Posts filed under 'USA'
Yes, over a month since I posted. Has been crazy lately. The US economy is totally down & its my first recession after entering my professional career.
Well the tech slowdown in 2001 too effected me any many in my age group and it was pretty bad. Almost our entire class lost an year due to the 2001 slowdown.
This time around the situation is quite bad compared to the previous slowdown, and USA is officially in recession. The major difference this time is that its not just the IT industry thats hit, but almost all sectors are hit badly. Specially the housing & the financial market here in the US. And in today’s world, everything is interconnected. So, people from all walks of life are impacted one way or the other.
On the work side, many projects are being axes or postponed, budgets are being slashed and people are more and more cautious when it comes to spending money. For now, I have enough work lined up for the coming months. Must see how it turns out.
In other news, Amogh, my son turned One on feb 8th. Time fly’s by so fast!
Like mentioned in my previous post, both Amogh and Chitra are back in India. … and I could not miss Amogh’s 1st birthday. So, I flew all the way back to India for a week! :) and it was worth it! The special thing about the trip was, it was a surprise trip!. Only Chitra knew that I would be flying. So, it was fun to see the reaction of every one who saw me there on his birthday!
….even for Amogh, the day I landed, it took a while for him to realize that it was his father who had suddenly disappeared from the scene sometime back. And then, after a few minutes, he knew it was his dad :) … and clearly seemed to be very happy that day.
The Trip was quite hectic — 30 hrs of travel one way — 1 week in Mangalore & again 30 hrs of travel back to Houston!. So for around 2 to 3 weeks, my biological clock was totally out of sync due to jet lag/timezone changes! But it was worth it.
Its a pleasure to see Amogh these days. He now walks and virtually runs all around very comfortably. …and has now started to climb the stairs. He blabbers in his own baby language! ….. and has become very naughty! :)
If all goes well, Chitra & Amogh should be here soon — may be in a week or two. Waiting for thier arrival !
|
March 1st, 2009 at 08:56pm
Its over a week and a half now since we faced Hurricane Ike. Well, for my readers from India….Hurricane is nothing but Cyclone, as its known in India.
So, how did it all go ?
It was a major storm, and the first and worst we ever faced. Hurricane Ike hit Galveston as a strong category 2 hurricane with wind speeds of up to 110 mph (~178 kmph!). Galveston is the coastal area which took the direct hit. Within Houston, which is around 55 miles away from Galveston, the wind speeds were around 90 to 100 mph. The Eye of the hurricane passed directly over Houston downtown (city center).
We live in the Houston Suburb called Katy which is on the west end of Houston. Luckily for us, we were on the clean side of the hurricane, but we did get winds of up to 80 to 85 mph! Its not just the wind, its wind and rain like you have never seen before. The sound of the wind is awful & scary!
I really appreciate the city of Houston for the way they handled this unfortunate event. They were very well prepared for this hurricane (after the lessons they learn’t from Rita and Katrina). They ordered evacuation of areas that were really needed (unlike whole of Houston during Rita — which lead to major problems on the evacuation routes). The city Mayor Bill White and Judge Ed Emmett did a commendable job. I can’t imagine our city corporators and politicians back in India doing such a amazing job.
Ike was a very big hurricane in terms of size (around 400 miles in diameter), with the eye being around 50 miles wide. Ike made landfall at Galveston Island at around 2.10 AM on 13th September (Saturday morning). And due to its size, we felt the winds pickup in Katy area around 6 hrs prior to landfall.
We lost power (in Katy) at around 2 AM on Saturday. And soon, we could feel the Hurricane force winds (winds over 74 mph). It was pretty scary. My main worry was if our window glasses & our roof could withstand the winds. Luckily they did. The wind and rain continued to pound till about 8 AM in the morning and then slowly died down. By noon, the weather was much better at least in our Area. The hurricane had moved north and was causing havoc there.
Prior to the Hurricane, the power company (CenterPoint energy) predicted that if Houston took a direct hit, it would take up to 4 weeks to restore power to everyone. And they were pretty accurate in predicting it. CenterPoint energy has 2.2 Million (22 lakhs) customers (connections) in Houston. At the High of the storm, almost all of its customers lost power. Around 100k customers were with power. Talk about Luck! As I write this, around 25% of Houston is still without power. Its the biggest power outage in the History of US. Well, for us, we got power back in the evening of 15th September (Monday). So we were without power for around 60 hours!
In India, power cuts and failures are pretty normal, and people are used to it. Life goes on smoothly without power. :) … But here in the US, there is too much dependency on electricity. I have never seen a major power failure in US. Tooooo many things are dependent on electricity here. So, without power for 60 hrs was a challenge!
To give you an Idea… no power means:
- No water (since the pumping stations don’t have electricity to pump water).
- No AC or Cooling – Immediately after the hurricane, it was typically hot and humid. The houses and other structures here are designed for Air-Conditioning — so not many windows to open !
- No cooking – since most homes have electric cooking range (and not gas). Even if its gas based, then the gas supply would be disrupted.
- No TV, No Internet – all down. The only means to get information is via a battery operated Radio, assuming you have stocked up enough batteries.
- The cellphones/laptop last as long as the battery in them last!
- No fuel – All the Gas stations (petrol pumps) work on electricity.
- No hot water to bath. (if you are lucky to have water supply)
- All the food in the fridge goes bad – (also means if you have stored medications like Insulin .. etc in the fridge, they are gone!)
- No way to wash cloths!
- Many people could not shave!!! (Thanks to the electric shavers!!!).
- No ironed cloths.
- None of the shops/supermarket open immediately. Even if they are open, they only accept CASH since the credit-card machines won’t work without power. ATMs won’t work without power – so you can’t withdraw cash!
- No water = toilet flush won’t work!
Luckily for us, we had water supply through out the event. So, a major relief. Also, I had fill up the fuel tank of my car before the hurricane, so we were able to drive around. And we had stocked enough drinking water and non-perishable food. Overall, we were pretty well prepared for the storm, thanks to the hurricane preparedness guidelines published by the government and various other agencies.
The only inconvenience for us was being without power for two and a half days. But that’s nothing compared to thousands of other people who are still without power or worse, without a home to stay :( and lost everything that they had.
We feel blessed!
Thanks to all the people who called us right after the storm to check if we were all right.
Overall damage : estimate at the lower end is around USD 27 billion.
Some photos of the aftermath (source : unknown; credits the people who clicked the snaps; I did not click them):
|
September 24th, 2008 at 05:29pm
Well, its been a long time since I wrote here. Its the first post of 2008!!! Hope all of you had a great new year.
Well, all is good at our end. Baby is due pretty soon, and both me and Chitra are geared up for the big event! The official due date is 21-Feb-2008, but anything + or – 2 weeks is considered as a ‘term’ baby.
It has been kind of hectic the past month or so… shopping for baby stuff, childbirth classes, baby shower(s) :) …. and so on. Well, the child-birth classes were pretty informative and helpful. Things like these are unheard of in India. In a way its good, and in some ways, its bad – as-in they give too much of information! Well, shopping for baby stuff is another story …. All in all, its been hectic and fun so far :)
Life would go for a spin for sure, pretty soon – for the good!!
Well, I also realized that I am not really finding time to play with the Wii that I bought a few months back.
So, decided to put it up for sale on eBay. Its a amazing game system, but I don’t really see myself sitting and playing given where I am in my life! :). So, if you are interested, bid for it! BTW, its still hard to find Wii’s here in the US! This thing still has very high demand!
Also, up for grabs on eBay is my Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM Lens! I would be upgrading to a new lens pretty soon (Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM)
On the work front, I am still working for the same project that I was in. The work load is decent. Not too bad.
Well, the next couple of months would be exciting! :) More updates as and when I get time!
|
January 28th, 2008 at 05:34pm
One of the most asked question I get to hear is, “Can I drive in USA with my Indian Driving License?”
Well, the answer is, “It depends on the state that you would drive in”. All most all states in US allow you to drive with your Indian License for a period of one year. After that, you need to get a US drivers license. However, if you become a resident of the state, then you need to get a US license within a months time.
One more thing that I get asked is about “International Drivers Permit”. Well, to be frank, its quite useless if your Indian Driving License is written in English. The permit basically tells that you have the license to drive back in India in English. So, its the License thats important and not the Permit. In fact, in some states, International Drivers Permit is not even recognized. So, don’t bother getting it. In any case, your Indian Driving License must be valid and active.
A very good way to confirm what the specific state laws are is to search the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) website for the state in question. This site has the links to DMV sites of various states. Or, you can search google for pharse like “Texas DMV” and see if you can get to the official site of DMV. Once you are on the site, you would normally find a “Drivers Handbook” (or equivalent), which has all the official rules and regulations for that specific state.
Even if you don’t plan to buy a car in the US, I would suggest getting a US drivers license for the reasons given below:
- Your Driving license works as your Identity card too in most of the US states. This helps because, you don’t need to carry your passport and other important documents around all the time. If you dont want to drive or dont know to drive, then most states issue a State ID card – so make sure you get it. Trust me, its very helpful!
- If you plan to drive in the US (say car rental etc), a valid US driving license helps. It will save you a lot of money on car insurance too.
- If you do buy a car, then almost all states in the US make it mandatory to have Auto/Car insurance. If you don’t have a valid US drivers license and drive on an Indian license, then your insurance premium will shoot up! (by at-least $400 to $500 or more for 6 months!)
In some states & cities (like in Texas) there is one thing that might force you to drive with an Indian Driving License… and that is the validity of your Work Permit (H1B or equivalent). In Texas, if your work permit expires within in the next six months, the DMV won’t allow you to apply for a US Driving License. So, keep this in mind, and apply six months before your Work Permit expires if possible! However, this is true for Texas (confirmed in Houston), but may not be true at other states.
Oh – Last but not the least, if you are driving in the USA, make sure that you have auto insurance. Its a must and will save you lot of money and headaches in case of any eventualities!
If you are already in the US, I request you to comment below on your states policy on Indian Driving License!
|
October 24th, 2007 at 03:56pm
If you are an Indian and have come to the US recently, you will be ’shocked’ to see how closed and primitive the US cell phone market is! Well, except for the iPhone which is by no means primitive — but its ‘locked’ to the not-so-popular AT&T network.
Imagine getting charged for receiving SMS messages! Its really a sad story out here. There is no easy way for an average person to buy a phone of his or her choice without signing up for a contract. And the contact is normally 2 years! Which means, you must be a subscriber of that cell phone provider for the period of the contract at an agreed upon price. The average cost of plan such plans – around 40$ to 45$ a month (data plans would cost extra!), which is way to expensive compared to India!!! And if you want to switch to an other network, you need to cancel you current contract by paying an “early termination fee”.
If you want to buy a phone without a contract, you need to spend a fortune and its equally painful to get a service from a good provider (without buying a new handset). In other words, its in no way a free market. And, clearly, the down side to this entire thing is … the entire US cell phone market is lagging years behind the ‘world’!
Do check out this very interesting article on the US Cell phone industry which compares the US cellphone industry model with the “The Soviet Ministry Model”….: Free My Phone
I feel privatization is a good thing for India, but competition is very important too. And the most important thing is there must be a very effective regulatory authority like TRAI, which kind of enforces the rules to which the companies in India comply. Kudos to the Indian telephone industry!!
I wish India never gets into a situation like the US when it comes to telecommunications.
|
October 23rd, 2007 at 12:30am
Here are some snaps from the Labor day long weekend trip (Sep 1st – Sep 3rd). We had been to a place called Zwolle. Well, it sounds like a African name, but its a very small place in Louisiana. To be more precise, we went to the Toledo Bend lake area and stayed at one of the resorts (Wildwood Resorts) on the banks of the lake.
This place is on the border of Texas and Louisiana. Actually, the Toledo Bend lake is formed due to a Dam which is built across the Sabine River. This river kind of forms the border between Texas and Louisiana! The lake itself is pretty big, and I read on one of the websites that its the largest man made lake in the South (of USA).
Here are some snaps……..
Fishing Pier at Wildwood Resort – Toledo Bend
Fishing Pier at Wildwood Resort – Toledo Bend
Wildwood Fishing Area
Wooden Fishing Pier
Ramp at North Toledo bend State park
North Toledo Bend State Park
Speed Boating at the Lake
We also visited a few near by towns. Spent almost half a day at the Historic town of Natchitoches.
Natchitoches – Visitor Info Center
There is a nice little “Cane River Lake” at Natchitoches. We took a 45 minute boat ride on the same. Got to see some really beautiful houses and landscaping !. Check out the pictures below…
Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Home on Cane River Lake at Natchitoches
Some more snaps from the Toledo Bend Lake…
Fishing Pier at Wildwood Resort – Toledo Bend
Fishing Pier at Wildwood – Toledo Bend
Canoeing at Toledo Bend
Our Electric Boat
Nature @ Toledo Bend
Ducks at Toledo Bend
Toledo Bend Lake
Wildwood Resort – Toledo Bend
Wildwood Resort – Toledo Bend
Woods at Wildwood Resort – Toledo Bend
All in all, a good 3-day fun filled trip! :)
|
September 11th, 2007 at 05:58pm
My 1998 Toyota Camry was doing great, but I always wanted to get a newer car, and finally got one this week. Ever since I have driven Camry, I have kind of become a big fan of it. So…got this 2005 Toyota Camry LE from an Craigslist Ad. (btw, craigslist rocks! its just amazing!).
Features of the new(er) car…
- 4 Door – Grey color as you see from the pic below.. :)
- Automatic Transmission.
- only 39, 500 miles on it when I bought it.
- clean title and carfax history.
- Power window, power locks (with remote!!!! – which i missed in my old camry), power seats!
- CD player + Radio ..but no mp3 player :(
- Relatively new!
- And got it at a pretty good rate!
2005 Toyota Camry LE – Front View
2005 Toyota Camry LE – Side View
2005 Toyota Camry LE – Front View
2005 Toyota Camry LE – Rear View
2005 Toyota Camry LE – Rear Side View
And exactly one week later, i sold my old 1998 Toyota Camry LE on craigslist!!
|
August 13th, 2007 at 04:09pm
Its long weekend here in the US (Memorial Weekend) and… we are off to NYC tomorrow (24-May) on a 5 day trip. We plan to also visit the great Niagara Falls. Two days for the Niagara Falls trip and 3 days in NYC, NY!.
Will post pics once I am back.
|
May 24th, 2007 at 12:10am
This is Part 2 of a three part series of our trip to Las Vegas. Links to Part 1 and 3 can be found here :
As planned on Day 2 of our trip, we headed to the Grand Canyon. For the uninitiated, Grand Canyon is a natural wonder located in Arizona.
Grand Canyon is around 5 hrs drive from Las Vegas, NV. So, we started early in the morning at around 5.30 AM. We decided to go to the south rim of the grand canyon since the north rim was closed and we could not find much information on the west rim (nor we had time to be adventurous)
Lake Mead from a Distance – Click to Zoom
The drive was pretty cool. Its flat land. Desert. The roads are straight and you can see miles of straight road ahead of you! … it was a great experience to drive ! :). We reached Grand Canyon at around 10.30 AM.
Here are some snaps ….
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Cliff at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
At the Grand Canyon South rim, there are buses which take you to different View points along the Rim of the canyon. And they are free (i.e, the cost is included in your entrance fee to the National Park)
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Pathway to one of the view points at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
You can see the Colorado River (which carved the Grand Canyon!!) in the snaps below…
Colorado River at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Colorado River at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Colorado River at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon and Colorado River – Click to Zoom
More snaps…
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Desert View – you can see the desert at the distance…
Desert View at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
River Again – Zoomed in …
Colorado River at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Cliff at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
A Guy sitting on the Rim at Grand Canyon….
A Guy sitting on the Rim at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
A couple enjoying the (cold) sunset at Grand Canyon…
A Couple enjoying the Sunset at Grand Canyon – Click to Zoom
Well, by 5 PM, it was pretty dark, and all of a sudden, it became very cold!
We started to head back to Vegas at around 6 PM. We reached back our Hotel at Las Vegas by around 10 PM.
More on Vegas trip in the next post….
|
May 6th, 2007 at 11:45am
Previous Posts
