Saturday, June 30, 2012

Caroline


On the plane ride back to USA from Paris to Detroit I was sitting in seat 1B and seat 1A was empty and I was happy since I could use it to store my Ipad and my headphones and other gear that I had with me that I planned to use during the trip.

The doors were getting ready to shut and I sensed a young lady get it, she was flustered and had a heavy bag and the stewardess had to help her to lift it up to put in the overhead.  In fact I even lent a hand while sitting to help lift the suitcase into the overhead.

Then in seat 1A sat one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen.  I can guarantee you that on the entire plane Caroline was the most beautiful women.  So here she was sitting next to me.  In a man's imagination this would have been a dream come true when I was younger.  Now that I am a little bit older, it was nice, but not some dream come true.

I was glancing at her as the plane was taxiing for the takeoff and  noticed a tear at the corner of her eye.  She was visibly upset.  More tears and brought out a paper tissue and dabbed her eyes.

I have always been bad at dealing with women crying and if faced with it, I would likely avoid it.  Anyway I found Caroline crying to be sweet and so innocent to make it truly beautiful.  So yes, there are times when a women is crying that is very beautiful.

Caroline introduced herself to me and on that 10 hour flight I felt like I got to know her very well.  What made Caroline truly beautiful was that I really do not think she knew how beautiful she was.

Caroline was from Atlanta and had just turned 23, had recently graduated from University of Alabama with a hospitality degree and during the summer had met a French boy while working and had fallen in Love or a Strong Like.  So Caroline went to live with her boyfriend in Paris, France and she had been staying with him for 10 months.  Her parents were very unhappy that she was putting her life on hold, but finally agreed that it was OK.

Caroline and her boyfriend took an apartment together and had a great time.  She explained how tight money was and that luckily her boyfriend liked to cook how great food was in France.  She babysat 2 young girls to make some extra money and even though money was tight, she said that she loved every minute of it.

Some of the best moments in life for me also have been those simple moments when you struggled and a simple dinner out was a major event.  I miss being innocent and poor.

Like I said I got to know Caroline and her family very well.  Carolines mother was a nurse and her father was a doctor but was now on disability.  She said that her parents to do get along at all, but were staying together for the kids sake.  Caroline had 3 other sisters, aged 20, 18 and 16.  I am embarrassed to say that I forgot all the other names.  But the 20 year old had an bulimia and anorexia problem and weighed just 80 pounds.  The 18 year old was living with a 27 year old and the family was extremely unhappy with this.  The 16 year old was just fine and no issues.

Also Caroline's mother was dog fanatic and they had 3 labs.  Her mother called the dogs her children with fur.  They lived in a big house on 5 acres so space was not a problem.  Since it was the summer time, they had a beach house and family was spending the summer at the beach house.

I was smiling when she told me how unhappy they were that the 18 year old was living with the 27 year old.  In fact the family even cut her off, because of her refusal to stop seeing him.  She choose him over the family when the parents gave her an ultimatum and using the only leverage they had, they cut her off financially.

So why was I smiling?  That was the same exact age that my first wife and I had met and started going out.  I told Caroline about this.  But Caroline said that her sisters boyfriend was a drug dealer and had no future and that is why the family was unhappy, she approved of my relationship.

Why I enjoyed talking to Caroline was that it reminded you of what life is really about.  The simple beauty of true love.  The strength to leave USA with $1000 cash and live in Paris for 10 months.  What can be sexier than simply not caring what others think and doing what your heart wants you to do.  I simply loved Caroline for her heart.

By the way Caroline will be working in the events section of the Carlyle Hotel in New York in case anyone wants to meet a fine human being.  She will be starting there from the 2 week of July.

Just to remind you the premise of this story was: There are times when a women is crying that is very beautiful.

Community

I am back in Detroit now and someone was telling me that the community was against me posting entries in my blog about such respected people and talking about their private details.

I live by a code and my actions are predicated on this code.  If someone does something wrong that I consider egregious I will point it out.  I will not sit quite and pretend everything is OK, it does not matter how much money you have, how important you are, or that you are an executive in the temple.  Wrong is wrong and that is what I pointed out.  Living by this code, I have been able to keep all my friends and if I lose a few friends now by pointing out what is wrong then I really do not think these people were my friends.

I have a billionaire friend who I tell is wrong all the time and he still loves me.  I think rich people have enough yes men around and people that suck up to them all the time, because they want something.  I do not need anything from anybody, and that is why I can criticize anybody I want. 

Here is a little of my code: (This is just a small snippet)

1) I lost I paid, you lose you pay
2) You make a promise you keep it
3) If you have a problem and you come to me if it is in my power I will help you
4) You do not cheat


I am about the last one that gives a shit about what the community thinks.  If I did I would have never revealed so much about my private life as I did in the earlier incarnation in my blog.  Life is short and I will live the way I want to live.  I have a lot of friends that like me just the way I am, so I intend to stay the way I am.

Thursday, June 21, 2012

Lebron

Pretty hard to respect a guy who sought out two other big stars to form a ready-made championship team. If Jordan had gone to Magic and Bird and said, "lets all sign with xx team so we can win a ring", how great would their legacy be?

Sorry, Lebron is a great talent but not exactly a great winner.  I hardly care if he wins a title of not, he will never be a winner in my book.
Srinu has been raving about them, all the Heat remind me is of the mentality to get the prize without the hard work that is necessary.  
Lebron can never ever be a winner as far as being a man, may be can do something off the court to earn back some respect, but currently he is still a loser in my books.

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Keepers

I was thinking about something that I said earlier about friends that are keepers.  I was trying to come up with a real list of friends that I would consider Keepers.

Who is a keeper and what is the definition of a keeper.

A keeper is a friend that will help you regardless of the consequences financially, emotionally and socially.

I used to have a different definition earlier in life and that was used to be, if you committed a murder and you went to someone would they help you.

But now I feel that definition is highly unfair, because you are putting your best friends in an untenable situation and it is almost unfair on your part to do that.  So I guess my definition has changed somewhat now that most of us are married and have kids and responsibilities.

So after a lot of thought the below are my current keepers:

Dr Bobby
DA Srinivas
Dr Jeevan
Dr Sunand
Vasant
Naveen
Upendra
Subbu

There are reasons to eliminate Naveen from this list, but I think if I was in real trouble and not some imagined need, he would be there to help me.  Plus it is very hard for me to think of Naveen as not a keeper, since without him I would have nothing.

I do not care what anybody says Srinu did or does, he is most loving and true friend you can possibly have.  For someone that is as rich and powerful as he is, I can call him at almost anytime or text him and he will call me back promptly.  If I was ever in trouble in India and really needed something and I called Srinu, there is no doubt that he would be there for me.  We are part of his old gang that knew him before the family was super rich, and he is very close with all of us.

All the rest of the people in my life besides the above I would classify as friends or good friends, but not keepers.

A keeper is someone that is special.  A keeper is someone that you treasure.


Quotations

I was reading a book of quotations and here are a few of my favorite:

A foolish man tells a women to stop talking, but a wide man tells her that her mouth is extremely beautiful when her lips are closed.

This above is is so true.  This is probably a better way to say almost anything.

I've learned that everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it.

This is absolutely true for me.  I guess I have achieved a measure of success, but I enjoyed the climb way more then the current success. I enjoyed every hard moment, I enjoyed having to go to someones house for dinner because I had no money.  I enjoyed my failed marriage.  I enjoyed making $2000 a month working for Naveen just 3 years ago.  Yes I enjoyed every hard lesson, every hard moment and every hard time that I have had much more then when I have reached the top  I am unsure why, but I really love being the underdog and the struggle to overcome.  Even when we play cards everyone wants me to lose and I love being that underdog and overcoming that challenge.  I could less about the money I won, but I love the thrill of victory and pain of defeat.  Yes, I love being the underdog.


A society grows great when old men plant trees whose shade they know they shall never sit in.

This is much of a reflection on what will you do for the future generations, I think about this all the time.  What great social good will you contribute to this society.  I try to help as many people as possible that I come across, but I think I need to do even more, not sure what, but I will have to come up with something.

Prices in Hyderabad

I was looking at apartments to buy in Hyderabad and I was trying to see how you can justify such high prices.

In Japan, there is a land constraint and high prices are justifiable. 

In DC where my parents own a home, high prices are justifiable, every little piece of property has been built upon in the DC metro and in fact companies are buying large groups of housing near the metros and then tearing them to built highrises. 

In NY there is almost no land and they are in fact tearing down warehouse space and other underutilized space for construction and there is no end to demand.

Vasant is buying a house in Hyderabad for $800,000 and all around near him are thousands of more overpriced apartments along with acres and acres of open land, I simply cannot see a justificaiton for such high prices in Hyderabad.  Maybe in Jubilee or Banjara Hills or the old city where there is no land I can fathom just high prices, but there is no possible way that prices should be so high in Guchibowli area.  I was thinking of buying a place that Naveen was going to build, and his project makes sense, but none of the new developments make any sense as far as cost.

I can see a big slowdown coming in India and I wonder if prices will really fluctuate like they do in the rest of the world based on supply and demand and other economic factors, or will people simply stop buying or selling and everyone can claim they are this rich or that rich based on assumed prices.

I find India very strange as far as land prices.

My cousin has been buying land at 10 lakhs an acre in our village and the income on that per year in a good year is about Rs. 10,000-20,000 a year.  That means that on a pure percentage terms your rate of return on capital is  1-2%.  Everyone around seems to think that this is absolutely normal.  In a good year you get 1-2% and on a bad year you get nothing, why the hell would you buy land, and my cousin buys more and more land every year. 

Does this mean that most of the public simply do not understand the stock market?

Does this mean that there is so much cash flowing around that people do not know what to do?

Does this mean that there is so much black money, land is a natural investment for these people?

Does this mean that there will be a bigger sucker to come along and buy this land from you at a higher price, and this is the norm.

Anyway, this is not for me, I will let all these other great investors make their money in land, I will keep investing in businesses.

India makes almost no sense to me.

Crab Curry

My grandmother was Nirmalamma, yes the movie actress, who acted in hundred of movies, and she used to make the best Petthulu Curry (Crab Curry) and every time I used to come to Hyderabad, I used to look forwarded to her Petthulu Curry, it was amazing.  Since she passed away there was nobody that could make as good as her.

But I was sitting and talking to Kavya's (My friend) dad and he said that they make it also and he would sent some.  Well this is the second time he sent it and I have to tell you it was simply amazing.

Last night we went to Ramesh's house (The owner of Delhi Publis Schools) and he also had it made for me and that was amazing also.

I think if we ever introduce the Indian Style of crab curry to Americans they will never eat crab by dipping it in butter again.

I have now found 2 sources of the Crab Curry in Hyderabad so I actually have something to look forward to by coming to Hyderabad.  I know a lot of people look forward to the Hyderabad Biryani, but I will be looking forward to the Crab Curry.


Tuesday, June 19, 2012

More Republican Nonsense

Earlier this month, five Republican Senators: Olympia Snowe (ME) – Susan Collins (ME) – Kelly Ayotte (NH) – Kay Bailey Hutchinson (TX), and Lisa Murkowski (AK) voted against the Paycheck Fairness Act. This Act would help ensure that women get equal pay for equal work. In doing so, they sent a clear message to American women everywhere: screw you!

You would figure the men would vote against this, because most Republican men are greedy arrogant bastards, but for the women to vote against their fellow women was ridiculous.

I think I really really hate Republicans.  Yes, I definitely hate Republicans.

Mainland China

Went to Mainland China for lunch.  It was the one near Hi-Tech City.  It was terrific.  Parking was easy.  Prices were very reasonable and it was full of customers.  It was R. 400 per person for the buffet.

In addition to the buffet they keep serving hot appetizers and soups right to your table.

Food was great.  I normally hate buffets, but this was one of the best that I have eaten at.  The crab curry was amazing.

I highly recommend it.

India is going to be backwards for ever

I have a HSBC bank account that has some small balance that I have not used in 13 years.  I went to the bank to find out more about it.

First they checked my passport and said that my current password was not the one they had on file.

I told them that the old one had expired and this was the new one.  Then they ran around like monkeys for about 15 minutes and then took photocopies of everything and at first said that I would need to get a copy of the old passport along with the new passport.  I said I threw the old one away, the girl asked me why I would throw away the old passport, I stared at her for awhile and thought, you are kidding right?  I was sweet and said that since I had a new passport there was no need for the old passport so I threw it away.  They she went away and I guess got the go ahead from some where and they reactivated my account.

They also said that my signature did not match the signature on file.  I told them that it was 13 years also and it must have changed a little.  They show me a copy of the one on file and wanted me to sign like that.  So I signed again and they were happy.

Then they asked to fill out a form called: KYC - Know Your Customer Form, some new form that the Indian government is making everyone fill out.  In this form they had proof of overseas address and proof of Indian address and there is no way I had any of those documents to provide proof of address in India.

In my new USA passport there is a page that asks for you write your USA address and Overseas address and I wrote in both of the address and voila I had proof of Indian address.  That was lucky, otherwise there would have been no way to reopen the bank account.

On the KYC form that also needed a picture.  The bank said that they do not take pictures (this is surprising considering that  every customer needed to fill out this KYC), and then I had to run out and go get a picture taken, and then they stuck the picture to the form and then I had to sign across the front of the picture and make sure that part of the signature was on the paper and part on the picture.

Then they made me write a letter on a white sheet of paper requesting a new Debit card since the last one was sent back to the bank due to no one being available to receive it.  Unbelievable, that they made me write a stupid letter addressed to the bank manager.  Weird.  This was the old Indian system and with all these changes to banking the old system has changed very little.

Then I had to fill out a new form requesting a debit card.  I did that.

On the way home we stopped for lunch at Mainland China and I got a call from the bank saying that they forgot that I had to fill out a Form 60 since I did not have a PAN card.  Fought the traffic and went back tot he bank and got there at 4:15PM and they tell me that the bank closes at 4PM.

We called the young lady that was helping us on the cell phone and she took us in the back way and we finally filled out the stupid Form 60.  Another Idiotic Indian Government Form.

OK, people just based on my experience to use a dormant bank account, India will never ever improve as far as policies and paperwork.

It took me one whole day to do this one activity and mind you the people were very nice and helpful, it is just the stupid process that is messed up.

I guarantee you that India will never ever improve.  Thank god I am leaving soon, I think that India would frustrate me too much.

I love the people and hanging out and the food is terrific, but the silly red tape and stupid paper letters you have to write are stupid and that is what will make India a backwards country for the rest of my life.  Maybe the next generation can improve it, but I doubt it.

All the other BRICS countries have terrific infrastructure and I see great improvement while India continues to deteriorate.  Each time I see it, it simply becomes worse.  There maybe a few new roads and a few new buildings, but overall still very poor.

The cost advantage will disappear soon of bringing jobs to India and I can see slow growth for a long time to come and within 5 years even no growth.  India is in for some economic pain as far as I am concerned.

Monday, June 18, 2012

Dream Act

Below is the Dream Act that the Republicans actually do not favor.  It is a crime to not support something that is so right and good for everyone.  Read what it is and you decide if you can still be a Republican and be against something that so much good for so many people: (Republicans are Idiots)

The DREAM Act (acronym for Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors) is an American legislative proposal first introduced in the Senate on August 1, 2001,[1] by Dick Durbin and Orrin Hatch.[2]

This bill would provide conditional permanent residency to certain illegal individuals of good moral character who graduate from U.S. high schools, arrived in the United States as minors, and lived in the country continuously for at least five years prior to the bill's enactment. If they were to complete two years in the military or two years at a four-year institution of higher learning, they would obtain temporary residency for a six-year period. Within the six-year period, they may qualify for permanent residency if they have "acquired a degree from an institution of higher education in the United States or [have] completed at least 2 years, in good standing, in a program for a bachelor's degree or higher degree in the United States" or have "served in the armed services for at least 2 years and, if discharged, [have] received an honorable discharge".[3] Military enlistment contracts require an eight-year commitment, with active duty commitments typically between four and six years, but as low as two years.[4][5] "Any alien whose permanent resident status is terminated... shall return to the immigration status the alien had immediately prior to receiving conditional permanent resident status under this Act."[6] This bill would have included illegal immigrants as old as 35 years of age.
Supporters argue that the Act would not create an "amnesty program" and would produce a variety of social and economic benefits, while critics contend that it would reward illegal immigration and encourage further illegal immigration, inviting fraud and shielding gang members from deportation.

Republican Trap

We were sitting at Murli's house and playing cards, as usual, and someone says that Obama is a socialist and that all he is doing is helping the poor people.  In general Indians are a very well off lot and that there was no reason to support socialists policies that help the poor.

That is same bullshit that I hear from the Republicans all the time.  I wanted to say something but I kept quiet, because I am a very passionate Democrat.  Every time I look at a Republican what I usually see are greedy pigs that only care for themselves.

I think that Republicans have lost the ability for empathy.  What I want all my Republican friends to do is to work for a single day in a soup kitchen in Detroit and one day at the salvation army store and interact with the real poor of USA for a single day and then come back and talk to me about the poor.

It is easy to follow the political dogma when you do not know the daily struggle of the poor.  It is to say that the poor are the way they are because of they are lazy.  I have seen so many of my fellow Indians become Republicans and each time I see you I feel sick to my stomach, because you have forgotten where you come from.  Each and every one of you are originally from a small village in India and were poor at one time.  Never and I mean never forget where you come from.  Never forgot that your family was dirt poor at one time.  You job is to help yourself first and then your fellow man.

I think I have said that I expect to die broke and I truly feel that way.  I want to help as many people as possible before I die. 

It is an over simplified statement that the poor are poor because of bad work ethics.  Life is a funny animal, there so many factors that go into making someone successful or not successful.  I believe that the difference between rich and poor is not that vast.  I think in the Republican utopia there would be no taxes for the rich and all the poor would be working for the rich wanted to pay.

There are a lot of things us Democrats are doing that are not perfect, but almost all our policies are trying to help the majority.  While every major policy that is Republican is trying to help the very rich.

The biggest lie told ever is by a Republican when he convinces the poor or middle class that he represents them.  I have talked to so many of the poor who utilizes so many benefits that Democrats have fought for, but then those same idiots go and vote Republican, it makes me so upset.

One day the Republicans will win again ruin the country just like Bush did.  There is no way for the Republicans and Democrats to every work together again until it is too late and dogma has ruined our chances to fix USA.

Mom's Friends

My mom has a group of friends here and I have to say that they are very nice.  Shilpa and her entire family are very nice.  We had a nice get together at Silpa's house and played cards for a few hours and I won Rs. 4000 and I gave that to my grandfather.  Pakatta money is pakatta money so normally over the last one week he has lost to me and I have made him pay.  But with that Rs. 4000 he got back all his loses with a small profit.

Sometimes in life there are a few friends that will do anything for you and Shilpa seems that type.  So it looks like mom got herself a keeper friend in Shilpa.  If you can find 1-2 friends that are keeper friends than you are very lucky in life.

Sunday, June 17, 2012

I was hanging out with Vasant and his Wife Jyothi and his daughter Ananya and here are some pictures.

His daughter loves to swim.  She always says, "Schwimming Novatel".  Vasant tries to take her there everyday for swimming.








Westin Hyderabad

Went to the Italian Restaurant for Dinner at the Westin Hyderabad and I am here to tell you that it is highly recommended.

Beautiful decor, excellent food and prices are very reasonable.

Earlier in the day I had gone to the Hyatt Italian restaurant  for fathers day.  Bill was about Rs. 9500 for a Brunch for 3.  There lots of variety but generally I liked the Westin much better.

Here is a picture of my Date, Ananya at Westin:




Friday, June 15, 2012

Hyatt and Hard Rock Cafe

I went to dinner and lunch at the Hyatt on two separate days, since my friend Srinu was staying there.

The Italian restaurant in the Hyatt was terrific.  (Pinky Reddy was there also, the owners daughter)

Lunch was at the the regular cafe on the first floor and we had Chapala Pulusu and it was simply amazing.  We had a few other dishes also but he fish curry was amazing.

Went to Hard Rock for dinner last night and it was average.  Terrific thumbs for the atmosphere and energy of the place, but the food was average.  It also took way too long to get the back out of Valet.

But it was Friday night and it was crazy packed.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Eventual Shortages

I was with my cousin and her husband and a few other relatives and we were talking about impending shortages of crude oil and other fossil fuels.  When I say impending I was talking in the sense of 500 years from now and we were discussing what human being were going to do to survive when cheap fossil fuels would be a history lesson for the future on how much this generation has wasted a planets wealth.

Fossil fuels take millions of years to develop and we are likely going to using them up in less then a few thousand years.

If you look back to the past say 100 years ago the world was just fine and we made do without fossil fuels.

In a future without fossil fuels, I wonder what the world will look like?

Will we go back to the agrarian society that we were?

Will we really find alternative energy on such a large scale to fuel a whole planet?

I enjoy theoretical discussion like this, but with the current group of friends that I hang out with, these type of discussion are impossible.

I think I need to find a new group of friends for discussions like this.  I need a few IIT graduates that I can hang out with on a regular basis.

I even miss my chess games that I used to play.  I was playing with a friend recently and it was so much fun to have to think.  My mind needs those challenges again.

Air

My parents live in a new apartment complex on the 14th floor, and it is far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.  It still amazes me how much dirt is on the floor every single day.  Everyone leaves their slippers outside so this dirt much come from the open windows. 

How clean can the air be if this much dirt is being blown into the apartment everyday. 

Everyone acts like this is normal and there is nothing wrong.

Thank goodness I do not live in India.  I am sure if I did, I would also act like there is nothing wrong and adjust to everything.  No water, buy a tanker full, bad air, wear a handkerchief while outside, yes Indians will adjust to almost anything, that is their nature.

Water

I went to a relatives house yesterday and it was a nice visit, and I used the toilet and the water in the tank would not refill and I asked if I had to do something and my relative said no, that the apartment building had run out of water and they were waiting for tankers to come.  He said that the bores that were dug for the apartment building had run dry.

This is in a relative new development with new developments being build all around them.  I mean tens of thousands of new apartments coming all around them and with no water, oh my god.  If they have a shortage of water now, what will happen 5 years from now or 10 years from now.  It is unbelievable that the government authorities allow this construction to happen.

When we were leaving my relatives house, the water started coming and all around I was people in different apartments filling buckets with water.  Everyone was acting like this is a normal event and being Indian I guess everyone was adjusting.

This is the reason that India will NEVER improve.  The super rich will keep buying tankers of waters and get there share.  The middle class and poor are the ones left to suffer.

Sometimes I feel India is great because it seems wonderful in a superficial sense, but then when I visit a middle class family you see the raw reality.  India is still a shitty place to live for most people and that is why everyone still wants to emigrate to USA.

When you travel in only certain circles, the reality you see is so much different from the real truth.

I would hate to be poor or middle class in India. 

Food

Sometimes I wonder why we work so hard and accumulate money.  Is it to feel comfortable?  Is it to accumulate material possessions?

I am unsure why I do what I do as far as work and what drives me.

But since coming to India, the simple beauty of eating a simple home cooked meal has been awesome.  In USA my wife does not cook and we eat our almost every single day.  Even when we go to parties it is typically catered by Namaste, and the food is good.  But the taste and simplicity of a good home cooked meal is indescribable. 

I am so much more healthier here in India than in USA.  My parents live in this amazing apartment complex with a lot of space and they have a wonderful walking area around the development.  Here I walk everyday, I eat home cooked meals, and take my medication on time.  I feel heather since coming here.  I would have never guessed it.

Partying in India

When I was younger I used to go out a lot and hang out with friends at clubs and we used to have a lot of fun.

Now that we are much older, most of us, that have moved back to USA, have settled back into a pattern of Work, enjoying movies and and going to for dinner and occasional a nice vacations, I would guess that is most of us.

I am here to tell you that the group we used to hang out with in India has not changed even a little bit, they are now in their 30's and 40's and they act exactly like they did when they were in their early 20's.  It is amazing, they still stay up till 5-6 AM and hang out, about the only difference is that nowadays they are much wealthier.

Last night I was hanging out with a bunch of friends at N-Grill and it is supposed to stay open till 11-11:30 and it stayed open till 1:30 AM.  I was asking when the place was going to close and someone said when we wanted it to close it will close.  The crowd was a who's who's of influential people.  There was the Jagan group with a bunch of his cousins in one corner, there was the congress group in another corner and there was the USA group in another area.  I am guessing that the USA group came for the Chiranjeevi's sons wedding.

The restaurant finally turned off the AC's at 1am and it was getting unbearably hot and everyone decided to leave for a friends guest house.  There is no way I was going and I gave some excuse and got into my car and came home.  I got 15 missed calls to come to the guest house.  I am way to old to party like these kids.

It was a nice review of our lifestyle from the old days, and I can promise those of you that miss the old days, absolutely nothing has changed and you can come back and live just like we just to in the old days.

Here are the differences from the old days:

The Indian kids are way wealthier then us.
The girls seem prettier
Everyone seems to have a guest house for after parties when the clubs close down
Everyone drives a fancy car, there were Range Rovers, Audi's, BMW 7 Series etc...

So all you kids in USA, if you have hit a midlife crisis and want to relive your youth, come back to India.

There are even a group in Bangalore that work for 3-4 months in USA as doctors and then come back to party for the rest of the year in Bangalore with that money.

In the end analysis if that is what makes you happy, I think that lifestyle is perfectly fine, but not for me. 

I actually enjoy working and being productive.  I actually enjoying coming up with ideas for a business and creating a plan to grow that business.  I do not struggle for money anymore, but I struggle for the sake of creating a lasting business that will be there much after I die. 

It was fun for a day to relieve my old lifestyle. 

Monday, June 11, 2012

Invitro Hospital

I went to the Invitro hospital yesterday to give fresh samples of sperm and start the new cycle of trying to have children.  I told the doctor that I will give this process only 1 more year and beyond that I am not interested anymore.

He said that he can promise me a child by 2013.

I am kind of tough, but the emotional toll of failure is starting to creep up on me.

Family Squabble

There were a lot of relatives that showed up for my parents 50th wedding anniversary.  But the talk seems to be centered more on which of the relatives did not show up, and why they did not show up.

I guess this is normal in any family.

But I see talk about not attending their next event as repercussion for not coming to this event.

Not sure what to say, just listening and watching events unfold.


India seems more normal

It looks like all the hype that was here in the past about real estate is finally gone.  The easy money seems to be gone in India and people with talent are finally emerging back on top.

Last time I was here all the talk was about real estate, now there is hardly any talk about it.

In fact my guess is we have talked more about the new restaurants in Hyderabad then almost any other topic. 

I finally found an investment that I like in India and have started the process of investing in it.  But I think I have to talk to my nephew and talk to him about having much bigger plans going forward then what he has currently.  I want to see his company grow fast and I will put in the money that is need to see it grow.

Once I make the first major investment we will talk more about this opportunity.


Sunday, June 10, 2012

Rs. 4000 from my Pedananna

We were playing Rs. 500 pool in Hyderabad and I won Rs. 4000 from my mom's sisters husband.  It was like winning $40,000 for me.  It was awesome.

I gave my winning away to moms workers and they were very happy.

(I won another Rs. 1500 today from Pedanna)

50th Wedding Anniversary

My parents celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary yesterday.  About 100-150 people came and there were lots of family that showed up.  What was great about the party was that, I do not need to go to coastal Andhra now.  Yeah! 

The event was eventually very nice, but being in India every single person that was hired to work at the event showed up late, from the caterers, to the flower people to the table and chair people etc..

What I noticed was that the hall was very nice with a great AC system.  Apparently there were pillars in the hall that everyone else seemed to notice, and did not like, but I did not really notice them.

In a surprise, there were a lot of people that actually showed up exactly at the right start time of 6PM.  Amazing.

After everything started about 1 hour late, the party turned into a nice event.

I met a lot of people that I have not seen in a long time and it was very nice to catch up with everyone.

But the event was the celebration of 50th years of being married for my parents.  I am not sure how many in the current generation will last 50 years, but it is an amazing feat and worthy of something to celebrate.


Saturday, June 9, 2012

Cousin Sister

My cousin sister Roopa (Dad's brother daughter) had a daughter and named her daughter of all names, BINDU!

You are joking right?  Nope that is really what she named her daughter.

Thursday, June 7, 2012

In Bangalore

I am just passing through Bangalore.  I am at the new airport waiting for my next flight to Hyderabad.  The airport seems nice, but kind of small.

OK, I have been here for 4 hours now and in my analysis, it still comes down to lack of quality in India.

Here are all the faults that I found in the Bangalore Airport:

Tiles - Floor and Pillar tiles are uneven

There are birds in the airport, yes real birds in the airport

The sitting area is very small

There is free internet for 45 minutes, but after that all three of my credit card from USA were declined when I tried to buy more time.

All modern airports needs to have an hotel attached to the airport, without this feature, I do not even consider it an airport.

 There are almost no plug points to charge electronics, I found a few near the cafe coffee day at the end.

The bathroom was horrible.

These were just a few of the things that I interacted with and noticed, but I am sure there is much more that is wrong in this facility than that.

I think India may consider itself rich and say they have a new airport or have this and that, but it will continue to me shitty.  Almost everything I find in India, I find it to be of poor quality or craftsmanship. 

Monday, June 4, 2012

The Best

I have this compulsion of having the best teachers, of having the best facilities for my students, of having the best guest houses, of simply being the best in my field of business.

But then I am this huge failure over what is probably the most important element of my life.  I am this fat slob that has been unable to take care of his health and body. 

I have said the right things, and know what has to be done.  I have a great understanding of the health process and I know exactly how my body is going to fall apart slowly over the years.

I think that this summer is my last summer to try and get healthy or I will have to do a the gastric bypass surgery.  I have failed over and over and to expect a different result is idiocy. 

I have a meeting tomorrow with the doctors over the gastric bypass tomorrow at 4PM and I will hear about what they have to offer and finally take the plunge and have surgery.

India Trip

I am going to India on Wednesday and will be back on June 27th.  Nothing special, I just have a little work to do.  I will be in Hyderabad for 10 days, Bangalore for 5 days and 2-3 days in Mumbai, and then back home.

Also it is my parents 50 wedding anniversary party, so I guess that is special.  They are having a party on the 10th to celebrate that event.

See everybody soon in India.  My India phone number is: 99630-54138 if anyone needs to reach me.


You can call my USA number and that will also come to me in India.