6 July 2015

It is time to make changes!!!

Now that USA has won the top position in world soccer (What? There is a men’s version too? Why would we want to send our men in if the women can rule the world?? ), we believe we have earned the moral high ground to make some adjustments. We looked up Google – there is no country called Soccer or Football. So, we cannot attack it on trumped up charges. We will therefore settle for something less ambitious.

First, we will rename FIFA to FISA. To be honest, we will change the remaining F, I and A too moment we figure out what the heck they stand for. If only we could invite Canada alone, we would have gone with World Series or something like that. But now it involves many more countries. It is too confusing to us. We have to change our No Child Left Behind program to teach them that there are more countries than Good (Canada) and Bad (Mexico).

Second, we would like to call the game Nine Ball. We understand the ball is nine inches in diameter. Like we named our game Football since it is a foot long, it is only fair that now we rename what you call football as Nine Ball. And if Tom Brady ever plays this game, we might have to call it Eight Ball.

Third, we are dead against the concept of a ninety minute game getting over in ninety minutes. To us, this is socialism. Capitalism is about pulling in advertising company’s money on TV every time the ball bounces on the ground. See “NFL” for a reference. Applying the same rule to soccer – now renamed Nine Ball (see exception for Tom Brady), we should be able to extend the game to – Oh! four hours or so – which is enough to run adequate number of beer commercials.

Fourth, we think giving just one measly point every time you score a goal is a typical third world thinking. We believe in far more generous in points. Why? Because we can afford to. We have enough money to give more for every goal. Except when we play China. We hate debt collectors. We are like Greece, that way. So, we move that every goal be given 10 points. And every time you can get the ball over the ball line but not in the goal it should be 3 points. Not sure why. But then again, we are not sure why our quarter back stands ahead of the half back either πŸ™‚

Fifth, we consider having one referee for the entire game a human labor exploitation. In any case, if one referee has to run up and down the whole field the whole time, it will run afoul of our minimum wage program. Unless you can get some referees to cross over the wall Donald Trump is building. In which case, we will see the other way. Do not get any labor from India, China or Philippines to run up and down the field though. We have run out of H1B visas till 2057. By the way, have you even seen how many referees we have in a football game? I mean “our” football game? We have a referee per yard of the field. That is all what our Surgeon General has said their BMI will let them move. Now, we even have a referee of referees. He is usually called “Instant Replay”. We recommend minimum seven referees for any soccer game.

We have a few more ideas. But right now, we have to go to a commercial break….

5 July 2015

But for Facebook…

It is not uncommon for me to get a message from a friend of mine who has decided to get out of Facebook since it was consuming too much time. Sometimes, I wonder if I m better off too without Facebook. It probably will free up some time. I certainly am not a big fan of some of the posts that I read that I think are best discussed and debated in a more intimate forum than Facebook (which is not exactly a discussion platform) e.g. religious beliefs, political beliefs etc.

Then there are days like today that makes Facebook totally worthwhile for me. Neal Rajdev read my post of Multnomah Falls and realized we were vacationing in the same city! Long story short, a few phone calls later, on our way back from the beach, we found ourselves in front of a beautiful house in Beaverton and in the middle of a big family get together!

Neal and I worked together two jobs back. I had the fortune of meeting his lovely wife Kim and his wonderful mom. But today, I got to see his beautiful daughter Avia. Unfortunately before I could take her pictures when I left, she was fast asleep. But I am proud to say that she did become friends with me before that. Admittedly, a bribe of an iPhone was involved somewhere to break the stranger anxiety πŸ™‚

I got to meet Neal’s extended family. Met his dad for the first time. Also his brother Suraj and his wife Monica. His dad used to live in Portland and is visiting after 30 years!! I also met his sister who is visiting from India. What is really cool is that I got to meet an elderly gentleman and his wife who actually introduced Neal’s dad to his mom!! 40 years back!!! And they were together today again after three decades!

The story does not end there. I also met Neal’s mom’s siblings and their families. Many live in Portland and one in Corvallis. Coincidentally, those are the two cities we have offices in and I visit regularly!!

Sharmila and I were completely taken in by Neal’s family’s grace and hospitality. I met most all of them for the first time in my life but you could not have guessed it in the way they made us feel like part of the family. Wonderful family!! This trip for me was totally worth just for that hour or so at Neal’s family’s place. That family’s beauty far surpassed the beauty of the waterfalls, mountains, beaches and wineries we saw. If anyone of you is familiar with this part of the world, you probably know that, that is saying something.

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5 July 2015

Sunset Coffee

On our way back from the beach side of Oregon, we stopped at a quaint little coffee shop that I had seen on my way to the beach. It was literally in the middle of the forest and near to just about nothing. A local lady runs the place. Her daughter was helping her during summer vacation. She has been in business for five years and said they are doing good business wise. The tea and the smoothie was great. If you ever find yourself on Hwy 26 heading from Portland to the ocean, stop by Sunset Coffee. It is nineteen and a half miles from Seaside…

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