America

America - here I come…

date: ‘2008-01-26T10:16:00.000+05:30’

First intnl’ flight: EVA Air: BOM - SFO (5’ stopover at Taipei, Taiwan)

This predates my experience of GVR’s makeover of Mumbai International Airport

Taipei airport is mindblowingly clean.
It was wondrous to see three batches of housekeeping, at work in different sections.
Fully carpetted terminal with Conveyor belts. A monorail outside.
Dazzling shopping options: liquor, chocolates, delicacies, electronics (laptops, digicams) - anything you could want.

Separate seating areas before every boarding gate (plane bay), lined all along the terminal.
Orchid garden, prayer room, cultural heritage, whew…

Apart from the airport, couldn’t help noticing,… Chinese girls are really pretty,
and fashionable – long boots, fur-trimmed coats, right out of MTV.

The Pernicious effects of litigation

date: ‘2008-02-03T03:52:00.000+05:30’

Receptionist at serviced apartment where I’m booked takes me through a docket of 4-5 mandatory ‘disclosures’, that they’re legally required to run by every tenant.
I initial a sheet acknowledging that the apartment company has made the disclosures.

The list includes:

  • the EPA’s (Environmental Protection Agency) brochure (it’s a detailed one) on the negative health impact of lead-paints, especially on little children I surmise there’ve been class-action suits and payouts for the mal-effects of lead-based paints on newborns.
    I also surmise that the mere act of informing a tenant of the prevalence of lead-paint in the apartment, absolves the owner from liabilities in case somebody sues over:
  • mold formation in apartments
  • asbestos used in construction
  • sexually predatory behavior against teenagers

On the plus side, litigation has forced providers to be more transparent.
Maybe class-action suits are needed back home to create some transparency too.

Easy living…

date: ‘2008-02-03T04:53:00.000+05:30’

Time is money in America.
Appliances, food, everything, is designed to save time.
The kitchenware in my Essentials Apartment (stove & cookware included) has saucepans and lids with heat resistant handles – no running around for insulation – that won’t burn your hands. Apart from the Brazil-made pans (Tramontina/Inox 24 cm), everything is China made from toaster to cutlery set.
I liked the kitchen towel rolls with perforated tearoffs - great for wiping dishes dry - use and throw. Little brainwaves that making life more convenient and efficient.
Minor things we take for granted once we have them, but hard to imagine how we could do without them.

Food tips

date: ‘2008-02-06T13:18:00.001+05:30’

I’ve always been provided for – never troubled with cooking or grocery shopping – so I owe it to my client, and an Indian colleague for getting me to India Cash and Curry, Sunnyvale for my supplies of:

  • Pavel’s Lowfat Russian yogurt (Indian curd)
  • Yoplait’s fruit yogurt (comfort food)
  • vegetables and apples (cheaper than at Safeways)

The spice sachets from home (Salt, Turmeric, Chilli, jeera/ajwain) came in handy.
Chicken, Fish pre-made masala packs (add and cook) are another lifesaver – buy the meats from Safeway, cut and follow the instructions on the masala packs.

For staples, I grabbed pre-rolled Roti packs, Berkeley Farms Milk, and Grimmway Farms cut & Peeled Baby Carrot packs (1$ each).

Safeways (Miramonte) got me:

  • deals on Hershey’s Kisses and Nuggets chocolate bags
  • Cereal (Post - Honey oats, and berry flavored mix from Trader Joe’s)
  • eggs
  • Nestle Nesquik chocolate milk (very good)
  • Safeway’s butter top bread
  • frozen meats (chicken breasts and fish)
  • fruits (bananas, apples, purple grapes – really yum)

  • veggies (quite a range) The Safeway card gets you discounts on shopping - 18$ on a bill of 103 USD - not bad. Need to fill out a form for a free card, though I used my colleague’s card.

  • Trader Joe’s for milk, juices
  • Costcos for all stuff in bulk

Cost of groceries for two weeks, for one person is about 100 USD.

UPS…

date: ‘2008-02-07T00:43:00.000+05:30’

Again before the smartphone revolution in India

The cool thing about couriers in America – you can track your shipment at every stage due to barcode scanning – from the pickup, to warehouse movement – all checkouts enroute to the final delivery.

So i was tracking my shipment, originated 1st Feb from TigerDirect.com warehouse in Hodgkins, IL to San Pablo, CA, and finally this morning to Sunnyvale, CA, where it was out for delivery.

I thought to myself – the expected delivery date is tomorrow – no courier service delivers a day before. A day later maybe, but never one day before.
And lo and behold, this morning, sweet UPS lady, comes up with the package and asks me to sign on their electronic monitor.
What I didn’t realise when she asked me my last name, is that the same machine, also has a mic, that records your name, and has voice translation that stores it in the UPS tracking system – as the person who took delivery.
The voice translation model is flawed though :-(

Type: Package  
Status: Delivered  
Delivered On: 02/06/2008 10:20 A.M.  
Delivered To: LOS ALTOS, CA, US  
Signed By: SULVIA  
Service: GROUND