WHY THE HELL IS BENAZIR BHUTTO BEING LET BACK INTO PAKISTAN?

one word----CORRUPTION

Why I overtrain and why I love spinning?

ok, today was a weird day...somehow the clock finally hit 5 pm...and I had the usual dilema to hit the gym or not...go to the gym I did..
Spinning...I took this class after nearly 6 months!! the moment I started pedaling...I knew why I loove spinning this much! I simply love the way Im-bike myself gasping for breath, love how I can increase the resistance on the bike and keep pedaling till I out, love how I compete in imaginary races...love how I scale hills after hills in 45min!
Boy, was I exhausted and my ass is torn...literally..the seats are too hard even for my well cushioned butt! nevertheless, Im goign back...

Muscle Blast....Ok, heres where I let my anger out...the entire days frustration was vented out in 60min flat..like I said, it was a WEIRD DAY today. I was angry at the way I look, at my pants, at my tshirt, at other ppl taking this class, angry at the FAT girl next to me(biyatch), angry that I couldnt do 10lb reps, angry at the floor, angry at the damn exercise band, angry bcoz I forgot my water bottle, angry bcoz Kaya is home alone, angry bcoz I need to bust my ass off at the gym, angry at anyone thinner than me, angry at my stupid wavy hair...damn it was one angry 60min...and this anger drove me alllllllllll the way.

I am extremely exhaused now! I needed this...all the negative energy is O.U.T. Take that.......

October-Month of 'being away from home'

Oct 4-7, 2007
Oct 4-Thur ….I’m in Akron, Ohio to attend a meeting. For the first time, Im attending from the ‘industry’ instead of a student! Feels great to be on the other side of the table!!
Most of my batch mates have graduated and simply ‘moved on’ in life. I did meet other friends, who I miss so dearly.
I rented a Chrysler Sebring convertible and did ONLY 90+mph! How thrilling…
Since I landed late in Cleveland and reached Akron even later on Wed night…me and Senthil went out to iHop….I’ve been seeing the ‘fruit filled crepes’ ad on TV and been wanting to eat one ever since…and hog we did…
Thur night, we went out to dinner with my friends (and parents of one of the friends!). I then drove down to Athens to meet dear sis Aarthi…Since my foodie cousin recommended few places to eat…eat we did! Avalance Pizza, Grinders..yummmO!
We went to this outlet mall-Jefforsonville-Prime Outlets…and we indulged….Lately I’ve been giving into some major retail therapy, instead of mopping around with misery…hasn’t helped a great deal so far, but blowing quids continues nevertheless..hmmm
Oct 14-19, 2007
I am speaking at the AFS-American Filtration and Separations Society conference at Ann Arbor, Michigan. I am soooo excited to be meeting my colleagues in the filtration industry..and my friends from Germany in particular! I did meet this guy from Czech, very nice guy (ahem ahem, married though, has a twin bro, who is older and lives with this gf….damn) Nevertheless, I’m visiting him next time I go to Czech Republic… soon enough now!

Oct 19, 2007
I missed Kaya sooooo much; it was incredible to see my baby again! She is due for her annual shots. Took her to the vet, got her shots (3 shots!!) and a general exam…Poor Kaya, she was shaking, tried to get out of the muzzle…but did not flinch one bit when the shots were given…Once outside, she was back to normal…I cant give her a bath for a week now, and I bet she knows that---she’s happy as a puppy romping about now…

Chetan Bhagat- ‘One Night at a Call Center’
Pretty interesting book. I like the way Chetan writes, very oversimplified vocab….it got straight to me. Loved the characters, the honesty. This book assures me Im not on the wrong side of my faith and belief system- which being agnostic…pheww what a relief!

Big Sur- August 10-12 2007

Yo homies…Another great trip this weekend…Big Sur. The best scenic trip so far. I have affirmed my love for the ocean this weekend!Big Sur is beautifully closeted between the Santa Lucia mountains on oneside and the rocky pacific coast on the other. We camped right off of Hwy 1...on a cliff, seemed like-a small trail led us down the ocean.

Here is how it went down...We (Dilip, Sandhya, Arvind and Kaya (yes!) decided on Big Sur on Friday...did not reserve any camp site...nothing.Last minute idea- conjured up by me and Sandhya. We (Arvind and me) startedout from Modesto at 7 pm or so...By the time we got to Hwy 1, the last 60miles...it was pitch dark! Couldn't see or hear the ocean. Anyhoo, we were lucky to find a campsite at Pfeiffer Big Sur Park....by the Big Sur river..We pitched our tents, and waited for Sandhya-Dilip to get here...Kaya was so excited...kept checking out the campsite and stuff...Icould tell she was happy! The campsite had huge trees (dont know what) that covered up the sky for us! Couldnt even see the stars...alas...

The following morning..I went for a run with kaya, very dense foliage thruout and green....could smell the crisp morning air. We checked out the Big Sur river (pic above)...not much water and was dirty as well in places...


We vacated the site, out to find a campground bythe ocean. Limekiln campground is very scenic and right by the ocean, butwas full. We drove out south, and found Kirk Creek camp. We were indeed lucky!Clear open skies, sandwiched btn the mountains and the pacific! See the campsite pic below...




Once we set up camp, we went down the trail leading to the ocean. It wasvurryyyyy rocky. There was this huge rock, about 500-700 ft high...that we decided to climb! I was skeptical about Kaya....but my baby has a good grip like a mountain goat! She braved the rock, looking into the ocean, followedby the others. We spent few minutes up there....taking in the vastness of the ocean. Apparently, Arvind has a fear of 'climbing' down therock...which he did successfully~Good job!
We then went to Sand Dollar beach..further down south...P.R.E.T.T.Y The shore line wassandy...wet sand. Plenty of seaweed in the waters. Arvind and me ventured out deep into the beach...shallow!We were amused that it did not go deep! We could still see the sand about quarter mile into the water! Kaya didnt come with us....she stuck to the sandy shores..Lots of dogs ont he beach...Dilip, apparently found a'friend'- another doggie-'Seven' is his name! They played frisbee for quite sometime. It was funny to watch them... We all started to play frisbee..been a while since I played...was fun and calorie burning! We worked up an appetite...and ate JUNK.

hey, when on vacation, calories dont add up, now, do they? We spent about 1.5 hrs on the beach...headed back to the camp.

Sandhya hadbrought along some veggies to grill...but no campfires allowed in summer! We skewered the veggies and paneer (ummmmm delicioso) over the open stove flame...Everyone was involved and it was great fun cooking and eating. See pic below!






The sunset over the ocean is simply unforgettable! As Sandhya likes to out it...the sun went down 'plop'. The whole sunset lasted about 3 min when gthe sun went down the
horizon. Simply fantastic!





After dinner, we star gazed and chatted the time away...Alas,we got hungryagain! We made burgers and hash brown at 9.30 pm or so...once again back to star gazing...We were supposed to spot the meteorite showers in the north-eastern sky...but didn't... It was chilly....the salty ocean air...

The ocean kept the night temp. down in 50s...I had trouble falling asleep..was too cold..But Kaya slept tight...all snuggled up inside her blanket…been sleeping since 8 pm or so...
In all, greatttt weekend getaway with greattt company!

Death Valley National Park- July 6-8

Death Valley is the largest national park outside of Alaska...3.4 millionacres! It simply is an arid desert…though was teaming with life…from lizards to green plants!We, my cousin (Dilip) and his wife (Sandhya) (GREAT COMPANY!!) headed out the 7 hr drive. We drove through Bakersfield, hoping to reach the valleymidnight…But, a million things happened and we ended up sleeping in the car from 2-6 am, in a post-office parking lot, close to Bakersfield! We reachedthe Valley at 8 or so, had breakfast at the Panamint Springs.The temperature throughout the weekend was btn 110-120F. Dry heat, but strangely, it was refreshing! We did not hike much, were advised against doing so. Nobody comes to the Valley during summer, but we did...now what does that say about us huh?

Now, we hit the Salt Creek Trail, a 0.5 mile round trip hike. There is this boardwalk with a steady running along (which was completely dry and gleaming with salt deposits). Pup fish, Cyprinodon salinus one of therarest fish, on the brink of extinction reside here in this windswept desert! We didn’t spot any though, there was simply no water! We did see several zebra-tailed lizards.
We then drove down to the Sand Dunes, my favorite spot. There wasn’t anytrail, but just heaps of piled up SiO2! I was literally rolling in the sand, loved it that much. Reminded me of the pyramids…


Then came the Badwater Basin…lowest point in the western hemisphere-282ft below sealevel! The landscape is simply flat and shiny…miles and miles of gleamingsalt deposits. What a sense of opennes to be walking in these flatlands!We drove to the Artist’s Drive…a scenic loop with volcanic hills changingcolors. The Artist’s palette was simply spectacular…a hilly scape withcolors from the rainbow!We stopped at a Furnace Creek resorts to shower…paid $4! We decided not to camp here since the night temp was abt 108F! We decided to camp at Wildrose Peak, 4000 ft in elevation. We pitched our tents, had dinner and rambled ontill 10pm. The sky was star studded and the moon was beautiful.




I missed Kaya.I didn’t bring her along. I couldn’t risk her being bitten by a rattlesnake or a scorpion!!
Way back home, we drove thru Yosemite! Man, was that wonderful…Yosemite is GREEN, lakes are BLUE this time of year. A must go…We lunched at CurryVillage…good ole’ pizza…I drove back home, from San Jose…10.30pm was when I saw Kaya… She missed me, and I missed her ten fold more. She was stuck to me all night and the next day too. Death Valley is the place to be this summer!

Carmel-by the-Sea, July 22 2007

Saturday was depressing. no surprises here?? Yanyhoo…decided to goto Carmel today…been yearning the beach for about 6 months now! And I was pretty sure Kaya would love it! She deserves a break!

Started at about 12… the drive was tooooooo boring…stupid mapquest took me thru the city roads for about 1.5 hrs…Once I entered Monterrey/ Carmel, theshoreline was visible…..peaceful, soothing pacific ocean!As usual, no parking close to the beach..I parked on San Antonio Street,two streets away from the beach. Kaya puked her breakfast! Poor baby, motion sickness I bet.

Anyhoo…boy, you should have seen us walk upto the beach..EXCITEDDDDDD is the word! I was about to run and jump into the water, Kaya was a bit skeptical about the waves but loved the sand…this beach- 1 Ocean Ave.doesn’t require leash on dogs…Kaya was free…and didn’t know where to turn,what to smell…plain crazy!I went deep into the beach and Kaya preferred to stay at the shores…I didtry to coax her into the water, she did come in, but ran as the waves touched her paws.It was sooooo adorable to watch her do so…I also ran bare-footed in the beach for about a mile…Kaya ran right beside.

There were plenty of Labradors ‘retrieving’ toys from the beach…Kaya got tempted as she saw others go in and tried to go in as well...poor baby got her face wet and scurried back out to me!! I had wandered so faaaaaaaaraway from my purse…panicked and scanned the whole damn beach….found it after 30min! damn that beach now.After about 2 hrs in the waters, we took a walk into the city...most stores are dog friendly…

Carmel is so quaint! Cobbled streets, plenty of Hauptpiazzen!

Apparently, it is full moon and the tides are high and forceful…The drive back was pretty, and eerie as well! The night sky was very serene to stare at. Kaya was wiped out… slept the whole 2.5 hrs drive back home. I am sooooo proud of Kaya, she was constantly praised for good behavior and goodlooks! She gets it from her mom-ME! ha ha. I got lost as I neared Modesto. Well, reached home alive…at 11 pm!What a trip! Check out the photos……

July11--Good run-4.5 miles

Woke up with a headache today..weather was good, but did not run during lunch. Instead, treated myself to a good lunch-good old taco truck’s naked burrito (no tortilla!).

Anyhoo…I hit the streets at 8.30pm…no sun, was pleasant in fact. I ran on Tully, all the way to Standiford St. and back, 2 miles each way. I felt real energy the first 20 min..I almost ran 0.6miles without a walking break…I had to stop because of the lights at Briggsmore. Well, I was NOT tired the whole 2 miles. Barely took walking breaks. I kept going strong. I forgot to bring my water along, but wasn’t parched or anything. When I hit Standiford, I sort of wanted to walk, but kept running slow. After about 0.5 mile back, I walk for 0.25 miles or so. Then I had this surge of energy and actually ran faster for 0.5miles or so! It was amazing… This energy lasted all the way home. I actually ran till my doorstep! I usually walk home, about 0.5miles. This time I ran, making the total distance 4.5miles. My longest till day…Good times!

Another disappointing run today...sniff, sniff

The weather, surprisingly was great in the morning…I decided to run in the dry creek at 11 or so…my luck, as soon as I hit the creek, the sun came out, shining bright in all her glory...hate her…anyhoo…ran nevertheless…I was EXHAUSTED in about 1.5 miles….only things kept me going was Paul Wall…loveee him and his music of course…
Apart from the heat, I had to pee as well…which I did at the end of 1.5 mile mark…
I walked back the other 1.5miles to the car…could not make myself run…..other factor for the bad run may be food. I had nothing except a 100cal yogurt in the morning….Stomach was growling all thru….
Lesson learnt…eat good breakfast and don’t run in the sun.

Who murdered Alexander Litvinenko?

Ive been reading and following the Sasha Litvinenko story....he was radioactively poisoned by polonium 210 in London last Nov....Apparently, Andrei Lugovoi an ex-KGB officer is the suspect...heres some facts on Po from my beloved WIKI....
By mass, polonium is around 250 billion times more toxic than hydrogen cyanide .The main hazard is its intense radioactivity (as an alpha emitter), which makes it very difficult to handle safely - one gram of Po will self-heat to a temperature of around 500°C. Even in microgram amounts, handling 210Po is extremely dangerous, requiring specialized equipment and strict handling procedures. Alpha particles emitted by polonium will damage organic tissue easily if polonium is ingested, inhaled, or absorbed (though they do not penetrate the epidermis and hence are not hazardous if the polonium is outside the body).
One gram of 210Po could thus in theory poison 100 million people of whom 50 million would die. The actual toxicity of 210Po is lower than these estimates, because radiation exposure that is spread out over several weeks (the biological half-life of polonium in humans is 30 to 50 days[27]) is somewhat less damaging than an instantaneous dose. It has been estimated that a minimal lethal dose of 210Po for an 80 kg person is 4 millicuries, or 0.89 micrograms, still an extremely small amount (28).

well, Russia is not extraditing Andrei Lugovoi to London, where he will be tried. Apparently, it is non-existent in the Russian constituition to exrtradite a citizen!
Will update on Sasha.....

SFO R.O.C.K.S

It was a superrrr day...I went to SFO, with Arvind (friend)…the day actually started out dull, like every other countless Sunday…I forced myself to get my rear off the bed, shower and drive to SFO…We first hit the GG Bridge…my second time. It was chilling! Cloudy and gloomy, just how I like it. Walked about a bit, next stop the wharf….walked about a bit….enjoyed the weather immensely…(photos coming up ppl)…In the process opf ‘getting’ to the bridge and wharf, we drove around the entire city, seemed like…the buildings and apartments reminded me of Sex and the City…New York style! Absolutely no space anywhere, buildings crammed into the smallest space…actually depressing to look at…
Well...dinner was at this Ethiopian place, ‘Axum Café’ on Haight St.. The food was barely ok, really watered down and NOT spicy at all. We had a veggie platter, with 5 side dish and injera, of course…Tasted like badly cooked Indian food! We had Veggie Alecha, lentil puree, chick pea puree, chopped mushroom curry and a spinach dish as well…The platter for 2 ppl was $15, quite nominal I though.
There was absolutely no parking, I had to circle the block thrice before I found one!
That was an amazinggg Sunday for me…
Already planning next weekend!

Mark Mardell, Santorini

So I read this BBC reporter Mark Mardell's blog all the time..yday, he commented on polish inclusion in the EU...how Germans feel they were generous in allowing Poland into the EU and that Poland must shove it up their ass for all the wrong being done to them! Well, I dont feel strongly about either sides...(but I do hate the holocaust deniers though)...anyhoo, I guess the unspoken and agreed rule in the EU is "not to mention the WWII", and the polish doesnt seem to get it, hence german attitude of forgetting and forgiving..well...it amused me and here I mention it...


Moving on, I saw this greatttttt episode on Food TV on Greek Island, Santorini...Giada de Laurentis travels to Santorini and samples the food and all.....that place is heavennnnnn
....loadssssssssss of goat and feta cheese...She visits this vinyard owned by a woman, who shows us, the viewers to make a 'dolma' looking thing out of zucchini flowers! Never knew zucchini had flowers...It was stuffed with rice and feta and few spices...yumm-oo
The island, the water, the food is fantastic...Another place to visit in my travel log now!

July 6...hot today...

there was drama at home yday due to this extreme heat...105F...I was flustered and Kaya was salivating and almost palpitating.I hosed her down a bit...then took my lazy ass out and fixed and nailed up the AC unit I apparently had in the garage! My room feels heavennnnnnnnnnly now...Kaya calmed down.and I did as well...

July 4, Wednesday

I had the day off today....accomplished NOTHING. Lazed around in bed all day, trying to read 'Nostradamus-'Visions of Future'...Temp. was about 105F, terribly hot and uncomfy...Kaya, my black labrador mix, felt the heat real bad...
As evening rolled by, decided to run with Kaya...Went to Dry creek, the 6 mile course that runs thru Modesto...I did about 3 miles....atleast taht what gmap says...Boy was the run good! Tried hill-running , a short one though...was outta breath in an instant...and I dared to roll down the hill at full speed, 100% heart rate...my brain literally spun!
Glad I ran..feel wayyyyyyy better now...