Travel

As the weekend is coming to a close and the week is starting, I am reflecting on where I would like to travel. I haven't traveled much in the past year, because there were several things I needed to take care of such as moving to NY for my new job, apartment hunting, etc. I always admire my adventerous friends who have traveled far and wide to exotic destinations - the ones people don't normally go to. I have been to cities in 3 continents in my lifetime and have yet to explore others. Here is a list of places and trips I would love to go on (quite possibly my dream list):
Italy (Florence, Venice, Rome, Tuscany region)
Loire Valley in France
Aegean Islands in Greece
Loch Ness in Scotland
Vienna
Pyramids in Egypt (very obvious one)
Turkey (too many to list)
Brazil (Amazon cruise, major cities, etc)
China (Beijing, Great Wall)
Thailand (Bangkok, Phuket)
Maldives
Safari in Tanzania
Inca Ruins in Peru
Great Barrier Reef in Australia
Alaskan Cruise

I am sure this list will get bigger as time goes by.

The Economy, Technology, Environment: Challenge to Hope

The new year began on a somber yet hopeful note - our economy was falling, but we were hopeful for a new beginning and renewal in America. Distress could be seen everywhere. All of a sudden, the issues we watched on television or read about in the news started having a direct impact on our lives.

Americans now have a chance to reflect upon their lives: is this what I always wanted to do with my life? have I pursued my passion? am I truly happy with my career? did I do what was important to me or my family? For many people, their job was their identity. They held on to it like a prize. The issues we are facing is a wake up call to people who thought that they created a safety net out of their careers that sheilded them from facing the realities of life. This era of uncertainty is also a lesson for young people in high school and college who will be entering the work-force soon. They know what uncertainty means and are armed to deal with challenges more than the generation that preceded them.

We are entering a period of rapid transformation in the political, environmental, and technological areas. Social media is transforming the way we live from micro-blogging to networking, from online collaboration to video sharing. There is a wealth of information we can draw from. My generation (Generation Y) has faced challenges growing up: from an era of comfort to an era of uncertainty. We are transforming the web and social media. We are transforming society. Despite the new challenges we are facing about the economy or the environment, we are creative enough to invent new ideas or amend existing ones. New ideas or a combination of ideas from various fields are waiting to be created: technology, green energy, economic theories, medical discoveries. Our brainpower is faced with a challenging new era and its up to us to make the best use of it.

Edison said: "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up".

The Story of Success

I recently read the book "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell. It is about the story of success and looks into the lives of a few exceptionally successful people. After showing some statistical evidence such as date of birth, going over the '10,000 hour rule', and other 'advantages', it points out that success is not just a matter of hard work and dedication, but a combination of many factors and luck.

The book made a lot of sense to me, since I have seen how small opportunities combined with hard work can bring success. However, if someone does not get these opportunites, they may not be able to take advantage of them. Good opportunities may start of as a small beginning to a long chain of successful occurings. People born at the right time to take advantage of opportunities, people who go to the right school that enables them to build a good network, people who stumble upon the right job at the right time, people who are born into wealth. These people had luck on their side. Some parents motivate their children to do well in school and many of their children succeed. Other parents, may not give the same kind of motivation to their children and many of their children may not succeed. Success breeds success.

For a person to be a success, the right opportunities have to come at the right time. Otherwise, those opportunities will be missed or overlooked. At the same time, it takes a certain level of drive and determination to bring about luck. People who constantly strive for the best are better prepared for opportunities when they arrive. People who complain and don't work as hard are least prepared when opportunities come. There is always a certain amount of luck involved in life, but it is up to us to forsee and take advantage of little opportunities thrown our way. There are some common elements that I have noticed in all successful people: they dont complain much, they seize the day, take time to enjoy their lives, work very hard, exercise, eat right, and the most important of all - they maintain a good attitude.

Sunshine after Rain

Today was a sunny day in New York. I stepped out of my apartment building in the morning to be surrounded by the generous morning sun reflecting from the windows of the apartments. A fruit vendor was setting up his small cart with a variety of colorful fruits. A maltese puppy was happily walking with its owner. As I stood at the intersection, the thought came to me that yesterday was a cloudy, windy, and gloomy day. The weather can change in one day and so can people's lives. The lucky chances in our lives are similar to cloudy days transforming into sunny days. Spring is a time of renewed optimism. In these difficult times, the new verdant leaves and fragrant flowers continue to bloom; the cycle of life continues.

The jazzy tunes of new york

My parents came to visit me this weekend and today I decided to show them around my neighborhood and beyond. We crossed a few avenues to get to 5th ave. To our right was central park, and to our left stood the most expensive stretch of real estate on the planet.

I love taking the walk down 5th avenue and central park to get to midtown, because it is beautiful to see the classy abodes that line the street on one side with the serene park on the other. Athletic men and women jog listening to their ipods and iphones, while older ladies in fur coats walk their small fluffy dogs with pride not paying attention to a group of wide eyed european tourists. Yellow cabs line the street with their drivers honking and frustrated; some are stuck in the busy traffic and some are stuck in their lives. When you live in these abodes, it is easy to forget the world that many people live in, including many new yorkers. A few steps down the street lie the archaic city subways. Once in a while, I can hear a jazzy tune played by a sad man, once in a while it is a chinese flute, and once in a while, it is a merry spanish song. All of these tunes can be heard in the subways and almost all of them are created by men homeless or unemployed unable to make a decent living otherwise. Many of them are quite talented. I wonder what the difference between some of them and the people of 5th avenue are? Is it luck?

The sounds of the city can be heard everywhere - you just have to listen.

No TV and No beer make Homer something something

Here is a link to a Simpsons episode from a while back:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yGJGTjV2WE

I found it hilarious because I have been watching less and less of TV for a while and I dont drink at all. According to Homer, I should've turned crazy long ago. I used to watch a lot of TV before. When I moved to New York, I made the decision that I will not subscribe to premium cable. It is one of the best decisions I made. I can still watch TV if there is something important, but at the same time, it forces me to use my life for other productive tasks. There are so many better things I could do with my day and it is beautiful feeling to end each day well.

The only downside to not watching as much TV as before is missing out on conversations about shows. I can get very lost while friends talk about LOST. I dont know what goes on in Top Chef and I dont always follow American Idol. It is still a small price to pay for the time I get to do better things.

Americans spend an average of 142 hours watching TV a month. That is 142 less hours of spending time with their family. 142 less hours of socializing. 142 less hours of reading. It could be anything. I am sure other countries are catching up to this. I have noticed my relatives in India watching a lot of TV too.

The reason I find TV annoying, to say the least, is the amount of choice and control I have over shows and commercials. With internet, I can choose to visit only websites I like to visit, and I dont have to watch commercials. To me, that is a more efficient use of time.

Food and entertainment

I realized I haven't posted anything on my blog for more than a week! NY is an excellent place to be if you are a work hard play hard person. There is so much energy and endless things to do. NY is also famous for its array of restaurants and cafes. Many of the good restaurants are packed, even during a recession. However, it is not the time to be an average restaurant or a Wall St restaurant. My coworkers and I used to frequent a place for lunch; it was a cafeteria/restaurant/cafe with different kinds of food and we were never dissapointed with the quality. It was right on wall st and frequented by the regular wall st crowd. Two weeks ago, when we went there for lunch, we were surprised to see that the restuarant had closed down. Our assumption is that the wall st meltdown must have caused it to come to its end.
Each week, I have been discovering new restaurants and I should start posting the names of all of them. This weekend, I went to a cuban restaurant for a friend's birthday called Havana Alma De Cuba. The appetizers, especially the empanadas were great. I love plaintains and people eat plaintains in our part of India too. Its always interesting to see how cuisines can be similar according to similar climates; they also stem from cultural influences brought on by historical voyages. Here is a link to the restaurant:

http://havanavillagenyc.com/media/websitehavanavillage.html

I also discovered a new cafe around my neighborhood. Its called beannocio and it was recommended by a lady I saw in another cafe. I liked the environment and it is a great place to read and study. http://beanocchios.com/

Last week, I saw the Sonicvision show in the planetarium at the american museum of natural history. Being an astronomy enthusiast and also the fact that the show was in a planetarium, I was expecting a little bit more of a science lesson. The show was fascinating, but it was more on the technical, music, and graphics side and less on the science side. It was definitely worth seeing once.

http://www.amnh.org/rose/dome/