It's Rodeo and Mardi Gras Time

It's Mardi Gras in the Big Easy (Good ridden to awful Katrina) and Rodeo time in the Space City. I had some tickets for the barbeque cook off on Saturday at the Houston Rodeo. My wife and I were looking forward to some good eating. However, it was raining all day. Therefore, my wife and I settled for Olive Garden (viva Italia) in our Humble City.

Our daughter from Tokyo arrived in time for the juggling show at Princeton University on Saturday to surprise her friends. All her friends from 2005 graduating class were there too. She is now at NY City for a friend's birthday. She will be home next week. Her friend plans to visit Houston too. Therefore, her plan is to take her friend to the Rodeo to give a taste of real Texas. The older daughter is camping at Yosemite Park with her friends this weekend.

The weather turned gorgeous today after two weeks' of depressing overcast sky. I went for a bike ride under a sunny, blue sky this morning humming that Willie Nelson song ("Blue sky, nothing but the blue sky...").

Then it was usual household chores. It is time to get ready to welcome Monday. Do we really live for Friday or what??

Relative Equality

Somewhere I had read long time ago (I think it was "Our Town") "some people are more equal than others". We can talk all day about all men being created equal. It's like a corporation management giving a pep talk against unfair practices, but the "buddy system" continues to thrive. It's true in politics and in everything else. "You scratch my back, I scratch yours". Do we really care about equality, fairness, justice...?

Some lives are more equal than others. An American life is more valuable than an Iraqi life. A "fetus" in the west is more valuable than a living dead in Africa. One life lost in the US would have brought more money compared to that given for 500+ poor lives lost in the Bhopal tragedy caused by an accident at a Union Carbide plant. Oh yes, many make (a few of them are truly genuine) nice gestures to poor victims to subconsciously proclaim how great and compassionate they are.

We talk a good talk about peace, poverty, hunger, disease, but don't really mean it. If we did, we would not be in a "tit-for-tat" game. We will try to talk and understand even our worst enemies. It is truly a global village today where we have to face each other everyday. However, we are once again creating "east and west" syndrome within this family. If we believed in humanity, we would not show our "middle finger" to the UN to start an unnecessary war. When going got tough, we needed the same UN to help us. Every country wants to use the UN to its advantage to wield its power in the world stage, not necessarily for the good of the world.

So are we progressing or regressing? Materially I suppose some are progressing to a point where they can flaunt their newfound wealth and power. Nevertheless, the gap is widening creating a world around us where poverty, hunger, disease, desperation prevail. That desperation gives rise to instability created by "less than equal" folks which is the out come of stupidity of the "more than equal" folks. If we do not want "annihilation" of our global village, perhaps the "more equal" should pay attention to the "less equal".

It's Monday and I am home

It's President's Day. For the first time in my career it's a company holiday and I am home. Even Tigger (our cat) is confused and wondering what I am doing at home on a Monday. Anyway, I had planned for some warranty work to be done on our house by our homebuilder today.

The 1st person knocks on the door at 8:00 AM. I was still in my pajamas. It's the electrical contractor. The electrical panel had wrong size breaker for the A/C. They swap it out. About that time the plumbers show up. We had a small gas leak up in the attic near the water heater. The gas detector doesn't lie. By the time they are done, a person to fix the dryer vent shows up. He had to cut a big hole in the attic to have access to the vent line. After some reluctance, he decides to install the booster fan. He completes around 11:00 AM. He leaves leaving a gaping hole in the garage ceiling. That's for some one else to fix. Besides, electrical connection to the booster fan has to be done by an electrician. That's for another day. Now I wait for the person who is supposed to replace a glass pan with a safety glass near a door to comply with building code.

As I wait, I fix another cup of tea (by the way, my stomach says it's ready for some lunch) and look at our daughter's blog site. It's amazing. She can cook almost anything with almost nothing. She made pancakes on a dry pan and ate it with no syrup or anything. She even posted a picture of her creation. Regardless, she appears to be managing rather well alone in a far away place. In less than two weeks she will be home. She already mentioned in her blog how her cooking wasn't anything like her parents. Therefore, I cautioned my wife to be ready to do some serious cooking when our daughter comes home to maintain her cooking reputation. Well, I also downloaded some Assamese music from MusicIndiaOnLine.

I guess my President's day is going to be full of interesting activities. Now, speaking of President's day, what a difference from the first George to the current George? One acted like people's representative and consulted the Congress for most anything. This one acts like King George. He (and his stubborn VP) has his reason. It's terrorism stupid. He is trying to save you. Therefore, what if you have to give up a little freedom? That's not what the first George fought for. Thank the first George and his contemporaries that we will have a new president (or a king?) in a couple of years.

Quick update

It was a hectic week. I left for San Diego on Monday afternoon straight from the office and returned on Wednesday night. Weather in San Diego was gorgeous as usual, but we were stuck inside witnessing some turbine package acceptance test at Solar Turbines. However, I managed to put in a short run by the bay after work. It was worth it. My wife also made a day trip to Austin on Tuesday on business. On Friday it rained cats and dogs in Houston. Saturday was sunny, but very cold and windy (while northeast got the taste of heavy snow fall). We (including Sushma) went to Austin for a little girl's 1st birthday party. As usual, there was too much good food, noise, gossip and I should say it was worth it. We spent the night at Sarma's house (their hearts are as big as Texas). We were late to bed. This morning as I opened my eyes, a perfect sunny and mild day welcomed us. After tea we (Sarmas and us) went for a walk by the river. It was marvelous. A pair of swan and a flock of ducks were playing in the water. People, young and old, were walking (including power walk), jogging, biking, and running with their dogs. It was too tempting for me not to do something. So, I had a short run (although I wasn't quite dressed to do that) and returned back to the group. Upon return to Sarma's house, we ate lunch (prepared ahead of time by the Sarmas especially for us). Once again, the food was great. I had a cup of tea before heading back. I was humming songs all the way back to Houston while Sushma slept like a baby in the back seat.

Well, all good things come to an end. It's time to get ready to welcome another week. My wife and I will be on the road again in the wee hours of the morning tomorrow; this time heading for the office. I must not forget that coming Tuesday is a very special day when cupid shoots his invisible arrows and I must play my role. Happy Valentine's day to all the lovers of the world.

Double Standards

It's funny. We don't admit it, but we have double standards. We have to be politically correct even when telling a joke. But we can ridicule someone's God or prophet or religion. Our administration wants to spread democracy. But when people overwhelmingly and democratically elect HAMAS, we do not want to talk to them, because it's a terrorist group. Even in the definition of terrorist and patriots, there is a fine line. Terrorists to some may be patriots to others. In Iraq where this administration is pushing their style of democracy, a religious (and not a secular) group is getting the majority vote pushing the country on the verge of a civil war. Tit-for-tat is not going to solve the problems of the world. We must learn to talk to our worst enemies. We must learn to see life through enemies' eyes. Everything in life is negotiable. Only we draw black and white lines.

We brag about individual freedom, but this administration is pushing for wire tapping on individuals in the name of security. As some one said, one who is willing to give up individual freedom for security deserves neither security nor freedom. It's like a pet dog that gives up freedom for security. The founders of this nation fought alien rulers to free themselves to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. Are we slowly becoming slaves to domestic masters to be in our comfort zone? Are we afraid to speak out? Fortunately enough, we have term limits.

It's a beautiful morning

It's a lovely morning. I made omelets (my favorite) and biscuits for breakfast. In between, we "skyped" with our daughter in Tokyo (whose blog posting stated that she was suffering from hug deficiency, I think a hug is like a smile. "It costs nothing but gives more light").

As I was having breakfast, I was listening to an Assamese devotional song (Borgeet). I don't want you to get the wrong impression. I do not really think religion is even necessary in the modern world. I listen to all kinds of songs, more for the music and the lyrics. This song has a truly philosophical overtone and makes one think what's important in life.

It's a beautiful morning. We must learn to enjoy nature's gift as it unveils, because tomorrow is a different day and we do not know what tomorrow may bring. It's a cool, sunny morning. I see the greenery through my window as I type this. There is a flock of white birds flying (oh! it's marvelous) low across the golf course. The morning sun is creating kaleidoscope of shadows of tall trees on the green patches. There are a few die-hard golfers out to enjoy the day already. A little bird (I think it's a sparrow) came by my window to take a peek at what I was doing. ("Mukhot doodal doobori bon, doodaal khorika, mor chotalot omolohi, oh ghon chirika").

It's truly a beautiful day. There is no one around (my wife has gone for her aerobics exercise). I can sing as loud as I want. I can jump around which would be weird otherwise. Live the day you all - I say.

William Purkey is right when he said, "Dance like no one is watching, love like you'll never be hurt, sing like no one is listening, live like it's heaven on earth."