snagabag

Well, that picture pretty much sums it up. My mom threw a surprise 65th birthday party for my dad. My dad of course found out about it weeks ago. Oh yeah, and there was a belly dancer. Needless to say, not your typical “auntie/uncle” party.

So the nuclear family converged on Dallas this past week, along with a good number of extended family. The party was Saturday night, and my dad just couldn’t resist letting us know he was in on the ’surprise’. I wonder if he thought he was being subtle when he called my cell phone that afternoon and said, “My favorite child, where are you? The connection’s really good. You sound so close.” Ok, he didn’t say “My favorite child.” He said, “My favorite son.”

After my dad’s not so subtle hint, we realized the jig was up. Nevertheless, we decided to go ahead with the surprise. I think people started to think he might have known about the party when he got up to say ‘thanks’ and unveiled his own long list of senior citizen jokes! oy vay.

It was great to see everyone. We have a pretty damn cool group of friends in Dallas, not just the ones my age, but the aunties and uncles too. Of course, it is always fantastic to see family. And I gotta give props to my Sham uncle. When my brother asked everyone who dad’s favorite kid was, amongst the cheers of “Irma” and “Maneesh” I heard one lone voice yell out “MOA”. Sure enough, it was my Sham uncle. And who cares how much scotch he had by that point, you take what you can get.

The night consisted of speeches (i.e. Viagra jokes), a fantastic skit performed by some of my parent’s good friends (who knew the Dallas crew could act?), the belly dancer, and dancing…lots of dancing. Oh yeah, and there was an open bar all night long. I think I’ll let the pictures from the night tell the rest of the story.

I’m also happy to report that Aparna is back in SF. I mention her as I’m pretty sure my wife and my dad are my only two family members who read my blog. If you haven’t checked out my dad’s comment on my blog, you should read it. It’ll give you an idea where I get my “almost-but-not-quite-funny” sense of humor from.

No one has figured out the solution to the “Petals Around the Rose” puzzle?? It’s not that difficult!

Oh yeah, when checking out the pictures, look for the slideshow link in the upper right of the page to save you from having to click through every picture.

Here’s a puzzle I was turned on to just recently.

The only hints are:

• The name of the game is “Petals Around the Rose”
• The score will always be zero or an even number

Those of you who can’t figure it out, take heart as it is said the smarter you are the harder it is to come up with the solution. The adage must be true as it “only” took me about 30 minutes to figure out how to come up with the solution.

Let me know how long it takes you to solve it!

Those wacky Japanese.
Just when I think the gadgets they come up with couldn’t get any goofier, they come through for me again.
Click here to see what I’m talking about.
And just because I’ve downloaded the ringtone to Aparna’s cell phone doesn’t mean I think it works! I just like the pretty music. sheesh!

This is a picture of my heart rate monitor.
It helps me have efficient workouts.
It also saves crucial data from my previous workout.
When I went to the gym today, it reminded me my last workout was on May 24th, 2004.
Stupid heart rate monitor.

I’m doing the bachelor thing these days as Aparna is in Corpus Christi with her family. The little girl is Anila, her adorable sister. I keep wanting to bring Anila back with us when we visit Corpus, and lest you think I’m kidding, just take a peek at this.

The “bachelor” life for me mostly consists of eating the most convenient food I can find for dinner, spending time on the computer, and wondering when is the absolute latest I need to start cleaning up to have the house presentable before Aparna arrives. However, I have been spending a lot of time this week with my newest best friend, Nalima. I’ve known her forever, but with her sister and brother-in-law having moved to Austin, and Aparna in Corpus, she’s forced to spend time with me. How happy is she to hang out with me? So happy that she leaves a little bit earlier every time she comes over.

Quick note: she & I watched the new show lost tonight, and it was great! I highly recommend you add it to your TIVO.

Two questions that have been asked more than once:

1. What the hell is “snagabag”?!?!
2. Do you really have a houseboy?

To #1, snagabag is the one word that perfectly captures the essence of the undying love Aparna & I have for each other. Just kidding. It’s just a random ‘word’ I picked a few years ago when I wanted my own email. Didn’t feel like using my name, and apparently I wanted something that would be embarrasing to say out loud whenever I have to tell someone my email.

And #2… no we don’t have a houseboy. No, no, no. Jay (aka Mike aka Chris aka Joe) is simply a 2nd tier friend who lives next door who occasionally everyday visits our house to eat, do laundry, play Doom, or just nap. Oh yeah, and he runs errands for us. See, he’s no houseboy!

Okay, time for bed.

These two photos pretty much sum up our trip to LA this past weekend. The first is of my newest nephew, Roshan. He’s a little over a year old, and simply too much fun. The other is of Keenan Ivory Wayans. Why him? Well, he’s the one celebrity we spotted while out on Sunset Blvd with Nidhi & Tanuj. The Wayans are pretty much the black Baldwins (or the Baldwins are the white Wayans, your pick). At the time, we knew he was one of the umpteen Wayans brothers, but not sure which one. Can you blame us?

Be sure to check out my pictures from the trip over on TGG.

We had a chance to see Nidhi & Tanuj’s new condo. It’s a very nice place, but if you visit please make sure not to turn on all the lights, the TV, and the iron at the same time. Nothing like being in the bathroom at a new house and having the circuit breaker trip:!: Oh yeah, and watch out for the lamps at The Standard.

We also had a chance to see the outside of Jim & Rummy’s new house. It looks great! More importantly, it is in Whittier. It’s nice to have family in Whittier because you always need some family in a city that nobody has heard of.

All in all a great weekend and we’re hoping to head back down soon!

Here are a few more pictures from Maanasa and Shiraz’s wedding. These are courtesy of Madhavi. There were 2 reasons Aparna & I had such a great time:

1. Shiraz, one of my best friends, was getting married
2. It was the last of our 12 weddings in 2004!

Click any of the pics to view full size images.

Thanks! That goes out to all the people who let me know they like my blog. I hope you all continue to check it out and post comments.

I quickly realized from the comments that the “truth” is not really an essential element of this blog… and I’m ok with that.

I must admit I was amazed by the amount of feedback I received about my blog. A quick sample:

• My mom - Don’t say anything bad about Aparna.
• Aparna - Pick up milk on the way home from work.
• My sister - How come there was no picture of me?
• Robert Galloway - Please post more pics of you shirtless.
• Everyone else - Did you get a job yet?

You’ll be happy to know that I not only got the milk, but I also got a job. I’m working at the Pacific Exchange. Still doing business analysis ’stuff’. I enjoy working there, and being immersed in the financial world is a new thing for me. I’ve been there a few months, but I’m not quite ready to start trading options…

Oh yeah, and to placate my sister:

Normally she has “everday” clothes on over the outfit, but I think she & Manish were about to go fight crime.

You’ll be relieved to hear that I am not going to honor Robert’s request, but I will post one of my all time favorite pics of Aparna:

That’s a picture of her from our very first date. Yes, Aparna has always been a very traditional Indian.

Aparna & I are off to LA-LA Land. We are going to see our good friend’s Nidhi & Tanuj. We’ll also spend lots of time with my family down there, including the newest addition:

Until next time…

Hello World

For those who don’t know me, I’m the one on the left. For those who do know me, my condolences. You can click the My Friendster link to find out some basics about me, but the quick summary is:

• tries hard to be funny, but isn’t
• married up

Just to be clear, there were no requests for me to start a blog. Nevertheless, here it is.

You’ll also find a link to my photo gallery. I decided to start my blog at the same time I added a bunch of recent events to my gallery, so please feel free to check it out!

For those who don’t know, a blog is simply an online journal of whatever the writer wants it to be. In my case, I don’t have a set agenda… I plan on writing somewhat regularly about whatever is on my mind. Really, where’s the harm in that?

The times they are a-changin’… our best friends Dimple & Rahul just stopped being our neighbors for the first time in years. They left foggy SF (aka “Coveted Collingwood”) for sunny Austin. In addition, after years of practice with us, our houseboy Jay is moving to L.A. next month to work for Bea Arthur. As you might imagine, he’s very excited.

Please bookmark this page (or subscribe to the RSS feed if that’s your cup of tea) and check back often!

Finally, you are encouraged to leave comments. What should you say? Anything.