Hi Guys

How are you doing today? Well, that's what the immigration guy asked me first at Boston airport. And then he asked me to smile and pose for a pic, which I obviously couldn't manage after that atrocious flight from Amsterdam. So, he cracked a Yankee joke about my earning lots of dollars, which was eventually responded with a wide grin. Thus began my life here, and if you are feeling Monday morning blues already, I am happy to know that I am fast asleep when you are reading this!

Was trying to touch base with all of you these days, and now that I have hacked a neighbor's unsecured wi-fi connection, I can do so in the comfort of my bedroom. Hold on, don't start imagining things. There is no comfort here. The bedroom just has a sleeping bag and a pillow that I picked up from Wal-Mart yesterday, a water bottle, and my laptop. And some duty free stuff that I picked up at AD airport. Perhaps that was the only good thing about the whole flight from Delhi till Boston. The guy sitting next to me from Delhi to AD was either sleeping or drinking. And the elegant looking British lady from AD to Boston was, god bless, a complete lady (read psycho). I mean, u don't board a flight and look for suspicious objects under your seat! And you don't do all those exercises they recommend on the in-flight TV to keep your blood circulation flowing! And you don't read each and every page in those manuals about safety. Well, she did all of that! And mother of all horrors! The flight was delayed at AD for 3 hours due to a thunderstorm! So the pick up cab at the airport was missing. And while I waited for a cab outside the airport, a trash bin nearby caught fire. I mean, it started emitting smoke in no small measure. A good smart dutiful Yankee policeman came, had a smoke while the world watched, finally stubbed his cigarette into it, and then called the fire department! So much for American coolness! Finally, reached the hotel a good 5 hours late. The best part of the day was the dinner at a colleague's place, totally desi; chicken curry, rice and sambar and a glass of mango shake to top it! God is not so unkind, after all!

Sunday, was easier, picked up some calling cards and Indian grub, Haldiram's bhujiya et al. from an Indian store and that was it. The week was uneventful as well, except that I picked up some more norms of the American life (now and henceforth this will mean "life in America", some of you know the difference). The first one is; you don't walk, you always drive. If you don't have a car, God will not help you. That's the norm. You are not fine, you are doing good, and if you are ready, you say you are all set. It also substitutes for 'ok', but I haven't picked up the difference yet.

Work is cool, not much load, but I have to stay late as someone needs to drop me home. Office is nearly 30 minutes drive, around 20 miles J. I am sick of converting from miles to kilometres, and lbs to kgs. Worst is when the air conditioner shows 70 deg F, and you don't know whether to increase or decrease the cooling or to turn the damn thing off. Nevertheless, you always have that 5/9 multiplication going. Don't ask me about gallons and litres yet, as I don't have a car. But I have had enough while looking in auto classifieds.

Moved in this apartment (1 BHk, a small k denotes a small kitchen) yesterday, and bought a lot of warm-n-eat Indian food from the nearby store. The problem is, I don't have a lot of utensils, and I didn't pick up a dishwashing detergent. Let's see how it goes till Saturday comes. The apartment has a slowish fan, a refrigerator and an electric stove. Also an AC, it's damn hot here these days. The best thing is, there is a golf course in this society, a swimming pool and a tennis court. Guess I'll hit a few balls soon! Actually when I came to see this apartment, the guys showed me around in a golf cart!

Today, has been mostly boring, except for this hacked internet connection. Downloaded and saw two movies, corporate and krish. And now this mail. Will probably go to the airport later this evening to pickup a colleague who has been vacationing away in California.

Life in general is stagnant, without a car. It will take me another month or so to get one. Lots of paperwork needs be done before I can get one. Have opened a bank account, but no credit card for me. You need to have a credit history to get a credit card, or a cell phone connection. I am waiting for another colleague who is vacationing in India and has a good credit history so that I can get a phone connection. Will get a net connection in a day or two I hope.

Ok..so that was the story till now. Don't expect a chapter weekly . Will keep you all updated.

Rock on and take care

Gary