I love Captain Picard. Oh, and Data.

Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Captain's log, stardate 41263.2 - This will be a rather unusual log entry, assuming Starfleet ever receives it. As I already informed my crew, a phenomenal surge of power during a warp speed experiment has sent our starship hurtling out of our own galaxy and past another, taking us over 2,700,000 light years - in a few minutes. 
Lieutenant Geordi La Forge: Message on this has already been transmitted to Starfleet, sir. 
Lt. Commander Data: Which, traveling subspace, they should receive in 51 years, ten months, nine weeks, 16 days... 
Captain Jean-Luc Picard: Mr. Data. 

From-

"Star Trek: The Next Generation: Where No One Has Gone Before (#1.5)" (1987)

Obsession Update: 1

When I was talking about how much I missed India Daily Photo, my husband asked why I wasn't doing a Seattle Daily, and I had to hit my self on the head. Why hadn't I thought of that? Seattle Daily Photo, both the domain and the blogspot URL were already bagged, and so I settled for seattledailypicture.blogspot.com

It's no fancy website, but it's where I'm going to post photos while I practice stuff I'm reading about. Yes, plenty of photo books scattered around, so here's the link again, enjoy the photos, leave a comment, and excuse me while I go obsess some more :)

It's time to obsess

I had an 'a-ha' moment recently (although it should have honestly happened years ago, and in fact was a bit of regular feedback from my manager at work), that I truly, really, easily get distracted from what my focus should be on. And while right now I'm still sitting at home, without a job, one would say I don't really have a lot to focus on; not ferociously, anyway.

But there I was, trying to get a bunch of documents together to have my new name and address updated on my passport, and I go out to the living room to find a pen. And I sit down watch TV for two hours. That's when the a-ha moment happened. There was proof all around me.

Dishes washed yesterday, but still in the dishwasher.
Laundry done on the weekend, but still in the dryer.
Documents nearly ready for weeks, just need a signature.

And really, it's ridiculous. I have all the time in the world, but I don't get anything done. So I've decided to obsess.

And obsessing over something when you need to, is good. I'm sure you'll agree. And it's not like I haven't obsessed before. With a whole bunch of things ranging from Harry Potter of course, to my Film Club in college, and my friends' band when I was their self-proclaimed manager, and India Daily Photo when it was still flourishing :(. But it's been a while now.

What have I been obsessed with recently since I came to the US? Very lame stuff I must confess. A lot of TV. Real Housewives of Orange County? Yes. NOOO! But yes. My puppies. And a lot of facebook.

So here's my pledge. To obsess over my photography. Because I really want to. Like really, really. Am not fully sure why. But am going to give it my best shot. After all, life has turned out to be straight out of a dramatic movie, and so I should be able to make it happen, right?

Wish me luck. 

Random notes from the week

Have to admit it, the food at the Google Mountain View campus is really, really good.
I miss getting emails from Eric Schmidt, especially when there's major things going on. (read this)
The word 'silver' is so damn pretty.
My capacity to consume alcohol is fairly diminished.
Wine-high makes me think of things like, "what if all the oxygen molecules in my body went on a strike."
I met an amazing girl this weekend, and have a crush on her.

The dilemma

I've moved home plenty of times. If I count correctly, I moved 5 houses in my 4 years in Hyderabad. Usually not a super-grand affair -- I never bought any furniture, or major appliances, and in fact, made a couple of my inter-Hyderabad moves in a few trips in rickshaws. Not complicated. I've always liked that fact, and wanted to adhere to the policy of not owning too much. Keep life clutter-free is a good motto. Right?

But, the darker side of me has always had a bit of a hoarder in it. It's in the blood, I would say. My grandmother owns a big house in Pune and it's literally full of things she's 'saved' for half a century. So while I'm often tempted to 'save' things for the distant future when that mundane object will play an irreplaceable part in my life, I have to do a quick reboot in the head. 

Because, after all, honestly, what are the chances that you're really going to EVER . Especially once it is dusty and musty and covered in cobwebs, after taking up a load of space not mansion-sized homes we live in.

So, anyway, back to the point at hand. I'm now on the brink of another repack. This time moving 838 miles to Seattle, Washington. This kind of distance basically eliminates the convenience of spreading the move across multiple trips or even multiple days. Everything has to fit in whatever truck we rent. Everything has to fit in these scores of cardboard boxes that are leering at me right now, blocking my light too, damn it.

I've been walking around the house the past couple of hours looking at the pretty ferocious volume of objects my husband and I have accumulated. Doesn't help the situation when the husband also has a bit of the-dark-side-with-the-hoarder part in him. Its in his blood too, I do say.

So, yes am talking about crates of books, 5 more of all kinds of video games (you name it), dvds, half a dozen guitars, half a dozen amps, bulky speakers and not to forget, a dog with a classic collection of half-eaten toys. Not even mentioning the stuff that's in the kitchen and bedroom. 

This reboot button usually helps me get rid of things I don't want to carry around. It's abandoned me this time. I'm staring at an abysmally small heap in the things-to-get-rid-of area. I hope this being-married-and-settling-down business hasn't brought about the victory of the dark side in me.

Gulp. Back to walking around the boxes for now.

What am I missing here?

It's 2:00 am. I'm awake for some absurd reason, and I look out of my window to see if it's still snowing. Barely. No one's around. But, I see something that's annoying. Every single shop across the street from my hotel has it's lights on bright.

I've seen this everywhere I have visited in the US. Shops/stores/offices that shut as early as 7 pm leave some or all of their lights on ALL NIGHT.

I don't get it. And I don't get why its not a big deal. I don't see even remotely, what purpose it serves, and I don't see why no one cares about it. Not only does it cost them money (which they should obviously care about) but is such a horrid misuse and waste of resources.

In India, we've recently seen a lot of awareness campaigns and initiatives to make people save every bit of electricity. Not in the room? Turn the lights off. Companies make an effort, and it's a great way of positive marketing if they demonstrate how green and conscious they are. At the Google office in Hyderabad, we had lights that came on when they sensed movement in the room, we were encouraged to use natural lights, turn our monitors off, and every other conceivable way of saving energy.

And while many things in the US are environmentally conscious and responsible, many things aren't.

I know ranting about it on my blog isn't going to make a difference, but for one, am wondering if I'm really missing something here and am completely off base, and there's a logical reason for this? For two, am going to have to looking into this, and see what I can do to start trying to change this.

More later. If you have any light to shed, please leave a note!

Snowflakes are falling on my bedhead

I feel terrible that I was sitting in a hotel room all day (to my defense, I was sick today), watching the news about it going to snow in the city this evening, and I didn't even look outside to really see that it was, indeed, snowing outside. Right outside my window, an inch of snow on everything, the same white blanket described in books. No big deal, other than the fact that it doesn't usually snow in Seattle. This climate change thing is yes, oh so alarming.

Jolie Number 2

We're thinking of adopting another puppy. It's exactly a year since we got our precious little Jolie, and there's no doubt in my mind that our lives wouldn't be the same without her. It's like having a baby, you know? You are literally responsible for a living thing -- one that is completely dependent on you for its well being, and protection, and in return, one that showers you with unconditional love, and unending entertainment.

So while, a few months ago, I did turn into a paranoid mommy, hardly taking my eyes off Jolie, to ensure she's not peeing or pooping in our small, carpeted apartment, or eating something completely disastrous, or even sometimes just being grumpy with her because I was at home alone with her for hours on end, all that changed recently.

When I just had to go out for a few hours, and left her alone, and later came back to discover the house was completely intact. No cushions on the floor, no half eaten chapstick, no ballpen chewed up. Instead, wagging her bottom at me in a mad, mad frenzy, and trying to climb up my leg, was my adorable little puppy.

Ok, I could go on for another hour at least, about how awesome Jolie is, so getting back to what I want to say, a few days ago when we had another puppy at home for about 24 hours, I had to admit, we were ready to welcome another one into our lives. A baby sister for Jolie, someone as small, tiny, playful, energetic, and smart as her, to keep each other company.

I had a profound moment months ago, after having consumed several glasses of wine, when I looked at Jolie on my lap, and fully experienced the fact that here is a creature, a living breathing creature who is so unconscious of herself, but so alive. It's hard to explain what I was feeling and thinking, but my husband understood, and its our little joke... about our little creature.

So yes, we are in conversation with someone about adopting one of their puppies -- and fingers crossed, in a few weeks, we will welcome puppy number 2 into the pack.

Bloody Nigerian Scammers

Last week, I posted my first Craigslist ad. To sell my Nikon D80 so that we can upgrade to a bigger/better/newer. And after a couple of disheartening emails from people asking if I will sell at half the price I offered, I got a reply from a "Doctor from San Jose" who went on the explain that he wanted to buy the camera for his son who is currently transferred to Africa. He offered to pay me a $100 extra for the shipping.

I was definitely a bit skeptical about this possibly shady deal, but we decided that we had no grounds for being suspicious, yet. He had asked us to send him a paypal invoice, and knowing that paypal is a reliable service, we sent him one. Our plan being let's see if the cash comes through.

So I sent the invoice, and within minutes I got a reply from him saying he had made the payment and that I should ship the camera instantly. His excuse was he was out of town on business, and couldn't do the shipping to Africa bit himself.

By now, I was slightly more distressed. His English in the emails was weak (big flag) and he hadn't even sent me a shipping address. And he insisted that the paypal payment was made, while I saw nothing in our account.

Now feeling more certain that this was some scam, we looked up his gmail address on Google. (Gerraldphilips@gmail.com)
And there were multiple blogs articles that listed this email address associated with what is called the 419 Nigerian scam. Where he (the scammer/fake doctor) does the same thing, makes a offer to buy, at whatever price you're asking, plus pay for shipping to Nigeria.  Then proceeds to send you a fake email from Paypal saying that your money has arrived.

I dunno how many people fall for this, because the fake email was so bad, we only saw it when we looked in the Junk folder, and had an infinite number of typos and grammatical errors. So anyway, after making sure he hadn't got any of our information via paypal, we felt a bit foolish for not going with our instinct right-away, but were now better prepared to identify the next scam, and had a funny story to narrate the next couple of days.

Our chance to use our newly gained knowledge came pretty soon. A week later, we're here in Seattle, looking up ads on Craigslist for apartments. We called a few places, made appointments, and I emailed one lady who had a great looking house up for rent for a lowish price.

The next day, I got a reply from her; this time it was two doctors who are "committed in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS". Before I got a chance to flag the ad, it was already flagged off. Disgusting.

INFORMATION AND APPLICATION FOR THE APARTMENT FOR RENT  
 
Thanks for the email and interest in our home. I am a Medical doctor and I work for RED CROSS SOCIETY,we  arrive London a Month Ago with my husband and we are committed in mitigating the impact of HIV/AIDS which kills more that 3,000 people everyday and also supporting community garden programs for AIDS sufferers and their families
 
If you are interested in renting our home you can call me for further details on my Cell number + (+44 702 407 2434): Please note that the property is locked & the keys will be sent once we approved you as our tenant. Also this is not a share or sublet so I prefer dealing directly with my tenant no third party or agent. You can also reach my attorney once you have been approved on (802) 375-7213. 
 
RENTALS APPLICATION 
FIRST NAME:__________________ 
MIDDLE NAME:_________________ 
LAST NAME:__________________ 
PROFESSION: ________________ 
HOME PHONE (____)__________ 
(CELL)PHONE (____)__________ 
(WORK)PHONE (____)__________ 
KIDS _____ (YES/NO), HOW MANY________ 
PRESENT ADDRESS:_____________________ 
CITY: _______________ 
STATE: ______________ 
ZIPCODE: ____________ 
HOW LONG DO YOU INTEND STAYING?____________ 
WHEN DO YOU INTEND MOVING IN?______________ 
HOW SOON CAN YOU HAVE THE DEPOSIT PAYMENT SENT TO ME___________________________ 
HOW SOON DO YOU WANT TO RECEIVE THE KEYS AND DOCUMETS OF THE HOUSE_________________________

__
DO YOU HAVE A PET:_____________
NAME OF PET:_____________
KIND OF PETS:_____________
DO YOU SMOKE?______________

Wide Parking place is available/Washer & Dryer/Internet/Air Condition E.t.c

We decided to rent our property to a responsible person because we will be spending a long time around Europe for Missionary work. To avoid keeping our home Empty during these periods of time we both have decided to lease our property to a good and God fearing person that will take good care of the property.

There is no Registration fee only deposit payment required in other to send keys and paper works. I would like you to know that am doing this base on trust and putting everything is God Hands.
Pets are allowed and utilities are included in the rent.

I hope to hear from you soonest.
Thanks & God Bless.
Dr Sarah & Jeremiah Lawrence.

Do you pee in the shower?

When my husband casually mentioned to me, a couple of months ago, that he pees in the shower, I was shocked. Aghast. His argument was -- its sterile, and that he'd been doing it all his life. I don't remember WHY or HOW that conversation sort of slipped out of my mind for a few more months, until today.


We are moving to Seattle in a couple of weeks, and are currently in the city, house-hunting. So this morning I decided to exercise my wifely powers, and impose a DO NOT URINATE rule in the new shower/bathtub. And what followed were these arguments.


1) Even if I tried, I couldn't stop. It's like being in a swimming pool. You have to pee.
2) I always pee in the shower. And it's sterile.
3) Everyone pees in the shower!
When he made that last declaration. I uttered a soundless grunt of scorn, and decided to consult Google to make my investigations on that impossible proclamation. After all, I have never known anyone who pees in the shower.  (Well, I guess I can't say that because I haven't asked everyone I know if they pee in the shower, but it has never occurred to me or come up in conversation.) It's going to.


Anyway, so to proceed with my Google findings, I have to say, I was defeated. The various links I clicked through to, ALL concluded that most men admit freely to peeing in showers. Here's the crux of my investigations.


1) It's a primal instinct. I wont elaborate (because I can't) but they can't help the urge. Nor would they want to. 
2) "One of the most liberating things a man can do is pee in nature, the only thing that can come close is peeing in the shower."
3) "You're taking a shower! Of course you're rinsing the tub out! There's water running constantly, with soap!!"
3) I came across a blog post that says a Brazilian environmental group actually encourages people to pee in the shower because it helps conserve water that would otherwise be used in the flush.



While I'm definitely not converted to the cause, I will have to refute my ban, turn a blind eye, and pretend I don't care. Husbands are stubborn creatures. And what I can say to the saving water bit anyway?


PS: Here's a link to a rather entertaining investigation a woman conducted and another link to the blog post about the Brazilian message with a video!

Coraline

Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten. 


  -- G.K Chesterton


Thats the quote Neil Gaiman chose to open his marvelous, thrilling book Coraline with. I've been a Gaiman fan ever since I read his Neverwhere, and bought Coraline in one of my reckless splurging sessions at Landmark, Hyderabad. 


Certainly looked like a spooky children's tale... but boy, what a chilly, scary book. And not scary just because of the demon villain, but more because of the moral/take-away of the story. 


Also, of course, to mention, is the INCREDIBLE stop motion 3D movie they made of it. I caught it on TV  here in the US, and they followed up the movie with a 15-min making of. And this my friends, is what you call animation. Here's a quick peek.

The Return of Percy Jackson

When I bought one and then all five of the Percy Jackson series, I had to finally admit to myself that I am a sucker for children's fantasy. It was no Harry Potter of course, but it was fun to learn Greek mythology in that way, considering my education didn't cover it at all. I really didn't know ANYTHING about Greek mythology other than maybe Aphrodite's name. It was also fun to compare, in my head, the differences between the styles of JK Rowling, who is so distinctly British and Rick Riordan whose humour is so reflective of American goofiness. Very different. Not the forget the food. At Hogwarts, we read about delicious feasts and puddings, and grabbed turkey legs from the magical plates, whereas at Camp Half-Blood in Percy Jackson world, it's pizza and coke that made the demi-Gods drool. That was disturbing.

Anyway, so I finished the Percy Jackson series in about 10 days, and was sad to say goodbye to another hero. Atleast I thought it was goodbye.

A week ago I saw Rick Riordan's newly released The Lost Hero in a bookstore, and sneakily ordered it online with a couple of other books. And I was happy to plunge back into the world of demi-Gods, meet a bunch of new characters in the same old setting, but a new twist.

The twist being, we are slowly delving into Roman mythology. Percy Jackson was "missing/kidnapped" the entire book, but a not-so-subtle hint at the end of the book revealed that he is going to be playing a much bigger part in the next book -- The Son of Neptune. (Nepture aka Roman name for Posiedon.) So, excitement is there slightly. Sucky part is that the book is out Fall 2011. Nicely done by Riordan to bring back the Hero after his series ended. Makes me fervently wish that Rowling will just write something soon. Anything. (She is writing apparently, but she is so secretive.)

So that brings us back to focusing on the Harry Potter mania about the grip the world this weekend. I can hardly believe that my tickets are for real.

Of shopping online

They may looks pretty, and they may come at a great discount, I'm pretty sure I would never ever buy a pair of boots online. Just saying.

Small Pleasures #658

Receiving a secretly ordered package of hardbound books. Double points if it's a bunch of Children's Fantasy books.

Vivian Maier

I don't remember how I came across this blog, but it has grown to become my absolute favourite. It's not a tech blog, or a personal diary, or a comic, or dooce. It's a photoblog -- Vivian Maier - Her Discovered Work. I love it because its so unique.

The story starts when this man bought a bunch of film negatives and a few negative prints at a furniture auction. He was not a photographer. But slowly began to develop film rolls from the hundreds of rolls he had. And what he discovered was the exceptional street photographs in Chicago from the 1950s to 1990s by a woman called Vivian Maier. He now posts her photos on the blog. 

Not that much is known about her other than she was a French woman who considered herself a film critic, and was a nanny to children in Chicago. Pleasantly surprised today to read that a documentary is being filmed about her. Until then, enjoy the photos.

PS: Read more about the story here: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/art/features/little-miss-big-shot-fifties-america-exposed-ndash-by-a-french-nanny-1811040.html