Renu & Kulu- 25th Anniv

On May 23, 2010 , Friends and Family converged onto Waterloo for Renu & Kulu's 25th wedding anniv. The venue was Zeeks.. their family run restaurant which they have managed so efficiently for the last few years. More on that later & now back to the anniv. Our ties go back 25 years when their wedding anniv preceded ours by two days and Renu and Anita go back even further to their high school years. Our lives took a divergent path till they decided to come to Canada in 2005. Prior to that in the non email era we mostly got away with attempts at telepathy and rare telephone calls. When they landed in Canada we were in touch right away and it was so heartening to see them get going almost right away. They scoured the area for a business of their choice and homed onto a winner. Today as I see them pull into our drive way in one of their snazzy cars-- one can easily say that they have well and truly "arrived" .

Renu & Kulu: Many Happy Returns of the Day. Congratulations for the great partnership and for raising two superb sons. Here's hoping to see you grow & prosper even more with happiness and health when we congregate for your 50th.

Alfredo -- once again

Some of you might recollect reading about Alfredo earlier last year
http://neerajtandon.blogspot.com/2009/09/alfredo-cabbie.html

Guess what - A few days back , I hailed a cab just outside Atlantis in Nassau and I could not believe my eyes--there was Alfredo once again. I zapped him by calling him by name and his smiling face smiled back even more when i recounted to him about the cab trip we had with him many months back. We chatted easily during the ride and Anita casually asked him to drive us to a pay phone as we wanted to call our sons in Canada as it was mothers day and they had no way to reach us as our cell phones were turned off. Alfredo said nothing during the ride but when we reached our destination he pulled out his cell phone and told us to go ahead and dial Canada. Once the call had been made -it was a bit awkward when he refused to accept money for the call and said -- it is not about us getting a free call but about his ability to get God's blessings for the way he lives his life. As i reached into the cab to retrieve my bag, I spied a Deepak Chopra book lying on his dash. Silently I thanked Deepak for transforming so many men into Alfredo's who bring cheer and happiness to the world around them.
I said it before & i am saying it again-- if you ever happen to be in Nassau-- call Alfredo- taxi# 739

Yes, yes-- I forgot to take his pic once again but I got his business card. His pic on the card does not do him justice- so I do not wish to post it.

Then & Now

Mhow, India, 1985

Miami, 2010

As you will observe from the pics above, over the years, I have managed to shed my uniform and don a pair of shorts, lose some hair and gain a few pounds. Anita of course, has remained unchanged. To celebrate our 25th we sailed aboard the Majesty of the Seas to the white sands of Coco-Cay and Nassau. The umpteen meals they served around the clock went straight to the "waste" -- how I wish i had more restraint-- but what the hell-- it was our 25th.While we lay under the sun during the day and gazed the stars at night-- we both concurred that we were truly blessed to have what we have and extremely thankful for the life we have had so far.

Magnificient Desolation

Just finsihed hearing "Magnificeint Desolation" by Buzz Aldrin the second man on the moon. The first three chapters are superb describing the journey to the moon. Some fascinating nuggets from the audio book
> The Lunar Module(LM) in 1969 had less computing power than a modern day cellphone
> The LM landed on the moon with 20 secs worth of fuel spare
> The LM was so cramped and bare ( to reduce weight) that the fuse boxes/ cables were not encased-- with the result while getting in/ out of the LM, Armstrong/ Aldrin with their bulky space suits knocked a fuse out of the fuse box ( the very fuse that was to fire their module back into orbit. Gingerly it was plugged back in place with Aldrin's pen.
> The astronauts almost got locked out of their LM on the moon surface if Aldrin had not had the presence of mind to keep the door ajar which would not have opened from the outside due to the air pressure inside and no pressure outside ( the door opened inwards)

I recommend atleast hear/read the first few chapters -- after that it is astonishing to know that Aldrin went into depression as no goal on planet earth was good enough to spark an interest in him and he became an alcoholic, broke up his marriage, got arrested and went through some rough years even tried selling cars at one point in his life-- Cant help feeling sorry for him as one cant help recalling the probverb-- "what goes up must come down"-- for Aldrin it is almost "pun implied".
Having won his battle on alcoholism and depression he is currently engaged in efforts to initiate space tourism and exploration of the planet Mars.

Life returns to Canada

After a not so cold winter but nevertheless one that does take away the flora for a few months, we are beginning to see it all come back. The foliage is bursting out in all its greenery .. here is a closer look



On many days as I step out the front door, I marvel at nature in the fresh morning air which is crisp and invigorating. Its a blessing to be alive and well. Words from a movie ( forget which ) keep coming back to me-- "make each day count"
Most days I dont succeed but its "work in progress" :)

This Vehicle Stops at all Railway Crossings

There is a limit to safety and I thought this morning I reached that limit.I was a wee bit late driving in to work trying to make it in time for a 9 oclock when I had to stop behind a bus which , you guessed it "stopped at all railway crossings". I was on a single lane road when the bus came to a full halt at the railway crossing. I counted to three and then another three and still the wretched driver did not budge. As I waited impatiently willing the bus to move forward, the railway crossing gates began to close. I could have cried but all I could do was sit there my knuckles white on the steering wheel listening to the gates coming down with that irritating ringing sound and--- wait. If the bus driver had moved on the first count of three we both could have been across the crossing. On an impulse I got out of my car and walked over to the side of the bus driver wanting to give him a piece of my mind. As I looked up I saw a beautiful blonde face smiling back at me. I stood there transfixed by her beauty till I realized it was getting awkward and blurted "Good Morning-- have a good day" and walked back to my car. It was a beautiful day.
I think its a good thing that Vehicles stop at railway crossings ;)

Tennis Elbow

Over the last few months I have been living with an injury on my forearm termed as a Tennis elbow. This has resulted in me wearing a black band over my upper forearm. On being questioned by most well wishers, I have till now tried to respond as genuinely as possible but having tired of the same routine response, I try and hold a straight face while saying such things as ... "I am wearing a black band as my way of protesting against being over worked and underpaid" or ... "oops did my swastika fall off?" .. or its to remind me to be nice to everyone today -- even you"

Some folks persist and then not being of the mettle that actors are made off, I succumb to a smile and give them the actual version.(Tennis Elbow)

The problem with this injury is that it resfuses to go away and makes you incapable to doing even mundane things as giving some one an energetic handshake or lifting a mug of beer or picking up your laptop to go to work. Most of these actions result in a shooting pain and very soon I learnt to use my other( good) hand-- so much so that I am turning to be a lefty. The funny thing is that I did not get this from tennis. I suspect it is to do with spending long hrs on the keyboard and my resolve to go "paperless". I also do not use a mouse and my efforts to try and bring myself to use it has not yeilded any positive results. It (the mouse )simply lies there un touched till I snap shut my laptop and as i get up to walk away I find it dangling at the end of a cable. I eventually got rid of it and i am back to the touchpad which is not doing me any good , I know but i am hoping that somehow if i ignore it enough .. it will go away. Anyways..... Next time you exetnd your hand to shakehands and you find that I offer not my right hand but my left -- it is not because I am from the Scouts ( Scouts left handed hand shake) but because I suffer from lateral epicondylitis (thats what the docs call this damn thing).