had a whale of a time and I mean it literally. where else can you see a whale dance to the tune .
pix @
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
The Mysterious Coral Castle,Miami,FL
About 30 miles south of Miami, Florida, in a town called Homestead, lies an unusual—some would say impossible—structure, composed of coral rock. Called the Coral Castle, it has a colorful past. It was the life's work of a reclusive Latvian immigrant named Edward Leedskalnin, who built the complex after being jilted by his sixteen-year-old sweetheart on their wedding day.
source: livescience
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Stone Mountain Park,GA
Stone Mountain,is dubbed as “the largest exposed piece of granite in the world". This misnomer is most likely a result of advertisement by granite companies and early park administration. In actuality, there are larger exposed granite landscapes throughout the world. There is an interesting carving on the side of mountain of Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee, and Jefferson Davis.I've no clue who they are.
.
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Georgia Aquarium,Atlanta,GA
The Georgia Aquarium, located in Atlanta, Georgia is the world's largest aquarium with more than 8.1 million US gallons of marine and fresh water housing more than 100,000 animals of 500 different species. The aquarium's notable specimens include four young whale sharks, two beluga whales and two manta rays.
pix:
pix:
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Providence Canyon State Park, GA
Providence Canyon, which is sometimes called Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon" is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. Providence Canyon actually is not a purely natural feature — the massive gullies (the deepest being 150 feet) were caused by erosion due to poor farming in the 1800s.
Sunday, March 7, 2010
RiverQuarium,Albany,GA
A quick day visit is what i was looking for. Albany is a city some 45 minutes drive away. I happened to find this attraction. Its called , RiverQuarium. The Flint RiverQuarium is a 54,000 sq ft aquarium located on the banks of the Flint River in Albany, Georgia, United States.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
..and it snowed in Georgia !!
it generally does not snow here not like in the NE of US but then, one fine day, it did snow.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Peachtree City,GA to Americus,GA
I had to relocate base location to client's plant further south of Georgia
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Buying a car- The craigslist experience
The last 2 times I was in US , I was on short term assignment's..
1st one was for 3 months to Philly..Public transport was available for home-office-home..in the evenings, I'd ride in my friends '95 accord. never needed to own a car.
2nd time I was in Birmingham,AL for a month and I did need a car...rented an Altima for a while and then switched to a corolla.
this time, I was gonna be in US long term and knew very well I needed to buy a car..
why buy a car? couldn't I have just rented ? answer is yes and no...
yes I could've rented any car for long term..and I could've got good monthly rates too. but I did not.. I chose to buy. I always travel on L1 visa and my company doesn't provide rental car reimbursement ( thats the way they are...I'd rather not discuss that point). This means that rental car expense are only money outflow..whereas if I buy a car, I can sell it and recover my money..makes sense?
with this logic in place, I started searching...
searching for a used car suddenly became a primary activity for me while still being in India. the online sources I used were :
1. Craigslist - Classifieds site where one can buy anything and everything. not like ebay though.
2. Autotrader - Dedicated automotive classifieds.
3. Carmax - used car dealer who has nationwide presence.
4. kelly blue book - to check for value of car based on the condition of the car.
now this got me excited. very excited. so i start looking for all the cars I always wanted to drive..
my logic was "whoever goes to US ends up buying a jap car..let me be a bit different..I'll buy a car I want to drive..german, american or british "
found quite a lot of 'good looking' cars but I sure knew the good looking cars did come out of a detailing shop where all the blemishes are removed. So, then, I started to look beyond the surface finish. high miles is something I was avoiding. there are very few cars I come across with low miles on them. Americans drive around a lot you see. so my checklist was
1. less owners
2. relatively lower miles.
3. no engine work (done previously or pending in near future)
4. no mods whatsoever.
5. direct seller..I avoid dealers.
6. not repainted.
7. no accidents/dings/dents
8. carfax report.
good..now checklist was in place..and i was still in India at this stage.
started searching Carmax inventory..why carmax when I hated dealers ? coz this is not the typical mexican car dealer..carmax has nationwide presence and the experience ,I'm told, is as good as buying a new car. therefore carmax was an exception. if they've got a car sitting somewhere in NY, they'll ship it to this location if I buy it. so, all this sounds cool and sounded like the place to go to for used cars..but then, who told all this came free? the feel good is obviously a 'purchasable' commodity. prices of all cars were way higher than the norm market price. but this was the only place I could find low miles cars..could I afford it ?
Then came the issue of budget. My pockets were definitely not deep and nor could I get a loan..my credit score in US is not great and without a good credit rating, one cannot get a good loan. that's when carmax went out of the search and so did low miles car.
back to craigslist and autotrader. in both these sites you can find dealers and individual sellers..I chose to look from direct sellers and looked up a long list of 'good' cars.
I started looking for used jap means..read Honda CIVIC/Accord, Toyota Corolla/Camry, Nissan Maxima/Altima.
I had only 1 more weekend before I packed up and left to americus..I had to find a car asap. but which one? jap cars are available but not all are good to buy..civics are notorious..many of them have engine swaps for mods or have very high miles..the ones with low miles needn't have to be so..the ads cleverly word it as "120k on the engine" ..people who just read 120k get fooled coz the ad means that car is way older and has had an engine swap and then run for 120k..now that's a car phaked beyond recognition. I had to filter these out..then there are those who price the cars really low and have genuinely low miles but with salvage title..what it means is that the car has met with an accident and has been declared as 'totalled' but has been repaired to run again. now this is scrap value coz nobody wants to buy these..well, not me atleast. these 'salvage' titled cars are next to impossible to sell.
my new checklist :
1. non smoker car
2. good service history.
3. no pets.
4. genuine miles (car/engine/transmission)
5. no salvage title.
6. less owners (preferably 1 owner)
7. no engine work (done previously or pending in near future)
8. no mods whatsoever.
9. direct seller..I avoid dealers.
10. not repainted.
11. no accidents/dings/dents
12. carfax report.
now you see how I learnt about US used car scene thru the 1 weeks of research.
I started shortlisting cars and then came this majorly attractive ad on craigslist..
'2006 PONTIAC GTO/50k miles/no accident/genuine title/single owner/must sell immediately/$ 6000.'
aah..now I found the next best ad after the Range Rover.
no phone number on the ad so I had to email which I did immediately.
the pontiac GTO is a rebadged LHD Holden Monaro. one of the better known RWD performance car...naaisss..i like i like..and guess what, I even got an immediate response...
craigslist is a a very good classifieds site but then it also hosts a lot of scamsters..
I'll explain.
this Pontiac GTO ad sounded very nice and looked like the deal of the year. But when I got the reply, I smelt something fishy. summary of the lengthy reply - car is in Texas, he 'says' he is a soldier and is deputed to IRAQ and has to sell immediately, I pay via ebay motors and the car with title will be shipped from ebay motors' yard to my location. if i don't like the car, I can return it.
This ad was a carrot for all the stupid folks of US. whats wrong with that ad you say? well, I can't even see the car since it is so far away...so, I'm not even sure if the car in the pic is the car that's for sale..he does give me a VIN and the carfax will be predictably good...but what I could be getting for that money will be a only a title and a heap of metal..yupp..if its met with an accident and had only liability insurance (3rd party) , then all that'll remain will be a heap of metal...and that's what was being sold..you can find an ad like this ever so often and only careful eyes can point them out..
and btw, after making the payment I'm not sure if there is any legal way of tracing the transaction too so all that is a big scam..
the symptoms became more and more predictable as I bumped into more such ads..
so I continued searching...
5 cars shortlisted for shortlisted for inspection for the weekend .
1. 1995 Acura Legend.
2. 1997 Acura Integra.
3. 1997 Nissan Altima.
4. 1996 Civic sedan.
5. 1996 Civic coupe
well, actually shortlisted many more but then I could end up speaking with only 5 of them prospective sellers.
Took a Rental Kia Optima and left on sat morning.
and this is what happened with each of these cars..
1. 1995 Acura Legend.
all the while, I was made to believe that it was being sold by an individual and not a dealer..guess what, rubbish..it was a mexican dealer. when i went there, all he said was " the car just got sold..you were late.." that was non sense..I reached at the time we had decided on..he was in a very far away location too..instead he started selling the mazda's he had..I did not want to heed to anything he said..drove out of there.
1 car down.
2. 1997 Acura Integra.
we had decided to meet at a convenient location coz i did not have a GPS and I could not locate his address..bugger never turned up..after an hours of my waiting , I got a call..
"yo man..I can't be there today..my mechanic is working on the and he has opened up half the engine "
I asked " what's wrong? "
he " the head gasket is gone and I tried to change it myself and it did not work and so , I called my mechanic ..we can meet tomorrow"
this car went to the trash as far as i was concerned..
2nd car down.
3. 1997 Nissan Altima.
this was a car i wasn't really keen on but I wanted to see it anyway coz the miles seemed like genuinely low miles. this time around, this guy said he'd come to the hotel I was in..sounded like he was desperate to sell the car. I had seen the pic of the car. it was rear 3 qtr shot of the car and it looked ok.
he turned up on time...when I saw the car, I really wanted to just walk away and not even tell him that it was me he came to meet. it was a disgusting looker. the rear 3 qtr,which was in the pic , was the only bit that was acceptable..
paint- oxidised beyond recognition.
body- dents all over.
interiors- it was a smokers den, it even had the door pads missing. the speakers were all falling into hands. half the electronics were not working.
suspension & tyres - tyres were all screwed..suspension...god knows..I didn't ride/drive it.
engine - this was the joke..bugger had button start/stop installed and it never worked. so he had to go and bypass it and start it..I cared the least for this car..I said I'll get back to him..we just can't say no easily.
he msg'd me later asking " dude, are you still interested in the car" I replied "did I even have to reply? wasn't it clear when we met? good luck selling it"
3rd car out
4. 1996 Civic sedan
this was being sold by a hyderabadi guy..it had low miles and he said all was fine with the car and that he was buying a newer car and did not need this one..most common reason people give..I went to his apartment complex and walked up to his apartment block..when i reached I got irritated to the core..this guy said he was going to sell it to me but here he was...negotiating with somebody ..in front of me..atleast he could've told me when i called him from the gate of the apartment complex.. i could find sollace in the fact that this car was not even starting..it had a starter motor problem and would've cost me a lot to tow it and get it repaired anyway..
4th car down..this was getting frustrating.
5. 1996 Civic coupe
this was officially my last car on the list and I was in the most frustrated mood..again, the car owner came to a common place to show me his car..it was black coupe..i have a soft corner for coupes..i kinda like them..
the car had bad paint, bad interiors and bad electronics..the power windows and the inside door latches wouldn't work either. was the engine good atleast? well, when i drove it, the engine felt good though..so was the suspension and tyres.. i got back to the spot and popped the hood to see the engine bay..to my horror..the car was red color on the inside !! the reason for the bad paint on the outside was coz this guy had painted his car at home ..
that's it..told him his car was useless and walked off..went back to the hotel with all options gone away with no car shortlisted.
..then, just when I was planning on getting back to peachtree city (from atlanta) , I checked craiglist for updates..amongst all the rubbish cars listed, I found one car which was kinda good but had high miles.
it was a 2000 toyota camry V6 with 187k miles on it. after all the cars I'd seen, I thought i'd give a shot too. quickly called the owner and arranged a meeting spot and went out ..there this was ..
1st one was for 3 months to Philly..Public transport was available for home-office-home..in the evenings, I'd ride in my friends '95 accord. never needed to own a car.
2nd time I was in Birmingham,AL for a month and I did need a car...rented an Altima for a while and then switched to a corolla.
this time, I was gonna be in US long term and knew very well I needed to buy a car..
why buy a car? couldn't I have just rented ? answer is yes and no...
yes I could've rented any car for long term..and I could've got good monthly rates too. but I did not.. I chose to buy. I always travel on L1 visa and my company doesn't provide rental car reimbursement ( thats the way they are...I'd rather not discuss that point). This means that rental car expense are only money outflow..whereas if I buy a car, I can sell it and recover my money..makes sense?
with this logic in place, I started searching...
searching for a used car suddenly became a primary activity for me while still being in India. the online sources I used were :
1. Craigslist - Classifieds site where one can buy anything and everything. not like ebay though.
2. Autotrader - Dedicated automotive classifieds.
3. Carmax - used car dealer who has nationwide presence.
4. kelly blue book - to check for value of car based on the condition of the car.
now this got me excited. very excited. so i start looking for all the cars I always wanted to drive..
my logic was "whoever goes to US ends up buying a jap car..let me be a bit different..I'll buy a car I want to drive..german, american or british "
found quite a lot of 'good looking' cars but I sure knew the good looking cars did come out of a detailing shop where all the blemishes are removed. So, then, I started to look beyond the surface finish. high miles is something I was avoiding. there are very few cars I come across with low miles on them. Americans drive around a lot you see. so my checklist was
1. less owners
2. relatively lower miles.
3. no engine work (done previously or pending in near future)
4. no mods whatsoever.
5. direct seller..I avoid dealers.
6. not repainted.
7. no accidents/dings/dents
8. carfax report.
good..now checklist was in place..and i was still in India at this stage.
started searching Carmax inventory..why carmax when I hated dealers ? coz this is not the typical mexican car dealer..carmax has nationwide presence and the experience ,I'm told, is as good as buying a new car. therefore carmax was an exception. if they've got a car sitting somewhere in NY, they'll ship it to this location if I buy it. so, all this sounds cool and sounded like the place to go to for used cars..but then, who told all this came free? the feel good is obviously a 'purchasable' commodity. prices of all cars were way higher than the norm market price. but this was the only place I could find low miles cars..could I afford it ?
Then came the issue of budget. My pockets were definitely not deep and nor could I get a loan..my credit score in US is not great and without a good credit rating, one cannot get a good loan. that's when carmax went out of the search and so did low miles car.
back to craigslist and autotrader. in both these sites you can find dealers and individual sellers..I chose to look from direct sellers and looked up a long list of 'good' cars.
I started looking for used jap means..read Honda CIVIC/Accord, Toyota Corolla/Camry, Nissan Maxima/Altima.
I had only 1 more weekend before I packed up and left to americus..I had to find a car asap. but which one? jap cars are available but not all are good to buy..civics are notorious..many of them have engine swaps for mods or have very high miles..the ones with low miles needn't have to be so..the ads cleverly word it as "120k on the engine" ..people who just read 120k get fooled coz the ad means that car is way older and has had an engine swap and then run for 120k..now that's a car phaked beyond recognition. I had to filter these out..then there are those who price the cars really low and have genuinely low miles but with salvage title..what it means is that the car has met with an accident and has been declared as 'totalled' but has been repaired to run again. now this is scrap value coz nobody wants to buy these..well, not me atleast. these 'salvage' titled cars are next to impossible to sell.
my new checklist :
1. non smoker car
2. good service history.
3. no pets.
4. genuine miles (car/engine/transmission)
5. no salvage title.
6. less owners (preferably 1 owner)
7. no engine work (done previously or pending in near future)
8. no mods whatsoever.
9. direct seller..I avoid dealers.
10. not repainted.
11. no accidents/dings/dents
12. carfax report.
now you see how I learnt about US used car scene thru the 1 weeks of research.
I started shortlisting cars and then came this majorly attractive ad on craigslist..
'2006 PONTIAC GTO/50k miles/no accident/genuine title/single owner/must sell immediately/$ 6000.'
aah..now I found the next best ad after the Range Rover.
no phone number on the ad so I had to email which I did immediately.
the pontiac GTO is a rebadged LHD Holden Monaro. one of the better known RWD performance car...naaisss..i like i like..and guess what, I even got an immediate response...
craigslist is a a very good classifieds site but then it also hosts a lot of scamsters..
I'll explain.
this Pontiac GTO ad sounded very nice and looked like the deal of the year. But when I got the reply, I smelt something fishy. summary of the lengthy reply - car is in Texas, he 'says' he is a soldier and is deputed to IRAQ and has to sell immediately, I pay via ebay motors and the car with title will be shipped from ebay motors' yard to my location. if i don't like the car, I can return it.
This ad was a carrot for all the stupid folks of US. whats wrong with that ad you say? well, I can't even see the car since it is so far away...so, I'm not even sure if the car in the pic is the car that's for sale..he does give me a VIN and the carfax will be predictably good...but what I could be getting for that money will be a only a title and a heap of metal..yupp..if its met with an accident and had only liability insurance (3rd party) , then all that'll remain will be a heap of metal...and that's what was being sold..you can find an ad like this ever so often and only careful eyes can point them out..
and btw, after making the payment I'm not sure if there is any legal way of tracing the transaction too so all that is a big scam..
the symptoms became more and more predictable as I bumped into more such ads..
so I continued searching...
5 cars shortlisted for shortlisted for inspection for the weekend .
1. 1995 Acura Legend.
2. 1997 Acura Integra.
3. 1997 Nissan Altima.
4. 1996 Civic sedan.
5. 1996 Civic coupe
well, actually shortlisted many more but then I could end up speaking with only 5 of them prospective sellers.
Took a Rental Kia Optima and left on sat morning.
and this is what happened with each of these cars..
1. 1995 Acura Legend.
all the while, I was made to believe that it was being sold by an individual and not a dealer..guess what, rubbish..it was a mexican dealer. when i went there, all he said was " the car just got sold..you were late.." that was non sense..I reached at the time we had decided on..he was in a very far away location too..instead he started selling the mazda's he had..I did not want to heed to anything he said..drove out of there.
1 car down.
2. 1997 Acura Integra.
we had decided to meet at a convenient location coz i did not have a GPS and I could not locate his address..bugger never turned up..after an hours of my waiting , I got a call..
"yo man..I can't be there today..my mechanic is working on the and he has opened up half the engine "
I asked " what's wrong? "
he " the head gasket is gone and I tried to change it myself and it did not work and so , I called my mechanic ..we can meet tomorrow"
this car went to the trash as far as i was concerned..
2nd car down.
3. 1997 Nissan Altima.
this was a car i wasn't really keen on but I wanted to see it anyway coz the miles seemed like genuinely low miles. this time around, this guy said he'd come to the hotel I was in..sounded like he was desperate to sell the car. I had seen the pic of the car. it was rear 3 qtr shot of the car and it looked ok.
he turned up on time...when I saw the car, I really wanted to just walk away and not even tell him that it was me he came to meet. it was a disgusting looker. the rear 3 qtr,which was in the pic , was the only bit that was acceptable..
paint- oxidised beyond recognition.
body- dents all over.
interiors- it was a smokers den, it even had the door pads missing. the speakers were all falling into hands. half the electronics were not working.
suspension & tyres - tyres were all screwed..suspension...god knows..I didn't ride/drive it.
engine - this was the joke..bugger had button start/stop installed and it never worked. so he had to go and bypass it and start it..I cared the least for this car..I said I'll get back to him..we just can't say no easily.
he msg'd me later asking " dude, are you still interested in the car" I replied "did I even have to reply? wasn't it clear when we met? good luck selling it"
3rd car out
4. 1996 Civic sedan
this was being sold by a hyderabadi guy..it had low miles and he said all was fine with the car and that he was buying a newer car and did not need this one..most common reason people give..I went to his apartment complex and walked up to his apartment block..when i reached I got irritated to the core..this guy said he was going to sell it to me but here he was...negotiating with somebody ..in front of me..atleast he could've told me when i called him from the gate of the apartment complex.. i could find sollace in the fact that this car was not even starting..it had a starter motor problem and would've cost me a lot to tow it and get it repaired anyway..
4th car down..this was getting frustrating.
5. 1996 Civic coupe
this was officially my last car on the list and I was in the most frustrated mood..again, the car owner came to a common place to show me his car..it was black coupe..i have a soft corner for coupes..i kinda like them..
the car had bad paint, bad interiors and bad electronics..the power windows and the inside door latches wouldn't work either. was the engine good atleast? well, when i drove it, the engine felt good though..so was the suspension and tyres.. i got back to the spot and popped the hood to see the engine bay..to my horror..the car was red color on the inside !! the reason for the bad paint on the outside was coz this guy had painted his car at home ..
that's it..told him his car was useless and walked off..went back to the hotel with all options gone away with no car shortlisted.
..then, just when I was planning on getting back to peachtree city (from atlanta) , I checked craiglist for updates..amongst all the rubbish cars listed, I found one car which was kinda good but had high miles.
it was a 2000 toyota camry V6 with 187k miles on it. after all the cars I'd seen, I thought i'd give a shot too. quickly called the owner and arranged a meeting spot and went out ..there this was ..
Saturday, January 30, 2010
BLR-FRA-ATL- Peachtree City,GA
For the past 2 US trips of mine, I'd flown on Air France and I was very pleased with it but this time around it was on Lufthansa.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Talladega Speedway
was always curious about Nascar. I've always been an ardent fan of F1 but never knew what this sport has that gets US gripped enough to ignore the existence of F1.
I had planned to visit Talladega Speedway which was an hrs drive away from Leeds,AL where I stayed. Left early in the morning to reach the racetrack by 8am.
more pix
discussion @
http://gearheads.in/track-racing-track-days/drove-nascar-t484.html
I had planned to visit Talladega Speedway which was an hrs drive away from Leeds,AL where I stayed. Left early in the morning to reach the racetrack by 8am.
more pix
discussion @
http://gearheads.in/track-racing-track-days/drove-nascar-t484.html
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Mercedes Benz Inc.
I always knew that Mercedes manufactured its SUV's in US and I also knew that it was in Tuscaloosa,AL.
pix @
discussion @
http://gearheads.in/vintage-classic-cars/mercedes-museum-tuscaloosa-usa-t483.html
pix @
discussion @
http://gearheads.in/vintage-classic-cars/mercedes-museum-tuscaloosa-usa-t483.html
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Vintage Bike Race @ Barber Motorsports park
was the town of Moody really Moody?? Well, the Mood was definitely upbeat in the town of Moody
coz of this annual event called Vintage Bike Race and the venue, Barber Motorsports Park
coz of this annual event called Vintage Bike Race and the venue, Barber Motorsports Park
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Driving in US
The last time that I visited US, I had tried to get myself a DL out here. So, I had read all the driving rules thoroughly. Lots of rules trust me. Courtesy driving. Safe distance blah blah blah…can turn here , can’t turn there. Speed limits everywhere. Awesome roads but shit speed limits.We have no good roads but we rip down any roads at high speeds. Ironic isn’t it. Driving on the highway is big time tension for the first few times.70 mph (115 kph) is the speed limit on highways. All cars are running at 70 mph. no room for error. Believe me I was watching the mirror more than the road looking out for cops coz that’s the last people you’d ever want to see out here. Preplanning is a must while driving out here. No paan beeda/cigarette stalls or dhabas to ask directions. Miss an exit (to get out of highway) whoop….you’re gone. Next exit could be 5 miles away and getting back in line a big pain. Now , the road signs are excellent. Good warnings of exits but while busy trying to look out for cops, crazy truckers and occasional rash driving cars, its real easy to miss exits. Luckily I haven’t missed any exit else I’d get lost.
My car comes with cruise control. That’s the 1st thing I do. Switch on cruise control as soon as I see a speed limit signboard. Yaakappa kireeku. The highways are really tempting to overspeed. Only once I did do 110 mph while overtaking. That’s it. Got back to cruising.
My car comes with cruise control. That’s the 1st thing I do. Switch on cruise control as soon as I see a speed limit signboard. Yaakappa kireeku. The highways are really tempting to overspeed. Only once I did do 110 mph while overtaking. That’s it. Got back to cruising.
Rental car
Voila Rental car!! The prev trip of mine , I did not have a proper license but this time, no sir, no repeating the old issues. I got me a proper license just in time. Got me a rental car from Avis. No other rental car guy would rent it out to me coz I didn’t have a major credit card from US. Sad logic. I got myself a brand new Nissan Altima. Fully loaded car came with keyless system. Keep the remote in the pocket and that’s it. Walk upto the car and press a button on the door handle, door lock opens and starting the car, simple. Button start. Sports car style. Awesome car but driving in US is tensing. There are so many rules to follow. It is so easy to drive in India. No rules are good rules. I’m sure all agree to this.
The biggest headache out here is insurance. You ain’t surviving anywhere without insurance. I took the car without insurance (costs lesser). The savings are good but, its one hell of a risk. Even if somebody else bangs into me, I get screwed big time. Lots of trouble. Gave back the huge amazingly powerful Nissan Altima and got myself the cheapest car. A brand new black Corolla (the one we know as the Corolla Altis in India). No bells and whistles and very basic. This time, I took this with Insurance. Tension gone. I now have the almighty power I can now bang into anybody and not worry about paying for it!! Wicked.
The biggest headache out here is insurance. You ain’t surviving anywhere without insurance. I took the car without insurance (costs lesser). The savings are good but, its one hell of a risk. Even if somebody else bangs into me, I get screwed big time. Lots of trouble. Gave back the huge amazingly powerful Nissan Altima and got myself the cheapest car. A brand new black Corolla (the one we know as the Corolla Altis in India). No bells and whistles and very basic. This time, I took this with Insurance. Tension gone. I now have the almighty power I can now bang into anybody and not worry about paying for it!! Wicked.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Super 8 Motel
I stayed at a motel called super 8. 6 miles away from office. This was the only place closest to anything called accommodation in this hamlet.This motel was basic enough and the rooms big enough to live in. had all the basic amenities and was maintained well. Air conditioned makes it easier during weather changes as it was getting colder.
distance to office 6 miles!!! Now the next big problem is travel!! …well the 1st day, my colleague from clients place picked me up but thereafter was a question mark.
distance to office 6 miles!!! Now the next big problem is travel!! …well the 1st day, my colleague from clients place picked me up but thereafter was a question mark.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
10th Oct '08-Bangalore-paris-atlanta,US-birmingham,US-Moody,Alabama.
This being my 2nd trip to US, I thought it was a smooth sail away. That it was. I took Air France again and yet again stopped over at Paris. This time, 5 hrs of waiting!! Agonizing. All through that time, luckily for me, there was a public internet kiosk. Well ,had to pay for it though. How much? how about $ 6.00 for 15 minutes of internet. Daylight robbery. Then on, it was PS3 which helped me pass time. Played F1 on PS3. easily made all the top drivers look silly on the track .I had so much time, I perfected it too. Finally jumped into another Air France flight only to realize there was yet another flight to take after Atlanta. Damn. Painful it was. Well, finally, touchdown in Birmingham. Now this is Birmingham in Alabama, US. Not the one in UK. General knowledge improved eh.Took a cab to the village called Moody 25 miles away.
Alabama is in the southern part of US. Lots of mountains and nice scenic roads. Had heard a lot bout Alabama some good some bad and some nasty things to watch out for. Hoped for the better of all.
Alabama is in the southern part of US. Lots of mountains and nice scenic roads. Had heard a lot bout Alabama some good some bad and some nasty things to watch out for. Hoped for the better of all.
Sunday, June 22, 2008
21st june- go shorty ..its my birthday....wanna sip bacardi coz its my b'day......
21st June happens to be my birthday I thought I’ll be alone but that was before I spoke with my friend abhi who lives in Washington DC…felt good when he immediately said hes driving down on sat-d-day.This guy was blazingly fast in deciding things.He said he’ll plan his trip and 5 mins flat he had his trip scheduled along with the hotel booked out.damn commiited…I’d say.he indeed reached up later that noon after a 2 hr drive.he has an amazing looking bmw 3 series.frikkin awesome car it is. we went and caught up with Mike.went to Iron hill brewery which is actually a brewery (seriously..beer is made here) and a restaurant. We had a late lunch.at that time.we were still undecided where to go.earlier that eve, mike me & Brandon had decided to go to philly to some club and party along but since Brandon couldn’t make it , we ditched that idea.
fortunately or unfortunately .the hotel abhi booked was 27 miles away.then we realized that the indoor go kart track we went to previously was on the way.hit it this time.luck was on my side.i got a good kart and guess wat.i had a terrific race.incidentally I won too.!!! awesome race…we guys were like a rolling triangle each trying to pass the other along the racing line.awesome.the josh was set.jumped into another round.this time my kart sucked.and to make matters worse,there were girls and children on the same track.Potential danger on the track.enough to make the speed slower.damned.it was a total loss for us…every time a girl crashed into the tyre wall.we wud b forced to cruise @ a speed of 5 mph.hwz tht for racing speed.more such incidents followed.once we were racing and suddenly the kart slows automatically and stops.wat the hell are we doing then.it feels like it’s a big RC car race.somebody is playing.horrible.never will I do this again.as in electric karts.before we even kicked into a race , it was over.waste of money.
then we headed out to abhi's hotel. A drive to Philly was still on our mind.but after we reached his hotel , change of plans.we went back to west chester to our all time hangout went to another jap restaurant called Kooma,mikes fave haunt,not mine coz I don’t like sushi but majority wins both abhi and mike liked it. we went there and had Japanese wine called saki.its actually wine made of rice.I had only read bout it & now I tasted it too.that was only the beginning. we then went pub hopping to all places around town.Teca had the best music then more hopping around till 2 am.thts when we were thrown out of all places…2 am all places close down.end of day.
what a way to celebrate b’day.
Sunday I got up late and did nothing till eve and then it was movie time again.this time it was M.Night.Shyalamans movie “the happening”…freaky thriller of a movie….
end of weekend…..
fortunately or unfortunately .the hotel abhi booked was 27 miles away.then we realized that the indoor go kart track we went to previously was on the way.hit it this time.luck was on my side.i got a good kart and guess wat.i had a terrific race.incidentally I won too.!!! awesome race…we guys were like a rolling triangle each trying to pass the other along the racing line.awesome.the josh was set.jumped into another round.this time my kart sucked.and to make matters worse,there were girls and children on the same track.Potential danger on the track.enough to make the speed slower.damned.it was a total loss for us…every time a girl crashed into the tyre wall.we wud b forced to cruise @ a speed of 5 mph.hwz tht for racing speed.more such incidents followed.once we were racing and suddenly the kart slows automatically and stops.wat the hell are we doing then.it feels like it’s a big RC car race.somebody is playing.horrible.never will I do this again.as in electric karts.before we even kicked into a race , it was over.waste of money.
then we headed out to abhi's hotel. A drive to Philly was still on our mind.but after we reached his hotel , change of plans.we went back to west chester to our all time hangout went to another jap restaurant called Kooma,mikes fave haunt,not mine coz I don’t like sushi but majority wins both abhi and mike liked it. we went there and had Japanese wine called saki.its actually wine made of rice.I had only read bout it & now I tasted it too.that was only the beginning. we then went pub hopping to all places around town.Teca had the best music then more hopping around till 2 am.thts when we were thrown out of all places…2 am all places close down.end of day.
what a way to celebrate b’day.
Sunday I got up late and did nothing till eve and then it was movie time again.this time it was M.Night.Shyalamans movie “the happening”…freaky thriller of a movie….
end of weekend…..
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