Sunil came here early in the morning with his luggage, left it here and then we took a cab to the SF office. We had breakfast there and then I took the 9.40am shuttle out to Mountain View.
I got lots of work done in the morning. I had to sit with Andrew to get a whole load of complex Analytics questions answered, and it took an hour! Some more work later, I got lunch with Pratt, Rahul and this girl called Tina who I'm meeting for the first time, but has been in Google for as long as I have. Post lunch, Rahul and I got chai and gave a lot of attention to the dogs near the shoreline. I came back, had a meeting with Rohit and then I was back at the technical team's side to have my questions answered. Paul (not my gay friend, another Paul) was there with his Huskie.
I left work early because Sunil's stuff was at my apartment and he needed to repack and leave from here. We stepped out for dinner - to Amici's pizza at King's and 4th and joined Harini and Karthik, It was a fun dinner, but I lost one of my favourite earrings :( :( :( It started raining while we were at dinner, and I hunted for it in the rain as well and I didn't find it :( Boo hoo!
Sunil and I came back to my apartment, and while Sunil re-packed, I did my laundry and oiled my hair. Sunil left at about 10.30 and then I went to sleep.
Wednesday, April 11, 2012
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Day 22: Talking to Family
I woke up tired, and I considered going to the SF office, but Tayler was in Mountain View after who knows how long, and I went to MTV instead, just making it to the last shuttle. I caught up with Tayler for half an hour during the day, but the rest of the time there were so many urgent requests that I stuck to my desk - including eating my lunch at my desk.
At 6pm, Sunil and I went to the Google store where I bought a Google wallet! :) And then we had dinner at Charlie's. Sunil had to go back and pack because he's going to fly out tomorrow. The plan was that he'd check out and leave his luggage at my apartment before leaving as well.
Sunny didn't come over today, and it just feels really empty and quiet. I miss her. I was working too, and nearly finished my work when I skyped with family!
Skype.
I use Skype on my phone because I can't download it onto my laptop - since it's not 'work related'. I skyped for the longest time with Anishaa with glimpses of Ma, and then with father. It was so great to talk to them! :) I miss home :(
Real tired now, sleeping.
At 6pm, Sunil and I went to the Google store where I bought a Google wallet! :) And then we had dinner at Charlie's. Sunil had to go back and pack because he's going to fly out tomorrow. The plan was that he'd check out and leave his luggage at my apartment before leaving as well.
Sunny didn't come over today, and it just feels really empty and quiet. I miss her. I was working too, and nearly finished my work when I skyped with family!
Skype.
I use Skype on my phone because I can't download it onto my laptop - since it's not 'work related'. I skyped for the longest time with Anishaa with glimpses of Ma, and then with father. It was so great to talk to them! :) I miss home :(
Real tired now, sleeping.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Day 21: Moving Day
I woke up at 10am (considering I'd slept so late), and by habit, checked email on my phone as soon as I was awake, and I saw the email that mentioned I had to move out on this day. I had to check out by 11am! Aaaah !
I was living out of a suitcase anyhow, so it didn't take much time to get packed. Sunny got all her stuff together too, and we were both ready to head out by 11. Sunil also came by (to have breakfast with us) and ended up helping us move all the luggage to the new apartment. Sunny put her stuff in her car and shifted it to her friend John's place.
When Sunil and I went to the new apartment, we found out that they'd left the keys to the new apartment at my old apartment. So confusing! So I took the master key, put my stuff up, left the master key at the desk again and then went back to the old apartment to pick up my keys. All of this time, Sunil and I were DYING of hunger.
We went to the Ferry building to a brunch place, and had a ton of food! With mimosas, which weren't too great. Post eating, I felt a bit sick. :|
Then Sunil had some shopping to do and I hopped along and did a teeny bit of buying too. We were at Old Navy where Sunny joined us.
Coit Towers.
We went to Coit towers from the Old Navy store on Market street - by tram! When we got there, we had to climb 300 odd steps to get to the sightseeing point, and the stairs were through these lush gardens and unbelievably pretty sights. It took my breath away - literally, because those steps were also really steep! Sunil had a hard time getting to the top, and he took lots of rest stops. As soon as I got to the top, I needed to pee so I went and peed in this most disgusting public toilet. Then Sunil and I went up the actual tower while Sunny waited outside because she's already been there multiple times. It took us about forty minutes to go to the top and then come down, it was so crowded! The view from that point was literally a 360 degree view. - it was nice, but I'm not sure it was worth that long wait. Unfortunately though, I was missing my Canon :( I took pictures on the phone anyway.
North Beach and China town.
Then we all walked to North Beach, walked through China town and eventually to my old apartment, where Sunny had parked her car. Vishruth called me then, and I spoke to him! :) Nice to talk to him. We went to my apartment, and while Sunny got dressed for a date, Sunil and I went to Safeway to pick up a bunch of things. We were at the ATM outside the store when Sunny joined us, and we walked to this Irish-pub place. Sunny left for her date and Sunil and I had dinner and since she was still with her date after, we went back to our respective apartments. Sunny came back not long after. We talked about her date before tiredness took over and I fell asleep.
I was living out of a suitcase anyhow, so it didn't take much time to get packed. Sunny got all her stuff together too, and we were both ready to head out by 11. Sunil also came by (to have breakfast with us) and ended up helping us move all the luggage to the new apartment. Sunny put her stuff in her car and shifted it to her friend John's place.
When Sunil and I went to the new apartment, we found out that they'd left the keys to the new apartment at my old apartment. So confusing! So I took the master key, put my stuff up, left the master key at the desk again and then went back to the old apartment to pick up my keys. All of this time, Sunil and I were DYING of hunger.
We went to the Ferry building to a brunch place, and had a ton of food! With mimosas, which weren't too great. Post eating, I felt a bit sick. :|
Then Sunil had some shopping to do and I hopped along and did a teeny bit of buying too. We were at Old Navy where Sunny joined us.
Coit Towers.
We went to Coit towers from the Old Navy store on Market street - by tram! When we got there, we had to climb 300 odd steps to get to the sightseeing point, and the stairs were through these lush gardens and unbelievably pretty sights. It took my breath away - literally, because those steps were also really steep! Sunil had a hard time getting to the top, and he took lots of rest stops. As soon as I got to the top, I needed to pee so I went and peed in this most disgusting public toilet. Then Sunil and I went up the actual tower while Sunny waited outside because she's already been there multiple times. It took us about forty minutes to go to the top and then come down, it was so crowded! The view from that point was literally a 360 degree view. - it was nice, but I'm not sure it was worth that long wait. Unfortunately though, I was missing my Canon :( I took pictures on the phone anyway.
North Beach and China town.
Then we all walked to North Beach, walked through China town and eventually to my old apartment, where Sunny had parked her car. Vishruth called me then, and I spoke to him! :) Nice to talk to him. We went to my apartment, and while Sunny got dressed for a date, Sunil and I went to Safeway to pick up a bunch of things. We were at the ATM outside the store when Sunny joined us, and we walked to this Irish-pub place. Sunny left for her date and Sunil and I had dinner and since she was still with her date after, we went back to our respective apartments. Sunny came back not long after. We talked about her date before tiredness took over and I fell asleep.
Day 20: Japan Town
I woke up to Sas's call, and saw that it was raining. So hiking plans went for a toss! I called Jieun and coordinated with James to meet for brunch instead.
And then, something happened that made my day! Sas had sent a video-tour of our new house, and it was SO awesome ! Aaaaah I can't wait to go there! :)
Sunny and I got ready, Sunil came over and we took the bus to this place called Sweet Maple. Jieun was already there and James and his friend Anna joined us there. We waited, hungry, for a table for an hour! :O But I gotta say - food was TOTALLY worth it! Oh man, I ate so much - 2 pancakes with berries and cream, 2 poached eggs and 2 strips of millionaire's bacon. Oh man, I stuffed my face. James, Anna and Jieun, who'd not seen me eat that way before were pretty surprised. It was a really fun brunch. Even more fun was our conversation - since all of us are originally from different countries, and/or have travelled lots, we were talking about that, and it was so much fun to even learn from another person's experience in a different country! Nice it was.
And then we got out of the restaurant, and it wasn't raining anymore. In fact - it was a BEAUTIFUL day! Considering our plan had been to go hiking, we all talked about it, looked down at our shoes, and decided against it. Instead, we decided to all go do touristy things! So off we went to Japan Town.
Japan town.
Is fascinating! We checked out stores that had EVERYTHING, and all for cheap. Boy, do the Japanese folks know how to create demand!! :D I bought a few things too, so their marketing strategy worked! We walked around, looked around, talked, laughed, took some pictures. It was fun. By 4.00pm, Jieun left, and then another stationery shop later, the rest of us decided to call it a day. James and Anna dropped us to Market street, and Sunny, Sunil and I went to Old Navy because Sunil wanted to buy some stuff for Bon. I bought a couple of things too, eep! :| Sunil also checked out a Ray Ban store, but didn't buy anything ...yet.
I was supposed to have met Abhay and Natasha for dinner at 5.30-6 but since Natasha had left SF that morning, I was going to meet juts Abhay and have Sunil and Sunny join us. I stayed out till around 6, hoping to catch Abhay, eat and then go back home to work on the invitations, but Abhay delayed and delayed, and I didn't want to just wait for him to show up, so we were back at home by around 6ish. It started raining heavily, and Sunny, Sunil and I decided to just call in for dinner rather than go out in the miserable rain. Abhay called then, from halfway to my apartment and said he'd be further delayed - so I told him I had something else to do, and that I can't step out for dinner, but the rest of us were ordering in so he could join since he was already halfway here. He came by and we ordered pizza that they wouldn't deliver, so we had to go pick it up. Sunny was getting ready to head out, so she told me to take the car and pick up the pizzas since I could drive it. But I was already online with Sas for the invitations, so I told Sunny to go pick it up. She and Sunil went, and they were mislead by Google maps, so what should've taken 10 minutes, took 40. We may as well have ordered in and waited. Ah well.
The food was good, and we were watching some movies on TV - The Fog (bad movie, but it had Tom Welling in it!! Ooooooooh!) and another sad movie about cancer patients, that had Cameron Diaz in it. I got back to work after that, and while Sunny was out, and till beyond after she came back and went to sleep, I was at work sending out the invites, because Sas and I had decided to send them out by 1st April! :D
I slept at 5.00am.
And then, something happened that made my day! Sas had sent a video-tour of our new house, and it was SO awesome ! Aaaaah I can't wait to go there! :)
Sunny and I got ready, Sunil came over and we took the bus to this place called Sweet Maple. Jieun was already there and James and his friend Anna joined us there. We waited, hungry, for a table for an hour! :O But I gotta say - food was TOTALLY worth it! Oh man, I ate so much - 2 pancakes with berries and cream, 2 poached eggs and 2 strips of millionaire's bacon. Oh man, I stuffed my face. James, Anna and Jieun, who'd not seen me eat that way before were pretty surprised. It was a really fun brunch. Even more fun was our conversation - since all of us are originally from different countries, and/or have travelled lots, we were talking about that, and it was so much fun to even learn from another person's experience in a different country! Nice it was.
And then we got out of the restaurant, and it wasn't raining anymore. In fact - it was a BEAUTIFUL day! Considering our plan had been to go hiking, we all talked about it, looked down at our shoes, and decided against it. Instead, we decided to all go do touristy things! So off we went to Japan Town.
Japan town.
Is fascinating! We checked out stores that had EVERYTHING, and all for cheap. Boy, do the Japanese folks know how to create demand!! :D I bought a few things too, so their marketing strategy worked! We walked around, looked around, talked, laughed, took some pictures. It was fun. By 4.00pm, Jieun left, and then another stationery shop later, the rest of us decided to call it a day. James and Anna dropped us to Market street, and Sunny, Sunil and I went to Old Navy because Sunil wanted to buy some stuff for Bon. I bought a couple of things too, eep! :| Sunil also checked out a Ray Ban store, but didn't buy anything ...yet.
I was supposed to have met Abhay and Natasha for dinner at 5.30-6 but since Natasha had left SF that morning, I was going to meet juts Abhay and have Sunil and Sunny join us. I stayed out till around 6, hoping to catch Abhay, eat and then go back home to work on the invitations, but Abhay delayed and delayed, and I didn't want to just wait for him to show up, so we were back at home by around 6ish. It started raining heavily, and Sunny, Sunil and I decided to just call in for dinner rather than go out in the miserable rain. Abhay called then, from halfway to my apartment and said he'd be further delayed - so I told him I had something else to do, and that I can't step out for dinner, but the rest of us were ordering in so he could join since he was already halfway here. He came by and we ordered pizza that they wouldn't deliver, so we had to go pick it up. Sunny was getting ready to head out, so she told me to take the car and pick up the pizzas since I could drive it. But I was already online with Sas for the invitations, so I told Sunny to go pick it up. She and Sunil went, and they were mislead by Google maps, so what should've taken 10 minutes, took 40. We may as well have ordered in and waited. Ah well.
The food was good, and we were watching some movies on TV - The Fog (bad movie, but it had Tom Welling in it!! Ooooooooh!) and another sad movie about cancer patients, that had Cameron Diaz in it. I got back to work after that, and while Sunny was out, and till beyond after she came back and went to sleep, I was at work sending out the invites, because Sas and I had decided to send them out by 1st April! :D
I slept at 5.00am.
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Day 19: I Hate Fridays
Overall, when I'm working from the US, Fridays are long and hard! Mostly because I'm all by myself and taking care of all the work pre-weekend, and India doesn't take over. But this one was particularly distasteful.
I had a meeting where I was asked work-related questions, told to do things and not given enough information. Painful. I was again, very irritated with work. Things are super disorganized right now, and it made me grit my teeth ! I was working non-stop (no breaks at all) from lunch to 7pm even though I felt like I badly needed a break. Yes, I FINALLY closed the long, annoying work day at 7pm.
I got in touch with Rahul, who was making some plans for the weekend, and he (was still working) told me to go to the bowling alley. I met up with Sunil and we went to the opposite building (yes, encore to all the awesome things on the Google campus) and walked into the bowling alley to see Uma and Rohit Setia having a bowling match. Soon, Rahul came by and all 5 of us had a bowling match. Sunil won, I was second all the way to the last round, where Rahul beat me. Rohit was next and last was Uma. They left to get the shuttle while Sunil and I waited for Sunny. We were going to meet Rahul, Sriparna and Uma at SF for dinner and drinks and Castro street madness after.
Sunny drove back to office after all her chores in Mountain View, and we drove to SF. I spoke to Natasha (Iciri's sister), who was going to be leaving SF because she got a new job, and this evening was my last chance to see her before she left! So we coordinated with these guys too, and all of us went to this place on Sutter street for dinner. I met Natasha there for like 10 minutes - she was sitting with her friends already, so we sat at a different table and made a lot of noise. I'm sure Natasha got embarrassed ! :P
We ate lots, drank some, and we were all full and tired from the long workday. All of us except Uma though. He was still very keen on going to Castro, but the rest of us were all very tired, so we just went back and slept. Our plan for Saturday was also to go hiking, so we wanted to get all the rest possible !
Let's say the bowling and the dinner redeemed the Friday. :)
I had a meeting where I was asked work-related questions, told to do things and not given enough information. Painful. I was again, very irritated with work. Things are super disorganized right now, and it made me grit my teeth ! I was working non-stop (no breaks at all) from lunch to 7pm even though I felt like I badly needed a break. Yes, I FINALLY closed the long, annoying work day at 7pm.
I got in touch with Rahul, who was making some plans for the weekend, and he (was still working) told me to go to the bowling alley. I met up with Sunil and we went to the opposite building (yes, encore to all the awesome things on the Google campus) and walked into the bowling alley to see Uma and Rohit Setia having a bowling match. Soon, Rahul came by and all 5 of us had a bowling match. Sunil won, I was second all the way to the last round, where Rahul beat me. Rohit was next and last was Uma. They left to get the shuttle while Sunil and I waited for Sunny. We were going to meet Rahul, Sriparna and Uma at SF for dinner and drinks and Castro street madness after.
Sunny drove back to office after all her chores in Mountain View, and we drove to SF. I spoke to Natasha (Iciri's sister), who was going to be leaving SF because she got a new job, and this evening was my last chance to see her before she left! So we coordinated with these guys too, and all of us went to this place on Sutter street for dinner. I met Natasha there for like 10 minutes - she was sitting with her friends already, so we sat at a different table and made a lot of noise. I'm sure Natasha got embarrassed ! :P
We ate lots, drank some, and we were all full and tired from the long workday. All of us except Uma though. He was still very keen on going to Castro, but the rest of us were all very tired, so we just went back and slept. Our plan for Saturday was also to go hiking, so we wanted to get all the rest possible !
Let's say the bowling and the dinner redeemed the Friday. :)
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Day 18: The Lost Earring
The day was odd, I should say. I was in a weird delirious-ish state, but I was getting so much work done! The boy was sick and annoyed with me, and I missed an important meeting today, which was a bad thing :| It completely slipped my mind - which I feel terrible about. Also looks like my trip will be extended till end of April.
In the evening, I left office early - at 4.45pm (record-breaking stuff) and reached the apartment by 6pm. Sunil Rao also came back with me, and turns out he has an apartment in the same building! Cool coincidence! I went with him to Coach where he bought bags for himself and Bon, and then went with him to the Apple store (so pretty!) and he bought her an iPod. We both then went for a dinner of burgers - where lo and behold, we ran into Akshaya. Hyd Googlers are everywhere, and you bump into them everywhere, no matter what part of the world you're in, it seems like! Finished dinner and walked back home and I was online after. Sunny got back, again hungry and with no dinner in her stomach.
A bit of mailing, a bit of blogging, a bit of hanging around online like a jobless idiot, a bit of complaining to Sas and a bit of annoyance.
Time to sleep.
In the evening, I left office early - at 4.45pm (record-breaking stuff) and reached the apartment by 6pm. Sunil Rao also came back with me, and turns out he has an apartment in the same building! Cool coincidence! I went with him to Coach where he bought bags for himself and Bon, and then went with him to the Apple store (so pretty!) and he bought her an iPod. We both then went for a dinner of burgers - where lo and behold, we ran into Akshaya. Hyd Googlers are everywhere, and you bump into them everywhere, no matter what part of the world you're in, it seems like! Finished dinner and walked back home and I was online after. Sunny got back, again hungry and with no dinner in her stomach.
A bit of mailing, a bit of blogging, a bit of hanging around online like a jobless idiot, a bit of complaining to Sas and a bit of annoyance.
Time to sleep.
Day 17: Time for performance evaluation
It's that time of the year again when we all write feedback for each other in hopes that it will eventually pay off in a bump in the other person's rating (or a dip, depending on how your corporate-brain is inclined).
I had so many meetings today, but I met one interesting manager from the Chicago office. He was very passionate about everything he was saying, so I lean towards believing him. It was a short meeting though, and I'm sure I made a decent enough impression. I'm fairly good at work, as it happens! :)
Grand Can(not)yon.
We considered driving up to the Grand Canyon this weekend, but almost as soon as we considered it, we dropped the idea. Near-impossible.
Sunil Rao.
Anyhow, got lots of work done and then in the evening I finally met Sunil Rao who is in MTV too! Poor kid was stressed out and jetlagged. I had dinner with him and we waited for the longest time for our respective shuttles - but he missed his, so he called a cab and left. He'll be moving to SF tomorrow.
Came home to discover that the door was unlocked, and I got the shock of my life - I wondered if I'd left it open in the morning, which is HIGHLY unlikely. And I met my entire Hyd team! Which was so much fun. I told them the news. And in the middle of it, my new roommate walks in! He introduced himself in the middle. And then he vanished. So was solved the mystery of the unlocked door!
Sunny's here as well ! :)
Worked on the site for a bit, and now I'm SOOOOOOPER tired. Off to bed I go!
I had so many meetings today, but I met one interesting manager from the Chicago office. He was very passionate about everything he was saying, so I lean towards believing him. It was a short meeting though, and I'm sure I made a decent enough impression. I'm fairly good at work, as it happens! :)
Grand Can(not)yon.
We considered driving up to the Grand Canyon this weekend, but almost as soon as we considered it, we dropped the idea. Near-impossible.
Sunil Rao.
Anyhow, got lots of work done and then in the evening I finally met Sunil Rao who is in MTV too! Poor kid was stressed out and jetlagged. I had dinner with him and we waited for the longest time for our respective shuttles - but he missed his, so he called a cab and left. He'll be moving to SF tomorrow.
Came home to discover that the door was unlocked, and I got the shock of my life - I wondered if I'd left it open in the morning, which is HIGHLY unlikely. And I met my entire Hyd team! Which was so much fun. I told them the news. And in the middle of it, my new roommate walks in! He introduced himself in the middle. And then he vanished. So was solved the mystery of the unlocked door!
Sunny's here as well ! :)
Worked on the site for a bit, and now I'm SOOOOOOPER tired. Off to bed I go!
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