2010/10/14 - week after coming back home

It's been a week after coming back home. Return journey was with a heavy luggage.. as Subi teased - with lots of smuggled items.. lol. About 13KG of chocolates, a bunch of ipods, the new Camera body D300s, a watch and some cheap electronic items.. I had to drop the plan of buying some compact cameras. Oh, I am surely not a smuggler, but was really heavy on luggage.

My little one's 2nd birthday was on last Saturday. Just a small get together with my friends and family at my apartment. She was very happy and was enjoying the fast songs we played along with her friends. It was a real fun to watch all kids dancing and having fun. I will be a little more busy in coming weeks with some additional job responsibilities.

The pics given above are some of my favorites among the first few test shots with D300s (my new companion) from the very first field shot (at Arboretum, LA, CA)

2010/09/30 - Some "Universal" snaps

Here are some shots taken at "Universal Studio - Hollywood". Most of them were shot at the Water World set. The temperature was somewhere at 103 degree Fahrenheit (39 degree celsius) and I was running in a hurry to visit as many spots I could see in one day. So, shots are not of very good quality.

	Terminator-V, right infront of the Terminator 3D/2D movie
	At the entrance of Unniversal Studio, Hollywood
	It is a set
	Live performance of Waterworld team
	Look again! It is a dive
	They crashed a dummy plane into the pool.. it was amazing.
	Climax scene of Water world
	Miniature ship used in a movie shoot

2010/09/26 - weekend funs - Universal studio and Arboretum

It was a very funny and tiring weekend. The whole day of Saturday at Universal studio of Hollywood and the Sunday at Arboretum. The temperature went as heigh as 103 degree faranheit (39 degree celsius) in this weekend and we were wandering with water bottles to keep ourselves hydrated all the time. I still have to look into my camera and check out the photos. Oh, I think I didn't mention about my newest buddy - the long waiting has finally ended.. I bought my new Nikon D300S - the monster of its class. Pictures coming soon... :)

The Universal studio of Hollywood - the center of world commercial movies - is something that everyone who visit California should never miss. It is a very rare chance to feel closely the technology used in Hollywood movies, the ultimate 3D and 4D cinemas, the sets where some of the box office hit movies were shot and more. There is also a theme park associated with it where one can experience some deadly moments with dangerous rides like Mummy, Jurassic Park etc. During the studio tour you will witness some of the great events in hollywood movies as you are also a part of the movie. The live show performed by the artists at "Water world" set was another item that impressed. They brought in front of us some live sequences from the hit movie that Kevin Costner had made a duper hit. The flexibility and timing of the artists and technology used were amazing. I will upload some snaps shortly.

2010/09/20 - Counting down hours in Carlsbad

So, finally it's time to say 'bye' to Carlsbad. I will be flying to San Jose from San Diego tomorrow evening to reach our GA offices (Santa Clara) and Sunnyvale Head office. I am excited that I will be soon at our global Head office though will be missing Carlsbad. I will be there at Santa Clara and Sunnyvale just for a single day and then will be heading to Burbank and be there until finally fly back home on first week of October. Well, it has been a very short trip and too many places to go. But, I can at least say I have travelled across California multiple times.

I had an outing on Sunday and could do some exploration at Encinitas beach a.k.a Swami's beach. The name Swami's beach because, there was a temple founded by Guru Paramahamsa

Yogananda (Not the same Guru to whom Swami Vivekananda was a disciple to) very close to the beach. The temple was later destroyed by salt corrosion. But, Self-Realization Fellowship (SRF), the trust founded by the Swmiji, has built a beautiful small park at the place where the temple was located. Here's the SRF official website and Swamij's biography for those who are interested - www.yogananda-srf.org.

Well, I must also say that this beach is a very popular Surfing spot - a sport that I witnessed the first time in my life, though have seen in pictures and movies before.

I found this bird with sharp features along with some similar looking birds at the beach. I wrongly identified it as a sandpiper. Finally, folks at INW corrected it as Bristle-thighed Curlew. Thanks to INW team for the right id.

Again, the below ones look to be Sandpipers to me. I had left my handbook at home as I never expected that I would be able to go for a birding without my 150-500mm monster with me. Hope any of my gurus if happen to visit this blog would correct me if I am wrong. Or else I would bug them once back in India.

2010/09/18 - BBQ and Beaches in Carlsbad

Without a cellphone and a vehicle I had been completely handicapped or paralyzed for a week. Looking back to the school and college days, where cellphones were not there or uncommon, it is hard to believe that we existed in such a time. It is sure to be one of the greatest inventions of the humans although it has its own bad sides as well. As a matter, any invention has its own goods and bads. We have seen the evil side of the greatest invention that a man has ever done - nuclear energy. Well, coming back to the present, I bought T Mobile's prepaid sim card for my phone today to come out of the paralysis.. well at least partially.

There are many people from Mexico over here. Mexicans are all basically hardworking, easy-

going and music-loving. There are some Mexicans in the hotel crew especially in the kitchen. They play music, sing along with it and dance to the rhythm.. all along with their work. They are loyal to the job they are into and do complete it on time. Mexican food is world famous. We had a team offsite (picnic) from Yahoo yesterday to Aviara community park. It's a large, well-maintained park where there are separate places for playing baseball, soccer etc, walking and partying. There were some BBQ and other dishes made in the Mexican way. It takes up to half an hour for making a Mexican BBQ burger in the classical way. That is, by exposing it to prolonged heat in low-intensity.

Carlsbad is in the west cost of US along Pacific Ocean. It has a very long coastal area. A drive

along the freeway that goes along the beaches would be an unforgettable experience for anyone. I was lucky enough to have two of my colleagues coming forward and offering me to take me out to the beaches. I would likely try to make it myself again tomorrow.

2010/09/16 - Partially recovered

As my friend has indicated by commenting this blog consultation of a Doctor has turned out to be a lengthy and cumbersome process. She has been living with her husband in the US and has got very good knowledge of the system. Unfortunately, she lives at about 2000 miles away from my place or else I would have gotten a home over here. I chose to consult a doctor as I had been using an eye drops given by a colleague without a doctor's prescription and was even not sure what was my disease. One should have a medical insurance to consult a doctor in US. Fortunately, I had one from my company which was a mass insurance but was upto $100 deductible at the first visit. I learnt that the doctor's appointment has to be taken in advance which didn't sound to be practical to

me. The only time slot that was free with the ophthalmologist was after 24 hours. Luckily I came to know from the receptionist at my hotel about an Urgent care clinic, where no appointment is required. A couple of colleagues came forwarded to help me with the drop and pickup. The doctor found that due to the continuous use of eye drops my nose and throat also have got infected. He prescribed an antibiotic tablet and a new eye drops - USD 95 for consultation and USD 29 for medicine. Well, I didn't try to convert that to INR this time. Good news..! After two days of medication I am now partially recovered - or may be more aptly I must say 90% recovery of eyes and 55% recovery of throat and nose. How can I stop myself from taking my camera out of the bag when my eyes ae back functional. Here are some pictures I shot at my office. And the last one at my hotel which has become one of my favorites. Although I liked the picture of the cool-looking deer head it can never become my favorite as I am against killing wildlife. Question is why did I click that picture if I am against killing wildlife. Because, the photographer in me overpowered the nature lover for a moment. Perhaps, I am not wrong by posting it here.

2010/09/13 It's Monday, school day

Woke up today with a heavy head and reddened eyes. Stopped the alarm and turned to the other side and then suddenly came into mind.. "It's monday.. go to school!" It's been long years since left the school.. but Monday mornings are still a nightmare. I had a feel of dryness in my eyes from yesterday evening and had put some ice. But, apparently it didn't work. As I said earlier, the office was small, cool and at a walkable distance. I found Victor, my boss over here. He introduced me to Shekar and Alex Paena who are the current SMEs of the product I was going to learn. All guys are good and really really extroverts. Richard, who is basically from Hongkong, was kind enough to offer me to take out for picking up some Kingston jerk and Strawberry cream smoothie for lunch. Office was utter silent during work. I didn't find anyone hanging out near the break-out-area (they rather call it kitchen) for more than a few seconds. Training, discussions and casual talks went until 5pm when all got ready with their bags to wind up for the day and started gathering at corners for sharing jokes. Shekar took me to a grocery store where I picked up some Tortillas (similar to Indian Chapathis) and Jaipur Vegetable curry. Back to room. Alex had actually suggested a couple of beaches in a drivable distance - Swamy's beach, Seal's beah etc - for shooting sunset, surfing and seals etc. But, my eyes are in a bad shape now and I don't think I would be able to make it for two or three days at least. A colleague has given me an eye drops from India. I would use it and try to get some rest. If it is not getting better by morning would have to go and meet a doc. It seems, for consultation one should have insurance. I need to check out the documents from the company to find my insurance vendor.