California Diary: Time to say Goodbye to California

Today is Tuesday morning. I came in exactly 4 weeks back! I came in with a bit of anxiety and nervousness. It took me some time to settle down.

 

By now I know most of the roads around my hotel and office. I know a lot of good hotels and I can tell you what you should buy and where. I know how best I should manage my time so that I get some overlapping hours with team in India.

 

But then, it happens to all of us; doesn't it? Just when you begin think you are settling in, it is time to move on.

 

Had good time in California and met whole lot of people. Made few good friends! Got to learn a lot of things about business and society. Time to go home! Just 3 more days to go!

 

I have made more than 40 foreign tours so far. This includes trips to USA, Europe, Middle East, South East Asia, Australia, even East Asia. Sometimes, I have been accompanied by my family and colleagues. Most of the times though, I was alone! I have experienced this moment in all my tours.

 

The moment you start your journey back, becomes a milestone of that journey! In your return journey you have so many memories, so many incidences, and 'to do lists' cluttering your mind! You even change your frame of mind to "home." Just like you change the currency notes from US$ to Indian Rupees.

 

Life can go on for years, without any noticeable change. But even a 3-day tour can give you this feeling of 'a milestone.'

 

After all these tours the experience of "going home" is still so intense! It is wonderful! That experience is worth the entire effort of the tour.

 

A tour "discharges the physical battery" and "charges the emotional battery."

 

Well, life goes on...and one day, just when you think you have started understanding 'life,' when you are getting used to it, and finally will be able to make some sense of it, it will be time to go Home! Then, a new tour will begin again, a new life...a new blog...

California Diary: Who says America is Expensive?

Contrary to popular belief I found America to be more cost-effective as compared to few cities in India (Mubai, Pune, Delhi, and Bangalore, to be specific). Take for example my hotel room. I had a studio apartment that had a rent of US$50 per night. The self-contained room had a small kitchenette with some utensils and amenities like electric stove, toaster, coffeemaker, microwave, fridge, TV, Lazy Chair.

 

Typically I would do my laundry once in 4 to 5 days. The laundry cost was US$ 4 per laundry ($2 for washer and $2 for dryer.) Compare this with Rs. 20 to Rs. 30 you pay per piece in India for laundry. Parking for my car was free. I would get coffee packets every day. Overall, it was an extremely clean, comfortable, and decent (non-smoking) room. The hotel has a swimming pool (which I never used.) Even the bath had a bathtub. I wonder why budget hotels in India do not arrange for washers on dryers on the same basis. The room was less than 200 sq feet. That should not be an issue I guess. Many hotels in US serve continental breakfast also. Their rents would be $60 plus.   

 

Gas (Petrol) was obviously cheaper than India. Cabs were very, very expensive. Renting your own car was the only option and if you had a GPS device you could easily do that (after getting a bit of hang of the traffic guidelines.)

 

Before going to US I went to buy Jean pan for myself and realized that the ones that I liked started at Rs. 1500/-. All of them would have needed a bit of alteration (though this was not an additional cost). On the very day of reaching USA I bought 4 Jean pants, the average price US$15 per piece. This was almost half the price I would have paid in India.

 

Many grocery items were much more affordable. If I bought ready-to-cook packets of food for lunch/dinner with standard combination of Cereals, juice, and milk for breakfast, my entire week's food cost would not be more than US$40 or US$50. Even if I went out for food, a standard meal in places like Subway would be around US$6 per meal. Going to places like Taco Bell would be a bit more reasonable. You could have good decent meal at under $5 per meal.

 

A set of 12 small beer cans would be less than $8 per set. It would be cheaper if you bought in bulk (sets of 36 cans was also available.) Similarly mineral water bottles were available in sets and water was even available in gallons.

Starbucks Coffee was fairly expensive at $3 per medium size cup. But then one does not need to have it everyday. In fact, I avoided having it later unless I had some company who would insist on it.

 

If you went to a fairly decent bar you could get a cocktail drink and draft beer at $7. Of course you could also go to the higher end of the spectrum where it could be in excess of $20 per drink. But almost nobody did that. If you went for dinner to fine dining restaurant you would end up paying $3 per drink like Coke or Iced Tea. These drinks would be "bottom-less" - meaning you could get any number of refills and you would be served as soon as you finish the earlier glass. Free refills were also available in places like Subway where you could fill up your drink any number of times till you are in the hotel (I do not remember having refilled it more than once, that too, half a glass only.) You would get very good quality California wine starting $15 onwards. You would have some if having dinner with special guests or business contacts. Most dinner dishes would come with a bowl of rice and portions would be huge. I found it difficult to eat all that I would get in my dish so typically we would share.

 

Even in good restaurants it was common practice to take home the remaining food portions. You would be served boxes or containers and you should not feel odd to fill it yourself or then they would do it for you.

In good restaurants and bars a tip (gratuity) of 15 to 20% would be assumed. Unless you get really bad service, this much tip is mandatory.

 

Malls would be packed with crowd on weekends. Not much of crowd on other days though, the business kept happening. A bowling game would cost about $10 on a weekday and double of that on a weekend. The catch was, you even have to rent the special bowling shoes for playing the game. These would easily be $5 per hour per person.

 

I found Nike's own showroom selling Nike shoes at almost 30% discount than market rate. Shoes were as expensive as they can get, but I even saw good pair of shoes for US50. I doubt if we would get the same pair of shoes in India for anything less than Rs. 4,000/-

Movie theaters were very expensive. Movie tickets could cut your wallet by $12 to $15 easily. Cabs were too expensive, tips to drivers are mandatory, and you would end up waiting for quite some time. I did not use the public transport at all. But my past experience of using it in Bay Area has not been good. There are too few buses and that too after a long gap. Anyone who values time should rent own car.

 

Renting cars at airports is expensive. But if you are a preferred customer, or if you do bookings on the Internet, you can get better "deals." They told me that my Indian driving license is good enough to drive in California as I was on a business visa. To be on safe side I even had international Driving Permit (IDP.) Though, these rules can change by states. If you are renting a car, getting insurance is mandatory. Depending on the time period and type the insurance amount also can vary a lot!

 

California Diary: An evening at the Self Realization Fellowship Center (Fullerton)

After freaking out with Aniruddha (Ani) in the first two weeks, the third week at California was to get a tinge of spirituality!

 

The day before Ani left for India we had a long discussion on philosophy and spirituality. Suddenly I remembered that the Swami Paramhansa Yogananda had mentioned about the Self Realization Fellowship (SRF) Centers he had started in California. We casually searched for some places and the nearest SRF temple turned out to be only about 7 miles away from my hotel, in a town called Fullerton.

 

Ani drove us there only to find out that the center was closed. But we got an idea about their typical schedule in a week and the events conducted. After dropping Ani at the LA airport, I went to the SRF center and was welcomed by a gentleman with a broad smile and open heart. He gave me detailed information about the various courses offered and events conducted at the center. I was introduced to some volunteers offering 'Seva' at the center. After talking to me for some time one of them even asked me if I could take some lectures for school children on Sundays. I told them that I was only in town for a few days and therefore the idea was welcome, but not practical. They seemed convinced with the answer and welcomed me to take a look at the various rooms in the center. I noticed the small (but neat) auditorium and a couple of other rooms that were used for meetings and classes. There is a sound-proof room from where you can see the stage and also hear the lectures (but your voice will not come out.) It is meant for individuals and families undergoing extreme stress. Seemed like a good idea where they can let go of their stress and emotions without disturbing others or even attracting unnecessary attention.

 

I was handed over the events calendar for the month of October 2010. The gentleman who welcomed me was in Pune for some time. After realizing that I am a Maharashtrian, he invited me for lunch/dinner with his family. He told me about SRF center in Pune where I could do the course and get more information.

 

I went back on 7^th October for a lecture session. The session was conducted in the auditorium I saw the other day. It had photographs of Swami Paramhansa Yogananda, Sri Sri Yukteshwar Giri, Lahiri Mahashay, Mah-avatar Babaji, and sketches of Jesus Christ and Bhagwan Krishna.

 

It started with a prayer and a 15 minutes meditation followed. We were asked to register names of individuals who could be stressed and in need of help/relief (including us, if applicable). The speaker later explained various aspects of meditation with a lot of examples. We ended the session with a prayer. As a part of the prayer we were asked to direct the prayer and the energy to anyone in the world who needs it. When they dimmed the lights during the prayer the photographs and sketches seemed to come alive and radiate energy. For a moment I thought the Great Guru's are sitting right there. The speaker spoke about how the Great Saints are omnipresent, even after their physical presence on the planet ceases to exist. We were asked to make donations. I hardly had any cash in my pocket because my entire existence was on the basis of the pre-paid US$ card given to me. But I did not get a feeling of inferiority because I saw others who did not pay anything or a few who paid in dimes (10 cents). No one (other than me) was looking at who paid and how much. I felt so stupid at that moment! Anyways, part of my personality I guess! 

 

Overall it was nice and neat session. I thanked the speaker and left. Must mention here that I did experience inner peace during and after the lecture. For almost half an hour I was signing bhajans to myself. I did not listen to any music neither I spoke to anyone…

 

Looking forward to more. May be on coming Saturday or Sunday!

California Diary: Mexican Food!

It is not my first trip to California and it definitely is not the first time I am eating good Mexican food, but today's food was really too good.

 

The occasion: I being invited for lunch as a guest of honor! The place was handpicked by Victor (a Mexican himself!). When I told everyone I like Mexican and I have been to Chillies many times, they all smiled.

 

They took me to 'Avilas El Ranchito;' somewhere in Orange County Southern California. The placed looked like a Mexican house with a traditional look. There were stuffed animals hung on the walls. God only knows how old they were. I did not ask. The place was started by a lady of Mexican origin about 45 years back and has been managed by a family. It looks like they could have easily accommodated at least 150 guests at a time.

 

The tortilla they served and even the Salsa was freshly prepared and one could make out the absence of preservatives. The taste was distinctly different than what we get in a typical 7-Eleven. The stuff would have gone really well (as Chakna) with some drinks, but none of us was in a mood to drink as we have to return back to work. Obviously I was the only one in the group to order a vegetarian dish. They told me the dish would be a bit "hot" but was not. The food was well-prepared and served with a "professional smile."

 

All-in-all, very good food and great time! I know where to go next time for Mexican food.

California Diary: Huntington Beach

When you are in California, that too, less than 30 miles from the coast, it would have been stupid not to visit the beaches.

So we came up with this great idea of visiting some beach. But which one? There are so many of them.

After having dinner at a restaurant we tipped the lady who served us (Kim) and she recommended Huntington Beach. We had planned some other beach but then we decided to follow her advice.

Next day we reached the beach in the after-hours of the day. On our way there we lost directions and reached an area of up-market housing complex. There was a row of bungalows with water touching their staircases. On the other side of the bungalow they had the road and parking! Get into the BMW and go to office, or get into the yacht and go shipping!

What a life! Sometimes when you loose track it is for your own good! But then you end up envying others! May be I will buy that house some time, and the BMW, and the yacht...may be..who knows...keep reading my blog!!

The beach was overflowing with crowd. It was like watching Baywatch shooting spot. The American principle seems to be "If you have it, flaunt it!"

Looking at the shops around the areas we improvised it to --- "If you don't have it, rent it, and flaunt it!"

J The crowd was really great! There we swimmers, surfers, fishing enthusiasts, fitness freaks; life guards, pilice, us, you name it!

We decided to take a walk along the lane that seemed to be most populated. We were looking for Starbucks Coffee and found a live band playing just around the corner. There were no vocalists, just the musicians. But they were terrific! There were 5 drummers and 6 guitarists. They even experimented a few pieces as progressions and got a loud round of applause!

There were a few guys playing the drums at the beach as well. More and more people seemed to be flowing in with their instruments and joined the band. One wise guy would decide the tune and then they would all play that! It was a good! They attracted a good crowd.

The only thing I was worried about is the driving on the Free Ways! My friend once had told me, "a person who can drive in Pune, can drive anywhere." I can say I don't quite agree. The sheer speed and discipline of vehicles was overwhelming. Before you could realise someone would have overtaken you at 80 miles and then other guy is trying to join the traffic from the right hand side. I would be so tempted to honk!

California Diary: Mickey Mouse is my neighbour!

I am writing to my own blog after a long time! I have been in California for about 15 days now. Came for doing estimation and "upstream project work" (means work done before the software development begins.

Over last 15 days I have wondered around the city without much of planning. Had some excellent time with my colleague discussing Hindustani Classical Music that too at times as odd as 3 O' Clock in the night sipping cans of beer.

We walked down to Disneyland one afternoon. We did not enter the park but had good time in the shopping mall near it. Enjoyed coffee sitting at a table on a sunny afternoon. Even bought a book about Walt Disney and his life. Seems he had heck of a time building his company and his entertainment park. Someone asked him "Why do you want to build an entertainment park? They are so dirty?" Walt's reply was "Mine won't be!"

I must say I am astonished to see the sheer amount of logistics involved. The area around the park is full of hotels and eateries. The place is packed on weekends! There is a bus that picks up guests from our hotel every 20 minutes of so. We can walk down to the road near my hotel and see the crackers bursting at 9:30 in the evening. The cracker show goes on for 15 minutes and it is worth a looking at again.

It is amazing to see the kind of ecology that Disneyland has built around itself! Hotels, restaurants, buses, bookshops, toys, everything!

Walt Disney has directly influenced the employment of thousands! It must not have been easy for him.

I was going through the Disney books explaining how to sketch their characters and the amount of detailing they have done is amazing! Call it as their "Style Guide."

Walt said, I never worried about the money. I was worried if there were no ideas. He has literally built the park over years putting pieces together. He would even wear old clothes and supervise the work of carpenters. When someone got irritated they would look at him and say, "And just who do you think you are? Walt Disney?"