Recently Sanjay and I went on a small hike and once there, as the camera rolled, I pretended to be a tourist guide. This is all impromptu, with some really funny moments. Enjoy!

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ZdPZKP_soNk

Was up late Tuesday night arranging the library at home. Found some great books on tape. Started listening to "Power of Positive Insanity" by Mark Therrien today. I was laughing out loud on the way to work. I plan to ditch NPR, which I forgot to include as my favorite news-letters (pun intended) in my last post, for next few days while I finish his tapes:-)

Last evening, I resurrected my bicycle from the garage. Enjoyed a tough ride in the neighborhood and went to Kashyap residence about 10 minutes away for dinner. When I came back up the hill, I was exhausted, but in a good way. It felt good with the exercise I have missed for months. Coincidentally, Frazier Crane had a show on Fox's local channel, that was devoted to his cycling embarrssments. The last part of the episode was aptly named "CYCOLOGY" which I though was funny.

Still enjoying the Positive Insanity tapes. If nothing, someday it may help me in my insanity defense:-)

Just thought I would post this. These are the newsletters I subscribe to and a little excerpt from each one. Of course, there are more that I will have to dig out, but this is a sampler...

Just thought I would post this. These are the newsletter I subscribe to and a little excerpt from each one. Of course, there are more that I will have to dig out, but this is a sampler...

Memorial Day weekend is here. My friend Sanjay and I are planning to start playing Golf seriously. He actually went ahead and bought a set of clubs. Last Friday, we practiced our swings at the Moccasin Bend Golf Course's driving range. The lessons I had taken in year 2001 didn't quite help, but surely I was better than just a first timer. But need to focus on the lessons. Hoepfully, I will have time to take more lessons soon. Meanwhile, practice will continue again this weekend.

Memorial Weekend is also our first meeting anniversary. in 2001, I had met Manjiri for the first time in Nashville and that was the Memorial Weekend. I am missing her right now since she is still in India:-(

My parent's cruise experience was fantastic. They enjoyed the food and 10 story ship very much, it seems. The visit to Lakshdweep island was only a nominal one, nothing much to write home about. They took some pictures using my old digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 3100), so I am eager to see those pictures now. My mom is fascinating in these technology things and I am proud of her for taking on these adventures. Baabaa got a bit dizzy when the ship was rocking a bit, but he slept well in the cabins at night. Now they are back on land and happy about their trip experience. More soon.

Air Pollution Board of Chattanooga announces Code Orange for today. Read more about it here. And I am already beginning to show signs of allergy suffering since I came back from India. I have been sneezing, coughing and mildly irritated with allergens since March, and on days like this I can feel it. Last week, out of desperation, I even went to an Allergy Clinic (Allergy Care of Chattanooga) and got myself tested for all kinds of allergens. The tests were painful and irritating but revealed that I have mild allergies to cats and some major allergies to dust mites as well as certain pollens and dust mites. So living with cats is not dengerous, but when effects of cats' dander is combined with outside allergens like pollen etc, my symptoms get worse. So Pooja and Raja no longer get to stay in our bedroom anymore. Its one place off limits for them from now on. Poor pooja...

But I am not taking any medication suggested by the allergy specialist yet. I am still in denial that I can be a victim of allergies. I am just going to clean up my environment as much as I can and try to avoid dosing myself. Immune system can be enhanced in many ways, I suppose...

Today, I brought my lunch from home because I don't want to go out and face the code orange. How many of you have a similar problem? Write me your stories by email (I have removed the comments feature here due to spam) but you already know my email address. I am curious.

My parents are embarking upon a unique experience today. They are going on a cruise with Star Cruises' Libra on the way to Lakshadweep. I am eager to hear of their experiences. Check out the website.

Manjiri and Shridhar are currently in India enjoying the company of extended family and when they come back in June, family life is going to have a whole new meaning!! I am so looking forward to it!!

Oh by the way, I emailed some of my pictures for my India trip to many of you, but now I have uploaded a ton of them (1000 plus) on PicasaWeb. Check them out at your convenience. Click Here...

Toastmasters District 63 announced their awards for the 2006-2007 year and they thought I did a good enough job as Area Governor to receive "Area Governor Of The Year" award. I feel honored. All I did was follow the manual (there is one for Area Governor as well:-) ) and clubs in my area did everything they can to help me. I certainly learned a lot of lessons along the way. It has been a great Toastmasters year for me. I finished my High Performance Leadership Project, my first CL Manual was finished, all my clubs will be distinguished by end of June and I will also have achieved my AC-Bronze after I give a speech next week. In July, after successful completion of Area Governor term, I will also become eligible for AL-Silver award. provided I receive the Club Coach award as well for helping Wordspinners.And now this award. All in all, a lot of achievement, right before I take some time off from heavy Toastmasters activity to spend some quality time with our son, Shridhar.

I frequently deposit checks into Bank of America ATM and I am very picky as to how I do it. I usually place one check in one envelope and deposit all envelopes individually so that when the transactions are in my account, I can reconcile them better by their amounts. I am sure I have annoyed several people in line behind me on some days when I had 6 checks to deposit:-).

But this last trip to the ATM surprised me. Withhout paying attention to the instructions warning me of the ATM being new, I proceeded with a check deposit with an envelope. But suddently, the ATM rejected my envelope. I was like, what? Needless to say, I got off the phone and started reading the instructions. The new ATM can read your check!! So you just slide it in and it will confirm the amount for you. It was not something I was expecting and was pleasantly surprised. How often does your bank surprise you pleasantly?