Understanding Opportunities

The main idea of writing this blog is to put down my experiences in photography and record rambling thoughts that come to my mind. When I said rambling thoughts, those are just my opinions and may not comply with you. I wonder sometimes, how complex each person's thought process and understanding is? It seems a little heavy for me too, but I don't know. I just put them on soft paper to reminisce in future and understand how mind works and how the thought process of a human being changes over time.

Coming to the topic "understanding opportunities", I don't know why it came to my mind, may be because of stuff happening in my life and I just like to put down my observation.

Getting opportunities is a good thing, even more important is to understand opportunities then only you would know how important it is to use it or lose it. People tend to ignore opportunities just based on the face value of it, without even putting any thought to it. I honestly hate it as you might be taking life changing decisions sometimes without even knowing your opportunities, to me it just seems gambling your life. Availing yourself a good opportunity is possible when you really understand it.

There is a saying by Maltbie Babcock on opportunity.

Opportunities do not come with their values stamped upon them.

So what I say is know or understand your opportunities. After all, what are you going to lose.

Bis Später!!!

A tour of Santa Barbara

Link to the pictures

Santa Barbara is a beautiful city with Spanish influence in many buildings and most notably the county courthouse. It's a wonderful day, of course every day in Santa Barbara is wonderful as they say there is no off-season there. I call it a Mediterranean climate which tempts you to live there. Hope one day I might buy a beach house with access to a private beach of my own. After all they say “If you can imagine it, you can achieve it; if you can dream it, you can become it.”

The first spot that I covered was the "Stearns Wharf" pier, it's one of the longest deep water piers between Los Angeles and San Francisco. The beaches are awesome and pleasant. Had lunch sitting in the balcony over looking the pier and the sea, that's a feast to the eyes. The red-tile walking tour of the downtown streets was a wonderful experience it reminded me of the European culture. The Spanish constructions and restaurants with outside seating over looking the streets resembles the complete European culture. Of course the Italian cuisine dominates the whole dining. Despite the Spanish architectural style is mostly single-level detached houses and small buildings with less details, I should say the "County Courthouse" is one of the best places in Santa Barbara. The architectural style takes you back to the "Spanish Colonial Revival Movement".

Though it's not "A Perfect Day in Santa Barbara", I enjoyed the tour of it. I am looking forward to a do-over with a special person. Stay tuned…..

Bis Später!!!

Every good thing must come to an end

Why every good thing in life must come to an end?
If everything was good then it wouldn't be good or even special, that's what makes life exciting. It's just like this small story that I know.
There were four boys and their father asked them to go to a tree each in a different season. Once they all went there, the father asked what they thought when they saw it. The first one said, it looked horrible there wasn't a single leaf on it. The second one said, it was beautiful there were flowers blooming everywhere. The third said, I thought it was a waste of time it looked like an ordinary tree and the last said, it was quite nice a good surprise. Because all these boys went in different seasons they didn't see the same thing, and that's what life's about. Like the first one said it was horrible just like life sometimes you have the not so nice times, the second said it was beautiful just like the good times etc, so if good things never ended than it wouldn't even be one.

Somethings and some people in life are very precious, nothing else can replace them. so, no matter what don't lose them and cherish every moment you got. People don't know the importance or value of a thing until they lose it. In war you are allowed to err only once, so as in life for certain things you are allowed to make mistake only once. But in war and life even one mistake is expensive already, because in war you will lose your life and in life you will lose your soul.

So I say it's a great virtue to know the value of a thing when you already have it. The whole point of this is don't lose a good thing, but if you have to lose it lose it for your life.

They also say "Life is not fair". Yet, losing good things is not so bad because they may end physically but not mentally. But, just for argument sake if good things must end, let them end because if I am contented just with good things, I might miss better things to come in my life and also the best of the things.

Like the poet said, Grow old with me, the best is yet to be,....

Bis Später!!!

A young love rising at dawn

Bis Später!!!

What's your New Year resolution?

I have been hearing this like for a very long time and people tend to talk about this only during new year time and eventually they forget and do not even realize till the next new year.

Does every one have to have a new year resolution every year? Why not, things doesn't remain the same in their course of life, every thing pretty much changes around you some way or the other. So, adapting to them is nothing but changing. Sometimes it's difficult for us to do that, that's the time you need to think and analyze and be more mindful. The very idea of that can be a resolution, and if you want to start fresh on a new year that's New Year resolution.

The most popular ones are:

1. Quit Smoking
2. Quit Drinking
3. Get Organized
4. Get into Shape
5. Get out of Debt
6. Learn Something New
7. Help Others
8. Enjoy Life More
9. Spend more time with Family
10. Find a Mate

Find a mate??? What a loser? Is this a resolution? Please don't ask me, just trust me it is. Also "Enjoy Life More", falls into this category.

But, again the statistics say that every year about 70% of the people make some kind of new year resolutions. Unfortunately, an overwhelming majority of these people forget about their resolutions within first several weeks of the New Year. If you are one of them, don't even have one. If you are really serious, I have some tips to encourage people how to keep them. Hope it helps me keep mine too.

• The most important thing is to be honest with yourself.
• Quit Cold Turkey
• "Between stimulus and response, there's a space, and in that space is our power to choose our response, and in our response lies our growth and freedom," says Marlatt.

And as you know, mindfulness gets you into that space. If you cannot control your own actions no one else can. I know it's difficult, so just find a way to deviate from it. Find activities that honestly makes you feel happy doing them.

• Don't try to be hard on yourself

The pleasure of victory is a better incentive than the agony of defeat. "Punishment is a poor motivator". It sets people up for failure. If all you do is punish yourself for failure, you won't stay motivated to change for very long. Instead, reward yourself for sticking to your limits and focus on the benefits of changing. For instance, if your goal is to drink less or talk less, treat yourself to something you want - a new book or DVD. Success tends to beget greater success, like they say "Like begets like".
"Never say, 'I can't do it". "People make mistakes. If you keep working at it, you will get better over time. That's common sense, isn't it".

• Get Better Friends

Consciously and unconsciously, people tend to imitate those around them. Surround yourself with friends who can also be role models. Make sure that people you hang out with are people who look and act the way you would like to. Social imitation is the easiest form not only of flattery but of self-improvement," says Stanton Peele.

Guys, if you get a chance please read the articles by Anita Hamilton: "In Old Age, Friends Can Keep You Young. Really".

Good friends can not only help you through slip-ups, but they can also help keep your New Year's resolution from taking over your life.

Rather than obsessing about what you shouldn't be doing, think about things you should. The distraction will help you curb bad habits. Focus on your higher goals and positive activities, things that both sustain you and fill your life. If you regularly engage in meaningful activities that give you pleasure - whether it's visiting friends, picking up a hobby, taking a class or doing volunteer work (one of the most overlooked sources of personal joy and meaning is helping others) - you'll simply have less time to crave or engage in the behavior that you want to reduce.

Again don't force people to be your friends, that's not gonna happen. Be honest and loyal if you expect your friends be like that to you. So, it's like merry-go-around, you might have to use the other techniques or have a resolution to pick better friends in life, just kidding.

I am proud to say that I have few best friends in my life, that I can look up to them.

By the way my 2010 new year resolutions are save money (this economic situation should teach you something, right?) and what ever it takes be happy and be a typical human being and put yourself first for anything.

If you are a mindful person all through the year, you don't need to have a resolution on New Year, but what are you going to lose, that's why Babu says, "Have one just for fun"

Bis Später!!!

Photography from my perspective

The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it is life. ~William Faulkner

There has been this argument, whether to consider photography as an art or not, since the invention of camera. Let me ask you this question, what is not art?

They say a picture is worth thousand words. If that's true a great photograph is worth million words. Because there are great details and a subtle meaning lies with in them. Of course it takes a great heart and a creative mind to appreciate them. Some say photography is all about lighting, some say it's about capturing moods, some say it's about showing beauty, some say it's about conveying a message that cannot be delivered in words. But, it is just about anything that you want to show or capture. Like Paul Strand said, "The artist's world is limitless. It can be found anywhere, far from where he lives or a few feet away. It is always on his doorstep". In the past when ever I went to a place, while taking pictures I used to think I should have a better camera to capture better pictures. Definitely you need good cameras for some pictures because of the lighting conditions, but not to take creative pictures. I used to be a kind of guy who thought value or greatness lies in the brand, price, strength, popularity, ability and beauty. It applies to human beings also but instead of brand and price we look for race and economic status. These attributes decide merely the price not the greatness of a thing.

So, those who are interested in photography just start playing with the cameras you have and your creativity.

Bis Später!!!

My New York Trip

Link to my pictures

Day 1: Friday Nov 20th

Posting after one month but I guess it's better late than never, and it's worth sharing my wonderful experience.
Started on a Friday (Nov 20th) afternoon from office to Ontario International airport, as expected it was busy as most of the people were flying back home. I was very excited as it was my first vacation after four long years. Though I am not an outgoing person but decided to enjoy every single moment I got in New York, so planning to visit every place even with little significance may be it's because I was going to visit my favorite place on earth "Statue de la Liberté" officially titled "Liberty Enlightening the World". I used to read about it when I was a kid, and the next best place for me is "Tour Eiffel" which I got the opportunity to visit when I was in Germany pursuing my Masters.

The flight departed at 2:50pm and by the time I got to Houston it was dark and cold already. I got a window seat almost on the tail of the mechanical bird. It took me forever to get out of it, so I missed the connecting flight in Houston. May be it's a blessing in disguise, they gave me a room in a wonderful holiday resort called the "The Westin". The battery in my iPhone was almost dead, so I decided not to use the phone till next day I reach NY as I forgot to bring my charger. I checked in and went in to my room on 9th floor and it was awesome I cannot expect anything better than that. Downstairs there is a sports club where I had my dinner and stayed there for about two hours watching people.

Day 2: Saturday Nov 21st
Next day morning, I freshened up and got down by 5:30am, flight was at 6:45am and I comfortably made it this time. It was a nice flight to NY (LGA), the very sight of the city and especially the Statue of Liberty from the window caught my eye. It was spectacular, may be I should call a feast to the eyes.
My friend Sam received me and we went straight to the restaurant "The Kati Roll Company", I guess NY is the only place where you can find any kind of food. We drove around the city for about three to four hours. Trust me, the streets are half yellow covered with cabs and it's a pain to drive in the city. Went to NJ and came back to the city this time we took the subway, it's kind of cool and reminded me of the life I had in Germany. Walked in the streets of NY like a hobo and there was this guy near fifth ave. and he sketches the pictures of people and I got my picture sketched. Went to Rockefeller Center, Time Square and did some shopping in Esprit in Fifth Avenue. I had lot of fun watching everything in detail and we called it a day with a dinner at Kati Roll. Kati Roll again???? I guess that's why I call myself an institutional man.

Day 3: Sunday Nov 22nd
We already planned the night before to visit Statue of Liberty, so got ready and went there by 11:00am. I took the ferry to the Liberty Island and when I saw her from distance it seemed like she is standing on water, I got goosebumps when I saw her close. I don't know what it means to many people who traveled great seas on Mayflower, in search of freedom and liberty, and landed in "Cape Cod" which was actually destined for the mouth of the Hudson river, to make this place a better place to live. But, for me it is not merely a monument or one of the wonders of the world, it means Freedom and Liberty and hard work and sacrifice of many great people. I know that Fredric Auguste Bartholdi sculpted the statue, I apologize for calling it a statue, it's the representation of Liberty breaking the shackles of tyranny and fighting the law of oppression. I cannot put in words my experience on seeing her and it's not justifiable to even try to do that. I believe it's something that everyone has to feel personally. Bought some gifts and souvenirs for my colleagues and returned on the last ferry to the borough. On our way back we went to see the "Wall Street Charging Bull" or "Wall Street Raging Bull". I believe it truly represents the Wall Street personalities, who takes bold and brave decisions. Also visited the New York Stock Exchange, and "Federal Hall National Memorial" the place where George Washington took the oath as President in 1789. When in New York be a Newyorkite, so we swaggered the streets and reached the PATH station to take the subway to NJ (Pavonia). We had dinner on our way to room and then I retired to bed, I still remember that night as I didn't sleep for a while recollecting my experiences.

On a final note, they say French get dressed up even before they go to war because they wanna die in style. Hats off to Bartholdi.

Day 4: Monday Nov 23rd
My friend had work on that day so I went by myself, and for some reason I felt free as I can go any where I want or do what ever I want, I don't know. I took subway to 81st street that's where American Museum of Natural History is located. It is right across the Central Park. I took the general admission ticket and went inside, it's a pretty good experience and you can see the civilization of most of the cultures and unfortunately all the extinct animals. It took me about three hours to see everything and then I realized it's worth watching "Journey to the Stars" in the Hayden Planetarium, so upgraded my ticket to include the admission to the show. I came out by 5:30pm and walked all the way to the 33rd street with halts here and there. Walking on the streets of New York itself is fun, I guess I was tired so retired early that day.

Day 5: Tuesday Nov 24th
I woke up with no prior plans, appointments or commitments, I guess that's the freedom every single person has in this world, but it has a flip side too and I guess everyone is smart enough to understand what it is. Any how, this time I dressed up in ten layers of clothes as it was pretty windy the day before. As usual took the subway to 33rd street and wanna see Time Square during day time so went there and spent sometime, took some day time pictures. Then I was pretty confused to decide where to go, little time and lot of places to cover. That's called pressure I guess and I proved the fact that any normal person in a situation like that takes dumb decisions because I decided to visit "Ripley's Believe It or Not" on 42nd street. I learned some surprising facts, may be it's not worth buying a $30 ticket and visit if you do not take some funny pictures inside. May not be great but definitely it was fun. It was getting dark by the time I came out. I headed towards "Empire State Building", my actual plan was to see the city from the top both in sunlight and in the dark. But by the time I reached the top it was completely dark and cold. The view from there is fantastic the Brooklyn bridge, Macy's and even the Macy's parade spot in front of the Macy's building, every thing was so great. As they say "Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder", if you can see, there is beauty every where and in everything.

Shakespeare expressed a similar sentiment in Love's Labours Lost, 1588:

Good Lord Boyet, my beauty, though but mean,
Needs not the painted flourish of your praise:
Beauty is bought by judgement of the eye,
Not utter'd by base sale of chapmen's tongues

I spent more than an hour there watching the brightly lit streets and sky scrapers of all the boroughs that can be seen by a naked eye and also the artificial one which is the lens of my Canon Rebel T1i. Got some pretty cool pictures and I wished I had a tripod to get more stable pictures, anyone who has a DSLR understands my concern. By the time I came down it's 8:30pm, I went to Madison Square Garden and went to Time Square once again and sat there for a while and returned to the nest.
For some reason I was bubbling with enthusiasm on that day, I called my friend and some other friends to get ready to go to Soho to a night club. We came to know there was this cool place called "Fat Cat" near Soho and they have my favorite sport pong. Conspicuously my vote would be for pong, so we went there by 9:30pm. It's on 75 Christopher Street, I could see the front sign board and tried to enter it, to my surprise it's in the cellar. The bouncer at the entrance stamped a cat image on my arm. I went inside and it was cloudy.......sorry what am I talking it's dark and full of smoke. We went to the counter and ordered some drinks and asked for a pong table and paddles, the lady at the counter gave a number and a couple of paddles and some balls. In 15 minutes we got our table and there were a group of Asians on the next table. They have this cool live music and we spent approximately 4 hours smashing the balls all over the place. It was fun and we were hungry so went to the "Kati Roll Company" once again, luckily it was still open. We had our late night dinner or shall I call early morning breakfast, what ever. I went back to the room and had a sound sleep.

Link to the Fat Cat bar

Day 6: Wednesday Nov 25th
I know it was my last day in NY/NJ as we planned to leave to Virginia in the afternoon. So, I woke up early and got ready as I still have to visit one of the cool places in New York, "The Central Park". I took subway to PATH station and from there walked to PENN station on 34th street and took subway to 81st street and got down at American Museum of Natural History. Entered the Central Park in front of the Museum and walked all the way to the Columbus Circle taking breaks here and there to capture the beauty of the central park on a light foggy day in my artificial image storing brain and went again to Esprit showroom in Columbus circle to buy some presents for my friends. I came back to room by 3:30pm and packed everything and started driving to Virginia. It was raining and freeways are completely packed as it was Thanksgiving the next day. It was a long drive for us, as it took more than 5 hours to travel some 200 odd miles. By 10:00pm we reached Virginia. I was completely exhausted, so had my dinner and hit the sack.

Day 7: Thursday Nov 26th
We have a condo there so invited some more friends and couples for a Thanksgiving dinner. That evening we went to the Great Falls in Herndon, we went through woods and moors to reach that place and some rich houses with 88 acres around each house. I felt like I should retire there. I always enjoy nature and it was calm and peaceful, I spent a couple of hours and returned back. There were three girls in our group and we helped them cook everything. We had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner and the irony is without Turkey, played poker, cards and called it a day.

Day 8: Friday Nov 27th
Woke up the next day and I was still tired so I took some rest and had lunch. I decided to visit the "Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum" in Chantilly-Virginia. You know what they say, "There is no limit for the creativity and imagination". The very idea to fly became a reality and it took great advancements in no time and they developed this "Lockheed SR-71A Blackbird", which can travel at a speed of 3220Km/Hour (2200Miles/Hour). On its last flight, March 6th, 1990, Lt.Col. Ed Yielding and Lt.Col. Joseph Vida set a speed record by flying from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., in 1 hour, 4 minutes and 20 Seconds, averaging a speed of 3,418 kilometers (2,124 miles) per hour. At the flights conclusion they landed in Washington Dulles International Airport and turned the airplane over to Smithsonian.
There is always good and bad sides to everything, and this is not an exception. Instead of using the creativity, wisdom and above all technology for a better use to improve the quality of life by developing passenger carriers and GSLV (Geo Stationary Launching Vehicles), we developed the destructive weapons and carriers. I saw the very B-29 Superfortress Bomber "Enola Gay" that dropped the Atom bomb on Hiroshima.
We concluded the visit with the "Fighter Pilot" show in iMax. I already planned to visit the Capital of the United States the next day morning and I couldn't wait for that. I had my supper and went to bed.

Day 9: Saturday Nov 28th

The last day of my tour.
I believe that's why they say "Every good thing must come to an end". Also no matter how great your dreams are, you cannot just sleep forever in order not to disturb them. This tour is no exception.

Washington D.C., located on the north bank of Potomac river and is bordered by the states Virginia to the southwest and Maryland to the other sides. As I had only one day to cover the entire D.C., I woke up early and drove to Washington. Our first halt was at "The Marine Corps War Memorial", it does not only represent the outstanding effort made by 28th Regiment, 5th Division Marine Corps to capture "Iwo Jima" islands which are located 660 miles south of Tokyo, but pride and glory achieved by them.

Link to The Marine Corps War Memorial

It's one of the good places in Washington that everybody should visit. On our way to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, we covered the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. We went to the front entrance of the White House, they were decorating it for Christmas I guess. We took some snaps and walked to the other side of the White House where the National Christmas Tree is located. Thanks to "The National Arborist Association" for donating a 40-foot Colorado Blue Spruce from northern Pennsylvania. Before that they used to plant a temporary one every year. Cutting down a 40-foot or 50-foot tree and planting temporarily for a month, don't say that I am a tree hugger but don't you honestly think that's insane. The tree deteriorated within a few short years and was replaced with a 34-foot Colorado blue spruce from Maryland in 1977. Unfortunately, the 1977 tree was destroyed in a windstorm months afterwards. A 30-foot Colorado blue spruce from York, Pennsylvania was planted in the Ellipse in 1978 and has been employed as the National Christmas Tree.
From there we walked all the way to the "Washington Monument". As we all know it's an obelisk at the west end of the National Mall built to commemorate the first U.S president General George Washington. It was awesome and not to your surprise it's one of the most photographed structures in the world. From there we walked to the "Lincoln Memorial". The very sight of the giant lively sculpture of a dignified and elegant person gave me chills. He was one of my childhood heroes. English was my first language at school and we had a lesson about him and I pictured him exactly like J. T. Duryea of the U.S. Christian Commission once said:

“In temper he was Earnest, yet controlled, frank, yet sufficiently guarded, patient, yet energetic, forgiving, yet just to himself; generous yet firm. “His conscience was the strongest element of his nature. His affections were tender & warm. His whole nature was simple and sincere – he was pure, and then was himself.”

I stood there watching him for about half an hour and then sat on the stairs facing the Washington Monument, the view was spectacular. Then walked through the "Korean War Veterans Memorial" and not to forget "World War II Memorial". Then we went back to the car and drove all over the city one more time, then I said Goodbye to Washington D.C.
From there we drove to Baltimore-Ellicott City, as one of my friends who I went to school with in Germany invited us over for dinner. He and his wife are one of the sweetest couples I met and not to mention my friend Sam and his wife. I had a very fun time. We drove back to room and then I packed my stuff for the next day early morning flight.

Day 10: Sunday Nov 29th
Woke up at 5:00am and got ready and reached Washington - Dulles International Airport by 6:10am. I had my flight at 7:20am. As I bought lot of stuff I had an extra luggage while coming back, I had to check-in one bag. I entered the security check point and they made me open my cabin luggage as the X-ray scanner cannot identify the crystals. It was quick and I went straight to the gate. It's Virgin America flight and they are nice with black leather seats and monitors for every seat and it absolutely looked posh. Though it's economy class I felt like traveling in business class, not really. Any how, I slept and woke up in the middle and had some coffee and the funny thing is I slept again and didn't wake up till I reached LA (my home land). Welcome back Babu, sorry that was not a good welcome as my luggage was missing. I went to the Virgin America luggage claim office and filed a report. I said congratulations to my self, as I entered the list of those few lucky guys who lose their luggage in flights. I guess I am one of those few specimens who belong to a peculiar group worse than those lucky guys, who could lose luggage in a direct flight. It's more than one month since I lost my luggage, I didn't hear anything about it yet. Hope I get something, fingers crossed.
Any how, that doesn't bother me much because I had a great trip and I enjoyed my vacation.

Lesson Learned: Take vacation once in a while, but don't check-in your baggage when you fly.

Bis Später!!!