sitting in an internet cafe in london just thinking. victoria station outside is busy and crazy. totally reminds me of victoria station in bombay. weird how you can be in such different places but yet, there are so many similarities. so far, this trip has been exactly what i wanted and expected. i haven't been in a rush to go anywhere. i haven't woke up before 9:00 am yet. and today (my first day of touristy sight-seeing) has included a lot of walking and now i am tired. i think what i'll do is head out to a park and read my book (the life of pi) for a while and probably take a nap.

yesterday the bbq that my brother hosted was a huge success. there were about 20 people there most of the time out on the terrace so that was really cool. about 5 of the peeps were my buddies which was great too. but alas the majority were his posse from school. man, they are all such incredible people. All are in their late 20's or early 30's and they all are very unique and interesting people. first - the group is so multicultural (cause the school they all went to - INSEAD is completely international with students representing about 80 different countries (possibly more) so whenever you are in a conversation with any of them, you are bound to hear at least 3 or 4 different accents and languages. plus, the name of a different country will pop up every couple of minutes. these people are truely "wordly" cause they've done so much travel around all continents. in addition to completing a very difficult year at MBA school, they are also such well rounded indivuals - with skills/passions ranging from cordon bleu cooking, scuba diving, extreme sports, dance, travelling (of course), reading, acting and so much more. i love that they are such a diverse group of people. and if i ever do an MBA, it would have to be at a school or in a program like that.

this week - the other plans are a day trip to brighton, a day trip to bath and stonehendge, a cricket match, more sight-seeing around london, MORE jogging and whatever else comes about. it's looking less likely that I'm be going to Scotland this weekend cause it'll be just too hectic and there is plenty to see/do in London that will keep me occupied.

time to leave this joint and find a nice tree to sit under for a couple hours...
have a good one,

hey folks. how is everyone doing? i am in london, england and so far - the trip has been great. it's been cool hanging with my bro in his flat. it's a really cool place close to earl's court tube station so it's really close to central london. so far, i've hooked up with a couple of my old friends from UBC. i met them both when i was on exchange 3 years ago. the first, kat, is a girl that i met from australia. she's a really cool girl with so many interests - it's amazing. we haven't seen each other since march '99 and to reunite in london is pretty cool. the other is angie who i met in my international econ class in UBC. she is such an awesome sweet and kind hearted person. i also got to meet her husband nate for the first time yesterday and he's a real cool guy. the two of them are moving to toronto in september so it'll be great to spend so much more time with them. and kat is thinking about visiting toronto again some time soon.

my brother and i just watched the boondock saints and i must say...it was a pretty cool movie. raj's tv is kinda old and unfortunately it doesn't interact very well with his dvd player so we had to watch the movie in black and white. it kinda added to the aura around the movie though which was cool. the concept was really interesting and i really liked the way the story was told.

yesterday when i was walking around london i was in front of the natural history museum and came across the earth from the air photo exhibit. it was SO AMAZING. The photographer, Yann Arthus-Bertrand is absolutely incredible and I urge you all to visit that website and try to find more of his work anywhere you can. The canvases he chooses for his photos are absolutely mindboggling and the pictures he takes are so eye opening. The description of the event is here:

EARTH FROM THE AIR is a spectacular presentation of large-scale photographs of astonishing natural landscapes. Created by world-famous photographer Yann Arthus-Bertrand, every stunning aerial photograph tells a story about our changing planet. Seen together, they are an outstanding visual testimony to the world we live in today. A world with a growing population, shrinking biodiversity, polluted lands and oceans, a changing climate and a shortage of drinking water. A world, nevertheless, of beauty and of wonder.

tomorrow...raj is hosting a bbq at his place and i'm gonna meet a bunch of his buddies and a bunch of my buddies are coming too. it should be a great time. hopefully the weather holds up. that is one thing about this city. it does rain quite a bit. you can really see how people are so happy and excited when it is sunny. it's not that often so when it happens - everyone is so excited to be outside and enjoying the sights and sounds of the city. this city is definitely world class so it's great when you can enjoy it. well, it's off to bed now but the exploration will continue tomorrow...

Hello all. I realize I haven't written in a few days. It's been difficult getting back to normality in my life. I am actually literally walking out the door right now on my way to the airport cause I'm going to London, England tonight to visit my brother for the next two weeks. I am really excited to get away for a bit and I'm going to do a lot of reading and chilling out. Hopefully I'll be able to blog a bit while I'm gone...

All the best to you all while I'm gone.
Look forward to seeing you when I return.

Here is the eulogy I prepared for Kama kaka's funeral on Saturday. Unfortunately due to some miscommunication, I wasn't able to deliver it at the ceremony. I did however deliver it this morning at the Cremation ceremony.
___________

It is an honour to stand here in front of you today because I am speaking about a man who touched the lives of everyone around him. Kama Chitnis (aka Kama kaka or Uncle Kama) was an extraordinary gentleman who had an immediate impact on my family from the first day we became close.

Kama and Claire Chitnis are wonderful, caring, generous and strong people. They are unselfish and always want to make sure that others around them are taken care of. They became very close with my parents about 10 years ago and in that time, the two couples shared many experiences that enriched all of their lives. Whether it was their trip to the Maritimes, the various dinners around Toronto, watching Hindi movies on Kama’s big screen, barbequing Jerk Chicken in our backyard or exploring the streets of Toronto during various street festivals. Kama and Claire knew how to have a good time. They knew how to enjoy themselves and I am forever grateful to them for adding that element to my parents’ lives. Moving forward, we’ll still take part in many of these activities and we know that Kama kaka will be with us every step of the way.

Kama kaka always lit up a room. If you were at the same function as him, it didn’t take long to be aware of his presence. He had this special talent of telling stories that I’ll never forget. He would get really involved in the story – retracing all his steps; renaming all the characters and really making you feel like you were there. The best part, in my opinion, was that he never held back. Kama kaka always told it like he saw it and sometimes, it was blunt – but I must say…being on the other end of those stories was always a treat.

How can we speak about Kama kaka without mentioning his passion? Golf was Kama kaka’s oasis. He was always smiling on the golf course and always up for a round (or two, or three). He took the time to bring us youngsters around as well as he always wanted to introduce the game to new people. During those rounds when we were playing with him, he always gave us pointers and he always paid which were little gestures but always went a long way. Moving forward, it will be tough to forget such a kind and gentle man. For me personally, every time I swing a golf club, Kama kaka will be watching. Some might say it’s like having your very own caddie. I prefer to think of it as having my uncle, mentor and friend all rolled into one.

Yesterday at the viewing, looking at all the pictures of Kama kaka – I wanted to find the one that reminded me the best of this special man. You all must have seen it yesterday…its Kama kaka in his suit standing by the fan with his arm up trying to cool down. This picture screams “Kama kaka” and the main reason is the expression he’s got on his face. Kama kaka was a happy-go-lucky man that brought a special zest to life. He will forever be remembered.

On behalf of Vinayak, Pratibha and Rajesh, Deepali and Samir Hadkar and everyone else whose lives were touched by him, I would like to tell Kama kaka that we all love you and will cherish you for the rest of our lives.
___________

It's definitely been tough these last few days. It's amazing where we find strength to get us through tough situations. We'll meet again soon...

This will be the hardest blog I've ever written. Reason is that a really close family friend of ours (practically my uncle) passed away on Wednesday July 16 at 4:40 pm. Thursday the 17th is his 71st birthday so the timing couldn't have been worse. It was so sudden that it caught all of us off guard. He had a mild heart attack last week and was admitted into Toronto East General Hospital. He was there all weekend, getting slightly better. Then today...things took a turn for the worse ; he had a second heart attack (this one more massive) and the doctors could do nothing more to save him. Someone like him is truely irreplaceable. I'm told that he did die in his sleep which is good cause he wasn't in any pain.

Kama Chitnis was an extraordinary man. He was kind hearted, no nonsense and happy-go-lucky. He was always entertaining to be around when stories were being told because he is a very animated store teller. He was an avid golfer...blis for him occured at least 3 times a week out on the golf course. Just last week, my parents, he and his wife and I all went out for dinner at East Side's. Him and I were chatting saying that I had to get out golfing with him again soon to show off my new golf game (with lessons and all). He was always really patient with me on the course as well. Kama Chitnis was a great person who brought a lot into the lives of the people he touched. My parents were really touched by Kama and his family. The two couples became such close friends over the years and would often go out for dinner together, hang out down by harbourfront at different festivals. I definitely know that over the years, Kama and Claire really added a more social element to my parents lives so they were able to start exploring the city and restaurants more closely. I've developed quite a close relationship with him over the years as well. He was in sales to start his career so he's been giving me tips about my current job and of course, there were all the conversations we had related to golf. A few years ago, Kama and Claire helped my brother, mother and I plan a surprise 60th b-day party for my dad that had about 70 people come (all in Kama's party room of their condo)

I also realized something else today. My parents are truely remarkable people. They help everyone (young, old, indian, non) - you name the person and my parents will be there to help them out. I am very proud of them and definitely know that they are good role models for anyone. Tonight was an interesting dynamic for me and my parents cause we are not much of a "hugging" or "close" family but in these circumstances, nothing else would have been appropriate.

The events of today simply made me realize just how unimportant many aspects of our lives are. The real important stuff (in my eyes at least) are family and friends. For me, I am no where without family or friends. They mean the world to me and are by far the most important things. If my job ever interferes with that on a continual basis (regardless of the job or company), changes will have to be made. I had an amazing conversation with C-dawg about this and MANY other things yesterday for a couple hours. We touched on career, vacation, girls, school, parents and everything else. It was great to catch up with him and I must say - conversations like that really help to put things into perspective.

Once again before I go to sleep:
Kama kaka - I love you and wherever you are now, I know you'll always be a part of me and my family. Thank you for everything you've done and everything you've brought to our lives.

May your soul rest in peace.

I must say. My last few blogs have been sub-standard to say the least. I mean, writing when I'm half asleep and nodding off mid sentence. Then not proofreading them before posting them. Wow, I may have even written some inner most secrets (cause you know, that's what happens when you aren't fully thinking about the task at hand) - your head starts to wonder and then it's over...

So let's write the blog I meant to write on Sunday night. First off - the weekend was wicked but so busy. It started on Friday night when I went to Inside and Up with Udub posse. It was a lot of fun and wow...it had been some time since I'd been hardcore clubbing like that. Inside was VERY asian that night. And I'm sorry to say but a lot of the peeps in there looked the same (check out all look same.com). But that's not to say that I can't tell apart different Asian people. I just mean that there are certain molds that the majority of them that night were dressed into. There was the small petite asian girl, the tall skinny one, the triad looking asian guy and the scrawny guy with the baggy dress shirt. Don't get me wrong - brown people follow the same types of looks more often than not. I mean there are the thugged out fools, the khaki/golf shirt preppy types, the girls with TONNES of makeup, etc, etc. So what is all this a comment on? Well I think it has something to do with our society's views on conforming. We all get sucked in by the GAP advertising that says "All in ______" and things like that. We are all becoming the same slowly. Check out Orwell's 1984 - perhaps some of the stuff he was talking about ain't to far away.

Anyway, I digress...

Saturday was spent with me organizing my photos. Yep I'm a nerd...A nerd suffering from OCD as many of you know. So I was writing the dates, people, events on the backs of many of my photos from the past few months in preparation of putting them in albums (along with ticket stubs and other randoms to mark the events memory). Sometimes I think...why do I do all this? But then I realize that it isn't so much for right now but it's for 5 years from, 10, 15 and maybe 50. Those are the times when I wanna crack open these scrap books. Now with digital prints, it makes that kind of nostalgia stuff harder. I do have a bunch of digital prints that I wanna take to Future Shop so that I can get hard copies to add to my scrap books. Then they'll be money.

On Sunday I got a voicemail and an e-mail from two friends wishing me Happy Belated Birthdays. They were all apologetic. It was quite amusing cause my birthday is on the 12th....of August. I must say they both really put a huge smile on my face. It was great to hear from both of them and it was even better to know they were thinking about me...can't wait to hear from them again soon. You guys know who you are.

Sunday, my brother left to go back to London. It was cool having him hear for a few days but we didn't really spend that much time together. I think it was kinda planned subconsciously that way though cause I'll be there in 10 days and we'll have 2 weeks together so this way, he got to spend time with his peeps. I can't wait for my trip next week. It is going to be awesome. And again, if any of you have suggestions, please let me know.

I played golf on Sunday with UW posse and it was a lot of fun. Birdied the par-5 Ninth hole to take the Uplands Championship away from Byron. It was sweet. Sorry buddy...we'll have to play again some time soon though. My game is feeling more comfortable as the days go by. I just have to consistently play more often and then I'll be set. Yesterday at lunch, we played beach volleyball at work. There is a court in the back and it was a blast. I can't wait to play with the guys again. Our work team starts playing on Thursday Nights down at Ashbridges Bay in the Toronto Sport and Social Club so that will be cool. And tonight, I am going to play roller hockey with the boys (Kdot, G, Ashvin, etc). I really need a new stick though. When your blade has the height of a quarter standing - you got problems.

Well, it's that time of the morning now...time to go and sit on the 401. Enjoy your days folks.
And check out our flava page. Sparks brought it back recently and we've been adding to it...