Got the H1B!!

And finally its here. The stamping process is done... over n out! And I must say it was quick, stand in the line outside the cousulate for 10 mins and one you are in, its all done in another 15 mins. No more huge lines (unlike the VFS story). The hilarious part was the girl I had mentioned in my previous post for Visa Pow-err, te who who looked at me as if I had asked her to marry me... she ends up standing right behind me as I entered the counsulate... right behind me as I stood to be fingerprinted... once again, conversations were kept to a bare minimum. For those who are inquisitive about the interview, nothing much to it, normal Q&A session. Smile all the way!! This one chap who I met outside the counsulate was asked as to what was the difference between JAVA and C++. "H1B interviews get technical!!"

Anyways, its here and am gonna be off maybe around the 8th of Nov. or after Diwali. Lets see... depends on a few things coming up.

Flavors

Probably the way this blog is going I need to change its name to something related to movies... but u cant blame me... I have nothing better to do in life right now... so "vella" in life that if my neighbour calls me for grocery shopping I'll go along willingly and that would be high grade entertainment... what has life come to?

Just retured from this movie called "Flavors". Absolutely rocking movie... unfortunately not well publicised but absolutely amazing... and I could so much identify with the characters in the movie. American Desi - Hyderabad Blues type of movie, but done really well... rocking sceenplay... amazing storyline.... a must see!

Today also happened to be Dassera.... a celebration of victory over evil. Also the last day of "Dandiya-Raas" or Navratri which is like a major dance festival which lasts over 9 days. Thats the easiest way I could have explained it but its much more complicated than it sounds.... for those in USA, goto Newark AVe in Jersey City to experience it live.... or some ISA organized festival show in almost any University which ultimately ends with everyone doing "Bhangda".

Observed: Any Indian dance party in USA finally converts into a Garba or a Bhangda session.

Why do I feel scared to experiment at Yokos and always stick to the Chicken Satellite and Peach Iced Tea?

Saturday nite will be another alcoholic day out.... hmmm... nite out! Nothing beats T-Top... the stars above you, the wind blowing into your face and a chilled drink. I already have a cocktail named "Joshi kaa Josh" (thanks Alap for coming up with that name). Lets see if I can expand my horizons tomorrow! Actually I could take up full time bartending very soon....

"Alcohol Breeds Philosophers" - Flavors.

I better get my act together before I start dishing out some philosophy without getting drunk (as if this blog is not bad enough).

I wish I could Fly

Its been an entertaining weekend. Met up with some old school friends Friday Night at Pop Tates. Saturday night was the regular drinks session on T-Top followed by a drive to town after midnight. Its amazing how the most crowded roads are so damn empty at night... home to town in almost half an hour or less. Now only if this could be done in rush hour!

The highlight of the day was Sunday. The Indian Air Force was at its best. They had an airshow exhibition by the sea face downtown and it rocked all the way! Frankly, it was no different than the one I had seen a few years ago, but each time you see the Sukhoi you feel like you wanna own one. Its amazing... and it has me wondering how much testing would one have to put into a fighter aircraft!

I shall put up some photos soon!

Hanging around town is always fun, but I wouldnt recommend eating at this Chinese joint called Kamling (or was it Kam-Ying?) next to Churchgate. Far too expensive and more importantly, the food is not worth it!!

The day ended watching Gurinder Chaddha's "Bride & Prejudice" at Metro. The movie didnt impress me too much. One could expect much more from a lady who introduced Keira Knightley to the big screen and made flicks like "Bend It Like Beckham". Nevertheless, its worth a dekkho if you have nothing better to do. What I could conclude from public reaction was the women enjoyed watching Martin Henderson. Personal opinion: This actor by the name Nitin (forgot last name) called Mr. Kohli in the movie takes the cake. He was hilarious.... !!

Statement of the week: Goes to Dada (Deven) for his reply when we wondered about the new family shifting into ground floor apartment. "They are Punjabi's since their furniture is shaped like North Indians." He was a few pegs down at that stage.

Movie Recommendation: Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11. Its interesting and Hilarious (but then, only if you have not been following American stuff on CNN religiously).

Visa Pow-err...

With things settling down on the home front, it was time to go get my H1B stamped. The start was the difficult part since I am not really used to being up at 6 AM.... and then getting onto a crowded 84 LTD. with the old man next to me dozing off on my shoulder.

Without a rather eventful journey to Bhulabhai Desai Rd. and standing in the line outside the VFS, the guard tells me I cannot carry my backpack into the center. Bummer! Fortunately he didnt tell me that after an hour of standing in the line. So after dropping off my bag at Mamas place at Marine Drive, I am back in the line. Weird concept, they make you stand outside on the road for about an hour after given you a token. Then they take you inside some room, make you sit there for another hour (reminds you of the Gas Chambers). Then you find yourself back on the road for a while. After that you get frisked (which the security guy kinda seemed to enjoy) and are thrown into another room. Few more hours there and then another room which looks like a VFS center (finally). Effectively I found myself doing nothing from 10 AM to 4 PM. All this, just to get a Visa date. And the chic who sat next to me in the room.... lesser said the better.... all I asked her was "Hoz it going?" and she looked at me as if I had asked her to marry me... 4 hours of silence and meditation followed.

Anyways, I finally have the Visa interview date (26th) and most of the gang is already praying I get the visa and leave India ASAP!

Farro's Gabbana posters seem to be making rounds of the city... I was standing under one of them when in line.

Anyone into Milkshakes, I recommend the Rocky Road at Cafe Mocha - add a few extra marshmallows to it.

I finally had the opportunity to travel rush hour in the local trains. Figured out an interesting relationship which I will put up in my Software Testing blog (http://criticsden.blogspot.com).... yeah... trains and software testing... look out for it!