Economy Hits Even The Comic Characters

It is all over the web; Archie is finally getting married. The comic character has entertained teenagers for 65 years and now he is going to get hitched.

What could have forced Archie (my bachelor hero) to tie the knot?

I feel that it is the economy. Why else would he go for Veronica? Bad economy and bad credit left no choice for poor Archie who picked the rich and famous Veronica.

So what will happen to Betty?

I am interested in knowing how the characters will change after Archie is married. I don't know if Archie comics will ever be fun after that. However, the writer of this 6 part series is also the producer of 'The Dark Knight'. Hence, there could be a twist to the whole story. We can only hope.

A Sole Melting trip to the World’s best…. Everything

Have you visited Missouri, the show me state? It is truly a show me state. I mean it showed me that everything in Missouri is the best in class.

It all began when Rohit, Shital, Ruhi and I started to drive to St. Louis. The drive is not the most scenic but the billboards are. As soon as we left Oklahoma and entered Missouri, we were struck by the Universe’s best advertisements. Everything and almost every board read either “world’s best” or “planet’s best” or some else that was superlative. It ranged from “World’s largest toy shop” to “Planet’s rarest cave formation”. You could see boards of places that were rated “World famous” and I think even Google search cannot keep up with it. They even had several signs for adult entertainment including one that said, “Pleasure Zone; where Lovers come to Play.”

This new state that I visited was slightly different than rest; probably the first state where I didn’t see people smiling. Our server at Buffalo Wings and receptionist at the hotel are just few examples. We drove for about 6 hours before touching St. Louis and our hotel. We would have not hit the hotel if it was not for our dinner plans. We had made reservations at this place called “Top of the Riverfront” that needed business casuals. I am sure that people who know us are wondering... Business casuals and Rohit Datar don’t go hand in hand!!!

This brings us to the mid point of the trip and also the most hilarious part ever (I have to be superlative as I was in Missouri).

We changed into business casuals. Shital and Ruhi looked pretty in their attire while I fortunately had formals as I had come to Dallas on a business trip. If I am not fooled by my memory, then this was the first time in about 20 years that I have seen Rohit in formal wear. I don’t wear formal all the time but Rohit on the other hand doesn’t like it (so it seemed). The belt he was wearing was loose and didn’t hold the trouser in place. Finally after about 45 minutes we were ready to head out and get our first close glimpse at the arch and have enjoy fine dining.

Surprisingly, the park in which the arch is built is not the prettiest (superlative). Actually, there is nothing other than the structure over there. Even the lawn had patches of weeds. The arch was beautiful (the passage to the west). It stands high and tall and the massive steel structure glitters in the sunset; just awesome. It tells you a lot about the physics that must have gone behind building it. While we were admiring the arch, Ruhi was excited about the helicopters that were landing near the river. We sat near the stairs that went down near the river. We could see the helicopters landing from here. Our reservation at the restaurant was for 8 pm and we still had an hour to kill. Our plan to enjoy the riverfront and the park was killed as there was neither a good riverfront nor a great park.

Rohit was already feeling uncomfortable in the formal attire. On the top of it he had to manage the trouser that was sliding down. Sitting on the stairs he noticed debris of black carbon like substance at his feet. At first it seemed like charcoal or some rubber tire residue. However, after close inspection he realized that the debris had something to do with his shoes. A quick glimpse at the bottom of the shoes revealed it all. The sole of his shoes were shedding skin. By this time, it had already discarded the heel side and he could see the lining of the sole giving away as well. Shital couldn’t stop laughing while Ruhi was still wondering what was going on.

We decided that we need to get going towards the restaurant. And as we walked across the park, Rohit left a trail of black rubber residue. The sole was giving way and now the sides of the sole had fallen off. Rohit was holding onto his loose trousers watching the misery of his shoes. Ruhi who was tired by now didn’t want to walk. So Rohit put her on his shoulders and started walking towards the restaurant. Shital was worried that Rohit would leave the trail in the classy restaurant. Hence after a bit of discussion, we decided to find a shoe store and buy a new pair of shoes.

The closest shop was a Macys that was 3-4 blocks in the direction opposite to that of the restaurant. So we started walking towards it. After about 20 minutes, we couldn’t locate any shop on the Saturday evening. By now Rohit was sweating profusely. Holding Ruhi with one hand and holding his trouser with another, Rohit was walking down St. Louis downtown leaving a trail of rubber. Hilarious will be a mild word over here. Shital and I were having a stomach aching laugh at Rohit’s cost.
“Aamhala jari majaa yet asli tari tyalaa nahi yet hoti”
We failed to locate any shop and finally decided to walk towards the restaurant.

“Top Of The RiverFront” is a revolving hotel that is located at the top of Millennium Hotel overseeing the St. Louis downtown and giving the best view of the arch. The food was as good as the view. The overall experience was great and all 4 of us had a great time. It was close to 10 pm when we decided to leave. Shital had read about this place called “Bailey’s chocolate bar restaurant” and it all sounded great. Shital and Ruhi stayed at the hotel lobby while Rohit and I walked to get the car. I lend my belt to Rohit and that made his life slightly better. It was a 15 min. walk and by now Rohit was almost walking barefoot. There was no sole left in his shoes and his socks were the only thing holding on to the leather shoes. Rohit was ready to shed away his shoes and trouser and walk on the streets in his boxers. This could probably be the last time I will see Rohit in formal attire.

In the last 4 hours, Rohit lad left mark everywhere in St. Louis; Debris in the park, pieces of rubber on the streets and even a big chunk of his sole near the bench across the street from the arch. I think Rohit truly loved the city because even if Rohit is now back in Oklahoma, his sole still lies somewhere in St. Louis. It seems like someone from our group has to leave something somewhere. First it was Sumeet who lost his glasses in upstate New York and now it was Rohit who left his sole in Missouri (world’s best everything). It could be an adventure expedition for Neel and Ruhi when they grow up; to find their parent’s belongings.

Tulsa Day 1

I took the longer route to Rohit’s place. The GPS took me via the interstate route that added an extra hour and hence instead of reaching at midnight, I reached at 1:30 in the morning. As I turned the rental car on Yale Ave I remembered my last trip with Sumeet in December last year. Shital was awake and was trying to give me directions to the house. I know that the road gets tricky especially in the night but I had the confidence to find my way. Not for long. I drove around in the community in vain. Shital finally decided to give me the signal by blinking the drive way lights. Shital I guess uses the same technique to send S.O.S. when in distress. After few U-turns, I reached the driveway that was blinking at 1:30 a.m. Rohit woke up by the time I reached while Ruhi was fast asleep by then. I chit chatted with Shital (I knew Rohit wouldn’t last too long and I excused him as he had to work next day).

May 22nd morning and it is Neel’s first birthday. The youngest member of our group is now a year old and Shital updated me that he has started to walk.

A question for Asawari: Did he start walking at Hawaii or at California?

We called up Sumeet and at expected Asawari and Sumeet were overwhelmed with calls. Sumeet sure was going crazy as he called us back after a while. Meanwhile, Shital and I were planning for the next few days and decided that it made more sense to travel on Saturday than on Friday. Ruhi and I caught up with our signature Clementine song. I think she will probably remember me through the song and the song through me. Rohit came back from work by 1 p.m. and it was time to call back Sumeet. We tried to pursue him to fly to Tulsa at 1/3rd cost (as Rohit and I would have paid the difference). But he was not comfortable with the timing of the flight. No wait.. I think he was not comfortable with the impromptu plan… or was it the price?.. no, I think it was the fact that he would have had to work from home on Tuesday; but he normally does that and so that cant be the reason. Well, it should be that the flight was not from SNA.. or was it because Neel doesn’t like to fly early? or maybe since the flight was NOT a red eye flight. I was confused and so were Rohit , Shital and even Ruhi. The bottomline line was that they couldn’t make it. Finally, I am to be blamed as I didn’t plan it correct.

A question for Rishi: What would be your executive decision for a similar proposition?

We moved to our next plan and booked our hotel at St. Louis and also made reservations for “Top of the Riverfront” restaurant for dinner on Saturday.

We went to Rivewalk crossing near Tulsa where Ruhi had a blast playing in the fountain. She enjoys water thoroughly and I am sure she will get to see the beach more often in California than at Oklahoma. We walked along the river waiting for a live band to start. It was taking a looong time for the band to set up the speakers and instruments. After about 45 min. the band started playing with slight hiss and shrills from the speakers. I think (and Shital, Rohit would agree) that it wasn’t the faulty system that was the problem. The singers especially the female singer wouldn’t have sounded any worse without the system issue. I think she worked part time with the band while her full time job could have been at the place “where Lovers come to Play” (if you know what I mean).

We picked up “Benjamin Button..” movie on our way back. Barbeque plan was still on. The grill was hot but skewers were not. The lid of the grill pushed the skewers up and it took a long time for the meat to cook. But it was worth the wait. Reshmi kabab, chicken, mushroom and veggies were delicious. I must have mentioned this in an earlier blog but its true that food is the center of all our trips. Yummy yummy in our tummy!!!

Ruhi was busy swatting imaginary mosquitoes until a real big one came inside the house. She chickened out as soon as she saw the big one.. and it was truly a big mosquito that ended it’s flight under Rohit’s thumb…squash!!!

The rented movie was a drag and put Rohit and Shital to sleep. Good food and great time put me to sleep in no time as well.

Action Required from Readers

I have been writing blogs for a while; over 3 years now. This seemed to be a good medium to express my thoughts (or anything that I stumble upon and find interesting to share) and that’s why I named it scribble pad.

Yesterday a friend got me thinking when she found the blogs more like articles. According to her, the topics and the style of writing are closer to articles than blogs. I researched about the difference on the internet and got several definitions. There are sites that explain the difference but none is crystal clear. I am still confused and feel that the readers are the best judge. Hence, I would like to pose this question to the readers. I would like to know if my writing is “Article Writing” or “Blog Writing”. Please use the poll below and let me know.

P.S. The poll will be up until end of June 2009. And irrespective of the outcome, I will keep posting on this website.

Space... A Final Frontier

These words take me back to my school days; days when we had a black and white television with just 2 channels. Few things don’t change and childhood favorites remain lifetime memories. “Star Trek” had a similar impact on me when I was a kid and now when I am not a kid.

I watched the latest Star Trek and loved it. It is a high energy, adventurous and fun filled movie. It has a nice blend of old and new generation Star Trek. While the key characters are retained as they were, few new faces make it interesting and don’t spoil the main crew of the enterprise. The story is kept simple and a few complicated parts are covered up with time travel. The black hole concept is used to nicely explain the various elements of past and present. Overall, a Star Trek fan should be rejuvenated with the new blockbuster. I will call it the prequel to the original series of Star Trek as it explains the formation of the awesome crew of the enterprise; it explains how it got Kirk, Spock, Sulu, Dr. Mccoy, Uthura and Scottie together.

There are few things that didn’t annoy me but certainly were unnecessary. Spock and emotions don’t go hand in hand. There is no need for any affection unless there is sequel to the entire idea. Also, please don’t change the original narration. I loved it the way it was. They changed it from “a five year mission” to “an ongoing mission”. And they also changed the catch phrase, “to boldly go where no man has gone before”. They are trying to be politically correct over here and have changed it to “to boldly go where noone has gone before.” Some things should be left untouched. They are beautiful the way they always were.

Here is the original narration for the fans.

And whoever changed the opening narration was out of their Vulcan mind...

गरीबी में आटा गीला

The economy is at its worst, the terrorism has decayed the society world wide and the planet is melting. Everywhere you look, you meet with concerns and worries that have engulfed most of us. Working through these tough times is no joke and we all wish for the things to change.

The news channels today have nothing good to report on. They all talk about tough financial conditions, violence and severe weather patterns. I do not remember the last time I heard any positive story (other than the Susan Boyle story). This gloomy picture has been painted for so long that I fear that the bright and sunny days have only become a fairytale. For months I hoped for the long needed change and wished for the good old times to come back.

All in all, I wished for the pigs to fly.

And guess what!! Last week as I lay in my bed listening to the news channel, 2 words caught my ears and I was ecstatic. As the news reader read the headlines of the day, I heard the magic words; “Swine Flew”. Oh my God, are the pigs really flying? Is the long wait over? Are things changing for good? Are we out of recession? Are all terrorists caught?

Alas, my excitement didn’t last for too long as I got the true news report. The last thing we needed in this downturn was an epidemic. When we think that we have seen the worst, The Almighty has something in store for us. God truly has a dark sense of humor.

Now I do not wish for the pigs to fly. But I certainly hope for the shrimps to whistle :)

Mindset

I watched my nephew struggle to climb over the sofa. It was too difficult for his age to get the technique right. He failed several times; but his young brain didn’t give up trying. And to nobody’s surprise, he finally managed to climb the sofa after multiple failed attempts. The 2 year old showed the determination that we grown ups have forgotten.
We all boast about the experience and knowledge we gain from years of learning. However, the same learning/ experiences hold us back from trying again. We use the experiences to condition and hard wire our brain to believe that something cannot be done. We get stuck with our mindset.
A story of a chained elephant provides a great example of how the psychological behavior (mindset) can influence our life. The story goes like this.

“A baby elephant born in a circus is trained from an early age to perform in the acts. After each performance, the elephant master takes the elephant outside and ties a chain around its ankle. Using a mallet, he hammers the chain into the ground to stop the elephant from escaping. The baby elephant pulls and pulls, but cannot break free. This happens after every performance.
The elephant grows, but the master continues to use the same chain. Eventually the elephant reaches its full size and still the master uses the same chain. However, over the years the elephant has stopped trying to break free from the chain, no longer even bothering to try”

The adult elephant in the story has the strength to easily break free. However, it is conditioned to believe that it cannot break the chain. Similarly, we too set constraints and boundaries around us and live with those beliefs all our life. We hang on to the beliefs that we develop over period or beliefs that are influenced by others on us.
All we need is to believe that we can break those shackles and change the outcome for better tomorrow. All we need to do is to not get bound by our limitations. Rather use those limitations to our benefit. With correct attitude, an open mind, desire and correct application, we can get closer to the goal. I agree that this goal will by no means be an easy target. However, persistence, endurance and willingness to rise from the failures will make us tough and more determined to achieve anything and everything.
We need to get over the mindset and keep trying. I will leave my thoughts with a beautiful poetry written by a hindi poet SuryaKant Tripati Nirala.

लहरों से डरकर नौका पार नहीं होती
हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

नन्ही चींटी जब दाना लेकर चलती है,
चढ़ती दीवारों पर सौ बार फिसलती है,
मन का विश्वास रगों में साहस भरता है,
चढ़कर गिरना,गिरकर चढ़ना न अखरता है,
आखिर उसकी मेहनत बेकार नहीं होती ,
कोशिश करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

डुबकियां सिंधु में गोताखोर लगाता है,
जा-जाकर खाली हाथ लौट आता है,
मिलते न सहेज के मोती पानी में,
बहता दूना उत्साह इसी हैरानी में,
मुठ्ठी उसकी खाली हर बार नहीं होती,
हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।

असफलता एक चुनौती है स्वीकार करो,
क्या कमी रह गयी,देखो और सुधार करो,
जब तक न सफल हो नींद चैन को त्यागो तुम,
संघर्षों का मैदान छोड़ मत भागो तुम,
कुछ किये बिना ही जय-जयकार नहीं होती,
हिम्मत करने वालों की हार नहीं होती।