Post Rita..

This one was a breeze as compared to Katrina. Gas prices have gone up only marginally around where we live – nothing in comparison to the surge we saw post Katrina, but still way above what we paid for a gallon last year around this time of the year.

It’s amazing how nature is packing in a few serious body blows – right where it matters – almost like to wake everybody up and make everybody realize how volatile oil is and how much it matters to this country – or rather – how much the country is dependent on oil.

Another One!

So there is another one heading this way. One has to wonder if the USA is the only country that is getting hit so frequently by this deadly force of nature. Seems straight out of some movie in which all the UFOs and asteroids are headed towards the USA.

Hurricane Ophelia

Ophelia update from one who has weathered a few storms.

 

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Ophelia has been quite a lot of fun- 3 days of no school! and then we had power outage yesterday night- all night. The kids had a camp out in Dhruv's room. Today it's beautiful and still windy. We went out for a long walk to see our neighborhood. Except for a few little trees and tree limbs on the ground there is not much damage. Now Dhruv is outside, cleaning up the mess.There are a lot of leaves to be swept and picked up! We will go join him later. Two of our backyard chairs got pushed by the wind into the pool. They are in the deep end and it would be fun taking them out. Those were the only things we forgot to put inside before the hurricane. The power was back on at five in the morning and so were my kids - as they went to sleep early yesterday and also because they knew there was no school! So that's that as far as hurricane Ophelia goes. I think it pays to give them such nice names, unlike Katrina!

Love,

Mini/ Jiji

PS. Except for schools, everything else is open, so my husband had only yesterday off. Madhur is back to work today.

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It's Ophelia's turn now!

First Katrina, now Ophelia. I don’t know how they choose these names – but they sure are getting more and more exotic. Katrina’s kiss was a killer. Ophelia’s waltz seems to be slightly easier to manage. But who knows how and where she is going to land her right foot tomorrow.

What’s next? Cecilia? Or Raveena? Margaret, Mary, Martina, or God forbid, Martha?

Merrimack River and Pawtucket falls - about a 100 meters from our apartment in Lowell, MA. Its now time for us to go. Another 2 weeks.

100 mln Internet users in India by 2007-2008

100 mln Internet users in India by 2007-2008 by ZDNet's ZDNet -- India currently has 25 mln internet users, which is expected to grow to grow to 100 mln by 2007-08, says Internet and Online Association of India.

Have a Happy Fourth.

Us on July 4, 2005.

Some Fireworks!

July 4th celebrations on the Charles River in Boston. Some of the most spectacular fireworks I have ever seen in my life. I was looking at ways to upload some video files - but to no avail.

Grand Central

On our way back. Shruti and Piyush, my cousin, host and friend, at Grand Central. NY's main railway station. It beats the daylights out of most of India's airports.
If Shruti is sitting on the floor, it means:
a) She is very tired and
b) The place is pretty neat and clean.

They could have run a movie on those screens. I doubt even that would have stopped some of those in the ever moving, ever thirsty crowd. June 25, 2005, 10:40 pm

Quite easily the busiest place on this earth. If you believe in worldly things, it doesn't get any better than this! If you want to find proof that life is what we see and feel, come to Time Square. I only dread to imagine what this place would look like on New Year's eve. June 25, 2005 10:30 PM.

TIME SQUARE!

It was no Independance Day, no thanksgiving, no Christmas nor New Year's Day - but still, Time Square was a place like no place else. Hustling, bustling, day in the middle of the night. June 25, 2005, 10:30 PM.

Columbus Circle, NYC.

New York City from inside the Time Warner Center at the Columbus Circle. On the left hand side (with all the trees) is the Central Park.

Met.

On the steps of the Met, The Metropolitan Museum of Art. I will post some of the interesting photos from inside the musuem after verifying their authenticity.. just kidding. Lets just say - soon. June 25, 2005, 1:00 PM

New York City

This time to the relatively unknown, and obscure city of New York. We wondered why nobody comes here. It looked like a perfectly decent and friendly place. I am sure people will at least know that such a place exists after reading this entry. Who said blogs are useless? Here is a link to some of the statistics that some very bored person who does not know what to do with his time has collected. http://www.nycvisit.com/content/index.cfm?pagePkey=57
This view is from inside the train at the Harlem - 125th Street Station. Noon, June 25, 2005.

Where to now?

After a quiet weekend, we were on the move again.

A quiet week

Spent a quiet week at home and work. Was down with a little flu in the beginning of the week – it could just have been the heat as I recovered as soon as the temperature dropped.

We are back in our jackets and comforters - and its much better this way!

The Statue of Three Lies.

Notice the shine on the left shoe. A good number of tourists and graduates make sure that no dust settles on the shoe as they rub it for luck.

John Harvard, Founder, 1638.

With John Harvard, the founder of Harvard College. . Just kidding. This statue is located in front of the University Hall. Even thought the inscription on it says, John Harvard, Founder, 1638, none of those statements are true - as per the information provided here. It was graduation time and we waited about 30 minutes for our chance to touch his boots. Yes - its a tradition to place your hands on his left boot while posing for the picture.

Penang!

OK - so here we are - Penang, the restaurant. If you have nothing else to see and do at Harvard Square, just go there to eat at this restaurant. The Roti Canai will not last 5 minutes on the table. I assure you. Here, Shruti is devouring some of the stir fried noodles we had as well. yummmmm..