blogger and google accounts

So one more google service integrated into my google accounts. Right now the integration seems like just able to sign into blogger with my Google account, which is great as i don't have to keep typing my password and remember my numerous user names. Of course there are some other Googly features like lables, which I am yet to use. And I love the new UI where I can create a new post right from the dashboard. I guess we will see more coolness here, like integration with Talk etc.

29

well, inspite of all the problems with power outage and stuff, we all managed to have lot of fun over the weekend. Sunday night we (Sree, Srijan, Eera and I) finally got down to playing 29. Sree and I were a team, and totally won the game!! Srijan's total bluff over bidding for points on random cards showed me a new side of the game. We had always played it mostly truthfully.

This totally reminded me of the time years back when Ankit, Parul didi, mummy and I used to play 29 late at night during the summer vacation. It was such wonderful time. Parul didi and I were always a team, because I think Ankit believed that mummy is the best and he will win in her team :D. I don't really remember who used to win, and anyway we have played so much, maybe there was no pattern. I remember how we used to open sheets after sheets of reds and sometimes blacks., how Ankit used to be in crying mood once they had too many blacks and how mummy used to tell him, its ok, they will close them all in one game!! how sometimes the partners used to fight over putting the trump, and we used to make even 29 points.

The other game we used to enjoy so much, and I am yet to play here is कोट-पीस. There were coats and gu-coats!! Those were really some of the best memories of childhood I have.

Power outage - day 2 & 3

Saturday morning as usual we got up really late, though still not rested well, who could sleep well with full bright light outside and Palani's snores inside. We had a good breakfast of noodles, then heard that light is back at some places in Redmond, specifically at Eera's and Palani's places. So we packed our bags and headed back to our side of the lake. Coming back to Bellevue seemed like coming back to a ghost town, everything was still in a mess, and there was no light and no signals anywhere, and by now as people had settled in their places, there was very little traffic also. There was no sign of any progress near Srijan's place, though power was restored at some of Microsoft blgds, of course they were the top priority!!

So we decided to have a good hot bath in MS bldg 50. There were a bunch of people with same mission there. After bath all poor homeless 4 of us (Sree, Srijan, Aparajita and me again) went for a very late lunch. The restaurant was as usual packed, with lot of people not able to cook. Our schedules were so off by this time and I was really tired from lack of sleep Friday night. So after dinner when we setup our camps at Eera's place, I went for a nap. Got up, still no power, no idea of time, no e-mail, nothing, we played more, watched movie, cooked more food and just had fun. It was turning out to be not so bad a weekend, like camping in winter, inside a house :)

Saturday night sleep was good, got up around 9:00 on Sunday, still wanting to sleep more. More late breakfast, late lunch, more lachcha and time pass. I made a round of my room with Sree to pick up some clothes. On the way back we decided, its time to burn some calories. So we went to Marymoor park to run the washington river trail. Ran for 4 miles, it felt really good. Back to our adda at Eera's place. I took a nice long refreshing bath. Then we played Clue, it was ok. Then finally my landlord called me to tell that we got power back! It was such a sign of relief. But anyway I stayed for a game of 29 before finally heading back to my room.

Well, it did not turn out to be that bad afterall!!

Power outage - Friday night

While we were having the late lunch, Sree and Aparajita also finally arrived, all powerless homeless people. We were all packed with clothes, sleeping bag, blancket and pillow, ready to just camp anywhere, roaming like nomads. From Swati we heard that there is power at Shayon's place, who was conveniently in India. The logical thing to do was camp at his place where there was at least heating. So we all headed out there, joined by Palani, Swami and their gang. We had also packed bunch of games, all prepared for a night out.

In Seattle, Swati and Ravi also joined us. It was kind of fun with everyone there, no worry about work or anything. We made some great dinner at Shayon's place, and had another hearty meal. After dinner we started on a game of Sleuth with some vodka, tequila and orange juice. Sree was thankfully away at another party (he hates the game). The game was as usual fun. After the game, we all headed to Pioneer square to have some fun, and of course dancing. More surprises, Srijan actually danced, and with a gori!! I am still to get a photo of that and upload it here. it was so nice to finally hit the dance floor after long time.

After dancing, all exhausted, we came back to Shayon's place. People were still not done though, there was more card playing and it was judgement again. I played a game and then gave up and went to sleep.

The power outage

Nature is not happy with Seattle and I don't blame it. Thursday (12/14) we had another big storm here, this time it was not snow, but water and wind. It was pretty much predicted, but I guess as in case of snow, we were not at all prepared for the aftermath. The storm brought down lot of trees and with that power lines. Power went out in most parts of King County (Bothell, Kirkland, Redmond, Bellevue) and some of Seattle on Thursday late night. The seriousness of the situation had not hit me yet, so I got into my rajai and thought we will just sleep it off. The morning brought a surprise, no power yet. I had a 7:00a.m. meeting, so inspite of what my head told me , I won't believe that there is no power in office. So I got into my car @6:30 and headed to office. On the way, no lights, no signals. Once near office, I could clearly see that it was a lost cause, no power there also. Missed the meeting. Back home, thought it will come, and then I will have maggie for breakfast.
10:00a.m., still no light, it was time to get worried. The house was getting colder, and there was nothing to eat. By this time it hit me that there is no power anywhere. So I started calling friends to figure out what to do, or at least just get some food. More surprise, the phones won't work!! The call to anyone just won't go thru. Finally after more than an hour of trying I could talk to Sree, I had never been happier to hear his voice. Finally we synced and decided to meet at Srijan's place, he after all had gas stove, so we could cook! I packed my bag for 2 days, grabbed my blanket and pillow and left my room not knowing for how long.

In the absense of signals, it took me more than 45 min to get to his place, and it was so nice to see their cars parked outside. Inside it was different story, the stove will not start without electricity, well it needed matches, which Srijan did not have. So after some time we walked to crossroads to find a shop which is open and get some matchboxes. There were trees walken everywhere, and the walk reminded me of the walk I took in snow storm after abandoning my car on road. Only this time thankfully I was not alone and not nervous. We found matchboxes at sports authority. Back to Srijan's place, we heated some food, and ate it. It was pretty good food.

Another record breaker

We are not done with record breaking storms yet, and this time its wind and rain and it is indeed serious, not just a American style storm. Sitting in office it was feeling nice, all the rain splashing on my window. Then power flickered and a mail came that parking garage is flooded! I could not believe it, first snow and now water! Rushing out, I was met with another swimming pool on the road. Thankfully rain had turned into a drizzle by now, but it was so windy that my umbrella had no hope. Where was the fancy rain coat when I needed it!!
So anyway I braved the water filled road in my new like high heel leather boots, found another river flowing with the speed of a mountain river near office. Reached office to find almost knee deep water in the garage, flooded lift. Someone dropped me into the garage in his Jeep.
Stepping into the very filthy water bare feet reminded me of the monsoon time in school, we used to walk through that water, splashing, enjoying the dirt! Thankfully today also I did not flinch at the thought of putting my feet in it, good to know that I am still not civilized enough :) If I was not worried about my car, I might have enjoyed it.
So anyway I got into the car, drove it real slow out on the street. Then also decided to drive back home and not leave the car there, and not take the freeway. It turned out to be a good decision. As soon as I got out of the downtown area, road and traffic was almost normal. There were some puddles of water on the side, but it was much easier to drive thru them slowly than it is on the freeway. I was home without incidents this time and in less than 20 min :)
Now at home, the power is flickering and threatening to quit. Well, now that I am home safely, I am not that worried about it, will just get in my rajai and sleep it off.

More snow

Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days in Seattle. Roads were still icy, temperatures broken all records and below 0. -7 in Bothell on Tuesday night. And wednesday night brought in more rain and more snow. Though the temperatures have moved above 0, so hopefully some of the snow is going to start melting now. Today too is a snow day, everything is still white, and staying at home I have totally lost track of the time. It still looks doubtful that I would be able to go to office today either, though I am going to try for sure.
And since the temperature has gone up a couple of degrees, the meltdown has also begun. I went out to see a few patches of black driveway, side street. Its somewhat sad as the snow was indeed beautiful, but I am not going to go down in tears seeing the dry or at least ice free road.

The snowstorm of november 2006

I am sure that is how this snow storm is going to be remembered. Monday morning started as usual, snow from yesterday somewhat melted, but the streets were good as usual. So I drove to office. Around 5:45, when I was about to leave, heavy snow started falling. When I started I was not too worried about it, its falling, and as usual it will go away, just have to drive slow. I had no idea what lay ahead of me. The traffic on 405 was less than a crawl, inching along at less than 2 miles per hour, my speedometer never ticked above 0. It took me almost an hour to reach the 124th St exit. That is where I decided to ditch the freeway and take internal roads thinking that there will be traffic, but it can't be worse! I was so naive. First I almost missed the totem lake blvd turn as the road was covered in snow and the turn looked deserted. Reached the signal, took left on totem lake blvd. The cars were moving ever so slow. One car had blocked the road, so once I passed it, I thought, good now we can move. But 132nd St was worse, its a uphill drive, and I was so scared of the car skidding back everytime we start. But super slowly I managed that, even managed the final hill to 124th Ave and the left turn. After that I thought its going to get better. It had already been 2 hrs since I left office. But it just kept getting worse. The storm got stronger, dumping even more snow and it was really really cold. I slowly kept moving moving. After I crossed safeway, I thought good, another 1 mile and probably 30 min I will be home. I also cursed myself 30 times for leaving the freeway. Then the 30 min passed and I was still at the 160th st signal. Inching along reached 164th, and guess what, I experienced my first skid in the snow. The car was total out of control, tires going somewhere, I tried breaks, but then realized I should not, for a moment I was in total panic that I am going to hit the car in front. Then sobered up, moved the tires towards the curb, applying breaks every so slowly. The car hit the curb, and came to a stop. That was a huge relief, I did not care what happened next, but I was not moving the car, I put it in parking, applied the hand break and got out. The scene on road was a total mess, all the cars were skidding like anything, even the 4x4 trucks were going everywhere out of control. People had started leaving their cars on the way and walking home. I decided to do the same, then a very nice lady came along. She said she and some of the guys there can help me push the car out of the road, I was so so thankful. very scared, I got behind the wheel again, very slowly moved the car forward, got it out of the road, parked it and left it there to walk home. A big part of the ordeal was over. As I was walking home, downhill from 165th, all the cars there had the same story, skidding in snow, not able to move. Some were about to turn around and get back, others skidded along and turned from 169th. I again cursed myself for leaving the freeway, thinking that maybe I could have reached the brickyard road or something and parked the car somewhere nice. More naivity.
Of course I was worried about the car all night. Then I came back and heard the news and the nightmare of drivers on 405. Since the traffic was not moving and snow was falling hard and temperatures were below 0, the freeway had become icy too. Drivers were stuck near by exit and further north for 6-8 hours, lot had to abandon their cars on freeway, like I did. Now I was almost thankful for leaving the freeway, who knows in what condition I would have been. The cars on freeway were also towed away, that would have been a real nightmare to me. I think I was really lucky to get his close to home without any incidents, I thanked God a 100 times and also the people who helped me get the car out of road.
Finally Tuesday morning I went to look at the car. The 124th Ave was looking like a graveyard of cars, all abandoned by owners, walk up to the car was also not easy. Anyway I reached my car, saw it safe, felt better, but still no way to drive it back to the house. AAA was no use here, the roads were just too dangerous. I came back, feeling a little better that there are too many cars and they are not going to tow. It was a sunny day, though temp was still below 0, but some ice was melting from sun's heat. The road was also sanded a couple of times. So I decided that its time to get some help and get the car back before things for worse. Then Ekta came along, she very generously agreed to come and help me get the car along with her husband. They were real help, they came in the cold, Kartik drove my car to its safety, and it finally seemed to be over.

Birthday 2006

Another birthday, now it no more looks exciting and special day,it should just go by like any normal day. But this year I had decided to run the Seattle half marathon to make the birthday special. Finished the race well inspite of the nasty weather. And then came back and Rahul and I had lunch at Spice route. I don't think that I had ever eaten so much in one sitting and that too totally guilt free. Maybe when I came to Redmond for Microsoft interview, ate a lot as I was eating alone, had a big budget and eating Indian food after long time. Anyway, so had a really good satisfying lunch. Then we came back, and I tried to get some sleep. Woke up to find out a snow stom in Seattle. Lot of snow falling, collecting on the ground. That got me worried how I am going to be able to drop Rahul to airport, my little car and not so good driving skills cannot handle the snowy conditions at all. So we requested Bash to drop him. I somehow managed to go to office slow slow. Luckily the flight was not delayed. Can back around midnight, still raining, drove back slowly, very scared on the freeway and big trucks were passing by in full speed. Drive up the hill on 169th was a little difficult, but in the end managed to get my car safely in parking.

Seattle Marathon 2006

Its finally over, and was quite a eventful run. The day started with some light snow flakes falling mixed with rain. I had to change the attire couple of times to need the changing weather. Finally I decided on synthetic socks, same green cotton pants, green chuckit inner t-shirt and while Asha outer t-shirt, cisco cap to safe the face from rain and my pink raincoat's cap to save the cap, head and ears from getting wet. On top of that I also made a (not so successful) rain ponchu out of a trash bag. Dressed in all this paraphernelia, we were standing outside EMP, looking at everyone else also cold and dresses in same silly way. Magically the snow stopped just before the race, and rain also turned into light drizzle.
We started with lot of enthu and some apprehension of cold. My ponchu was gone by the end of first hill, but the pink cap worked like magic, kept the head dry and saved the ears from getting cold. When we got on I90, it was some sight, whole ramp was covered with runners, it was like a stream of colourful water flowing along it.
The first 6 miles passed quite peacefully, I was not that tired also and the course was mostly flat, so that helped, also what helped was few gulps of gatorate. Then I reached the Asha water booth, had some Gu and water. I had left my dry clothes there for change. But this is where I made a mistake, my hands were really cold from wet t-shirt, so I thought I can just get rid of the top long sleeve thing, since I am running so much, its not going to get cold! And wet sleeves just make the hands colder. So from there I started in just the half t-shirt. It seemed to be a ok decision, as though my hands were getting wet, I could wipe off the water and they were dry again. I met the 2:45 pacer at mile 7, overtook her a little on the downhill and then fell behind her on the hills of Galer and Madison. But then I ran hard on the downhill (not a very good idea though), and again overtook her. This filled me with more enthu that I can possibly make it in 2hrs 45 min or less. It went well on the hills of interlaken too, they were hard, never ending uphill, but I managed it. But as we came down the hill by I5, I realized what a mistake half sleeves was. My hands started giving problems, loosing blood circulation or something from being very wet, cold and in just one position for long time. So I had to shake them and move then constantly. This costed me lot of misery and few min in running time. I was so much wishing that Rahul will meet me soon and give me a rain jacket. The hills of downtown were the worst, killing. Finally I met Rahul at mile 12 or something, got the rain jacket from him for hands, and after that it became a little easier. Finally finished in 2 hrs 40 min. At the end, all I was thinking of being warm and dry again.

Its tomorrow

So the big day is tomorrow and there are predictions of rain and snow, what fun. Today I walked on that new machine for 15 min and then did yoga, mainly to relax all the muscles. I think doing yoga the day before long runs really helps.

Day 64

This is turning out to be a perfect week with 4 short runs. Today I decided to run a little longer outside to make sure that this cold is not going to kill me, and the amount of clothes I am wearing is sufficient etc, kind of like a dry run. Started from my place towards 405 and then Juanita-Woodinville drive till the first signal, must be close to 3 mile round trip. Discovered that I definately need something to cover my ears, else they just start paining so badly and wearing spects makes it worse.

Day 63

Another very cold day in November, after lot of yes and nos, decided to run outside for 15 min. The run was ok, hills are indeed somewhat easier to cross now, even in the cold. The marathon is right around the corner, keeping my fingers crossed for no rain.

Day 62

Ran another 15 min on the treadmill, outside is just too cold. The variable speed treadmill run has become easier or at least possible now.

Day 61

Since this is slowing down week, ran just 20 min near the house only, nothing remarkable, trying to get used to the cold.

Amazing Rainier

It seemed like a perfect day, cloudless skies, sun trying to give some heat, and to top it all off, Rainier was looking just perfect from 520. In fact I could also see it clearly from 405 in morning, but the view from 520 was flawless. I wished I was not driving and could look at it some more. They should make a view point there for the people to just sit and take in the view.

Day 60 Week 22

So its been 2 months of running (60 days). Today we ran about 8 miles near Greenlake. It was a good run, the day turned out to be perfect, cloudless sky and not so cold. The last couple of miles were on the BurkeGilman train we used to take in the initial days of running. While at Red Square, we were recalling how we used to be dead by this time, and today we ran 6 miles before this and still had the energy to finish the last stretch smiling. Though today we were running quite slow, it took us almost 2 hrs to complete 8 miles, at this pace, I won't be able to finish 13 in under 3 hrs. Hopefully that day I would be able to run faster, at least I am getting more confident that I can run the whole 13 miles.

wettest november

its mid-nov and we have already seen record rains for nov, about 11.6 inches. This has been the wettest nov so far, but I think that has also prevented this from being a very cold one. If you ask me, I prefer the cloudy skies and higher temperatures, than the freezing sunny days.

Day 59

Did not go for practice this Wednesday, just lazy, and made the bahana that its not a good day to run !!
So anyway, to compensate, ran 2 miles today, speeds from 4.5 to 5 to 5.5. As I have always noticed, the first 1 mile is really hard and its always hard, when outside, you cannot quit in the first mile, but when on treadmill, I always quit at that time. But today I decided, I had to run, I had to get past my 10 min barrier. Varying the speed helped, I started out with 4.5, which did not make me too tired, after that moved up to 5, again reducing the speed when I thought of quitting. After the first mile, I ran a bit at 5.5 also, seemed like a good strategy.

Day 58

As part of preparing to run in the cold, I decided to run outside. The hills do not scare me that much now, but the cold does. And it was a very cold sunny morning. I started out real bad, the first hill was the worst to climb, but after that warm up, rest was not that difficult. Ran for 30 min, uphill downhill, about 2 miles I guess, so really show. Next time will try to go out on the woodinville road.

seattle is beautiful

when everyone seems to be complaining about rains, flodding, gloom, I think its beautiful. Looking out it feels like that 'after monsoon rain' time of the year, everything is so clear, washed, there is no bright sun, just right amount of clouds in the sky. Of course the story is very different when you go out and the harsh cold wind hits you, it may not look that beautiful. Still I think it feels good to see the green and the yellow and the wind blowing......

Day 57

Ran 20 min on treadmill, run / walk. I think treadmill is a horrible place to run, I get tired so easily, cannot even run 10 min without feeling when will it get over. Maybe outside I keep varying my speed and that's why can run. Anyway, my target is to complete the 13 miles in less than 3 hrs, beyond that it does not matter. Have to start running outside to practice running in cold.

Day 56 Week 21

Today thanks to Aparajita, I decided to do a long run, 13 miles actually. I started with lot of apprehension as I have been out of practice for weeks now. And in the beginning it was hard, it was cold, and then the 83rd St was all uphill-downhill. The route to golden garden park was all downhill and that made it easy. After that seaside was almost flat, I was really cold at this time as being along the water, there was cold wind coming. Then we decided to head back instead of doing the 13 miles loop. The way back was really tough. The 32nd Ave was all uphill, gaining all the height we lost when going to the seaside drive. This was I think the toughest part. Then we reached 80th St, which was again uphill-downhill, but after crossing 32nd, it did not seem that bad. We took quite a lot of breaks. mostly on signals. But in the end we finished 11.8 miles, it was great. The bottom line, I am again confident that I can do it :) Here is a link to our route, I will upload the image soon.
http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=537492

Day 55

Don't know why I did not run yesterday, guess was just lazy. Today decided to run on tradmill. Ran for 15 min at 5, little bit of elevation too. After that walked on the new machine for 20 min. Looking forward to tomorrow's big run, I hope it does not become a disaster too.

non stop rain

its been raining non stop for last 1 week at least, and I don't know for how many days before that, and this is just the beginning of rainy season. Looks like we are set to break last year's record of max days with no sunlight.

Day 54

Wednesday practice, did not go well, I was totally out of form and it was raining too. I made the mistake of wearing light cotton t-shirt, which was wet and sticky in just couple of rounds. We were support to do time trials and my time sort of went down. I managed to do just 6 track rounds and run back and up to the tracks. Hopefully next weeks practice will make it better.

Back after vacation in India

back to rainly seattle after the short vacation, 2 weeks seem almost nothing. And this time of the year in Seattle is really cloudy and rainy, though its still not that cold, the cloud cover keeps the chill out, or I am getting used to the cold climate. The rain started about mid-October, and is going to take us straight into winters.

Day 53 Week 20

Back in Seattle after more than 2 weeks of out of practice. Ran a little bit, like 30min or less last to last week, but not much.
Today after thinking a couple of times, decided to go out runnin in rain near the house only. It was usual uphill downhill story, ran for about 30 min, it was drizzling mildly, so not that bad.

Day 52 Week 19

Finally got to run the Sammamish River train again. Today was the big AllGoRhythms day, so decided not to go to madison park, Aparajita and I ran the trail starting at Redmond Library. We must have ran about 6 miles, its a very flat trail, and as close to nature as you can get in Redmond, so I always like it.

Day 51

Wednesday hills training, was support to run 6 hills, but ended up with only 4, they are still hard, can't imagine they will ever get easier!

Day 50

Ran on the treadmill in gym, the usual 20 min now.

Snowqualmie!!

This season's snowqualmie trip also happened. We went today, it was not a ideal sunny day, but a dry day, which is pretty good for October. We went down to the falls, sat on a rock near water, enjoying the mist coming in from the fall. Surprisingly it was not as cold as I though, I could sit on a stone, right in front of the falls, enjoying the water coming on my face without having to wrap up in layers of sweater and without my hands getting super cold. It was a nice, unremarkable, satisfactory trip like most of the others to the fall. I should have pictures up soon.

Day 49 Week 18

The training is almost coming to an end, and I am somewhat satisfied with it. I wanted to run upto 15 miles, but my max is still around 10, though after running 10 a couple of times, I am confident that I can run 13, and I also know that I could not have run 26 without working really hard. It was probably a conservative but good decision to shoot for half only this time.
So anyway, this weekend I ran another 10 miles. This was along the marathon track, upto steward park, it was a good run, though I do not seem to be getting any faster :)

Harvest Moon

Tonight's full moon has a special name--the "Harvest Moon." It's the full moon closest to the autumnal equinox. Long ago, before electric lights, farmers relied on the Harvest Moon to light up their fields at night, allowing them to harvest autumn crops even after sunset.

When the Harvest Moon rises tonight, go outside and look around. You might see some strange things.

This particular Harvest Moon is unusually big--almost 12% wider than some full Moons we've seen earlier this year. Why? Because the Moon is near perigee, the side of the Moon's lopsided orbit that comes closest to Earth.

The weather prediction here is clear skies (for a change), so I might be able to look at it thru the telescope. What would be cool would be to see the snoqualmie falls in this moonlight, it would be all glittery and shiny!

Day 48

Ran on tradmill for 25 min, 20 of which @ 5:00 and elevation 2.0, it was a piece of cake, I cannot stop being amazed at the progress I have made in running. I have always been quite active, hiking a lot, but running was never my thing, it was the most difficult thing for me to run even from door to bus stop. Now it has become so much easier, though I would still say that its a lot of effort for me.

Day 47

Wednesday practices. We did time trials today, ran 8 lapses, 2 miles on the grounds. I did it in < 21 min!! Great progress for me, though I was dead after it was over, but it felt great to see that I have indeed become faster.

Day 46

Ran for about 25 min in my neighbourhood. This area is the worst for running I guess, the uphill downhills never stop, they are just killing, but I guess good for training for that final section of marathon. Last few days for training for me!

Day 45 Week 17

As chuck said, running is cummulative, and so are all the other activities you do over the week. This week was I guess especially hectic, not just workouts but other running around and driving too. So I was not feeling very enthued about running today, it started in the morning itself when I did not want to wake up. So ran only about 6.5 - 7 miles today. After that as a little compensation, Shankar and I also ran a little uphill on the marathon route. It was a good preview, not very discouraging though as the hill was steep, but small. This week I need to take lot of rest, and want to run at least 11, and hopefully 12 miles next weekend. After that I can call it a day to my practice.

Day 44

Wednesday hills day, and they are killing. We first ran to the tracks and then ran back to 124th St. We were suppose to run up a not to steep but very long hill 3 times. First one was the worst, second little easier, third little more, and then I decided to just run another one, it was difficult, but did not kill me. Everyday I am amazed at how much progress I have made in my fitness since the day I started training. Its a life style changing experience!

Burrough's Mountain trail

I was suppose to write about this in the last blog entry, but I got totally carried away by the thought that this may as well be my last hike in the north-west.

So anyway, it was a perfect way to end the summer. We started around 11:30 from Srijan's place after my 10 mile run in Kirkland, with the apprehension that we are not going to get a campsite. But of course I could not start early, needed to run. The trip was especially great for me as I got to carry my telescope out to Mt. Rainier. 405 was as usual quite crowded, once we were on 167, it got better. On the way we called the campground, and a lady told us that its full. What a disappointment. Still with some hope we continued onwards, checking out a campground on the way. Once at White Water Campground, to our surprise it was quite empty, and to more surprise, Palani and party who were ahead of us were no where in sight. After pondering over what to do for 30 min, we decided to take a campsite and then go looking for others. We drove to sunrise point, and there it was, the magestic Rainier, standing there with all its beauty, unobstructed view. If I was not so tired, I would have enjoyed the view much better. But I just wanted to get back to the camp and relax and eat something. Still no sign of Palani and party, so we decided to go back to the campsite and wait for them there. Luckily on the way back, we met them. Then started a discussion about which campground to take, Shayon and Palani were much taken by another one outside the park, but I wanted to stick to White Water, not wanting to waste time driving up and down. So ultimately we stayed there only. ( I AM a control freak, as Palani mentioned twice later. )

Once all back at the campsite, we setup the tent. Shayon leant his first lesson at setting up the tent and did quite a good job of it. Srijan was as usual busy being the cook. Palani and Aparajita got firewood. Perfect example of teamwork, I should suggest this for our next team offsite. After lot of effort and usual shouting from Palani, the fire started. For some reason unknown to me Aparajita got the credit for starting it ;). Maybe because she was most excited about grilling potato. Khichdi was also ready by then, and we all ate happily. Potato grilling never happened though.

After dinner was the best part, start gazing, finally after a long long time, looking at the stars thru the telescope without light pollution. It was a moonless and planet less night, which sort of disappointed others I guess. But I was thrilled to see so many stars again, being able to read in star light again, brought back lot of memories of nights spent on top of clock tower gazing at the stars. After spending some 1/2 hr there, we came back to the campsite. Fire was burning heartily and it was time for cards. We again played judgement, Shayon winning the game, sometimes I get the feeling that he is indeed smart :), not that winning at judgement is any measure of smartness in real life. We finally slept at about 1, deciding to get up at 4:30. The burden to wake everyone up was on me.

And I did a great job :), everyone was up by 4:50. We quickly paked up a bit and then started for sunrise point in Palani's car. On the way I saw Orion and Venus, nothing like the site of planet of love first thing in the morning. We were at sunrise point while it was still a bit dark. First we tried to cook maggie, but there was no matchbox to light the stove, Srijan's planning, huh. So we had a breakfast of bread, jam etc. And we also saw the first rays of sun falling on Mt. Rainier, making it all colourful. It was a amazing site, beautiful!!
...from dark to dawn...

Once Mt Rainier was fully lit, and our stomachs were full, we started on the 7 mile hike. The hike was quite good, very steep uphill in the beginning, but the distance was not too much, about 3 miles. The sight on top of burrough one and two were very rewarding. On the way we crossed very windy paths, wind blowing thru its full force, nothing to bind it, something I just love. Makes you feel so free, away, connected to the nature. All my tiredness was gone, it was lovely. One of the things on my TODO list is to kiss on top of a mountain with wind blowing all around us, muy romantico!
On top of burrough two, we were as close to Rainier as you can get, unobstructed view, just wow! The trail reminded me so much of Inca trail, partly as I was very tired, leg aching, and the uphill hike, looking at further uphill trail ahead, reminded me how it was climbing Dead Woman's Pass. And then the steep descend in the end.

Then was the difficult decision, go up to burrough 3 or not. It looked very steep intimidating. If my leg was not aching so much, I would have loved the challenge. But after 10 mile run on Saturday, I did not have the courage, and well, had to drag everyone else also with me. Feeling pretty bad about that, it does not happen often :(
Anyway, we stared 4 mile downhill trail, loosing about 3000'. By the end I was totally exhausted, just moving moving moving. Finally reached the campsite. Packed really fast. Decided to cook hakka noodles after a lot of arguments. People actually wanted to mix hakka noodles with maggie, can you believe it, dilute the taste of maggie with something else!!
Anyway, we made noodles, ate, packed and then started back to civilization. I was dead tired by the time we came back in Redmond and all I wanted to do was put my head down and sleep sleep sleep.

2006 hiking season

As the summer is coming to an end, we set off on the last hike for the season (and possibly my last one in the north-west if I decided to move) at Mt. Rainier. We started the season with 4 day Inca trail in Peru, other than 2 practice hikes before that in April, and now ending in September with 7 mile Mt Rainier hike. And what a season it had been, with marathon practices every Saturday morning, and after that rushing out for a hike. Thanks to Srijan and all who accomodated my can't leave before 10:30a.m. limit, not that they would anyway have got up and left before that, there had been some really nice and relaxing (mentally only) trips.
1. Little Si - literally this was the first hike in April to practice for Peru, just Rahul and I, there is no need to say how nice it was.
2. Some Lake, another practice hike, just Rahul and I again.
3. Inca trail - the big one, this I would say was the practical beginning of the season, and the most difficult and at the same time most rewarding and memorable hike I have done and will be doing in near future.
4. Surprise Creek - first group hike, and a kela as snow was still packed on the mountains blocking our path altogether.
5. Cascade Pass - nice, moderate relaxing hike, highlight was snow sliding when we suddenly came upon a patch of snow near the top.

6. St. Helens - windy ridge, after a long time, it was as amazing as ever. We again walked down to the spirit lake, and walked up to the windy ridge look out. St. Helens.
7. San Juan camping - no hiking, just ferry ride and camping with Srijan, Subo and his friend.
8. Burrough's mountain trail and camping at White River campground in Mt. Rainier


Can't say what 2007 has in store for me, if I am still in the north-west, I have a wish list -

• mailbox peak
  
• lake 22
  
• surprise creek (actually reacing the lake this time)
  

Day 43 Week 16

Ran around 10 miles near the house only, ran on the Woodnwille-Bothell road towards the office, it was a nice run, quite tiring, lot of uphill and downhills, but doable. Did not go for th group run as wanted to go hiking on rainier over the weekend. It feels nice to think that I can actually just go out of the door and run 10 miles, I would not say that it was easy or getting any easier, but its still doable, running for 2 hrs, who could have thought 16 weeks back that I would get there, and not just running 2 hrs but also go out and hike 7 miles next day, I am amazed at my own abilities.

Analog - SciFinFa magazine

I have always enjoyed SciFi, though till now most of what I have read is Asimov, and I always want to read magazines. So when browsing in the library my eyes fell on this magazine called Analog - Scientific Fiction and Facts, I immediately grabed one. Read a couple of stories from it, very interesting. Short stories are quite different from novels, they have to move fast, and don't drag and usually have one cohesive topic to talk about. I am going to try reading more of them.

Day 42

Since I missed running yesterday, went today morning. Tried to run at high elevation on the treadmill, it was ok, very tiring, I could not run for long without holding on to the side rails. Need lot of practive.
27 min, run / walk - 1.85 miles.

The Client - John Grisham

Read John Grisham after a long time, and it was as thrilling as ever. Though I found this book a little less surprising, I guess after reading so many books from the author, I can kind of guess the twists and turns in his story. Still it was a very pleasant read and I could not put the book down before reading it from cover to cover. Very interesting story of a man who first plots to steal lot of money and then plots even more to free himself of all the charges, does he succeed and then end up living the life of a rich man? Does he get away with it? The story is full of crosses and double crosses.

Dandiya!

No, I don't know Dandiya or garba, but that does not stop me from being enthued about the event and to plan to drive all the way to Sammamish for that. Last weekend we tried real hard to go, I got up from my sleep at 10:00 (I had slept at 5:00, guess was just very very tired), then thought for 30min about what to wear, weather to wear any jewellery or not, and then do I have any jewellery!!?? Of course I should have thought about that one before wasting 10 min on thinking to wear or not :). So anyway doing simple math, it was already 11:00, and it would have taken me another 1/2 hr to get dressed in the absense of a full length mirror. So in the end it did not seem worth. Hopefully this Saturday will be planned better :)

I have already taken first step and looked up the info on web.
Dandiya
Event Summary:
This year, our annual navaratri garba dance is organized for two weekends in SEPTEMBER. Everyone is cordially invited to this colorful traditional dance event. This is not a Gujarati only event, we have plenty of non-Gujaratis and non-Indians coming to Garba every year.Events are on 22nd Sep, 2006 (Friday),23rd Sep, 2006 (Saturday),29th Sep, 2006 (Friday),30th Sep, 2006 (Saturday)

Where:

Sammamish High School
100 140th Ave SE
Bellevue, WA

When:
Sep 22 2006 8:00PM
to
Sep 30 2006

No. of Admission : $5/members per evening,$7/non-members per evening,Free for kids below 11,Free for seniors above 62

Contact :
Sammamish High School
Phone : 425- 456-7600

what is the message in Hindi movies

I finally watched Parineeta today, took off from office early as not feeling well and then sat and watched the movie. And it got me thinking. The guy, Shekhar here, was a totally jealous jerk to his beloved, calling her names, not trusting her, and leaving her when she needed him. Then there was Devdas, same story, Devdas, total coward, Fanaa, Amir Khan did the same. And in all these stories the girl just waits, accepts the guy in the end, forgets everything, why? Are all these stories of one sided love? Can you love someone, and still not trust them? Then what does it really mean to love someone. Haven't we always heard that marriage is built on trust, and love is not?
These movies are sending such wrong message, showing the women as devis of forgiveness, setting unrealistic expectations from them, showing that its acceptable for a guy to be a total jerk and then suddenly open eyes one day and be forgiven, just do his manmaani. This is 21st century for God sake!

simplifying the english language

Today we were talking in office about British and American english, and I made a statement that except US and Canada, everyone else follows the British English as most of the countries started on english from british colonial rule. So someone pointed it out to me that even Americans learnt it from there, so I wondered why they chose to do it differently ( like everything else they do differently!! ). And the same person pointed me towards this -
Do a search for "daniel webster" ("webster's dictionary" is named after him). He "simplified" (and I use quotes liberally) the English language for the US and Canada so that it was more "consistant".

yes, quite a funny sentence, words consistant and english are used in the same sentence without the word "not". And of course I do not understand how taking the u off from colour can do anything to simplify english language. If this Daniel person really wanted to simplify and consistify the language, why did he not change "but" and "put" to be pronounced in the same way, and why not take the "p" off pneumonia (or however its spelled). Or maybe what he did was redefined "simplify" and "consistant"!!

Asha Seattle presents AllGoRhythms 2006..be there!!

Come and enjoy a night of bollywood music -

Asha Seattle presents AllGoRhythms 2006 - featuring our very own Pankaj Kakkar ( drum rolls!! )
Dates

Saturday, October 14th 06, 5:30pm
Sunday, October 15th 06, 3:00pm
 
Venue

Mercer Island High School
Performing Arts Center
9100 SE 42nd Street 
Mercer Island 
 
Ticket Category

Front Rows- $20
Back Rows- $18

Kid (2-12 yrs)- $5
UW Students- $15
At Door- $22 / $20
*Kids under 2 yrs (on the lap)- Free

 
*Dinner Box coupon (Available Saturday)- $6 ( at the venue $7 )
*Snacks & Chai available on Sunday for purchase on the spot
 
For Tickets, you can either buy online or let me know, I will keep some aside for you:
http://www.ashanet.org/seattle/events/allgorhythms/

Please feel free to forward this e-mail to anyone who might be interested.

--
tuls

http://tulika.blogspot.com - Life is Beautiful
http://tulika-run.blogspot.com - Marathon log
http://bookreviewsbyus.blogspot.com - Book reviews
http://rahulandtulika.blogspot.com - Travel blog

Day 41

Ran for 20 min - 2 miles on treadmill at 5.5, it was hard, felt like giving up a lot of times, but still could make it, running for 20 min at 5.5, can't believe it!! Feeling just great and enthued.

Day 40 Week 15

Back on my feet. After running for 10 miles last 2 weekends, I decided to cut back today. Ran at the madison park trail for first time, its mostly flat, did 7.4 miles. Because of the inactivity of last week, my legs started paining quite a bit, left leg calf muscles seem to be in little trouble.

fallen sick :(

Just when things were going great, and I was thinking that maybe I can shoot for a full marathon, I went and got myself sick!! No practice this week at all, might be able to run on Saturday, but probably not too long.

Why you should read HHGG

My conversation with a non-believer.

Urvashi: he heee [nose smile]
have you read hitchhiker's guide ? you must have...
did you like that ?
मेरे द्वारा: of course I have read them
and love them
Urvashi: hmm.. I put it down after 2 chapters...
must read it again.
it didn't make any sense at all !
मेरे द्वारा: u need to open your mind to understand them
Urvashi: haaahahahhaha [nose smile]
मेरे द्वारा: and also accept the fact that they are non-sense
Urvashi: haaan - thaaaaaaat no-one told me earlier...
so I was wondering whyyy it wasn't making any sense !
what's the point then ?
मेरे द्वारा: just to open your brain to some radical thinking
out of the world sorts
add another dimension to your thinking
Urvashi: hmm [nose smile]
मेरे द्वारा: very imp things u learn are -
how to fly
what is the importance of a towel
Urvashi: [nose grin]
okay - I didn't get that far...
maybe should just press on.... (like running [straightface] )
मेरे द्वारा: ur knowledge is imcomplete without knowing these things
Urvashi: he hheee..
मेरे द्वारा: though u will need to press on a lot
so it also teaches u to be patient
Urvashi: haaahha [nose smile]
goood....
मेरे द्वारा: to have faith that in the end u everything will start making sense
Urvashi: but doing a PhD also teaches patience !!!
yes - precisely [nose smile]
मेरे द्वारा: it will train u for PhD
Urvashi: he heee....

Day 39 Week 14

Woohoo run in central park, ran for 2 hrs, I guess between 9 - 10 miles, the last 1/2 mile of uphill was obviously the worst, but it was ok, its not that unimaginable now :)

second impression of New York

This was my second trip to New York, first one being new years time few years back. This time though I was just a visitor, but was also checking out how livable the place is, and the conclusion - not at all! Nothing unexpected in that, living in Seattle area, I have taken the beautiful greenry, mountains, sunrises and sunsets for granted. And here, you can't even see a simple sunrise and it rises and sets somewhere behind some really tall building. There is no wind coming into the apartment, as there are tall building all around, and of course greenry and mountains are totally missing. Its a real total concrete jungle. Even the central park feels suffocating, its just too much trees and water packed in a small area. The streets give you the impression that you are back in Delhi or Bombay, but of course the familiar Indian-ness is totally missing. As for people, well, its common knowledge I think that people in east coast are not that friendly, everyone just gives an impression that they are really very busy, if you ask something, they just glare at you as if you are the stupidest person in the world !! I can't wait to get back to my peaceful life in Seattle. If it wasn't for Rahul, I won't even dream of moving here.

Day 38

Ran for 20 min in central park again, was a easy weekday run. After that ran up a tiny hill twice, it was not that hard since the hill was small, plus of course I am in much better shape now. Planning for longer run on Saturday, maybe a full round of central park.

Day 37

Ran for 30min today in central park. It looks so flat, but its all up and down with a gentle slope. Aim to do a full round of the park this saturday, its going to be less than 10, maybe 8, can increase it by adding the lake, should be fun.

Day 36 Week 13

Last weekend did not run much, don't know why, work? packing? etc. etc. all excuses
Saturday was on the plane whole day, so of course no running, just flying.
Sunday, no chance again.
Today ran for about 45 min in Central Park, yes the real one in New York. It was ok, very crowded, nothing special, our Kirkland waterfront is much better, at least it gives an illusion of free open clean air.

Day 35

Wednesday practice, not running for last 2 days and hectic weekend showed. Was really tired. I was hoping that I could do the tempo runs for 20 min today, but even the first 2 strides were hard!! I think to make some serious progress, need to take lot of rest over the weekend, and also eat properly, not at random times. I hate that the practice just seems to take away all weekends. From next time its going to be hills, that will be some fun, but I am really looking forward to improving my uphill run, its what I am weakest at.

Day 34

Did not run on monday, was too tired from the hectic weekend. So ran today before the weights class, it was quite hard, could not run at all, so finally walked on that new treadmill, hopefully practiced uphill run/walk.

Day 33 Week 12

Ran 10 miles today, woo hoo!!
Went to the lake early, around 7:00, ran around the lake once, 1/2 inside and 1/2 outside. Was back by 7:38, must have taken 33-35 min to run 3 miles. After that there was 10 min break as I talked to other people etc. Then started on a 7 mile course with Rishi, somehow I was full of confidence that I can do it. The first half was quite easy, 2 miles near the lake, the same flat course, after that another mile or so was mostly downhill, so that was easy. The next 2 miles were flat, but in sun, and that is where most of my energy was drained, if I was alone, that would have been the point to stop, but thanks to Rishi I kept going. We got some unintentional breaks stopping for signal, figuring out the route and that was great help. The good thing about this route was that Ravenna came suddenly and we joined it pretty close to the lake, so the last 1/2 mile of so I was just running thinking that we are almost there.

Day 32

Friday run was getting too tiring, so I decided to run today after weights class. It was easier and harder, strength class was a warm up, and also tiring. Still managed to run 20 min @ 5.5, approx 2 miles. Every minute I was telling myself, you can do it, 2 miles is nothing, and then tomorrow you won't have to run :) A surprising improvement, I think I am going to stick to Thursday evening run and free up friday mornings for Yoga relaxation.

Day 31

Wednesday trainings are becoming easier, running to the fields does not kill me anymore and I can run more than 4-5 rounds on the track. Doing strides and tempo runs now and dreading the hills. Running strides reminds me so much of the time back in school during PT exam, when we were suppose to run some 400m and get points on our speed, I would run with all my strength and pray to God, please don't let me be the slowest person, and amazingly though I was probably one of the fatest in class, someone always managed to take few seconds more than me :) Not much has changed, except that I don't pray anymore and we don't get points on speed but on distance.

St Helens once again

If you ask me for a movie I can watch again and again, I will say DDLJ, and if you ask me for a place I can go again and again, I will say St Helens. Not because its the most beautiful place I have seen, but because I *can* go here again and again :). So this weekend, Srijan, Sree, myself and Subo headed to St Helens once again. This time I suggested Windy Ridge again, because I found it a lot more amazing view than the super crowded Johnson's observatory. Its here that you can go really close to the crater, look right into the spot from where the lava came out, and into the lake where it went, and you can do that that without bumping into 100 people. And it did turn out to be a very nice visit, windy ridge was windy as usual and it was nice sitting in open after a long week. Sometimes I wonder, for us city dwellers, the fresh air is so rare, while growing up, I just too it for granted. 5 years back if you had asked me what I would give to feel fresh, unpolluted wind on my face, I would have said are u crazy, but today, I am ready to drive for hours to get to a place where you can feel that wind, feel the freedom, feel so close to nature, feel away from all the worries that we have surrounded ourselves with.

Day 30

Not a good day for running. Went to the gym thinking that I will run hill, or faster, but was totally tired from the hectic weekend. Ran for like 5 min and then walked on the new machine for 10 min, that was enough exercise for the day!

Day 29 Week 11

Today was suppose to be big running day, I had planned to run around the lake once and then do the Burke Gilman trail. Got late in reaching greenlake, so did not get a chance to run around the full lake, just did a 1.5 mile run, after that the Burke Gilman trail, it was much better than before, and I think I could have pushed myself more, I was exhausted by the end, but not totally, I could have ran some more. Will shoot for 10 miles next time.

Day 28

Did not run, but walked on that new machine for 15 or something min, before the yoga class.

The Lost World - do i have to tell!!

Fianlly managed to get my hands on this book and read it. The book is good, interesting, still did not meet my high expectations, maybe I have read just too many. There are some loop holes in it like an Ihindi movie, but like a hindi movie, its totall interesting and worth the read. Since its such a famous book, there is no point telling what its about, only, its worth a read, so if you are looking for older literature, go ahead, read it up!

Day 27

This week is turning out to be pretty good, ran today also before the weights class on treadmill
15 min - 5.0 mph, 2.0 - 3.0 elevation.
Treadmill is a good place to get over the dreadful hills :)

Day 26

Today started out as one of the not so good days, I was totally tired by the time we reached the tracks. But then I did some strides, tired again, felt like that's it. Then ran another 11 minutes, tempo run and then ran back. By the end it was one of the normal days, getting better, need to keep it up :)

Day 25

Ran for about 40 min near Kirkland waterfront with Aparajita. Its a nice area to run, with lake on one side and mostly flat because of the lake. We ran about 2.8 miles and I was not too tired, talk about building stamina! The only problem on a weekday is too many cars.

Week 10

Did not run today, slept very late because of Indian Ocean concert Friday night. Instead went on a 7 mile rt hike. Hike was easy, but some exercise.

Soy milk

I finally tried Soy milk today after a lot of contemplations, and guess what, it was actually good!!
It has a slight flavour to it, which is much better than the tasteless milk that you get in US. Its of course a good source of protein and much more filling than milk. Need to check if it has enough calcium as that is one of the biggest reason to have milk. I am on my way to a semi-vegan lifestyle :)

Day 24

Today we did time trials on the track. I ran 1 mile in 11:30 minutes, kind of slow, it would be nice to increase the speed to at least 10:00, else I would just be the last person running on tracks. Ran 6 rounds without dying, so that was good.

Finally seemsed to be settled

Finally seems to be settled in the new place, arranged my closet on Sunday, opened some boxes, was nice use of time.

Day 23

Ran on Kirkland waterfront again with Marilyse. Its good to find a running partner, keeps me motivated and pushes me to run when I was to just call it quits like today :)

Day 22 Week 9

Ran another 6 miles today, it was easier than last time I ran the bruke-gilman trail. Next time need to try 8 miles.

Day 21

Great week!!
Went running at Kirkland waterfront again with Marilyse from office. Its was a enjoyable run, we also went down to a beach park. Getting ready for long run tomorrow.

Day 20

Decided to run Kirkland waterfront with Aparajita, she could not make, so I ran by myself. This is a better area to run, lesser hills. Ran mostly on weavy way, a small street away from traffic and lined with lake facing million dollar homes :)
20+ min at slow pace.

Day 19

Ran near the new place, its all uphill downhill, killing trail to run on. Managed to run like 20 min, after that was very frustrated by the lack of flat grounds. I think I will need to go back to treadmill, this area is hopless for running more than a mile.

Week 8

Had to move, so did not go for practice today.

Day 18

went for the Wednesday training, could finally run to the field easier. Started on the strides today, now it feels like training :) Strides seemed simple, but are hard, not sure if I got the technique though, I was trying my best. Looking forward to Saturday run. This week ran only for 2 days, so may again go for 2 outer loops around the lake, or if found company, then on bruke-gilman trail.

Day 17

Ran in the Grasslawns park with new shoes for 20 - 15 min. The run was ok, but I was very tired, either because of lack of sleep or because the new shoes are not good!

Day 16 Week 7

Saturdya carpool with Palani and Aparajita. We started running around the greenlake, I was undecided if I should go for 2 rounds, 6 miles or not, basically was trying to give myself reasons why and why I should not. Luckily first time I missed the meeting point and started on the second round without noticing :), that was some motivation, finally finished 2 rounds, last mile was as usual hard, but I could do it without collapsing !!

Sammamish Ridge nightmare

I cannot believe this is happening, or maybe I can, this apartment has been a problem for last one year. I think I had found out quite early that the management is very rude and not at all helpful. But they are also mean and expert in cheating you out of money. Now suddenly I have to pay $1200 rent for August month because I did not send a piece of paper. Does not matter you talk to them, let them know but before they will not say anything. Right after your deadline is passed, they will happily inform you that you were suppose to give a written notice, and now you have to pay some huge rent. I guess that is how these big corporates make their huge profits.

Day 15

Ran for 2 miles (25min) @ 5:0, no breaks required this time, and could have gone on, but was bored. I think I am getting better.

Day 14

Wednesday, finally I went to a wednesday practice. I did not do much, just ran to the track, ran twice rounds on the track and then back from the track, but it was a start. It was good workout. There were even more people from Asha, some new, some veterans. It was fun and relaxing to go out there, was feeling much better after the workout.

Day 13 Week 6

Saturday training, a lot of Asha junta showed up today, it was great. I planned to run 6 miles. After running 4 last saturday and 6 (with breaks) couple of weeks before, I thought I can make it, but guess what, its hard!! The weekday practices are a must to keep you in shape. Our route was really good, nice shaded trails going through the university, it did not seem very difficult also. But running 6 miles at one go was really hard, I think I gave up somewhere little over 4 miles, then it was all walking, running, stumbling, crawling.....
Will try the same next time.

Day 12

Ran for some 20 minutes on the treadmill at 5:00. It was easier than before, but lack of time.

Apartment hunting again

I cannot believe that I am back to apartment hunting. It was such a pain last time that I had decided not to move, but now again I have to move and to a much smaller place. This apartment, Sammamish Ridge, is totally not worth living at such high rates. But I am going to miss the space, open air, especially since I am moving into a basement. I cannot imagine how I am going to pack up everything again. But its probably for the good, I will get rid of lot of stuff and then moving will become easy again. At least I am slowly getting rid of all the furniture.

Day 11 Week 5

Finally after recovering from long weekend trip, apartment hunting spree, I decided to run at the washington lake by myself. I start the trail at 1&1/2 mile marker and then run to start of the trail and back, then I run another 1/2 or 1 mile to the next mile post and then of course back. This running back and forth is helpful, then I am back from the first leg, its a feeling of achievement that 3 miles is done, and then I can run further along.

The mid-week practices have totally stopped since I started apartment hunting, what a tension!
Hope to get back on track starting next week.

The grand Jupiter

Yesterday was a telescope day again, Rahul and I went to Phantom lake to have a look at Saturn. It was so scary in the beginning, all sunsaan, dark. It was a no moon night. First we set up our telescope in the parking lot itself. There were a bunch of bright stars, none of which though really looked like Saturn. The first thing we pointed to turned out to be Mars. Then to a bunch of other bright stars. Now that we were accustomed to the dark, the place was looking less scary. We moved a little into the Park, and there it was really bright planet. Once we pointed the telescope to it, it turned out to be Jupiter with all its glory and its moons. We could clearly see at least 7 of the moons, and with some patience, some colour was also visible on the planet. It was just a amazing site, seeing Jupiter after such long time! Finally we failed to locate Saturn though, guess it was already set.

Day 10 Week 4 amazing Rahul

6 miles, yes! I ran almost 6 miles today, and all the credit goes to Rahul. He was there in sun all the time, running or just waiting for me to get back. We ran on the Sammamish River trail again, it was of course very hard, and I had to take a couple of walk breaks.

moving time again!

I can't believe that its moving time again, and I just hate it, it was only yesterday that I opened all boxes and put up all posters. But well, you cannot control circumstances. Thinking about selling / giving away all my stuff and go back to the nomadic light weight life. Its obviously very economical. I wonder if that is the best way to live, all those people buying houses, buying all stuff for their houses, are simply ignorant of what's coming.

Day 9

Had planned to run at least 3 miles at 5 today. But ran little under 2 miles at 5 though, no walk breaks.
why - lack of motivation, it gets boring to run on treadmill all alone
todo - get a interesting book, run outside, sammamish river trail?

Day 8 Week 3

Today I was thinking of running around the green lake again, but that was not suppose to be. 520 bridge was closed, and going over I90 was too much effort. So Rukmani and I decided to run on the Washington River trail. Its a nice trail, running along a stream, best thing is that the trail has mile markers. We ran for about 5 miles, and it was a stretch.

2001 A space Odysse - Arthur C. Clark

As ironic as it sounds, the vision of 2001 is good :). I have mostly read Isaac Asimov's books in SciFi and his main theme about space travel is hyperspace etc. This book introduces another concept and its quite interesting, though its still very limiting and does not allow intra-galactic travel. I enjoyed reading the book, it starts out quite slow. You know something is coming, but you turn pages after pages waiting for it, and then there it is with a bang! One thing I found annoying with the book was that it just alludes over the mystery, secret, adventure, without really getting into depths of the mystery. The last few pages are quite action filled though.

Day 7

Wednesday training day. Went to Everyday Athlete for training (great neighbourhood BTW). Unfortunately there were no beginners to give me company, and I did not want to hold rest if the group, so I just ran little uphill by myself, 1.8 miles only. It was good weather and 30min. just passed without even realizing. Could have ran a little more with more persistance or company. Route map -

Day 6

Regular treadmill day, ran 30 min @ 5.0 with 2 min walk bread @3.5, covered 2.5 miles. Seems to be getting better at it :)

Day 5 Week 2

Today we met at the Spiritridge Elementary School in Bellevue at 7:30. It was easier to get up and go today. Thanks to Tarun, Yogita and Rukmani's company, I managed to run 4.6 miles. The last 0.6 mile felt like another 4 miles! But it was a good run. Took me a little more than an hour. It will get better :) Here is the route we took today -

Day 4

Today's treadmill run was a total disaster. Ran for 5 min and that was it. Just lazy I guess and also tomorrow's long run was a excuse, maybe I should start going to Thursdays instead of Fridays.

Day 3

Today I decided to go and give the treadmill a shot. I was suppose to go for up the hill practice, but that was just too much work. Ran for -
2 miles @ 4.5 miles, last .3 @ 5.0, 2 walk breaks in between @ 3.5
totally exhausting!

Marathon

I can't believe it, but I have actually started training for Half-Marathon. If I can finish it, it will be one more personal achievement for me after the Inca Trail in April. I started a new blog for the training -
http://tulika-run.blogspot.com/

Day 2

Sunday was a break day, and I totally enjoyed it. Today morning I decided to go for a 1/2 hr run in the nearby park. It started out well, I got up early, went out, no rain. But I got really tired in only 20 min, and since I was running all by myself, it got boring and I abandoned last 10 min and came back home. Not feeling very good about it, but its just the second day anyway.

A series of unfortunate events

I don't know why I read this book. Everywhere in the book it says that its not a happy book, no happy ending, no happy beginning and nothing happy in between. But that was ok, its a story and tured out to be somewhat interesting. But the writing style us just awful, with each word there is a detour to explain the meaning of the word, real annoying, made me wonder if I am reading a story book or taking a english lesson. The style of writing really makes you feel that its a adult writing for children, making the assumption that they are dumb and do not know anything. I can see that author wants to use difficult words, and then also give the meaning in case dumb children did not understand what the word means, but then why use the word in first place, just use the simpler word instead. That would be a art for writing children's books which the author clearly lacks. I have read other children's books (Harry Potter for instance) and have really enjoyed them, but this one was just awful.

Day 1 Week 1

Today was day 1 of the training, surprisingly good weather on the Green Lake. The goal was to run 1 mile, maybe 2, but I ended up running 3 miles, thanks to the company of Meghana and Reema. It was fun, I have never been able to run more than 2 miles on the treadmill, but running outside 3 miles gave me real confidence, maybe I can do it afterall!

Morning, noon and night - Sidney Sheldon

This is a average novel by Sidney Sheldon, or maybe now that I have read so many, he has become predictable. Its kind of a thriller, takes twists and turns Sheldon style, there are surprises in every chapter. If you decide to spend time to read this book, it will not disappoint you.
Like most Sheldon's novels, its the story of a very rich businessman, his childen, out of wedlock (fancy word!) children, story of rich people's greed for money, betrayal and contented lives of not so wealthy.

Surprise Creek - what a surprise!

So after coming back from Inca Trail adventure, I had decided that I was done for the hiking this season. But on Friday after Srijan's mail about going to this wonderful Surprise Creek hike, and Rahul's convincing, I decided to go.
http://www.wta.org/~wta/cgi-bin/wtaweb.pl?3+tg+fetch+english+1112
The hike was such a disaster for me. Only after 1/2 a mile of walking we started seeing snow on the path which got deeper and deeper. I was totally scared that either we are going to get lost in the snow or I am going to fall in one of the holes in snow and become a Discovery Channel story. We somehow reached covered a couple of miles, crossing perilious creeks, falling, getting up. Had our lunch at a some point. After lunch we started to climb higher and snow got deeper, that's when I wanted to call it a day, I knew I could not go all the way to the creek, path and time were both against us, and there did not seem much point in climbing any higher. If only we had read this story before, it would have saved lot of trouble.
http://www.wta.org/~wta/cgi-bin/wtaweb.pl?7+reports+displayM+2006050400

BITS, Pilani Video

Found this great nostalgic video of BITS, Pilani in 2005. Really cool, amazing work!

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-4980019485488318714&q=pilani

... and Google Earth presents...
BITS Pilani

... and even more pictures. Beware - there are 200+ photos here, and it will take more than 30min, and you can't stop once you started.
http://camelinthedesert.blogspot.com/2005/04/photos-from-bits-april-2005.html

Freakonomics

Prey - Michael Crichton

Wiki- different from blog??

Found a good wiki -
http://www.pbwiki.com/?ref=Tour7

easy password protection, upload file / photos, easy to edit.

Saturn in our backyard ...

.... ok, in the telescope in our balcony.
After months of clouds, it was finally clear sky today. We had kept the telescope outside to get it cool down and were thinking about going out to see Saturn, actually thinking about not going because it was so cold. Then I went out, thinking that the direction is right, Saturn should be in the direction of our balcony and there were a couple of bright things showing. So then as the telescope was anyway outside, I just pointed it to the most Saturn-like thing and that was it!! And we could clearly see the rings from 10mm lense, though not the colours. And there were 2 bright things near it, donno if any of them was its moon. Need more studying to figure out.