Global Citizenship

I recently became an American citizen by choice as it provides lot of convenience in traveling around the world and that is something I'd like to do. But during this process, I've been wondering about my nationality. I'll have a very hard time identifying myself as an American even though technically that is what I'm. I am a born Indian and that is how I identify myself most of the time. Just because my citizenship status has changed, I can't stop thinking of myself as Indian and start thinking of myself as American (maybe it will happen with time, but I don't know that now). I guess I can eventually start thinking of myself as Indian-American, if that is the right use of that terminology.

But regardless of what passport I hold, it is hard for me to think of myself as belonging to one country these days. I've been able to experience and/or get familiar with different cultures since coming to the US and can see the good and bad in all of them. So when I eat idli or listen to SPB's songs, I feel very very Indian. But then, when I see Jon Stewart or Bill Maher on TV or cheer whole-heartedly in a sports game, I feel very American. When I drink a good beer, I feel German. When I listen to Chieftains or any other good Irish music group, I feel like an Irish. When I read Kundera or Klima or Skvorecky, I feel as Czech as I could possibly do. When I eat pizza or tiramisu, I am an Italian. When I see a good mambo or salsa dance, I feel like a Latin American. When I see or read about any Holocaust related stuff, I empathize with the Jews so much that I could be a Jew. So I feel like I'm a mixture of all these nationalities and cultures, that it has become impossible to identify with one culture these days.

Needless to say, I can't understand why one sub-caste or caste or religion or state or country would think they are better than some other. The only upside I can think of with completely identifying with one group (be it a religion or country) is the sense of camaradarie. Which, people like me, will have to do without. I'm sure several people who have left one country to live in another would feel this way. Most of the times, it is good not to be blindly part of a group. Sometimes, it feels like being in a limbo. But then, people like me don't go hurting (both physically and emotionally) people that are different. That in itself is gratifying enough. Here's to feeling global!

Dear God

Ammani has a My Dear letter writing event that is one of a kind. Following is what I sent for that.

Dear God,

Hope you get this letter as I am not sure about your existence and don't know your address. I used to visit you in the temples and sing bhajans at school when I was growing up. Then there was a period when I thought you didn't exist and stopped them. But now, I am not sure whether you exist or not. So many people believe in you (although in different names and forms) and that makes me wonder. When I see people of different denominations fight over a piece of land in your name, I think that you would not let people die, if you were around. But then people die and you don't do anything about it and so I think that you are not there. Then there are things like the beautiful sunrise, perfect snow flake and colorful flowers that make me think that somebody has created these with a good plan. And so I wonder.

If you are there, I have a few requests for you. Stop innocent people from being killed through acts of violence, kids getting killed because of their parent's actions and dogs getting killed because of a totalitarian regime. Tell people that you are only one and all human beings are really created equal regardless of how they look, speak or act. Make good people live longer and don't let anybody suffer through old age on their own. And finally, make ice-cream and cheesecake good for us.

If I get a reply from you, I will know that I was wrong all this time. But if I don't get a reply, I will continue wondering this way, till I see any or all of the above requests taken care of.

Cheers,

Wondering Agnostic

Wow!!!!!!!!

It is not very often that I am speechless in wonder. But that happened twice in the span of two weeks. First, when Bill Gates announced that he is going to leave day to day operations at Microsoft to spend more time managing the Gates foundation. Then, a week or so after that, Warren Buffett announces that he is going to give away about $30 billion to the Gates foundation. Wow! is the only thing I could say about that. At least, till now.

I have been a big fan of both these guys for about 10 years now. I used to admire Warren a lot when I started looking at investing in shares and mutual funds. It was inspiring to learn that here is a guy who made billions of dollars through his prudent investing. There used to be a time when I had hopes of attaining a bit of what he accomplished in the stock market. Not anymore. Now I will be glad to own at least a share of Berkshire Hathaway A fund. But after some time, I stopped admiring Warren as much as he was not big on charity and I used to wonder what could he possibly do with so many billions of dollars. But that was his choice and so I respected that.

Bill is another story though. Just like everybody, I learnt about him and his ruthless and overly aggressive manners in Microsoft related activities. I was neutral about him as quite a few businessmen behave in such a way and sometimes a little bit of it is even necessary to survive in the cut throat environment. But then came news about Bill and Melinda Gates foundation (it is awesome that the foundation is named after both of them, I think). And then, there would be pictures of Bill and/or Melinda spending time in India or Africa with HIV infected kids. This made me start admiring Bill and it just kept growing the more I learnt about his foundation.

Last year, when I was in India, Bill and Melinda visited India and that gave me an idea of how much they are influencing (in a positive way) the downtrodden. They were everywhere in the media and were treated almost like a country's President. Now with this announcement, it is clear that he is planning on spending his second half of life (with his wife) doing a much more noble thing that running a business (even if it is one of the leading businesses). Just the fact that a college dropout created a company like Microsoft is impressive. But then, after amassing a significant amount of wealth, he creates a foundation and puts a lot of thought into making it effective is even more impressive. It takes a big heart to give away money and it takes a bigger heart to spend your own time and life in making sure the money is spent on worthwhile necessities. This is what Bill seems to be doing and this is why he is on the top of my most admired list.

It seems to me that Warren has had a change of heart as regards to giving away his wealth. And that is a welcome decision. I cannot help think that this change is due to Bill (at least partly) as they both are pretty good pals (how cool is that?!). So while I admire Warren more now, I credit Bill for leading by example. It is not very often that one gets to hear news as good as this and so let us savor this for some time. Check out the Gates Foundation to find out more about what they are doing. I did it last week to see if I can volunteer but the site says that they do not need any (sigh). It appears that they are running the foundation like a business and since they are successful businessmen and woman, this will be a success story as well. So once again, kudos to Bill, Melinda and Warren. That is a terrific trio that is bound to affect a lot of people's lives in a very positive way.

It's March Madness, Baby!

March is my favorite sports month. I am not a big sports fan but like college basketball. And the best part of that is the tournament that takes place in March every year. The March Madness this year started today and so I thought I would write something about it (can’t write a whole lot as I will miss the games then :-)).

A committee picks the 64/65 teams that play in this tournament and there is always a debate over some teams that got in and the rankings of some teams. Finally resigning to the fact that I can’t possibly agree with the committee on the whole bracket, I have told myself (which I needed to be reminded of sometimes) that the ranking does not matter in the end. A team that can win will win, regardless of whether it is ranked #4 or #9.

Here are some things I like most about this tournament. There are always upsets and it is so heartening to see the underdogs win. These kids (oh man, that makes me feel old!) give their all to win and that is their only objective for the forty minutes of the game. Yes, there are contracts to sign and money to make but those come after the games.

The other interesting thing is to watch the courtside demeanor of the coaches. There are some coaches who would be yelling at their players even when their team has a comfortable lead and then there are some who won’t be saying much even when the game is within a few points. The theatrics can’t be scripted to be this dramatic.

I have been filling out brackets for the last few years just for the thrill of it. And it makes the tournament more exciting to keep track of my teams – the ones I have going to the Final Four. I have to say that I got lucky last year and won the office pool and that was an easily earned few hundred dollars. This is sheer luck as there were other people who knew much more about the teams and the sport than I did. But then that is the beauty of any sport, isn’t it? One can’t say that this is the better team and hence this team will win, as there is always the possibility that the underdog could play better and win. It is 50-50 chance for either team.

Some years ago, the tournament brackets were filled on paper and the pool coordinator would be checking them after each round and posting the results. But now, lots of sites have pools that can be managed online and this makes it so very convenient to participate in pools with friends (regardless of where they are).

For anybody that is interested, here is (one of) my brackets for this year’s tournament.




Root for my teams, if you haven’t filled out a bracket :-)

Homebrew

It all started when I visited Portland, Oregon during 2004 Labor Day Weekend. Well, you could say that it all started when I had my first beer (which was when, I don't remember). But regardless of when it started, I am a homebrewer now.

I had started to develop a taste for beer (yes, it is an acquired taste) some years ago and have been toying with the idea of making some. I have heard that Full Sail is an employee owned brewery and liked their beer and so included a visit to Full Sail Brewing Company during the Portland trip. Full Sail is in a place called Hood River and there is a strategically located homebrew store right next door to the brewery. The atmosphere was cheerful inside the brewery as they had a pub (have you noticed how people get happy (or peaceful) after a few beers?). Even the employees were very happy - maybe because they own a piece of the place?!

I went on a tour of the brewery and the tour guide was very informative and interesting. While I walked through the brewery, I thought that making beer is like part being in the kitchen and part being in a chemistry lab. Since I like both of those most of the times, it looked like something worth trying. So I asked our tour guide how to get started, and he suggested that I read a book called "The Complete Joy of Homebrewing" by Charlie Papazian. He also encouraged me by saying that it is not difficult and that several people do it. So, off I went to Powell's Books (another swell place in Portland) and got that book. As I am notorious for starting something enthusiastically, and losing interest after a while, I wasn't even sure I was going to read the book.

But surprisingly I read the book and still thought that it is possible to make beer at home. The book is very good at making things sound very simple and mistake proof. If anybody is even remotely thinking of homebrewing, I would highly recommend reading this book. So, I still wanted to brew after reading the book. The more I learnt about brewing, the more I wanted to try it, and that is a very good sign that something was actually going to happen.

After some searching on the internet, found a homebrew store nearby that has a starter's kit. With the help of a few enthusiastic friends, I managed to get there and buy it. The starter's kit comes with a 5-gallon fermenter (which is just a plastic bucket with a spigot and lid), hygrometer (to measure the density), capper for the bottle caps and some other miscellaneous things. We have made 3 batches so far and they have been well consumed. All of my friends seem to like it, and some of them really do know their beer. And so, I managed to brew the fourth batch two weekends ago.

This time, decided to try German Oktoberfest beer. I wanted to make it last October but did not get to it. One of these days, I want to make beer from a recipe and not a kit, but for this one, kit it is. The brewing process itself is relatively simple - put the different ingredients at different times and stir once in a while. The key thing about brewing is to make sure the containers are clean - cleaning them takes much more time than actually making the beer.




Once the brewing is done, the "wort" (which is the brewed liquid shown above) is mixed with some water and allowed to ferment in an air tight container for a few days. The recipe specifies a certain density before and after fermentation, but ours has never matched them, but still our beer has turned out good. Once the fermentation is over (you will know that when the bubbling stops), it is ready to be bottled. Some homebrewers I know don't bottle their beers but keep them in airtight containers but bottling seems to work well for us. The back breaking activity is cleaning all the bottles before putting some cerveza in it. We collected some empty bottles from here and there and it was interesting to see how some bottles are easy and some are difficult to cap (the resident capping expert thinks Corona is the best). It took a first hand experience of filling to realize that dark colored bottles are difficult to see through - one just doesn't think about these things before hand, duh! We have a highly technical method of putting a tube into a bottle and one person watching the bottle level and the other person having a hand on the spigot (fancy word for faucet?). When the level reaches a certain point, the hand holding the spigot needs to close it immediately. That is when you appreciate the consistency in the bottles of beer you buy.

Anyway, after the bottling process, the bottles will have to be stored in a dark place (accomplished by covering with a blanket) for 2 weeks and then allowed to age for about 3 weeks. Then fresh tasting, one of a kind, homebrew is ready to be savored. We are now 2 weeks into the waiting process and have 3 more weeks to go before we can try this batch, but we can feast our eyes till then (see below).



It is an interesting hobby and a very productive one as well, that will get you lots of friends! It is mainly due to the support and encouragement from some friends (you all know who you are) that I am continuing it. There is an extra bit of bitterness in our homebrews so far that I don't care for. Hey, that is why I have a different day job, right? For now, the plans are to keep brewing in 5-gallon quantities as and when the mood hits. But there is a dream - to have a microbrewery one day. Who knows, it could very well happen!

After reading this, if you are wondering about the name of this beer, you will have to keep wondering as we don't have a name yet. There have been some suggestions but none that have stood out and captured the essence of it. So, if you have any ideas, shoot - it may one day be known world wide when we open our brewery. Or at least, go try a microbrew instead of a Bud or Coors (ok ok, I couldn't help it!).

Yes, Guinness is one of my favorite beers. I am waiting for the day I can go try one in Ireland, and say BRILLIANT!

But for now, Cheers!

My Very First Blog

Welcome to anybody who is reading this. Please bear with me as this is my first attempt at blogging and writing.

Why am I writing a blog?

Here are some of the reasons...

1. I recently read a friend's blog and found it very interesting. Thanks, friend!
2. I have always wanted to write something and thought this would be a good start. And I can go on to publishing lots of books!
3. Just wanted to try something new.
4. Wanted to share some of my views with whoever is interested.

I am not really sure what my postings are going to be about but am planning on writing about things that interest me, general events and whatever else goes through my mind.

Nithya