The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Well..its almost gonna be a month for me in New Jersey..and here are my first impressions.

The Good

1. The weather

The weather is simply wonderful. Although ppl here hate it..but I love the winters. And its snowing all around. I think its really pretty. Somehow the cold makes you feel alive.

2. The hotel

I could not have asked for a better hotel. I stay at the Staybridge Suites. The room's are huge and the amenities are really cool. The best part is the free breakfast and the evening snacks tues-thursday with complimentary beer (although it takes talent to pour it out from a tap).

3. My office

NEC Research Labs is the coolest. My colleagues are real fun to hang out with. However I am a li'l (ok..a lot) over-awed, when I see their resumes. Everyone is a PhD and have got numerous awards for their papers and what not.

4. The Food.

Food is not at all a problem here unlike Japan. The only downside is eating out everyday would definitely make you fat. New Jersey, being the desi hub, there are a lot of Indian restaurants. I haven't really been to an american eat-out (except for the usual McD or the Subway)..but that is definitely on my agenda.

5. The beer.

Ohh man!..there is sooo much variety of beer that its insane. I haven't been too adventurous though. But I would be.

6. The TV Shows

It has all the shows that I used to watch in India. Plus Cartoon Network here is soo amazing. It has Family Guy and awesome anime shows late night. Although there are a lot of reruns. I mean..I have seen these episodes number of times in India itself!

The Bad

1. No Car, No Fun

Going around is really difficult. Unless you dont have a car, people dont advice you to venture outside. Till now, we had been travelling in cabs and stuff which is a bit expensive..esp when you are alone. But, today we walked around the entire place on foot. We walked for like 4 hours and hunt down exactly where everything is. I think people are not used to walking, hence say its tough and stuff..but not for us indians :)

2. Convenience Stores

Japan was full of convenience stores which were open 24 * 7. And there were soo many of 'em that we really did not have to make a shopping list to go shopping. Here, we need to plan because we wont be going shopping for groceries frequently because everything is so damn far off!

The Ugly

Well, nothing much but I guess people aren't that friendly. No, let me put it in another way. Some people are kinda rude esp. when you go ask for directions. I have experienced it twice in my 4 weeks. I was roaming around New York and I ask this guy for directions to Times Square, and he goes like, "I'm not your map dude!..I'm not your GPS! Well maybe it was by chance that I met someone who was (were) in a cranky mood..but this never happened in Japan. Anyways, but majority ppl that I came across are really nice. I like when they smile and stuff when you walk by even if they dont know you.

[Update: 01/03/2010: 8:30 pm] One of my friends Saurabh found out some one broke into his international credit card account and stole 2400 $. F*ck!! .. can you believe it!?.

New York

Wooh!..boy did I have an eventful week! I had loads of work over the week but I managed to have plenty of fun over the weekend! It was President's Day on Monday, hence, we had a day off. With the long weekend in front of us, we decided to go for some sightseeing (finally!). 

Plans for New York were already under way since last week. Although there was no news from the guys for the initial part of the week...we finally got together on Thursday over beer and decided to go ahead as planned. 

New York was really fun. Although it wasn't the perfect weather to roam around..but coming from Delhi..we are pretty used to roaming around in lousy weather. So, regardless of the bad weather we ventured towards Princeton Junction in our cab. The weather in Princeton was pretty good..it was sunny with mild breeze. However New York welcomed us with cloudy skies and wind speeds of 30 mph - 60 mph! (it was on display..am not kidding!). Anyways, we boarded the metro towards South Ferry Island from Penn Station..or at least we thought we did. We actually went the opposite way. We realized this at the next station but we were not quick enough in getting down. So, we had to go 1 more station in the wrong direction. Unlike the awesome Delhi Metro, the New York Metro is old and noisy. When we got off the next station, there was no bloody crossover!! We sought the help of the station master and asked him what could be done. Being an Indian, he pitied on us and let us through the emergency exit and told us to get off at the next station which had a crossover. Going 3 stations in the wrong direction is certainly not a perfect start for a trip but oh well..wat can you do? 

We finally ended up going in the correct direction and reached South Ferry Island by 10 a.m. We walked a bit for the ferry towards our first stop - The Statue of Liberty. Being very miserly ppl, we dint go for the audio tour and just went there to "see" it. The Statue of Liberty was pretty cool..but what was better was the ferry ride.

Next up, we went to see the WTC site. We went walking this time, since it was nearby. New York streets are pretty cool..narrow roads with HUGE skyscrapers. In fact they are soo huge, it barely gets any sunlight. On the way, there was the NY Stock Exchange..something which the others were very excited about. I dint know what the fuss was..it was just a building and nothing else! Anyways, the WTC site was huge. I cant imagine how it must have been when the towers came down. We also went to the WTC memorial where they kept all the remnants of the tragedy. Some ppl were soo emotional that they were crying seeing the videos on the giant screen.

Anyways, we stopped for lunch at Subway - the one place I dint want to eat! I wanted to have hot dogs from the street. But as usual, vegetarians always spoil the party :) . After lunch, we boarded the train for 42 Street Bryant Park. The Empire State Building and Times Square was on our agenda. It was 3 p.m by the time we reached there. We stopped at some malls on the way. I bought an awesome Wolverine action figure for myself. They had Batman too, but it was funny looking. This one is really mean! Anyways, after some shopping we went to see the Empire State Building. Here too, we dint go in...we just "saw" it. Oooh .. imagine all the money we saved right!?! It was pathetic. I mean, nobody was interested in going up!! And it pissed me off a li'l. I dint see the logic behind just seeing the building from the outside. 

But anyways, it was getting dark already and the weather was becoming even worse. It was sooo cold and the winds were literally making our hands and faces numb. But we walked towards Times Square nevertheless. And it was awesome! The entire place was lit up and the atmosphere was pretty exciting. Since there was very li'l traffic there, roaming around was pretty fun. We walked around the place before finally going to TGIF for some dinner. We had to wait for like 20 minutes inside before we could get to our seats. We were cold and hungry and the sight of hot food was making things difficult to handle (the waitresses however, made it a li'l better as far as the temperature was concerned). We were finally escorted to our seats. We had a couple of beers and relaxed our aching feet. We dint realize we were this tired..but the moment we sat down, we dint want to get up. Anyways, after a nice dinner, we headed back. Everyone was tired and slept most of the way back to Princeton. We all reached  back at around 11...and went straight to bed. The trip was nice..hopefully there is more in store for us in the U.S. 

And the winner is MAIDEN!

Ok..am a bit late on this one..but the Grammy's best metal performance award went to Iron Maiden for El Dorado. This year featured a monster list from Megadeth to Slayer to Lamb of God to Maiden (and also Korn). Anyone could have won (except Korn ofcourse). I do feel a bit sad for Megadeth though since they have been nominated soo many times but have not won yet! It has always been difficult for Dave Mustaine. I am currently reading his autobiography and damn the guy has to fight for every little thing! Anyways..I hope Maiden tours India this time. It was soo much fun the last time.

Saturday

Wow...if yesterday was depressing..today was the exact opposite..at least by the end of the day. The day started off in the usual manner. I got up late at bout 8:30 or so, got ready for breakfast at bout 9:30. My morning was mostly spent in watching Get Thrashed - an awesome documentary on Thrash Metal. After that, I had to go out to buy some groceries. I booked a taxi for Plainsborough where there was an Idian store. I was hoping I would get some beer there, or at least in that area. I reached there..got my veggies and stuff..but saw no sign of beer. It was disappointing indeed. I did not want to spend 5 $ for another measly pint at the hotel again this weekend! I tried searching around but there was no sign of beer. Anyways, I came back and had lunch. I slept for sometime after lunch..which I usually do over the weekend. I woke up at like 7:00 in the evening. I had planned to get up at 6:00 and to go to the gym. Getting up at 7:00, I was a bit doubtful whether I should go to the gym and stuff. However, thankfully, I got the better off my procrastination and went to the gym. Inside the gym, I met Akash - a guy I used to meet every morning in the cab but dint really get a chance to talk and stuff. We started talking soon and realized we both share a common interest on booze. And boy!..we hit it off! We finished our routine and went to our respective rooms promising each other to let the other know whenever we have plans to go out and stuff.

I reached my room at 9:00 and started making dinner. That's when I get this call from Akash. Apparently, he was in the reception and the receptionist had got a large pizza as a gift which she was not interested in. So she gave it to him. Obviously, he couldn't eat the large pizza by himself, so he invited me to his room. I went to his room and spent some time eating and chatting away with him as well as his roomie Saurabh. So we shared the pizza and opened up a Jack Daniels and spent the night away drinking. Since Saurabh had been here before, he knew all these cool places to visit. We talked mostly about where to go and stuff and chalked out a plan to visit Washinton DC and New York. Ohh man!...things suddenly got interesting here! I am somehow relieved..because I was beginning to think how the hell I would spend most of March and April here...but I think..I will be fine. I think I am in good hands! :)

Friday

Ohh man..the dullest friday night in my life. Here I am..all alone..in my room...trying to make the most of it with the help of some beer and some really loud music. But its not working. Damn I miss those friday nights in India. There are somethings which even beer and music cant solve. 

Yah..am a bit drunk right now. 

Randomizing

This would be my first weekend in New Jersey. The news was all about the storm that was gonna hit this Saturday. They went on and on about how everyone should stay home and postpone all their outdoor activities till Sunday. As it turned out, there was not even a thunder or a lightning crash! However, there was rain..well a constant irritating drizzle.

I got up pretty early..well I still have some jet lag inside me...so bound to happen. I went for some breakfast in the morning drizzle. The weather was cold, but bearable. Since I had nothing much to do for the day, I decided to spend some time with my friends - the beers. I went to this convenience store in the hotel to get some. These guys were selling a Budweiser pint for 5 bucks! I know!..*shock* *horror*. Plus there wasn't any six packs or anything! This really sucks here..there is no convenience stores outside which is at a walkable distance! Anyways, I bought 3. Well, if I'm spending money..I might as well feel good about it at the end.

I spent the day watching random stuff on T.V., doing my laundry and also ventured out for a walk which was kind of a bad idea. Firstly, there are no sidewalks here..not a problem for me since I come from India..where ppl drive at sidewalks!!! But it was a problem for the cars..since they had to stop and let me pass and then drive away. So, I came back from my walk earlier than I had planned.

I had this reception to attend in the evening. One of my clients got married recently and he was throwing a party. That was fun..it was at a place called Anjappar Chettinad Restaurant. The food was pretty good. Had a nice evening chatting up wid some ppl from the office. There was also a grocery store nearby, so I also went shopping for some veggies and stuff.

Sunday, too began pretty much the same way. But there was no rain..in fact it was nice and sunny! After breakfast, I decided to hit the gym. I hadn't gone for a run since quite a while. I took it easy today..my ipod was all discharged and running on a treadmill without an ipod makes it boring. Anyways, I am back now..all set for lunch. Planning to make a mean bhindi masala..hope I have not lost my touch.

New Jersey

Well..after an eventful last day in India..I reached Princeton, New Jersey yesterday evening. I was to reach at 4:25 a.m but actually landed at 5:30 p.m! The story goes on something like this.

I took Tuesday off since I had some packing to do and considering the kind of person I am, there would be stuff I had forgotten, stuff I had to re-do and loads of stuff that I hadn't even thought of doing. Anyways, it started off with my usual procrastination till I just HAD to start. I started by finishing off some leftover work at the office. The plan was to finish my work, do some last minute shopping, complete packing, have dinner and move out by 8:30 p.m. to catch the 11:30 p.m. flight. 

I started my work but midway through it, I get a phone call. It was the travel agent and he goes like.."your Continental Airlines to Newark has been cancelled!!". I was like wtf!!..what to do now?! Well..the guy said that he can book the next available flight, but for that, I need an approval. And thus started a series of phone calls to my office's travel desk..my manager..his manager. After an hour of anxiety and unlimited phone calls, the agent mailed me the new tickets. Now, previously, the flight was a non-stop one till Newark. This one, had a stopover at Amsterdam and a connecting flight after 8 hours!! Well, I had no option but to go with it. One good thing was, there was extra baggage. The Continental flight had no extra baggage..which meant that I could carry only 1 piece of luggage and a handbag. Me and dad had painstakingly put everything in 2 bags the night before. Now, it had to be repacked into 2 bags and a handbag. By the time, everything was done, there was only time for a very quick drink and dinner. My bro and sis-in-law joined us as we had dinner. 

We left the house at 9:15 pm or so and reached at 10:00pm. My flight was at 1:50 a.m! Thankfully the T3 is big and there are a lotta things to explore. I was roaming around in one of those bookstores when I saw a fridge which had beer in it!! I ran towards it only to find that those c*nts were selling it for 245 Rs. for a pint!!! Sadly, I had to pass. I waited and waited before it was finally time for my flight.

On the flight, there wasn't much to look around, since it was night time. But they did have a nice collection of movies. I saw 127 hours and found it absolutely amazing! I loved it. I mean I started the movie at 2:00 am in the morning and it made me forget that I was sleepy! Anyways, it ended at like 4:00 am or so. I slept till they served us breakfast. 

I landed at Amsterdam before the scheduled time. In fact, the pilot told us even before taking off, that we'd land before time! I envied that guy's confidence. Anyways, when I reached the airport, nothing was open. I cleaned up before deciding to have some breakfast. The menu had coffee at 4.60 Euros, Water at 4.00 Euros and Heineken draught at 4:20 Euros!! Logic said that I should buy Beer!..it's what anyone will do. Especially if you have logic like mine! Anyways, but it was 6:30 in the morning and I was in a what-would-the-others-think mode. I bought a coffee instead and had a muffin along with it. Thats when I saw 3 separate guys having beer! And I was like screw it!..I am having beer. But by the time I finished the muffin, I was feeling full. I lazed around for sometime, reading my book and dozing off in between. I woke up to find it was 10 a.m..still 3 more hours to go. I had a couple of beers finally and enjoyed every moment of it. Soon it was time for the flight. The flight was an 8 hour one till Newark. But I slept through most of it. 

After landing, it took almost an hour for baggage claim and immigration. I had asked the office guys to send a taxi for me. I found the guy holding a placard with my name outside. Well, after a 40 minute drive, I reached my hotel Staybridge Suites.

The entire New Jersey is facing a merciless winter with snow storms every other day. There's snow everywhere! Its all they are talking about in the news too! 

My room is pretty cool..its really big with a small living room, a kitchenette and a bedroom! Cleaning is included and they have free breakfast every day! The best part is that they serve free dinner Tuesday-Thursday with free beer!!...yes..if there's anything better than beer....its free beer!! Anyways, I was just back from dinner and looking forward to laze around fighting away my jet lag. I have 2 T.Vs in my room to laze around with! Unlike Japan, there is stuff to watch as well. Anyways, thats it I guess, gatta fight sleep for another 2 hours!