Thu, 30th Sep '04, 11:10 pm::
My work visa starts in 50 minutes!
Thu, 30th Sep '04, 9:50 am::
I wish there was an English word/phrase for the Hindi phrase: "Zara Hat Ke!"
Wed, 29th Sep '04, 10:25 pm::
I just went to my first baseball game ever with my coworkers Brian, Scott, and Ryan! It was Boston Red Sox vs. Tampa Bay Devil Rays. The whole game and the environment was awesome. I totally loved it. And we got great S-row seats too. We need to do more things like this from my work :) I'm sooooo tired right now from all the cheering and shouting...
Tue, 28th Sep '04, 12:35 am::
I'm addicted to digital artistry.
Sun, 26th Sep '04, 9:20 pm::
Just to make sure I don't forget it, I practised my Breathless song tonight after a long time.
Sun, 26th Sep '04, 1:30 pm::
I have now gone over to the Deviant side :)
Sun, 26th Sep '04, 9:50 am::
Bonnie, Charley, Frances, Ivan, and now Jeanne. Five major hurricanes, one state.
Phrases I didn't know before coming to Florida: Hunker down, Feeder Bands, Hurricane Force Gusts, Tropical Depression, Landfall, Storm Surge, Sustained Winds.
Sun, 26th Sep '04, 9:45 am::
Here's a picture of Hurricane Jeanne over us.
Sat, 25th Sep '04, 11:55 pm::
Here comes Hurricane Jeanne!
Sat, 25th Sep '04, 9:50 am::
Happy B'day Dadaji!!!
Sat, 25th Sep '04, 9:45 am::
I have never been more disappointed at myself. I could not finish my 18 miles :( I ran 13 miles in 3 hours. If I keep that pace, that's a pathetic 6 hours for the whole marathon. I am so ashamed of myself right now. Urgh. After the 7th mile, my toes started to hurt really bad. It was only after coming home that I realized that I hadn't cut my toe nails in a while and that's why it hurt so bad. Next week is 14 miles but the week after is 20 miles. I HAVE to finish the 20 miles no matter what. That time I'll make sure my toe nails are clipped, my shoe laces are tied tight, and my foot isn't hurting anymore.
Fri, 24th Sep '04, 9:20 pm::
Fri, 24th Sep '04, 9:05 pm::
I have never been this scared about running. I didn't run for a month due to hurricanes, heat, rains, and my injured right foot. Then on Monday I ran 1.5 miles. Wednesday almost 3 miles. And last night I ran 6 miles non-stop. But tomorrow is the real challenge - 18 miles! I don't know if I can do it but truth is, I HAVE to do it. No matter what I must keep running till I finish 18 miles. If I don't, I'll never be ready for the marathon's 26.1 miles. I'm going to bed soon tonight so that I can be up and running by 6am.
Thu, 23rd Sep '04, 8:25 pm::
Just ran 6 miles in 74 minutes. My speed is horrible but that's cuz of my injured right foot. The marathon is less than 6 weeks away. I need to run a lot more.
Wed, 22nd Sep '04, 11:55 pm::
Created more artwork tonight :) I'm getting addicted.
Wed, 22nd Sep '04, 6:50 pm::
I love my temporary tattoo :)
Wed, 22nd Sep '04, 12:20 am::
Presenting the chir.ag/art gallery :)
Tue, 21st Sep '04, 9:25 pm::
I have true friends here in Florida too. Go figure! I told my awesome friend Lynn that I wasn't feeling to well and she instantly drove over to chill with me! How cool is that? She made me feel so loved :)
Tue, 21st Sep '04, 7:10 pm::
I miss my friends so much. I really do. Sometimes I wonder... Urgh.
Sat, 18th Sep '04, 10:50 pm::
Just got back from Orlando. Met Jeff, owner of Dilly. He's an awesome guy to chill with. Then met my long time internet buddy Derek and his girlfriend Sabrina. It was great to see both of them. After Derek's apartment was destroyed by Hurricane Frances, he decided to move to Orlando. Too bad Orlando is two hours away from me. Otherwise it'd rock to chill with these guys all the time. Anyways, really tired now. Just gonna get to bed soon. Tomorrow I have a special software to make for my dad!
Sat, 18th Sep '04, 12:10 pm::
And I just bought this kickass pc that will soon be used as my personal database + file + web server :) Spent slightly over $500 in total today for a nice pc with a small LCD. Not bad if you ask me. Now I need a second desk and maybe a chair.
Sat, 18th Sep '04, 11:25 am::
I just bought this tiny monitor for $160. Gonna hook it up to my third pc.
Sat, 18th Sep '04, 9:45 am::
I wanted to sleep more but for some reason I couldn't. I have become so accustomed to waking up early on weekdays that I can't sleep till noon on weekends. Anyways, it's been a long time since I had a little session of retrospection and introspection.
So what's going on with my life, you ask eh? Well my job's going great. I finished a major project last week and started working on another huge project this week. While I can't say too much, I can say it's basically the new Inventory System for my company that will handle purchasing, sales, formulation, batching and production. The frontend is MS Access and backend is MySQL. I know every other programmer out there is laughing at me for writing code in Access but truth is, if you saw how smooth, secure, and efficient my code is, you'd change your views about Access. Oh well, for me the only thing that matters is whether my company will benefit from my system or not. And from the looks of it, it will.
Something else that I've miserably put off for a long time is running - practicing for the marathon. I injured my foot playing soccer last week and can barely walk without limping :( As a result, months of training have come down to a screeching halt right now. The marathon is less than 45 days away and I can barely run a minute without crying out in pain. I really REALLY hope my foot gets better soon or else I'll be walking the marathon instead of running it. But something tells me it'll all be good. I have my hopes all set on finishing the marathon and you bet I will! Also, no more soccer for me. Don't wanna get any more hurt. Thankfully my boss and his brother are cool with my decision. They rock!
Today I'm driving up to Orlando to meet the guy that made Dilly. He's gonna explain to me how The Dilly works - the whole infrastructure. Once I know how everything works, I'll start coding :) Can't wait!
So there you have it. My simple life. Main job, a side gig, and lotsa soccer and running before I got hurt. In the meantime I made Chime Note and now I think I'm gonna buy me another computer! I wanna make a nice server I can use for learning new programming languages and databases. PostgreSQL is my target for now.
Wed, 15th Sep '04, 11:30 pm::
I'm so excited about the new project I'm working on @ my job. I go to bed thinking all the cool features I'm gonna make!
Mon, 13th Sep '04, 11:55 pm::
God I LOVE working with The Dilly folks! It's almost as cool as my real job :) Of course I love my real job more because of the people there. But still, I love both my jobs a lot. I'm so lucky!
Mon, 13th Sep '04, 11:15 pm::
We played two soccer matches back-to-back tonight. We won the first one and lost the second. I was the ill-fated goalkeeper for both the matches. While I play defense generally, both our goalies decided to not show up today and so I had to take the responsibility.
Anyways, real tired right now. Going to bed soon.
Oh cool thing - one of my best Internet friends Megan called me from Pennsylvania. Happy B'day Meggy Piggy!!!! She's sooooo cute :)
Mon, 13th Sep '04, 1:50 pm::
Hurricane Ivan is not coming :) Phew!
Sun, 12th Sep '04, 11:45 pm::
I'm kinda proud of myself as far as computing goes. I've been working hard and being productive lately. Go me :) Over 50 people using ChimeNote already!
Sun, 12th Sep '04, 10:00 am::
I just launced a new software + website: ChimeNote! Check it out yourself and feel free to spread the word.
Sat, 11th Sep '04, 4:40 pm::
Went to work today. Launched MagicTan Orders website. Everything went well as planned. Hopefully no errors anytime soon. Check it out, it's very pretty.
Fri, 10th Sep '04, 11:10 pm::
So the third hurricane in a month, Ivan is coming...
Thu, 9th Sep '04, 5:40 pm::
My boss forwarded this to me:
Subject: Letter to Ivan
Dear Ivan:
Hey, how's it going out there near Barbados?
Listen, lots of us here in Southwest Florida have been talking about your scheduled visit.
Now, please don't take this the wrong way. We like spectacular forces of nature as well as the next guy. We realize that Florida and hurricanes go together like country music and drunken driving. We don't want to mess with tradition.
And we know you hurricanes recharge the aquifers, provide an exhilarating break in the stifling heat of late summer, and give neighbors a chance to bond. The economic boost you give to Home Depot alone is enough to make up for whatever inconvenience is to be expected.
So normally you would be as welcome as a gang of Harley riders during Bike Week.
But may I say that this year the timing of your tentatively scheduled arrival seems less than ideal.
You know that visitors start to wear out their welcome after a few days. And too many visitors in a row can also wear down a host and hostess. That, I'm sorry to say, is pretty much the position we Floridians find ourselves in just now.
Your cousin Charley blew through a few weeks ago and, to be blunt, he was less than mannerly. He zoomed in like a hyperactive toddler, leaving the proverbial path of destruction, except that it was no proverb. And then he was gone without so much as a see-ya-later.
Charley was a leave-wet-towels-on-the-floor, never-pick-up-a-tab kind of guest. He inspired some grumbling, and picking up after him has been a real chore. You should have seen Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte, Arcadia and Wauchula.
At least Charley didn't stay long. But just when we were starting to get things almost back to normal, Frances sauntered in.
I don't mean to be crass, but she was HUGE. When she hung around the state, she hung around the state, you know what I mean?
And you know how some guests just don't leave? That's Frances. Even when we were looking at our watches and yawning and singing "The Party's Over" she just stayed and stayed.
Some of us who hadn't really rolled out the red carpet for Charley decided to prepare a lot more for Frances, and maybe we just tired ourselves out. And then she stalled and arrived late, which is always irritating.
She wasn't as wild as Charley, I'll admit. Those rumors about Frances possibly becoming a Category 5 turned out to be overblown hype. But she just sort of oozed through. I went to bed Sunday night and woke up thinking she'd be long gone at last, but she was still here Monday morning!
So a lot of us here are thinking that enough is enough for one year. Actually, the experience of almost back-to-back hurricanes has some people talking about canceling hurricane season entirely.
Don't worry. Floridians won't go that far. But we may consider moving hurricane season to a nicer time of year. I know hurricanes like it hot, but doing without air conditioning would be a lot nicer in November, or maybe March, so as not to interfere with football season.
I mean, did you see where Frances actually caused the postponement of a Gator football game? People will put up with a lot, but let's be reasonable here.
Some are saying we should limit the number of hurricanes allowed into Florida in one year. There might be some debate about whether the limit should be one or two, but there is wide agreement that three is too many.
So, Ivan, here's the point: Florida's famous hospitality is pretty much tapped out just now. Our enthusiasm for big winds and rains, and for TV reporters gushing forth with excited descriptions of it all, has bogged down like a riding lawnmower in the swamp that used to be my back yard.
As I said, it is nothing personal, Ivan, but what would you say to making alternate travel plans?
I understand that Bermuda is lovely this time of year.
Thu, 9th Sep '04, 5:20 pm::
Hurricane Ivan is coming. Of course. The THIRD hurricane in one month to hit Florida. Yay!
Wed, 8th Sep '04, 3:05 pm::
I want a pet... I'm thinking a nice evil cat :)
Tue, 7th Sep '04, 10:10 pm::
Today was yet another long day. Life's back to being busy.
Sun, 5th Sep '04, 9:55 pm::
I'm staring at this sheep and I can't look away...
Sun, 5th Sep '04, 6:15 pm::
HUNKER DOWN!!! I'm gonna teach you a nice drinking game. It's very simple. All you have to do is watch weather channels during a hurricane and everytime someone mentions the phrase: "Hunker Down" you take a shot! So after playing the game of "Hunker Down" all afternoon, I went out for a survey of structural damage.
In other words, after drinking enough alcohol to kill an elephant, I went outside in 60mph gusts to look for fun things! I was REALLY mad to see that they closed our swimming pool :( I walked around my whole apartment complex and not a soul was in sight. Every car that drove by slowed down as they saw a weird Indian in t-shirt and shorts running and jumping on the grass! Haha. So I walked about half a mile from my apartment in winds that had already uprooted lots of trees. I don't think I will be able to run on my regular sidewalk as I saw a lot of branches strewed all over. I called up a couple of my friends but they could barely here me as the winds were howling very loudly.
And then I stole an election sign (Vote for some hottie - Sonya March) because I'm cool like that when alcohol has overtaken my common sense :-P It's a miracle I got back home! I wish my digicam was waterproof :-/ The best part is everyone on TV is saying, "Don't go outside!" and "If you don't have to be outside, don't be!" MUHAHAHAHA :)
Sun, 5th Sep '04, 1:55 pm::
Hurricane Frances in motion (Java plugin required).
Sun, 5th Sep '04, 9:55 am::
I can't sleep. The wind is howling. Am I the only one who noticed that the Bay News 9 Weather Channel plays "Terminator 2" theme music when they show "Hurricane Frances - Fast Facts?"
Sun, 5th Sep '04, 4:10 am::
I'm going to bed now. The hurricane is coming.
Sun, 5th Sep '04, 12:00 am::
Happy B'day Michele. Now you CAN drink legally :)
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 8:25 pm::
Now we're under a tornado watch till 8am. Ya, tornadoes, like the movie Twister!
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 7:40 pm::
It suddenly got really dark. No rain. Heavy winds. This is the most chaotic weather I've ever experienced.
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 7:35 pm::
The sun is still shining but now it's raining too.
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 7:30 pm::
The sun is back in the view now. Rain stopped.
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 7:25 pm::
It just got dark all of a sudden. Now it's raining heavily and the wind is blowing at 45mph.
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 5:35 pm::
Holy crap! The winds are kicking up now! It's getting noisy outside...
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 5:25 pm::
I love how there's all these ads on TV right now saying, "Come visit the beautiful beaches of St. Petersburg." Dumbasses!
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 5:20 pm::
If you're wondering what the whole hooplah is over Hurricane Frances, check out where I live: St. Petersburg - my location is marked by the red sign. And see how big the hurricane is? It's bigger than the state of Texas!
I have been in St. Petes for three months now and there have been three hurricanes already. Forgive my crass statistics but for all I know, there's a 100% chance of hurricane each month!
Sat, 4th Sep '04, 2:45 pm::
Last night was awesome! Left home at 8:30pm to meet my new friend Jessica and her sister Emily. Drove 20 miles to Outback Steakhouse in Tampa. We chilled at the bar for little over an hour then went to this Irish pub called O'Briens. We were there for hours, just drinking away and talking :) It was lotta fun. Only problem was since I had to drive home, I had to control my drinking :( It's no fun when I have to drink in moderation like a grown up! Also I was really tired since I'd went to bed the night before at 2am and woke up at 7am for my job.
Funny thing, I called up my Dad all drunk and made Jessica talk to him. He was excited to get my call I think. Hehe. Anyways, hopefully I'll be seeing more of Jes in the future. For now, I am getting ready for Hurricane Frances. Seemingly it's going to be really close to us. Let's wait and watch.
Fri, 3rd Sep '04, 4:25 pm::
Look at how huge the hurricane is!
Fri, 3rd Sep '04, 9:50 am::
Hurricane Party at my apartment! You're all invited :) Drinking starts 5pm Friday 3rd, ends 10pm Monday 6th...
Thu, 2nd Sep '04, 5:05 pm::
Hurricane Frances is almost headed at us.
Wed, 1st Sep '04, 10:50 pm::
I bring bad luck to Florida. For the first time in the history of USA, there are gonna be two category 4 hurricanes within a duration of one month! We just dodged Hurricane Charley a few weeks ago and now the new threat is Hurricane Frances! While it's exact path is not known yet, we know it's going to hit Florida late Friday night. After that it's anybody's guess. Let's see what happens.
Quote for the night: "You know you're a nerd when you hear CAT5 Hurricane and can't stop thinking about Ethernet Cables." - Chirag
Wed, 1st Sep '04, 2:25 pm::
I just realized I love programming too much.