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The India Trip

I am leaving for India in two days, 25th to be exact. My bags are somewhat packed. I was laying down on my bed, staring at the lifeless ceiling fan and wondering why I am not excited about going to India. It does not seem normal. I am not excited about seeing the people and the places that I grew up watching.

On further thought, I could point out a few things that are stealing the excitement away. Home is where the heart is. My heart is firmly planted in Jacksonville. This is where my job is, this is where my friends live and most importantly, this is where Laya is. So, the vacation is taking me away from my current home. I am also missing Laya already. We took naps together and long walks. She is being boarded at a good home with loving people, soft couches and other dogs to play with. Even then, I know she will miss me and I will miss her.

I am also not happy about a few disagreements between my parents and I. They take the sweetness away from the relationship, even if it is guaranteed temporary. I am dreading the flight and no more procrastination will work. The time has come to put one foot in front of another and get on with the journey. Travel opens your mind and I am hoping for it to open mine.

I am a little excited about meeting new people during the flight though. The last few international flights have been great in meeting new people and looking at life from a different angle. I am also traveling with more savings this time than any other. That is bound to be a good factor.

I guess this journey, the next whole month is a pot-pouri of mixed emotions and uncertain experiences. It should be interesting. I hope to get some good pictures, digital and mental when I return on 29 December.

The Headache

Eating Chewda right now. I had to buy the damn packets for $2.99 each because someone consistently refused to make and send them to me. Not only that but the someone that I am speaking about had the audacity to send me a link on how to make Chewda!!! I am Bengali. Laziness is my birthright no one should ever attempt to change regional stereotypes! Gone are the days of goodwill and charity. The world is a cold and harsh place now! Where is the love 

I wonder why they allow headaches in today’s society. Of all the things they find a cure for, mankind has not found a cure to persistent headaches. They invent Tylenol go-tabs though, to suppress that headache anytime and anywhere till it is time to buy another packet. I wonder if this is a conspiracy, because it is surely a kick-ass theory. You can not tell me that our parents got vaccinated with small pox vaccines due to which we young’uns didn’t even need to see that needle but the best they have done is sell Tylenol in a jar of 200. You can not tell me that five theories exist (Bouyancy Theory, Bernoulli Effect Theory, Horizontal Vortex Theory, The Coanda Effect and Condensation) on why the shower curtain blows inward during a shower but no one commissioned a successful study on that one super-tylenol that will eradicate headaches. Not only migraines, even simple headaches.

I dedicate the above paragraph to the fact that there was critical bit of analysis regarding a mile long list of excel files and access databases for a customer to be done with a splitting headache. I was however successful in locating the problem and finding the answer. I brought the lingering headache back home to see a letter casually jammed between the door and the frame. At first I thought it was the leasing office complaining about my dogs peeing in the grass. Yes, a few weeks back some Indian dudes (my kind of Indian, not the 'Red Cloud At Sundown' named kind) who play volley ball outside my apartment made a fuss to me (very rudely, I might add) that my dogs peeing on the grass is pollution. These guys can be found standing outside their apartment, talking on their cell phones and flicking their cigarettes casually, spreading second hand smoke and undegradable ashes. Anyway, the letter was about a fine for not paying rent on time which successfully blew off a few more fuses in my cranial matter. The fine being a total of $100, I immediately rushed to the leasing office to sort out the problem. My cheque was not processed because they couldn’t find out what apartment I was in using my name. I am on the freaking lease!

“Your name is not in our system, Sir.” My roommate made it to the piece-of-shit state-of-the-art-system that manages the useless and inadequate complicated and intricate functioning of this organisation. “We will wave off the fine this time, Sir. Please make sure to put the apartment number on the cheque the next time, or I won’t be able to help you again.” A threat! A god damn threat!!! I couldn’t believe it. By this time, more sparks had flown off my butt indicating that the standby fuses in my head have blown off. Quoting Bill Engvall, when I woke up today, I didn't want to be a Jack Ass. They just pressed my Jack Ass button! “I have been paying you rent promptly. Please make sure my name appears in the system. Your system is retarded not accurate. That should not be any of my problem you lazy ass people”. In their defense, the manager did take down notes to talk to tech-support to fix this issue.

I then walked the dogs while successfully losing enough sweat to water a small back yard. That’s when I slipped into my shorts and t shirt and went to bed. Laya took the cue and cuddled in beside me. Eddie managed to find a thrash bag and I woke up to eager groans and licks on what was left of a plastic bottle and some empty cans of Laya’s food in the very middle of the living room.

Now that I am awake after an early evening nap, I have to hunt down this Chewda that I am suddenly craving so much and just have to eat. Sometimes, I feel like a spoiled trophy wife! Therefore, I had to fish out this factory made bag of chewda when I could be eating home made chewda made by someone who knows how to make it and maintains a food-blog to brag about cooking skills.

This is Shek, Southpark Style

Thanks to Rich Legg, I got my southpark style portrait done. Get yours done here: Link

Sakshi is tagged
Neihal is tagged
TGFI is tagged (no hurries)
Vagabond is tagged
Rowe is tagged
Sven and Trini are tagged

Shek's Aperture

I like to write. At this very moment, there are two posts that are waiting for the right emotion to come flowing back so I can start writing again. I am no longer restricted by what I can write and what I can not. That distinction is clear.

The two unfinished posts tell me something about me. This hobby of writing has its own motivation like everything else in life. My motivation to write is to effectively put into words what my mind sees. I also get motivated when others read my posts. Not being overly competitive, I do strive for quality and recognition of my writing. Shek’s Crib is like my home. Crib being the urban word for a hang-out joint. It is where I hang-out and my cyber friends hang-out. It is where my intellect hangs out. It is a canvas of what my mind, brain and heart sees.

I am quite satisfied with portraying what my mind sees. It is time to portray what my eyes see. A nice camera is already on its way. It is time to decide what type of photography I want to concentrate on. I read a bunch of photo blogs to give me an idea of what is achievable through photography. Sceneries intimidate me. They are always so beautiful; I feel my lens may not do it justice. When it comes to beautiful sceneries, I always have dumped the camera and sat down on the ground to soak it all in. Some things are best kept in memories.

I also do not want to do crazy alterations to pictures till they completely cease to exist and a chimera of nature and digital adjustments is formed. I want to be able to see what is beautiful that we see every day and not notice. I want to take nice pictures of Eddie and Laya. I want to take pictures of people. Everyone is beautiful and I want to capture that. Not models and stars but everyday heroes. I have a ton of inspirations and the sky is the limit.

Twenty Questions Blah Blah Blah...

I am not the one to follow on other’s footsteps. I believe in making my own way. This is a first, hence only constructive criticism is allowed.

Almost forgot, Sakshi’s post: link made me do this.


1.Pick out a scar you have, and explain how you got it?
This is a common answer at every immigration checkpoint. I got a scar on my left wrist when Manish Naik’s steel wrist watch banged on it outside Kulkarni Sir’s maths tuitions in 8th standard. Any more details? It was drizzling that day and I had a cream coloured umbrella.

2. What is on the walls in your room?
One poster of a lazy boat tied to a sandy beach somewhere in Thailand.
One painting of a ship with sails in the high seas.
One calendar with greyhounds in it.
One small poster (7X6) talking about how racing is better than sex.

3. What does your phone look like?
Samsung slider. I’d do anything to stay out of flip phones.

4. What music do you listen to?
Hard Rock, Hindi Classical and everything in between. Sirius plays only the Hard Rock part though.

5. What is your current desktop picture?
My home laptop has this picture and my work computer has the picture of a tiger osx theme.

6. What do you want more than anything right now?
Go back in time and kick the butt from Kashmir to Kanyakumari of that ambitious Hindu suffering from lack of occupation and who thought it would be really cool to co-relate planetary positions with people’s future.

7. Do you believe in gay marriage?
I believe in marriage. Period. The human mind is too weak to not have structure.

8. What time were you born?
Why? Do you want to do my horoscope? I will kick your butt too!

9. Are your parents still together?
Twenty six years and going strong.

10. What are you listening to?
Irritating beeps of my roommate trying to adjust his X-box 360’s time, date and what not. Oh...now he is playing newly discovered alternate music that comes built in the X-box 306 hard drive.

11. What's something people may not know about you?
I see dead people. I see ghosts.

12. The last person to make you cry?
I, me and myself. Oh yes, I cried, only in my own privacy.

13. What is your favourite perfume/cologne?
Any brand jasmine fragrance on women. I have no affinity towards rose fragrances. I wont want my woman to smell like Roohafza!

14. What kind of hair/eye color do you like on the opposite sex?
Hair – black
Eye – hazel, blue

15. Do you like pain killers?
Nope. I let my body do the fighting unless after oral surgery.

16. Are you too shy to ask someone out?
I don’t know. Never did. Remember that I said...constructive criticism only.

17. Favourite pizza topping?
Grilled chicken on the Crispani (at Panera Bread)

18. If you could eat anything right now, what would it be?
Hajmola. I just stuffed myself with a bucket load of Nameless Onion Thingies and a half rack of ribs at Sticky Fingers.

19. Who was the last person you made mad?
My roommate, when I slowed down in front of him in my car to make him slow down. It was a joke, and it worked, and it made him mad, and he overtook me on his 5.6 Liter V8 Nissan Titan like I was standing still. My readers know that I drive fast but he just had too much torque. Unfair battle I say!

20. Is anyone in love with you?
Yes. Laya and Eddie are. Unconditionally.

Easy Friday

The dry-fit t-shirt desperately tried to expel all the sweat as I stepped out with Eddie and Laya for their evening walk. It was work out day today and the puppies were especially eager to see me when I arrived an hour after the regular arrival time. A habit I picked up from James, I refer to all dogs as puppies affectionately. I had earlier noticed the half dozen girl’s jolly shrieks from the pool across the sand volley ball court in front of my apartment. I managed to get a closer look at the jolly-bunch as I walked out with the puppies. They were a half dozen or so 13 to 15 year olds jumping in and out of the pool.

I was not even close enough to the pool when one of the girls shouted:

Miss Brown Bikini: you have a very sexy dog!
Me: Thanks.
I keep walking, the sidewalk by the volley ball court gets me closer to the pool.
Miss Brown bikini: (now noticing little Eddie too) Hey...two dogs!
Me: I hope so (this has been my classic answer to rhetorical questions)
Miss Pink Bikini with Blue Polka Dots: What dog is he (referring to the bigger one)?
Me: She is a greyhound…
Miss Brown Bikini: did you say, a super hound? Giggles.
Miss Pink Bikini with Blue Polka Dots: giggles
Miss Light Blue Bikini: giggles
Mr. Green Board Shorts: (appearing busy on the phone wondering why all his friends are obsessing over some dogs)
it is funny when kids get obsessive over their friends
Me: A G-R-E-Y-H-O-U-N-D, the little one’s a beagle.
Miss Brown Bikini: Does the big one make babies?
Miss Pink Bikini with Blue Polka Dots: (interrupting Miss Brown Bikini) do both the dogs make babies together???
Me: No. But they’d be funny babies if it happened (A 55 lbs long legged all muscular greyhound crossed with a pot-bellied short legged floppy-eared beagle would definitely make a funny dog!)
Miss Brown Bikini: but they’d be cute babies (looking at Eddie who is wagging his tail standing at the pool gate facilitated by his extending leash)
Miss Yellow Bikini (or maybe it was Miss Light Blue Bikini): what are their names?
Me: The little one is Eddie and the bigger one is Laya.
Miss Yellow Bikini: Eddie is a cute name.
Miss Light Blue Bikini: ‘Laya’ as in Princess Leia from the star wars? Are you a fan?
Me: yes, that Leia but I am not a star wars fan.

Miss Brown Bikini pushes Miss Yellow Bikini into the pool. Miss Pink Bikini with Blue Polka Dots runs away from the approaching Miss Light Blue Bikini. Mr. Green Board Shorts is busy typing away on his cell phone. I walk away to the rest of my evening remembering all the reasons why I like Florida!

Friday was exceptionally good. Not because it was a Friday before a long weekend. Monday is chutti for being Memorial Day and Shek has no plans but eat, sleep and hopefully read some. This whole week has been a little hectic on all fronts. Hectic in a challenging positive sort of way. Work has been very challenging but I got all my data sorted out finally on Friday. I only wish I had the 3Ghz Core 2 Duo with a 2 gig ram in my work computer. A 19 inch wide screen wouldn’t be bad either. I have also been stressed out making, bridging and maintaining some personal relations. Every thing is sorted out now, so I decided to treat myself with some good chicken curry.

By 7 pm Friday, 25 May 2007 the 1.51 Lbs boneless breast pieces had been marinated for over 12 hours in rich yoghurt, crushed tomatoes, ginger-garlic paste and the finest Chicken-curry masala the Indian store had to offer. The onions were perfectly fried golden brown in the finest desi ghee available locally and the chicken curry simmered peacefully for a long time till the meat was just perfect. This served with the steaming basmati rice made my week a complete satisfaction. Yes, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach, especially Shek’s!

Instant Upma Nights...Muhaji Lovitz

Alright, the instant upma from MTR is not the best kind of upma. An unopened packet sits on my dining table (just been lazy to pick up the 200 gm packet to the kitchen closet, but actually contemplating to shove it in the thrash can) and half a sauce pan of already prepared dry upma sits on the cooking range. I ate about half the contents of the prepared upma, or at least attempted to eat it. With my tongue and upper palette of the mouth doubling as the molars and pre-molars, there was not much that I could do other than buff up my tongue. When I am done with this ordeal, I could probably pull a car with my tongue. The result: it is 11:20 at night and I am still hungry.

Saw Namastey London today. Actually, I rented out 1971, Namastey London and Nishabd so I could write nifty reviews. Nishabd is done, so it was Akshay's day. I must say that I had underestimated the movie. It actually had a few laughs. Other than the absurd dance and song sequences that most movies sport, this one added a new twist to the bandwagon...Indian actors and actresses that can not speak remotely proper Hindi...not even Bombaiya Hindi. Come on guys, Bombaiya is simple...I grew up on it. I know that the characters of Katrina Kaif and Upen Patel were supposed to be British brats and not supposed to know good Hindi, but if you can speak that much hindi, you better get the accent right. I also think that the character of Imran Khan was a तोत्ला . Seriously. It was hilarious. But the sub-title writers probably had the last laugh...or it was me who laughed most at the sub-titles. There were at least five different spellings to every word that had the audacity to appear five times in the movie. They even spelled 'Arjun' as 'Arejun'. Say it in you mind a couple of times...it makes Akshay Kumar, who is supposed to be a punjab-da-munda sound like he was born in Vellore. 'Arejun' is exactly how you would pronounce 'Arjun' with a South-Indian accent.

The American southerners have plagiarized my name though. They have had a hard time to have to say 'Abhishek' but manage it because I do not give them any choice. Only my friends call me Shek. So, my last name has been butchered to Muhaji. They all remember 'Haji' from Jhonny Quest and my boss would lose track after pronouncing 'Mu..'...so Sven added the two together. Thankfully, they only call me that when they are exceptionally happy with my wit (when my wit is used effectively against them). Sven has been mumbling for a few days that if there is any Caucasian American that looks like me, it is John Lovitz and that I should blog about the similarities. So, here you go Svenie Bunny, I have blogged about John Lovitz, and NO, I do not look like him...HELL NO.

हिंदी में पहला post

कोई नया post करने का मन तो नही कर्ता...पर हिंदी में post करने से नही रह।

Preview...April 2007

This will be a preview of what to expect from me in the next few weeks. Looks kinda blurry now,

...Hang Tight...

I started off this year with a pledge that I will blog once a day, but quality appeals more than quantity...so I am taking some time off to do some serious thinking/research before I post my next blog.

I attended a seminar on Ethanol fuels hosted by the Council of Supply Chain Professionals. We (USA) currently produce about 3.5 billion gallons of ethanol a year. They are aiming for 35 billion gallons to reduce their dependency on the Middle East. The seminar was about the rail road infrastructure and its capacity to handle transportation of 35 billion gallons. CSX predicts that it will only account to a mere 4% increase of rail cars from their current utilization. I went on to think at a more root level to eliminate dependency on the Middle East. I also question the efficiency of Ethanol (primarily E85 as used by Brasil) to reduce America's dependency on gasoline. My research is taking me through many papers written for and against E85, and many many more advocating fuel cell and battery operated vehicles (the Prius in USA is mandated to have a gasoline engine along with the battery motor).

I have had to deal with a rude person at work who considerably outranks me. This being my first job in the corporate sector, I would like to learn from this experience and harness it positively (blah blah blah...I also want to bitch about that first grade a-hole [evil grin] ). Having maintained personal relations with the rude individual put plenty of twist in the already ugly matter. I came across a piece on crucial conversations that spoke of an article dealing with such a situation. I will be cool enough to write about the experience in an optimistic manner soon.

It is time to do some personal reading. I am currently on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. I read through 60% of this book while I was an engineering student in India. The book really made me want to ride a motorcycle of my own...and I could not do that (parents wouldn't let me...finances wouldn't allow). I am self-sufficient now and stand to be able to make an impulse purchase if I get too desperate. So, with my credit cards in a safe hiding place that even I am unaware of, I have started reading this book.

I wanted to finish a few chapters of the book today but instead ended up watching this story in Pierre Dulaine. It gets my recommendation.

Things I want to do this year...

I am spending a dry saturday night reading blogs of people that I haven't met. I recently subscribed to a bundle of blogs. Reading them makes me realize that I need to do something important with my life. Give it some meaning. Well, more meaning than it has already. Here is a list of things that I want to do this year or start doing this year:

1. Take Laya to the dog park at least once a week. Let her run free and work on those muscles.
2. Finish that certification in production and inventory management that I had so enthusiastically started more than a year back.
3. Buy and learn to play the electric guitar. Learn at least one song.
4. Finish reading the four novels I bought.
5. Buy a Mac.
6. Learn one foreign language, preferable German. I hadn't thought of this one till now. I think it will be a bit of a challenge. I chose German so I can practice it with Sven and Trini.

Additions as of 10 April 2007

7. Drag my whip at a proper drag strip with an equivalent car. Give it all she's got.

The Common Cold Virus

I thought I was impenetrable when it came to cold weather. Growing up in Bombay, I was really cold in temperatures less than 10 Degree celsius, but that was just the first winter. My second winter, I got away with a light fleece jacket and a wool cap. This is my third winter in Florida and I get the common cold virus. I have been spending more time outside this winter with lesser clothes on too. Walking the dog at 6-freakin-30 in the morning, and at 10 pm at night with shorts and a light fleece jacket definitely shows that I have been overconfident with my cold-surviving requirements.

A half day off from work and a few medicines later, I think I have learned my lesson. To all out there, stay warm and drink some hot tea every now and then.