Holiday Weekend

We had a great weekend in a really long time. Spent the holidays in the most non-traditional way - yes in the "City of Sin" - Las Vegas and in Grand Canyon.

We started Thursday evening from chicago, got into the mood of upgrading to First class and the flight eventually got delayed because of a thunderstorm in LV. Believe me there was no sign of a drop of water in LV. I need to check the American Dictionary for the word "thunderstorm" - you never know - a wind could be called Thunderstorm here. It was so damn windy and cold the night we landed.

Friday morning, we started for Grand Canyon. The drive was beautiful and V loved it. The first stop at Hoover Dam wasn't all that exciting. The history behind the construction - how thousands travelled to Nevada to find a job amidst "The Great Depression" of 1929, how dead people were thrown a flock of dead sheep and the work continued.


Some Facts : Did you know that
1. The concrete used to build the dam is enough to lay a 4 lane freeway from California to New York or a sidewalk around the world.
2. It was built by 6 companies for it was too complicated in those days to be built by a single company.
3. It was named after President Hoover who gave enough funding and accelerated the completion of the dam by 2 years.
4. It is also known as the "Boulder Dam".
5. Initially planned to be constructed in Boulder City, geologists decided it was too broad to be constructed there. So it was built near the black canyon but retained its name as the "Boulder Project."

The view of Grand Canyon from the South Rim was breathtaking. Different shades of colors, snow clad valley amidst green trees was worth viewing. It was so cold and snowing all the way. But we enjoyed every minute we spoent there. I'm so glad we did this trip. Want to take dad sometime there. Would love to have mom too but she refuses :(

Anyways so after the triresome journey to Grand Canyon it was our rendezvous with the 25c slot machines. The coins rattling out in bunches from my neighbour's machine still echoes in my mind. The drive it to win it on our own was so immense that we didn't realise how we spent $60 in no time. Casino hopping in that bad weather was all we did throught out the day Saturday. Started with Madam Tussauds, then onto The Ventian followed by Caesars (our lucky one and as I write this Friends episode where Joey dresses as Caesar flashes in my mind), then MGM grand, Bellagio and finally ended at Bally's.

I don't know if people really win at Vegas. All I saw was losers and losers. The urge to play is so high that Vivek didn't stop even at the airport. Everytime I do laundry and get 4 quarters for a dollar and the coins come down the change machine, the sound reminds me of our time at Vegas. The memory of Las Vegas will stay with me forever and that is one place I would never want to visit again!


Moments of Impulse

1. Upgrading to first class by paying $80..
2. Surrendering to the 25c slot machines even at the airport when you know the chances of winning are bleak.
3. Buying a 2 feet tall "cold" white teddy bear that occupies 10% of my modest living space.

I thought until Saturday that I had a good control over myself. However on introspection, here are my
Moments of Addiction

1. Seeing Friends every evening from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. C
2. Sandra Brown novels
3. 25c slot machines
4. Law and Order on USA
5. Reading blogs every morning

Maybe I'm not too clear on the thin line about habit, boredom and addiction.

Festive Mood
The festive mood in the United States reminds me of Diwali/Deepavali - the festival of lights. During the holidays here - the streets are illuminated beautifully with lights, people buying gifts for each other, kids awaiting eagerly to open their presents and a break from school reminds me of Diwali. When I was a kid we would goto Madurai every year to celebrate Diwali and granny would present us with the new clothes. Well, until I was in my 8th std I remember getting new dresses only 3 times in a year - for my bday, then during the summer vacation and then for Diwali. So Diwali meant a great deal as granny, mom dad and cousin would get together - a small family get together but a memorable one.
This year I missed Diwali but am happy again in this festive mood. This whole week has been full of lunches and dinners that my poor stomach is pleading to spare it of any more junk food (junk because anything other than homemade food doesn't suit me really well). Monday was dinner with R and P, Tuesday was a business lunch, Wednesday with S, Friday at Klay Oven. Today's lunch was fun because it was Indian cuisine and so many people were apprehensive about coming over. They have got this preconceived notion of Indian food being spicy. But I guess once they tried, they enjoyed it.


Yesterday was the official Christmas Party at work that I missed, so sad. Guess all the people had a lot of fun. While they were drinking and dancing, I was reading Good To Great and watching back to back series of Friends. Its too early to comment on "Good to Great". I have just started reading. Every time I finish a Nora Roberts/Sandra Brown novel, I decide that will be my last one. But before I know I start looking for a new one. They cheer me up and they are my best friends after I get back home.

The past 2 weeks really sucked as I couldn't talk to V. My temper/anger/frustration - in short all the -ve emotions reached their peak and its so sick that I don't have anyone to talk to. Most of my anger stems from one person and I know I'm not being unreasonable. The past few days have boosted my confidence tremendously too as I know whatever I suggest is never wrong. I don't bullshit and I don't really want to give a damn too if anyone acknowledges it or not. I have also made a conscious decision of stopping myself from suggesting anything for they fall on deaf ears most of the times. After a good 1 months time some TDH (my abbreviated version of Tom Dick and Harry) will suggest the same thing and it will be implemented. I don't lose anything...losers are those who don't listen..let the firefighting continue!

Alien American Policies
I was watching the Lou Dobbs Tonight show on CNN this evening. Sensitive issues such as burgeoning number of illegal immigrants, exporting jobs that are rocking corporate and political America were addressed in the show.

The show started with 2 Republican congressmen disputing over the law governing stay of illegal immigrants' and the failure in enforcing those laws. Statistics show that there are over 8 million illegal immigrants in the United States. A staggering figure indeed! It is unbelievable that a country like the United States with all its technological and military power is unable to enforce border control and stop infiltration of illegal immigrants. Common sense says that these people could not have entered the country were it not for the officials/system turning a blind eye to their presence. Lets face the fact. While one faction boldly accepts that these illegal immigrants are essential to the functioning of the municipal system, the rest of them are too scared to face the fact. As the Lou Dobbs show interviewed a person in San Antonio (one among the 8 million) whose days starts at 3:00 a.m. (while the rest of the Americans have just hit bed a couple of hours earlier, after those late partying nights) and ends at 2:00 p.m. He drives the garbage truck and makes 160 trips on an average in a day. While the garbage companies went on strike in Chicago for a week, the city started stinking because of the trash overflowing in the cans along the streets. The system came to a halt. These people might be illegal but they are part of the society because the society needs them!

Exporting jobs : The furor about exporting American jobs to Asia is so prevalent - the next sensitive topic!
Fact : On an average over a million jobs are exported to countries in Asia every year.
Reason : America is not philantrophic to export jobs. It is for economic reasons. The same job is accomplished in a fewer bucks in Asia than here. Give less, get more policy.
Its a competitive market and couldn't have lasted this long if Asians were not

a) intelligent
b) kept pace with the demanding American managers
c) hardworking
d) had a no-nonsense-on-the-job attitude

Over the years, more and more American companies are setting up their Research and Development centers in Asian cities.
"Outsourcing" as it is commonly called is not new anymore. Any company that has not setup its center is considered late to join the race and is a loser. The latest one to join the race is Google. As it was rightly written in a news web site that "a development is frequently oversimplified as outsourcing". The American companies are in awe of the engineering talent that they are setting up "R&D" divisions and not just stopping with customer service centers.

Though the Asian companies hence the economy and hence the people and their standard of living are benefited by this outsourcing, there is a downside to it. No on is to blame but the Asians. Their behavioral pattern is so predictable and stems from their nature. Here is how a American and an Asian would respond to a typical situation:

Situation:
Day : Friday night
Problem : A high critical system that earns the company its revenues is on the verge of a breakdown. It needs assistance.
Occasion : A important religious holiday in Asia. The following weekend is a important holiday in the United States.

Asian:
No one has asked for anything yet. All the following statements are voluntary responses.
1. I'll stay awake and see what the problem is.
2. Even if I'm up the whole night, I'll stay up tomorrow morning as well. (ofcourse he/she is a robot and can indeed work 36 hours in a row. While god created humans he inserted a chip in Asians that made them robots)

American:
All the following statements are NOT voluntary responses. They are answers to questions on their availability:

1. You will have to let me know when you will call. (How intelligent, if I knew when the problem would occur then I wouldn't be a human at all..I would be one of those dumb machines)
2. It is a important holiday and I would spend it with my family. So I'm not available.

Inference : Work is worship for an Asian. FFF (Family, Friday and Festivals) do not hold more significance than a job on hand. Impressing a American manager is what one strives for all the time. I fail to understand why! They are humans after all , so why strive so hard. Agreed its a difficult economy and to hold onto a job is all the more touch but not at the cost of sacrificing one's self-esteem. The word "No" comes reluctantly to a Asian. How sad!
What they forget that their actions over the years set an expectation. What they also forget that they represent a community that is alien to this nation. Any member of that community, thereafter is expected to act on the patterns set by his/her predecessors - in short act as robots. Its TIME that this changed!
Well, I'm not criticisng either side. While I appreciate an American's respect to life and an Asian's dedication to his job, both need to bring about a balance to have a long standing animosity-free business relationship.

Diplomacy is the art of letting someone have your way. V tries his best to teach me diplomacy and I strive hard NOT to learn it. Diplomat and I - makes me laugh.