Back from Costa Rica and laziness

Finally, after uploading the pics on Orkut and Facebook. It's time to log my experience on my blog. Phew! I have been lazy for quite sometime to put something on my blog. It has been a long break!


My trip to Costa Rica was great, but the planning was a mess. I had to postpone it by 2 weeks because of unavailability of tickets. Finally, after booking the tickets, it was turn of hotels and other travel arrangements. Thankfully, my team in Costa Rica helped me a bit here. And also, good part is many things can be done online these days.

08/06/09 - I left the home at 1 AM to catch my flight to SanJose, Costa Rica at 8 AM in morning. I knew if I sleep I would never catch the flight. And I had a nice sleep in flight.

08/07/09 - After reaching at SanJose, one my team mates was there to drop me at the hotel. She took me to their office in SanJose to meet with the whole team. It was really nice to put faces on the voices I often heard on various conference calls. And SanJose was kind of like Delhi, growing urban place, lots of traffic, and lots of upcoming buildings for office etc. After that we reached to my hotel

The Intercontinental at SanJose was an awesome hotel and ofcourse they charge for it, about $120/night after discount. The bad part was that internet was not free and I treated it as blessing in disguise, atleast it would give me chance to stay away from the internet. After taking a shower and some rest, I hanged out in the biggest mall, which was in front of the hotel, of SanJose. Later in the night, I met with few of my team mates to go out on dinner and drinks. They took me to a nice place with loud music.

That's the view from my room.

Roads wise Costa Rica was not too different from India, recless driving, narrow streets, and not so well built roads. I was feeling at home!

After dinner they took me to some kind of place which was kind of full of clubs, but there were gross, with young boys and girls hanging and some weird kind of music. Anyways, it was an experience.

08/08/09 - Next day, we had to go to a volcano in SanJose, so I had to got up early. Damn it was early! 8AM, I don't even get up at 8AM on normal week day and I was suppose to get up at 8AM on vacation. Phew!!

My team mates, took me to the Poas Volcano. The way to volcano was nice around the moutains it was a scenic drive of about 40 mins.

Here are few of the views:

And we reached the place near volcano, which had nice shops and restaurant. The volcano was about half a mile walk from this place. The best part was that there was hiking trail near the volcano to reach a lake. So, how could I resist! We took the trail and it was one of strenuous trail I ever did. It was steep for quite some distance before it became flat. I kept clicking on what I could.

I got to eat some nice Costa Rican food on our way back from volcano. And after resting for the day at my room in hotel and hanging out a bit at the mall, we again met in evening for the dinner. This time they took me to another nice place, which was open air with nice crowd and good music. I just love it!
And I pleaded them not to take me to that gross place again

To be Continued....

4th July Fireworks

4 years back, on 4th July, I was taking a flight back to India and people told me I will miss the fireworks. 3 years later, I try to watch the fireworks from New Jersey shore and it's a terrible experience. 4 July 2009, I along with friends hit Brooklyn bridge in hope to watch the perfect fireworks. And we come to know that the venue has been changed and NJ shore is good place to be at.

Neverthless, roaming on streets of NYC with friends is an amazing experience. After figuring out a good location to watch fireworks, we head to West of Manhattan. The streets of NYC were crowded as if people have been asked to come out of their homes due to an emergency.

After walking for miles we found a nice spot where we could get a good view of fireworks, and after standing for about an hour the show began. I enjoyed it and it reminded me of our festival Diwali, which is all about fireworks. Though I must admit, the fireworks were not as great as what I saw in Disneyland, LA, but the crowd and NYC made this one an unforgettable experience.

I couldn't carry the bulky SLR to shoot fireworks, and I really missed shooting them.

Below is my favourite sunset.

5 years!!

Away from blogging for several weeks, I spent most of my Sundays at Barnes and Nobles, reading books and sipping Starbucks' iced tea.


As I complete 5 years at my first company and in Software industry, I gifted myself with a Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens; my new prime lens for shooting portraits/close-ups. However, my ankle, which got pulled while sleeping, kept me at home for almost a week and didn't allow me to experiment with the lens.

So, I mounted the camera on tripod and posed in front of it to check what can it do. Since, the focal range of this lens is narrow, it should be focussed precisely on the object, otherwise it gives a blur image somewhat similar to this one. Since I was shooting myself, I had to put camera on timer and with timer, the camera can't autofocus, it just clicks on what it has been focussed on.
This is the best I could get running several times between camera and chair. But it can certainly do much better, and I need to find a better subject to get juice out of it.

Taking a break from blogging........

Readaholic inside me

05/09: This Saturday I found something new about myself. Hiking was not an option due to the weather; I decided to visit a nearby Barnes and Nobles and spend sometime reading books. As much as I enjoyed staying away from computer screen, I enjoyed seeing beatiful people in the store.

I re-discovered the readaholic inside me, who loves to take notes on paper rather than typing it and loves to read paper books. I would have probably downloaded gigs of pdf books, thinking I would read them in my spare time, but that spare time never comes. It is dumped inside the folder just like another file on disk. And I purchased 2 books, 1 of which I have already finished reading [200 pages] !!!!!

Once again, here is sunset; I clicked this when I went on hiking.

Appalachian Trail

Second sunny weekend in row, I guess it will continue from here on. After spending whole winters inside home, I was so desparate to go out that took advantage of sunny Satruday, and went for hiking yet again. And spent time in woods with mother, mother nature.

After registring on Trails.com, which gives 15 day trial period and provides information about almost all the hiking trails in US, I decided to hike Appalachian trail. It came out to be whole day affair, 2 hours of drive one side and few hours of hiking. This was probably the most strainous trails I hiked so far after Mount Rainier in Seattle. And after reaching at top, I realized it was worth. Though the trail is quite long, I covered a bit of it. Thankfully, my Prius gives good mileage and I didn't had to think thrice [though I did thought about it twice] before going on 2 hrs long drive just for hiking.

Here is how NJ looks from one of the highest points in NJ.

FLAC + Zero DAC + AKG701 = pure music

In my desparation to hear pure music, which was incomplete without the DAC, I was hitting Refresh after every 5 mins on the Tracking website; I hope they have not handed my IP to FBI for increasing traffic on their site. :D The package that was shipped from China reached me in merely 3 days, and it was Friday, making the weeekend great.

After spending $200 on this DAC, which comes with amplifier also, I think it's worth. The music that it delivers along with my $250 headphones, is amazing. The sound is so clear, crisp and sharp that I realize what I was missing without an DAC. On some of the songs, I just feel that orchestra is in front of me. It did cost $450, but when that sound reaches to brain through ears, it is PRICELESS !!!!

After sitting home for last few weekends, I decided that I can't sit anymore and wait till I find someone to go alongwith. The weather was so inviting that I started finding few trails for hiking and decided to hike one nearby at "Ramapo Mountain State Forest". It was so fun to spend sometime in woods, though there were no waterfalls. And probably, that's the best time I had was in California, it has so many things to do, Napa Valley, Yosemite Valley, Lakes, Grand Canyon and not to forget Vegas. I miss California !!!

This is London Heathrow airport, once again reflection of light:

In quest of pure music

For last few weeks, I have been working endless without getting enough sleep. So, I decided to take rest this weekend. And as I got bonus for 2008, though the bonus is not much, but better than nothing :D. So, I started looking at possible options where I can spend some of it.

Though a telephoto lens for my 40D is on my list already, I have been craving for a good amplifier for to get meat out of my AKGs. So, I started my research on a headphone amplifier and I was amazed by 2 things: 1) people spend thousands of dollars on building a good music system 2) there is a huge market of hi-fi music systems. Audiophiles, as they call themselves, are crazy for pure music and after long wait I have stepped into this category.

Out of my research, which amazingly continued for 1.5 days, I found that depending on your music source, components may vary. Since, most of my music is on PC in lossless FLAC format, I first needed a DAC - Digital to Analogue converter. A DAC is almost a sound card that stays out of PC/laptop, the advantage it has over onboard soundcard is that it is free from noise of internal circuit of motherboard and hence can provide quality output. The DAC is essentially a pre-amp and its output can be fed into the main amplifier which further enhances the signals. And the amplified signal can be then be fed to the final part, i.e. speakers/headphones. If all of these components are of high quality, one can expect pure music, atleast that's what I think based on the cost of these components. DAC, Heaphone Amplifiers, Headphones, they all range from $100-$10,000, even more.

In order to get value of my $250 headphones, I need to spend another $300. I wouldn't have mind that if the best system could be afforded for say $700, but instead what I found was that even a DAC can cost 15000 bucks and same can be true for Amplifier. And most interesting part, people rather Audiophiles are buying those. Anyways, I decided not to break bank and start my quest for pure music. So, I ordered an entry level DAC, which comes with a nice amplifier, all for $150. I guess this would keep me happy till I move onto more quality stuff.

This week's image, Hardrock cafe, Warsaw

Busiest weeks

Since I came back from vacations, I haven't realized how time has passed. People have been laid off and those who have not been, need to work extra hours. For me, it's time to move up from 1 project to 2 of them.
And it sucks a lot, the night ends with a call and morning starts with a call.

Neverthless, I recently took few shots where light comes indirectly through object creating an awesome scenery. Here is one of them, Warsaw Airport. The picture was originally colored and I realize it looks much better in BW. Especially with those people waiting, it gives a feeling that life has stopped.

Almost done setting my new apartment.

After a week packed with morning calls comes the weekend. I got chance to get over my jet lag over the weekend only. And the weather became awesome on the weekend, helping in my relaxation.
As I ordered a new pair of bean bags for my living room, I am done with setup of my apartment almost after 1 month. My audiophilism may force me to shell out few hundred bucks on a nice music system. Back home I couldn't stop listening my BOSE that I was missing for months. But this time I want to try something new, I may go for Harman. Thankfully, I have no interest in watching TV, saving me money on expensive TV. They are actually not expensive, but I know only a 46” would satiate me and might become an addiction. However, since I ended up buying cable connection as part of deal, I will utilize it connectingto my Birthday gift (my 24" monitor). I still need to find how that can be done, I am sure it is possible.

Here’s picture from the streets of Poland. Everyone has liked this one and I think this is worth sending into of the contests.

Busiest February

February 2009, the busiest February I have ever had.

My New Apartment: As my tenure extended, I had to move into my own rented apartment. It was a really tough task to find an apartment and then set it up. Fortunately, I found something nearby, and best thing about my new apartment is the Irish Pub, which is just next door. This apartment is not as good as the corporate apartments that costed 4 times this one. As I setup my apartment, I buy each and every tiny thing on my own from rug to all the furniture. It has been 1 month and I am still living on a mattress - LOL. I am still contemplating what furniture I should buy. Oh, and the best part about the mattress was that I could get this nice mattress in a roll shape, so I didn't had to worry too much about carrying it to my place from the store.

Vacation to India: After working for so many months out of US, I was deparately feeling a need for break. The worst part about my this trip to US is that I don't have a gang here, making my stay more boring. So, after initial setup of my new apartment, I took a 2 weeks vacation to India. It was unfortunate to find that one of our cats have gone missing, however, his mother still visits our home. And I am sure she was happy to see me - LOL.
It has been so long since I met my friends, so I spent time with them and with family as well. All my plans to make a trip to Rajasthan were fruitless as all my friends were busy with their girlfriends. It's so embarassing how the friends who have been with me for last 15 years don't have much time for me now.

Visit to Poland: On my return to US, I spent couple of days in Warsaw, Poland, where one of my friend is on business trip. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see Krakow, which is more beautiful than Warsaw. It was my first trip to any European place and I felt great to be in Europe. I feel that Europe is much of history rich, monumental scenic place than natural beauty, which I feel is more in US than in Europe.
Anyways, so Warsaw was good, I liked the old, narrow streets and the Main Square, which was not as crowded as one might imagine just by the name. The best part I liked about Poland was the girls, they are so beautiful, friendly and flirty unlike American girls, atleast that's what my experience has been :) Oh, and how can I forget Polish Vodka, it rocks!!!! I had to buy 1 bottle from duty free shop.

After taking sometime off, I feel it was definately neccessary to freshen the mind and especially staying away from computers that were coming so close to my life. However, spending so many hours in flights and on airports, I felt they were my second home. I probably spent more than 60 hours on airports and planes.

LHR Terminal 5: The new Heathrow airport Terminal 5 opened somewhere last year and I have already visited it thrice. I love this airport, it is clean, new, huge and beautiful. And it comes with a monorail. The bad part is security lines, the security lines are huge here, I don't know why. It has some great lounges and a great shopping area.

Here is a pic from LHR terminal 5, the ceiling at sitting area.



Last but not the least, I am really happy that we won few Oscars. AR Rehman truly deserves it!!

And comes my Bday gift

Here comes my Bday gift, I gifted myself with a 24-inches, just 3 short of my new age, LCD monitor on this Bday. Instead of 27 candles, it's 24 inches screen :)
And I am loving it, I am quite sure when working from home, it will help me improve my productivity drastically. Jeeeez, can I stop thinking about work!!!! It's full HD, so I will be able to watch HD movies on this monitor. And next step is 46-inches LCD, from 23 I want to go straight to 46, aaaa, I mean TV-wise not otherwise .. LOL

As I got glimpse of Golden Globe awards, I feel so happy for "Slumdog Millionaire" movie, which is based on Indian story and happy for all the awards it was awarded. Especially, for AR Rehman, the music genius. Though, I don't like that movie too much, but it's good one, especially story, totally different.

The bad part at work is that it's too tough; bloody 2008 has left its scars on 2009, and with cost cutting comes the burden of more work. I hope it doesn't lasts long and things get back to normal.



This is "The Rim" at Taj Mahal Casino, Atlantic City, one of my favourite place to eat Sesame Chicken. There hasn't been an instance when I have been to Atlantic city and not eaten at this place. The best part I like about this place is that chef cooks in front of you. It has a semi-circled place in middle of which the chef cooks and some people can sit around this semi-circled place. It's fun to watch your food being cooked :), I just love it.
Unfortuntely, the picture is not as good as I wanted it to be and as good as I was expecting it to be. I thought that in sports mode I would be able to capture a good shot, but the chef was too interested in cooking my food rather this picture. Unfortunately, because of the lightening, the auto mode would have increased the ISO and decreased the shutter speed. And hence not exactly what I wanted to capture.

But nevermind, I know I am going to Atlantic City atleast once more :D

Click Click Click.... Bye Bye 2008

1 pic is worth 1000 words, those are 15000 words .. LOL

As I was planning to packup 2008 and leave for home...came the news that I will be here till 2009 end. 1 more reason to rock New Year eve.

Few days back I thought, so what if I don't have any friends here to celebrate chirstmas with, I can celebrate myself. And I went out with my camera going around the place in streets, in middle of night to click some nice pictures. Pictures of the way people decorate their homes with lights, similar to what we do on Diwali. Though in my free country we do lots of fireworks on Diwali, because we don't like quite things (that's why we keep honking horns every now and then :) ).

Finally with Christmas getting over, it was time to get set for 31st, the big night. I just love it, and I am too excited about it. Infact I am already waiting for 12/31/2009. LOL. And since 31st is so special for me, I would leave no stone unturned to enjoy on this night. So, I got along with few folks and went to one of my favourite clubs, MIXX at Borgata in Atlantic City. Dancing and drinking whole night on this rocking dance floor was so much fun. Now comes the bad part of SLR, it's so bulky that you cannot carry while partying. So, I couldn't click myself in that adrenaline filled situation. :(

I wish every an adventurous and rocking 2009!!!


And comes the end of the longest post of this blog :)