It's all in the Jeans (yes, jeans...not genes..NERDO!!!)

There are things that are dear to you. There are people you look up to.
But above all, there are things that are Sacred.

For some it is Marlon Brando, smoking a cigar in The Godfather. For others, it is the LOTR trilogy by Tolkien. Yet more swear by the light sabers in Star Wars. I personally know people who revere things varying from Nokia cell phones to Bob Marley to the pani puri sold at their local chaat walah.

Mind you, these people are just not mere fans. They revere, respect and hold in awe, the Sacred. But unlike the fans, they will not go up in arms on hearing some one speak against the Sacred. They will never try to convince others of the greatness or the holiness of the Sacred. No sir. For them, it is a religion, an inspiration, a source of hope. The possibility of the world existing without the Sacred, is not a possibility. And if others fail to realize that, then May the Sacred lead them away from ignorance, to the path of light.

For me, and am sure for many others out there, a pair of denim jeans definitely figures in the List of Top 5 Sacred things. Imagine a world without jeans!!!! Definitely sounds like the plot of a Stephen Kings's novel!!!!

And if it is a jeans, it has to be Levi Strauss & Co.



Gulli ki majnu se Deepika Padukone tak, agar jeans pehni hogi, to Levi's jeans hi hogi. (For the uninformed, that was a throwback to the old SAIL steel add in India: safety pin se satellite tak, agar steel se bana hai, to SAIL steel hi hoga. Can't find the damn add!!!!).

Go here if you want a little history lesson on Levi's!!! And here's one of the oldest add's I could find!!!



So, why Levi's?? Cause every thing else, is just a xerox!! :-)




Also, a Levi's jeans is much more than just a jeans. How else do you think Brad Pitt gets all the babes!!!



And the reason for Pamela Anderson being so hot?? You got it!! Levi's jeans!!



Vaise, our desi stars are not far behind in realizing the hotness quotient of a Levi's low rise!!!



He he..now you know why Mohabbat Man goes Udiii Babaaa!!!!

And it's just not the looks... You get the laughs too!!!!



So there you go. One of my Sacred things. Levi's originals. 501..527..Signature...Can't live without it!!!! What's yours???


P.S. ..remember their campaign in India which made them (in)famous!!!!



Don't worry ladies...u can drool too!!!! lol!!!



Levi's - Dangerously Low...

Ballot Bowl 08

It's election season in USA. Ballot Bowl 08 is what CNN calls it!!! Bah!! humbug!! I don't know which brainy mind came up with that name. I hope it wasn't Anderson Cooper. I really like him. But to use a play on the words Super Bowl to describe the elections was the worst idea ever. I mean, how can you compare elections with Super Bowl??? You think you can have pizza and beer while watching the President's Sate of the Union speech???? Gimme a break!!! Not even if Jenna Bush does a Janet Jackson during half time. Dubya man droning for an hour about what he's gonna do in the year to come, though moderately funny (with all the Bushisms), is still not my cup of tea ( or can of beer). In fact, I think this time I noticed him whispering some thing under his breath after every line. After doing some lip reading I realized what was going on.

Bush: "Our troops in Iraq have brought stability in the region (whisper: NOT!!!). Our troops will start coming back as there is progress in Iraq (NOT!!). We attacked Iraq because it had nuclear arms and not for the oil (NOT!!) . I don't listen to 'Piya tu ab to aa ja' every night, while dreaming about Monica Lewinsky (NOT!!)."

Yeah. Since he can't lie standing there, he whispers his NOT after every sentence. He usually turns away from the camera and pretends to look at Nancy Pelosi while saying NOT (well, Dick Cheney was also sitting next to Nancy, so I wasn't really sure whom he was looking at). He thinks no one has seen the Borat movie, except him and the villians in Air Force One. Just because Borat gets to Pamela Anderson (sighhhh!!!), they thought they can get to Harrison Ford. Ya right. Indiana Jones is only scared of snakes. Not gun-weilding Kazhaki terrorists. Give him his rope and hat, and he could take on the Penguin, Joker and Riddler at the same time. Even batman needs three movies to do that!!!

So coming back to the Ballot Bowl, all the attention seems to be on the Democrats this year. Obama and Clinton are like Packers and Cowboys. Neck to neck all the way to the end. But to what purpose. Both got kicked out. Cause the year belonged to the Pats, a.k.a John McCain. Yes. The senator from Arizona (which incidentally hosted the Super Bowl this yr!!).

Does any one think that a black man can defeat a white man in the elections? Or a woman defeat a man? I don't think so. The Democrats will be a victim of their own ignorance. America is not ready for this. They give too much credit to the citizens of America, when all they want is to get fat in peace and blow away their money in Vegas. It may happen one day. But not this year. Not in these elections. This is not the time for change.

P.S. Don't forget that the Giants took the cake eventually. Will Huckabee be the surpise upset? Do white conservatives still hold the power in this country? To which side will they sway? Wait and watch.

A different view of SF

SF!!! Every one's favorite city!!!!! How can it not be!!!! Beautiful weather...beautiful people...the sights...the food...sighhhh...

So, I guess every one has driven down the Bay bridge or the San Mateo bridge to SF. But not every one has probably taken the ferry to SF. Yes, a ferry. And believe me, it's FUN!!!!

This is where it all starts. The Vallejo - SF Bay Link ferry. Starts of from the city of Vallejo, and drops you off at Pier 1, SF. A fun-filled hour long ride. Just make sure the weather's nice!!!!


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I took the trip on a fine sunny Sunday, with A, P and M. We drove from Davis to Vallejo and reached there around 11ish. The next ferry was leaving in half an hour, which suited us well (actually, I had planned it that way). So we bought our tickets (btw, you can get a AAA discount there) and waited to board the ferry (seen below).



Well, so fast forwading about forty-five mins, we boarded the ferry and discovered that they also have aa standing area on the deck. This was a bonus!!! The weather was superb and we decided to spend the ride on the deck itself.

The ferry took off pretty slow. Pretty much like my grandad's premier padmini (good old fiat, for the uninformed). But this was only because we were in the narrow channel and the captain was only waiting to get out in the open. Once we were in in the proper bay, all the pistons kicked in, and we could have taken on Schumacher himself!!!! Boy, it was hard to believe that the ferry had could pack in so much power. we found this particular spot on the deck where the wind force was aprticularly strong, and it caused people to make funny faces!!!! Ofcourse, we took pictures!!!! lol!!!





He he!!! It was fun standing at that spot!!! The only problem was it left a bitter after taste of salty water!!!

The ferry ride turned out to be immensely fun!! The bay was full of people on sail boats (made me wanna get one for myself!!). We even got a beautiful view of the infamous Alcatraz prison (from the movie The Rock!!). And even better, in the back ground we caught the majestic Golden Gate bridge!!!! All this for the price of a ferry ride!!!!!







Finally, after about an hour and loads of fun behind us, we reached the Pier 1 in SF, where the ferry docks. As we entered the pier area, we had a great veiw of the Port of SF on one side, and the Bay bridge and Treasure Island on the other.





So, finally we were at Pier 1, SF. From here, we decided to take a nice walk to Pier 39, along the Embarcadero. The walk was a little over a mile, and is the best way to enjoy the beautiful city of SF!!!


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We finally reached our detination of Pier 39, and roamed around the Fisherman's warf area. There were so many small shops, which totally reminded me of Delhi markets!!! We even found a nice bengali uncle at a clothes shop, and had a little chat with him!!!







Pier 39 is a very lively area, with lots of shops, live music, rides and sone of the best eating places. it also provides an awesome close up view of Alcatraz and Golden gate bridge!!!




From here, we moved on to the famous (and absolutely delicious) Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory. A visit to SF is not complete without sampling the fine chocolate from this place. And a visit to this place is not complete without eating their famous banana split!!!!


Later, we took a tram ride from Ghirardelli to the municipal square and roamed around in the malls, which are found in abundance in that area (it's like they keep reproducing. Macy's for Men. Macy's for Women. And BOOM!!! Macy's for children).

After recovering from the PJ, we walked around a bit and found an Indian restaurant (I think it was called Nan 'n Curry and was open 24 hrs). And ofcourse, all of us were hungry!!! The food was pretty ok. After the meal, we took a cab back to pier 1, and had crappy black coffee from a mexican place (no reflection what so ever on a mexican's coffee-making abilities), just to keep us warm while we waited for the ferry.





So that was pretty much it. The ride back was also very beautiful. The lights of SF fading away in to the darkness were simply brilliant. There was a full moon out, glowing bright orange, like the feeling of happiness and satisfaction inside us. All in all, it was a wonderful experience.

Kayaking trip to Tomales bay

So like I said, this blog will mostly be about my various outings. And I can't think of a better one to start with. On the week end of January 19th and 20th, me and my room mate (Rushi) went on a kayaking trip to Tomales Bay.


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The trip was organized by Outdoor Adventures of UC Davis. I really like these guys. They provide you with all the equipment (kayaks, wet suits, tents, sleeping bags, the works). And for a pretty reasonable rate (the two day trip cost me about 100 bucks!!!). This included two guides who go with you on the trip and manage every thing. Given the labor costs in the US of A, he he...you get the idea.

Preparing for the trip

One day before the trip, me and Rushi made a list of things we would need for the trip. The trip involved camping too, so we had to be ready for that. 12 o' clock in the night we drove to our friendly neighborhood safeway and filled our trolley with snack bars, instant coffee mix (since we were told hot water would be available), bread rolls, cheese for making sandwiches, and above all, the most important thing, GATORADE!!!! (believe me, its the best!!!). Some of the other things recommended by the trip guide were a torch light, gloves for kayaking, sun screen (lots of it) and sun glasses.

Getting there

The whole group (eight people including the 2 guides) met the the OA office at 6:30 AM in the morning. We loaded the kayaks onto a trailer and all the gear in the back of a van. The rest of the group consisted of a couple (a law student who supported Ron Paul and his girl friend from Irvine, and two more girls, one of which was from Israel and had served in the army there for 2 yrs). So moving on, we headed out towards Tomales bay, with me sleeping in the back seat, and Rushi getting to know the two girls better ;-).

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Once we arrived there, we unloaded all the stuff and started getting our kayaks ready. The kayaks have these small compartments built in in which you can stuff the required things. Our guides had brought these water-proof bags for us in which we stuffed our clothes, food etc. These bags went into the compartments, along with the tents and sleeping bags. There's a surprising amount of space in the kayaks!!!!! Though you need to remember not to make either the front compartment heavier than the back, or vice-versa. We were also equipped with sponges and a water-pump, to bail out any water that might get into the kayak (in case the kayak rolled over!!!! UH-OH!!!). Bottles of water (or gatorade in my case) were fitted under the strings on the kayak. These strings serve as excellent anchors for water-bottles, water-proof cameras (stroke of brilliance!!!!!) and even our sleeping pad!!!



We were also given wet suits, life jackets and some thing called a "frock". The frock fits into the seating space of the kayak and prevents water from getting into the kayak. I can be seen here, all dressed up, with my kayak ready to go!!!!! After this, our guide took us through a brief OA 101 "Introduction to Kayaking" course. We were taught how to paddle and how to turn the kayak left and right (the kayaks have rudders, but in calm waters its as easy with the paddles). Then after a brief round of stretching and getting our muscles warmed up, we were all set to go!!!

Take Off!!!



So we pushed off our kayaks into the water and started paddling. The guides kept us close to the coast initially and made us practice the strokes that we had learnt. It also helped the first-timers (like me!!!) to get a feel of the kayak and get used to the slight rocking motion (and the fact that you practically feel like you are sitting on the water surface!!!!). Once done with that, we headed out into the bay. The map below has the route we took.

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The first point of interest we came to was Hog Island. We met a whole bunch of sea lions and harbor seals. Though we had to be careful to maintain distance from them, and let them approach us. We then moved on across the bay and started hunting for a beach to camp for the night. Our guide John finally found a nice secluded spot, big enough for putting up tents for our group. It felt nice to get out of the wet suit and stretch my legs!!!! We unloaded our kayaks and had some lunch. After this, the guides asked the interested candidates if they wanted to go through some "Rescue Steps". This basically involves teaching you how to rescue other people if they roll over. I took a rain check, but Rushi and the 2 girls went ahead (as the Israeli girl put, "I wanna get my 100 bucks worth!!!"). So the rest of us just drifted around, while Rushi played the "knight in wet kayak" and rescued the damsel in distress!!!! After this we went back to our beach and pulled up the kayaks, so that they don't drift away at high tide (the guides had a whole time table of high and low tides, and it's some thing very important to consider on trips like these). We put up ur tents, changed into dry clothes, and started a bon-fire. John and Greg (our guides) had brought the dinner, which they cooked for us. So we had dinner, played some games, listened to songs on Rushi's Nokia N 91 and warmed our selves in front of the fire. Every body gave was pretty tired by 10 PM, after the exciting day. So we decided to call it a day. Plus we had more action to look forward to the next day. The next day we all got up pretty early. After having breakfast, we slowly packed and waited for the tide to ebb out. John explained a whole lotta stuff about water currents and tide movements, none of which I remember now!!! So me and Rushi decided to utilize the time taking some pictures. And we got some pretty nice ones.







Finally, we loaded back all our stuff (considerably lighter with most of the food gone!!!) and started off again. We first moved on to a part of the coast called the White Gulch. It gets it name from the wall of white rocks on the mountain side.





At this point, the wind started picking up. John informed us that it was supposed to get very windy later in the day, but seemed like the wind gods were jealous of all the fun we were having. So we decided to head back from where we had started, a little earlier than planned. Barring some trouble that the first-time kayakers had, going against the strong wind and every thing, and making sure not to hit the rocks or drift too much, we managed to reach the shore. Here's Rushi doing his victory hurray!!!



So that was it!! We were back!!! Loaded back every thing into the vans. Made our way back to Davis. Helped out John and Greg to clean out the kayaks and other stuff. And finally, came to our home sweet home. A hot water bath to get rid of all the salt in my hair, and to soothe my aching shoulders, was all I needed before succumbing to a deep sleep. So that was my kayaking trip!!! If you decide to go, you are welcome to contact me for any information!!!! Here's a little video I took there, to close this post!!

Supr Bowl 42 ...oops...XLII I mean...

Yeah. The link above (here it is if u missed it) was my favorite add in this yr's super bowl. It was better than Manning not falling down with half the Pat's defense tugging at his shirt (I guess the Pat's knew that the Giants were going to win, and so they wanted Manning's jersey). It was better than Tyree using his helmet to hold on to Manning's pass ("He showed he could use his head," Bloomberg, Mayor, NY). And it would have been better than Randy Moss catching the the 50 yard throw by Tom brady, and scoring a touchdown in the last 30 seconds of the game.
Oh well, may be not the last part. But still, the Giants winning the game was an upset. Wait. make that an Upset. I just updated by Gtalk status:

Is the giant's joy > the patriot's grief ???

Lemme know. Ofcourse, the best team took the trophy in the end. Blah Blah. But I still won't give credit to Eli Manning. The Giants were all about defense, and they had enough opportunity to learn that from Eagles and Colts.

The super bowl adds in general were a bit of let down this yr. No real funny adds from Budweiser (does any one find fire-breathing guys funny???), and the pepsi "magnetic attraction" add further strengthned my resolve not to drink pepsi ever in my life!!! At the end of the game, I just wished I had a giant charlie brown or stewie balloon, like the ones in the coke add!!!!

Hi

HI



So this is my latest craze!!! (after getting hooked on baking cakes recently!!!).



As the blog URL says, I am here to mostly play around with blogging for a while. It remains to be seen how long I continue this.



Most of my posts would relate to my trips and outings. Some might be more random, dealing with any thing or nothing.



As for my favorite blogs, I subsribe to DesiPundit. It's a fab place to check out some cool stuff by our own Desi bloggers (most of whom are not living in our Des for some reason!!!!).



So let the real games begin!!!