Thanks for the idea bro...I'll let you know how it comes out.

Last thing - Blogger sucks @$$ and I can't get most of my archives from more than 6 months ago. What the hell is that? Why have an "archive" section if you aren't going to keep them? If anyone has any suggestions on how I can get them back, I would really appreciate them. As of now, I am quite annoyed that I don't have them...and there doesn't seem to be a way to get them back.

I just caught up on a whole bunch of blogs...pretty much everyone's actually - Tchao, Karen, Ingrid, Luen, Tai, Kevin, Christine, Sparks... It was great to read all your stories after about 2 or 3 weeks. I really gotta keep more up to date.

Couple things definitely stand out:

Etch - great Curling event on Saturday. You did an amazing job organizing and everyone definitely had a great time

Kev - great blog about Steve Bartman. I totally agree with you.

Christine - awesome heartfelt words from a few weeks ago. I guess that's what we're all searching for.

Luen - congrats on the new bike - the Fuel looks awesome dude. Wish I was more into biking cause then I would totally ride with ya. However - we will totally have to snowboard together this winter (I haven't been in 2 seasons...eeek!!!)

Sparks - my fantasy hockey pool is so addicting. I missed the draft as well and got stuck with my pre-ranked players...got some goodies (hossa, alfredsson, lidstrom) but also got some duds (my goalies). Tell me more about Radiohead...seems like I definitely missed out.

Tai - if you ever go for a trip like that again (the one you did on Thanksgiving), I would totally love to come with ya! I really wanna do a hardcore hike/adventure day like that. Would love to help out with setting up anything and just wanna learn that stuff.

So much has been happening of late that I don't even know where to start. I've wanted to post a few things over the past few days but couldn't find the time on a few instances and then couldn't find the words on a few other.

The most important thing right now is the story of Cecilia Zhang , the 9 year old Toronto girl that seems to have been abducted from her bedroom while she was sleeping sometime last Sunday night. I really can't believe that this has happened and I am quite shocked. I drove past the neighbourhood where it happened yesterday (it's only about 10 minutes away) and I saw a bunch of cops (in cars, walking and on horses). Everyone is looking everywhere for her but my worries are that she is long gone. It's been almost 72 hours since she went missing and in that time, her kidnapper could have taken her anywhere... As the case goes on and there is more and more info available, it is starting to seem like this might be a ransom related abduction. Some are even speculating that the kidnapper is known by the family. We'll have to see what happens. All I can say at this time is that my heart goes out to the Zhang family - I can't imagine what her parents and grandparents are thinking and what must be going through their heads. It must be absolute fear.

What absolutely amazes me is how society just moves on despite things like this happens. We continue to go about our daily routines with work and other crap. I am just as much a culprit in this dirty world that I am painting and I'm not sure what I can do about it. I have continued working, making plans with friends, etc. At times, I sit back and contemplate how she must be feeling or what her parents are thinking about. But then, reality sets in and I have to get back to my committments.

I have actually been thinking about all those committments of late and really trying to prioritize and understand what is the most important thing for me. I think one thing that I really want to understand more of is my own culture. That starts with language and religion. I don't by any means call myself religious but I would like to understand what being a Hindu means and what Hindus stand for and believe (I know bits and pieces but want to take the time to really know it). I also really want to become fluent in Marathi. It's my native language and I would really like to hold a conversation with anyone in Marathi (with a proper accent as well). To do these things effectively - I think I'm going to have to live in India for 6 months to a year. Not sure when that is going to happen but I really hope it plays into my cards somehow as I think it will be an excellent experience.

The Europe/Asia/Australia thing is still definitely on my mind...just not sure of the timing there and how it will play out. I've definitely got time on my hands right now and every day ahead of me. I just have to put in my time for a little bit and set a good base. Then, I can become a little more risk-taking and make things happen the way I want them to.

This past weekend with my brother visiting was nice. Unfortunately, the four of us (my brother, me and my parents) didn't have that much time to really spend together (other than at dinner). It was good to catch up with him and I know that there are definitely plenty of lifestyle choices and preferences that he and I share which is good cause he can relate at times (especially things related to travelling and meeting new people/new cultures.

I'm off to Milwaukee next week for graduation so then, I'll be a full-fledged business man. Not sure what that means...but let's see how I do.

Today has been a fat day. I went for a run yesterday and it was good. Gonna go again tomorrow morning. The new shoes are pretty nice so far and quite comfortable. I have been pretty good with my work out routine. Gym (for weights) or running almost every other day for the past few weeks. I actually took in the waist on one of my dress pants this weekend (so that was a great ego booster). I am still snacking a bit too much when I work from home so I've gotta keep an eye on that. Overall though, I am doing pretty well so far...

I am in London, ON right now at my hotel surfing on a high speed connection. I owe you guys some serious updates cause the last few days (since last weekend) have been great. I am going to give the abbreviated version right now actually...

There was A LOT of eating cause it was thanksgiving weekend. In fact, I went to 2 Thanksgiving dinners. At one, I made the staple Guacamole which turned out to be really good and for the other, I made a smaller serving of guacamole as well as a side dish. I decided to make some sort of a baked dish...but didn't really know where I was going with it. It ended up being a mix of different veggies including yams, eggplant and zuchinni. An interesting combo I know...but check this out: I made a garlic mashed yam as the bottom layer of this dish. Then I put a layer of grated cheese and bread crumbs. Then I put a layer of oven-roasted and seasoned eggplant followed by another layer of cheese and bread crumbs. I then added another layer - this time it was oven-roasted seasoned zuchinni and again a layer of cheese and bread crumbs. I then finished it with a tomato and onion mixture with basil and hot peppers. That served as the sauce on top with one more layer of cheeze and bread crumbs. All in all, it turned out to taste really good and I was quite impressed. One funny comment was that my dad said it was quite mushy so perfect for old people. Next time - I will bread the eggplant and zuchinni and it'll be even better...

I also have been watching A LOT of baseball. Did you guys see the Cubs and that crazy "fan-interference" thing in Game 6? Wow, it must be crappy to be that guy! I really feel bad for him. Anyone who is calling him a fool for doing that and anyone in Chicago that is threatening him is a complete hipocrite because any baseball fan at a game would have done the same thing.

Last weekend, I also played 3 rounds of golf - that's 54 holes! It was pretty good overall and I hit a tonne of awesome shots but I still duffed a lot and am still not that consistent...oh well, it'll take time I guess. I am definitely improving with some of my clubs in particular so I'm happy about that.

This weekend my brother is coming into town for a few days so that'll be cool to chill with him again. We are going to do some shopping and I am finally hopefully gonna buy a snowboard so I'll have some of my very own gear now which is totally cool.

Time for a quick sushi dinner. Then, it's back to my room to work on a presentation and watch the ball game...Game 7 tonight b/w the Yankees and Red Sox. It's Pedro vs. Clemons - should be a dandy!

i went to one of the best concerts i've ever been to last night...it was called tabla power and it was such an amazing evening of tabla mastery and talent. i was absolutely in awe basically the whole night. there were 7 performers - each doing tabla solos (with accompanyment on the harmoniaum, flute or other indian instruments). each performer had about 20 minutes to do their thing but most took longer (some 35 and 40). basically...all this added up to a fascinating mix of talent and an excellent evening of music. the show started at 7:30 pm and i didn't leave until 11:30 pm. it was 4 hours of brilliance for only $10. YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT!!! the performers were so varied as well. there were 2 16 year olds, one PHD student, some peeps my age and then a couple older ones. they all had varied upbringings and differences in teaching (as can be heard in their styles) but they were all excellent in their own right. the best part of the evening however...had to be the man himself - one Mr Gurpreet Chana. he was on fire and received a standing ovation at the end of his set. just listening to him was so amazing. words can't describe how much of a presence he had on that stage and the way he made his tablas sing.

it's a beautiful thanksgiving long weekend this weekend. today i was wearing shorts while i was golfing - the weather was so beautiful. tomorrow, i am gofling again so hopefully the weather holds up then as well. and then on monday, i think i'm going to play some roller hockey so that should be sweet too. gotta organize some ish in my life too this weekend so hopefully that will sort itself out.

guess who is &#!@ing playing the music so loud again tonight? what an @$$HOLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! thank god i am leaving now to go to ashvin's b-day bash at shmooze and mom/dad are out of town with some friends tonight.

i won't let that ass ruin my mood though. last night's show was inspiring and such an amazing event. may all events be as simple and perfect as that!

Greetings earthlings. I'm sitting in my hotel room in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin (half way between Chicago and Milwaukee). I got here yesterday (Sunday the 6th) and will be here till Wednesday the 8th. I am here for new prodruct training and the entire Americas team is here so I am meeting some new people and also getting the chance to interact a lot with the Canadian team.

I flew here on Friday night. Stayed in Madison, WI on Friday night and hung out with my boys Tim and Ray. Ray just got a new house in Madison and damn, it is HUGE. We went out for nice Laosian-Thai food and then met up with other peeps and went to Madison Masala for a lot of drinking and smoking hookah. It was a great evening. :o) We ended up at another bar and didn't get back to Ray's till quite late.

On Saturday, we woke up quite late at Ray's place and just lazed around. Watched A Man Apart that morning and I must say that as far as druf movies go, I definitely thought Traffic was much better. A Man Apart had it's moments but it wasn't fantastico by any means. Saturday afternoon, I went back to Milwaukee with Tim and we watched the Cubs-Braves game. The game was SSSOOOO long and part way through, we decided to go for a work out. Got back and the game was still on - that was crazy. Anyway, the Cubs lost...more on that later.

At night - we went to Dancing Ganesha. It's an Indian fusion restaurant in Milwaukee and has received decent reviews. We had a group of 17 people and I wanted to find a place that could accomodate us and that had decent reviews. When I made the reservation, I spoke with the cook/owner named Usha and she was excited that I was coming in for dinner. We got there just before 8:30 for our reservation. We didn't actually start until close to 10:00 pm and we didn't leave until after 12:00 am so that wasn't so great. The service was so horrible too and one of the waitresses we had was a horrible b-yatch. They were out of so much food. They were late in bringing stuff (even though we were the only party left in the resaturant). They also messed up our drink orders several times. At the end of the night, we got the bill and there was an automatic 20% gratuity added because we were a party of more than 8 peeps. We all couldn't believe that it was 20 freaking % with the crap service that we received. Spoke with the manager again and explained to her the situation. She said that the 20% is "suggested" so we suggested not to leave it. We still left abour a 10% tip so I still think like we shouldn't have. And guess what...at the end of the night, after we explained what was happening to the waitresses, the b-yatch had the gall to say "you should be ashamed at yourselves for this tip" to Dave and I. Can you believe that? What a stupid and bitter person.

More stories for you from the road...will continue tomorrow.
Good Night

It has been such a busy week. I can't wait till it's done. There have been ups and downs as well...so it'll be nice when it's over cause I wanna get past this one. Last Friday night I chilled with Kdot, Ashvin and G - it was the much anticipated Marathi posse reunion. We visited a cool restaurant at Queen and Pape - Spudnuckers or something like that? Played some poker and Halo and really - just chilled out. It was a great time. I love hanging out with those boys and definitely need to do more of it. We were talking of doing a road trip in the near future and that is a definite must. Those are my boys and we don't hang out enough so taking off for a while on a vacation will be great. It might be the maritimes, might be winnipeg, might be the states, but the best thing might just be to hop in the car and go...and let the wind take us where it wants to.

On the weekend, some of the Phun Police posse went up to SSM to visit Bobby for Gimme the Light: More Fire. The 3rd installment in Phun Popo jams up in the Sault. We had a good time but it was just too short a trip. Definitely would have preferred to go up on the Friday night instead of Saturday afternoon. Basically, we were in SSM for about 20 hours in total and the total drive took about 15 hours. The Sault is quite small. As are all the other cities that I drove through in Ontario for work. The more I see those places, the more I realize that I have to live in a pretty big city. I just can't do the small-town thang.

Monday night I went to the Maple Leafs - Canadians game in the company box down in the platinums. We were sitting 5 rows up from the Habs bench - the seats were pretty freakin' amazing. You don't realize how small the ice surface is until you sit that close and see it for yourself. The food and drink was great in the box of course. Last night, I was in Waterloo for the On Campus Info Session. It was quite interesting to speak with the students as I remember being in their position a few years ago. Asking all these questions looking as if they are intelligent and looking like they care. I noticed as well that a lot of the kids looked so nervous so that was interesting.

Sci-Bus Peeps - guess who I ran into last night after the info session? I was at Plantation for coffee with Ruth, Cris and G. And we ran into Joan Sanger! Yep...that's right. Joan is still in Waterloo and it was great to catch up with her. She still remembers most of us from our class and was asking about peeps. She's working on a number of projects right now including some work with Paul Martin. She also was telling us George Dubya stories...what a tool that man is! It's so interesting to listen to Joan speak cause she is the epitome of "proactive" and not worrying about failing. If she wants to do something, she'll just go forward and do it. That is quite an admirable trait.

Tonight, I've been trying to decide who I'm going to vote for tomorrow. After researching each parties site independently tonight, I was looking for comparison sites as well and came across this one. After reading, I think I know which way I am going with my pick. It'll be interesting to see how things shake out for the province. People are saying that a Liberal majority could be detrimental as well.

I am traveling again this weekend. Leave for Milwaukee/Chicago on Friday the 3rd. Gonna hang with Milwaukee posse over the weekend in Madison and Milwaukee which will be a great time. Then, it's off to Lake Geneva (somewhere in between Chicago and Milwaukee) for some product training for 4 days. Will be back on Wednesday night. It'll be nice to go but I must say, I am getting sick of planes, cars, buses and all other modes of transportation!

I am especially hating driving these days. Why you ask? Well, I'll give you the truncated version of the story. Up until Sunday September 28, I thought I was a really good and responsible driver. I got my first ticket that day. It was for speeding. I told myself - okay now you have your warning...never do it again and what did I do??? I got busted this morning again for speeding! That is the only two infractions on my record ever AND ALL IN 3 days! I am so annoyed and know that I am a good driver. I speed when I need to (and when it's dry and nice weather). When it's wet or stormy, I don't go fast. Now. I am forced to drive all cautiously and I hate driving that way cause then, you have no confidence. It's gonna take some time to get back to driving more like normal. I did really need these warnings though cause I was even thinking that I was driving too fast at times. Anyway, I am completely embarrassed cause I got caught not once but twice and the second time I was going even faster. It really sucks! It really does! But, it's a good message to get. It seems that it needs to be drilled home in my head too.

My public service announcement to all of you is: DON'T SPEED. Otherwise stuff like the deaths of 4 high school students in Orillia or the accident of the Hockey players in Atlanta could happen. I feel like I've learned my lesson now so hopefully I can practice what I preach.

Time for bed...gotta go to the polling stations tomorrow!
Night.