brain fart

just overheard on tv.."golf is like sex. you don't have to be good to enjoy it."

what?! ugh. i hate golf. i guess i'll always find men useless at this rate.

philosophies of life

(6/12) everything i've learned has led me to be beleive that struggle breeds strength, and that exploration and learning are the true purposes in life. sikhi teaches that (hence the name: sikh aka student). the wise philosophers of the past who have traveled far and wide all did so through such exploration and came with back the same conclusion.

why is it then that humans are unable to let go of what is familiar? why is insecurity so scary?

A quote I read earlier today reminded me of the same idea. "Middle age is when your broad mind and narrow waist begin to change places." Youth is envied so much. Why? For that very reason! Innocense encourages and lends itself naturally to learning and growth.

QOTD

my sister's away message: what if the classic response to "I love you" was "prove it"? betcha ppl wouldn't be tossin that phrase around like a hot potato. mmmmhmmmmm.

Manmohan Singh on Female Feticide in India

Alas, the prime Minister brings light to the issue.

Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss told the conference that stricter enforcement was not enough. "At the heart of the problem are deep-rooted prejudices," Ramadoss said.

I don't get the impression that Indians in India (or even NRIs here) realize the depth of the prejudices and prejudice practices so prevalent in our culture. Speaking out is the first step, I suppose so hearing these words from the Health and the Prime Ministers represents a good step forward. Things are only getting worse according to the article so I hope these words find their way to action.

The New York Times version of this article highlights campaigners who would argue against me:

“It is not enough for him to preach to us about the problem,” Dr. Bedi said. “The current laws are not being enforced. It is the government’s responsibility to take action.” Sabu George, another prominent campaigner, welcomed the prime minister’s decision to devote an entire speech to the subject, but agreed that the content was “very disappointing.” “We have a very good law, but it is not being implemented. That is the government’s responsibility,” he said. “He talked about changing mind-sets. He should have focused on how the law could be implemented.”

Why are Indians so against changing mindset? Do you think educated people are doing this because they're not afraid of the law? NO. Its because of their ridiculous mindset. I, personally, think there should be a shame campaign. A coordinated effort to denote such practices as downright shameful. Apparantly guilt and shame are the way Indians are maneuvered to do anything anyways! (And in this case I would finally be okay with that :)

Sex Selection in the US?!

"...a fundamental dynamic between technology and culture: Technology can coax cultures one way or the other by making it easier to do what you want to do, with less difficulty and without other people knowing about it."

Something I spent a lot of pondering when I decided to get into this field. "Technology." Is it really as evil as some people proclaim? No. But there are moments when you question what progress research has given us and whether to claim it as progress or to denounce it as the root of a demise.

Another thing I've already blogged about before is female feticide in India. These two themes come together in Slate's article here. Quite shocking, in my opinion, that Asians have carried and managed to hold onto this tradition in the US long enough for scientists to see the results in generations born here. Unfortunate. No further comment.

Another reason to NOT get married

Happily married people tend to have lower blood pressure than their single peers, but being single may be healthier than being unhappily married, a new study suggests.

Read on but its common sense. At least for me. Now ladies and gentlemen - a study to back me up.

Hospital of the Future: Palomar Pomerado Health

My latest discovery on the health care front...Sustainable Hospitals!

You want to talk interdisciplinary? Designers, Environmentalists, Physicians, .."nationally recognized architects, health forecasters, environmental leaders, technical engineers and additional industry innovators" Amazing results: http://www.pph.org/default.aspx?nd=322

I want to hear how they evaluate what results fall out of all this effort to create a hospital that that is also environmentally responsible.

Hmm...I also wonder how their IT budget looks. If spending is moving so far beyond the realm of patient care...they better have a nice EMR is all I can say ;-)

My True Love: Google

Precisely because of this Google exec's statement: We don't do something unless we are convinced we will do it an order of magnitude better.

I admire, respect and aspire to be like that. I love Google.

I thought my true love was the Sun (not something I can explain in a blog right now) but Google has started to become very close to me.

Is true love only once in life? Does it belong to one?

connections = weakness?

have you met someone who you connect with so much that when they're upset you feel it. your day is turned. have you shared in someone's happiness and truly felt their joy?

i do this too much. the term living vicariously thru others takes on other meaning when ithink about myself sometimes. i can't figure out whether i just really connect with people (one or two way) or whether im just weak and my own emotion is negligent. i know im not always hollow and that i have my own independent thoughts/feelings/etc...but the affect that those close to me have on me is starting to worry me.

what's worse is when the other party has no idea. which is true 90% of the time b/c if u know me...well u know.

no more diary-style entries after this. i promise.

Missing You

This month's:
Why can't we get all the people together in the world that we really like and then just stay together? I guess that wouldn't work. Someone would leave. Someone always leaves. Then we would have to say good-bye. I hate good-byes. I know what I need. I need more hellos. ~Charles M. Schulz

Where you used to be, there is a hole in the world, which I find myself constantly walking around in the daytime, and falling in at night. I miss you like hell. ~Edna St Vincent Millay

Last month's lesson:
I never knew until that moment how bad it could hurt to lose something you never really had. ~From the television show The Wonder Years

the stars are off...

Someone close to me wrote this and I thought I'd share it for those folks who are feeling the same -- there seem to be several of you right now ;-)

Failure
Disappointment and shame
All hopes discouraged
All fears resurface

Deserted by the courage to be strong
Overcome with sadness
To describe this is impossible

Meaningless encouragement
Unwanted pity
Sympathy has no place here

Here I travel alone
Forced to accept the reality
Of failure
Time heals not
The internal scars
That never fade

The pain that remains
A reminder of your limitations
A challenge to your confidence

A formidable opponent
An insurmountable hurdle
Paralyzing and frightening
Emaciated and weak
Thirsting for the strength to believe
Lacking the spirit to trust myself

I stand here, faithless
Questioning my path
Praying for direction.
Take my hand
Raise my morale
I am begging you.

Please.

Latest News of Interest

Microsoft Buys Medical Records System - the enemey crosses lines. hmm maybe a job with the big M wouldn't be soo bad...

Backlash from bloggers as Indian censors shut websites - actually old news now...but worth knowing about

Down Syndrome Gene -- A Discovery!

Scientists have discovered a connection between the App gene known to be involved in the degradation of mental abilities in Alzheimer's patients and the mental retardation experienced in individuals with Down Syndrome. They're even tinkering around in mice with possible ways to reduce the affects. In the scope of things, a nominal breakthrough for science - a special moment for me since my brother has Down Syndrome:

Possible Treatment for Down's Syndrome Retardation may Involve Interference with Gene - Same Gene might Cause Alzheimer's

I read the news from several different venues and I'm still feeling a little high re-reading it again for this post. Crazy what a small treat of hope can do :)

That's all for tonight.

If you were a billionaire...

Could you ...

Warren Buffett, the world's second-richest person, is donating...more than 80 percent of his fortune.. full article

Buffet is the man.

Little India to Little Italy and back home

So I finally paid my visit to the Big Apple this weekend. It was great. I had no plans before getting there but managed to stay busy most of the 4 days I had. Besides the nice touristy attractions and roaming around Manhattan I got a chance to soak in the spirit of New York. My friends and I were near Ground Zero one night and decided to make a stop there. Eerie feeling when I realized the site was actually 5 years old and still hollow. Kind of weird how it blended into the hustle of the city though...you know kind of like walking past an old acquaintance on not acknowledging them -- thats what that night felt like when I looked around. Anyways, like a good tourist I took my pictures and moved on.

Besides midtown my friends also took me around Little Italy, NOLIA, SOHO, etc...I felt like I was in India with the street fair and the people on the streets. I think that's what I like most about the city. There's a family feeling that welcomes even strangers and tourists.

Female Feticide and the motherland..

I'm afraid to get started on this topic because its one of the few that gets my blood-pressure from the regular below-normal Dolly-level to dangerously high and raging levels. India Together often posts articles on the topic and its certainly not news to the general Indian or Indian American community what goes on in rural and urban areas that allows the abortion of female fetuses. Sometimes its difficult to be proud of your heritage when at this moment the general Indian population seems to think its perfectly acceptable to place a pricetag on the female child. Of course this isn't an isolated problem. The general position of the female in Indian society has a lot to do with why this practice is acceptable and continues in the ever-so-praised "largest democracy" and country known for its peaceful and spiritual aura. What I was surprised to read was that feticide is more popular amongst the educated in Punjab! What the Washington Post

Mama's Crossing the Border...

So the latest argument over the Senate's CIRA bill granting amnesty to the millions of illegal immigrants working in this country is that we'll have a such a serious influx of Mexican and Latin American immigrants that essentially the country will be "transformed." Essentially everyone who gets granted amnesty can bring their dependent parents, spouses and children so the numbers are exponentially higher than previously discussed. So now the white guys are jumping up down screaming for their representatives to stop this before they become the minority in the country. So the only natural thing to do is, of course, grant amnesty, bring the mexicans over here and then tell them they all need learn english. Yep, today the Senate passed a law to make English the official language of the country. Why this wasn't done before is beyond me. I understand its not necessary because this is the country of immigrants. The country that lets you retain your heritage but enjoy the freedoms that come with living in the current world economic superpower. But really boys, laws like this shouldn't come about because we're afraid that our identity will be stolen by the Mexicans and their mamas. English is already the primary language that federal discourse is conducted in so making it official would not have been a problem before. Funny how this administration touts the idea of being secure and fighting terrorism when really what it seems to be all about fear. Fear of the turbaned guy. Fear of the latinos ...

ugh

ugh. all forms of chocolate should be kept away from emotional women.

yes, you may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

India's Capital: Rude and Crude

Hmm. Interesting article in Outlook India on the culture or lack-there-of in Delhi. India's rape capital -- creepy! The reduced pollution, the booming economy, the new overpasses/roads...I noticed all this as soon as we stepped out on day 1 last year when I visited India with my family. The creepiness came later when you see people (== nasty guys) giving you looks without giving you a look. I didn't get it for the longest time. I assumed it was because we were American or dressed funny but I guess its going to happen if you're groomed, light skinned and a young female. Hmm. Disappointing more than anything else.

Delhi's Seven Deadly Sins

Aggressive, lawless driving; India's road accident capital
Touting, hustling culture, grab-what-you-can-get mentality: law-breaking acceptable across classes, everything 'negotiable'
Callousness towards the vulnerable: disabled, visitors, elderly, poor
Most unsafe city in India for women; India's rape capital
Obsession with hierarchy & status
Officious, self-important political and bureaucratic class
Appalling cultural and professional manners

Aren't a lot of these just exaggerated attitudes of the "FOB"s you run into here in the states? The callousness towards the vulnerable -- don't even get me started on this. Its part of the reason we didn't' take my brother with us on our trip. Obsession with hierarchy and status...ha. That is definitely not something new. The whole where are you from in Delhi ...its a lot like asking someone which borough in New York you live in (not work in because those are entirely separate ;-)). The lack of respect for people's time and the lack of respect for the law -- I have a hard time believing this is also a qualifying Delhi trait since over half the H1-ites here carry the exact same mentality. I don't think all the Indians I've met are from Delhi so something makes me think the attitude isn't necessarily genuinely of the city. Perhaps all the negatives of the 'westernization' of the east is managing to deposit in the capital and now its prevalent enough to make the journalists speak out.

haha I guess this would not be the time to mention the last on my list of 'prospects': A Delhi-ite that definitely used his first conversation with me to express how 1)good looking he is 2)his BMW was in the shop and 3)his father was from Harvard...~_~

Saving Darfur

If you haven't already sent your postcard to Bush on behalf of savedarfurg.org please do. It literally takes a few seconds online.

I went to the rally on Sunday. It was interesting to see people from so many religious denominations coming together. (I walked in just as the Sikh represenative was saying a prayer from the Guru Granth Sahib...I couldn't see the stage to see who was up there delivering it but I think it was a rep from the Intefaith council.) You saw lots of people carrying different religious symbols, particularly Jewish and Christians representing their church or synagogue. I think its important that people from different faiths can come together on an issue like this where it could easily be turned into Islam vs the "good people" instead of Genocide vs Humanity and the presenters recognized this in their selection of speakers as well.

One thing that was interesting was when I was leaving I came across a few gentleman essentially protesting the rally. They weren't running around with flyers or signs -- just sitting quietly at a table w/an newspaper article clipping and several copies of a text they were selling. They claimed that labelling the atrocities in Darfur a genocide was hurting more than it was helping because the Janjiwid and the Sudanese government basically doesn't want to be told what to do by anyone else and that butting in with words like 'genocide' and using the United States international power is keeping the rebels from a peace agreement. An all inclusive agreement was not reached today when talks were set to take place and the so-called deadline has been extended another 48 hours. Perhaps its possible these "protesters" have a valid argument but even after reading the small article they were advertising I wasn't convinced. If anyone knows of anything related that goes beyond this article feel free to educate!