Team NYC

The Christmas weekend that passed 12 of us headed from Toronto to NYC on an epic trip. Epic because there were a few events that occured, which while probably not a first in the history of mankind, was definitely a first in my life. This blog's going to be short, I'll profile each of our trip mates here. As for the trip, I'll reserve it's details for the next one. Well, here goes..
We'd rented 2 minivans, which seated 6 of us in each. The first one held..

• Roy, Jyothi - Our chief at work, and his wife. A great couple!
• Avinash, Aarthi, Aashi - The soft-spoken Tripathis from UP. I have never seen any of them in an excited/agitated state except for baby Aashi at times when she needs to announce her need for food.
• Antony - Aashi's godfather, babysitter, guardian......

The second and probably more noisy minivan held

• Benny - My partner in crime, right from God's own country
• Gopi - The most eloquent Tamizhan I have met, never shies from cracking a joke, either upon himself or the unsuspecting public.
• Jinesh - Our Gujju boy, his appetite and enthusiasm never cease.
• Sudhir, Lakshmi - Our trip manager(you could say) and his wife. Lakshmi, being our latest entry to the FCT family, I feel inclined to elaborate a little more upon her. Now she's one of those people who have a perennial smile on their faces. I'm sure when she was born , the doctor would have been quite surprised, cause unlike other babies she would have come into this world with a smile. Another great couple!
• Myself - The last of the 12, the antithesis of everything normal!

New York, New York

I remember reading this a long time back , a view expressed by someone who was writing about the Big Apple. He said if aliens were to arrive on planet Earth in peace and we had to take them to our greatest city, we would take them to New York. He was American. Well....

• Given the average American's limited knowledge of the world, I think I could classify as an alien
• About peace, I am definitely here in peace. The alien nation of which I am a proud citizen has throughout it's history welcomed invaders with open hands.
  

So I qualify. But here's where things change. No one's taking me, I'm heading to New York myself, in two days. So while I have never celebrated Christmas my whole life, I will definitely be spending it this year in NYC.
Couple of friends tell me I'll love it, but personally, I don't think NY will be a great tourist spot. NY lays it claims to being one of the greatest cities in the world today not because of it's natural beauty, neither because it is tourist paradise. But solely on the basis of its commercial buzz, its fashion vistas, its cosmopolitan culture and its corporate activity among many other things. And if I had to feel it's pulse, I'm sure I only could if I worked there for a while. And that will be some time.
So while I am sure it's an amazing city, I doubt I will be able to truly experience it this time.

The net is my writing pad

Blogs, now every smart-ass and dumb-ass has one. In fact as long as you have an OS that supports a language you're comfortable with, you can go publish your Chinese/French/Hindi/Malay/blank thoughts for free....for the whole world to read. Feel like Spinoza? Go blog. Or is Tennyson the flavour of the day? Go blog. Or do you want the whole world to know how marvellously you've wasted a day in your life, and still feel a grand pride? Go blog away. Egotism? Pardon my spite, but I end up reading a lot of blogs that are effectively just a plain waste of time.
So where are the good blogs? Technorati has a pretty list for starters, check it here, some political, some techie-talk, some for the gizmo-freaks, definitely a lot more worth your time.