Even though this was not our first trip to San Francisco, we did experience quite a few firsts. So what City Lights was closed on the night of Xmas, we found this quaint little cafe in the North Beach that was serving the most scrumptious cheese cake and defining cappuccino - Caffè Puccini (yea i know - we went for books and ended up with cheescake, not bad huh?).
Well actually, let's take a step back...before all that we took a drive to Santa Cruz and started off in the beach - nice and warm, something that the weather gods nod against in the Puget Sound area in this time of the year.
Next stop was Mystery Spot, a place where the law of physics behaves, well, a little intoxicated, and I kid you not, the gravity of the situation is quite serious. ;) There you will find your center of gravity off base by about 17 deg. So when you think you're standing straight - your level headed friends actually think you're looking funny, leaning forward. There if you pour water in a plank that's leaning one way, the water may actually flow towards the other direction. Why? You got me...I'm sure there's a little bit of showman hanky panky going on, but it does have a true basis.
Ok now comes the super fast exit out of this blog for (most) things we've already done before...
...posing in the golden gate, missing the Alcatraz tour, walking around in Fishermens Warf, yummy street side lobsters, caricature artists, the cable car ride, Pier 39 sea lions, real desi treat from Shalimar, Xmas tree in the Union Square, comfy goose down pillows in pickwick hotel, getting chocolaty in the Ghirardelli Square and more trips to Shalimar!
...there...
Friday, December 29, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
Stormed in without power
Seattle and surroundings had quite a storm Thursday night with a gust going about 70 mph, double of that in the Rainier area. This left most of the area with no power and 700,000 victims. For some it came back by Friday but for most it was sometime on Sunday while many are still left out in the dark. This meant no light, no heat, no cooking for most and no hot water for many, with the temperatures dropping down below freezing by Saturday night. Puget Sound Energy had to call for backup, not only personals but also for machinery's as they scurried to move fallen trees and reestablish the power...which for some areas mean rebuilding poles and setting up new transformers.
Many houses were destroyed by fallen trees, fences took flight and some also caught fire because of candles or accidents with propane tanks. Services in the gas stations were interrupted, causing a wave of panic and even fist fights in some gas stations while waiting for hours for gas. The grocery stores that remained open on Friday with dim lights had to throw out all of their perishable goods and items such as fuel, torchlights, candles and easy to make foods were soon out of stock.
It wasn't too bad for us though, even though we were mocked by the neighborhood across the street which got it's power back by Friday (for good reason though - there's a hospital couple of blocks away). We called up our buddies and met over at a kind friends house (with gas stoves) and cooked a hearty meal...us Bangladeshis managing to make a feast out of a disaster. Then we realized another friend, who's out of the country, had full blown power in their neighborhood. We took refuge there (keys left with another friend). The 15 of us had a wonderful weekend, cooking, eating, playing board games and watching movies.
Personally, it was a great way to spend time, especially on the Independence day of Bangladesh - December 16...what better way to be than with a bunch of Bangladeshis and do what we do best - cook, eat, chat and play.
(Don't mean to pour salt in the wounds of the less fortunate ones with property damages or who were stuck in hotels or office building or trying to keep warm in front of the fireplace)
Many houses were destroyed by fallen trees, fences took flight and some also caught fire because of candles or accidents with propane tanks. Services in the gas stations were interrupted, causing a wave of panic and even fist fights in some gas stations while waiting for hours for gas. The grocery stores that remained open on Friday with dim lights had to throw out all of their perishable goods and items such as fuel, torchlights, candles and easy to make foods were soon out of stock.
It wasn't too bad for us though, even though we were mocked by the neighborhood across the street which got it's power back by Friday (for good reason though - there's a hospital couple of blocks away). We called up our buddies and met over at a kind friends house (with gas stoves) and cooked a hearty meal...us Bangladeshis managing to make a feast out of a disaster. Then we realized another friend, who's out of the country, had full blown power in their neighborhood. We took refuge there (keys left with another friend). The 15 of us had a wonderful weekend, cooking, eating, playing board games and watching movies.
Personally, it was a great way to spend time, especially on the Independence day of Bangladesh - December 16...what better way to be than with a bunch of Bangladeshis and do what we do best - cook, eat, chat and play.
(Don't mean to pour salt in the wounds of the less fortunate ones with property damages or who were stuck in hotels or office building or trying to keep warm in front of the fireplace)
"You" named Time's person of 2006
"You" have been named as Time magazine's Person of the Year...yes, YouTube that is. Kool ain't it? Jawed Karim, originally from Germany and of Bangladeshi descent, founded YouTube in February 2005, which was recently bought by Internet giant Google for $1.60B.
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
elf yourself
this is so funny!!! just get a picture of yourself and turn into a jolly singing dancing elf...or even better - turn your freinds into one...
Monday, December 11, 2006
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
No fat New York?
Double pepperoni, but hold the fat??? and New York of all places...
The New York board of health voted unanimously yesterday to go ahead with plans to prohibit the city’s restaurants from serving food that contains artificial trans fats throughout the five boroughs!!! And that includes the pizza joints, the doughnut shops, the chinese takeout around the corner, even the McDonald’s across the street, not to mention the fashionable midtown bistros and restaurants.
First the streets were (apparently) cleaned of night prowlers, then the ban on smoking and now go fat less?
...now that's what i call a big apple polishing...
The New York board of health voted unanimously yesterday to go ahead with plans to prohibit the city’s restaurants from serving food that contains artificial trans fats throughout the five boroughs!!! And that includes the pizza joints, the doughnut shops, the chinese takeout around the corner, even the McDonald’s across the street, not to mention the fashionable midtown bistros and restaurants.
First the streets were (apparently) cleaned of night prowlers, then the ban on smoking and now go fat less?
...now that's what i call a big apple polishing...
Monday, December 04, 2006
Light at the end of the tunnel?
Hopefully we're closer to that light at end of the tunnel in our beloved motherland's political tug of war. Advisors of the caretaker government met with both the alliances day before yesterday and proposed package solutions. After meetings all day long yesterday with the chief advisor in the chair, they announced the outcome - to reconstitute the Election Commission, reschedule the polling date, correct the voters’ list and reshuffle the top bureaucrates even further. So in the end it's just accepting what the 14 party alliance has been forcibly demanding since late October.
The nation is breathing a little easier now, with hopes that life will be normal again, the economy can operate again and that this is the end to the mayhem that was ruling the streets of Bangladesh. We all hope that we will have a fair election early next year, the voice of the people will be heard and a government based on the peoples choice will be formed.
Hmmmm...now that's a fairy tale, even if the voice of the people is heard and a government based on the peoples choice is formed.
Let me ask this...how can an exiting government manipulate the system in such a way that the idea of a free and fair election commission and a neutral caretaker government is jeopardized? And how can the former opposition completely imprison and batter the people and the economy of a country until what they deem necessary for winning the election is met?
So yes we can see the light at the end of tunnel but unfortunately there are always freight trains that follow...and hit us hard over and over again.
The nation is breathing a little easier now, with hopes that life will be normal again, the economy can operate again and that this is the end to the mayhem that was ruling the streets of Bangladesh. We all hope that we will have a fair election early next year, the voice of the people will be heard and a government based on the peoples choice will be formed.
Hmmmm...now that's a fairy tale, even if the voice of the people is heard and a government based on the peoples choice is formed.
Let me ask this...how can an exiting government manipulate the system in such a way that the idea of a free and fair election commission and a neutral caretaker government is jeopardized? And how can the former opposition completely imprison and batter the people and the economy of a country until what they deem necessary for winning the election is met?
So yes we can see the light at the end of tunnel but unfortunately there are always freight trains that follow...and hit us hard over and over again.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Exxon Mobil chief to get $2.8M bonus #%$@!
WOW! Now that's a bonus!!! So I guess we can expect gas prices to go up again huh...
Wednesday, November 29, 2006
...more snow...DOT better DOT your i's
so it did end up being a nuisance...well I think more because Seattle is just not ready for so much snow and the weatherman forcasting rain rather than snow. A 15 min commute ended up taking 2 hours with cars pointing at all angles, a number of accidents and stranded vehicles along the way. Many neighborhoods lost power (or still don't have any), icy gridlocks, more accidents, school and office closures.hey at least the seahawks beat the packers in their first ever snowed in home game...not too shabby! For most the commute back was a nightmare though, an unlucky chap was stuck in traffic for 14 hours before he got back home in Portland.
Now we're getting ready for another one to hit us tonight followed by icy rain (even worse)...
...hopefully DOT has DOTted their i's this time...
Sunday, November 26, 2006
Snowing in Seattle
Look out through the window...it's snowing! It's quite nice when it's snowing, especially when it snows like it does in Seattle - never a nuisance but just that dash of white to brighten up the day...
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Hok hangama, amar gaan ache bhai
Searching eagerly for prayer halls debut album
while listening to the soothing sounds of yaatri and
not much kolorob in super ornob's new album
thank god souls still sings soulfully!
Leave underground under the ground komol bhai
even though you're the guitar god.
overlistening to fuad's great mixed collections
shono habib you do great, keep it real
Nothing cryptic about danob you guys...kudos kudos
is elita featuring more in the star these days?
worried that james has completely gone bollywood.
where does tahsan get his hair done?
kingkortorbobimured that bangla has unfused from it's jazzy lalon sounds,
although still in love with you all.
shumon and aurthohin ain't so meaningless, i tell you
shocked by the black accident,
saddened to see mobin bhai go.
love runs blind for AB no matter what anybody says
miles was talented too but amar feedback ta koi re bhai?
remembering rockstrata every morning
haven't fazed out warfaze too.
c0mpletely enchanted by the sudden realization - THANK GOD for bangla music and thank you, all you musicians who are keeping it sane for the rest of us!
while listening to the soothing sounds of yaatri and
not much kolorob in super ornob's new album
thank god souls still sings soulfully!
Leave underground under the ground komol bhai
even though you're the guitar god.
overlistening to fuad's great mixed collections
shono habib you do great, keep it real
Nothing cryptic about danob you guys...kudos kudos
is elita featuring more in the star these days?
worried that james has completely gone bollywood.
where does tahsan get his hair done?
kingkortorbobimured that bangla has unfused from it's jazzy lalon sounds,
although still in love with you all.
shumon and aurthohin ain't so meaningless, i tell you
shocked by the black accident,
saddened to see mobin bhai go.
love runs blind for AB no matter what anybody says
miles was talented too but amar feedback ta koi re bhai?
remembering rockstrata every morning
haven't fazed out warfaze too.
c0mpletely enchanted by the sudden realization - THANK GOD for bangla music and thank you, all you musicians who are keeping it sane for the rest of us!
Thanksgiving with something new in the table
Ah the great American tradition of Thanksgiving - promise of a quality time with family and friends, good laughs around a well decorated dinner table, wines glasses clinking. But thanksgiving is left undefined without the turkey - roasted, baked, lemoned, bbqed, cajun, even deep fried, the turkey HAS to be there! and if you're bored of the traditional method of preparation, you can always go for......the Turducken!!!
It's turkey stuffed with a duck, stuffed with a chicken layered with dressing. So if u dare to serve it this thanksgiving, here's a few choice recipe.
Happy thanksgiving all, and bon appetit...
Monday, November 20, 2006
The White Dress
I was lost when I walked into the room,
Something told me that I needed to explore.
I thought one day I’ll turn back and cry
for a phantom past lying behind that door.
The quest in disguise of haunting dreams,
Anxious and obsessed with what’s not to be.
A white dress with a speck of red
cries out and fades away not meant to be free.
Speak out loud my friend inside of me
“Think of me” he said, “Look into the mirror”
“Do you even know that you are lost?”
And the walls slowly start to secure.
I see the dress lying in one corner of the room
No wrinkles, no sign of being worn.
I see the dress again, but on the floor,
Soiled and stained on every turn.
What I see now is what’s not true,
But yet I think I know what I thought.
Lost in the middle of sudden enchantments,
Forgetting the far away land of my heart.
Here I am sitting outside in the coffee shop,
When my friend again starts to whisper,
“But why do you sound so different?” I asked
After all these years I can’t seem to remember.
Listening to your inner self, do you really know?
Maybe it’s what you want to hear, maybe all allure.
He can be as jaded and as confused.
The dress is only a dress and nothing more.
Something told me that I needed to explore.
I thought one day I’ll turn back and cry
for a phantom past lying behind that door.
The quest in disguise of haunting dreams,
Anxious and obsessed with what’s not to be.
A white dress with a speck of red
cries out and fades away not meant to be free.
Speak out loud my friend inside of me
“Think of me” he said, “Look into the mirror”
“Do you even know that you are lost?”
And the walls slowly start to secure.
I see the dress lying in one corner of the room
No wrinkles, no sign of being worn.
I see the dress again, but on the floor,
Soiled and stained on every turn.
What I see now is what’s not true,
But yet I think I know what I thought.
Lost in the middle of sudden enchantments,
Forgetting the far away land of my heart.
Here I am sitting outside in the coffee shop,
When my friend again starts to whisper,
“But why do you sound so different?” I asked
After all these years I can’t seem to remember.
Listening to your inner self, do you really know?
Maybe it’s what you want to hear, maybe all allure.
He can be as jaded and as confused.
The dress is only a dress and nothing more.
The Big Buddha!!!
Saturday October 28: I was left completely enchanted at the very first sight of the Big Buddha (Tian Tan Buddha), not only for it's astronomical appearance, but also because of the surroundings. It's not like your usual tourist attraction. And although it can viewed from far away, it is hidden between the mountains, and that's what appealed to me the most.The Buddha is 34 meters high and weighs 250 tons. This, South East Asia's tallest outdoor bronze seated Buddha, can even be seen as far away as Macau on a clear day and is located in the Lantau Island, located at the mouth of the Pearl River and a very short distance from the airport. Visitors have to climb 268 steps in order to reach the Buddha.
Or you can just take a fascinating ride in a cable car - the Ngong Ping 360, to travel about 3.5 miles in about 25 mins to Ngong Ping village, a classic tourist inlet leading to the foot of the Buddha - Po Lin Monastery. The ride is a treat by itself, with great views of the pearl river, the entire island and the airport.
If you're stopping by in Hong Kong, even a stop in the airport and have a few hours to spare, definitely don't miss out on this majestic yet serene experience of the Big Buddha.
Friday, November 17, 2006
bus 15c, watermelon juice & IFC mall
Friday October 27: little did we suspect what surprising adventure awaited as we got back from the peak. with intentions of going towards star ferry pier, we got in line for bus 15c and......and a open roof double decker approached the stop! THAT'S 15C!! the ride to the pier was like a laser & light show with the bus zig zagging through the colorfully litted buildings at the heart of it all and dropped us off in the pier.
we didn't have too much time left before we we're going to meet up with my cousin Joy bhai for dinner. so we just loitered around in the pier and set our plans for the next evening, bargaining prices with other ferry tour operators and making a trip to the mall in the IFC 2 building.
...oh and i almost forgot...we also found this fruit juice stand in the pier that made oh so fresh juice and you know me...had to go for two glasses of the watermelon juice....ahhhhhh!
...the peak.
Friday October 27: high above hong kong island on the 'back of the dragon', the victoria peak provides the most magnificent views of the harbor and the city. We got down in the heart of the island, appropriately named central and started walking towards the garden road, passing the hong kong bank, hsbc and bank of china buildings to get to the peak tram station. the tram took about seven minutes, going up 1223 ft along side the steep hill as the view started to change. most in the tram were trying to capture the experience to keep forever in a tiny magical box...commonly called a camcorder.the peak tower waiting in the end was dazzling in the fading light of the soon to be setting sun with numerous shops indulging tourists from near and far, the Madame Tussauds wax museum and a range of outstanding restaurants for ones dining pleasure.
...and very soon we were standing on top of the hong kong skyline!!! and the view down below was breathtaking! signs from the kowloon side, the bay was sparkling with colorful sails and each building was taller than the next, and to think...we were down there a couple minutes before.
Thursday, November 16, 2006
hong "convenient" kong
Friday October 27: you know the first thing i liked about hk? the fact that i could buy a pre-paid sim with minutes cheaper than the cheapest phone card, pop it in my cell and BAM...i was connected. getting around was as easy...get a three day Octopus unlimited MTR pass for HK$330 that includes two trips on Airport Express or HK$220 with one Airport Express and enough legs for KCR (another public transport service for buses and light trains)...don't forget to get a $50 refund when you return the card. maps are easy to figure out - just follow the red, green, blue or yellow line. street maps are just as easy. markets and stores are everywhere - whether you want a new camcorder (which we did) or aspirin in the middle of the night (did that too) ....if hong kong had to choose a middle name..."convenient" would be a great pick!
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
memoirs of a blog
since i wasn't really blogging three weeks ago when we were passing through hong kong and because i've failed to figure out how to turn back time...i thought i'll blog my trip a little late - better late than never.So watch out...soon comes some blabber about a very vibrant Asian city, where not only east meets west but also where the line in between seem to disappear and you can't help but marvel at the peak and the parks, the skyline and the sampans...
zuned!
so there's a new kid in the block now...and it ain't afraid to stir things up! the Zune is not very impressive at first sight, especially after owning and LOVING my ipod for sometime now...i didn't think the zune's a match. it's bigger, "looks like a brick" (as Mark puts it) and no kool touch pad. But the awesome thing about the zune is it's wi-fied!!! So share things up with other zunes, xbox, home entertainment without getting wired...hmmmm...
...and i hate getting wired! i'd rather be zuned!!!
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