Introduction to Sales team.
Today was the big presentation - the introduction to the sales teams who I'm going to support and be working closely with. I was kind of nervous, but it actually went pretty well. Pat was so nice about giving me all the data before hand and doing a dry run between client calls with just me because I asked! At the actual meeting in front of 50-odd people, I started off with something like a joke about how we all knew each other by email address, and we were finally seeing each other for the people we were. So yeah, that was pretty good. (Phew!) :)
Got an "okay" amount of work done, but yeah, could've done better. I just left early today because I wasn't able to get any work done, and I was pretty exhausted. I slept on the shuttle on the way back home!!
Keth and I.
I finally met Keth for the second time today - since I've come here that is. We ended up eating silly food and drinking the night away till we were both fairly high. We talked and talked and talked a lot. About the most random things :) It was so much fun! We tried to convince his brother Sharath to join us for a glass of wine, but he was pretty insistent on not doing so.
Gulp! I got work tomorrow! :P Oooh, but I'm doing laundry, which is a good thing!
Bye Amir. :(
Tonight is Amir's last night here. He's been such a fun roommate, I'm going to miss him quite terribly! He's promised to keep in touch though, and come back before I leave with his wife (maybe) and also to come to India! :) I'm looking forward to meeting him again in the near future. So, yay! :)
Sigh, it'll be quite boring around here without him! :(
Homesickness here and there.
I'm homesick! Can't really say much else to expand on that. My family isn't emailing me back! :( Sniff!
Thursday, June 30, 2011
72
Today was a better day.
I actually got a decent amount of work done, without getting too distracted, and I also was able to make enough time in the evening to do non-work stuff. So yea, good thing. I even helped Liz understand some Analytics concepts for her AdWords certification exam.
The Party.
The corporate guest house hosted a party today for the Googlers who were staying in the same guest house as me. I invited Rahul to it, and he got another friend of his, Alex. It was fun, we ate a lot of food, we played some random games including Nintendo Wii and chilled out with the Synergy Corporate guest house folks.
Post party.
Amir, Alex, Rahul and I went to Yo Yo Sushi bar and grill for dinner (that's turning out to be a favourite) and ate and drank and talked and laughed. Came back home, had some tea and chatted a bit more, and then Rahul and Alex left. I've been online since, and I think it's about time I went to sleep now.
I actually got a decent amount of work done, without getting too distracted, and I also was able to make enough time in the evening to do non-work stuff. So yea, good thing. I even helped Liz understand some Analytics concepts for her AdWords certification exam.
The Party.
The corporate guest house hosted a party today for the Googlers who were staying in the same guest house as me. I invited Rahul to it, and he got another friend of his, Alex. It was fun, we ate a lot of food, we played some random games including Nintendo Wii and chilled out with the Synergy Corporate guest house folks.
Post party.
Amir, Alex, Rahul and I went to Yo Yo Sushi bar and grill for dinner (that's turning out to be a favourite) and ate and drank and talked and laughed. Came back home, had some tea and chatted a bit more, and then Rahul and Alex left. I've been online since, and I think it's about time I went to sleep now.
Tuesday, June 28, 2011
73
Drive to work day.
Amir drove to work, and Nikhil and I hitched a ride with him. Fun ride :)
Rain.
It was cloudy this morning, and the online weather vane had predicted rain. It was right, it did rain. Somehow, I never imagined it would rain in this place. Strange, I know, but I told Nandita the same thing and she said - yeah, you can imagine a summer, winter, and even autumn, but not rain here. :) It rained pretty heavily, and it got cold. And Saikat, Nandita, Ashlene and I were out for lunch (and OMG we had the most fabulous lunch at what I think was called the Long Life Cafe?) when it was raining, so the cold in the air actually chilled me to the bone. Even though I was wearing a full sleeved top and a corduroy vest-like jacket, I was close to shivering.
Workday Blues.
Today wasn't a good day for me at all. After the spell of being in the rain, and the cloudy, cold weather all day, all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep. And after that fantastic lunch of Vietnamese soup, sushi and other picks off the counter, I was stuffed and all ready to sleep too! I couldn't keep my eyes open and I nearly dozed off and hit my head to my laptop's keyboard a couple of times. :| No sun to go warm myself up under outside either. Depressing! I thought I might be falling sick, I was feeling that cold. Suddenly I got homesick when the second package of paints that Sas sent reached me. I was kind of cranky all through the afternoon, although talking to Liz helped a little. And I booked myself a massage tomorrow. Also found mint flavoured water, which is yummm.
I have to go back home and into a meeting :(
Vacation plan.
What irked me even more was that our vacation planning was not going great. No bookings done yet, nothing! So I finally just found some deal and booked hotels in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. Chris was very sweet about taking a print out for me before I left. :) (Thanks Chris!)
Sky is filled with clouds.
It's still filled, yes! I'm going to carry a jacket to work tomorrow. Or like the Americans say, "don't forget to bring a jacket" :)
POA.
Plan of action is to finish meeting, eat some food, do laundry and sleep. Tired!!
Ohhh crap I need to make a presentation deck as well! :| Oh mannn, this day isn't going to end! Sigh. :(
P.S. - I ended up talking to Amir for a little over half an hour, having dinner, and sleeping. Wasn't able to do any work because the internet at home wasn't working. Tomorrow will be a better day.
Amir drove to work, and Nikhil and I hitched a ride with him. Fun ride :)
Rain.
It was cloudy this morning, and the online weather vane had predicted rain. It was right, it did rain. Somehow, I never imagined it would rain in this place. Strange, I know, but I told Nandita the same thing and she said - yeah, you can imagine a summer, winter, and even autumn, but not rain here. :) It rained pretty heavily, and it got cold. And Saikat, Nandita, Ashlene and I were out for lunch (and OMG we had the most fabulous lunch at what I think was called the Long Life Cafe?) when it was raining, so the cold in the air actually chilled me to the bone. Even though I was wearing a full sleeved top and a corduroy vest-like jacket, I was close to shivering.
Workday Blues.
Today wasn't a good day for me at all. After the spell of being in the rain, and the cloudy, cold weather all day, all I wanted to do was curl into a ball and sleep. And after that fantastic lunch of Vietnamese soup, sushi and other picks off the counter, I was stuffed and all ready to sleep too! I couldn't keep my eyes open and I nearly dozed off and hit my head to my laptop's keyboard a couple of times. :| No sun to go warm myself up under outside either. Depressing! I thought I might be falling sick, I was feeling that cold. Suddenly I got homesick when the second package of paints that Sas sent reached me. I was kind of cranky all through the afternoon, although talking to Liz helped a little. And I booked myself a massage tomorrow. Also found mint flavoured water, which is yummm.
I have to go back home and into a meeting :(
Vacation plan.
What irked me even more was that our vacation planning was not going great. No bookings done yet, nothing! So I finally just found some deal and booked hotels in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite. Chris was very sweet about taking a print out for me before I left. :) (Thanks Chris!)
Sky is filled with clouds.
It's still filled, yes! I'm going to carry a jacket to work tomorrow. Or like the Americans say, "don't forget to bring a jacket" :)
POA.
Plan of action is to finish meeting, eat some food, do laundry and sleep. Tired!!
Ohhh crap I need to make a presentation deck as well! :| Oh mannn, this day isn't going to end! Sigh. :(
P.S. - I ended up talking to Amir for a little over half an hour, having dinner, and sleeping. Wasn't able to do any work because the internet at home wasn't working. Tomorrow will be a better day.
74
Work.
Work went pretty well; I met the Business Unit head, had a long conversation with my manager, set up meetings and well, things went pretty well. I managed to finish all my work and leave by 6pm.
Ooooh I got sketching pencils from Sas!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHH! :) :) :) :) Much heart!
Cooking.
I invited Saikat and Elisabeth over (I also invited Nandita and Ashlene, but they couldn't make it), and we found Nikhil Dev on the way up to the apartment after grocery shopping at Safeway, so called him over as well and Amir and I cooked - he cooked Israeli food, and I cooked Indian food! :) First time in Google history these two cuisines come together! :P Hehe.
The Menu.
Amir made lamb kebabs and beef with hummous and pita bread and some salad. It was great! I made bhindi, phulka (which ended up being more like papad!) and palak raita. Except for the phulka disaster, the food turned out pretty good, and everyone enjoyed it. We also had some wine to go with it, and the "party" went on till almost midnight, which is when Liz and Saikat left - she drove with him all the way back to SF!
The internet wasn't working though, so I wasn't able to write this nor log in and chat with people, and I felt pretty handicapped. I hope it's back up and working!
Work went pretty well; I met the Business Unit head, had a long conversation with my manager, set up meetings and well, things went pretty well. I managed to finish all my work and leave by 6pm.
Ooooh I got sketching pencils from Sas!!!!!!! AAAAHHHHHH! :) :) :) :) Much heart!
Cooking.
I invited Saikat and Elisabeth over (I also invited Nandita and Ashlene, but they couldn't make it), and we found Nikhil Dev on the way up to the apartment after grocery shopping at Safeway, so called him over as well and Amir and I cooked - he cooked Israeli food, and I cooked Indian food! :) First time in Google history these two cuisines come together! :P Hehe.
The Menu.
Amir made lamb kebabs and beef with hummous and pita bread and some salad. It was great! I made bhindi, phulka (which ended up being more like papad!) and palak raita. Except for the phulka disaster, the food turned out pretty good, and everyone enjoyed it. We also had some wine to go with it, and the "party" went on till almost midnight, which is when Liz and Saikat left - she drove with him all the way back to SF!
The internet wasn't working though, so I wasn't able to write this nor log in and chat with people, and I felt pretty handicapped. I hope it's back up and working!
Monday, June 27, 2011
75
San Francisco spirit.
Yes, I woke up early. We walked to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 (me with my boots, and I'd already been walking in them all of yesterday) - Lokesh, Nandita, Sanjay and I. I was starving by the time we got there, and I kept insisting on food first :P Typical, I know. So we ate some good, filling California breakfast at and once I was full and happy, I started chattering more. We walked around the place and looked at all the cool stores there. Very souvenir-ish stores, but one that caught my eye. It was called the 'Lefty's store' or something like that, with things designed for left-handed folk, and I thought of Anishaa and walked in there. It was a big disappointment, everything was pink to begin with, and the store itself just had stuff that could be used by "right-handed people" packed in reverse. Pooh. Anyway.
We walked on, and I saw gulls flying around and screaming, which made me think of the "Mine, Mine, Mine" gulls in Finding Nemo :) And then there was a very different sound. A shrill grunt, is how I can think of describing it, although that might me hard to imagine. And we came upon sea lions. Massive ones, lying on the dock, occasionally raising their heads to make that indescribable sound. Funny creatures. Took lots of pictures - of them scratching, moving their heads, flopped down on the dock as if they're the laziest creatures on earth (no match for some boys though) :P and well, not so entertaining after a while... so we walked on.
We took a cab because we thought it might be too long a walk back to Saikat's apartment (I think it was about 1.5 miles) and I didn't want to walk in my boots plus Sanjay had to get back somewhere quickly. A cab it was.
The cab guy was entertaining (?) in a way. As soon as we got in he started telling us about how he'd got into this fight, and pointing at what possibly were bruises on his face, and boasting about kicking the other guy's arse and saying he didn't start the fight, and saying that he was pissed off when the guy he fought with made a move at some chick, and then he went on to say how much he hates San Francisco, and how the parade is just an excuse to do whatever the hell you want, and here people get away with murder. We really wanted him to shut up, as you can imagine. :D
He dropped Lokesh off at Union Square, and then dropped us off at a corner saying he can't go further because of the parade. He was so right.
Lots of noise greeted us when we got out of the cab. Cheering, screaming, absolute high enthusiasm and lots of energy. Market street was ALIVE with people. It was an enthralling experience. I've never seen anything like it in my life! We walked along the road trying to cross it, but it was so packed that we couldn't... so we (after a lot of efforts trying to cross the road with me clicking away to glory) stayed put in one spot. And man, that road was FILLED with people dressed in bright, colours, dressed very oddly, dressed super skimpily... and get this... not dressed at all. Frankly, the first thing I thought of was - "ohhh man! This is how California must have been in the 60s and 70s" and I was so thrilled by that fact! :) I was taking a lot of pictures and drinking in the sights and sounds... part of it in soul and in physical presence but not really part of it literally. Painted bodies, bright feathers, rainbow colours, lots of cheering, laughing and.... my gosh, so many emotions rolled into that one crowd. I missed some people terribly, and ...deeply. I knew they'd have loved being there and experiencing that.
Gapa joined us there, at the tail end of the parade, and then the parade was over. And we were hungry. So we walked to the Cheesecake factory, where we ate really GREAT food, and then Ashlene and I shopped for a little bit until Nandita and Saikat got their stuff from Saikat's corp apartment. I bought a few things, although not a pair of regular open-toed slippers that I had intended to buy to feel more at ease, and my feet were screaming at me :| Silly me! Then we went to the Caltrain station and hopped on the train back home.
Turns out the Caltrain station in Santa Clara is 8 miles from my house, so I called for a cab to take me back home. I got off at Rivermark, and bought some sushi to eat for dinner. I went back and fed Mr. Flambe, and then ate in my room because I didn't want to eat in front of him (that would've just been wrong even if he may have killed another fish that got in his bowl with him).
Amir came back from Seattle too, just then, so we chatted a bit over peppermint tea, and since he's going to be leaving this weekend (sad face) we decided to cook together tomorrow, and call a couple of people over. I'll make Indian food and he'll make Israeli food. Wheeeee! :)
Aaaaaaaaand after a long, tiring, but ultra cool weekend, mesleeps! :)
Yes, I woke up early. We walked to Fisherman's Wharf at Pier 39 (me with my boots, and I'd already been walking in them all of yesterday) - Lokesh, Nandita, Sanjay and I. I was starving by the time we got there, and I kept insisting on food first :P Typical, I know. So we ate some good, filling California breakfast at and once I was full and happy, I started chattering more. We walked around the place and looked at all the cool stores there. Very souvenir-ish stores, but one that caught my eye. It was called the 'Lefty's store' or something like that, with things designed for left-handed folk, and I thought of Anishaa and walked in there. It was a big disappointment, everything was pink to begin with, and the store itself just had stuff that could be used by "right-handed people" packed in reverse. Pooh. Anyway.
We walked on, and I saw gulls flying around and screaming, which made me think of the "Mine, Mine, Mine" gulls in Finding Nemo :) And then there was a very different sound. A shrill grunt, is how I can think of describing it, although that might me hard to imagine. And we came upon sea lions. Massive ones, lying on the dock, occasionally raising their heads to make that indescribable sound. Funny creatures. Took lots of pictures - of them scratching, moving their heads, flopped down on the dock as if they're the laziest creatures on earth (no match for some boys though) :P and well, not so entertaining after a while... so we walked on.
We took a cab because we thought it might be too long a walk back to Saikat's apartment (I think it was about 1.5 miles) and I didn't want to walk in my boots plus Sanjay had to get back somewhere quickly. A cab it was.
The cab guy was entertaining (?) in a way. As soon as we got in he started telling us about how he'd got into this fight, and pointing at what possibly were bruises on his face, and boasting about kicking the other guy's arse and saying he didn't start the fight, and saying that he was pissed off when the guy he fought with made a move at some chick, and then he went on to say how much he hates San Francisco, and how the parade is just an excuse to do whatever the hell you want, and here people get away with murder. We really wanted him to shut up, as you can imagine. :D
He dropped Lokesh off at Union Square, and then dropped us off at a corner saying he can't go further because of the parade. He was so right.
Lots of noise greeted us when we got out of the cab. Cheering, screaming, absolute high enthusiasm and lots of energy. Market street was ALIVE with people. It was an enthralling experience. I've never seen anything like it in my life! We walked along the road trying to cross it, but it was so packed that we couldn't... so we (after a lot of efforts trying to cross the road with me clicking away to glory) stayed put in one spot. And man, that road was FILLED with people dressed in bright, colours, dressed very oddly, dressed super skimpily... and get this... not dressed at all. Frankly, the first thing I thought of was - "ohhh man! This is how California must have been in the 60s and 70s" and I was so thrilled by that fact! :) I was taking a lot of pictures and drinking in the sights and sounds... part of it in soul and in physical presence but not really part of it literally. Painted bodies, bright feathers, rainbow colours, lots of cheering, laughing and.... my gosh, so many emotions rolled into that one crowd. I missed some people terribly, and ...deeply. I knew they'd have loved being there and experiencing that.
Gapa joined us there, at the tail end of the parade, and then the parade was over. And we were hungry. So we walked to the Cheesecake factory, where we ate really GREAT food, and then Ashlene and I shopped for a little bit until Nandita and Saikat got their stuff from Saikat's corp apartment. I bought a few things, although not a pair of regular open-toed slippers that I had intended to buy to feel more at ease, and my feet were screaming at me :| Silly me! Then we went to the Caltrain station and hopped on the train back home.
Turns out the Caltrain station in Santa Clara is 8 miles from my house, so I called for a cab to take me back home. I got off at Rivermark, and bought some sushi to eat for dinner. I went back and fed Mr. Flambe, and then ate in my room because I didn't want to eat in front of him (that would've just been wrong even if he may have killed another fish that got in his bowl with him).
Amir came back from Seattle too, just then, so we chatted a bit over peppermint tea, and since he's going to be leaving this weekend (sad face) we decided to cook together tomorrow, and call a couple of people over. I'll make Indian food and he'll make Israeli food. Wheeeee! :)
Aaaaaaaaand after a long, tiring, but ultra cool weekend, mesleeps! :)
Sunday, June 26, 2011
76
San Francisco.
Today I woke up at 9.30 and took a cab to Mountain View to meet Ashlene, Nandita and Saikat (who stayed at Nandita's after the previous night of drinking), and (they were LATE but) the 3 of us took the Caltrain to SF. We coordinated and met Nachiket on the way, in the train. When we got there, we took a bus that took an AGE to get us to Union square, and we had lunch. Soon after lunch, we checked out the Victoria's secret store (which had a sale on but everything was PINK ! Bleh :|) and bought some stuff. We then we walked to the Golden Gate bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge.
The bridge was loooong, and the view was pretty stunning, from far up where we were. We walked along the bridge, and it was cold and windy and I was clicking away for all I was worth - the bridge itself, people around, the view... all of that. That was peaceful, except that the vehicles on the bridge were pretty noisy. :)
We discussed and discussed and discussed about what to do next, but eventually nothing else got planned. And we decided to go back to Union Square. We took a bus which took forever to go back to Union Square, so in the middle, we decided to get off and take a a BART (an underground train that's really cool and fast but has a painful scraping sound that's not the most pleasant on the ears!!) all the way to Embarcadero. We went to Pier 4 and took a few pictures - I got a bunch of really good shots of a Seagull. Turns out they're posers. :D
Dinner and drinks.
We at at this Thai restaurant called Osha, and Gapa and Vinay joined us there. Ate a lot of good food, and then bought some beer and wine and walked to Saikat's corp apartment. Our big group sat there drinking and talking and laughing till late into the night. I haven't done something like that since college, I think. Pseudo-philosophical discussions, innuendo jokes, the works! Good fun! I missed the Yamahatma gang! :(
Anyway, we slept late and decided to get up early for a walk and breakfast at Fisherman's Wharf. You'll find out how that went.....
:)
Today I woke up at 9.30 and took a cab to Mountain View to meet Ashlene, Nandita and Saikat (who stayed at Nandita's after the previous night of drinking), and (they were LATE but) the 3 of us took the Caltrain to SF. We coordinated and met Nachiket on the way, in the train. When we got there, we took a bus that took an AGE to get us to Union square, and we had lunch. Soon after lunch, we checked out the Victoria's secret store (which had a sale on but everything was PINK ! Bleh :|) and bought some stuff. We then we walked to the Golden Gate bridge.
Golden Gate Bridge.
The bridge was loooong, and the view was pretty stunning, from far up where we were. We walked along the bridge, and it was cold and windy and I was clicking away for all I was worth - the bridge itself, people around, the view... all of that. That was peaceful, except that the vehicles on the bridge were pretty noisy. :)
We discussed and discussed and discussed about what to do next, but eventually nothing else got planned. And we decided to go back to Union Square. We took a bus which took forever to go back to Union Square, so in the middle, we decided to get off and take a a BART (an underground train that's really cool and fast but has a painful scraping sound that's not the most pleasant on the ears!!) all the way to Embarcadero. We went to Pier 4 and took a few pictures - I got a bunch of really good shots of a Seagull. Turns out they're posers. :D
Dinner and drinks.
We at at this Thai restaurant called Osha, and Gapa and Vinay joined us there. Ate a lot of good food, and then bought some beer and wine and walked to Saikat's corp apartment. Our big group sat there drinking and talking and laughing till late into the night. I haven't done something like that since college, I think. Pseudo-philosophical discussions, innuendo jokes, the works! Good fun! I missed the Yamahatma gang! :(
Anyway, we slept late and decided to get up early for a walk and breakfast at Fisherman's Wharf. You'll find out how that went.....
:)
Friday, June 24, 2011
77
Aah, Friday.
Lot less work to do, and lots of plans shaping up. Ooooh, Allan got me his set of pencils so I could borrow it! So sweet! :)
Here's what happened - I had made plans to go with Divya to Muir woods this evening and then go to SF tomorrow to watch the Gay Pride parade. And then go to Yosemite on Sunday. But that got canned. Elisabeth pinged to tell me to have a blast, and was sad to find out that the plan didn't work out, but happy about my plan B plans for the weekend, and you will soon find out what they are. She's going to NY this weekend.
Since the original plan didn't work, and since I felt the need to do SOMETHING in the evening, I asked Alex, Mike and Jay for suggestions, and we ultimately decided that Castro street it would be! And as it happened, in the most perfectly timed way, Tanya pinged and I asked her to join. We went to Tied House and had a good time chilling with a varied group and a few drinks. It was really great to meet Tanya after so long! :) Even though I didn't know her that well or anything from when she used to work at the Hyderabad office, I knew her, she knew me, and that's all we needed!
And the plan is set for tomorrow - take the Caltrain to SF, watch the parade, go to Alcatraz and maybe go to Fisherman's Wharf. Question mark on Golden Gate bridge and Golden Gate park as well, if we have the time. Will consider Gilroy... or maybe next weekend. Whatever be the case, I'm going armed with my camera!! :)
And I plan to spend Sunday with Mr. Flambe, doing laundry, some work and some alone time to chill out. :)
Allan called a while ago and was aghast that I was home by 10pm and planning to sleep soon. :D
Lot less work to do, and lots of plans shaping up. Ooooh, Allan got me his set of pencils so I could borrow it! So sweet! :)
Here's what happened - I had made plans to go with Divya to Muir woods this evening and then go to SF tomorrow to watch the Gay Pride parade. And then go to Yosemite on Sunday. But that got canned. Elisabeth pinged to tell me to have a blast, and was sad to find out that the plan didn't work out, but happy about my plan B plans for the weekend, and you will soon find out what they are. She's going to NY this weekend.
Since the original plan didn't work, and since I felt the need to do SOMETHING in the evening, I asked Alex, Mike and Jay for suggestions, and we ultimately decided that Castro street it would be! And as it happened, in the most perfectly timed way, Tanya pinged and I asked her to join. We went to Tied House and had a good time chilling with a varied group and a few drinks. It was really great to meet Tanya after so long! :) Even though I didn't know her that well or anything from when she used to work at the Hyderabad office, I knew her, she knew me, and that's all we needed!
And the plan is set for tomorrow - take the Caltrain to SF, watch the parade, go to Alcatraz and maybe go to Fisherman's Wharf. Question mark on Golden Gate bridge and Golden Gate park as well, if we have the time. Will consider Gilroy... or maybe next weekend. Whatever be the case, I'm going armed with my camera!! :)
And I plan to spend Sunday with Mr. Flambe, doing laundry, some work and some alone time to chill out. :)
Allan called a while ago and was aghast that I was home by 10pm and planning to sleep soon. :D
Thursday, June 23, 2011
78
I woke up really late today and went to work late but ended up getting more work done than in the last 2 days! Funny huh?
Pencils.
I really want pencils. I looked for a stationery section in the supermarket near my place the other day, but unlike in India, these guys don't have a stationery section anywhere and everywhere. I was, however, most shocked that the Google office here doesn't have pencils! They have the pen-pencils but I want the ones that you can sharpen!! You can't draw with pen-pencils! :( Long story short, my hunt for pencils so far has been unsuccessful. I need to go to an art store, it seems.
Bright side - I found a whole lot of colourful paper instead, and it made me so happy!! :) Haha!
Driving!
Yes, you read it and guessed it right - my first USA driving experience! :) I went to lunch with Allan and he let my drive his car to Charlie's. It's a Hyundai Genesis Coupe (automatic though), but it's sesky-er 'cause it's 300 hp! (Way to go, Allan!) :) Ooh and Allan said he'll make sure I REALLY drive it sometime ;) (Thanks Allan! Little does he know he is blessed for 5 lifetimes' worth because of his good deed).
What's not easy is remembering when driving here that your spatial self needs to peripheral-vision the right side instead of the left, keeping in mind that staying on the right side of the road is normal here, and not to turn left into oncoming traffic, but to go to the far side on the right when turning. And there are ten dozen rules!!! Must learn them!
I gotta say though, I did well - parking et al, if I say so myself. :)
Work time.
An otherwise an uneventful day (minus car driving time), I felt SUPER sleepy in office, and when cat-napping at my desk did not quench my thirst for sleep, I took a walk and had some hazelnut flavoured hot water (I made it myself and it was good!) and walked around some more. Still, work got done!
Buuuut here is the good thing. I headed back home at 7pm, and I'm having some to-go yummm dessert from work, after which I'll pack for the weekend (the plan is to stay at Divya's and have an eventful weekend ahead!), and then get some work done. I'll sleep if I get unbearably sleepy.
I almost feel jetlagged again!
Pencils.
I really want pencils. I looked for a stationery section in the supermarket near my place the other day, but unlike in India, these guys don't have a stationery section anywhere and everywhere. I was, however, most shocked that the Google office here doesn't have pencils! They have the pen-pencils but I want the ones that you can sharpen!! You can't draw with pen-pencils! :( Long story short, my hunt for pencils so far has been unsuccessful. I need to go to an art store, it seems.
Bright side - I found a whole lot of colourful paper instead, and it made me so happy!! :) Haha!
Driving!
Yes, you read it and guessed it right - my first USA driving experience! :) I went to lunch with Allan and he let my drive his car to Charlie's. It's a Hyundai Genesis Coupe (automatic though), but it's sesky-er 'cause it's 300 hp! (Way to go, Allan!) :) Ooh and Allan said he'll make sure I REALLY drive it sometime ;) (Thanks Allan! Little does he know he is blessed for 5 lifetimes' worth because of his good deed).
What's not easy is remembering when driving here that your spatial self needs to peripheral-vision the right side instead of the left, keeping in mind that staying on the right side of the road is normal here, and not to turn left into oncoming traffic, but to go to the far side on the right when turning. And there are ten dozen rules!!! Must learn them!
I gotta say though, I did well - parking et al, if I say so myself. :)
Work time.
An otherwise an uneventful day (minus car driving time), I felt SUPER sleepy in office, and when cat-napping at my desk did not quench my thirst for sleep, I took a walk and had some hazelnut flavoured hot water (I made it myself and it was good!) and walked around some more. Still, work got done!
Buuuut here is the good thing. I headed back home at 7pm, and I'm having some to-go yummm dessert from work, after which I'll pack for the weekend (the plan is to stay at Divya's and have an eventful weekend ahead!), and then get some work done. I'll sleep if I get unbearably sleepy.
I almost feel jetlagged again!
79
Shiny New Things.
I picked up my visitor bike today. Which I can take back to my corp apartment and cycle around as much as I want! :) It's a geared bike, although not a mountain bike. I'm considering exchanging it with a mountain bike and biking up the hills around. It is so cool that I get to keep a bicycle to myself for the entire time that I'm here! I'm going to take it back with me and cycle around every weekend! That'll be my mode of commute. Who needs cars?
I also wore my new Google tee which is awesome, I might wear the other one tomorrow... and I carried my laptop in the new YouTube laptop bag! :) Wheee! Call it instant gratification if you like, but I'm absolutely loving wearing and using my new things as soon as I get them. :D
Campus tour and a concert.
There was a concert happening in the amphitheatre on the main campus. I went there with Allan and Ashlene and watched for a while, and then we went exploring the main campus. It is amazing how many ultra cool things they have in the one place that is Google HQ! :D Oooooh, I love it! 12 weeks is too short to explore everything :P
Work.
Still got lots to do but progress is happening, so I'm starting to get a little less stressed out overall. But there's still lots to do. 2 days to go! Aaaaaahhhh!
Finding people I know.
Iciri's sister, Natasha (who I last remember meeting when she was in the 10th and Ice and I were gawky 6th standard kids who tried to crash her slumber party, and I remember she and her friends locking us out of the room to get rid of us, and listening to Backstreet Boys full blast while Ice and I grinned in scandalized glee at the word "sexual" whenever they said it), lives in SF, so I called her. So yeah, back in 1997 or something is when we'd last met! :O I hope to meet her, and see how much has changed? :D Haha.
Also, Nachiket called up today and we thought we'd catch up in SF over the weekend.
Basically, I'm finding friends or at least someone I know somehow, and making plans to meet them and stuff, and Ashlene's like - you know so many people!! It's pretty funny, haha! :)
Barter system.
Dinner with Allan was awesome! We went to the Great Mall arcade and ate at the restaurant there. But they shut at midnight, so by the time we finished eating, we weren't able to play anything. While we were eating, we shared a story for a story, about drama moments in life. It was good fun! :) Got a liiiiiittle tipsy on a couple o beers! [lopsided grin]
I picked up my visitor bike today. Which I can take back to my corp apartment and cycle around as much as I want! :) It's a geared bike, although not a mountain bike. I'm considering exchanging it with a mountain bike and biking up the hills around. It is so cool that I get to keep a bicycle to myself for the entire time that I'm here! I'm going to take it back with me and cycle around every weekend! That'll be my mode of commute. Who needs cars?
I also wore my new Google tee which is awesome, I might wear the other one tomorrow... and I carried my laptop in the new YouTube laptop bag! :) Wheee! Call it instant gratification if you like, but I'm absolutely loving wearing and using my new things as soon as I get them. :D
Campus tour and a concert.
There was a concert happening in the amphitheatre on the main campus. I went there with Allan and Ashlene and watched for a while, and then we went exploring the main campus. It is amazing how many ultra cool things they have in the one place that is Google HQ! :D Oooooh, I love it! 12 weeks is too short to explore everything :P
Work.
Still got lots to do but progress is happening, so I'm starting to get a little less stressed out overall. But there's still lots to do. 2 days to go! Aaaaaahhhh!
Finding people I know.
Iciri's sister, Natasha (who I last remember meeting when she was in the 10th and Ice and I were gawky 6th standard kids who tried to crash her slumber party, and I remember she and her friends locking us out of the room to get rid of us, and listening to Backstreet Boys full blast while Ice and I grinned in scandalized glee at the word "sexual" whenever they said it), lives in SF, so I called her. So yeah, back in 1997 or something is when we'd last met! :O I hope to meet her, and see how much has changed? :D Haha.
Also, Nachiket called up today and we thought we'd catch up in SF over the weekend.
Basically, I'm finding friends or at least someone I know somehow, and making plans to meet them and stuff, and Ashlene's like - you know so many people!! It's pretty funny, haha! :)
Barter system.
Dinner with Allan was awesome! We went to the Great Mall arcade and ate at the restaurant there. But they shut at midnight, so by the time we finished eating, we weren't able to play anything. While we were eating, we shared a story for a story, about drama moments in life. It was good fun! :) Got a liiiiiittle tipsy on a couple o beers! [lopsided grin]
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
80
Empty Office.
The office was eerily quiet today, there was hardly anybody there, everyone was in SF for the conference. I don't know if I'll go tomorrow? It's going to be like that for this whole week. But that also means I have just this one week to finish all the pending stuff, and get up to speed with everything I want to get done! I finished some work, I have lots left to do. L.O.T.S. Three days to go!
I met Mrin's friend Rajiv for lunch today, and he's a really sweet chap. :) I can't wait to see Mrin! And oh, it's such a small world! A friend from Ann Arbor (who I became friends with when she'd visited Hyderabad), Brianna - her friend is this girl called Alexis who also Mrin introduced me via email to! :) Small world!! (Mrin's friends, these guys work for Google, fyi)
Google Store.
First "shopping spree" :D Yes, at Google store where I bought myself 2 tops, a laptop bag, 2 pencils and 2 lip balms. All Google branded. I'm waiting for the Google flip flops stock to come in in 2 weeks, and then I'll buy those too :) I love that store, everything is all Google and you get all the most random things, including pet stuff like collars and bags to keep pets' things when traveling! I'm definitely getting that for Pepper before I leave here!! :)
Phone issues.
I think I lost some pictures that were on my phone! :( Some weird thing happened, and I was at the technical help for an hour! Hopefully I can retrieve those pictures ! :(
Plans.
Planning to go to SF this weekend to watch the Gay Parade. It's supposed to be a must-see event. Should be interesting :) And then there are still plans being built around going to Vegas over the long weekend of July 4th. Maybe I'll go to L.A. to and pay a visit to Jim Morrison's ghost. :) And Disneyland of course! Maybe I should divide it into two trips?
I want to start driving around. Soon. :)
The office was eerily quiet today, there was hardly anybody there, everyone was in SF for the conference. I don't know if I'll go tomorrow? It's going to be like that for this whole week. But that also means I have just this one week to finish all the pending stuff, and get up to speed with everything I want to get done! I finished some work, I have lots left to do. L.O.T.S. Three days to go!
I met Mrin's friend Rajiv for lunch today, and he's a really sweet chap. :) I can't wait to see Mrin! And oh, it's such a small world! A friend from Ann Arbor (who I became friends with when she'd visited Hyderabad), Brianna - her friend is this girl called Alexis who also Mrin introduced me via email to! :) Small world!! (Mrin's friends, these guys work for Google, fyi)
Google Store.
First "shopping spree" :D Yes, at Google store where I bought myself 2 tops, a laptop bag, 2 pencils and 2 lip balms. All Google branded. I'm waiting for the Google flip flops stock to come in in 2 weeks, and then I'll buy those too :) I love that store, everything is all Google and you get all the most random things, including pet stuff like collars and bags to keep pets' things when traveling! I'm definitely getting that for Pepper before I leave here!! :)
Phone issues.
I think I lost some pictures that were on my phone! :( Some weird thing happened, and I was at the technical help for an hour! Hopefully I can retrieve those pictures ! :(
Plans.
Planning to go to SF this weekend to watch the Gay Parade. It's supposed to be a must-see event. Should be interesting :) And then there are still plans being built around going to Vegas over the long weekend of July 4th. Maybe I'll go to L.A. to and pay a visit to Jim Morrison's ghost. :) And Disneyland of course! Maybe I should divide it into two trips?
I want to start driving around. Soon. :)
81
Drab.
The day today literally crawled. And I really feel like I need more than 24 hours in a day. Maybe I just need to figure out a different way to work, because what I'm doing is not working.
Meetings.
I met a lot of people who I'm going to be working closely with today though. It was great to meet them and talk to them. I feel like some progress is happening, and that's a start! I'm also excited about some of the ideas that some of the people I've spoken to have given me, and I think I can do a lot of good things. I just need to take off. :) I intend to!!
Amir Shevat.
My new roommate is this Israeli guy called Amir (pronounced A-meer) and he is very cool. He's 35 and has traveled to 26 countries! He has 2 kids, and looks like he's completely head over heels in love with his wife. :)
But I kept the conversation slightly short because I had work to finish. Stayed up late finishing work. It's going to be a quiet day at work tomorrow with everyone at the conference! :(
Good the night!
The day today literally crawled. And I really feel like I need more than 24 hours in a day. Maybe I just need to figure out a different way to work, because what I'm doing is not working.
Meetings.
I met a lot of people who I'm going to be working closely with today though. It was great to meet them and talk to them. I feel like some progress is happening, and that's a start! I'm also excited about some of the ideas that some of the people I've spoken to have given me, and I think I can do a lot of good things. I just need to take off. :) I intend to!!
Amir Shevat.
My new roommate is this Israeli guy called Amir (pronounced A-meer) and he is very cool. He's 35 and has traveled to 26 countries! He has 2 kids, and looks like he's completely head over heels in love with his wife. :)
But I kept the conversation slightly short because I had work to finish. Stayed up late finishing work. It's going to be a quiet day at work tomorrow with everyone at the conference! :(
Good the night!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
82
Mr. Flambe.
I fed the fish in the morning, and stared at him through glass for a bit. It was nice, he looked right back at me. Most fish don't understand to do that. This guy's smart! I'll take a picture of him and put it up soon. :)
Laundry day, alone day.
I used the laundry machine here and it is super awesome! I want one like this at home!! It has a dryer and everything. I did laundry, ironed clothes for the week, and then soaked in the tub for a while. Then I stepped out for some sushi dinner, and I preferred that I didn't have any company.
I came back from the sushi dinner place to find a new roommate at home. His name is Amir Shevat, and as Indian as the name sounds, he's Irsaeli. Talked to him for 5 minutes, tended to Mr. Flambe and then came into my room.
In my room I emailed lots of people, and spoke to Mommy. Chatted online with a few people. Merc and Manasa from my team pinged, and it made me so happy to hear from them and get updates on what my team back home is upto.
Very sleepy now, work tomorrow! Zzzzzzz.....
I fed the fish in the morning, and stared at him through glass for a bit. It was nice, he looked right back at me. Most fish don't understand to do that. This guy's smart! I'll take a picture of him and put it up soon. :)
Laundry day, alone day.
I used the laundry machine here and it is super awesome! I want one like this at home!! It has a dryer and everything. I did laundry, ironed clothes for the week, and then soaked in the tub for a while. Then I stepped out for some sushi dinner, and I preferred that I didn't have any company.
I came back from the sushi dinner place to find a new roommate at home. His name is Amir Shevat, and as Indian as the name sounds, he's Irsaeli. Talked to him for 5 minutes, tended to Mr. Flambe and then came into my room.
In my room I emailed lots of people, and spoke to Mommy. Chatted online with a few people. Merc and Manasa from my team pinged, and it made me so happy to hear from them and get updates on what my team back home is upto.
Very sleepy now, work tomorrow! Zzzzzzz.....
83
Some good times last the whole day.
Ashlene's call woke me up, and she told me she'd come meet me, 'cause we'd made plans to go to SF together, and hang out with Venky and Gapa. Gapa picked us up at about 11, and we drove to SF. We first went and looked at a house Gapa had applied to move into (renting a house here works very differently - you need to look for open apartments/apartments on rent and call or write to the person who's renting it out. Then, you complete an application which lists your credit history, your income blah blah so they know you can afford to live there) and it was really crowded, so we ended up not seeing the inside of the house.
SF is pretty different; the air is much colder, it's windier. Ashlene and I who were merrily walking around in shorts in Santa Clara (where it's beautifully warm), were in for it in SF. The houses are a lot smaller here, and it's much more crowded than Santa Clara. It's proper city life, you can say.
We met Venky after that, went to his place as a pitstop (picked up jackets!) before lunch. Nee is in India, but I could see from the moment I stepped into that house, how "Nee" it was. :) Beautiful house, some 150 years old, quaint, with wooden flooring and quite compact. All the stuff that's in the house was so nicely kept, with Nee's art work hanging on the walls, and it was just such a pretty house. :) Loved it! We went from there to this Thai food restaurant next to his house, which was also kind of quaint in how small and compact it was. We were served HUGE portions of Thai food (I ate silver noodles) and I wasn't able to finish it. I had Thai ice tea as well, but it has a strong coffee aftertaste, so I wasn't as big a fan of it.
Ooh la la.
After we ate, we went back to Venky and Nee's for a bit, and then Venky showed us around SF.
We drove all over the city - down Lombard street - the windiest (bendiest?) street I've seen (kind of like the roads on the Western ghats in India, except with more tight but less sharp bends), then we drove around the ghetto area, the rainbow area and market street in Mission... so many sights to drink in that I'm sure I'll need another couple of similar drives down those roads to remember everything I saw. And then we went to the twin peaks. Which was high up in the hills, so the weather was suddenly so different - it was foggy and cold! Ashlene and I (if you remember) were in shorts so we were knock-kneed with shivering! But the view from there, although clouded (by couds) :D was pretty spectacular! Thankfully, I had my camera with me! :)
Then we went down to Haight street and went to the marketplace there, which has a MULTITUDE of things. :) Every shop there is so interesting, they sell such bright things, they sell hookahs and bongs and stuff right there, it seems almost as if marijuana is not illegal. It's not, I think, in California, but I'm not sure. We were on that one little road for a long, long time. I even saw trans-gender folks and lots of rainbow folks, and so many people dressed Goth, dressed arty, whatever! I felt like I was seeing stuff that I'd only seen on TV and in the movies for real! :) It was pretty darn awesome.
We then went back to Venky and Nee's and had a little champagne while Venky packed Mr. Flambe's (their fish) bowl into a box so I could take him back with me and fish-sit him for a month while Venky and Nee are in India (Venky leaves tomorrow). Gapa, Ashlene and I (and Mr. Flambe) then came back to Santa Clara, where we dropped him off.
From here, we headed to Castro Street, Mountain View for dinner. We ate sushi at Baracuda. That street is so awesome! I saw a monster truck there :) And then Ashlene was feeling jetlagged, so she (although she was supposed to stay at my place that night) decided to get dropped off at her corporate apartment which was round the corner from Castro Street. But we'd already bought wine and champagne for her, Gapa and me to drink till Niranjan got back home and Gapa had to leave.
Drink-talking.
We got back to my corporate apartment, and while we were waiting for Niranjan to reach his place so Gapa could go back there, we opened a bottle of champagne to have a glass each. We were sipping on it and talking, and talking and talking. I haven't talked like that in a while. We also video chatted with Iyer and Sas who were on the other side of the time zone, and spoke to them for a bit. No clue where time flew to, but we ended up drinking and talking till almost 6am! I don't know what happened with Niranjan. :D
Gapa slept here at 6am for like 3 hours, and then left.
Ashlene's call woke me up, and she told me she'd come meet me, 'cause we'd made plans to go to SF together, and hang out with Venky and Gapa. Gapa picked us up at about 11, and we drove to SF. We first went and looked at a house Gapa had applied to move into (renting a house here works very differently - you need to look for open apartments/apartments on rent and call or write to the person who's renting it out. Then, you complete an application which lists your credit history, your income blah blah so they know you can afford to live there) and it was really crowded, so we ended up not seeing the inside of the house.
SF is pretty different; the air is much colder, it's windier. Ashlene and I who were merrily walking around in shorts in Santa Clara (where it's beautifully warm), were in for it in SF. The houses are a lot smaller here, and it's much more crowded than Santa Clara. It's proper city life, you can say.
We met Venky after that, went to his place as a pitstop (picked up jackets!) before lunch. Nee is in India, but I could see from the moment I stepped into that house, how "Nee" it was. :) Beautiful house, some 150 years old, quaint, with wooden flooring and quite compact. All the stuff that's in the house was so nicely kept, with Nee's art work hanging on the walls, and it was just such a pretty house. :) Loved it! We went from there to this Thai food restaurant next to his house, which was also kind of quaint in how small and compact it was. We were served HUGE portions of Thai food (I ate silver noodles) and I wasn't able to finish it. I had Thai ice tea as well, but it has a strong coffee aftertaste, so I wasn't as big a fan of it.
Ooh la la.
After we ate, we went back to Venky and Nee's for a bit, and then Venky showed us around SF.
We drove all over the city - down Lombard street - the windiest (bendiest?) street I've seen (kind of like the roads on the Western ghats in India, except with more tight but less sharp bends), then we drove around the ghetto area, the rainbow area and market street in Mission... so many sights to drink in that I'm sure I'll need another couple of similar drives down those roads to remember everything I saw. And then we went to the twin peaks. Which was high up in the hills, so the weather was suddenly so different - it was foggy and cold! Ashlene and I (if you remember) were in shorts so we were knock-kneed with shivering! But the view from there, although clouded (by couds) :D was pretty spectacular! Thankfully, I had my camera with me! :)
Then we went down to Haight street and went to the marketplace there, which has a MULTITUDE of things. :) Every shop there is so interesting, they sell such bright things, they sell hookahs and bongs and stuff right there, it seems almost as if marijuana is not illegal. It's not, I think, in California, but I'm not sure. We were on that one little road for a long, long time. I even saw trans-gender folks and lots of rainbow folks, and so many people dressed Goth, dressed arty, whatever! I felt like I was seeing stuff that I'd only seen on TV and in the movies for real! :) It was pretty darn awesome.
We then went back to Venky and Nee's and had a little champagne while Venky packed Mr. Flambe's (their fish) bowl into a box so I could take him back with me and fish-sit him for a month while Venky and Nee are in India (Venky leaves tomorrow). Gapa, Ashlene and I (and Mr. Flambe) then came back to Santa Clara, where we dropped him off.
From here, we headed to Castro Street, Mountain View for dinner. We ate sushi at Baracuda. That street is so awesome! I saw a monster truck there :) And then Ashlene was feeling jetlagged, so she (although she was supposed to stay at my place that night) decided to get dropped off at her corporate apartment which was round the corner from Castro Street. But we'd already bought wine and champagne for her, Gapa and me to drink till Niranjan got back home and Gapa had to leave.
Drink-talking.
We got back to my corporate apartment, and while we were waiting for Niranjan to reach his place so Gapa could go back there, we opened a bottle of champagne to have a glass each. We were sipping on it and talking, and talking and talking. I haven't talked like that in a while. We also video chatted with Iyer and Sas who were on the other side of the time zone, and spoke to them for a bit. No clue where time flew to, but we ended up drinking and talking till almost 6am! I don't know what happened with Niranjan. :D
Gapa slept here at 6am for like 3 hours, and then left.
Friday, June 17, 2011
84
Flood of emails, full of love.
I woke up this morning to see my personal inbox flooded with emails. :) Such a nice feeling. I feel the love through them. I also caught NE on whatsapp and she was telling me all about how it is to be a college kid. It's like, totally cool!! :)
Vanity.
I got requests for pictures of me, hehe, so I let vanity take over and did a couple of self-portraits. So shortly you shall see the picasa link updated with pictures of me with my camera and vanity mirrors.
The Ride.
Gapa called this morning, and at the end of the conversation, he and Niranjan came to pick me up and we drove to work. Fun ride, first time I've driven to work with anyone.
Friday.
I didn't get work done as quickly as I wanted to, and it got frustrating. Not the best workday when it's a Friday and you have work to take back with you.
But, I cheered up with a small glass of TGIF wine, and some "basketball" with Chris at his desk. The objective was to get a stress ball and a tennis ball into a miniature basketball hoop, and then get a ping pong ball into a play-doh cup. :) That was a good release, and Chris is pretty nice looking. ;)
Either way, I left office with a little work to take back home, and when I was almost done, I got THE call.
Dinner.
THE call was from Gapa. Niranjan, his girlfriend Tyler and he were coming to get me for dinner and drinks. I had no say in it because I wasn't going to be allowed to be a loser on a Friday night. :D We went to this place called Cafe Artemis, which was a good long drive away, and then walked past a photo studio to this place called Rock Bottom for some drinks. I didn't drink though. It was really good fun overall, it was great to just eat and talk and sip on wine during dinner and laugh at random things at the drinking place. Here's one funny part of the conversation (when Gapa had stepped out):
Me to Niranjan and Tyler: "Universal truth - A hot girl is a hot girl anywhere in the world."
Tyler to me and Niranjan: "And - A rich guy is a rich guy anywhere in the world."
:D
I didn't let go completely and relax though, because I still had 2 things at work to finish.
We got back by midnight. When they dropped me off, Niranjan, Tyler and Gapa came up, and checked out the apartment. Tyler and I went and checked out the other room in the house (which I'd never done till now!) and it's bigger with a huuuuge bathroom and major vanity mirrors! Tyler gave me a sneaky plan to take all the nice toiletries from there (which were better than the toiletries in my bathroom). I did. :D But I am aghast! How could they give people coming for like 10 days a nicer place, when I'm going to be there for 3 months, right!? I now officially want that room instead. Even though mine has a balcony. Typical grass is greener on the other side syndrome, my room is perfectly nice. And, the balcony is where all the birds come. But then, it's common to the hall so I can come there anyway. The other room has 2 windows though, it's on the corner and brighter. What do you think I should do? Poll time! ;)
Ten minutes later, after they left, I quickly finished work and crash happened.
I woke up this morning to see my personal inbox flooded with emails. :) Such a nice feeling. I feel the love through them. I also caught NE on whatsapp and she was telling me all about how it is to be a college kid. It's like, totally cool!! :)
Vanity.
I got requests for pictures of me, hehe, so I let vanity take over and did a couple of self-portraits. So shortly you shall see the picasa link updated with pictures of me with my camera and vanity mirrors.
The Ride.
Gapa called this morning, and at the end of the conversation, he and Niranjan came to pick me up and we drove to work. Fun ride, first time I've driven to work with anyone.
Friday.
I didn't get work done as quickly as I wanted to, and it got frustrating. Not the best workday when it's a Friday and you have work to take back with you.
But, I cheered up with a small glass of TGIF wine, and some "basketball" with Chris at his desk. The objective was to get a stress ball and a tennis ball into a miniature basketball hoop, and then get a ping pong ball into a play-doh cup. :) That was a good release, and Chris is pretty nice looking. ;)
Either way, I left office with a little work to take back home, and when I was almost done, I got THE call.
Dinner.
THE call was from Gapa. Niranjan, his girlfriend Tyler and he were coming to get me for dinner and drinks. I had no say in it because I wasn't going to be allowed to be a loser on a Friday night. :D We went to this place called Cafe Artemis, which was a good long drive away, and then walked past a photo studio to this place called Rock Bottom for some drinks. I didn't drink though. It was really good fun overall, it was great to just eat and talk and sip on wine during dinner and laugh at random things at the drinking place. Here's one funny part of the conversation (when Gapa had stepped out):
Me to Niranjan and Tyler: "Universal truth - A hot girl is a hot girl anywhere in the world."
Tyler to me and Niranjan: "And - A rich guy is a rich guy anywhere in the world."
:D
I didn't let go completely and relax though, because I still had 2 things at work to finish.
We got back by midnight. When they dropped me off, Niranjan, Tyler and Gapa came up, and checked out the apartment. Tyler and I went and checked out the other room in the house (which I'd never done till now!) and it's bigger with a huuuuge bathroom and major vanity mirrors! Tyler gave me a sneaky plan to take all the nice toiletries from there (which were better than the toiletries in my bathroom). I did. :D But I am aghast! How could they give people coming for like 10 days a nicer place, when I'm going to be there for 3 months, right!? I now officially want that room instead. Even though mine has a balcony. Typical grass is greener on the other side syndrome, my room is perfectly nice. And, the balcony is where all the birds come. But then, it's common to the hall so I can come there anyway. The other room has 2 windows though, it's on the corner and brighter. What do you think I should do? Poll time! ;)
Ten minutes later, after they left, I quickly finished work and crash happened.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
85
Wow, 5 days already!
But then, this week has gone by pretty slowly. I think I've figured out why it feels like the day goes on forever. The sun sets late, that's why. So... it's not just birds that get confused during a solar eclipse, humans get confused on the other side of the world too! :P
Tomorrow I get to see Larry Page and Sergey Brin!!! :D
Workday.
The day at work went kind of slowly, but I got a decent amount of work done. Yes, I STILL feel like I need to do lots more. Call me workaholic. The day was something of a drag though. Didn't much feel like working, plus most folks weren't around, so the office was empty for the most part. Everyone had gone for Google Serve, and Nandita was working from home. Saikat and I went to lunch with Tulika, and I managed to squeeze my way into Allan's dinner plans with Abhay and Martin and someone else. Good dinner at Charlie's, I must say. I ate dal and rice and some Vietnamese food. Yummm! :)
I see so many people who are from or were in the Hyd office here!
Pandora.
Yes, I've discovered one of the best online radio stations ever. They manage to play exactly what I want to hear! I just need to select one thing off the drop down menu, and there I have it. I listened to the Beatles, the Doors, Clapton, Floyd, Led Zep, younameit! Aahhh music heals your soul, I tell ya. (Real music, not the crappy, lame excuse for music these days). Love it!!
Farm strawberries are absolute magic.
Remember the Farmers' market yesterday? I'd picked up strawberries there. I ate the first one today and it was SOOOO good! I've never tasted strawberries like that in my life! Great dessert. Mouth still watering.
Non-work highlights.
Email from Mommy (which I need to reply to). Call from Mrin. VC with Sas. Chat with Keth, Kalp and Sannah. Peer Bonus from someone at work who I only know by name. Bumming around my now empty corp apartment, chilling out. I found a landline! :)
I want to: Start exercising. Next week, on the charts - basketball, swimming, and maybe even some badminton.
But then, this week has gone by pretty slowly. I think I've figured out why it feels like the day goes on forever. The sun sets late, that's why. So... it's not just birds that get confused during a solar eclipse, humans get confused on the other side of the world too! :P
Tomorrow I get to see Larry Page and Sergey Brin!!! :D
Workday.
The day at work went kind of slowly, but I got a decent amount of work done. Yes, I STILL feel like I need to do lots more. Call me workaholic. The day was something of a drag though. Didn't much feel like working, plus most folks weren't around, so the office was empty for the most part. Everyone had gone for Google Serve, and Nandita was working from home. Saikat and I went to lunch with Tulika, and I managed to squeeze my way into Allan's dinner plans with Abhay and Martin and someone else. Good dinner at Charlie's, I must say. I ate dal and rice and some Vietnamese food. Yummm! :)
I see so many people who are from or were in the Hyd office here!
Pandora.
Yes, I've discovered one of the best online radio stations ever. They manage to play exactly what I want to hear! I just need to select one thing off the drop down menu, and there I have it. I listened to the Beatles, the Doors, Clapton, Floyd, Led Zep, younameit! Aahhh music heals your soul, I tell ya. (Real music, not the crappy, lame excuse for music these days). Love it!!
Farm strawberries are absolute magic.
Remember the Farmers' market yesterday? I'd picked up strawberries there. I ate the first one today and it was SOOOO good! I've never tasted strawberries like that in my life! Great dessert. Mouth still watering.
Non-work highlights.
Email from Mommy (which I need to reply to). Call from Mrin. VC with Sas. Chat with Keth, Kalp and Sannah. Peer Bonus from someone at work who I only know by name. Bumming around my now empty corp apartment, chilling out. I found a landline! :)
I want to: Start exercising. Next week, on the charts - basketball, swimming, and maybe even some badminton.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
86
Bye bye roommate.
My Chinese roommate and his wife and her parents left today. I'll miss the parents. Even though they spoke only Chinese, it was so nice having them around. They'd smile at me when I came in, wave bye when I left the house and generally help when I was around in the house. I'll miss them :( The apartment feels very empty now.
Work and Farmers' market.
Work went slowly. In fact, the days are so long and there is so much work that it feels like the week has been so long already, but it's only Wednesday. But man, being in the HQ is totally the thing! There was this Farmers' market thing that happened today, where farm fresh stuff was available to taste and take home. So ultra fresh fruits and veggies, flowers and strawberries and eggs - all available to us for free were on display. I got me a Gerbera, a bunch of strawberries, hummous and strange popcorn. The activity was oh-so exciting! :) As you can imagine, it was a very distraction-filled workday.
Dinner and drinks.
I went out with Allan, Khoa, Abhay and Calvin. I know Allan from when he'd visited Hyderabad and played basketball with me. He's on Sas's team and the rest of the folks are Sas's teammates. Calvin works in the Hyderabad office, in fact. It was great to go to Charlie's for dinner and see the main Google cafe. Then we all went to a lounge called Hue, which was fair. I tried a yoghurt based drink I can't recall the name of. It was different and drinkable. Plus a couple of beers. These guys are so much fun! :D Allan is totally random and crack!
I'm supremely sleepy now, so goodnight!
My Chinese roommate and his wife and her parents left today. I'll miss the parents. Even though they spoke only Chinese, it was so nice having them around. They'd smile at me when I came in, wave bye when I left the house and generally help when I was around in the house. I'll miss them :( The apartment feels very empty now.
Work and Farmers' market.
Work went slowly. In fact, the days are so long and there is so much work that it feels like the week has been so long already, but it's only Wednesday. But man, being in the HQ is totally the thing! There was this Farmers' market thing that happened today, where farm fresh stuff was available to taste and take home. So ultra fresh fruits and veggies, flowers and strawberries and eggs - all available to us for free were on display. I got me a Gerbera, a bunch of strawberries, hummous and strange popcorn. The activity was oh-so exciting! :) As you can imagine, it was a very distraction-filled workday.
Dinner and drinks.
I went out with Allan, Khoa, Abhay and Calvin. I know Allan from when he'd visited Hyderabad and played basketball with me. He's on Sas's team and the rest of the folks are Sas's teammates. Calvin works in the Hyderabad office, in fact. It was great to go to Charlie's for dinner and see the main Google cafe. Then we all went to a lounge called Hue, which was fair. I tried a yoghurt based drink I can't recall the name of. It was different and drinkable. Plus a couple of beers. These guys are so much fun! :D Allan is totally random and crack!
I'm supremely sleepy now, so goodnight!
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
87
Shuttle stop.
A Googler at the shuttle stop struck up a conversation with me today, and it was so funny ...I think I was feeling very lost still and I mistook him asking where my office was for where India was and I said in the Asian continent, on the south of it :| He kind of rolled his eyes and repeated the question. Seemed like a cool guy, I hope I didn't offend him!
Day 2 of work.
Today was relatively more productive than yesterday, but I still closed the day feeling like I needed to do lots more and I could've done lots more. I NEED to do lots more rather.
Dogs.
By the way, did I mention that people are allowed to bring their dogs to work? Which means there are these cuuuute little dogs all over the place! We bumped into Stacey and her dog as she walked out of the building. The dog looked like a small Lhasa Apso, and so adorable!
Of course, this means that people need to make sure they're carrying dog poop pick up materials :)
Elisabeth.
My cubie is this pretty girl from SF. She and I chatted up this morning, and then a bunch of times through the day. I spotted what looked like a Google parasail thing outside the window, and curious as I was, I asked her if they had parasailing for Googlers on campus (I asked quite incredulously, prepared to be blown away with the positive response I thought I'd get) but turns out it was just a guy on a skateboard who'd attached a Google-coloured parachute like thing and was being pushed from one side to the other by the wind against the parasail. Still very cool. :) Elizabeth also told me where I should go to be touristy in SF and asked all these questions about the Hyderabad office and about India. Fun! She's really sweet.
Birds and the cycling incident.
There are OH SO MANY birds on the campus! Real pretty ones that really caught my attention. I know someone who'd have been hankering after them with a big fat lens. :) I'm considering taking my camera to work and doing a little shooting when I'm taking a break!
Saikat is scared of cycles/bikes. It was ridiculously entertaining watching him ride one. Nandita and I had a good laugh. Now that I think of it, I should've taken a video!!
Dinner.
I met Venky today. Nice of him to come pick me up. We went to Palo Alto, Wine stop I think the place was called(?) for dinner. Had a glass of wine each and a cheese platter. Peaceful. Drove back at 10.30pm and he went back to office after that. I think this is the first time just he and I have hung out. :) Thanks Venky! Discussed plans to see SF this weekend.
More about my impression of people and everything else soon! :P
A Googler at the shuttle stop struck up a conversation with me today, and it was so funny ...I think I was feeling very lost still and I mistook him asking where my office was for where India was and I said in the Asian continent, on the south of it :| He kind of rolled his eyes and repeated the question. Seemed like a cool guy, I hope I didn't offend him!
Day 2 of work.
Today was relatively more productive than yesterday, but I still closed the day feeling like I needed to do lots more and I could've done lots more. I NEED to do lots more rather.
Dogs.
By the way, did I mention that people are allowed to bring their dogs to work? Which means there are these cuuuute little dogs all over the place! We bumped into Stacey and her dog as she walked out of the building. The dog looked like a small Lhasa Apso, and so adorable!
Of course, this means that people need to make sure they're carrying dog poop pick up materials :)
Elisabeth.
My cubie is this pretty girl from SF. She and I chatted up this morning, and then a bunch of times through the day. I spotted what looked like a Google parasail thing outside the window, and curious as I was, I asked her if they had parasailing for Googlers on campus (I asked quite incredulously, prepared to be blown away with the positive response I thought I'd get) but turns out it was just a guy on a skateboard who'd attached a Google-coloured parachute like thing and was being pushed from one side to the other by the wind against the parasail. Still very cool. :) Elizabeth also told me where I should go to be touristy in SF and asked all these questions about the Hyderabad office and about India. Fun! She's really sweet.
Birds and the cycling incident.
There are OH SO MANY birds on the campus! Real pretty ones that really caught my attention. I know someone who'd have been hankering after them with a big fat lens. :) I'm considering taking my camera to work and doing a little shooting when I'm taking a break!
Saikat is scared of cycles/bikes. It was ridiculously entertaining watching him ride one. Nandita and I had a good laugh. Now that I think of it, I should've taken a video!!
Dinner.
I met Venky today. Nice of him to come pick me up. We went to Palo Alto, Wine stop I think the place was called(?) for dinner. Had a glass of wine each and a cheese platter. Peaceful. Drove back at 10.30pm and he went back to office after that. I think this is the first time just he and I have hung out. :) Thanks Venky! Discussed plans to see SF this weekend.
More about my impression of people and everything else soon! :P
Monday, June 13, 2011
88
First day of work.
I woke up at 6am and got ready and went to the shuttle stop. I was worried I was in the wrong place until other Googlers started to filter in. :) Got in the Google shuttle... it was awesome! There's wifi on the bus!!
But I was nowehere close to seeing awesome.
We entered Google campus. It's MASSIVE! Intimidatingly so. I got so intimidated! :D There are Savanna grassland type spaces everywhere, and you can't get from one building to the next without transportation. I was so lost - I couldn't find a place to eat at first, and then I couldn't find where I needed to go. Eventually I saw Nandita online, and she became my savior. She was there for breakfast, to help me get my desk, getting around, lunch (with Saikat at Big Table cafe), and everything including getting my sim card. After we got my sim card, we cycled back to our building. Oh, exhilarating to cycle in the warm sunlight against the cool breeze!
Time flew.
I didn't feel the day go by. I feel like I have sooooo much to do, and not enough time! I took the 7pm shuttle back, and went and bought groceries. Came back, attended a meeting, and it's already 9.30pm. Gonna eat, sleep. So tired. This is the latest I've stayed up since I got here. Talking to Sas who's totally taking advantage of talking to me for free through gtalk - life-saving! (Thank you, Google!!) :)
G'night then!
I woke up at 6am and got ready and went to the shuttle stop. I was worried I was in the wrong place until other Googlers started to filter in. :) Got in the Google shuttle... it was awesome! There's wifi on the bus!!
But I was nowehere close to seeing awesome.
We entered Google campus. It's MASSIVE! Intimidatingly so. I got so intimidated! :D There are Savanna grassland type spaces everywhere, and you can't get from one building to the next without transportation. I was so lost - I couldn't find a place to eat at first, and then I couldn't find where I needed to go. Eventually I saw Nandita online, and she became my savior. She was there for breakfast, to help me get my desk, getting around, lunch (with Saikat at Big Table cafe), and everything including getting my sim card. After we got my sim card, we cycled back to our building. Oh, exhilarating to cycle in the warm sunlight against the cool breeze!
Time flew.
I didn't feel the day go by. I feel like I have sooooo much to do, and not enough time! I took the 7pm shuttle back, and went and bought groceries. Came back, attended a meeting, and it's already 9.30pm. Gonna eat, sleep. So tired. This is the latest I've stayed up since I got here. Talking to Sas who's totally taking advantage of talking to me for free through gtalk - life-saving! (Thank you, Google!!) :)
G'night then!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
89
Rise n Shine.
7am and I was up. Chatted with people who were awake in the other time zone, and then when Gapa woke up, we grabbed a couple of apples and walked out. Went to the supermarket and bought me some cereal and tea. Came back and drank tea in the cool, fresh air in the balcony, and then Gapa left.
Time flies.
I talked to so many people. Family back home, friends back home and friends here. And time just flew by. It was already lunchtime by the time I was finished. Left unpacking to later, and got in the shower. And I finally figured how to change from tub-tap to shower ! Yes - till now I'd been soaking in the tub. (Thanks Mrin!) :)
Lunch.
Had lunch with Keth at YoYo Sushi bar (yummmm food, I tell ya), and then bought some detergent. Came back to my apartment at 4pm, and he helped me discover the laundry machine in the apartment. Sat and talked till Keth's brother came to pick him up.
Unpacking and Ironing.
I unpacked all my things and nicely arranged my closet(s). Then I ironed all my crumpled clothes, and fought the sleep. I love ironing. It's such an awesome stressbuster.
Yes, I'm still fighting sleep. It's 7.30pm and it looks like it's 5pm outside. Gotta say, convenient electricity saving, this! :) Anyhow, I can't fight sleep anymore, and I got work tomorrow, so I'm going to eat and sleep. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much stuff as I wanted to do today done because I was so tired all day and... time seems to be in a friggin bullet train! Work tomorrow's gonna be crazy. Gotta get up early and walk to go catch the shuttle.
And jetlag takes over.......... :)
7am and I was up. Chatted with people who were awake in the other time zone, and then when Gapa woke up, we grabbed a couple of apples and walked out. Went to the supermarket and bought me some cereal and tea. Came back and drank tea in the cool, fresh air in the balcony, and then Gapa left.
Time flies.
I talked to so many people. Family back home, friends back home and friends here. And time just flew by. It was already lunchtime by the time I was finished. Left unpacking to later, and got in the shower. And I finally figured how to change from tub-tap to shower ! Yes - till now I'd been soaking in the tub. (Thanks Mrin!) :)
Lunch.
Had lunch with Keth at YoYo Sushi bar (yummmm food, I tell ya), and then bought some detergent. Came back to my apartment at 4pm, and he helped me discover the laundry machine in the apartment. Sat and talked till Keth's brother came to pick him up.
Unpacking and Ironing.
I unpacked all my things and nicely arranged my closet(s). Then I ironed all my crumpled clothes, and fought the sleep. I love ironing. It's such an awesome stressbuster.
Yes, I'm still fighting sleep. It's 7.30pm and it looks like it's 5pm outside. Gotta say, convenient electricity saving, this! :) Anyhow, I can't fight sleep anymore, and I got work tomorrow, so I'm going to eat and sleep. Unfortunately, I didn't get as much stuff as I wanted to do today done because I was so tired all day and... time seems to be in a friggin bullet train! Work tomorrow's gonna be crazy. Gotta get up early and walk to go catch the shuttle.
And jetlag takes over.......... :)
90
Landing.
Window seat is best if you're landing in SFO. The view is stunning - it's the ocean beneath you all the way, and if you're not looking at the screen that shows you the view from the front of the plane, you'd think you were landing on water. And suddenly, you're on the runway. Incredible.
SF.
I walked out after collecting my bags, and a fairly old-looking Mexican guy asks if I want a taxi, and I say yes. He starts walking in the direction away from where the 'Taxi' signboard points to, so my ears are automatically pricked in suspicion. We go to the parking lot, and he has a huge car that doesn't have a 'Taxi' board on top. Further suspicion. By this time I think the man realised that he may be losing a customer, so he says something to the effect of his having 2 daughters my age. I didn't ease up, obviously. Still, I went ahead and sat in the cab, and he showed me the receipt he was going to give me. 'Comedy Limo Service' :D Haha, and I was vaguely reassured; I'd heard of this company. The guy didn't have a GPS in the cab. Sigh... in a state close to panic, I changed sim cards (thanks Aditya!) and turned on data. Google maps saved me. :) I gave the guy directions to my apartment in Santa Clara. It took us a little over half an hour to get there, and as it happened, the old Mexican didn't live up to those suspicions. I decided to loosen up a little. He even offered to double back and help me in case I was at the wrong place. It ended well. :)
My Apartment.
No one received me, so I pulled my suitcase along like it was a dog on a leash, and finally found some humans in the place. They weren't friendly or anything, just cordial, and pointed me in the right direction. So I went to my apartment. I walked in with 4 Chinese folks - as it happened, they were my roommates! I'm sharing the apartment with a Chinese couple and the girl's parents are staying here as well. Sweet folks, the parents know no English, and I've had small conversation with the couple so far. :)
By the way, my room is beautiful! Attached balcony with a lovely view of the street, with chill breeze and a big bathroom with vanity mirrors, a bathtub and everything. Plus 2 walk in closets. And a little table, a shelf and a telly. And a bed that's oh-so-comfy!
A lesson in Jetlag.
I'd slept so much on the flight. I'd reached my apartment at 3.30pm and there was the rest of the day to go. I was hungry, and I put my stuff in, decided to take a shower, and head out to eat. Called Gapa, and he was free, so we decided to meet. Went to Premier Pizza and ate a little pizza plus a glass of beer. It started getting cold. We went back to the apartment after lunch, and it was 8pm and bright outside, as if it were 6pm! (I didn't expect THAT.) Anyway, I figured, it was just 8pm, so even though I was feeling slightly sleepy, I thought I'd do some activity based stuff so I could stay awake till at least 9.30 - 10pm. So, Gapa said lets go to my apartment, I'll call a friend, and we'll all go out somewhere. It sounded like a good plan.
As I walked the ten-minute brisk walk, a wave of extreme tiredness enveloped me, as did the "Ah, this is jetlag" realisation. I thought to turn back, but by this time I was slurring and tottering from tiredness, so it seemed like a good idea when Gapa said that his apartment was right there and I should sit for a bit and then he and his friend would drop me back. My apartment was too far behind now, so I decided to just go with it, maybe I'd feel better if I sat down. We got there, I admired the place, sat on the couch, and while he was talking, fell asleep (Sorry Gapa!). So he prodded me awake and told me to sleep inside while he took a swim, and he'd wake me up in a couple of hours and he and his friend would drop me on their way out. I have no idea whether his friend came, and he wasn't able to wake me up a couple of hours later. I woke up at 2.30am with a jolt, found him awake and had a little conversation where I figured I couldn't go back now. I chatted with everyone back home for a bit and then went back to sleep.
Never knew that kind of tiredness before, man!
Window seat is best if you're landing in SFO. The view is stunning - it's the ocean beneath you all the way, and if you're not looking at the screen that shows you the view from the front of the plane, you'd think you were landing on water. And suddenly, you're on the runway. Incredible.
SF.
I walked out after collecting my bags, and a fairly old-looking Mexican guy asks if I want a taxi, and I say yes. He starts walking in the direction away from where the 'Taxi' signboard points to, so my ears are automatically pricked in suspicion. We go to the parking lot, and he has a huge car that doesn't have a 'Taxi' board on top. Further suspicion. By this time I think the man realised that he may be losing a customer, so he says something to the effect of his having 2 daughters my age. I didn't ease up, obviously. Still, I went ahead and sat in the cab, and he showed me the receipt he was going to give me. 'Comedy Limo Service' :D Haha, and I was vaguely reassured; I'd heard of this company. The guy didn't have a GPS in the cab. Sigh... in a state close to panic, I changed sim cards (thanks Aditya!) and turned on data. Google maps saved me. :) I gave the guy directions to my apartment in Santa Clara. It took us a little over half an hour to get there, and as it happened, the old Mexican didn't live up to those suspicions. I decided to loosen up a little. He even offered to double back and help me in case I was at the wrong place. It ended well. :)
My Apartment.
No one received me, so I pulled my suitcase along like it was a dog on a leash, and finally found some humans in the place. They weren't friendly or anything, just cordial, and pointed me in the right direction. So I went to my apartment. I walked in with 4 Chinese folks - as it happened, they were my roommates! I'm sharing the apartment with a Chinese couple and the girl's parents are staying here as well. Sweet folks, the parents know no English, and I've had small conversation with the couple so far. :)
By the way, my room is beautiful! Attached balcony with a lovely view of the street, with chill breeze and a big bathroom with vanity mirrors, a bathtub and everything. Plus 2 walk in closets. And a little table, a shelf and a telly. And a bed that's oh-so-comfy!
A lesson in Jetlag.
I'd slept so much on the flight. I'd reached my apartment at 3.30pm and there was the rest of the day to go. I was hungry, and I put my stuff in, decided to take a shower, and head out to eat. Called Gapa, and he was free, so we decided to meet. Went to Premier Pizza and ate a little pizza plus a glass of beer. It started getting cold. We went back to the apartment after lunch, and it was 8pm and bright outside, as if it were 6pm! (I didn't expect THAT.) Anyway, I figured, it was just 8pm, so even though I was feeling slightly sleepy, I thought I'd do some activity based stuff so I could stay awake till at least 9.30 - 10pm. So, Gapa said lets go to my apartment, I'll call a friend, and we'll all go out somewhere. It sounded like a good plan.
As I walked the ten-minute brisk walk, a wave of extreme tiredness enveloped me, as did the "Ah, this is jetlag" realisation. I thought to turn back, but by this time I was slurring and tottering from tiredness, so it seemed like a good idea when Gapa said that his apartment was right there and I should sit for a bit and then he and his friend would drop me back. My apartment was too far behind now, so I decided to just go with it, maybe I'd feel better if I sat down. We got there, I admired the place, sat on the couch, and while he was talking, fell asleep (Sorry Gapa!). So he prodded me awake and told me to sleep inside while he took a swim, and he'd wake me up in a couple of hours and he and his friend would drop me on their way out. I have no idea whether his friend came, and he wasn't able to wake me up a couple of hours later. I woke up at 2.30am with a jolt, found him awake and had a little conversation where I figured I couldn't go back now. I chatted with everyone back home for a bit and then went back to sleep.
Never knew that kind of tiredness before, man!
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