Warming up...

Its funny how things are different here...

For example, nobody knows what a 'fortnight' is... They only know 'biweekly'!!

People don't hire a car here... they 'rent' it. But the rich ones hire a chauffer!!

Nobody 'talks to you after sometime'... they would 'talk in a bit' or just 'later'!!

At the other end, they are a pain in the f*cking ass... They have not given me my social security number yet.. And so, I cannot get my DL... And hence, no renting a car.... Thats a bummer!!!

BTW, that's not a 'driving license'... its a 'driver license'!!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Thank you guys for being my ardent fans ;-)
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Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a traditional North American holiday to give thanks for the things that one has at the conclusion of the harvest season. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and on the second Monday of October in Canada.
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I am at Irvine today and tomorrow. And, in San Diego for the weekend... visiting some of my friends here.
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TV shows.. talk shows... its a totally different animal here...

People literally going at each other, pulling each other's hairs, rolling on the floor hitting one another... that seems to be order of the day in these talk shows... typically, its about a couple and one of them cheating... and then the third person turns up.. some heated discussions follow... or I should say, some heated volleys are hit (you can never hear one full sentence... it will be filled with censoring sounds)... And then Kaboom!!

There is a dating reality show called “A Shot at Love with Tila Tequila”... The speciality of this show is that it features 16 straight men and 16 lesbians. The competitors vie for bisexual internet sensation Tila Tequila, a 25-year-old entertainer it seems. I guess it runs mainly on the shock-value!! It is again filled with fights and fisticuffs.

And on another serious note, this guy Hugh Hefner should retire from public life... He looks pathetic in front of the blond bimbettes...

Here you go, Vegas!

As I said, here are the pics from Vegas!


The place we stayed


The slot machines!


Can you guess?


This is where the sports betting go on... And what you see on the screens are the American football games and horse races that you are gambling on!!



The Eiffel restaurant


Which limo is this?

And more here!!

Newport & Artesia!

One of the best aspects of California is the weather and the beaches around. Here are some pics from the Newport beach and Artesia (Little India)












Jumping with joy on eating the Indian lunch at Sri Krishna Sweets "Tirupati Bheema's" ;-)

More pics here..

And here..

Other (incl. Vegas) pics coming soon!

TV ??

TV shows here are quite good.. I don't need to watch a movie for sometime.. I mean, I don't need to rent or download a movie for sometime...

There's one called 'Law and Order'... and some more with names I don't know yet.. Well, I keep flipping channels as usual :-)

And then there are other ones... Like the 'Play girls next door'.. its a reality show with Hugh Hefner and his play girls... These blondes are a li'l obnoxious... But man, this old guy is having all the fun!!

There are ones in the format of 'who wants to be a millionaire' (our Kaun Banega Crorepati)... its called 'are you smarter than a fifth grader?' ... And if you lose, you have to declare yourself (on camera) to be NOT smarter than a fifth grader... I heard something abt another 'are you smarter than a second grader' today.. let me check that out!

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Oh.. I found out.. one of them is called the 'Nip/Tuck'..

Read the storyline and see for yourself..
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361217/plotsummary

Vegaland!

Vegas Rocks!! Man, there is so much here that I need another couple of visits before I can say I've explored this place well!!

I spent my time doing what Americans love doing (since I'd gone with my Amru friends/colleagues).... boozing, gambling and watching American football.... I wandered off by myself sometimes leaving them to their betting and football matches... Man, words are not enough to describe the experience.. I need to upload some pics soon ;-)

It is a marketing extravaganza, no doubt, enticing and addictive... Otherwise, why would hundreds of thousands of people fly-in every week, shed their money and fly back? I had seen tens of limos in NY... But here it is easily in the hundreds, may be thousands... Ever seen a Hummer limo? You can find that and much more (Ford Expedition limo, anyone?)!!

We were staying in this hotel called the Monte Carlo... Its a huge one with so many casinos, food courts, and stuff... There are atleast 10-15 such big hotels. (I'm not looking at the small ones at all) And some 5 more are being built...

I think the casino table hosts have some remote control... Anyways, I made some money and lost more money on the Roulette... did not play blackjack... that would be for the next time... got to learn fully before that...

Enroute.. we passed through Edwards Air Force Base... thats where the Columbia and other space shuttles land, it seems... Its in the Mojave (pronounced, Mohave) desert... Just around the place there is this aeroplane junkyard too, where we could find old and discarded jet fighters and passenger planes...

We passed adjacent to the death valley (supposed to be the lowest and hottest place in the US) and this place named Zzyzx (wonder why they named such!!)

We also saw Area 51 (or the UFO center). Area 51 is actually a part of the Nevada Test and Training Range and is owned by the United States Department of Defense and the United States Air Force.

Area 51 contains an airfield whose primary purpose is believed to be the operation and analysis of enemy aircraft and weapons systems, and secret development and testing of new military aircraft. Many of blackbird and stealth flights have been created here and the entire area is 'highly classified'. Until a couple of decades ago, nobody knew about this place. It did not appear in any of the maps and the US govt. did not acknowledge the existence. It required the highest govt. clearance to access even the details related to this base.

Area 51 is the frequent subject of UFO conspiracy theories. Its secretive nature and undoubted connection to classified aircraft research, together with reports of unusual phenomena, have led to the popularity of Area 51 and it being a focus of modern UFO and conspiracy theory. It was believed that this was a storage, examination, and reverse engineering center of crashed alien spacecraft!!

So much for one visit... more later!!!

BlackJack

Its that time of the year to undertake pilgrimages and I am going on one tomorrow... Well.. I told you already!!!

Anyways, so here I am getting ready... I need to know some stuff, right? I am learning the rules and tricks of BlackJack... After all, that is supposed to be the only game that involves some skill in a casino... The odds are 7 to 3 in my favor, or is it?!

I would update the pilgrim's progress when I get back... bloggin' from Vegas would be so geeky and wasteful ;-)

Life @ Calabasas..

.. is groovy baby!!!

I don't have my camera, otherwise I would have posted some pics already... I am loving this setting... mountain ranges around (some burnt from the recent forest fires)... beaches (Malibu!) nearby... Hollywood round the corner..... And Vegas not too far away!!!

I saw this guy.... Michael Clarke Duncan (of 'The Green Mile', 'The Whole Nine Yards', 'Scorpion King', 'Sin City'.... fame) last weekend... He was just behind us in the Whole Foods market!!

Mez going to Vegas this weekend!!!!!!!

Singapura!

Blogging from Singapura.. I got a visa on entry here and I'm going to be seeing some parts of this beautiful city before I catch my connecting flight to LA.

This place looks good... free broad roads, nice cars, great ambience, and better still neither as desolate as Austin nor as populated as New York.

more later!
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My friend picked me up at the airport (poor thing, she had to get up early on a Saturday... but then I told her she would not get to host a VIP like me often!) After catching up on the intervening months and some rest at her place (and some bloggin'... that's where I wrote the above), we left for the Boat Quay. There were the national triathlon championships and dragon boat races that day. We had lunch overlooking the races and then proceeded to the Orchard road. It is the MG road/Champs Elysee of Singapore... Had a brief window at Takashimaya plaza before we caught the metro to get back to Changi - the airport.

Short yet extremely sweet stop!!