I just survived an accident :(

This incident...er...accident happened on September 6th @ 4:40 p.m. There were 3 lanes and I was driving on the extreme left lane. All of a sudden the car in front of me swerved to the right lane which surprised me and the next thing I saw something rolling down the road from the middle lane which is nothing unusual coz there have been instances when some plastic sheets/paper/ etc...gets strewn on the road.

I slowed down a bit and on closer examination of the rolling down object I realized that it was made of metal and it was huge. I imagined the worst if my car would have run over the object. I thought of changing the lane but the speed of the car and the fact that the road was a bit sloped meant that the object would have ended up in my lane anyway and I was right. I was 10 ft away from the rolling object when I quickly slammed the brakes and was just about to heave a sigh of relief when my car got hit from behind by another car. The impact was such that my car shook and I imagined the back of my car to be a mess. I got down from my car to assess the damage when the driver of the other car requested me to pull over. Luckily for my car, the bumper took the maximum impact along with one of the car exhaust. The vehicle behind me was badly damaged as can be seen in the pictures.

It's puzzling that even though there were two passengers in the car which hit my car, the airbags didn't get deployed.

We called the cops and the California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrived after an hour's delay and took down the details.

The driver of the car which hit my vehicle from behind was a middle aged guy who accepted his fault, profusely apologized to me and gave his insurance details. He was surprised that his car didn't stop even though he had applied the brakes and there was sufficient distance. He praised my vehicle as a well built car which withstood the impact of the crash. He said that it was his first accident in 35 years. I felt sorry for the guy but the fact is that I was not at fault and as the CHP officer stated that it's the California State Law when a car in the front stops, the car behind must come to a complete halt.

I am proud of my car and happy that I was not hurt in what could have been a life threatening accident but at the same time sad that my car which was nearing it's 2nd anniversary got hit :(

Lessons from this incident:
- Always wear seatbelts. They save lives.
- Keep a safe following distance while driving.

The wolf of the wall street

A new post for the new year :) The movie's tagline says it all "Naked women, Naked greed". The last movie directed by Martin Scorsese I had watched was "The Departed". It was beautifully made with excellent performances. I was expecting the same from "The Wolf of Wall Street" and the movie doesn't let you down. Based on a true story, Leonardo Di Caprio playing the character of Jordan Belfort slips effortlessly into the shoes and deserves an oscar nomination. Like the principal character, the movie was a roller coaster ride high on drugs.

What surprised me was the liberal dose of sex and expletives. Some women in the audience just got up and left. I guess it was too much even for them. As one of my friends had mentioned, the movie definitely isn't for family audiences rather I would suggest it's for mature audience :) (References: https://www.google.com/search?q=wolf+of+wall+street+images&)

The miracle thumb drive

Our fear about most of the electronic gadgets that we use is for example: What will happen if the cellphone or any device for that matter comes in contact with water? The best result one could hope in such situations is to get the device serviced and restore it to it's near original state or the worst one could imagine is to write the obituary of the device.

I have one such story to narrate. This is the story of my red coloured thumb drive. The drive had precious data saved on it. During my usual weekly routine of laundry when I came back to collect my clothes, I could hear some noise when taking out my clothes. On closer inspection of the dryer, I was shocked to see my thumb drive.

My mind went blank thinking about the precious data on the thumb drive. On reaching home, with a prayer on my lips when I plugged the thumb drive into my notebook pc and tried to access my file(s), much to my relief and delight the file(s) were still intact. I rubbed my eyes in disbelief considering the pounding the thumb drive took after being washed. It's nothing short of a miracle that the thumb drive managed to withstand the intense heat in the dryer. Truly it's a miracle thumb drive :)

D-Day

Kal Ho Na Ho, Nikhil Advani's debut movie as a Director gave him a lot of critical acclaim. It also remains one of my favorites. However as we all know when you exceed expectations with your debut movie be it as a director or an actor the bar is set that much higher for your next assignment. With Nikhil Advani whose major forte was movies with romance and a lot of family drama unfortunately from my view point it didn't work out. Movies like Chandni Chowk To China were slammed by the critics and was a disaster at the box office. I liked Patiala House which was a shade better.

Anyway coming to the point, what I mentioned above could have colored anyone's opinion about a particular director. As usual before going for a movie when I googled to see the reviews for D-day, the ratings were mixed. However what tickled my curiousity was Nikhil Advani directing a movie about India's dreaded gangster and the most wanted terrorist who is on Interpol's Red Corner Notice. So when I went to the watch the movie D-Day, the expectations were minimal.

I reached the theatre a bit late and was cursing myself for having missed the initial 5 minutes of the movie however when I settled in my seat, I realized that thankfully I didn't miss much.

The verdict? Nikhil Advani comes up with a winner. The movie didn't have a Salman Khan or an Aamir Khan to carry the movie on their shoulders. What works for the movie is the taut screenplay, editing, script, good casting and impressive performances by lead and supporting actors. The action scenes are credible, songs are situation specific and do not act as speedbreakers.

What caught my eye was the depiction of cities in Pakistan. Take for instance Karachi, while it's anybody's guess whether Pakistan would ever give permission to shoot a movie about their special guest, I was surprised to see in the film credits that most of the scenes were shot in Gujarat.

It's the familiar story of Inter Services Intelligence (Pakistan) and Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). This has been dealt with in the recent movie Ek Tha Tiger. What makes the D-day watchable is the director's ability to narrate the story without being overtly jingoistic. The movie depicts characters across both sides of the border, good and bad. Take for instance, the RAW chief Ashwini Rao (Nasser) who has his own intra-department rivalries to tackle or the Pakistani Army General Raza(A K Raina) who is not happy with the special treatment given to Goldman (Rishi Kapoor). The opponent i.e. ISI is shown to be extremely shrewd and ready to capitalize on the mistakes made by the RAW agents. Tension builds as the movie nears the 2nd half. You're virtually on the edge of your seat agonizing whether the mission would succeed or fail. The twist in the tale is in the climax.

Personally my view is that the movie belongs to Irrfan Khan (Wali Khan) and Rishi Kapoor (Goldman). Wali Khan is the RAW agent who has made Pakistan his home for the past 9 years. The movie shows Wali Khan's vulnerability when he is torn between the affection towards his family or the loyalty towards his country. Rishi Kapoor (funnily named Goldman) reprises his baddie role after his last outing as Rauf Lala in Agneepath. His was a strong negative character in the movie Agneepath and he betters it in the movie D-day playing the dreaded gangster. I have not seen the real Dawood but Rishi Kapoor's makeup and his mannerisms make him a close match to the dreaded gangster. I liked the dialogue "trigger keech mamla mat keech" translated in English "Pull the trigger but don't stretch the matter".

Nasser who is quite popular down south plays the role of RAW chief admirably and so does his counterpart A K Raina as General Raza. Other notable performances include Arjun Rampal (Captain Rudra Pratap Singh), Huma Qureshi (Zoya Rehman), Shruti Hassan (as Suraiya the prostitute with a golden heart), Aakash Daahiya( Aslam), Shriswara (Nafisa,Wali Khan's wife) and a host of other characters. The movie is replete with references to the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, 2001 Parliament attack and the 26/11 attacks. There is also comic relief when someone whispers in the Prime Minister's ear about the call from "Madam" (an obvious reference to Congress President Sonia Gandhi) which sent the audience into peals of laughter.

Stories about Dawood Ibrahim have long been the staple of media in India and Pakistan. It's been the dream of government, law enforcement/intelligence agencies in India to get their hands on Dawood but with not so encouraging or rather dismal results. This might be wishful thinking but our government should take a leaf out of this movie and end its hunt for the elusive treasure of gold...man...aka Dawood :)

(Image courtesy: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:D-DayPoster.jpg)

A weekend to remember...

It was a long weekend that I won't forget in a hurry. Monday being a holiday on the occasion of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday, I had planned a short trip to South Lake Tahoe just to see the snow.

I did remember the last time I made the trip to South Lake Tahoe however that was in summer. I found a parking spot for my car in the public parking lot. The weather then was clear and the lake was blue. It was a carnival like atmosphere with a music band playing.

Cut to the present, there was a chilly breeze blowing across and the steps towards the lake was covered with snow. Mom was a bit adventurous as she climbed down the frozen steps gingerly holding onto the railing however as she was about to get down the last step, she slipped and sprained her arm. Ditto with dad who slipped when trying to cross the road. The cold weather proved too much for them and we had to beat a hasty retreat after spending just an hour. What transpired then was something which I hadn't dreamt of. I went to the parking lot to find my car missing. What I did remember was that I had parked in front of a restaurant.

It left me feeling giddy and I started imagining the worst and berated myself for starting the new year on a bad note. On seeing the tow-away and no-parking signage(s) I started getting tense.I went inside the restaurant and inquired with the restaurant staff whether they had seen a car being towed away. They replied, they weren't sure but guided me by saying that there is a number for the towing agency behind the restaurant.

I called up the number and the lady on the phone asked me about the car make and the registration number to which I responded. She said that there is no such car with them. That made me even more tense. My parents were equally worried and mom was literally in tears. I then called up 911. The emergency operator asked me whether the car was stolen or towed away to which I replied I wasn't sure. She said that an officer was on the way.

My heart skipped a beat and I started wondering what happened to my brand new Nissan Altima if it was towed or how come the much vaunted intelligent key system couldn't stop the theft if it was stolen. Then somehow deep within, my instincts told me to walk further. By force of habit I always park my car with rear facing the front. As I started walking, I could see the alloy wheels and the white hood of my car and boy there was such a huge relief on my face. I immediately called 911 and informed the operator that I found my car. There was a big sigh of relief and also joy on our faces however next time I would make it sure that I park my car in a legally permitted spot and not take short cuts. Lesson learnt :) When I returned to work the next day and narrated my story at the team meeting, my boss and other team members couldn't stop laughing their hearts out :)

4 more years...

Rewind 4 years earlier...it was a historic occasion when Barack Hussein Obama swept to victory as the first african american President of the United States. Fast forward to November 6th 2012, Obama is once again the toast of the nation and the world by securing a second term.

When Obama began his first term as the President of the United States he symbolized hope and the harbinger of real change. He did accomplish some major success like his pet healthcare reform which mandates insurance for all americans, bailing out the auto industry which helped save 150000 jobs in Ohio and neutralizing the threat of Osama Bin Laden. However his first term also meant a lot of unkept promises like the closure of Guantanamo bay where terror suspects are held without trial. Personally I have been disappointed with the continuing tirade by Obama and his administration against outsourcing of jobs to countries like India and China.

Agreed that the unemployment rate is high and a weak economy isn't helping but making the villains out of countries like India and China isn't going to solve the problem. U.S must solve its fiscal deficit, avoid getting involved in unnecessary wars, refocus on education, reform immigration and encourage innovation.

Coming back to the election, Obama has mastered the art of getting the non-white voters and the women to strongly back him. Is there a lesson in this for the grand old republican party? For starters, the grand old party should take a leaf out of Obama's book and start focusing on the changing demographics. In the coming years, the United States will see a sharply rising demographic trend of ethnic minorities of african americans, hispanics, asians and of course young men and women. It's this ethnic bloc which has delivered the numbers for Obama.

The republican party which still banks on the dwindling white voter should seriously introspect and undergo a major overhaul if it really fancies itself of having another shot at capturing the white house. If it would have been someone else the 47% comment would have sunk their chances but Mitt Romney miraculously survived. Also comments from Romney's republican party contenders about rape didn't go down well with voters especially women. Romney's 47% comment sent a message to the voters that here was a person who belongs to the elite club and who didn't care about the poor and the marginalized sections of the society whereas the perception of Obama was that he was one of their own man in the white house who came up the hard way.

Honestly speaking Obama looked good because the opposition to him was weak. Obama was hardly in trouble except for the bounce which Romney gained after the first presidential debate. However Obama had the last laugh when he fought back tenaciously in the second and third debate.

Obama winning 332 of the 538 electoral votes is pretty impressive but he will also be mindful of the fact that it was a mere 1% difference in popular votes between him and Romney.

Congratulations to Obama for defying history and convention by winning the presidential election with an unemployment rate of 7.9% and beating all odds even though his republican rival had outspent him.However Obama is pretty much aware of the challenges that lie ahead due to the divided congress.

On a lighter note, I couldn't help but laugh seeing the animated cartoon of the democratic elephant and the republican donkey fighting each other on the comedy central channel. The elephant is so exhausted beating the crap out of the donkey that it's huffing and puffing for breath. In the end, both collapse to the floor :)

(Image courtesy: http://www.factmonster.com/ipka/A0881985.html) (Image courtesy:http://hotbedinfo.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Romney-Obama.jpg)
(References: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Americas-ethnic-makeover-routs-Mitt-Romney/articleshow/17135097.cms)

Ice and coffee

My limo experience

Ek Tha Tiger

Logic...now that's something you don't associate with a Salman Khan movie. Dabangg, Wanted, Ready, Bodyguard (the list is long...phew) ...if someone watched those movies, they will exactly know what I meant.

Ek Tha Tiger dares to be refreshingly different. Lo and behold we finally have a script or something closer to that in a Salman Khan movie. No pun intended :) Salman Khan plays the role of Tiger, a RAW (acronym for India's external Intelligence agency Research & Analysis Wing) agent. While not executing his missions across the world, tiger finds his relaxation in a middle class neighborhood in Delhi doing the regular chores like waking up in the morning to the doorbell from a milk vendor, inviting his boss over for a home made dinner and not to mention with his well toned body drawing oohs and aahs from the house wives much to the discomfort of their envious husbands.

Tiger meets his match in ISI agent Zoya (Katrina Kaif). The presence of Girish Karnad (after a long time) as Shenoy (head of RAW) and Ranvir Shorey (Gopi) as Salman's colleague is what lends gravitas to the movie. Shenoy's and Gopi's characters inject a touch of realism and some credibility to the story line.

Music by Sohail Sen and Sajid-Wajid is passable except for the penultimate song "Mashallah". What however deserves praise is the action scenes executed in overseas locations based in United Kingdom, Turkey and Cuba. Katrina who looks drop dread gorgeous gets to kick some ass and convincingly at that.

My memorable moments from the movie are when Shenoy says to Gopi "Duniya mein 201 desh hain aur use sirf Pakistan ki ladki se pyar hona tha" translated into English implies "out of 201 countries in the world you didn't get anyone else to fall in love other than one from Pakistan" or the scenes where in Tiger remembers his past missions when asked about questions regarding his marriage or his love for dogs.

The only disappointment with the movie is that it skims only the surface of the serious issues involved and doesn't take a stand. Anyways I guess it's too much to expect from a Salman movie :)

To sum it up this tiger doesn't belong to the wild, it belongs to somewhere else :)

(Image courtesy: http://media1.santabanta.com/full1/BollywoodMovies/EkThaTiger/ek-tha-tiger-6a.jpg)

Baseball & Cricket

Baseball

And mom makes history

It was a dream come true for me when Pramoda(my mother) arrived in the United States. Myself and my siblings owe much of the credit to mom's like Pramoda who have persevered and sacrificed the simple pleasures of life just to see that their children do well in life.

Spending my growing up years with her, I have come to respect mom for her intellect and wisdom. She is not perfect, does have her flaws as does every mom however she is an embodiment of compassion . The greyed strands of her hair, the wrinkles on her face and the vermillion on her forehead lend her a distinct aura.

I had titled this blog "And mom makes history", the reason being that hailing from a small village and her siblings of 6 sisters and a brother, nobody from her family had ever made a trip overseas. And also historic for the fact that mom was always dependent on us for travelling from our home to city or to our village. She travelled internationally for the first time without anyone accompanying her on a 26 hour long flight with 2 stops. Mom as a first time traveller was nervous and so were we.

However anxiety gave way to joy when I saw this frail person dressed in a saree anxiously looking forward to meeting her son. I was delighted and gave Pramoda a warm hug.

Speaking with limited or little English, Pramoda successfully reached her destination. Credit also goes to the helpful staff of Singapore Airlines.

As for Pramoda, Welcome to the United States :)

My worst moment !!

In the highs and lows of life sometimes we come across moments where we berate ourselves for doing something stupid and I blame the modern affliction of instant gratification for that. Now here's what happened. I was scouring the web for a mattress on Craig's list (www.craigslist.org) and then I thought I found a really good bargain. The ad was for a mattress with a bed frame and a set of wheels for $120 with a delivery at the door step option for an extra fee.

Now as the google caption says "I am feeling lucky", I thought that was a good deal. What I didn't realize was that the script was going to go awry very soon.:( When I called this person he asked me when can I come and have a look and then I asked him about the delivery option he immediately responded by saying text me your address and I will be there. This was a 3 year old mattress. I asked him whether it had any bugs and he replied none. I replied that I would need some time and he insisted that he will come and deliver.

I had called up my brother earlier regarding this ad however couldn't make contact. So this guy comes to my place and then I had a look at the mattress, I felt something was wrong as it wasn't looking as pretty as the picture in the ad. At that moment my phone rang and it was my brother, he asked me not to go for a used mattress but somehow as this guy had already come to my place I just paid him $120. His eyes lit up and he made a quick exit. When I started having a close look at the bed frame and the mattress and struggled to put the rails below the frame, I started having my own doubts. I could see stains and hair particles all over. I realized that an used mattress was not an good idea and when I was lifting the mattress, I had this itching sensation. I was really scared that by going for a cheap bargain, I would end up infesting my home with bugs and compromising on a good night's sleep. The last thing you would want was to sleep on a mattress which can have bugs crawling all over and ending up as a delicious meal for the blood thirsty creatures in the night.

I regained my senses and all the while huffing and puffing pulled the mattress and the bedframe towards the garbage bin. As I had a last glimpse of the mattress and the frame I saw my money go up in smoke. It all happened within an hour. I felt like a real loser, a jack ass and there are no words left to describe that eerie feeling which still persists. I immediately vacuumed my carpet, took a shower and put my clothes in the laundry. My only consolation was that I was able to cut my losses and even though I lost money, atleast I can sleep in peace. The moral of the story "Penny wise pound foolish", how true :(

(Image courtesy: http://www.maniacworld.com/stupid-people.jpg)
(Image courtesy: http://image.shutterstock.com/stock-vector-donkey-56207491.jpg)

In Memory

We would affectionately call her "Sarojini Doddama" (mom's sister). Last week was the saddest moment of my life as our Doddama passed away. She wasn't keeping well for a long time. The last time I met her there wasn't much meat on her body, she was so skinny that one could almost see her bones. She was suffering from an enlarged heart and a damaged liver.

From my childhood after my mom, she was like another mother to me. I loved her sense of humour, the way she used to poke fun at me. At times I was a bit annoyed when she used to shout at me however in a few moments she would show her tender side. I later realized that beyond her scoldings my Doddama had a heart of gold. Tracing the family tree, Doddama was one of the six sisters apart from a brother. My mom was the youngest of the siblings. Doddama even with her fragile body was a very active woman. She used to do all the household chores, tend the garden, graze the cows apart from being an amazing cook.

Sarojini Doddama's personal life was a mix of tragedy and a painful journey. She lost her husband in her prime, had to single handedly raise her son and also had to battle the social stigma of being a widow. She would work selflessly and would without a murmur even take care of her sibling's children's food, clothing and their essential needs but once their job was done, people were so ungrateful that they wouldn't even thank her.

For me, my brother, sis and mom going to our ancestral village in Padubidri was associated with meeting Doddamma. As we were far away from village, there was not much of a connection with Padubidri except during vacations. Whenever we would visit Padubidri, we knew Sarojini Doddama would always welcome us with open arms. We didn't have any emotional bonding with mom's other siblings when compared to Dodddama.

When I first heard the news on the phone, I couldn't imagine a world without her. Her dream was to see my sister getting married and she was adamant that the bride would leave from her place to the marriage hall. Tears welled up in my eyes and that night, I cried a lot. I didn't even cry when my sister got married. The tragedy is that I couldn't even see her last rites, one of the downsides of being away from home. It's an enormous personal loss for us as we feel we have lost our connection to Padubidri. Going to Padubidri now will never be the same.

With a heavy heart, we hope and pray that her soul rests in peace. We will miss you Sarojini Doddama :(

Avocado

I had always thought of Avocado as a fruit and never imagined that it's more like a vegetable which is used mostly in salads. I must confess that I have become a big fan of Avocado. Last time I tasted Avocado was when I was visiting my cousin. Today due to a busy schedule I had skipped lunch. To makeup for that, I sliced a Avocado into two, scooped out the fleshy part into a bowl and sprinkled some salt. Then I took a spoon and mixed it thoroughly.

I spread the avocado paste on to a slice of bread. When I started munching the bread, it felt like heaven. I thought that cheese and bread were made for each other...I guess I am wrong. Substitute it with Avocado. The rich buttery feel of avocado flesh makes it a healthy substitute (has a lot of vitamins and is rich in mono unsaturated fats) to cheese and taste wise, it beats cheese hands down. The only sore point with the Avocado is that it turns brownish very soon, even if you refrigerate it. After researching the web, I did find a solution - Lemon Juice :) Now that did have some desired effect but not totally...however it works for me :)

(Image courtesy: http://img2.timeinc.net/health/images/slides/avocado-heart-400x400.jpg)
(References: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avocado)

The Makeover

The date: November 8th 2006 when I first started writing my web log or blog in short. I named my blog "A day in my life". It's been 5 years since. I just can't believe how time flew. One notable thing about these 5 years of writing has been that initially I would update my blog daily. I had this passion for writing and the blog was a perfect medium.

As days went by the lazy bug took over and my writing came down to only 2 or 3 blog entries a month. The title of my blog "A day in my life" was no longer relevant and I felt "Snapshots of my life" was more appopriate :) Things have only gotten worse since then. Now I can barely manage to write only once a month and sometimes not at all.

As we step into the New Year, I thought to brighten things up a bit. So to begin with, I decided to give a makeover to my site. For those who have been regular readers of my blog, please do let me know what do you think about the look and feel of the new site.

Here's wishing you all a safe, prosperous and Happy New Year 2012 :)

(Image courtesy: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY2N4IBmrVOJJvGvSksoBGuQvvGBR3AaG2HXpr5l8Uq2KnjGIm9C9V7QX6fLKMgw0DlLsxNF3Ed1cHVlocqOpzC_mOD7BG4nYdpBgjv-6Q_1ZRtlUOLS4pDGcr-e6pQRfkfLmZ/s1600/New+Year+2012.jpg)

Air India

Flying Air India from Bengaluru to Hyderabad evoked memories when domestic skies was the exclusive monopoly of Indian Airlines and Air-India was a strong competitor abroad.

When I was looking for options to travel by air there was Jet and Spice Jet. However what tilted my decision in favour of Air India was that their flight at 18:50 hours gave me ample time to catch up with some of my friends.

So when I got into the aircraft, the red upholstery on the seats evoked a sense of deja-vu. It was like going back in time. The cabin crew gave us two slices of sandwich, a lemon cake and bottled water. I was a bit disappointed as I was expecting a proper dinner. However I took comfort in the fact that the private airlines were not offering any food or water for the same price.

The flight took off on time and arrived on time. I recollected the various articles about the health of Air India / Indian Airlines in the news papers. Now here was an airline which was struggling to put up a fight vis-a-vis its competitors. The Maharaja still evokes pleasant memories. I remember an old suitcase which our family had. There was the picture of the Maharaja and the Air India logo.

Today, it's sad to see Air India/Indian Airlines as an also-ran. Our national carrier has seen better times but now is gasping for breath. I wish the management all the best in turning around the airlines however if it didn't, then the writing is on the wall :(

(Image courtesy: http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/filmi_sangeet/media/1960_Air_India.jpg)

The Sun

As the summer draws down and the evening breeze starts getting chilly indicating the onset of winter the main impact as I see it, is in the day light hours getting reduced. Today when I was driving to work , the cloudy sky paved way to the sun playing peek a boo. I am not sure what happened but it left me mesmerized. I felt a sudden burst of energy and couldn't resist looking at the morning sun which shone bright and it felt like heaven.Thankfully I had my sun glasses :) For a moment, I forgot the frustration with the crawling traffic and began to enjoy those precious seconds. It was good while it lasted. That made me realize how in the hum drum of daily life, we forget to appreciate life's simple pleasures. After such a great start to the day, I was able to sustain the momentum which lasted throughout the day and is still with me as I write this blog :) (Image courtesy: http://free-extras.com/images/shining_sun-2277.htm)

911

It was the beginning of a routine day for me when I got up. So after finishing my breakfast I was driving to work. I stopped at a traffic signal and then all of a sudden I felt a bit of unease. I started feeling dizzy and my hands were trembling.

I was in two minds whether to continue to drive or find a place to park so that I would take some time to recover. My worst fear was that if I chose the former option what if my condition continues to deteriorate I would most probably faint at the wheel and cause an accident. The red light was still on. At that moment I decided not to take a risk.

Luckily for me there was a right turn which I took and parked myself in the parking lot of a shopping mall. I reclined my seat and closed my eyes. After some time I got out of the car and began to walk. I thought maybe I am feeling a bit better now and can continue to drive. But once I got behind the wheel, I could sense that something was not right. I was out of breath, my mouth was dry and throat parched. Compounding the problem was the fact there was this eerie sensation that my heart was contracting.

I called my brother on the phone and told him about my situation. He advised me to immediately call 911. I then told him to wait and walked into the nearby store to ask for the address. The lady in the store was surprised when I asked her for the address. I told her that I wasn't feeling well and would need the address to inform the 911 dispatch. The lady was kind enough to offer me a chair, some water and called up 911 herself as she said it was just around the corner.

The Paramedics were there with their kits within 5 mins. I explained to the Paramedics what happened. They asked for my ID, checked my blood pressure and took a blood sample to test whether I am a diabetic. Their readings came out normal. They gave me an option to come with them to the hospital or to go home.

I decided that I would rather get this thing out of the way and so followed the paramedics. As the doors closed behind me and the ambulance sirens were switched on I couldn't believe that here I am sitting in an ambulance on the way to hospital. I relapsed into a flashback mode and remembered that some times while I was driving I would see the ambulances rushing with their wailing sirens and now I was in a similar situation.

Once I reached the hospital I was taken to the emergency room. I was asked to take out my shirt and they put all those wires on my chest and the feet to monitor my oxygen levels, blood pressure and my heart beat.

The doctors and nurses asked me questions about my medical history, whether I had any food allergies, do I smoke/drink or take drugs. My answer was negative. The took an ECG, Chest X-ray and drew a blood sample again. Thankfully there was nothing abnormal in the reports. The doctors were surprised that how did I feel light headed/giddy when all the vital parameters looked normal. These questions were perplexing to me as well. I took my breakfast, lunch and dinner on time and exercised regularly. Past couple of years except for eggs, I haven't consumed meat. As part of my daily routine, I made sure that I consumed the requisite amount of nuts, fruits and vegetables. What went wrong?

Finally I got the answer from the doctor himself. He suggested that the probable reason that I felt uneasiness was due to an irregular heart beat or palpitations in medical terminology. He told me that this is something which is not uncommon.

The few hours spent in the hospital bed was worse than hell. Whenever my finger touched the steel rails of the bed or my heart beat began to fluctuate, the monitor would start beeping loudly. The only saving grace was that there was a television in the room and watching Tom & Jerry, Garfield was a great stress reliever :)

I was allowed to go home after the doctor gave me a discharge letter and advised me to fix an appointment with another doctor so that they could follow up and monitor on my heartbeat.

On my way back, I returned to the place where I parked my car and thanked the lady at the store who helped me. She was happy to see me back on my feet and said that I look in a better shape now than I was when I met her in the morning.

I am finally back at my hotel room and now feel a lot better :)

(Image courtesy: http://dc-cdn.virtacore.com/2011/01/ambulance1.jpg)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

I did watch the television episodes of the Planet of the Apes during my childhood days. I wasn't expecting much from the big screen version but it was a pleasant and refreshing experience.

The things shown in the movie about how humans treat primates and their condescending attitude strikes a chord with the audience. Caesar (played admirably by Andy Serkis) is a chimpanzee who inherits his mother's extraordinary intelligence genes attributed mainly to the research scientist Will Rodman's (James Franco) initiative to develop a cure for Alzheimer's disease.

There are quite a few unforgettable scenes in the movie. When Will sits in the restroom holding the baby chimpanzee which is wrapped in a small blanket and it clutches the finger of Will, it's one of those tender moments and you don't think it's a chimpanzee it looks just like a human baby.

The anguish on Caesar's face when he is brought to the primate detention center and his longing to get back home, the communication Caesar has with other primates at the detention center mostly the one involving the orangutan are funny and also shows their helplessness against the human captors.

James Franco as the scientist Will Rodman gives a compelling performance. Other standout characters are Charles (John Lithgow) who plays Will's father and Steven Jacobs (David Oyelowo) Will's boss and Will's colleague Robert Franklin (Tyler Labine) . Caroline Aranh (Frieda Pinto) leaves a mark.

The action scenes involving the golden gate bridge in San Francisco has been nicely choreographed.

However the audience appreciation was reserved for the central character of the movie and the cynosure of all eyes Caesar. My favorite scene in the movie was when Will's dad Charles struggles to hold a fork and Caesar takes his hand and teaches him how to hold a fork leaving Charles and Will stunned.

Ironically homo sapiens (the present day man) evolved from the Apes and now victimizes and threatens not only the apes but all the living beings on the planet.

We have to pause and think before we keep moving on the same path which will lead to disastrous consequences for not only mankind but for every living being on this beautiful planet called Earth

(Image courtesy: http://screenrant.com/wp-content/uploads/Rise-of-the-Planet-of-the-Apes-Review.jpg)

The Chromebook

Before boarding the Virgin America airlines from San Francisco to Chicago, I was in for a surprise. There was a promotion offer of Chrome notebooks with free wi-fi access onboard the aircraft.

At the boarding gate, one had to enter their registration info, show their id and the credit card details. Now if something is free, why does one need the credit card details? I had the same question. The deal here is that on arriving at the Chicago airport, one must turn in the notebook to the chrome staff else your credit card will be charged. As simple as that.

With a 12.1 inch screen, the chromebook looks like an ordinary notebook. The differentiating factors are:

Pros:

1. Log into the PC, the first interface you come across is not the windows icon but the chrome browser.

2. There is a SD card slot

3. Nice keyboard

4. Taunt the battery gods (mentioned on the instruction kit :)) 8.5 hours of battery standby time. My flight was 6 hours duration but as I am writing this article only 30% of the battery has been utilized.

5. Slim and Lightweight

6. Instant on. This feature was really awesome. I browsed and then closed the lid. I opened the lid and voila the browser was there in front of me.

Cons:

1. If you're looking for the familiar operating system like Windows etc.. you will be in for a shock. Please remember its just Chrome o/s :)

2. Although the keyboard is nice, it has only the bare bones feature. For example there are no function keys and the usual separate keypad for numbers.

3. As this is a cloud based notebook, your data can't be stored on a hard drive. Remember its built only for the web.

4. The only drawback which I observed was while watching YouTube videos the pictures freezed. The most probable reason as the chrome staff explained was due to the limited bandwidth available during the flight.

The Samsung website punchline for the Google Chrome Samsung notebook states "Born for the Web". I agree :)

(Image courtesy: http://cdn.unixmen.com/images/stories/linuxlogos/google-chrome-logo.jpg)
(References: http://www.samsung.com/us/computer/chromebook?cid=ppc_CRO_goo_C-Brand_Chrome_Generic_chrome+notebook)