Work.
Again, needless to say, lots and lots of work. LOTS.
The hurting hand.
I don't know what it was, but my hand was hurting a LOT all afternoon. I may have strained it when I played basketball because it seemed like a possible relapse of my old thumb ligament wear. I thought maybe it's RSI... it's posible. Painful, and typing all day was a b**** and by the end of the day, I couldn't lift anything. :| I know how life might be without a right thumb ! :(
Happy Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part deux.
Is a terrible movie. So blah and boring, and the makeup to make Daniel Radcliffe look old in the end didn't work, did it? Sheesh. All the movies were a big disappointment, especially when compared to the book, but this one had me yawning throughout, and I didn't sit on the edge of the seat for a single scene. Also, I watched it in 3D in IMAX but I feel like they didn't use 3D to their advantage at all. Except when Voldermort bursts into ashes in the end. Some of the scenes were shot well, but none of the characters stood out, Snape looked like Harry's father by the end, and the movie honestly had me yawning. And I'm a lot more tolerant of bad movies usually. This one tops the list. What a waste of money and beauty sleep time! What a "first-movie-in-the-US" story. Pooh.
Slept with a crepe bandage.
To prevent further injury caused by possible rolling over onto my hand, I wrapped it up and went to sleep. Thanks Sas, for the crepe bandage! :)
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
44
So. Very. Tired.
The day felt like it would never get over. I had SOOOO much work, and I worked late into the night all over again. I had two meetings too, with the team back in Hyd, and so I stayed back at work till 10pm after having worked, and worked, and worked! But, I had a very eye-opening meeting with someone on the Sales team while accompanying him and his dog for a walk. Fun, and I know I have a long way to go (in terms of work here)!!!!
I just crashed when I got home.
The day felt like it would never get over. I had SOOOO much work, and I worked late into the night all over again. I had two meetings too, with the team back in Hyd, and so I stayed back at work till 10pm after having worked, and worked, and worked! But, I had a very eye-opening meeting with someone on the Sales team while accompanying him and his dog for a walk. Fun, and I know I have a long way to go (in terms of work here)!!!!
I just crashed when I got home.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
45
Half done.
Yup, my trip here is half over. :O
Workwise, there is so much left to do. I feel like I can travel a lot more than I have (sigh, if only I were that rich) :P And well, in general I feel like time's gonna take off and go faster from here.
Tiring.
It was a tiring day at work; I went fairly early and I'll probably go even earlier tomorrow. Need to finish early and do something with my life! Like, get some exercise, do more fun things, explore more!!! Time is running out!
So. Much. To. Do.
It's unbelievable. There is sooooo much to do. I can never seem to finish!
Bye Bye Mr. Flambe :(
After a month and a half of fish-sitting, Venky picked up Mr. Flambe. I'm going to miss him. He's such a cool fish. Sigh.
Fooling around.
After I finished work, I fooled around online, chatting, looking at photos, blah blah. Wasted time basically. When I have so little. Tsk tsk. Yes, at myself I tsk.
Relatives around the corner.
Ma told me that Rama moushi stays in Santa Clara, so I'll meet her when she gets back. Also, Sas found out his cousin stays at the building next to the apartment complex we stay at. Haha. Small world, and too many Indians! :P
I should go to bed now! Toodles :)
Yup, my trip here is half over. :O
Workwise, there is so much left to do. I feel like I can travel a lot more than I have (sigh, if only I were that rich) :P And well, in general I feel like time's gonna take off and go faster from here.
Tiring.
It was a tiring day at work; I went fairly early and I'll probably go even earlier tomorrow. Need to finish early and do something with my life! Like, get some exercise, do more fun things, explore more!!! Time is running out!
So. Much. To. Do.
It's unbelievable. There is sooooo much to do. I can never seem to finish!
Bye Bye Mr. Flambe :(
After a month and a half of fish-sitting, Venky picked up Mr. Flambe. I'm going to miss him. He's such a cool fish. Sigh.
Fooling around.
After I finished work, I fooled around online, chatting, looking at photos, blah blah. Wasted time basically. When I have so little. Tsk tsk. Yes, at myself I tsk.
Relatives around the corner.
Ma told me that Rama moushi stays in Santa Clara, so I'll meet her when she gets back. Also, Sas found out his cousin stays at the building next to the apartment complex we stay at. Haha. Small world, and too many Indians! :P
I should go to bed now! Toodles :)
46
Work, work and more work.
Man, it was a crazy day. Didn't get as much work done as I wanted though.
BUT!
I played basketball for a short while, and I spoke to Ann on the phone for over an hour after what felt like YEARS! :) I'm so glad you called, Annie! :) I also managed to chat with Mirzy after ages. :)
Dinner.
Allan, Sas and bunch were playing badminton, and they were so engrossed in their game that we missed the last shuttle out. So, Allan, Sas and I drove out in Allan's car, grabbed dinner at Taco Bell, and then Allan dropped us off (thanks again Allan!) :)
Once back, I continued to work until late into the night to make up for all that I hadn't managed to finish by being on the phone and playing basketball and chatting online :P
Man, it was a crazy day. Didn't get as much work done as I wanted though.
BUT!
I played basketball for a short while, and I spoke to Ann on the phone for over an hour after what felt like YEARS! :) I'm so glad you called, Annie! :) I also managed to chat with Mirzy after ages. :)
Dinner.
Allan, Sas and bunch were playing badminton, and they were so engrossed in their game that we missed the last shuttle out. So, Allan, Sas and I drove out in Allan's car, grabbed dinner at Taco Bell, and then Allan dropped us off (thanks again Allan!) :)
Once back, I continued to work until late into the night to make up for all that I hadn't managed to finish by being on the phone and playing basketball and chatting online :P
Monday, July 25, 2011
47
Napa and Sonoma valley.
Considering we left at 11, when we'd thought to leave by 10am shows were were fairly punctual! :) Noble, Allan, Gapa, Sas and I headed off to wine tasting paradise. Venky didn't join because he was still jetlagged.
We first went to Sonoma valley, where we tasted a few wines - red, white and rose. I ended up buying a bottle of rose. I also bought some salsa and a mustard-olive jam. Mmm... my mouth is watering just thinking of how good they tasted. :) Noble was really sweet as a host and even bought me a bottle of wine!
We went from one winery to another, and three wineries later, we were all giggling at anything that anyone said. We had some really good food at Cassiy's backdoor kitchen (was that what it was called?) and I tasted rabbit for the first time. Pretty nice! A fun meal later, we headed back, dropped Gapa off and then back to Santa Clara. Allan drove all the way (thanks Allan!) :)
Driving driving, drinking drinking (not drinking and driving).
Lots of wine to taste, lots of cheese bought, some wine bought, and we all came home. It was fairly tiring - we were all pretty pooped by the end of the trip. Sas and I picked up dinner at Baja Fresh and he went to work. I chilled out a little bit - did random things like remove nail polish :P ...and then I slept.
Considering we left at 11, when we'd thought to leave by 10am shows were were fairly punctual! :) Noble, Allan, Gapa, Sas and I headed off to wine tasting paradise. Venky didn't join because he was still jetlagged.
We first went to Sonoma valley, where we tasted a few wines - red, white and rose. I ended up buying a bottle of rose. I also bought some salsa and a mustard-olive jam. Mmm... my mouth is watering just thinking of how good they tasted. :) Noble was really sweet as a host and even bought me a bottle of wine!
We went from one winery to another, and three wineries later, we were all giggling at anything that anyone said. We had some really good food at Cassiy's backdoor kitchen (was that what it was called?) and I tasted rabbit for the first time. Pretty nice! A fun meal later, we headed back, dropped Gapa off and then back to Santa Clara. Allan drove all the way (thanks Allan!) :)
Driving driving, drinking drinking (not drinking and driving).
Lots of wine to taste, lots of cheese bought, some wine bought, and we all came home. It was fairly tiring - we were all pretty pooped by the end of the trip. Sas and I picked up dinner at Baja Fresh and he went to work. I chilled out a little bit - did random things like remove nail polish :P ...and then I slept.
48
First:
Happy birthday Anuzi!!!!!! Big hug! I can't believe I'm missing your birthday! :( Sorry I wasn't able to call. Reply to my email! :)
The delay.
I woke up late, and then came to meet Sas, who was still asleep and continued sleeping after I was here. Jetlag, so I let him be. In the meantime, I made a few calls, read a few pages of a book and then our man woke up. We were both pretty lethargic, and Sas had to work, so I went and brought the dirty clothes from my apartment and did my laundry at his apartment. The stupid dryer broke though, so I ended up lugging all my wet clothes back to dry them in my apartment :D But on my trip back, I brought lots of my personal goodies back with me (read: bubble bath, bath salts and a change of clothes) and first cooked some pasta (which tasted far too bland, so I added garam masala :D haha) and after we both had eaten, I took the liberty of soaking in the bathtub in his room with a cold beer and some music for company while he worked. We were supposed to have met Noble and Allan at about 2pm, but Noble wasn't feeling too well, so Allan was waiting for him to get a little sleep before we headed to SF so our plan kept getting delayed.
When Sas had finally finished work, and I had soaked to my heart's content in the tub, and Noble was close to wakeful state, it was 6pm, and Allan came and picked Sas and me up. We went to Taco Bell first and ate some food, and then headed to Allan's house, where we picked up Noble and then started for SF.
SF.
We reached SF at around 8pm, when it was still light outside. Stopped by Noble's FANCY hotel for a few minutes, and left the car there, and then took a taxi to Gapa's place where we met Venky and Gapa. This is Gapa's week-old find (he'd been house hunting for the longest time) and the house was nice! All the boys united, they did what boys do - crack mental jokes and laugh. After about an hour of that, we went to Amici's for some good pizza and a couple of beers, and then considered heading out and drinking some more, but decided to make a pit stop at Gapa's. Bad idea, because the moment we got there, everyone started yawning, and shortly after, all the boys were sprawled on Gapa's bed, and I was on the futon drinking the scene in. Noble, cracking the funniest jokes in the world, Gapa asleep, Venky grinning, Sas at the window with his camera and Allan staring at the ceiling. The yawns started to get contagious. Venky had to leave and Gapa fell asleep, so after a little more hanging around, Noble and Allan decided to leave and meet us the next morning to go to Napa.
And so we slept, me on the futon and Sas and Gapa on the bed.
Happy birthday Anuzi!!!!!! Big hug! I can't believe I'm missing your birthday! :( Sorry I wasn't able to call. Reply to my email! :)
The delay.
I woke up late, and then came to meet Sas, who was still asleep and continued sleeping after I was here. Jetlag, so I let him be. In the meantime, I made a few calls, read a few pages of a book and then our man woke up. We were both pretty lethargic, and Sas had to work, so I went and brought the dirty clothes from my apartment and did my laundry at his apartment. The stupid dryer broke though, so I ended up lugging all my wet clothes back to dry them in my apartment :D But on my trip back, I brought lots of my personal goodies back with me (read: bubble bath, bath salts and a change of clothes) and first cooked some pasta (which tasted far too bland, so I added garam masala :D haha) and after we both had eaten, I took the liberty of soaking in the bathtub in his room with a cold beer and some music for company while he worked. We were supposed to have met Noble and Allan at about 2pm, but Noble wasn't feeling too well, so Allan was waiting for him to get a little sleep before we headed to SF so our plan kept getting delayed.
When Sas had finally finished work, and I had soaked to my heart's content in the tub, and Noble was close to wakeful state, it was 6pm, and Allan came and picked Sas and me up. We went to Taco Bell first and ate some food, and then headed to Allan's house, where we picked up Noble and then started for SF.
SF.
We reached SF at around 8pm, when it was still light outside. Stopped by Noble's FANCY hotel for a few minutes, and left the car there, and then took a taxi to Gapa's place where we met Venky and Gapa. This is Gapa's week-old find (he'd been house hunting for the longest time) and the house was nice! All the boys united, they did what boys do - crack mental jokes and laugh. After about an hour of that, we went to Amici's for some good pizza and a couple of beers, and then considered heading out and drinking some more, but decided to make a pit stop at Gapa's. Bad idea, because the moment we got there, everyone started yawning, and shortly after, all the boys were sprawled on Gapa's bed, and I was on the futon drinking the scene in. Noble, cracking the funniest jokes in the world, Gapa asleep, Venky grinning, Sas at the window with his camera and Allan staring at the ceiling. The yawns started to get contagious. Venky had to leave and Gapa fell asleep, so after a little more hanging around, Noble and Allan decided to leave and meet us the next morning to go to Napa.
And so we slept, me on the futon and Sas and Gapa on the bed.
Sunday, July 24, 2011
49
Fridays are the worst.
Yes, in terms of work for me. Although, I did manage to finish everything I set out to do, and chilled out for the rest of the evening with Sas. He did have a lot of work to do, but I helped him set up his apartment and we had dinner at my favourite, Yo Yo Sushi Bar and then went back.
Death of a phone.
Nonsense these US connections are! If you run out of balance (and they don't warn to let you know that you are almost out), you can't receive incoming calls or messages either! Connections in India are so much better that way. And when I tried to recharge online, it didn't accept my credit card! What a piss off. Which means, till someone at work can recharge for me, I'm stuck with no phone, possibly all weekend!
The weekend plan.
Noble is in town! Yayyy! :) So Noble, Allan, Gapa, Venky, Sas and I plan on spending Saturday in SF and then going to Napa valley on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
Nighty night!
Yes, in terms of work for me. Although, I did manage to finish everything I set out to do, and chilled out for the rest of the evening with Sas. He did have a lot of work to do, but I helped him set up his apartment and we had dinner at my favourite, Yo Yo Sushi Bar and then went back.
Death of a phone.
Nonsense these US connections are! If you run out of balance (and they don't warn to let you know that you are almost out), you can't receive incoming calls or messages either! Connections in India are so much better that way. And when I tried to recharge online, it didn't accept my credit card! What a piss off. Which means, till someone at work can recharge for me, I'm stuck with no phone, possibly all weekend!
The weekend plan.
Noble is in town! Yayyy! :) So Noble, Allan, Gapa, Venky, Sas and I plan on spending Saturday in SF and then going to Napa valley on Sunday. Looking forward to it.
Nighty night!
Friday, July 22, 2011
50
Work Work Work.
I worked so much all through the day, with like 2 breaks in the entire day other than lunch (which I had with Alex and Mike and there was a lot of laughing). :D Pretty good workday, but really tiring.
No Nee :(
Nee was supposed to have come back today, but she rescheduled her flight because she wasn't feeling well! :( Venky's back though, and Noble's coming to town, so we're all set for a fun weekend! :)
Plan gone wonky.
Sas, Sunny and I were supposed to go out with Allan and Abhay and catch a few drinks, but we met a drunk Ted and his friend (I forget his name) at dinner and laughed our hearts out at their conversations. It must be said, that the combination of 2 drunk people and 1 jet-lagged person is no good for a plan. We were supposed to have gone out, but went to Ted's house instead! :D Had a good time, had champagne and olives and watched Planet Earth - some nature special documentaries on his 60 inch telly. What. An. Experience. If you ever buy a TV, you should get one like that, and make sure that everything you watch is HD/Blue Ray :D Wow.
Allan joined us there minus Abhay, and we all chilled out for a bit, then Allan dropped Sas and me back to the apartment, and we crashed.
I worked so much all through the day, with like 2 breaks in the entire day other than lunch (which I had with Alex and Mike and there was a lot of laughing). :D Pretty good workday, but really tiring.
No Nee :(
Nee was supposed to have come back today, but she rescheduled her flight because she wasn't feeling well! :( Venky's back though, and Noble's coming to town, so we're all set for a fun weekend! :)
Plan gone wonky.
Sas, Sunny and I were supposed to go out with Allan and Abhay and catch a few drinks, but we met a drunk Ted and his friend (I forget his name) at dinner and laughed our hearts out at their conversations. It must be said, that the combination of 2 drunk people and 1 jet-lagged person is no good for a plan. We were supposed to have gone out, but went to Ted's house instead! :D Had a good time, had champagne and olives and watched Planet Earth - some nature special documentaries on his 60 inch telly. What. An. Experience. If you ever buy a TV, you should get one like that, and make sure that everything you watch is HD/Blue Ray :D Wow.
Allan joined us there minus Abhay, and we all chilled out for a bit, then Allan dropped Sas and me back to the apartment, and we crashed.
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
51
Sas and I took the shuttle to work together since he's staying in the same apartment, and got breakfast at No Name Cafe. My stomach was being funny though, so couldn't eat much. After we ate, we went our ways to our different buildings.
I think I bugged Billy a lot with my questions! :| Sigh.
Also, I was conducting a session for the Sales team, and only one person showed up! :( Met Sunny for lunch though, and got to talk to Liz after a whole day! :O Haha. But, was a busy, busy, busy day!
In the evening, I checked out Sas's apartment, and it's bigger and better than mine! :O We decided to make sure we did more fun travel-exploring related things! :)
I think I bugged Billy a lot with my questions! :| Sigh.
Also, I was conducting a session for the Sales team, and only one person showed up! :( Met Sunny for lunch though, and got to talk to Liz after a whole day! :O Haha. But, was a busy, busy, busy day!
In the evening, I checked out Sas's apartment, and it's bigger and better than mine! :O We decided to make sure we did more fun travel-exploring related things! :)
52
Working from home.
I woke up with a headache, so decided to work from home. Met my manager online and he told me I was doing a good job. It's nice to hear these things. He laced it with how I should be doing a lot more. Pressure :D That's how I work though, I guess. I'm happy that he knows how I function.
Worked, worked, worked, and guess who shows up in the afternoon - SAS! On work too haha, that was the big news, so now the suspense moment is over! :D We hung out for a bit - got dinner and chilled out in life.
Unfortunately, the internal systems died on me later in the day, and I wasn't able to finish everything I wanted to. :( Thank goodness I have a nice team that helped me out!! I did try and get more work done :( See what happens when I do? :P
Anyway, it was really nice to see Sas. :) Travel plans are back on in full force ! Yeah!! :D
I woke up with a headache, so decided to work from home. Met my manager online and he told me I was doing a good job. It's nice to hear these things. He laced it with how I should be doing a lot more. Pressure :D That's how I work though, I guess. I'm happy that he knows how I function.
Worked, worked, worked, and guess who shows up in the afternoon - SAS! On work too haha, that was the big news, so now the suspense moment is over! :D We hung out for a bit - got dinner and chilled out in life.
Unfortunately, the internal systems died on me later in the day, and I wasn't able to finish everything I wanted to. :( Thank goodness I have a nice team that helped me out!! I did try and get more work done :( See what happens when I do? :P
Anyway, it was really nice to see Sas. :) Travel plans are back on in full force ! Yeah!! :D
53
Oh Monday Morning.
We got off the bus at 6.20 (gotta say, no matter what may be the case otherwise, these buses are punctual!) and took a cab to my corp apartment. Decided to sleep for a short while, and take the 8.50am shuttle, or latest, the last shuttle at 9.30am to work. Historically, you know how that goes.
We ended up missing the last shuttle at 9.30am and took a cab to work.
Stretch.
Working on less sleep and with lots to do wasn't easy, but I managed somehow. I was also running on a little excitement, so I did okay.
Monday evening.
I cycled to Yo Yo Sushi bar to bring home some dinner and came back to find the TV not working. Called to have it fixed and talked to a few people on the phone, and then lazed around till it was time to sleep. Felt strange not to see Sas online! Haha.
Sleep took over.
We got off the bus at 6.20 (gotta say, no matter what may be the case otherwise, these buses are punctual!) and took a cab to my corp apartment. Decided to sleep for a short while, and take the 8.50am shuttle, or latest, the last shuttle at 9.30am to work. Historically, you know how that goes.
We ended up missing the last shuttle at 9.30am and took a cab to work.
Stretch.
Working on less sleep and with lots to do wasn't easy, but I managed somehow. I was also running on a little excitement, so I did okay.
Monday evening.
I cycled to Yo Yo Sushi bar to bring home some dinner and came back to find the TV not working. Called to have it fixed and talked to a few people on the phone, and then lazed around till it was time to sleep. Felt strange not to see Sas online! Haha.
Sleep took over.
54
Universal studios.
We ended up waking up at 11am even though I did wake up on time and ...failed to wake Ashlene :) I thought to lie down for a second when she didn't wake up. Read above for what happened next.
We got dressed and went to Ashlene's uncle's restaurant again for lunch. I drove. :) Then, we went to Universal Studios.
That place is massive! There are soo many fun, interesting things to do there, we couldn't get enough! :) We spent the entire day there just going on all the rides ! :D And we let everything surprise us!
We went on the Simpsons ride (which I vote best ride), on the Mummy ride (which I vote second best) on the Jurassic Park ride (which I vote third best) and we also went for the Shrek 4D movie, to the House of Horrors (where a bunch of screaming girls in front of us amused us so much, there was no chance for us to get scared!) and we got to watch Donkey and Shrek on their little stroll out, we saw Marilyn Monroe and the sailor girls, and watched the mask of Zorro and his beautiful Spanish lady dance, dance, dance! :) We took a whole lot of photos, walked around all over the place, and ate hot dogs. :) We had such a lot of fun looking at our post-ride photos! :D Didn't buy any copies though - they were far too expensive.
We then went for dinner to this ranch-like restaurant (still inside Universal) and met Ashlene's uncle's partner and her three kids. They were fun and the littlest kid came and gave me a huge hug.
The Bull.
It looks something like this.
Post dinner I rode the mechanical bull! :D Yes, and it was so much fun although I jumped off it really soon because I had to sign a contract saying that the restaurant isn't responsible for my injuries or death :| and it scared me, so I didn't want to stay on it too long in case I got hurt or died! But I was good at it, and it's fun so next time I'll stay on longer. :)
Post dinner, we rushed to the Greyhound stop, and Ashlene and I were one of the last people to get in, so we ended up taking the seats that were at the far end of the bus, and... as it happened... right over the engine! It was SO *bad words* HOT there, and we had a hard time sleeping. Very uncomfortable. Just watch me take a Greyhound again! :| The buses in India are way better! Yes, even the khatara ones.
And next day was work day!!! :O
We ended up waking up at 11am even though I did wake up on time and ...failed to wake Ashlene :) I thought to lie down for a second when she didn't wake up. Read above for what happened next.
We got dressed and went to Ashlene's uncle's restaurant again for lunch. I drove. :) Then, we went to Universal Studios.
That place is massive! There are soo many fun, interesting things to do there, we couldn't get enough! :) We spent the entire day there just going on all the rides ! :D And we let everything surprise us!
We went on the Simpsons ride (which I vote best ride), on the Mummy ride (which I vote second best) on the Jurassic Park ride (which I vote third best) and we also went for the Shrek 4D movie, to the House of Horrors (where a bunch of screaming girls in front of us amused us so much, there was no chance for us to get scared!) and we got to watch Donkey and Shrek on their little stroll out, we saw Marilyn Monroe and the sailor girls, and watched the mask of Zorro and his beautiful Spanish lady dance, dance, dance! :) We took a whole lot of photos, walked around all over the place, and ate hot dogs. :) We had such a lot of fun looking at our post-ride photos! :D Didn't buy any copies though - they were far too expensive.
We then went for dinner to this ranch-like restaurant (still inside Universal) and met Ashlene's uncle's partner and her three kids. They were fun and the littlest kid came and gave me a huge hug.
The Bull.
It looks something like this.
Post dinner I rode the mechanical bull! :D Yes, and it was so much fun although I jumped off it really soon because I had to sign a contract saying that the restaurant isn't responsible for my injuries or death :| and it scared me, so I didn't want to stay on it too long in case I got hurt or died! But I was good at it, and it's fun so next time I'll stay on longer. :)
Post dinner, we rushed to the Greyhound stop, and Ashlene and I were one of the last people to get in, so we ended up taking the seats that were at the far end of the bus, and... as it happened... right over the engine! It was SO *bad words* HOT there, and we had a hard time sleeping. Very uncomfortable. Just watch me take a Greyhound again! :| The buses in India are way better! Yes, even the khatara ones.
And next day was work day!!! :O
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
55
Los Angeles.
The first thing I hear when I get off the Greyhound and enter the station is... you will never guess...
Kannada!
There was a family there, all speaking in Kannada, and it brought a smile to my face. We waited for Ashlene's uncle to pick us up. We drove to his house, where we had a little breakfast, and he suggested we get some sleep before heading out. I was in half a mind to say "but we have only 2 days!!" but then after we ate, we felt super sleepy and actually slept for 2 hours straight!
We woke up, dressed and headed out. First, we went to Ashlene's uncle's restaurant (Udupi Palace) and had some nice South Indian food - I had idli and rasam rice :) mmmm.. :)
Hollywood.
Then, we drove to Hollywood. We took a few pictures with Batman and Batwoman, saw Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Angleina Jolie, hung out with Justin Timberlake and Shrek, and walked down the Hall of Fame. Now I'll let you wonder how many of those were people were dressed up as the famous actors, how many were made of wax and how many were the real people. :) We looked around through all the cool stores, took lots of pictures and then stopped at the Disneyland ice cream parlour for some ...well... ice cream!
Venice Beach.
Then we drove the long drive to Venice Beach. The Doors were born there. I wish we could've driven around and traced all the places Jim had been to, but it wasn't something my companions were too big on, so I let it go with just the hello to Jim's ghost at Venice Beach.
We stopped to get some tea and coffee after to warm ourselves a little - yes, it was cold on the beach! And then drove off again.
Disney Downtown.
We next went to Disney downtown, and it was pretty late already. We couldn't find the entrance for a long time, and we kept going in circles looking for it. And while going in circles, Disney started their fireworks, and my goodness, was it pretty! The best fireworks show I have seen in my life! Wayyyy better than the 4th July fireworks; and apparently they have the fireworks show everyday! It was so pretty, Ashlene and I stuck our heads out of the sunroof and ooh-ed and aah-ed and wow-ed at all the pretty lights in the sky while taking pictures. :)
We finally found the entrance and went into Disney downtown.... walked around all the stores and my gosh I wanted to buy the entire place ! They had Mickey and Minnie EVERYTHING, right from chocolates, to clothes, to cutlery, and even kitchen mitts! :D I did a little buying.
We then headed back, and by the time we reached Ashlene's uncle's place, it was nearly 2am. The plan was to head to Universal studios ...and wake up at 7am for it.
Do you we were able to wake up? :)
The first thing I hear when I get off the Greyhound and enter the station is... you will never guess...
Kannada!
There was a family there, all speaking in Kannada, and it brought a smile to my face. We waited for Ashlene's uncle to pick us up. We drove to his house, where we had a little breakfast, and he suggested we get some sleep before heading out. I was in half a mind to say "but we have only 2 days!!" but then after we ate, we felt super sleepy and actually slept for 2 hours straight!
We woke up, dressed and headed out. First, we went to Ashlene's uncle's restaurant (Udupi Palace) and had some nice South Indian food - I had idli and rasam rice :) mmmm.. :)
Hollywood.
Then, we drove to Hollywood. We took a few pictures with Batman and Batwoman, saw Elvis, Marilyn Monroe and Angleina Jolie, hung out with Justin Timberlake and Shrek, and walked down the Hall of Fame. Now I'll let you wonder how many of those were people were dressed up as the famous actors, how many were made of wax and how many were the real people. :) We looked around through all the cool stores, took lots of pictures and then stopped at the Disneyland ice cream parlour for some ...well... ice cream!
Venice Beach.
Then we drove the long drive to Venice Beach. The Doors were born there. I wish we could've driven around and traced all the places Jim had been to, but it wasn't something my companions were too big on, so I let it go with just the hello to Jim's ghost at Venice Beach.
We stopped to get some tea and coffee after to warm ourselves a little - yes, it was cold on the beach! And then drove off again.
Disney Downtown.
We next went to Disney downtown, and it was pretty late already. We couldn't find the entrance for a long time, and we kept going in circles looking for it. And while going in circles, Disney started their fireworks, and my goodness, was it pretty! The best fireworks show I have seen in my life! Wayyyy better than the 4th July fireworks; and apparently they have the fireworks show everyday! It was so pretty, Ashlene and I stuck our heads out of the sunroof and ooh-ed and aah-ed and wow-ed at all the pretty lights in the sky while taking pictures. :)
We finally found the entrance and went into Disney downtown.... walked around all the stores and my gosh I wanted to buy the entire place ! They had Mickey and Minnie EVERYTHING, right from chocolates, to clothes, to cutlery, and even kitchen mitts! :D I did a little buying.
We then headed back, and by the time we reached Ashlene's uncle's place, it was nearly 2am. The plan was to head to Universal studios ...and wake up at 7am for it.
Do you we were able to wake up? :)
Monday, July 18, 2011
56
I woke up to the best news I've heard in a long time, and with a smile ghosting my face all day, I went to work.
Long day.
It was a long day at work today. Not a lot got done, but some difficult stuff got done, which is a good thing. I suppose it might even out.
I had lunch with Rachel and then hung out at her desk for almost all of the afternoon, getting my questions answered. She was being so ultra nice about answering all my questions, it's not even funny. Like, she actually goes out of her way to help out. And over lunch, we were talking about how she loves watermelon, how I've traveled, what I think of the place, how she's traveled and so much more. It was fun, and we ended up asking each other over for dinner during the week. Nice. :)
Greyhound.
Ashlene and I had a bus to catch that evening, to go to L.A., so I found out which shuttle would take us to our stop, and we waited in the office until the shuttle to take us there showed up. In the meantime we spoke to Allie (with the funny dog) and Chris.
We got off at the stop in San Jose and walked the rest of the way to Almaden Ave, and we passed through this really FANCY part of town called San Fernando. We saw a lot of good restaurants open there too, but I insisted that we don't stop walking and get to our stop first because it was past 9pm already, and we didn't know the area ...and definitely looked like tourists. When we got to the stop, it was in a shady area, and we went into the bus station to wait. We hadn't eaten, and Ashlene was tired and cranky. The passengers waiting were odd, and the bus stop TVs were playing this show that showed clips from accidents (stunts gone wrong, etc.), and people were laughing. It was disturbing, to say the least! Finally, after a two hour wait filled with hunger and unfriendly bus stand staff, our bus arrived and we got in with much hesitation because we were told that the crime rate on these buses are fairly high. The advice we got to sit on the right side of the bus was much appreciated and well used.
We crashed as soon as we were on the road, despite some obnoxious passengers like the one playing loud trance music and the one yawning like an elephant every 5 minutes! Thankfully, the driver told the guy with the music to turn down the music. Haha.
Long day.
It was a long day at work today. Not a lot got done, but some difficult stuff got done, which is a good thing. I suppose it might even out.
I had lunch with Rachel and then hung out at her desk for almost all of the afternoon, getting my questions answered. She was being so ultra nice about answering all my questions, it's not even funny. Like, she actually goes out of her way to help out. And over lunch, we were talking about how she loves watermelon, how I've traveled, what I think of the place, how she's traveled and so much more. It was fun, and we ended up asking each other over for dinner during the week. Nice. :)
Greyhound.
Ashlene and I had a bus to catch that evening, to go to L.A., so I found out which shuttle would take us to our stop, and we waited in the office until the shuttle to take us there showed up. In the meantime we spoke to Allie (with the funny dog) and Chris.
We got off at the stop in San Jose and walked the rest of the way to Almaden Ave, and we passed through this really FANCY part of town called San Fernando. We saw a lot of good restaurants open there too, but I insisted that we don't stop walking and get to our stop first because it was past 9pm already, and we didn't know the area ...and definitely looked like tourists. When we got to the stop, it was in a shady area, and we went into the bus station to wait. We hadn't eaten, and Ashlene was tired and cranky. The passengers waiting were odd, and the bus stop TVs were playing this show that showed clips from accidents (stunts gone wrong, etc.), and people were laughing. It was disturbing, to say the least! Finally, after a two hour wait filled with hunger and unfriendly bus stand staff, our bus arrived and we got in with much hesitation because we were told that the crime rate on these buses are fairly high. The advice we got to sit on the right side of the bus was much appreciated and well used.
We crashed as soon as we were on the road, despite some obnoxious passengers like the one playing loud trance music and the one yawning like an elephant every 5 minutes! Thankfully, the driver told the guy with the music to turn down the music. Haha.
Thursday, July 14, 2011
57
Lost and found.
I thought I lost part of my identity (Google security something), but then I remembered that it might've fallen off in Abhay's car. Thinking there may be no point trying to look for it because that was just a speculated guess, I headed to get a new one, and voila - who should I bump into, but Abhay! :) He told me he found it, and we went to his car to get it. What a coincidence!
Time wasting tactics.
Liz was working from NY, so I missed her today! :( But, Alex was at the cube all day, for once. Alex is crazy. Today we talked for at least 2 full work hours. He's ultra arbitrary and random, and can be really funny. Like, he was asking me all these questions about India, and when I mentioned a place I had traveled to, he'd look it up on Google maps. Then, he got distracted and zoomed in on one spot of a random island which had no name, and said he wanted to buy it. And started calling it his island from that moment on. And then checked the weather for it (there is actually a weather and traffic report for it, even though it has a population of zero, and has no name hahahaha !) We had a good laugh over it, and he saw some pictures from Pench because he didn't believe that I'd seen a tiger. I also told him I was interested in going camping, and asked him for recommendations, and he said that the next time he and a couple of others from Google are going, I should hook up with them for it. I called him pseudo/wannabe Harry Potter because his last name is Popper. Haha, I'm so funny. :P
Work went okay, I had a presentation today, not as big as the first one, but pretty big. Even more so because I was presenting it all on my own with no help, unlike the last time. But it went fairly well :) I also asked Rachel some questions again today and she's been so super helpful, I want to buy her something! We spoke for a bit and she now knows what I'm really doing. :) She's really nice.
Dinner.
I went to dinner with Nikhil Dev and this girl called Charmine who I've never met before, but works for Google. We went to some Indian/Pakistani restaurant in Sunnyvale, and it was alright. A kid cried there for almost the entire meal though. (rolls eyes in exasperation). Anyway, Dev was being his usual uncouth self, and driving crazily. He can be fun, but he's a little too over the top for my taste.
Laundry.
Yes, laundry finally got done, and now I'm packing to go to L.A. this weekend! :)
Silk, I will say hello to Jim's ghost from both of us, and pay homege to the souls of the music of the era. I will also fulfill my childhood fantasy of going to Disneyland!!!! :) And also Universal Studios and Hollywood, if we can manage to squeeze that in. It's late already. Time is actually running right past my face a thousand times over, and I can't see it. I sat here at midnight, and it's already 12.45 ! :O
Zzzzzz.
I thought I lost part of my identity (Google security something), but then I remembered that it might've fallen off in Abhay's car. Thinking there may be no point trying to look for it because that was just a speculated guess, I headed to get a new one, and voila - who should I bump into, but Abhay! :) He told me he found it, and we went to his car to get it. What a coincidence!
Time wasting tactics.
Liz was working from NY, so I missed her today! :( But, Alex was at the cube all day, for once. Alex is crazy. Today we talked for at least 2 full work hours. He's ultra arbitrary and random, and can be really funny. Like, he was asking me all these questions about India, and when I mentioned a place I had traveled to, he'd look it up on Google maps. Then, he got distracted and zoomed in on one spot of a random island which had no name, and said he wanted to buy it. And started calling it his island from that moment on. And then checked the weather for it (there is actually a weather and traffic report for it, even though it has a population of zero, and has no name hahahaha !) We had a good laugh over it, and he saw some pictures from Pench because he didn't believe that I'd seen a tiger. I also told him I was interested in going camping, and asked him for recommendations, and he said that the next time he and a couple of others from Google are going, I should hook up with them for it. I called him pseudo/wannabe Harry Potter because his last name is Popper. Haha, I'm so funny. :P
Work went okay, I had a presentation today, not as big as the first one, but pretty big. Even more so because I was presenting it all on my own with no help, unlike the last time. But it went fairly well :) I also asked Rachel some questions again today and she's been so super helpful, I want to buy her something! We spoke for a bit and she now knows what I'm really doing. :) She's really nice.
Dinner.
I went to dinner with Nikhil Dev and this girl called Charmine who I've never met before, but works for Google. We went to some Indian/Pakistani restaurant in Sunnyvale, and it was alright. A kid cried there for almost the entire meal though. (rolls eyes in exasperation). Anyway, Dev was being his usual uncouth self, and driving crazily. He can be fun, but he's a little too over the top for my taste.
Laundry.
Yes, laundry finally got done, and now I'm packing to go to L.A. this weekend! :)
Silk, I will say hello to Jim's ghost from both of us, and pay homege to the souls of the music of the era. I will also fulfill my childhood fantasy of going to Disneyland!!!! :) And also Universal Studios and Hollywood, if we can manage to squeeze that in. It's late already. Time is actually running right past my face a thousand times over, and I can't see it. I sat here at midnight, and it's already 12.45 ! :O
Zzzzzz.
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
58
Meeting the sales team.
I met the sales team today, sat with them the entire day. Gotta say, I was a little disappointed with the welcome I got. Expectations are high when it comes to Google, and highest when it comes to HQ, right? :) Anyway, I got a lot of questions, I hung out with a dog in my cube, and I met a lot of new people. Not a bad day overall, and I'll probably go drop in there every now and again, but so far it's been ohh-kayy. Nothing extraordinary.
The dog incident 2.
One of the guys I met today at the sales teams had his dog next to him, and it was exactly like this dog in my building. The guy told me her name was Athena. And I said, oh, there's another dog that looks the exact same, and her name is Athena too. And he was telling me how he'd thought Athena was a unique name, and someone at a pet store had once told him that its not. So the conversation went, and the guy says yeah so she sits here for the first half of the day, and then the second half of the day she sits with my husband. And well, I was taken aback when HE said his HUSBAND, but then I disguised it well, because that's also when we figured out that it was the same dog! I had only seen her for the second half of the day in my building with his husband! :D Man, I gotta get tuned to realising that men are possibly married to men here, and women are possibly married to women. I feel bad though, that "husband", Billy, is cute. I was like - oh damn! :P Feel sorry for woman kind when that happens, because I mean, as it is there's a dearth of good looking guys on this planet, and now a fair share of the fraction of the good looking men are gay!!
Productive.
The day overall was drab, but productive. I've been feeling so tired this week! Maybe all the lack of sleep. I'm going to sleep early today (as compared to the rest of the week).
The AdSpam Team.
I hung out with Gapa and Abhay at dinner, and glimpsed Niranjan :) Hadn't seen Gapa in a long time too!
Post dinner, I chilled with the AdSpam team, and then came home and spoke to Sophie for a while, and tended to Mr. Flambe.
And now I sleep.
I met the sales team today, sat with them the entire day. Gotta say, I was a little disappointed with the welcome I got. Expectations are high when it comes to Google, and highest when it comes to HQ, right? :) Anyway, I got a lot of questions, I hung out with a dog in my cube, and I met a lot of new people. Not a bad day overall, and I'll probably go drop in there every now and again, but so far it's been ohh-kayy. Nothing extraordinary.
The dog incident 2.
One of the guys I met today at the sales teams had his dog next to him, and it was exactly like this dog in my building. The guy told me her name was Athena. And I said, oh, there's another dog that looks the exact same, and her name is Athena too. And he was telling me how he'd thought Athena was a unique name, and someone at a pet store had once told him that its not. So the conversation went, and the guy says yeah so she sits here for the first half of the day, and then the second half of the day she sits with my husband. And well, I was taken aback when HE said his HUSBAND, but then I disguised it well, because that's also when we figured out that it was the same dog! I had only seen her for the second half of the day in my building with his husband! :D Man, I gotta get tuned to realising that men are possibly married to men here, and women are possibly married to women. I feel bad though, that "husband", Billy, is cute. I was like - oh damn! :P Feel sorry for woman kind when that happens, because I mean, as it is there's a dearth of good looking guys on this planet, and now a fair share of the fraction of the good looking men are gay!!
Productive.
The day overall was drab, but productive. I've been feeling so tired this week! Maybe all the lack of sleep. I'm going to sleep early today (as compared to the rest of the week).
The AdSpam Team.
I hung out with Gapa and Abhay at dinner, and glimpsed Niranjan :) Hadn't seen Gapa in a long time too!
Post dinner, I chilled with the AdSpam team, and then came home and spoke to Sophie for a while, and tended to Mr. Flambe.
And now I sleep.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
59
Shower.
Took a loooong, awesome shower this morning because I got up early :) Great start to the day.
The tiring day.
I got a decent amount of work done today, but I was really tired because I had slept late, and I had Red Bull to keep awake so I could work in overdrive. By the end of the day I was so pooped, I came back and took a 15 minute nap before heading out for dinner. Almost swooned from tiredness. Liz and I didn't go for a run again today :(
The dog incident (it ain't curious and it was in broad daylight).
There's a yellow stool near the micro kitchen, and a guy was sitting there on the couch with his tiny golden dog at his feet, and the dog was nicely camouflaged by the yellow stool. Nandita and I walked past, and the dog growled, and Nandita shrieked and jumped! :D It had Ashlene and me in splits for a while!!
Dinner and a book.
I met Keth for dinner. We went to this Mongolian restaurant on Castro street because he came in his friend's car, so we could eat in a place other than at Rivermark plaza. :) The food was great! It was hot, and I haven't eaten hot food for a while, so I was sweating from eating it :D I called Sunny, but she couldn't make it. Walked into a bookstore opposite and bought me a Neil Gaiman. Long time no book.
The Accident.
So, after dinner, Keth was dropping me back home, and when we were almost off Castro, this Audi SUV in front of us reversed and banged right into us !!! The guy got out and he told us he didn't see us in the rear view mirror because our car was so much lower (sure, sit on the high and mighty Audi throne while saying that!). But, ZERO road rage, I say! He was nice enough to apologize immediately, and offer to pay for any damage. And out of nowhere, there were cops there, smiling but writing down details about the insurance on both cars. I was KICKED about having experienced an "accident" in the US, and was nearly laughing. Everyone there must've thought I was psycho, especially Keth who I voiced my excitement to (and now evidently to you too) :D No, absolutely nothing happened except for a line of scratch on the car, but it was something that counts in the book of experience!! :D
Keth came home and chilled with a glass of wine, and after his nerves were doing better, he left to go back home.
Tomorrow is all set to be a crazy busy but exciting day!! So off I go!
Took a loooong, awesome shower this morning because I got up early :) Great start to the day.
The tiring day.
I got a decent amount of work done today, but I was really tired because I had slept late, and I had Red Bull to keep awake so I could work in overdrive. By the end of the day I was so pooped, I came back and took a 15 minute nap before heading out for dinner. Almost swooned from tiredness. Liz and I didn't go for a run again today :(
The dog incident (it ain't curious and it was in broad daylight).
There's a yellow stool near the micro kitchen, and a guy was sitting there on the couch with his tiny golden dog at his feet, and the dog was nicely camouflaged by the yellow stool. Nandita and I walked past, and the dog growled, and Nandita shrieked and jumped! :D It had Ashlene and me in splits for a while!!
Dinner and a book.
I met Keth for dinner. We went to this Mongolian restaurant on Castro street because he came in his friend's car, so we could eat in a place other than at Rivermark plaza. :) The food was great! It was hot, and I haven't eaten hot food for a while, so I was sweating from eating it :D I called Sunny, but she couldn't make it. Walked into a bookstore opposite and bought me a Neil Gaiman. Long time no book.
The Accident.
So, after dinner, Keth was dropping me back home, and when we were almost off Castro, this Audi SUV in front of us reversed and banged right into us !!! The guy got out and he told us he didn't see us in the rear view mirror because our car was so much lower (sure, sit on the high and mighty Audi throne while saying that!). But, ZERO road rage, I say! He was nice enough to apologize immediately, and offer to pay for any damage. And out of nowhere, there were cops there, smiling but writing down details about the insurance on both cars. I was KICKED about having experienced an "accident" in the US, and was nearly laughing. Everyone there must've thought I was psycho, especially Keth who I voiced my excitement to (and now evidently to you too) :D No, absolutely nothing happened except for a line of scratch on the car, but it was something that counts in the book of experience!! :D
Keth came home and chilled with a glass of wine, and after his nerves were doing better, he left to go back home.
Tomorrow is all set to be a crazy busy but exciting day!! So off I go!
Monday, July 11, 2011
60
One month is up!
Yes, one month is up. I don't believe it. Damn, time is flying. At the same time, I would love to go back home! Which means, a lot more needs to get done at work, faster. I got a good amount of work done today, and I want to keep at this pace for the rest of the week and the rest of the month. And pick up pace, possibly. I wanted to go running today, but had lots of work left in the evening, so skipped it. Even though I got very little sleep last night, today was a good day. Lots lined up for this week! I also managed to get some self-training done, which felt empowering.
Cloud covered hills.
Everyday, when I'm coming back in the shuttle, I see a very pretty view from my little perch inside the bus. Unless I have my head buried in my laptop of course, which tends to be the case most of the time. But today, the view was exceptional. The hills in the far distance were so beautiful, blanketed with clouds so it looked like the hills were made of clouds! The weather was much cooler today, and I beat myself up inside for not carrying a jacket to work, because the wind made me shiver today while I was waiting for my shuttle back home.
Need. To. Travel. More.
Team talks.
Yesterday and today put together, I met with my entire team, and it was really nice to see everyone. I miss Hyderabad when I see people from there. But I feel good telling everyone about all the fun things I'm doing here. Great to see everyone :)
I hear them.
(wedding bells in the distance that is)
It's that time of the year again when people are getting married and having children!! 2 of my friends are getting married by the end of the year, and one friend is going to be a father sooooon! OMG !
(I feel old)
Got to get some beauty sleep now then. Salvage whatever little beauty I have before age snatches it away :P
Yes, one month is up. I don't believe it. Damn, time is flying. At the same time, I would love to go back home! Which means, a lot more needs to get done at work, faster. I got a good amount of work done today, and I want to keep at this pace for the rest of the week and the rest of the month. And pick up pace, possibly. I wanted to go running today, but had lots of work left in the evening, so skipped it. Even though I got very little sleep last night, today was a good day. Lots lined up for this week! I also managed to get some self-training done, which felt empowering.
Cloud covered hills.
Everyday, when I'm coming back in the shuttle, I see a very pretty view from my little perch inside the bus. Unless I have my head buried in my laptop of course, which tends to be the case most of the time. But today, the view was exceptional. The hills in the far distance were so beautiful, blanketed with clouds so it looked like the hills were made of clouds! The weather was much cooler today, and I beat myself up inside for not carrying a jacket to work, because the wind made me shiver today while I was waiting for my shuttle back home.
Need. To. Travel. More.
Team talks.
Yesterday and today put together, I met with my entire team, and it was really nice to see everyone. I miss Hyderabad when I see people from there. But I feel good telling everyone about all the fun things I'm doing here. Great to see everyone :)
I hear them.
(wedding bells in the distance that is)
It's that time of the year again when people are getting married and having children!! 2 of my friends are getting married by the end of the year, and one friend is going to be a father sooooon! OMG !
(I feel old)
Got to get some beauty sleep now then. Salvage whatever little beauty I have before age snatches it away :P
Sunday, July 10, 2011
61
Even more O.M.G.
I woke up in Tanya's house this morning, and she made breakfast for me. Toast - one with nutella and one with cheese. This plus strawberry milkshake :) Perfect Sunday breakfast. We sat outside in the lawn for a long time just chilling and eating and talking. She had to go for her driving class at 12.30pm.
I spoke to the parents - well, more to Ma - while having breakfast. It was really nice to speak to her. :)
Then, I got dressed quickly, and called a cab. I was waiting outside, when Tanya's driving instructor was very nice about allowing me to sit in the car and have Tanya drive me to Mountain View, to Sunny's place.
Sunny's place.
I was so dazed or what, I don't know, but when Sunny had texted me her address, she'd mentioned her apartment number as well, which I conveniently missed seeing, so I walked around till I eventually found her car and then found my way into her house. Said hey to Tiffany and then Sunny and I headed out for lunch. We went to this Korean restaurant on Castro street that had really good food! Ate till we were full, and then headed to Marshall's.
Marshall's.
And so began the second big O.M.G. That place had so many more options, and colours and styles, and so much stuff available in MY SIZE, it was crazy. I think I got floored really terribly by it, to a point where I got flattened to sheet. I shopped and shopped, again. I shopped again for almost the same amount, and saw so much stuff that I loved, and I wanted to buy stuff for others as well, but it was just all adding up, and I wanted everything! I cut down, cut down, cut down, but still bought so much. But I have to say, really good deals. And I'll console myself by saying I never spend like this on myself, I've always been very stingy with money.
Sunny and I went to dinner after that, and then she dropped me, and I came back home and fed Mr. Flambe again, and then I put away all (ALL) my new things, and got ready to sleep.
I woke up in Tanya's house this morning, and she made breakfast for me. Toast - one with nutella and one with cheese. This plus strawberry milkshake :) Perfect Sunday breakfast. We sat outside in the lawn for a long time just chilling and eating and talking. She had to go for her driving class at 12.30pm.
I spoke to the parents - well, more to Ma - while having breakfast. It was really nice to speak to her. :)
Then, I got dressed quickly, and called a cab. I was waiting outside, when Tanya's driving instructor was very nice about allowing me to sit in the car and have Tanya drive me to Mountain View, to Sunny's place.
Sunny's place.
I was so dazed or what, I don't know, but when Sunny had texted me her address, she'd mentioned her apartment number as well, which I conveniently missed seeing, so I walked around till I eventually found her car and then found my way into her house. Said hey to Tiffany and then Sunny and I headed out for lunch. We went to this Korean restaurant on Castro street that had really good food! Ate till we were full, and then headed to Marshall's.
Marshall's.
And so began the second big O.M.G. That place had so many more options, and colours and styles, and so much stuff available in MY SIZE, it was crazy. I think I got floored really terribly by it, to a point where I got flattened to sheet. I shopped and shopped, again. I shopped again for almost the same amount, and saw so much stuff that I loved, and I wanted to buy stuff for others as well, but it was just all adding up, and I wanted everything! I cut down, cut down, cut down, but still bought so much. But I have to say, really good deals. And I'll console myself by saying I never spend like this on myself, I've always been very stingy with money.
Sunny and I went to dinner after that, and then she dropped me, and I came back home and fed Mr. Flambe again, and then I put away all (ALL) my new things, and got ready to sleep.
62
O.M.G.
The day started off sightly drab - I woke up late and chilled at Sunny's place till a little after lunch while she went to office and did her laundry and worked out, and then we headed out to pick up Tanya and went to Gilroy's. I expected more of a big fair kind of place, but it's a huge complex with tonnes and tonnes of shops all over the place. I was told the stuff here is cheap, but the fact is that the deals on the branded stuff here are good, and the things you get are not necessarily all cheap. I'm not much of a brands person, I don't know more than half the brands that exist, and I can hardly care, but it's all good. The stuff here is so great. AND THINGS FIT ME!! Especially my FEET! I shopped like crazy! I spent $350 on running shoes, a nice wind-cheater type fancy jacket, a dress, running tee shirts and 3 pairs of shoes.
Phew !
I know, and after all that shopping, we went and got a drink and some food. Getting dinner with Sunny, her friend Lisa and Tanya was so much fun! It felt like a real girls' night out, and all of us were eating, drinking, laughing, talking and the waiter was being ultra nice (we all think he had a crush on Tanya) and got us this delicious hot chocolate sundae and topped it up with ice cream and chocolate TWICE, and then didn't bill us for it!! Like, wow. Eventually we called it a night, and Sunny (oh, so awesome Sunny) dropped Tanya and me to Tanya's place. (Thanks again, Sunny!)
Tanya's place.
Tanya's place is this lovely house with wooden flooring in Santa Clara. They have a nice front yard kind of thing - that is, some garden space before the road. Her house itself is simple, yet neat and well kept. There's no clutter, the stuff in the house looks like it's just what they need minus the excess baggage that most houses have. The best part about the house is a big garden they have just outside the house, and Fabian and Tanya have their meals there, sit and work there and so on. It's really pretty.
Tanya and I spoke till late into the night, and then went to sleep. Good conversation :) I really like her, she's very sweet.
The day started off sightly drab - I woke up late and chilled at Sunny's place till a little after lunch while she went to office and did her laundry and worked out, and then we headed out to pick up Tanya and went to Gilroy's. I expected more of a big fair kind of place, but it's a huge complex with tonnes and tonnes of shops all over the place. I was told the stuff here is cheap, but the fact is that the deals on the branded stuff here are good, and the things you get are not necessarily all cheap. I'm not much of a brands person, I don't know more than half the brands that exist, and I can hardly care, but it's all good. The stuff here is so great. AND THINGS FIT ME!! Especially my FEET! I shopped like crazy! I spent $350 on running shoes, a nice wind-cheater type fancy jacket, a dress, running tee shirts and 3 pairs of shoes.
Phew !
I know, and after all that shopping, we went and got a drink and some food. Getting dinner with Sunny, her friend Lisa and Tanya was so much fun! It felt like a real girls' night out, and all of us were eating, drinking, laughing, talking and the waiter was being ultra nice (we all think he had a crush on Tanya) and got us this delicious hot chocolate sundae and topped it up with ice cream and chocolate TWICE, and then didn't bill us for it!! Like, wow. Eventually we called it a night, and Sunny (oh, so awesome Sunny) dropped Tanya and me to Tanya's place. (Thanks again, Sunny!)
Tanya's place.
Tanya's place is this lovely house with wooden flooring in Santa Clara. They have a nice front yard kind of thing - that is, some garden space before the road. Her house itself is simple, yet neat and well kept. There's no clutter, the stuff in the house looks like it's just what they need minus the excess baggage that most houses have. The best part about the house is a big garden they have just outside the house, and Fabian and Tanya have their meals there, sit and work there and so on. It's really pretty.
Tanya and I spoke till late into the night, and then went to sleep. Good conversation :) I really like her, she's very sweet.
Saturday, July 9, 2011
63
Work is good.
Work went really well today. I got a lot done, but I missed TGIF :( Still, I got lots done ! :) Also, I helped Alex with quizzing him before an exam on Analytics, and he pegged a note on my desk saying he passed, and was quite chatty with me after. :)
Party time.
I'd made plans with Sunny to go partying. We met at Google, came to her place, changed and then went to Santana Row, San Jose. I hardly looked around the place, but I saw the insides of a club thoroughly ! :P I've gotta say, the women in India when dressed up for clubbing and stuff put in so much more effort and look so much better - I've seen so many girls who look like models in clubs in India. Here though, people come in good, comfortable clothes. That's the difference. I've been told though that people sometimes REALLY dress up, especially in the city. I've been told to go check out a club at SF. Soon :)
Not too many things change from country to country though. I got felt up, and this random creepy guy came and just started dancing next to me ! Sunny says it's a different attitude here though, so it shouldn't creep me out, once I understand the general attitude. Ah well :)
Sunny.
Sunny is Shreyas's sister. She is super awesome! I would never have guessed that she's as old as she said she was. She's good a good life going. Strong, powerful woman she is, knows what she's doing, and nothing can stop her. I'm so glad I met her ! :)
She lives with Tiffany, an African-American girl who is Duvu's height and just as much of a fashionista :) She's good fun too ! :)
All said and done, I had a blast.
Work went really well today. I got a lot done, but I missed TGIF :( Still, I got lots done ! :) Also, I helped Alex with quizzing him before an exam on Analytics, and he pegged a note on my desk saying he passed, and was quite chatty with me after. :)
Party time.
I'd made plans with Sunny to go partying. We met at Google, came to her place, changed and then went to Santana Row, San Jose. I hardly looked around the place, but I saw the insides of a club thoroughly ! :P I've gotta say, the women in India when dressed up for clubbing and stuff put in so much more effort and look so much better - I've seen so many girls who look like models in clubs in India. Here though, people come in good, comfortable clothes. That's the difference. I've been told though that people sometimes REALLY dress up, especially in the city. I've been told to go check out a club at SF. Soon :)
Not too many things change from country to country though. I got felt up, and this random creepy guy came and just started dancing next to me ! Sunny says it's a different attitude here though, so it shouldn't creep me out, once I understand the general attitude. Ah well :)
Sunny.
Sunny is Shreyas's sister. She is super awesome! I would never have guessed that she's as old as she said she was. She's good a good life going. Strong, powerful woman she is, knows what she's doing, and nothing can stop her. I'm so glad I met her ! :)
She lives with Tiffany, an African-American girl who is Duvu's height and just as much of a fashionista :) She's good fun too ! :)
All said and done, I had a blast.
Thursday, July 7, 2011
64
Work goes well.
I got some pretty good feedback at work from the higher management, as it happens. :) Yay!
The day went pretty well, I got some work done, but as always, there's lots left to do. I had lunch with a girl I'm going to be working with, and she has a dog which is so cute! :) I really missed Pepper :(
Small world.
Did I mention I met Shreyas's sister yesterday? She works for Google too and we had lunch together yesterday, and made plans to hang out on Friday. Can't wait! :)
Laundry and tiredness.
I finally did laundry. And I've been really tired all day. Going to go to sleep as soon as my clothes are dry.
Weekend plan.
Might go to Napa valley... so far not concrete :|
As you can guess from this post, I'm really sleepy and tired. So, sleeping off. Still need to reply to a lot of emails! Not as eventful a day as all that, just working all day.
That's all folks!
I got some pretty good feedback at work from the higher management, as it happens. :) Yay!
The day went pretty well, I got some work done, but as always, there's lots left to do. I had lunch with a girl I'm going to be working with, and she has a dog which is so cute! :) I really missed Pepper :(
Small world.
Did I mention I met Shreyas's sister yesterday? She works for Google too and we had lunch together yesterday, and made plans to hang out on Friday. Can't wait! :)
Laundry and tiredness.
I finally did laundry. And I've been really tired all day. Going to go to sleep as soon as my clothes are dry.
Weekend plan.
Might go to Napa valley... so far not concrete :|
As you can guess from this post, I'm really sleepy and tired. So, sleeping off. Still need to reply to a lot of emails! Not as eventful a day as all that, just working all day.
That's all folks!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
65
Crazy workday.
Today, I got some of the most time consuming and difficult questions, and I was pretty stressed at work. I did okay though, I think I came out unscathed.
Walk.
I was done by 6pm, and then I went for a brisk walk around campus with Liz. We saw lots of birds - including some HUGE geese, saw 3 bunnies running around and talked and talked :) It was really pleasant!
Talk.
I came back home pretty tired, but spoke to my new roommate for a while. She's interested in learning about different cultures, likes to talk about Google and languages in general. Her English is pretty good for someone who hardly speaks in English! We spoke for a while, and then I decided to write this and retire to bed.
Pictures!
I uploaded all the pending photos too, and will pass them along shortly for whoever wants them :P
Today, I got some of the most time consuming and difficult questions, and I was pretty stressed at work. I did okay though, I think I came out unscathed.
Walk.
I was done by 6pm, and then I went for a brisk walk around campus with Liz. We saw lots of birds - including some HUGE geese, saw 3 bunnies running around and talked and talked :) It was really pleasant!
Talk.
I came back home pretty tired, but spoke to my new roommate for a while. She's interested in learning about different cultures, likes to talk about Google and languages in general. Her English is pretty good for someone who hardly speaks in English! We spoke for a while, and then I decided to write this and retire to bed.
Pictures!
I uploaded all the pending photos too, and will pass them along shortly for whoever wants them :P
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
66
Holiday.
All of today, I did just what is meant to be done on a holiday: Nothing.
We all woke up around 10am, and the first thing I did was check my email. I was online for a bit while eating, chatting with Sas and then my new roommate, Sophie, walked out of her room, and we spoke to her for a bit. (I miss Amir!) Ashlene left, and then I took a shower because it was nearly lunch time. Sophie, Gapa and I went for lunch, and then Gapa took all his stuff and went to SF to house-hunt again. :|
I came back and wrote all the blog posts I was meant to, checked email, got my window blind fixed, talked to Sophie a little, and was online pretty much all day replying to emails, writing this blog and lazing around online. Considered going swimming, but didn't in the end!
Las Vegas, here we come.
I spoke to Mrin today for a long time, and we booked tickets to Las Vegas for the 6th August weekend, and booked our hotel as well :) Yayyy!!
I also imported photos... need to sort them and then upload them and then share them. Wanted to sort out my expenses too, but I guess that's going to get done during the week, and not earlier. Also wanted to read some work related stuff, but I just didn't get down to it :|
Anyway, it's been more or less what can be termed as an unproductive day. Short (thank goodness!) workweek starts tomorrow! Sleeping off now. Goodnight!
All of today, I did just what is meant to be done on a holiday: Nothing.
We all woke up around 10am, and the first thing I did was check my email. I was online for a bit while eating, chatting with Sas and then my new roommate, Sophie, walked out of her room, and we spoke to her for a bit. (I miss Amir!) Ashlene left, and then I took a shower because it was nearly lunch time. Sophie, Gapa and I went for lunch, and then Gapa took all his stuff and went to SF to house-hunt again. :|
I came back and wrote all the blog posts I was meant to, checked email, got my window blind fixed, talked to Sophie a little, and was online pretty much all day replying to emails, writing this blog and lazing around online. Considered going swimming, but didn't in the end!
Las Vegas, here we come.
I spoke to Mrin today for a long time, and we booked tickets to Las Vegas for the 6th August weekend, and booked our hotel as well :) Yayyy!!
I also imported photos... need to sort them and then upload them and then share them. Wanted to sort out my expenses too, but I guess that's going to get done during the week, and not earlier. Also wanted to read some work related stuff, but I just didn't get down to it :|
Anyway, it's been more or less what can be termed as an unproductive day. Short (thank goodness!) workweek starts tomorrow! Sleeping off now. Goodnight!
67
"Last night".
I'd woken up in the dead of the night (2.30am) feeling really hot, and feeling as if there was a hot plate right under me, so I went to get water. Gapa was asleep. I came back to bed and heard a tapping sound, thought maybe Gapa was knocking on the door. I opened it, and he was still sleeping. Confused and sleepy, I lay down to sleep and after a lot of tossing and turning and hearing things, I slept. The air seemed rarer too, and it was stuffy and hard to breathe.
Piece together the story.
We all woke up, and Gapa usurped my spot on the bed while I went to brush and change. My nose was slightly bleeding from the effort of having breathed all night. He hadn't been able to sleep properly on the couch outside. Ashlene also hadn't slept well, and apparently had heard a keyboard-tapping kind of sound all night, and was aware of me waking up and she also tossed and turned a lot like me. We kind of creeped out at that, because the typing sound could easily have been tapping, which is what I thought was knocking. Creepy room!
Moving on: Ashlene and I went and had tea and breakfast while Gapa was in the shower. We also found out that there was a ski slope (still) open close by, so we decided to go skiing instead of sightseeing, as somewhat planned the previous day. We asked for an extension, to check out of the room at 1pm instead of at 11am, and we got it! :)
Mammoth mountain.
After a lot of waiting, bad timing and slight irritability, we ended up driving to Mammoth Mountain where we were told the ski slopes were. It being 4th July and Independence day in America, they'd celebratorily (is that even a word?) kept the slope open on this (last) day. Except, we ended up going to the opposite side of the mountain which was a hiking trail. We walked around there for a while though, and took some pictures. We also saw a lot of people there with some BEAUTIFUL dogs. Man, furry, thick coated beautiful dogs that were frisking around in the snow and ice cold lake :) Lovely!!
So we asked a hiker, and he told us the ski slopes were on the other side of the mountain. To the other side of the mountain we went.
Skiing.
The place was PACKED! Lots of cars parked, and there were a lot of people. We could see the ski slopes and the ski lifts, and we could see people skiing on the ski slopes. We got excited. When we finally got to the correct building, Gapa was already saying that this was taking far too long and maybe it would've been better to just go sightseeing. But!:) When we got there, we bought our 1 hour ski training time and picked up our equipment. Ski boots are SO very heavy! I felt like I was walking on the moon!! We took all our gear - skis, ski poles, helmets. I had come armed with a big fleece jacket and gloves, and I wore them, but it was SO hot, even in the snow, that I wish I'd just worn regular clothes. Excitement ran high.
We walked out to the place where we were told our instructor would meet us, and where a big snow mobile was apparently going to be waiting for us, but we walked around a lot without finding anyone (again, service in India is so much better!) for a while, and then finally our instructor found us.
Oh boy ! :)
We went in the snow mobile to the top of the slope, where she gave us our first lesson. To stop, push your heels out so that your toes are closer together. Did that, put on our skis, and we were going down the slope ! I picked up speed, turned instead of stopping, and almost ran off the slope so I tried something else to stop myself and ended up on the ground - first fall of about 5 - 6 falls :) Man, what a rush though! I picked it up pretty quickly, and so did Gapa. Ashlene was a little stuck. Gapa and I went all the way down the slope and then we hiked back up with our skis. Lol, apparently the snow mobile would've picked us up.
Again, all the way down the slope we went, and this time I fell only a couple of times. It was so much fun! I was so happy to have gotten the hang of it! :) It was great!
Last slope up, the snow mobile took us higher up, and we came all the way down the slope, and I didn't fall at all! :) I had asked a random other woman who was standing at the bottom of the slope to take a video, and she got us in the video! :) So cool it was. I wasn't speeding down the slope or anything, but I got the hang of it!!:) Funnnnnn!
I fell twice on the way back to the ski equipment rental area! :| With a lot of effort, I took my stuff back up to the rental, and then we returned the shoes, skis, helmets etc. and got our stuff back (it was in the locker). Good fun! :)
Rush.
We rushed back to the hotel because we had almost reached check out time, and well, we didn't want to pay for an extra day. In a rush, we had showers, and we checked out quickly. We then went and ate some food (at Pita Pit which is like Subway, except with Pita bread), and ended up starting to head back only at about 2pm.
Speeding.
I decided to sleep in the car and take over from Gapa after a bit. I woke up in time to see him getting pulled up by the Highway Patrol cop car for speeding! :) Haha, fun experience. Although slightly scary and definitely not fun for Gapa.
I took over from him shortly after.
Driving, driving, driving.
I drove for nearly 5 hours after that, before passing the wheel back to Gapa. Driving is so enjoyable here!!!! No one breaks the rules, everyone is good on the roads, and the roads itself are SO good! :) Man, it was a lot of fun! And the views were oh-so-beautiful that we kept stopping to take pictures, and from one frame to the next, I wasn't able to catch my breath from it having been taken away each time!
We were approaching Santa Clara, when we turned on the radio and the RJ announced that there were going to be 4th July celebration fireworks in SF. So we decided to change course, and instead make way to Berkley Marina to watch the fireworks. We went there full speed (we were afraid Gapa might get another ticket :P) and we made it to the Berkley bridge 15 minutes before fireworks. The rest of the traffic was also going just as fast, so we weren't the only ones going super fast :D Unfortunately though, the exit we had to take was closed, and we ended up stuck in crazy traffic on the top of the flyover. And our phones had also died one by one, so we were not able to get directions, so we just randomly took the Albany (?) exit, and drove off the bridge. We parked on the side and took out Gapa's laptop, to which we hooked up Ashlene's Nexus so we were not directionless anymore :)
Fireworks.
We started to drive back to Santa Clara and on the way, we saw a car stop on the side to get a faraway view of the Berkley Marina fireworks. So did we, and then another car, and another car, and another car, until there was a line of cars there watching the fireworks. It was pretty, and nice to see the sky lit up like that. And then we started to drive. The hourlong drive took us past at least 10 other firework displays! :)
In-N-Out burger.
We drove straight to In-N-Out, and I had my first authentic American burger. It was good :) We drove back to my corp apartment.
New Roommate.
As soon as we walked in, the new roommate, Sophie, walked out of her room (my old room), and she said hi and spoke to us for a couple of minutes. She seemed nice. Ashlene, Gapa and I all just changed, brushed, put our things away and went to sleep! :)
I'd woken up in the dead of the night (2.30am) feeling really hot, and feeling as if there was a hot plate right under me, so I went to get water. Gapa was asleep. I came back to bed and heard a tapping sound, thought maybe Gapa was knocking on the door. I opened it, and he was still sleeping. Confused and sleepy, I lay down to sleep and after a lot of tossing and turning and hearing things, I slept. The air seemed rarer too, and it was stuffy and hard to breathe.
Piece together the story.
We all woke up, and Gapa usurped my spot on the bed while I went to brush and change. My nose was slightly bleeding from the effort of having breathed all night. He hadn't been able to sleep properly on the couch outside. Ashlene also hadn't slept well, and apparently had heard a keyboard-tapping kind of sound all night, and was aware of me waking up and she also tossed and turned a lot like me. We kind of creeped out at that, because the typing sound could easily have been tapping, which is what I thought was knocking. Creepy room!
Moving on: Ashlene and I went and had tea and breakfast while Gapa was in the shower. We also found out that there was a ski slope (still) open close by, so we decided to go skiing instead of sightseeing, as somewhat planned the previous day. We asked for an extension, to check out of the room at 1pm instead of at 11am, and we got it! :)
Mammoth mountain.
After a lot of waiting, bad timing and slight irritability, we ended up driving to Mammoth Mountain where we were told the ski slopes were. It being 4th July and Independence day in America, they'd celebratorily (is that even a word?) kept the slope open on this (last) day. Except, we ended up going to the opposite side of the mountain which was a hiking trail. We walked around there for a while though, and took some pictures. We also saw a lot of people there with some BEAUTIFUL dogs. Man, furry, thick coated beautiful dogs that were frisking around in the snow and ice cold lake :) Lovely!!
So we asked a hiker, and he told us the ski slopes were on the other side of the mountain. To the other side of the mountain we went.
Skiing.
The place was PACKED! Lots of cars parked, and there were a lot of people. We could see the ski slopes and the ski lifts, and we could see people skiing on the ski slopes. We got excited. When we finally got to the correct building, Gapa was already saying that this was taking far too long and maybe it would've been better to just go sightseeing. But!:) When we got there, we bought our 1 hour ski training time and picked up our equipment. Ski boots are SO very heavy! I felt like I was walking on the moon!! We took all our gear - skis, ski poles, helmets. I had come armed with a big fleece jacket and gloves, and I wore them, but it was SO hot, even in the snow, that I wish I'd just worn regular clothes. Excitement ran high.
We walked out to the place where we were told our instructor would meet us, and where a big snow mobile was apparently going to be waiting for us, but we walked around a lot without finding anyone (again, service in India is so much better!) for a while, and then finally our instructor found us.
Oh boy ! :)
We went in the snow mobile to the top of the slope, where she gave us our first lesson. To stop, push your heels out so that your toes are closer together. Did that, put on our skis, and we were going down the slope ! I picked up speed, turned instead of stopping, and almost ran off the slope so I tried something else to stop myself and ended up on the ground - first fall of about 5 - 6 falls :) Man, what a rush though! I picked it up pretty quickly, and so did Gapa. Ashlene was a little stuck. Gapa and I went all the way down the slope and then we hiked back up with our skis. Lol, apparently the snow mobile would've picked us up.
Again, all the way down the slope we went, and this time I fell only a couple of times. It was so much fun! I was so happy to have gotten the hang of it! :) It was great!
Last slope up, the snow mobile took us higher up, and we came all the way down the slope, and I didn't fall at all! :) I had asked a random other woman who was standing at the bottom of the slope to take a video, and she got us in the video! :) So cool it was. I wasn't speeding down the slope or anything, but I got the hang of it!!:) Funnnnnn!
I fell twice on the way back to the ski equipment rental area! :| With a lot of effort, I took my stuff back up to the rental, and then we returned the shoes, skis, helmets etc. and got our stuff back (it was in the locker). Good fun! :)
Rush.
We rushed back to the hotel because we had almost reached check out time, and well, we didn't want to pay for an extra day. In a rush, we had showers, and we checked out quickly. We then went and ate some food (at Pita Pit which is like Subway, except with Pita bread), and ended up starting to head back only at about 2pm.
Speeding.
I decided to sleep in the car and take over from Gapa after a bit. I woke up in time to see him getting pulled up by the Highway Patrol cop car for speeding! :) Haha, fun experience. Although slightly scary and definitely not fun for Gapa.
I took over from him shortly after.
Driving, driving, driving.
I drove for nearly 5 hours after that, before passing the wheel back to Gapa. Driving is so enjoyable here!!!! No one breaks the rules, everyone is good on the roads, and the roads itself are SO good! :) Man, it was a lot of fun! And the views were oh-so-beautiful that we kept stopping to take pictures, and from one frame to the next, I wasn't able to catch my breath from it having been taken away each time!
We were approaching Santa Clara, when we turned on the radio and the RJ announced that there were going to be 4th July celebration fireworks in SF. So we decided to change course, and instead make way to Berkley Marina to watch the fireworks. We went there full speed (we were afraid Gapa might get another ticket :P) and we made it to the Berkley bridge 15 minutes before fireworks. The rest of the traffic was also going just as fast, so we weren't the only ones going super fast :D Unfortunately though, the exit we had to take was closed, and we ended up stuck in crazy traffic on the top of the flyover. And our phones had also died one by one, so we were not able to get directions, so we just randomly took the Albany (?) exit, and drove off the bridge. We parked on the side and took out Gapa's laptop, to which we hooked up Ashlene's Nexus so we were not directionless anymore :)
Fireworks.
We started to drive back to Santa Clara and on the way, we saw a car stop on the side to get a faraway view of the Berkley Marina fireworks. So did we, and then another car, and another car, and another car, until there was a line of cars there watching the fireworks. It was pretty, and nice to see the sky lit up like that. And then we started to drive. The hourlong drive took us past at least 10 other firework displays! :)
In-N-Out burger.
We drove straight to In-N-Out, and I had my first authentic American burger. It was good :) We drove back to my corp apartment.
New Roommate.
As soon as we walked in, the new roommate, Sophie, walked out of her room (my old room), and she said hi and spoke to us for a couple of minutes. She seemed nice. Ashlene, Gapa and I all just changed, brushed, put our things away and went to sleep! :)
68
Lake Tahoe morning.
We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel (for free) and I had beef flavoured Top Ramen noodles!! :) The helper guy there started hitting on me, telling me how to make the Top Ramen. At first I thought he was just being friendly, but he kept coming to where I was sitting and asking if I was ok. It was really funny! :D
After we'd satisfied our abdomenal halves, we went kayaking on the lake. It was VERY hot, and we all felt the sun burn into our skin, but it was good fun. Ashlene and Gapa went on the double kayak and I went on the single kayak. They were going all over the place, but by the end of the hour, they were fairly coordinated. (I remembered my first ocean kayaking experience in the Andamans - on the double kayak and I got so annoyed :P) We got quite wet too, at first the water was icy cold on the skin, but we got used to it after a while. We met a few ducks that were swimming gracefully on the water, and they went onto the shore so easily! I just stopped rowing and stared at them for the longest time. Two laps we did, and I raced Ashlene and Gapa on a half-lap when we "competed" hehe. The last half-lap though, I just chilled out and looked at the beautiful view. No pictures of kayaking - I didn't take the camera because I was afraid it would get wet! We didn't go jet skiing in the end though, because it was too expensive and we were running out of time (check out - 11am).
We went back, checked out, ate some food and then left for Yosemite at a little after 12pm.
Yosemite (more like, Mammoth).
The roads were LOVELY and the views were simply breathtaking along the drive. We passed a serene lake, and it was so beautiful, I have no words! I ended up going to sleep part way though, because I was tired from all the rowing. We drove for about 4 hours, and reached our hotel at 4pm. The place was FANCY! The Village Lodge it was called. It was in a place called Mammoth, just outside Yosemite. The room was like our corporate guest house apartment - there was a kitchen, fancy bathroom, a fireplace, a balcony and a really fancy hall again. We were hungry after the drive, and the first thing we saw were chocolates laid out nicely on the kitchen range. CHARGEABLE. And the bathroom had some really nice body wash and shampoo. CHARGEABLE. And there were extra pillows, towels and bath robes in the cupboard in the room. CHARGEABLE! (What's wrong with the place, right?) Evil, to tempt us like that and charge us exorbitantly for everything! :(
We were too late to go into the Yosemite national park area and do any sightseeing in the evening, so we decided to go with the events list that the hotel had. Since it was the eve if 4th July, there were going to be fireworks. Also some movie screening and a concert, it said. Since the restaurant was fancy, it had these extensions into restaurants and basically a tourist village where all these events were happening.
First things first, we showered, planned the next day somewhat, and then headed out to eat. The place was quite crowded, and we had to wait to get a table. I ate a LOT of food, and we got some draft beer that was really really good!
When we finished eating, we started walking around, and happened to walk into a concert (only later realising that it was the concert listed in our events list). The band playing was called the Boneshakers, and they were good! Very groovy blues-jzzz-swing type music. I enjoyed it and wanted to buy their CD, but they had fireworks after, and the place was really packed, so I ended up not buying it.
After the concert, we all went to this bar and drank a little. It was good fun, sitting at the bar and talking to the bartender. Felt very movie-ish :) It was fun, and we went back feeling happy!
Made sleeping arrangements and slept.
We woke up and had breakfast at the hotel (for free) and I had beef flavoured Top Ramen noodles!! :) The helper guy there started hitting on me, telling me how to make the Top Ramen. At first I thought he was just being friendly, but he kept coming to where I was sitting and asking if I was ok. It was really funny! :D
After we'd satisfied our abdomenal halves, we went kayaking on the lake. It was VERY hot, and we all felt the sun burn into our skin, but it was good fun. Ashlene and Gapa went on the double kayak and I went on the single kayak. They were going all over the place, but by the end of the hour, they were fairly coordinated. (I remembered my first ocean kayaking experience in the Andamans - on the double kayak and I got so annoyed :P) We got quite wet too, at first the water was icy cold on the skin, but we got used to it after a while. We met a few ducks that were swimming gracefully on the water, and they went onto the shore so easily! I just stopped rowing and stared at them for the longest time. Two laps we did, and I raced Ashlene and Gapa on a half-lap when we "competed" hehe. The last half-lap though, I just chilled out and looked at the beautiful view. No pictures of kayaking - I didn't take the camera because I was afraid it would get wet! We didn't go jet skiing in the end though, because it was too expensive and we were running out of time (check out - 11am).
We went back, checked out, ate some food and then left for Yosemite at a little after 12pm.
Yosemite (more like, Mammoth).
The roads were LOVELY and the views were simply breathtaking along the drive. We passed a serene lake, and it was so beautiful, I have no words! I ended up going to sleep part way though, because I was tired from all the rowing. We drove for about 4 hours, and reached our hotel at 4pm. The place was FANCY! The Village Lodge it was called. It was in a place called Mammoth, just outside Yosemite. The room was like our corporate guest house apartment - there was a kitchen, fancy bathroom, a fireplace, a balcony and a really fancy hall again. We were hungry after the drive, and the first thing we saw were chocolates laid out nicely on the kitchen range. CHARGEABLE. And the bathroom had some really nice body wash and shampoo. CHARGEABLE. And there were extra pillows, towels and bath robes in the cupboard in the room. CHARGEABLE! (What's wrong with the place, right?) Evil, to tempt us like that and charge us exorbitantly for everything! :(
We were too late to go into the Yosemite national park area and do any sightseeing in the evening, so we decided to go with the events list that the hotel had. Since it was the eve if 4th July, there were going to be fireworks. Also some movie screening and a concert, it said. Since the restaurant was fancy, it had these extensions into restaurants and basically a tourist village where all these events were happening.
First things first, we showered, planned the next day somewhat, and then headed out to eat. The place was quite crowded, and we had to wait to get a table. I ate a LOT of food, and we got some draft beer that was really really good!
When we finished eating, we started walking around, and happened to walk into a concert (only later realising that it was the concert listed in our events list). The band playing was called the Boneshakers, and they were good! Very groovy blues-jzzz-swing type music. I enjoyed it and wanted to buy their CD, but they had fireworks after, and the place was really packed, so I ended up not buying it.
After the concert, we all went to this bar and drank a little. It was good fun, sitting at the bar and talking to the bartender. Felt very movie-ish :) It was fun, and we went back feeling happy!
Made sleeping arrangements and slept.
69
Lake Tahoe.
Ashlene, Gapa and I ended up leaving for lake Tahoe at 8.30am (haha, didn't you see that coming?) instead of at 6am as planned, and we reached our hotel by 1.30pm. I drove part of the way!! :) It was the last 39 miles, but it still counts as my first US on-the-highway drive. And I didn't screw up! Wheeeeee! :)
On reaching Best Tahoe West Inn, we were pointed to (literally) the building where our room was, and we even got lost looking for it - customer service here just isn't like customer service in India! We'd have had a bell boy carry all our stuff right up till the room. But, when we got to the room and had taken all our stuff up, we were happy to see a nice big room with 2 big beds, although just one bathroom. We did fine though, no one fought over bathroom-time! :D We also had a small balcony in the room. Pleasant :)
We walked to a Baja Fresh for lunch, and until my stomach saw food, I was incredibly irritable. But I had a massive burrito and then I was ok. And, all our packing was (stupidly) very out-of-place, because Tahoe, even though on a high altitude, was HOT! I know, eep! moment happened. It was totally beach weather, except without the humidity. So while everyone on the road was in minimal clothing (read bikinis, shorts, etc.), the three of us were thinking about how we've come loaded with 2 jackets each! :| We actually considered buying a sundress or something of that sort, but we didn't do that in the end. Stuff there is expensive too! But then it all worked out - Ashlene had something sleeveless, and I found a spagetti top that I'd packed to make layers in the cold. (Lol!) Gapa found shorts.
Anyway, after we'd eaten, we chilled in the room for a bit and then rented bikes and headed out.
Lake Tahoe is lovely, very scenic. Lots of pretty birds around, and a lot of activity on the streets. People walking around, shopping and so on. Many tourists. We cycled to the lakeside beach (for which we needed a beach pass, and needed to head back to the hotel to get it). Ashlene and I experienced Gapa's total lack of a sense of direction, because he wasn't able to figure out how to go back. Hehe, we got back with a pass in the end. The lake is MASSIVE, so it almost looks like an ocean, and you can't see the other side. And all along the edge of it you see pine trees, and in the background, snow capped mountains. Imagine those sets of landscapes put together right - beach and snow-capped mountain? The beach I think is manmade though. Soooo pretty! The water was ice cold and after a point from the shore, 1600 feet deep. :O
The three of us chilled out (NOT! We were the warmest dressed there!) near the water, taking photos, checking out the scenery and people and making plans for the next day. We then went to a lakeside view restaurant and had Sangria and a Mediterranean platter. There was a live music there too, this guy was singing and playing guitar. It was nice and peaceful, each of us were pretty much to our own thoughts, talking every now and again, and otherwise staring into the lake far ahead.
Then we biked. Biked randomly all around the town. It was a whole lot of fun! Hadn't biked in a long time, and my legs were aching a little by the end of the day. Also, the air is rarer there, so breathing got a little strenuous after the physical exertion. But, geared bikes are less taxing on the legs, mostly because you can control the strain while pedaling.. sort of. :)
We returned the bikes, and although all the driving and biking had us tired, we stepped out for dinner. We went to a place called Heavenly Village which was across the California state border - just 1 road away. So basically I can stand in the middle of the road, and be on the border - have Nevada on one side, and California on the other. :) We ate at a restaurant that had lots of fires going, and random groups sitting around it to eat, so we were around a fire, eating with a lot of people we didn't know. Of course, you don't need to talk to them. :D Then we got ice cream and drove back to the hotel. By this time, we were quite beat, so we all just slept. During the course of the day, we'd also planned out what to do the next day - go to the lake in the morning to jet ski and kayak before driving to Yosemite.
Ashlene, Gapa and I ended up leaving for lake Tahoe at 8.30am (haha, didn't you see that coming?) instead of at 6am as planned, and we reached our hotel by 1.30pm. I drove part of the way!! :) It was the last 39 miles, but it still counts as my first US on-the-highway drive. And I didn't screw up! Wheeeeee! :)
On reaching Best Tahoe West Inn, we were pointed to (literally) the building where our room was, and we even got lost looking for it - customer service here just isn't like customer service in India! We'd have had a bell boy carry all our stuff right up till the room. But, when we got to the room and had taken all our stuff up, we were happy to see a nice big room with 2 big beds, although just one bathroom. We did fine though, no one fought over bathroom-time! :D We also had a small balcony in the room. Pleasant :)
We walked to a Baja Fresh for lunch, and until my stomach saw food, I was incredibly irritable. But I had a massive burrito and then I was ok. And, all our packing was (stupidly) very out-of-place, because Tahoe, even though on a high altitude, was HOT! I know, eep! moment happened. It was totally beach weather, except without the humidity. So while everyone on the road was in minimal clothing (read bikinis, shorts, etc.), the three of us were thinking about how we've come loaded with 2 jackets each! :| We actually considered buying a sundress or something of that sort, but we didn't do that in the end. Stuff there is expensive too! But then it all worked out - Ashlene had something sleeveless, and I found a spagetti top that I'd packed to make layers in the cold. (Lol!) Gapa found shorts.
Anyway, after we'd eaten, we chilled in the room for a bit and then rented bikes and headed out.
Lake Tahoe is lovely, very scenic. Lots of pretty birds around, and a lot of activity on the streets. People walking around, shopping and so on. Many tourists. We cycled to the lakeside beach (for which we needed a beach pass, and needed to head back to the hotel to get it). Ashlene and I experienced Gapa's total lack of a sense of direction, because he wasn't able to figure out how to go back. Hehe, we got back with a pass in the end. The lake is MASSIVE, so it almost looks like an ocean, and you can't see the other side. And all along the edge of it you see pine trees, and in the background, snow capped mountains. Imagine those sets of landscapes put together right - beach and snow-capped mountain? The beach I think is manmade though. Soooo pretty! The water was ice cold and after a point from the shore, 1600 feet deep. :O
The three of us chilled out (NOT! We were the warmest dressed there!) near the water, taking photos, checking out the scenery and people and making plans for the next day. We then went to a lakeside view restaurant and had Sangria and a Mediterranean platter. There was a live music there too, this guy was singing and playing guitar. It was nice and peaceful, each of us were pretty much to our own thoughts, talking every now and again, and otherwise staring into the lake far ahead.
Then we biked. Biked randomly all around the town. It was a whole lot of fun! Hadn't biked in a long time, and my legs were aching a little by the end of the day. Also, the air is rarer there, so breathing got a little strenuous after the physical exertion. But, geared bikes are less taxing on the legs, mostly because you can control the strain while pedaling.. sort of. :)
We returned the bikes, and although all the driving and biking had us tired, we stepped out for dinner. We went to a place called Heavenly Village which was across the California state border - just 1 road away. So basically I can stand in the middle of the road, and be on the border - have Nevada on one side, and California on the other. :) We ate at a restaurant that had lots of fires going, and random groups sitting around it to eat, so we were around a fire, eating with a lot of people we didn't know. Of course, you don't need to talk to them. :D Then we got ice cream and drove back to the hotel. By this time, we were quite beat, so we all just slept. During the course of the day, we'd also planned out what to do the next day - go to the lake in the morning to jet ski and kayak before driving to Yosemite.
Saturday, July 2, 2011
70
Long day.
The day started off on a great note. First thing I did was read an email which informed me that I'd been given a peer bonus from one of the teams here, in Mountain View! :) Such a good feeling! I spoke to everyone at home, and things sound great, so it was a nice feeling.
I had a few meetings during the day, I met Rahul and Alex for lunch at Google, I said bye to Amir once again post lunch, and then got back to work. I worked like a crazed dog all day, but I still ended up working until midnight. With a chat break and a dinner break in the middle. The chat break was with Navin Rao, who's finally done with his Dublin trip, and was in Mountain View for just a couple of days. It was really great to meet him and talk to him! :) Some familiar faces are just so good to see! :) Also, Saikat is leaving tomorrow, and it was his last day at the Mountain View office today. :(
Dinner, packing and some.
I went to dinner with Gapa to a Mediterranean place on Castro street, and had really good food! Then we picked up Ashlene, and we came back home. I spoke to Mrin for a while in the car. She's planning her trip here, so I'm all excited ! :)
Anyway, we came back, realised that something with the weekend trip booking was wrong and corrected it, finished working and packing, and talking to Pa and Sas and Mrin, and now I have just 3 hours of sleep to go before the trip, so I am going to crash now.
P.S. - I may not be able to update this often this weekend since I'm going to be in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite :) Byeee!
P.P.S. - I got an email from the corporate housing people, and I switched rooms today too! :)
The day started off on a great note. First thing I did was read an email which informed me that I'd been given a peer bonus from one of the teams here, in Mountain View! :) Such a good feeling! I spoke to everyone at home, and things sound great, so it was a nice feeling.
I had a few meetings during the day, I met Rahul and Alex for lunch at Google, I said bye to Amir once again post lunch, and then got back to work. I worked like a crazed dog all day, but I still ended up working until midnight. With a chat break and a dinner break in the middle. The chat break was with Navin Rao, who's finally done with his Dublin trip, and was in Mountain View for just a couple of days. It was really great to meet him and talk to him! :) Some familiar faces are just so good to see! :) Also, Saikat is leaving tomorrow, and it was his last day at the Mountain View office today. :(
Dinner, packing and some.
I went to dinner with Gapa to a Mediterranean place on Castro street, and had really good food! Then we picked up Ashlene, and we came back home. I spoke to Mrin for a while in the car. She's planning her trip here, so I'm all excited ! :)
Anyway, we came back, realised that something with the weekend trip booking was wrong and corrected it, finished working and packing, and talking to Pa and Sas and Mrin, and now I have just 3 hours of sleep to go before the trip, so I am going to crash now.
P.S. - I may not be able to update this often this weekend since I'm going to be in Lake Tahoe and Yosemite :) Byeee!
P.P.S. - I got an email from the corporate housing people, and I switched rooms today too! :)
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