snagabag

Well, Maneesh has appeared in yet another magazine, and this one wasn’t a mistake.

You can read the interview here. You might have to register, but it’s free.

My favorite line:
“Once the party starts, you have to have a structured method of making sure the right people get into the party and the wrong people stay out.”

Quickie Jeopardy:
A: Mohit
Q: Name someone who falls under “wrong people”

As part of the move to Austin, I left my job at the Pacific Exchange and found a new job here in Texas. I’m happy to announce I’ll be working for Motive. One of my pals, Jim Kitchen, as been there a few years and referred me (yes, he will rue the day.) I don’t start until the middle of next month, but I am excited about the job. My new boss seems very cool, and I have a high opinion of the company. As with my last job, I won’t be writing much about work here, but at least this way you’ll know where I’m at when I’m wasting time updating my blog.

The movers came today, and I’m happy to report all of our ’stuff’ made it across the country. Sure, some of it is broken, but you can’t ask for everything.

On a happier note, Aparna & I bought a new car today:!: We purchased an Acura TL! We are pretty excited about the car. It drives very well, has lots of amenities, and lots of gadgets. We especially like the built-in bluetooth.

New home, new car, new job… what’s left?

WOO-HOO!!! Aparna & I are officially homeowners today! We closed on our new house in Austin just this afternoon. It feels much nicer than being a condoowner.

The movers are coming Thursday, and it’ll be a little bit sad to see all of our possessions from our condo in San Francisco fit inside the garage of our new house. Of course, it’ll alse be sorta cool!

We’ve been staying with Garrett & Amy all week, and as you might imagine… we are sick of their company. Ok, not true, but I’m sure they are ready to have their house back. Really, I didn’t think it was that big a deal when I affixed the name plate from my previous job to the door of the guest bedroom at their house.

Well, another Christmas morning has come and gone. We all had a great time opening our presents. That includes my dad sitting on the couch watching us open his gifts. In case you were wondering, only real men wear booties!

I hope you all are having a great Christmas!

Click the pictures to view photos from Xmas weekend

Anticpation runs high at the Goyal house! Yes, it’s the night before Christmas and I’ve returned to my blog. Apologies to all for being AWOL as of late. Life has been quite busy and I haven’t made time to make up stuff to write about. Consider yourself warned, I’ll be posting lots of updates in the near future. You’ll hear about my road trip from San Francisco to Austin, adjusting to life in Texas, and all sorts of things that are only of interest to me. For now, let me just say that it is NEVER this cold in California. Brrrrrrrr! (and yes, my mom did indeed put up two Christmas trees.)

Just a quick note to pat myself on the back for reaching 10,000 visitors. Yes, people have visited my site over 10,000 times. Specifically, my mom has visited here 9,999 times, and Aparna has been here once. With my mom’s support I’ll be at 100,000 in no time!

One night.

After 1,950 nights, I’m down to the final one. One night is all that remains of my time living in San Francisco. Everything has been packed and loaded. Yesterday was my last day at work. The appropriate accounts have been cancelled, and the mail has been forwarded. Tomorrow the house is officially sold.

This is only the second time I’ve made a major move. The first was when I moved to San Francisco to be a part of the dot-com revolution (and to get away from Dallas). At the time, I was sad to be leaving my friends and parents, but I wasn’t sad to be leaving Dallas. This time, I’m going to miss my friends and family in the bay area, but I’m also going to miss San Francisco. Despite all of its negatives, I love San Francisco. The city itself has so much life and energy; which is mostly due to the amazing variety of people that are everywhere here. There is a reason it is the most visited city in the US. As unlikely as it is, I do hope to live here again one day.

It’s been a great five years. Living at Grand View with Neil and Ash was just the ultimate bachelor experience. I got engaged and married while living here. Aparna & I moved into a tiny apartment when we got married, and it mainly served to make us appreciate the 1000 square foot condo that was our first house together. I rode the highs and lows of the dot-com wave with AvantGo, and that is an experience I’ll always value. I’ve made great friends here who I hope to keep in touch with from Austin, and I was able to spend so much great time with my family here. I was also really lucky to be able to visit my west coast friends and family (especially in LA) as much as I did.

Well, Austin awaits, but before that is my road trip to Texas with Jay. Wish me luck.

When I make my way to the exit here in San Francisco, it will not be by way of plane. No, I’ll be driving to my new home. 1800 miles. And I will be making the journey with …Jay. Thankfully, Jay is a professional actor, otherwise he might not have had time to spend 3 days driving around America with me. I’m not sure what is worse, me sitting in a car with Jay for 1800 miles, or Jay sitting in a car with me for 1800 miles.
Preparations for the trip have already begun. For instance, I stopped showering 1 week ago.
I actually do like road trips, and I’m excited about my latest one. It’ll be the 3rd time I’ve done the San Francisco - Texas drive, but my first time driving to Texas. It’ll be a fun trip.

That was this past weekend when Aparna was in town. Yes, we are in full packing mode right now. We weren’t able to finish packing before she left on Sunday, so I’ve been forced to spend all week packing. Well, except for Monday when I watched the Cowboys… and on Tuesday I had to take a trip to CostCo to buy some stuff. Oh yeah, Wednesday I met up with some friends one last time… but I did a lot of packing tonight! Well…except for right now of course. Like I said, I’ve been busy packing all week.

For someone (i.e. ME) who only likes to spend money when he is saving money, well, this coupon is pretty much a Christmas gift in itself.

And yes, I’ve already used it.