the hills of Kikland

So today was last practice long run. It was not really long, probably ran close to 6 miles, but it was tough, tiring. I decided to run in Seattle, finally see the neighborhood. Since I am suppose to avoid running on hard surface, I decided to go and run at Bridle Trails State Park. ya, there is a state park smack in the middle of Redmond/Kirkland/Bellevue. Running up the the park was mostly uphill, not very bad. There is a footbrdige to cross 405. The view of Lake and Seattle was awesome from the bridge. I also saw a glimpse of Space Needle. If it was a clear day, view of Olympics would have been great too.

The State Park is really a jungle! As soon as I entered the park, it felt like I am in a jungle, no sign of city anywhere and any momemt a wild animal will jump on my path! Once I reached the proper trail, it was better. The rain from yesterday had made everything very wet. Soon I figured out the different between trail running and street running. Trail, though softer, but still is no level and there are stones, things on the trail which needed to be avoided. Few minutes of running lead to the main entrance and a map. Now I was a bit confused where I was. So I ran in one direction, it did not seem right, the trail was narrow and feeling overgrown. So then I started in the other direction, this also did not feel good. So I gave up, its better to just go out and run on the pavement. While going out, I changed my mind and decided to finish at least one loop. It was looking nice wide trail. That was a mistake. Few minutes on the trail, it climbed steeply. That must have been the hill between 116th and 120th Ave. After the climb, it leveled off and surprisingly I reached the junction of couger and some other trail. First I thought I would take Couger trail as originally planned, its 3.5 mile into the park. But I was feeling claustrophobic by now, surrounded by too many trees. So I decided to just get out of there. That's when panic began! I am lost! Its a labyrinth of trails and with so many trees just cannot figure out where u r. I started in one direction and it did not look right. So I thought lets just retrace your steps.  But then there was a junction and I did not at all remember from which direction I came, everything was looking the same. Finally I chose one way and it looked about right. I was so happy to finally get out of the park!

Next I decided to run down to Kirkland waterfront. Open lake would be a good change. The way from 108th ave down to water is all steep downhill. I cannot believe that we actually live on a hill. Whole of kirkland is a hill! If this city was not there, this would have been a beautiful forest area which we would have been hiking to get to lake washington :). alas! its all been destroyed now. Once reaching the waterfront, I was nice. I ran along the water for a bit. Took a 10 min break near the lake, just relaxing. After that ran all uphill back to the apartment.

better better

As you can see from frequency of blog post that my training has reduced so I suddenly have a LOT of free time at hand. Today finally got back on the treadmill. It felt apprehensively good. Leg was fine mostly. Ran / walked for 30 min. It was good to feel that I can still run! Took extra precaution to warm up for 10 min, then stretch the calf muscles. Then ran for 20 min @5, the normal speed. That did not even come close in intensity to regular workout, but it gave me some more confidence that I can go out and do my 8 mile run tomorrow.
After that to complete the cardio, decided to bike for 20 min. uff! its hard! Whatever doubts I had in my mind about trying STP are totally cleared now.
Hopefully off to 8 miler tomorrow!

getting better

Maybe I am speaking too early, but at least today morning there was almost no pain while walking down to office. Maybe its the shoes, I switched back to my Nike walkers for whole day walking, they are in really old shape now, but I have total trust on Nike now. Maybe its the mustard oil which I have been applying religiously to the foot now. Or its just time and rest, or its fake! Anyhow, I decided not to run again today, so that's 5 days in a row without running. Instead worked out on eliptical, no where close to the usual workout I was getting. The big decision now is what to do with Saturday. I am support to run 8 miles, and I want to run 8 miles but where. Is treadmill any better than road? Where am I going to find non-paved road trail to run on.

Shin Splint!

The thing that most runners dread happened, and I don't want to talk about it.

Its called shin splint, though doctors give it fancier name to scare you even more. Mine is in on the upper part of the leg, mid-way between foot and knee. So I kind of know its weaker and stressed calf muscles, plus wrong footing, I don't know. Its the kind that gets better after you have run a couple of miles as the muscles warm up, and also the kind which comes back once the intense activity is over. I have been running through it for a few weeks now because it always got better in the Sunday. But not this time, less than 2 weeks for marathon, this is the last thing I need. Morale and confidence is at a all time low, even lower than what it was before my first 15 miler. For the first time I can see myself collapsing mid way with a broken leg / muscles / shin or whatever. There is also the doubt that what being out of action for almost 2 weeks will do to my fitness. Tried biking today as its non-weight-bearing thing that you can do, and man! it sucks! I just could not get my heart rate up to normal running aerobic level without killing my legs. I don't think I can do it 2 days in a row. I was sitting there on that stupid bike, watching this other person running away on the treadmill! Oh hell, I even miss the treadmill now. Will give running another shot tomorrow, and then Friday break and then hopefully a 7 - 8 miler on Saturday. Running outside is out of question, so its probably going to be on the treadmill.

13 miler

This week was 13 mile day as part of taper down. I decided to run in Seattle again, close to lake Union. This time the plan was to run it the other way, starting from Lake Wash Blvd to UW. Happy to note that I found the run easy. There were hills and flats, the usual of Seattle. After a 2 mile warm up, hills were not so hard. So I can run 13 miles easily, the real question is if I can still complete the full 26.2 miles!


Here is my route - URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2917188

the hills i hate

or like. I have had this hate - like relationship with hills since I started running. First I obviously hated them. Till I actually started running on absolutely flat grounds of New Jersey. That is when I missed them, and started liking them (note, its not possible to love hills, however hard you try). Hills are "good" change, they suddenly wake you up, you need to start putting more effort and concentration on running, as oppose to running on flat, where after a while its just mindless robotic action of putting one foot in front of other. And there is almost always a nice downhill to look forward to. Not to mention when you are on top of the hill, its a good sense of achievement.
But today the story was different. For whatever reason, it was not a day to run. I started half heartedly, though there was no reason for that. I finally had 8 hours of sleep. I should be up awake and refreshed. Still with every step, I just wanted to go back, call it quits. My left leg had started bothering again. I am sure more than half of the pain was imaginary! At one point, I started walking back, giving myself reasons that I need the rest, I can do this tomorrow, this Saturday is only 13 miles, I can do this on Sunday. Still somehow I managed to reach the start of hill. Good thing is that you start going downhill and then turn back to run uphill. So I managed to go down. Made the first uphill trip. It felt like a mile and I had to stop in between. Made a second trip too. At this point, all doubts were back and I wanted to call it quits. 3 is a good number. Still somehow managed to convince myself that if I did 2 more, I will actually be done with hill training for the week! So somehow I managed the 5 trips up and down the stupid hill.

I hope its better tomorrow.

15 miles

When running downhill becomes harder and more painful than running uphill, then you know you have had it! That was the experience in my last 3 runs of 18, 21 and 20 miles. No so today. Today was an "easy" 15. I wanted to make sure that I find it easy, so that I am not demoralized. So I chose to run the familiar Sammamish River Trail. Its flat, I have been there many times, its familiar ground. The strategy worked. For the first time I ran at a pace faster than 12, I finished my run in 2 hr 50 min as oppose to 3 hrs. I would not say it was easy. Nothing is easy beyond 13 miles. But it was not grueling or painful. I remember my first 15 mile run. After that I was almost dead, I had come home and slept whole day helucinating. This was nothing like that. I was in pretty good shape after the run, and spent rest of the day cleaning the apartment. The only nuisance throughout the run was waterbottle. I hate carrying it in my hand, and it keeps bouncing on the back.

Donation number 1

Now that I have some confidence and feel like I would actually finish the marathon, 50% of the work is done. The next 50% of work to achieve my goal is the actual fund raising. Started sending out e-mails today, and very encouragingly got my first donation within an hour! Googlers just rock when it comes to turn around time :) Still long way to go both in donation and for actual run. Lets just hope and wish that I can make it from start line to finish line!

4 more weeks to go

a 13 mile route for next to next week.
URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2879890

A weekend of perfection

This weekend was a weekend of never ending fun and activity. I still cannot believe that so much can be compressed in 2 & 1/2 days. Summer has arrived and days are getting longer!
It started with awesome sunny Friday. When its sunny outside Seatlites cannot think of anything but going out and enjoying the sun. So that's what we did Friday evening getting off from work early. We went on a short hike to Cedar Butte, 3 miles 900ft. The hike was good, nothing remarkable, but definitely refreshing.

Saturday is running day. It was warm and cloudy, best weather to run. We decided to go to Seward Park and do some running on the actual trail. It was just 2 of us, me and a walker. So I did my run by myself, the way I like it. Most of the run was on Seward Park Ave with its awesome peak-a-boo views of the lake and trees and houses beyond. As expected, the street is also lined with beautiful houses with immaculate lawns and gardens. It was just a very relaxing run. When I reached Seward Park, I was totally blown away by the surrounding beauty. It seemed to good to be true that I was there in that beautiful place, on my own, free and running! So I ran some more.
10:30am - was back at home and had my usual big bowl of milk and cereal.
12:50pm - Saturday is also Salsa day. Though I was a little tired, but I decided to go for the class anyway.
2:15pm - was back from dance class. Activities of the weekend over. So I did some housekeeping work. Finally tried to take a nap and then heard that Harry Potter is on TV @8.
7:50pm - Harry Potter

Sunday - another beautiful sunny day. Took my time to get up.
10:00am - Started doing some cooking for the week etc.
12:00noon - BITSian lunch. Met a bunch of BITSians in Seattle. For the first time in gathering, I was actually the oldest one. But its always fun to meet folks from BITS.
3:00pm - Ended the long lunch. It was at a Italian place afterall. Then we headed over to to get together to decide where to go, how to make the best use of this sunny Sunday.
5:00 - Finally decided to head to Seward Park again. I was anyway totally blown away by its beauty yesterday.
8:00pm - Back to eastside for a home cooked dinner. Perfect end to a perfect weekend.

Final 20 mile

.... before the final 26.2.
This Saturday I ran my last 20 mile of the training. It was a very heartening 20 mile because I ran it with little difficulty. To be modest I would say, its mainly because the last 10 mile was almost flat, running around lake Union.
I started heading towards UW from Montlake bridge. Soon I was on the old Burke-Gilman trail, running the same route I ran for training in 2005. I ran upto Revenna Park, and then Greenlake. At Greenlake, met chuck and other folks from his group. From Greenlake, I was heading towards Golden Garden Beach, via 80th St. If you have ever been on that street, you know its made up of grueling hills after hills. While still in my first 8 mile, I ran those hills with the same zeal as I run the flats of West Lake Sammamish. After every hill, I had a peak-a-boo view of the Olympic mountains. It was just a perfect cloudless day, and I was happy that I started early.
At the end of 80th, I reach a short road that leads me to the windy hill road down to Golden Garden beach. I ran down that nicely, not at all envying the people running up the road. I was over my only hilly stretch and its all a easy cruise from here. After some time, the road becomes narrow with no side walk. So I ran down fast, faster than I have run any downhill and soon realized that its not a good idea, its more taxing on knees and legs than running uphill. So I slowed down and took a set of stairs down till it was safe to run on the road again. I reached the beach easily, very little tiredness till now. The beach was really refreshing. Beautiful view of all sailboats in water, Olympic mountains in horizon. I just wished, I could sit there and spend the afternoon.
But no can do. After lingering enough to get some rest, I started running Seaside Ave towards Lake union. This was the route we took when running the first 10 mile. It seemed so easy now :). Once I reached Ballard, all my excitment of running by the lake vanished. Lake Union must be one of the most.

20 mile route UW - Green Lake - Lake Union

URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2861706

Easy 5 miler

I cannot believe how easy 5 mile running is now. Ran a easy 5 mile, though still at a place of 12. Don't know how to improve that speed. This will drop down to 4 mile an hour when getting into mile 20 and 6 hr target would be a problem. My leg is bothering me too, so will have to do something about that, its really disheartening.

An easy 10 mile

This was a easy weekend. I decided to run 10 miles on East Lake Sammamish trail. This was a perfect day for that since most of the trail is in shade. I started off lazily around 7:30. Ran through Marymoor Park and only East Lake Sammamish trail. It a nice gravel trail, I am guessing better for the feet than the hard tar road. 10 mile was quite easy. My right leg and knee has been troubling me though. I probably should put an end to hiking for now, cannot let the knee trouble go into June. The next 2 months are going to be all about running and nothing else.

21 mile weekend

Finally, I crossed the 20 mile barrier and in style with hills! Initially I had decided to drive down to Seward Park in Seattle. From there I could run down and back to Rainier Ave, taking the actual marathon course I ran last weekend, and then run up to Montlake Blvd on Lake Washington Blvd, take the bus and back. Seemed like a reasonable route for first 20 miler. But as it happens, the driving plans fell thru in the morning. It was disappointing, as I was really excited to run that beautiful trail. So I decided, ok, I will take the bus to Montlake and then run down and back to Seward Park. Its about 20 miles with the Madison Ave hill, but that is ok.

So that is what I did. I took the 7:30 545 to go to Seattle. I was on train by 7:50am starting at E Lake Wash Blvd from Montlake bridge. It starts out flat and very soon hits the Arboretum. At that place there is no way to run on Lake Wash Blvd anymore, it has not side walk as it winds down sharply. But there are trails inside Arboretum which I though should just lead me to other side and back on Lake Wash blvd. But within 10 min I was lost in that jungle. There are trails that lead to no where and trails that seem to be going noth whole actually going east. Somehow I ended up on a paved motor road. With no clue as to which direction i should be going to join Lake Wash blvd and also if I join it would there be a way to run on it! So I ask someone walking there, where the hell is LWB! They point me to a direction which looks all wrong! I should be going towards the lake, but this seems to be going away. Maybe I am totally disoriented here. I start the way they tell me and soon its not a flat road anymore, its up and down and down and up (well, not that much, but it seems like that when u r running in doubt). But I keep running and hoping its the right direction and I don't end up at the beginning of LWB again! Then I spot a water fountain and that just helps, at least there is water. I take 2 min rest, refill my bottle. Another 5 min and I see a map. Oh great! bless the soul that bothered to put it there with "You are here" marker. Its clear now that LWB is 500 ft away, what's still not clear is if it has side walk to run on. So I run upto the road, and there is a sidewalk to run on. Awesome.

Now I am at LWB, just couple of miles into my run, its looking nice. Another 10 min of running and I hit Madison Ave. Awesome! Now I know where I am. Cool.

Beyond Madison Ave, LWB starts winding down steeply and there is no sidewalk. So cannot run that way. No problem, I know I can take Madison Ave, and then McGulliver (or sthg like that) and that will take me back to LWB. So I happily head right on Madison Ave. Hmm, there is this huge hill. Oh! the Madison Ave Hill, I know all about it, we used to dread it while training for Seattle half. Still, something is not right. I am suppose to go towards 42nd St and number are decreasing here. So I did the only logical thing I could do, ran up that steep hill to see where is the lake! On top of the hill, I am pretty much dead from the steep uphill run by now, totally demoralized as I am lost in space. I see a waterbody behind me. So that should be the lake. Wait a minute, is that Puget Sound? More confusion! So finally I ask someone on the street, where the hell is that lake! And as feared, I was running in wrong direction, the lake is on the other side, so I climbed that stupid hill for no reason. No worries, its practice and from now on its all downhill. Running back towards LWB, crossing it and heading in right direction this time. And wait, one more hill, so that is the Madison Ave Hil!!!. Anyway, its fine, I know where I am, things are looking good. I am back on Seattle Marathon course and that makes me feel good.

Things are looking familiar now, so I know I am going in right direction. Soon I hit Galer, and all purani yadein aare taza. How we used to run up Galer to practice hills. This time, I am running down it, onto McGuliver blvd. From there is a easy-breezy 8 mile run down to Seward Park. There are minor hills here, but mostly flat along the lake. Running is fun again. As I hit I90, I realize the long way I have come since starting Seattle Marathon 2 years ago. I love the part after I90, its beautiful. Most of the cherry flowers are gone, still there are petals on the road, and shade of trees, its a beautiful sunny day. As I near Seward Park, I am hitting the 11th mile. Things obviously start getting tough now. I feel like turning back, still I want to get there, I have to get there, I have to complete my 20 mile today. So I get there.

At Seward Park I meet Atul. He is also still doing his run. After I stop, talk to him, eat GU, drink water, I have new energy. I am feeling good, a little fatigue, but not much. And well, at this point I only have to run 10 mile back to the bus! I run a little bit into the park as I want to make sure that I am not even 100 meter below 20 mile. I want to run upto 1/2 mile mark to give me that extra buffer, still it seems pointless after a bit and I give up and return.

Run back from Seward Park was uneventful and long. There was one person I overtook and that felt awesome. Once I reached I-90, I had new energy, its not far now another 5 miles max. So I keep running. GU and inertia has kicked in by now and stopping or walking is more painful that running. Back on McGulliver, I feel great. Not far now. I am definitely walking up the hill of Galer to Madison. Now things get fuzzy and dizzy. My legs are really tired and won't let me run anymore. On top of that its hilly, God! send a bus, do something. Nothing happens. There is still the uncertainty of finding my way back from the mess of Arboretum. I see a bench and shade. So I sit down. I am sure I am still at least 4 miles away. So I sit for few minutes, drink some water and then start again. I am at my 17th or 18th mile and things are outright nasty at this point. Even running downhill is a pain. I cannot believe I am doing this, I am still running! Somehow I reach LWB. Ah! bless that sight. There is shade and downhill run. From there Arboretum drive comes really quickly. I have new energy now. I am going to make it! Somehow I cross the road and start running on Arboretum Dr. I refill my bottle on a water fountain and keep running. Soon I find the point where I am suppose to get into the Arboretum, its marked by Japanese Maple sign. I love that sign, I want to hug it and tell it how much it means to me. From here I know that I am trust my direction sense to take me back to LWB, from where I can easily go down to bus stop. And I am right. Once on the trail, it was not hard to find my way out. I was soon running the last 1 mile on LWB headed towards 545 bus stop. It was just awesome! I managed to survive and I knew that at this point if there were 5 more miles to run, I could do it.

A 20 mile route from Seward park to 520

URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2804461
This is a 20 mile route starting from Seward Park, one way up to Montlake Blvd bridge (to catch 545 back to Redmond). It covers part of Rock'n'Roll (till I90) and part of Seattle marathon (after I90) course and all of it is really beautiful. The best thing is that its one-way!

20 mile on Lake Wash Blvd

URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2790804 + another round of Seward Park.
An out and back path starting from Seward Park. Covers part of Rock'n'Roll course.

18 mile!

Finished a 18 mile run today + 1 mile walk. Went all the way to mile 10 at Sammamish River Trail which is suppose to be the end of it.
http://www.mapmyride.com/ride/united-states/wa/redmond/513124046910459067
Pace was slow, but hopefully it will improve as there are still 8 more weeks. Till 8 mile it was alright, easy coasting. After that it was getting a little difficult. By the time I reached the park which is at 9.5 mile mark, it was tiring. Then I took a break at the park, refill water, eat a GU. Then restarted to reach the 10 mile mark. The small rest definitely helped, and plus the scenic flat route made it easier to cover the distance. Also I noticed that I am running quite slow, close to 13.2 pace as oppose to my regular 12. The actual course has so many hills that I really need to work on speed if I want to finish this in under 6hrs.

The summer of 2009

Summer is still kind of far. But I am here sitting at this All-Hands meeting and planning for summer is best way to kill time. This summer is probably one of the last couple in Seattle, and in US, so a lot needs to be compressed in the short 3 months. And I totally live by moto - Dream big, plan for the best, hope for the best, be prepared for the worst (like breaking hand on a stupid hike).
So what's in store for summer of 2009.

* Enchantments backpack - plans to apply for permit already in place
* St Helens - its time to climb it!
* Mailbox peak
* Granite Mtn
* Half-dome
* Bryce and Zion canyons

And I hope I can finish the season with a trip to Patagonia or Killi!!

Whidbey marathon course map

URL for this route is: http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2533538
Could not run this one, but its suppose to be one of the most beautiful marathons. Maybe do the half next year!

Uphill running

So all this running and training and weight lifting seems to be paying off. I can not only call 8 mile an easy 8 miles, yesterday I managed to run the 1/2 miles uphill from my place to 148th in one go, and did not even break a sweat. Ok, so the latter part could be because it was so cold. Last summer when I was doing my hill training here, I could not even cover half that distance before stopping to catch my breath. Running all the way to 148th used to be an achievement in itself. This Wednesday it was an easy run up there, and I no more dread getting up to Grasslawns park.

--
tuls

15 miles!

I ran like 15 miles today! unbelievable! This is the first time I ran over half-marathon distance. The first 12 miles were not easy, but quite doable. The last 3 miles were really hard. I finished it in a good 3hr 15min. The fact that I already had 12 miles behind me just kept me going. I did not want to give up and I made it alive. It was near perfect day to run, temp 10C, perfectly sunny, though a little bit of clouds would have helped.

12 miles

After missing long runs because of snow and vacation, today was time to do 13 miles. The day was cold and very cloudy, suppose to rain. Still it seemed like a good day to run. I started late, 10ish. Immediately outside I could feel a light misty drizzle, a typical of Seattle day. I had to wear a light waterproof jacket, not breathable. I first ran a small 2 miler, and then another 10 miles. First time reached the 5&1/2 mile mark. It was fun, difficult, but not killing.

East lake sammamish trail mile marker

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2442016

--
tuls

Don't drive your passion, let your passion drive you --- Tulika Agrawal.

One more reason to love Seattle

So here is why I love Seattle. I get up in the morning, there is sunrisish outside my window. Can't see well bcoz of too many trees (don't love that part). Anyway I get up, get ready, head out to take the bus to office. The road seems slick and slippery, happy that I don't have to drive. And then I came upon this breathtaking view of Olympic ranges in front. I have never seen Olympics this clearly, different ranges were visible. And in front of that a glimpse of lake washington. The only glitch in this scenery was the hill of Seattle homes between lake and mountains. Else this was a perfect painting if nature. Made my day.

8 mile

ah, what a perfect day to run. Decided to run 8 miles today to get back on the course of preparing for marathon. It was a great run.

--
tuls

Don't drive your passion, let your passion drive you --- Tulika Agrawal.

Seattle sunsets

Did I ever mention that Seattle gets the most beautiful sunsets (everytime sun is out). I have never seen a usual sunset here, every sunset is full of vivid colours over beautiful mountain range. All this is made possible by the constant cloud cover, and presence of Olympic Mountains. The combination makes every sunset unique. I am sure this is true for sunrises, but they are harder to come as cloud cover is usually thicker in the morning. And then I can see sunset from my office window, but cannot see sunrise. I think I am going to make it a point to capture all sunsets from now on, use my digicam :)

BDay

Another BDay is here. How much ever I try or want no celebration, let the day pass as a normal day and forget that one more year is over, celebrations just seem to happen in Seattle. Yesterday night Rahul made some cake (Devil's food, yummy) and then some folks came over for mid-night cake cutting.
For tonight I had happened to find a nice Italian restaurant for a quiet dinner for 2. This seemed like one of very few restaurants where i actually would like to go and eat. But when your husband refuses a romantic dinner, you know something is fishy and you hope that its a surprise party with friends!. So ya, a surprise party tonight.
Its fine, its been a good year, mummy finally visited, had a goodish trip with her, pulled off a nice Orlando vacation. Finally moved back to Seattle and getting settled here. Ran Seafair half-marathon. Did quite a few good hikes, including really challenging hoh river backpacking. Broke my hand. In all a ok year I suppose.

Dinner and A movie

without the dinner of course. So yesterday I decided not to go for dinner and movie with the guys. No surprises there, neither in the fact that I was confused till the last moment. Then a car shows up at my doorsteps without giving me a final chance to say no. So I was like, what the hell, dinner (not eating) only takes about 1/2 an hr and then I will be back in no time and do some house work (haa haa haa haa haa). So I change, put on lenses and comb hair in record time and out of the door. Dinner was pleasant, I was still elated at having finally met all deadlines, checked in code, borken build and fixed it and have my manager tell me relax, you are doing good. Ok, not all deadlines some review stuff still left, but you don't expect me to care about that! After dinner, movie time. uhm, I don't like movies, they make my head hurt, especially the english ones. But someone without deciding, I saw myself deciding to go for it. Come on, what are you going to do at home anyway, house work! haa haa. Our intended 9:40 show was sold out, a sign Tulika, go back home. But at that point I was pretty much stuck in Bellevue. So went along for the 10:25 show. Burn after Reading. For one I did not understand the title for long time, till someone actually said it during the movie! And it turned out to be a total timepass movie, hans hans ke pet mein dard ho gaya. Koi story nahin, sirf comedy. Isko Bheja Fry ke saath compare kar sakte hein!
Lesson learnt: Sometimes imprompto non-decidsions for dinner and movie turn out good.

Hoh River Trail

The ultimate backpacking experience....
No they did not pay me ask me to write a ad for them.
This weekend we went on a 34 mile backpacking trail to Glacier Meadows along Hoh River in Olympic national park. We planned it as a 3 day backpack, with first and last day flat walk with backpacks and second day loong 14 mile hike without backpack. I was apprehensive about the 14 mile, it involved a 4000ft+ height gain and loss. Oh well, its going to be a challenge, big deal.

Day1: As usual we started more than an hr later than planned. Packing took quite sometime as lot of things need to be divided. Everyone's pack was around 30lbs, I would guess same as Grand Canyon pack. The trail started out as very flat and in a very dense forest. Dense as in temperate rain forest dense, huge moss covered trees. I would say almost spooky.

My thoughts on salsa

So its been 2 months since I am going for salsa classes, and ya, I do like it and getting better at it. It will still be another 3 - 4 months before I can really be confident, still getting there. Now salsa is a interested choice for someone who does know what the meaning of "follow" is. I mean, me, doing something where I do not know and control what the next move is, something is terribly wrong with this picture! But still, here I am, learning salsa and want to learn more of the ballroom dances. I guess its a balancing act, let go and have someone else do the thinking, for once. Focus on following the lead, because it does need lot of focus especially when leaders are people who have no idea what they are doing. ya, me wondering now if I should invent the new form of dance where both can lead ;). We can call it salsa roja (pronounced as roha), salsa with spices.

"approved" laptop bags

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1829687,00.html?cnn=yes

To qualify as "checkpoint friendly," a bag must have a designated laptop-only section that unfolds to lie flat on the X-ray machine belt and contains no metal snaps, zippers or buckles and no pockets.

Obviously the security people are not going to look at each laptop bag and tell you to either take the laptop out or leave it in. That would totally defeat the purpose. So in the end it will boil down to are you carrying the laptop bag with approval seal. One more way for manufacturers to charge an insane amount for their "authority approved" merchandise, like the ziplock bags. What's next, approved shoes, approved shampoo and conditioner, approved knife, gun ......

Indian Ocean in Seattle

Indian Ocean came to Seattle on 11th August. It was definitely one of the best concerts I have been to, and the only instrumental music that I enjoy. Their music does not really need words, each node seems to speak 100 words. And when they add words to it, lyrics are great and Asheem's and Rahul's voices are like magic. Not to mention Susmit's mischievous smile and Amit's flowing hair that add to their whole performance. After the performance we even got to talk to the band, they are really nice humble people. Great band!

drinking coffee in Seattle

Now I am a true Seattlite. I am on to my second coffee of the week (TGIF). Makes me wonder, how could I live in Seattle and love Seattle and not drink coffee! It started on a very tired and sleepy Wednesday morning. I thought what the hell, lets give that fancy coffee thingy a try, if nothing it will pass some time and wake me up. So I took a cup of Kona coffee, put it in the machine and took out #6 amount of coffee. Filled up my cup with milk, reheated everything. Tasted yuck! So added a packet of sugar, grudgingly! and vola! you got a coffee for yourself. Not bad. Been doing some research and its very addictive and not good. So no more than 2 cups a week for me. Today again in middle of dozing off while making some never ending unittest changes, I drank another cup. I think like dark chocolate and wine, it just starts growing on you after a while. But last thing I want is another addiction in my life, so limiting it to 2 cups a week! No coffee on weekends.
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tuls

Cannot park buckbeak?

For some reason, I am finding it amazingly difficult to park buckbeak. While with my old Corolla, I could park it into tinyest of compact spaces, parallel park it and even reverse angle park it. But now I just cannot get it to park well even in a non-compact spaces on left side, which is like the easier thing. I guess part of the reason is that I cannot see the nose at all and cannot estimate rear length either, its like sitting in a black box (literally and figuratively). I got my old parking spot in office garage back, but this car just refuses to get in there. In Seattle, it was impossible to parallel park this guy in a space good enough for a van, just impossible! Someone please teach me how to park a car!

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tuls

http://tulika-run.blogspot.com - marathon blog

Name that car

Got my car. Finally did end up buying Scion Tc, automatic, but in grey colour. But that's ok, its a popular colour (though that is what makes is little uncool). Don't ask why I bought it, no reason, just wanted to buy a Scion Tc. Actually really really wanted to buy a Acura RSX, but they stopped producing that, so this was closest match. Calling it Buckbeak. For those who live in caves and do not know the history behind this name - Buckbeak is a Hippogriff, owned originally by Hagrid. He saved Sirius from Minisrty of Magic at a point. If you do not know who Hagrid and Sirius are, I cannot help you. Wake up and look here http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Buckbeak.
So back to the car. It has been named Buckbeak, good thing that its grey. Hope lives upto the repu.

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tuls

salsa! finally!

ok, finally finally I convinced myself to take salsa classes at Redmond Dance Works Studio. Its close its convenient and I love it. How could I not be taking the classes before. I started with the 2nd level course. After taking the first level a couple of times, its time to move on to 2nd. Though I still need to revise and work on my basics, but that will happen in time. Its all about practice and practice and I am all set to do it.
Yesterday went to century ballroom for dance social. Drove all the way to Seattle. It was ok, as predicted, since I am still learning, and did not know many people there, it was not that much fun. Its of course better to dance with people at your level so that both of you are concentrating on learning. Oh well, maybe next time.

Google Saree!!!!

They would go to any extent to cash on Google brand name and market for free.

http://www.sizzledcore.com/2008/06/19/google-saree-by-indian-designer-satya-paul/

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tuls

http://tulika-run.blogspot.com - marathon blog

Seafair Marathon 2008

Finished with the half-marathon in 2:38, an improvement over last year.
The course http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=2011049
This course was totally killing, one nasty hill after another. The beginning was at husky stadium and it took us over 520. Bridge run was good, but since it was the first 2 mile, it was kind of hard. The sun was also at full blast on the bridge. This is the time when you are warming up and everyone else is passing you by. View of rainier was great, though there was some fog. After the first water station at 2 mile, I was well warmed up. The uphill of 520 was ok, by end of the bridge I was running along nicely as if I can run forever. Till mile 6.5, first relay exchange it was nice, some shade, some sun.
After mile 7 was the killer hill. A very long all uphill stretch. I ran half of it, but the other half just had to walk. I recovered most of the time lost when going downhill. But this was just the beginning, one rolling hill after another. I tried to run most of it. The advantage of this uphill-downhill course was that mile 7 - 10 just passed by without notice. It was pretty much running one uphill to other.
Around mile 9, there was another very steep nasty hill, which everyone was walking. That made me most tired. On the way some people were out with their garden hoses, spraying water on runners, good fun for them, and keeping it cool for us.
The course was somewhat flat after mile 9. Long flat stretch. Which was a good refresher after the rolling hills. Though by this time I was really tired. Mile 10 - 12 were really tough, especially the last hill just before mile 12 was pretty much a crawl. Once mile 12 was over, it was mostly downhill from there and the last mile was much easier.

12 miles and more

Did not update for a while. There was moving and then there was cold. Now feeling good. Tried to run 12 miles last to last week. It was a total disaster, really needed those energy drinks and lighten up on full sleeves and full slacks.
Weekday runs were ok, mostly practicing hills, it was good.
Now time for practice is over! the show is this Sunday and weather looks great!

easy 6.6 mile

Among all the packing and head aches, I ran an easy 6.6 mile on Monday. I really need to start running on weekdays to build the stamina.

New shoes and almost 12 miles.

Got new shoes from Nike store in orlando. Today was the day to take them out on a loong test run. The shoes did great, fitted well, and like good running shoe did not feel new. They are not as good as Rahul's, but are +, meaning can connect to my hypothetical iPod.

Was suppose to run 12 miles today. Started around 6:30, good early start. First 4 miles were easy, surprisingly easy. Then had to take a break to meet Rahul. After that next couple of miles were ok too. After the 10th mile, it got really hard, energy totally spent. Its ok, this was just the first 12 miler and I had not been running all week. Next one will sure be better. It took a total of 3 hrs with breaks and walks etc.

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=1927042

almost 6 miles today

Today was a good day to run. Started out a little late for the weekday, @6:45, but it was a perfect day. Temperatures in 10C, slightly cloudy, good wind. I started out thinking will run for 30 min., then thought on 45. By the time I was 30 min into the run, I was, well, totally into it. So decided to so my pending 6 mile run. Ran to the second bridge at liberty state park, did the little uphill pilgrimage and then ran back through the first bridge. It was nice, except water was a problem. By then end of 4th mile, I was totally dehydrated. Knee and ankle had started doing funny things. Somehow survived the last 2 miles. Wasted lot of time walking around, looking for water, so took almost 1hr 10 min. But over all a very good run. Lesson learnt, always carry water. Next week its another 10 miler!

run-o-walk-o-run

Today was not a good day to run. Started out on a negative note, did not want to run. Ran a little, then was very thirsty. Spent 10 minutes looking for water at liberty state park. Found it. Ran some more, walked so more. Just no mood. By 45 min and in mile 4, I had totally given up any pretense of running. Only thing that was driving my legs to move faster was the intolerable smell of water and what not. Somehow managed to get back to VanVorst Park and then just walked home. Ran about 4 miles, 2 miles short of target. Got to make it up on Tuesday.

1st 10 miler, woohoo!

Sunday I was suppose to run 10 miles, but as usual I was lazy. So then I had to go out and run that 10 miles today. It was not fun :(. Last 2 miles were a real stretch, half walking, half running and half crawling. After that coming to office, not good. Got to go and sit in the massage chair for a bit.

uphill running

I was looking at the Seafair marathon course and after the bridge its all uphill, no kidding! That is scary. So I decided to devote my tuesdays to practice uphill running, on the treadmill as there are no hills in New York. This tuesday was a total disaster. I happily set my treadmill at elevation of 10 and speed of 4, that sounds easy. But 1 min into it, I was huffing and puffing as if I had run 10 miles. I could not do it! So then I reduced the speed to 3.7, that too was a challenge. So then I reduced the elevation to 8. Ok, that's better, I was able to run for 2 -3 min without stopping (my expectations were quite down by now).
So, that is where I am today, elecvation 8, speed 3.7, minutes 3. Lets see if this practice makes it any better.

Walking on the streets of New York

As anyone who knows me or has been following this blog would have guessed, this post is not about the dreamy narative of walking on streets of New York, mesmarized by huge building blah blah. No. This post is about a real experience of walking on the streets of New York, experience of a common person who is not getting paid by any magazine to write this.

I always wondered, when I used to live in San Francisco, I just used to love walking in downtown. I used to go out during lunch time, just walk around, or take the bus to downtown on weekends, walking places. But here in New York, I just hate it, I cannot wait to get back inside. The reason was kind of obvious, right in front of my eyes, or rather under my nose and feet.

New York is shady and dirty!! I have a short walk, 2 block, about 0.4 mile from train station to office and it is a pain, wrinkling your nose at the smell of garbage everywhere, keeping your eyes fixed on the ground to avoid canine excretes, its very very far from pleasant. And the weather, its either too hot or too cold. San Francisco of course has the advantage of mild climate, along with that its also a place of beauty. Even among the huge skyscrapers, concrete jungle, you can always glimpse the ocean, the bridges or the greenry. Being west coast it also has the advantage of being new, clean and shiny. New York on the other hand is a total concrete jungle, old, smelly, dirty. So now I know why I love San Francisco and have a totally opposite reaction to New York.

oh, well, hopefully its just a few more months!

7 mile in liberty state park

First long run in long time. It was a cloudy, misty day, temperature in lower 10s, a perfect day for long run. We started towards liberty state park, went almost behind the statue of liberty. On the way back I was confused about the miles covered as it had been only 1 hr of running, so I decided to go to the waterfront. In all covered almost 7 miles, last one running, walking and dragging myself through it.

40min run 20 min walk

Ran by NY waterfront again. A solid 40 min run and then some walk. Need to do better next time. Must have covered at least 3.5 miles. Almost same course as last wednesday.

Prepare for the next half-marathon - Seafair

I really wanted to run Jersey marathon because its course is flat, flattest. But winter practice and no running partner drowned all my enthu. Now again, I want to run. This time Seafair half-marathon, first time crossing 520 on foot. Half seems doable, I have already been running at least 3 regularly and 5 sometimes. I only need to decide, stick to my plan and do it. Starting training today, almost 2 & 1/2 months, lets see how it goes.

all is not lost - corporate green initiatives

www.nikereuseashow.com - They take your old atheletic shoes and reuse them to make sports surfaces like basketball, tennis courts, running track etc. Few drop off locations in major cities. You can always mail them the shoe. Its agreat start, given that how quickly people discard their athletic shoes. Go Nike!

3.5 mile run

summer is at our door steps and with that running outside has started. Today was a really good day, bright and sunny, temp in upper 10s. So I went out for a run. Started at 14th st and went down to Murray street, a 3.5 mile round trip. I have done 5+ miles on the treadmill, but this was first long run outside. I used to think that treadmill is hard, but now outside seems much harder. Time to get back in shape.

आत्मनिर्भरता और आजादी

आत्मनिर्भरता और आजादी दो अलग अलग चीज़ें हैं। आत्मनिर्भरता हमेशा आज़ादी नहीं लाती। आज़ादी दिल में होती है। अगर तुम यह महसूस नहीं कर सकते की तुम आजाद हो, कुछ नहीं है जो तुम्हे आगे बढ़ कर कुछ भी हासिल करने से रोक रहा है, तो आत्मनिर्भरता कुछ नहीं है। अक्सर ऐसा होता है कि हम बहूत मेहनत करते हैं। दसवीं क्लास से ले कर कॉलेज तक दिन रात पढ़ाई करते हैं। नई नौकरी में जी जान से काम करते हैं। और फिर हम उस जगह पर पहुँच जाते हैं जहाँ वो सपना सामने होता है। बस हाथ बढ़ा कर उसको पकड़ने कि देर होती है। पर उस समय क्या हम सबमे हिम्मत होती है उस सपने को पकड़ने कि? क्या उस समय हम आगे जाने के लिए आजाद होते हैं? वो एक आखरी कदम उठाने के लिए हिम्मत लगती है।

नहीं, ऐसा नहीं होता है। हम में नहीं होती है वह हिम्मत। एक डर होता है। किस बात का, मुझे नहीं पता। शायद खुश होने का डर। मानो या ना मानो, लोगों में अक्सर खुश होने का डर होता है। और सच में खुश होने के किए आजाद होना ज़रूरी है। और आजाद होने के लिए मन से खुश होना ज़रूरी है।

we shall dance ...

My latest resolution in life is to get back to Salsa dancing. Living in New York, it would be a shame to want to learn it and not do it, there are salsa clubs at every corner. I really enjoyed it back in UCSD, then forgot it all, should be easy to pick up. Here is one very close to office.
http://www.dancechelsea.com/
and there is dancesport http://www.dancesport.com/
and I am sure many more.

passed deception pass

"hearing the water of sound and the sound of water"
Another day in Seattle. Started be best way it can with a dance party at Trinity club. We had to wait in a line for about an hour to get into the club, it was semi worth it. The music was good, and it was a blast dancing again after such a long time. That's one of the things I definitely miss most about Seattle (though while in Seattle I did not go out that much, still there was a option here). We "danced it out" till 2:30a.m. We were back by almost 3:30, and I was asleep before I hit the pillow. The plan for rest of the day was a hike at Deception Pass. I think I had been there before, but maybe not, I remembered the bridge, maybe the beach, not sure. Anyway, so it was an average Seattle day, very cloudy and not raining yet. The drive was ok, been on that road about 20 times. When we got there, it was kind of cold. Though coming from New York, I did not feel it that cold. The bridge and view from bridge was really good. This is where Puget Sound meets Pacific ocean. It was cold and had started raining by the time we got out. We still managed to hike a bit to a "view point", got all wet. On the way back, we went to Thai Tom for dinner, to go.

Ride thru 520 again

ok, so not really nostalgic, because I still believe i never left. But crossing 520 bridge on a super clody day after a long time was nice. On my way to new Google office, I was also driven through salmon bay, fremont area, the places I used to run though more than a year ago. I don't know why, but I do love living in Seattle (or rather love the idea). Its not just social and work life, though they were both great here, but its in the place. Maybe because it was my first real home. But I love the rain and the cloud. Walking down from office, I realized that I actually missed walking in that slight drizzle, under the never breaking canopy of clouds, threatening to soak you at any time, but never actually doing it. Also went and visited the Kirkland waterfront when I first took my telescope out, and where I used to sit early morning to just relax and enjoy moments of solitude, again under a cloudy sky. Oh, well, I will just have to get over it, its like that thing which you know you can have any day, still you cannot have it.

wanderer

I recently saw this movie "Into the Wild" about this guy in his early 20s who sort of runs away from home to go into the wild, to find solitude. After a year or more of roaming all over US, he ends up in Alaska to spend few months "living off the land", but then ends up being dead of starvation. Other than the "being dead" part, the movie was .... (i don't have the right word for it, something good). I have often wondered what it would be like to just go away for a month, alone, away from work, city and everything that defines our life and try to rediscover yourself. I say a month as I know I definately cannot survive without a purpose for more than a month, I would want to go back to work, talk to friends, watch TV! But can I do it for a month. Can one just disappear, go away, wander around, like take a car and go coast to coast. How hard is that if you have the money and the vacations :) During the Peru trip, I did meet few europeans who had been on vacation for 6 months, roaming all over south america. That's quite close, but can I do it. More importantly would I be let to do it, is that even a valid question? I will definately update the blog if I decided to go away, after all I will take my laptop, and my GPS and cell phone along, and will surely find a way to connect to the net, can't live without my daily e-mail.

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tuls

ok one thing i found

that i like about NYC is that i do not have to worry about driving every day. Of course most of the time i hate that i cannot own a car and drive up I5 or 405, but then the everyday thing is somewhat nice. Like today, there is so much snow, suburb roads are mess, but i do not care. I will go home at my usual time by my usual train. kind of nice, especially after driving nightmare in seattle snow. At the same time NY style, I will have to walk for 10 min in super cold weather, and have to stand for another 20 min in dirty crowded train and go back to that silly small apartment with no carpet.

Interesting blog to watch

http://www.winesofeast.com/

The Indian wines.

Intelligence vs Hard work

A very eye opening article
http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=the-secret-to-raising-smart-kids&print=true

bdays - still happy?

When do birthdays stop being happy? at 25, 28, 30, 40, 60, never? I can see myself at 18, being happy that I turned 18, though being in India and at school, it did not mean much at that time. I can totally imagine Shayon being extremely happy at his 21st (is it already over), finally he can go to Indian Ocean concerts he has been missing for years. I am kind of happy at 25 too, don't need to pay extra for car insurance anymore! But can you feel the same at 40, oh great! I turned 40. Well, what is so happy about it, other than now you can use the "age defying" makeup, "wrinkle protection" cream and maybe put away your backpacking gear for good. I guess you could be happy to be still alive in this brutal world, and if you are in that position, could be happy about still holding on to good friends, or having a successful career behind you. Still, at 60 when someone says Happy B'day, doesn't one feel like replying, ya, very happy, its beginning of the end, thanks for reminding me! We should pass a law that after 30 you are not allowed to wish anyone happy birthday, that day does not mean anything, its like a normal day of year, and not a reminder of life passing by. I am sure we can find plenty of days to celebrate, except this one reminder of aging process.

Google @ GHC

Grace Hopper Conference 2007 was a great success, and Google had a great presence at the conference. There were almost 50 Googlers at the conference and more than 60 scholarship winners sponsored by Google. I actually met a couple of students flown in all the way from India to Florida to attend the conference. Wherever you go, you could see women dressed in their Google t-shirts. Lot of women from other companies remarked that there were lot of Googlers at the conference, and were surprised to hear that there was no selection process to attend the conference, anyone who wanted to attend could. The Google booth was crowded as usual, recruiters and engineers equally busy taking resumes, talking to potential candidates. On the last day the lines for getting Google t-shirts were really long, and we had t-shirts for everyone. The Google blinky pin was equally popular too.
... more details coming soon!

Getting the big idea

Innovation today is the key to most successes. Think Apple, think Google, think Post-it, they all innovated. This talk though started with examples of not 'real' innovations, but re-innovations, where people took existing ideas, refined them and brought them to public in a revolutionary way. Her examples of apple's mouse, iPod wheel and snow board were surprise to me.
She then moved on to actual strategies to get that idea.
First thing she told was look at competitors, see what they are not good at and leverage that!
Strength, Opportunities, Weakness, Threats is the map to fill.
Look at customers, why do they yell at your customer service. Talk to non-customers. Its relief to know that Google really does that. We as engineers of teams are very much encouraged to closely work with customer support.
Current customer pain, customer losses, new needs, competitive pressure are the things to look for to identify a opportunity.
Identify early influencers who know what can improve a average product and make it great. She gave example of this guy who converted his webcam mounted on rails around the house and he wanted it to move up, down etc. Gave logitech the idea.
"Influencers blog !!!" and they are also slightly wacky, but they have that new idea. You need to go find them and talk to them.
Innovation does not happen when you are going 100 miles an hour. You need reserve, make some white space, keep reserve for thinking.
This was a really good, useful and engaging talk. I am glad I stayed for this session while more people have left. GHC needs to advertise these session more to get people to stay on!

Session 4: Agents of Change

यह पैनल इस साल की ३ अगेंट्स ऑफ़ चंगे महिलाओं का था। इजिप्ट, बहरीन और रूस की इन महिलाओं ने अपने अपने देश की महिलाओं कि मुश्किलें बताई। यह तीनों देश कुछ अलग हैं। बहरीन कड़ी देश है, और अमीर है। मुझे यह जान कर ताज्जुब हुआ कि वहाँ पर महिलाओं का घर से बाहर काम करना आम बात है। ज़्यादातर महिलाऐं आत्मनिर्भर हैं। पर वहाँ तकनीकी क्षेत्र में लोग कम हैं। इसलिए महिलाओं को भी इस क्षेत्र के लिए उत्साहित करना मुश्किल है। इजिप्ट और रूस में लगभग समान दिक्कतें हैं। समाज में महिलाएं घर पर ही रहती हैं। उन पर सदियों पुरानी घर और बच्चों कि ज़िम्मेदारी है।

Session 3 - Latinas in technology

This session requires a special mention. I just chanced upon this session because I did not feel like going anywhere else, and I was going to attend a session in the same room next. And that was one of the best chances I have taken. This was one of the best sessions I heard. One of my aim for this conference was to understand what does it really take to rise in industry. I heard a lot about you need mentor, you need blah blah. But in this session the penalists actually gave a direct How To list on how to get this done. They were so direct, straight forward that its not a bed of roses. You need to work hard, you need to play it smart, you need to manipulate, and that is how you get it done. It was amazing hearing them talk, as if they are talking direct 1:1 to every audiance what she needs to do. It was also great to see the sense of community among latinas, they share the same background, same problems, which are I guess no different from Indians, or any other community. I am feeling totally inspired to start a network for Indians.

Session 2 - How to retain इन high-tech

यह शायद इस सम्मेलन का सबसे मुख्य विषय है। हर जगह आज-कल यही बात चल रही है, कि किस तरह से तकनीकी क्षेत्र में महिलाओं को आगे बढ़ने में मदद कि जाये। मेरे लिए अभी तक यह सवाल है कि क्यों हम आगे नहीं बढ़ पते। भारत में भी जहाँ कंप्यूटर में महिलाओं कि अच्छी संख्या है, हम आ तो जाते हैं, पर बहूत आगे नहीं बढ़ पते। सवाल यह भी है कि क्या सही में वातावरण को बदलने कि ज़रूरत है, या हमें अपने आप को बदलने कि ज़रूरत है। हमें अपना नज़रिया बदलने कि ज़रूरत है। इस टॉक में एक परीक्षण का नतीज़ा दिखाया गया। एक सबसे बड़ा मुद्दा था mentor का, एक गुरु जो तुम्हारे लिए बोल सके। पर क्या पुरुषों के लिए गुरु होते हैं, या उनको ज़रूरत ही नहीं होती। टॉक में कुछ नया तो नहीं था, वही सब मुद्दे, वही बातें.


This is probably one of the main topics of this conference. How to retain and advance women in high-tech companies. These days everywhere people are talking about this, how to help women move forward. I also have this big question, why are we not able to move forward. Even in India where there are larger number of women in computers, we enter, but then we are left much behind other make co-workers in corporate ladder. The question is also if its the environment which needs to change or do we need to change ourselves, our nature and the way we look and do things.In this talk, the speaker showed findings of a study about this.

Session 1 - Making web accessible for people with disabilities

आज का दिन तकनीकी विषयों के लिए है। सबसे पहले हम देखेंगे -
विक्लांग लोगों के लिए वेब पन्ने कैसे बनायें
सबसे पहले स्पीकर ने एक पन्ने को स्वतः पढ़ने वाला सोफ्टवेयर दिखाया। और फिर कुछ और अंधे, बहरे या विक्लंग लोगों को नयी तकनीक कि मदद से कंप्यूटर इस्तेमाल करते हुए दिखाया। सबसे पहले पन्ने के चित्रों पर ध्यान देना चाहिऐ। जो लोग स्वतः रीडर इस्तेमाल करते हैं, चित्र नहीं देख सकते। उनके लिए चित्र कि जगह शब्दों में भी उसको बताना ज़रूरी है।



Today is for technical talks। We will first see how to make web pages for people with दिसाबिलितिएस She started with showing a screen reader which blind people can use to read web pages। Then she showed some more examples of blind, deaf or otherwise disabled people can use computers with the help of modern technology।
alt text of a image
proper html mark up of the headers so that readers can skip through headers properly.
small things like using proper lists instead of table when makes sense again makes it easier for readers.
link text are required for the readers so that they can read up what the link will lead to.
colour contrast, text size etc.
Then she went on to tell about the different guidelines, acts available for accessibility of websites. There is WCAG, Section 508 etc., can be easily googled. Dynamic content calls for more work on these guidelines (WAI-ARIA is a start).
This was a really informative talk. She gave specific tips on things that we all can easily do in html. Then she went on to give more details on how to deep dive into details. We all are grouped here as one of the minority group in computer science. People with disability is another minority group which has always been discriminated against when we with previledges design things. We as carriers of technology and the group which understands the pain and frustration of being denied access, can take great steps to make web accessible to this group with disabilities. The speaker is really compassionate about the topic, and it was great to hear her.
* Give your mouse to the cat, can you navigate your site?
* Turn off images, can you make sense of the page?

Session 5 - RFID

radio frequency identification
यह एक तकनीकी बात थी। स्पीकर ने किताब घर के उदाहरण से शुरुआत की। हर किताब या कोई भी चीज़ पर एक लेबल लगा सकते हैं। इस लेबल में एक चिप होती है, जिसका अलग चिन्ह होता है। यह लेबल पढ़ने के लिए रीडर मशीन कि ज़रूरत होती है। मशीन अपना डाटा एक सर्वर को भेजती है। स्पीकर काफी अच्छी थी। इस टॉक से पहले मुझे इस तकनीक के बारे में कुछ भी नहीं पता था। स्पीकर ने शुरू से समझाया, टॉक में कभी भी यह नहीं लगा की क्या बात कर रहे हैं, समझ नहीं आ रहा।
पूरा दिन लोगों से बात करने, ज़िंदगी कि सलाह लेने, दूसरों की मुश्किलें सुनने के बाद एक तकनीकी विषय पर चर्चा करना बहूत अच्छा लगा। भविष्य कि गोष्ठियों में इस तरह की चर्चा ज़रूर होनी चाहिऐ। एक गोष्ठी जो कि तकनीकी महिलों के लिए है, यह लोगों कि रूचि बनाए रखता है।

The speaker started with a book store example. Every product has a RFID tag, tags are read by the readers which have limited range। There is of course a server which consolidates info from various readers and analyzes them।

Speaker was really good. RFID is not rocket science, but then I can in with no experience other than knowing how to expand the acronym. She started with RFID 101 for us who had no idea. After a day of networking, talking, career advice, listening to a tech talk was a really good changes. After all we are all women in technology and at end of the day we need the feeling that we 'learnt' something technical today :).

रंगीन त्वचा कि महिलों के साथ भोजन

आज दोपहर के खाने का विषय था रंग की महिलाएं। इसमें अफ्रीकी, अफ्रीकी अमरीकी, लातिन और एशिया की कुछ महिलाओं ने भाग लिया। शुरुआत काफी रुचिकर थी। हम सब ने अपने आप को पहले रहन- स्थान के आधार पर बँटा। उसके बाद अपने क्षेत्र के आधार पर बँटा। और अंत में किस तरह से हम अपने आप के बारे में सोचते हैं उस आधार पर। इस समय सभी अपने आप को जहाँ से आये हैं उस आधार पर बँटा। मैं भारत मूल की महिलों के साथ थी। खाने के दौरान हमने अपनी भविष्य योजना और वहाँ पहुचने के लिए क्या मदद चाहिऐ इस बारे में बात की। विषय अच्छा था, और खाना सफल रह।

The topic for today's lunch was networking with women of colour. It started with a interesting exercise where we picked sides on what represents us, e.g. women in industry vs academia, software vs hardware etc. In the end we grouped ourselves based on adjectives we identify ourselves with. No surprise there, the groups were based on race, indian sub-continent, african american, latinos, african and hungry (not the country). Then we sat down for a delicious lunch. During lunch we talked about what we want to do and what help do we need to get there. This was a opportunity to network.

session 3 - Using technology to empower women in developing world

प्रगतिशील देशों में।
सिन्द्रेल्ला या सायेब्रेल्ल - सिन्द्रेल्ला बैठ कर अपने राजकुमार का इंतज़ार करती है जबकि सायेब्रेल्ल खुद अपनी ज़िंदगी बनाती है। इस सम्मेलन में शायद ही कोई सिन्द्रेल्ला मिलेगी। लेकिन सवाल यह है कि क्या हम अपनी कम भाग्यशाली बहनों के लिए कुछ कर सकते हैं? क्या हम विज्ञानं और तकनीक की मदद से उनके हाथ में शक्ति दे सकते हैं। भारत और दुसरे देशों में सायबर कैफे जैसे सामाजिक केन्द्र हैं जहाँ पर महिलाएँ इस प्रगति का फायदा उठा सकती हैं। चिकित्सा एक ऐसा छेत्र है जिसमें इंटरनेट जैसी तकनीक का इस्तेमाल करके शहरों के बडे हस्पतालों के विशेषज्ञों को गावों के छोटे छोटे हस्पतालों से जोड़ने कि कोशिश जारी है। सिधू ने यह सवाल उठाया कि क्यों भारत में इतने सारे छोटे छोटे प्रोजेक्ट हैं, लेकिन उनमे से कोई भी सफलता के साथ बडे स्तर पर लागू नहीं किया गया है। इस पैनल में सिस्को, इंटेल जैसी कंपनियों ने अपने प्रोजेक्ट के बारे में बताया।

Session १ - work and life balance.

ज़िंदगी और काम का संतुलन।

यह एक सवाल हम सब के दिमाग में रहता है। खासकर कि महिलाओं के। आज भी समाज में यह धरना है कि घर और बच्चों कि देखभाल महिलाएं ही कर सकती हैं। ऐसे में कैसे महिलाएं अपने घर और दफ्तर कि ज़िंदगी का संतुलन बनायें।

इस पैनल में ३ महिलाओं ने अपनी ज़िंदगी कि कहानी सुने। तीनों कि ज़िंदगी कि शुरुआत अलग थीं, लेकिन तीनों ने अपने आत्मविश्वास से ज़िंदगी में सफलता पा ली। Robin ने कुछ बहुत ही अच्छी बातें बोली। उसने कहा कि अपनी ज़िंदगी को अपने हाथ में लो, ज़िंदगी के फैसले खुद करो, और फिर उन फैसलों पर अमल करो। अपने आप से ईमानदारी भी बहुत ज़रूरी है।

ससिलिया ने हवाई जहाज उड़ने के क्षेत्र में अपना करिश्मा दिखाया। यह एक बहूत ही मुश्किल है महिलाओं के लिए। पर उसने कर दिखाया अगर फैला कर लो, और आत्मविश्वास हो तो महिलाएं कुछ भी कर सकती हैं। पैनल अच्छा था। सवाल वही पुराना था, लेकिन तीनों की zindagi se हम सब कुछ सीख सकते हैं। एक कि हम अकेले नहीं हैं। बहूत महिलाएं आज इन मुश्किलों से जूझ रही हैं। और बहूत सफलता से उन्हें पार कर चुकी हैं। आज समाज भी कुछ बदल रह है। और फिर आख़िर में अपनी ज़िंदगी, अपनी सफलता अपने हाथ में है। और हमें बिना डर के आगे बढ़ कर उसको हासिल करना चाहिऐ।

Work life balance.

This is one question which is always in minds of everyone। Especially the women। Even today society thinks that only women can take care of hou se and children. In such circumstances how do women keep the work and life balance.

In this panel, there were 3 women who told their life story. All three had different beginning in life, but they all achieved great success with their self-confidence. Robin made some really good points. She said, we need to take our life in our own hands, we need to make our own decisions, and once decided, stand by these decisions. Honesty with self is also very important in life.

Cecilia made her career in aeronautic acrobatics. This is a really male dominated field. Its really difficult for women to succeed here. She showed that if you decide, and if you have self-confidence, you can do anything.

ब्लोग्गिंग grace hopper conference के लिए

तो अक्तूबर में मैं Grace Hopper Conference के लिए जा रही हूँ। और मुझे कोन्फेरेंस के लिए ब्लोग्गिंग करना है और वोह भी हिंदी में. मुझे पता नहीं कि उनको हिंदी में ब्लोग क्यों चाहिऐ, पर मेरे लिए यह एक नया challenge होगा। मेरा पहला ब्लोग जो कि किसी दुसरे कि सीते पर होगा, और काफी लोग उसको पढेंगे, और ऊपर से हिंदी में लिखना होगा। यह अभी भी कितना मुश्किल है, अपनी ही भाषा में लिखना। में सोच रही हूँ कि इसी ब्लोग पर लिखूं, और अंग्रेजी और हिंदी दोनो में लिखूं। आख़िर कितने लोग हिंदी जानते होंगे, और उसमें से कितने अपने कंप्यूटर पर हिंदी पढ़ सकते हिंगो, और फिर शायद मेरे लिए भी आसान होगा पहले अंग्रेजी और फिर हिंदी में लिखना, कितने शर्म कि बात है।

alight, so i have been chosen as official blogger for the Grace Hopper Conference, and guess what I have to write in Hindi. Its going to be interesting, my first official blog and that too in Hindi. I am planning to use this same blog for the posts and write it in both Hindi and english. Afterall, how many people can read Hindi and of that how many will actually be able to read it on their computers, and then for me its going to be easier too ;)

relaxing

T: I really need to relax this weekend, its been so busy at work.
X: ya, I am thinking the same, a very relaxing weekend.
T: I am planning to go for this small 2 day backpack in the Breakneck area, I heard there is a great 2500ft hike, good views.
X: a...., um......, I thought......

hee hee, well, so that happens. How do you relax. When in Seattle, I actually never though relaxing is somthing that you can do on a weekend. Weekends were for fun, go out enjoy. They were usually more hectic and by Thursday I used to be worried how to have more fun this weekend, and did I mention fun. Here the story is totally different. Weekdays are so damn hectic and frustration and stressful that you need to just get away from this mess. I used to hear people say, New Yorkers like to go away on weekends so they leave office early on Friday. And I as like, well if you are going away on weekend, don't you need to stay longer on Friday to finsh work, and what does 'going away' mean anyway. So it was not going away from office, it was going away from the city and the crowd and that means driving through bizarre traffic and spend 5 super stressful hours to go about 100 miles. And now I can see (not that I would ever ever consider myself even remotely a 'New Yorker', and I will probably never speak to you if you called me one), but I can see why you really need to get away. This place just drives you crazy and its so much of craziness that one person can take. So now weekends are for relaxing and relaxing means going away from this place, so far away that you forget you live in hell :).

5K run for the cure

This weekend I did a 5K (3.5 miles) at central park, race for cure (of breast cancer). The race had a huge turnaround. I was quite confident that I will make it, thanks to the Seattle marathon run, and I did. I can't say without breaking a sweat, my t-shirt was drenched! But that was from hot weather. It was amazing to see myself sail through it, and later ready to get going without 30 min of rest and bottle of vitamin water! I have got to keep it up!

Bear Mountain Hike

ok, so finally Bear mountain. Its probably one of the closest hiking trail picnic spot to NYC and accessible by bus. So this weekend we decided to go for the hike. This was a total grab stuff and go hike, no planning, no maps nothing. Once there, first we were little surprised by the area of this place, there is a small lake and picnic spots round it, and there is also large area for more picnic all around. There was absolutely no sign of trail head. Then we spotted someone with hiking poles, kind of ob she was here for hike. Asked her about trils, she showed her map, told about few trails she did, and told about the trail we were looking for, steep hike up to the tower and back in a loop. Then rahul brought some maps from somewhere, and we started applying budhhi and decided on a 6.5 mile trail. The trail head was somewhere hidden between highways, to get to the trail head, we had to cross a bunch of freeways, very adventurous. Somehow we managed to find the trailhead and it was immediately evident that its mostly an abandoned trail. Like most of the trails here, there were good signs to guide, but it was not a maintained trail from Seattle standards. So anyway, we started, it was more like a jungle walk and that made me nervous immediately. Then after a while we started hearing traffic noise and realized that the whole trail is close to the highway, we were never away from sound of the cars which was in a way comforting, but then not what I was looking for. I was quite frustrated for a while, wasting time on walking. Then we reached this junction which seemed to be leading to the Applacian trail. The trail map showed that if we took the diversion, it will take us directly to the tower and back.
Decision point, we had about 3 hours before the last bus back, and no idea how long the trail would be, and its suppose to be a steep hike up and steep down, meaning slow both ways. Somehow we decided to take it. More apprehension. Then we met someone who said yes its far, but its good. Ok, move on. The trail immediately climbed few hundred feet and we were at a good open spot with good view, exactly what I was looking for. Then we hit a paved road and lost the white AT trail marker we were following. Met a few more lost people, looking for the tower. We kept walking, more apprehension about missing the bus, and then finally found the trail again. Later I realized that we had taken a bike path shortcut to cut across the hill and meet the trail which we were suppose to take to go back. Anyway, we headed up, it was a steep climb, but view from the top was worth it all. The top of tower is accessible by car also, so it was very crowded. We sat, had lunch, enjoyed the view, took photos and then started back. The hike back was ok, reached in comfortable time. Must have covered a total of 8 miles or more, and good thing is we hit almost every trail in the area in our little adventure. We still had almost an hour to spare before the bus, spent sitting by the lake and of course dunking feet in the water.

Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix

ah, fianlly watched the movie :) It was a good surprise, after last movie I did not have big expectations from this one. The last director just did not seem to understand the essence of the book and had totally messed up Dumbledore's character. But this one was much better, Umbridge who is sort of the main character here (apart from the kids) has acted well. But as usual for me, snape just steals the show all the time, he is simply the best! Though he has a very small part in this movie, but his just 2 words ("no idea") are amazingly snapily delivered. One point they totally missed in the movie is that he is part of the order, and whatever Harry mumbles to him in Umbridge's office is the message Snape took to the Order and that's how they finally appeared at ministry of magic. Of course with the fast pace of the book it was probably hard to notice. And this movie also had a really sad ending, Black is dead!

Heroes

This TV series by NBC deserves a special mention on the blog :). The first time I heard about it was when some people started a fan club in office. Honestly at that time I thought that its probably some freaky american violent show, maybe full of some stupid scifi theories given that engg were so much interested in it, sort of like the horror movies here. Then suddenly few days back Rahul brought it up and I started to watch the first episode. And then suddenly I see this south Indian guy with that typical acquired english accent saying something and some Indian music in background and then sanskrit shloks started in the background. That totally got me hooked, so its got to do something with Indians! But well, its not, though there is lot of Indian music in background and scenes of chennai, where Indian talk in the same irritating acquired english accent and a street boy who looks like never been to school also speaks flawless english!. Well crapy direction and acting aside, the series is really good. The whole thing is based on theory that random DNA mutations cause some people to get some special powers, and the Indian scientist is working on them trying to find a cause, a cure etc. And there are couple of very cute Japanese guys who can do time travel and keep jumping all over the place. And of course everyone else is American and they are trying to blow up New York. I found it quite ironic that a Japanese guys is giving up his live, trying desperately to save a nuclear bomb from exploding in New York. In all this series totally got us hooked!

NY is green too!

Today I was sorting through my photos, looking for the lush green nature. And guess what, the greenest and most beautiful photos I found were from the recent finger lakes trip, up here in New York! Not in Seattle, not at Rainier, not even in Columbia river gorge. Its surprisingly beautiful how the finger lakes area so close to NY city is so green and beautiful. It can almost compete with the lush tropical green of Western Ghats. In fact now that I have seen what beauty NY can hold, I can see the signs of it being butchered everywhere in the city, mountains cut, forests cleared, and still wherever nature is left alone, it flourishes in NY like the Central Park. This place could have been so beautiful, its such a shame that people here spend their time snapping at each other in the concrete jungle.

Journey to Ikea

This sunday finally I made my trip to IKEA. I wanted just one thing, a big green lead canopy to put over my office desk. In NY, IKEA runs a free shuttle from downtown to its store in Elizabeth, NJ. So I came from my apartment in NJ to NY, then took the shuttle back to NJ, and then back to NY and then went back to  my apartment in NJ :) Interesting journey. The leaf was easy to find once you know that its actually in the kids section. They also had a huge collection of plants, reasonably priced, and I went totally crazy trying to decide what to get. Surprisingly the artificial plastic plants were more expensive than the real ones, have no idea why. With the amount of care and manual labour real plants need, you would expect them to be twice as expensive. But this is america afterall, nothing makes sense here (like why would u eat double cheese burger with diet coke). I finally settled on a tiny real plant and a artificial one (in case the real one died).

मानसून कि बारिश

कल यहाँ बिल्कुल मानसून कि बारिश हो रही थी। एक मिनट में मौसम इतना बदल गया। बहुत तेज़ बारिश और तापमान बिल्कुल गरमी वाला। एइसा Seattle में कभी नहीं होता था। New York में कुछ तो अत्चा है।

summer has arrived

So summer has finally arrived. We have already made a trip, to Niagara Falls and planning for other smaller hiking adventures, whatever are available here to poor carless ppl like us. And we are also spending days and hours on phone planning the "big" trip of the season. And well, its not going to be on any long weekend this time though. Because we are planning to go to this extreme place called Grand Canyon. Not now, not next month, but in October!! And there is a big IF before the trip, not because its so far in advance, we don't know etc. But because everything there already seems to be booked! Can you believe it, people actually plan 6 months or more in advance. Its so hopeless. I don't know where I am going to be tomorrow, how can I tell about 4 months from now. But there got to be something in that place that millions go every year and some hikers seem to go again and again.

--
tuls

http://tulika.blogspot.com

"If an opinion contrary to your own makes you angry, that is a sign that you are subconsciously aware of having no good reason for thinking as you do." - Bertrand Russell