The year 2011 has brought in many new things in my life. The first one was the change in the organization that I work for. The second was the completion of my master's degree in January. The third was my trip to California and the fourth, my expectations from life. So much in such a short span of time :). I will go over it one by one, with special emphasis on third and fourth items.
On the 3rd of January, I joined my current organization. It was really exciting as I was moving on to a new work environment, was about to meet new people and would be working on something quite different from wat I did earlier. My spirits were high, but I was somewhat sad that I would not be seeing my buddies from previous organization. The coffee breaks in which we used to eat chats and have coffee are still fresh in my memory. The game of carrom which had become a routine would no loger be; the familiar faces which I would not be able to see daily... All of it did sadden me, but I said to my self - move on.
I will not talk much about work as that is understood :). My current organization and the previous one are both great companies and I would not talk much on it.
All of January went in getting to know how to get things going at office. In the mean time, Vinay and me finished the Project presentation for the Master's Degree Course and successfully completed the course. It was a big relief - We had been unable to enjoy most of the weekends in the last two years due to the classes. Now that it was over, we were free :).
In February, I was given an option to go to California and I took the option. Although I was yet to get complete training here at Bangalore, I thought it would not harm to go to the headquarters of the company and learn a few things. The date of travel was fixed to be March 23 and I got busy figuring out the basics to be learnt before I went there. I also had to get a Visa, which I did in February. All set to go, I was somewhat worried - I was not fully prepared - but also eager to see what is there outside India :) (First time traveler you see :))
I barely remember how the days went by... and it was the 23rd March. I was traveling along with one of my colleagues and that comforted me a lot - a least I would have company is what I thought. My colleague was traveling along with his wife and I checked into the airport very much ahead of time, our seats were far away and my plans of traveling along with him were gone for a toss :) (I made a mental note: Next time, if traveling in a group, do a group check-in). I did not specifically ask for the aisle seat and I realized my mistake when I got stuck between two ladies on either side. The seats were good enough for short flights, but longer duration flights in Economy class was quite tiring.
I am not air-sick, but traveling across time zones takes its toll. We had a one stop journey with a stop over at Hong Kong. During the entire journey food was given at regular intervals - The Indian veg food started to taste like Indian-Chinese fusion food by the time we reached San Fransisco International Airport :). I was feeling tired, but happy to have reached safely. It was afternoon by the time we reached the hotel at Milpitas (45 minutes drive from SFO). My colleagues who were already there from a few weeks asked me not to sleep in the afternoon so that I get adjusted to the time zone. But, I could not control my sleep and started sleeping at odd times. It took me a week to become fully normal. All that time it seemed as if I were walking in sleep and everything around me was some new world :). Thus began my trip to California.
One of the first things that I did was getting a calling card. I was already missing my homeland. Every one at the workplace looked busy all the time and the work culture was quite different. No wonder I was lost and my only hope was my Indian colleagues. If not for them, I would not have enjoyed my trip fully. All thanks to them, I was able to visit many interesting places and there was not a single moment that has not influenced my perspective about life.
The first weekend, we went to the Hearst Castle (http://www.hearstcastle.org/ - about 200 miles from Milpitas). It was almost the end of the rainy season and we saw a few showers all through the trip. At places, the fog (due to low-lying clouds) was so dense, we could barely see anything beyond the bonnet of our car. The experience of driving through clouds was breath taking. To add to it, I was still in sleep due to the jet lag - it seemed as if I was dreaming all through. Sadly, the dream lasted only till we were inside the car. The chill due to the rain woke me up abruptly from my cozy dream. As soon as we landed at the office of Hearst Castle, we bought the tour tickets and boarded the shuttle to the castle. The Hearst castle is one of the monuments that Californians feel very proud about - to me, it was just another building. Having seen buildings and monuments that are truly antique and historical in India, the Hearst Castle looked like a remixed song from a DJ. The place is supposed to be very scenic, but we saw nothing in the downpour. The castle is atop a hill and looks quite good from the outside. I had never seen shrubs bearing fully grown oranges - I saw just those and was somewhat delighted. Getting into the castle area, we were introduced to a big swimming pool which was apparently redesigned and rebuilt thrice (if I remember it correctly). There were big stone pillars all around - and these were brought from various parts of Europe. This shows the extent to which people go when they have lots of cash :). Then, we went through the changing rooms near the pool, the bedrooms, the dining area, the huge hall, etc. All through, we saw various antiques that had been collected from various parts of Europe. There was no original American artifact as such, but the collection was really impressive. The rain played the spoilsport and we were unable to see the castle properly from the outside, but from whatever we saw, we concluded that the place was not impressive. We returned after seeing another indoor pool and a few more rooms in the castle.
A few days later, I was driving on the American roads for the first time. The left aligned steering and driving on the right side of the road confused me for a day or two and after that, it was all a piece of cake.
Our next trip came up the next week. This time it was the Sattui Wine Yard in Napa Valley (http://www.vsattui.com/). The place was around 100 miles from Milpitas and the rains had cleared off by then. The weather was pleasant and the scenes exotic.
There were lots of agricultural fields stretching beyond the horizon. Grasslands and small hills were the norm but as soon as we reached the Napa county, the landscape was totally filled with 'T' shaped Grape plants. All the plants were pruned and arranged in straight parallel lines stretching virtually to infinity. The wine yard had different parts - the first section was the factory that extracted the juice out of the grapes and stored in large steel tanks (we could not see this in detail). The second section was the dark room full of wooden barrels filled with various varieties of wines.
It was interesting to see wines of all ages lying around in barrels :). The third section was the sales area - where we could taste wine and buy some as well. The bartenders explained the varieties of white and red wine on offering; they gave us some gyaan on how to taste wine and some tips on choosing the right wine for the right occasion. Along with the wine, bread and food, there were wine glasses and some memorabilia as well if anyone wanted. Napa valley also has a wine train (http://winetrain.com/) - that explains how famous this place is for wine.
Just a little further from there was the faithful geyser of California
On the 3rd of January, I joined my current organization. It was really exciting as I was moving on to a new work environment, was about to meet new people and would be working on something quite different from wat I did earlier. My spirits were high, but I was somewhat sad that I would not be seeing my buddies from previous organization. The coffee breaks in which we used to eat chats and have coffee are still fresh in my memory. The game of carrom which had become a routine would no loger be; the familiar faces which I would not be able to see daily... All of it did sadden me, but I said to my self - move on.
I will not talk much about work as that is understood :). My current organization and the previous one are both great companies and I would not talk much on it.
All of January went in getting to know how to get things going at office. In the mean time, Vinay and me finished the Project presentation for the Master's Degree Course and successfully completed the course. It was a big relief - We had been unable to enjoy most of the weekends in the last two years due to the classes. Now that it was over, we were free :).
There is nothing to see above the clouds - Road travel is far more interesting :)
I barely remember how the days went by... and it was the 23rd March. I was traveling along with one of my colleagues and that comforted me a lot - a least I would have company is what I thought. My colleague was traveling along with his wife and I checked into the airport very much ahead of time, our seats were far away and my plans of traveling along with him were gone for a toss :) (I made a mental note: Next time, if traveling in a group, do a group check-in). I did not specifically ask for the aisle seat and I realized my mistake when I got stuck between two ladies on either side. The seats were good enough for short flights, but longer duration flights in Economy class was quite tiring.
I am not air-sick, but traveling across time zones takes its toll. We had a one stop journey with a stop over at Hong Kong. During the entire journey food was given at regular intervals - The Indian veg food started to taste like Indian-Chinese fusion food by the time we reached San Fransisco International Airport :). I was feeling tired, but happy to have reached safely. It was afternoon by the time we reached the hotel at Milpitas (45 minutes drive from SFO). My colleagues who were already there from a few weeks asked me not to sleep in the afternoon so that I get adjusted to the time zone. But, I could not control my sleep and started sleeping at odd times. It took me a week to become fully normal. All that time it seemed as if I were walking in sleep and everything around me was some new world :). Thus began my trip to California.
One of the first things that I did was getting a calling card. I was already missing my homeland. Every one at the workplace looked busy all the time and the work culture was quite different. No wonder I was lost and my only hope was my Indian colleagues. If not for them, I would not have enjoyed my trip fully. All thanks to them, I was able to visit many interesting places and there was not a single moment that has not influenced my perspective about life.
The first weekend, we went to the Hearst Castle (http://www.hearstcastle.org/ - about 200 miles from Milpitas). It was almost the end of the rainy season and we saw a few showers all through the trip. At places, the fog (due to low-lying clouds) was so dense, we could barely see anything beyond the bonnet of our car. The experience of driving through clouds was breath taking. To add to it, I was still in sleep due to the jet lag - it seemed as if I was dreaming all through. Sadly, the dream lasted only till we were inside the car. The chill due to the rain woke me up abruptly from my cozy dream. As soon as we landed at the office of Hearst Castle, we bought the tour tickets and boarded the shuttle to the castle. The Hearst castle is one of the monuments that Californians feel very proud about - to me, it was just another building. Having seen buildings and monuments that are truly antique and historical in India, the Hearst Castle looked like a remixed song from a DJ. The place is supposed to be very scenic, but we saw nothing in the downpour. The castle is atop a hill and looks quite good from the outside. I had never seen shrubs bearing fully grown oranges - I saw just those and was somewhat delighted. Getting into the castle area, we were introduced to a big swimming pool which was apparently redesigned and rebuilt thrice (if I remember it correctly). There were big stone pillars all around - and these were brought from various parts of Europe. This shows the extent to which people go when they have lots of cash :). Then, we went through the changing rooms near the pool, the bedrooms, the dining area, the huge hall, etc. All through, we saw various antiques that had been collected from various parts of Europe. There was no original American artifact as such, but the collection was really impressive. The rain played the spoilsport and we were unable to see the castle properly from the outside, but from whatever we saw, we concluded that the place was not impressive. We returned after seeing another indoor pool and a few more rooms in the castle.
A few days later, I was driving on the American roads for the first time. The left aligned steering and driving on the right side of the road confused me for a day or two and after that, it was all a piece of cake.
Our next trip came up the next week. This time it was the Sattui Wine Yard in Napa Valley (http://www.vsattui.com/). The place was around 100 miles from Milpitas and the rains had cleared off by then. The weather was pleasant and the scenes exotic.
Napa valley - Pruned grape creepers neatly aligned in the backdrop
Barrels and barrels of wine with the year of sealing stamped on each one
Just a little further from there was the faithful geyser of California
The faithful geyser of California
(http://www.oldfaithfulgeyser.com/). The geyser, although small was quite interesting - letting off a jet of hot water and stream that went up to 25 feet in the air. I had never seen a hot-water geyser before - This one was interesting in that sense :). The trip ended within a day and overall, it was a nice set of places to visit. It introduced me to the foods and drinks of California.
