When I see the list of America's billionaires from Forbes, all I find in TOP 10 that except for Warren Buffet, the rest are predominantly dropouts from colleges & universities... What does this mean?? Doesn't America require education to survive [which is true] and also to succeed?? Or did I waste my time in studying Engineering for 4 years to be a mere software engineer?? I am wandering over this thought after finding this pattern in the list...
The irony is dropouts created Microsoft & Oracle which employs studs who did not dropout. I think I should not study anymore... >:)
But I believe they had the vision to create unlike most of the other dropouts & non-dropouts which make them stand-out & excel for that matter.
Friday, September 22, 2006
Friday, September 15, 2006
LAX <-> YYZ
I've been to some of the downtowns in US as of now... & most look scary at night... LA downtown looks scary during day too :P
However, when I landed in Toronto, Canada, though I had ugly feelings about this downtown, everything ended up cool, at least while at downtown. Like the Market Street of SFO, which is Wall Street of the West or Dalal Street of India, almost all major financial institutions are located on this street. For that matter, streets of Toronto downtown are marked as distinct districts like entertainment district, finance district, fashion district, etc... Landing on 13th of Sep 2006, I took the shuttle to the hostel at Pembroke Street, whose reviews read that the street was filled with druggists & hookers. Well, nothing did I see when I went there for the first time, neither at any time of the day. I'm saved. Only while I was about to check-in, I learnt that my check-in time was 3 pm & I cannot check in at 8 am, which I was assuming TRAVELOCITY should have taken care. Fortuantely, the hostel guy accepted the request from travelocity to accomodate me immediately.
Next stop: American Consulate. "We are approving your Visa, but we are holding it since you are employed only for a day" was the answer from the lady behind the counter. CRAP!!! How can that be?? It was a typo that read date of employment is from 6-Sep-2006 to 6-Sep-2006... New Jersey guys cut the crap... Attorney replied to me stating that I can get the visa stamped the next day [Thursday] & if not possible to get it done on same day itself, get my passport back on Friday...This means I'll have to cancel my return ticket & get a new one for Friday sametime... Not just that book a hotel too for Thurday night. SCREWED!!!
Travelocity was of no use, they disowned my trip since I had started with it... And I learnt from the airlines that I will have to incur $250 extra for cancelling & rebooking the ticket. Shit...
Fortunately, I was able to get my visa on Thursday.. And a little relieved I went around downtown, and to CN Tower "Canada's wonder of the world"... I do not understand completely what that means... I checked-in my baggage with food I had foolishly, which I was supposed to consume as dinner before departing Toronto... Finally, while about to leave the airport on Thursday night, I find that the flight is delayed by 50 minutes, which means I will miss the connection flight from Vegas to LA, and ultimately miss the next day work... Oops!!! Well, fortunately I went to Vegas on time & took boarded the connecting flight to LA... Now the next thing, this flight took off 30 minutes later than the stipulated time & arrived at LA at 2:30 on Friday. I was waiting for the shuttle I reserved to reach my apartment, which did not turn up.... Finally, I had to take a cab at 3 in the morning & reached home at 3:30... Shit...It costed me 85 bucks.... Fuck the shuttle...
However, when I landed in Toronto, Canada, though I had ugly feelings about this downtown, everything ended up cool, at least while at downtown. Like the Market Street of SFO, which is Wall Street of the West or Dalal Street of India, almost all major financial institutions are located on this street. For that matter, streets of Toronto downtown are marked as distinct districts like entertainment district, finance district, fashion district, etc... Landing on 13th of Sep 2006, I took the shuttle to the hostel at Pembroke Street, whose reviews read that the street was filled with druggists & hookers. Well, nothing did I see when I went there for the first time, neither at any time of the day. I'm saved. Only while I was about to check-in, I learnt that my check-in time was 3 pm & I cannot check in at 8 am, which I was assuming TRAVELOCITY should have taken care. Fortuantely, the hostel guy accepted the request from travelocity to accomodate me immediately.
Next stop: American Consulate. "We are approving your Visa, but we are holding it since you are employed only for a day" was the answer from the lady behind the counter. CRAP!!! How can that be?? It was a typo that read date of employment is from 6-Sep-2006 to 6-Sep-2006... New Jersey guys cut the crap... Attorney replied to me stating that I can get the visa stamped the next day [Thursday] & if not possible to get it done on same day itself, get my passport back on Friday...This means I'll have to cancel my return ticket & get a new one for Friday sametime... Not just that book a hotel too for Thurday night. SCREWED!!!
Travelocity was of no use, they disowned my trip since I had started with it... And I learnt from the airlines that I will have to incur $250 extra for cancelling & rebooking the ticket. Shit...
Fortunately, I was able to get my visa on Thursday.. And a little relieved I went around downtown, and to CN Tower "Canada's wonder of the world"... I do not understand completely what that means... I checked-in my baggage with food I had foolishly, which I was supposed to consume as dinner before departing Toronto... Finally, while about to leave the airport on Thursday night, I find that the flight is delayed by 50 minutes, which means I will miss the connection flight from Vegas to LA, and ultimately miss the next day work... Oops!!! Well, fortunately I went to Vegas on time & took boarded the connecting flight to LA... Now the next thing, this flight took off 30 minutes later than the stipulated time & arrived at LA at 2:30 on Friday. I was waiting for the shuttle I reserved to reach my apartment, which did not turn up.... Finally, I had to take a cab at 3 in the morning & reached home at 3:30... Shit...It costed me 85 bucks.... Fuck the shuttle...
Monday, September 04, 2006
SFO, Part II
went to San Francisco this labor day weekend for the second time... Golden Gate impressed me again... & I was really glad I has enough time to walk the bridge.... Well, more glad I'm since I made it to those places which I did not visit last time - Pebble Beach [17 mile drive] & Mystery Spot esp.
Well, other than that I did not do much at SFO, just that I had more time to walk the Golden Gate. Well, a trivia is that I ate at Saravana Bhavan @ Sunnyvale, CA for the 2nd & 3rd time in my life... I think I've been to this place in Annanagar, Chennai long back that its oblivious... BTW I do not even know if I 've ever been to it before this.... Whatever, it tasted good & it was the hunting the items on the menu... One more thing is that it wasn't all that vegan... Okay I am not getting into the argument of whether egg is vegan or dairy products are not, plants have lives and hence vegans do kill living thingys etc etc yada yada....
I found this item on the menu that read "EGG" I do not know for what reason it was included... I believe it is not on the list back in India.... Whatever, so much for a trivia.... looks like it has been most of the writing on this post....
One more trivia: THIS IS THE 201st POST ON THIS BLOG OF MINE
Well, other than that I did not do much at SFO, just that I had more time to walk the Golden Gate. Well, a trivia is that I ate at Saravana Bhavan @ Sunnyvale, CA for the 2nd & 3rd time in my life... I think I've been to this place in Annanagar, Chennai long back that its oblivious... BTW I do not even know if I 've ever been to it before this.... Whatever, it tasted good & it was the hunting the items on the menu... One more thing is that it wasn't all that vegan... Okay I am not getting into the argument of whether egg is vegan or dairy products are not, plants have lives and hence vegans do kill living thingys etc etc yada yada....
I found this item on the menu that read "EGG" I do not know for what reason it was included... I believe it is not on the list back in India.... Whatever, so much for a trivia.... looks like it has been most of the writing on this post....
One more trivia: THIS IS THE 201st POST ON THIS BLOG OF MINE
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