24 August
2023
23 August
2023
Everything is big in Texas!
I had rented an intermediate size car. In a new city, it is easier to maneuver on unknown roads with a smaller car. Plus I was going to stay in a downtown hotel. With all the narrow streets and construction going on, it is always a good idea to get something that can turn in tight corners like a small car.
Except, Avis had other ideas for me. The had a shining Nissan Titan ready for me. These puppies are really big and really high. If you know the car I have been driving for the last 17 years, you can fit my car and a half within this truck’s dimensions. And Avis had no other car.
So, for the first time in my life, I drove a pickup truck!! I almost needed a ladder to get up. Although, I have to say – it was filled with all sorts of gadgets that made driving and parking fairly smooth. My current car does not even have a reverse camera!!
23 August
2023
That was an intriguing sight!
As our flight wrapped around San Antonio anticlockwise to approach the airport, I spotted what you see in this picture while looking out of the window. The Delta map showed we were due north west from the city.
At first glance, it looks like a small airport with a single active runway (and a feeder one). Then the details become a little more interesting. There are no buildings around it!! In fact, it appears that there is no concrete or asphalt. It is just cleaned and leveled ground.
First I thought that it might be used for crop dusters. But it seems too long for crop dusters. Plus there is not a single plane standing there. There are no hangars. The airplanes could not have been towed away anywhere since the only connection into the runways are a couple of narrow dirt roads.
Perhaps, an airport under construction? A private airport? But there is absolutely zero construction machinery around.
An abandoned effort to build an airport?
Would anybody know or venture to guess?
20 August
2023
Aimless motorbike ride
20 August
2023
Nice sunny day
20 August
2023
5K in Alpharetta-Milton
19 August
2023
He waited at the door
Jay Jay and I were walking around in downtown Alpharetta. I was going to settle down outside Truck and Tap with a glass of wine and both of us were going to watch the crowd. Now, dogs are not allowed inside in this particular bar.
On other days, Sharmila would be with him and I would go inside and get the drinks. But today, she is not here. To try something new, I told him to sit and stay as I went in to quickly get a glass of wine.
He faithfully stood by the door the entire time as I placed my order, grabbed the drink and settled the bill. Then we sat down together to watch the crowd!
18 August
2023
I was not done with my intersection points yet
For my first office trip after quite some time, covering two cities in two days, you would think I have had enough intersection points already. Except that there was one more left.
A few months ago, Tej had let me know that he would be coming from Dubai to Boston to drop his son in Boston College. I was not expecting to travel there (I had not yet contemplated on getting back to work). But I made a note on my calendar that he would be in the USA – Boston, to be precise.
As a background, Tej and I lived next door to each other in our dorm during our MBA days – 1989 thru 1991. He was Room 1307 and I was 1308. All our contacts subsequently were thru phone calls – usually in January, on his birthday.
After making my travel arrangements last week, while putting my flight details down in my calendar, I came across my notes. I was so glad that I had jotted it down. A few Whatsapp messages later, I realized that he was actually flying in on Friday late night. I was leaving town early morning the next day. No worries, I told him. I would wait for him in his hotel lobby and we could meet for 15-20 minutes since he was bound to be very tired.
Sure enough, at around 9PM, good old Tej walked up to the check in counter with his suitcase!!
As promised, we spent about half an hour together and resolved to spend more time the next time!!
18 August
2023
Not sure who was the happiest of them all…
18 August
2023
Of three old friends and junk genes!!
The last time you would have seen these three together would have been in Chennai – circa 1989. Except that the fourth chair would not have been empty. Partha Roy would have been sitting there.
The two girls would have been talking loudly. Both would be laughing heartily. I would be trying to cut in with some dad jokes (then called “PJ”s – stood for Poor Jokes). And Partha would quietly sit there sipping his soft drink and then once in a whole bring the roof down with his loud guffaws. Lata would be speaking with a great command of the language English and Kiran would be talking of something disapprovingly with a liberal dose of Hindi words in her English.
34 years later… nothing has changed. At all!! Other than Partha, who was conspicuous by his absence, everything felt the same.
I was in Boston for work. Stayed in the Marriott in Cambridge that I used to stay in the late 90s when we had an office next door. Lata works in Cambridge and Kiran lives in Cambridge. A few phone calls here and there – and there we were!!
Two highlights…
Lata refused to believe that I had once driven her and her roommate – together with my friend Aditya – from New York to DC and we had stayed with somebody she knew in DC. I gave her a lot of details of the trip – but she would have nothing of it. Finally, I had to call Aditya and get him to send us a couple of pictures (he was and still is an avid photographer) from that trip. I showed them to her. Her first reaction? “That is me? Send it to me – I want to show my son this picture”.
Second was, Kiran and I got a class on “Gene 101” from Lata. I finally have the answers to a lot of questions about genes, DNA, genomes, chromosomes etc etc that I had all these days. Learnt about “junk genes” for the first time. Did you know about them?
