Time to Samba

Oi. It means hello. Thats the sum total of my Portuguese after 5 days in Brazil. Just as the body clock was recovering from the -4 GMT timezone and getting accustomed normalized quantities of food (after 3 weeks of supersize me in the US)it was again sinfully subjected 13 hours of bad air quality and further debilitated by copious amount of food. Then came the Caipinrinhas. Enough said, I am quite glad to be getting a break from all of this and heading back home to further tickle my internal clock. Brasileiros - Courteous, loud, friendly and always seem to be swaying to an imaginary samba beat. Happy people. They eat well and drink equally well. The place is not cheap, at the very least the prices are comparable to the US and in some cases I would say as much as Europe. However its only fair to say that I was not looking for cheap places.Infrastructure is good but not world class, wear and tear is apparent. However its light years ahead of India but a tad bit behind South Africa. Drinking seems to be permissible at all hours of the day. Safety seemed to be a general concern. Rio more than Sao Paulo(pronounced San Paauulo). At six in the morning, traffic was at standstill going into Sao Paulo, Rio seems to have similair issues but not as chronic. Overall a place to be, to see and to eat at- the food (not just the meat) is world class. Party Joints also seemed to be a killer, off season so I could not conclusively tell. Need to come back. Played my first game of tennis after my knee operation. My knee is not completely quite fixed, still nags every now and then especially after long journey and walks. Want to watch the new BAT movie but movie schedules in Munich suck. Next post will be about the Brazillian vs South African beef face off..

Casting crew from last post

Riju- aka 'Dada'. Chief Mothering officer, chef extraordinaire and is secretly in love with Roger Federer. Often plays the 'good cop' during kiddie tantrums. Angst of local restauranteurs. Moonlights at a local pharma company. Of nigerian descent. Anu- Also commonly referred to as Ranjith's sister-in-law. House Manager- fulltime occupation. Will clean anything. Dessert wine is her preferred beverage. Ethan- He wears the pants in the Thomas family. Does'nt like uncle wanjith unless its convenient. Digs chinese babes and can live on anything that has chocolate or is from the yellow arches company. Dislikes tennis. Zach- He is a mean sucker. Cannot sleep more than 2 hours at a stretch. Will hopefully like tennis. Yet to learn to speak.

All was well in America

Safely back in Munich where it feels like mid autumn with rain intermittently. At the end of it all I was quite glad to be back after weeks of eating from paper plates, sleeping in numerous beds (including hardwood floors), contributing significantly to America's green house gases by tripsing up and down the I95, vainly trying to win the loyalty of a 3 year old and watching reruns of the animal planet. There was also a significant amount of Italian wine consumed as byproduct vinic re-education of my FIL. Ajit and Ruth wedding was great, tastefully organized and (most importantly for Indian wedding) it was on time - you could reset your watch. It was also heart warming to meet so many people who care about you (no Bavarian influence there). Ajit and Ruth look great together, pre-made for each other? Together they look like they will make the world a better place to be in. Congrats guys. The other major event this trip was the baptism of Zach (Product line # 2 from the union of Anu and Riju). He was better behaved than his brother who seemed to be going through teens while we were in Connecticut (I think they call it terrible twos or something). The quality of vegetables and meat in Connecticut have not done any damage to Riju haute cuisine, the shrimps were outstanding. Beef was no disappointment. Once in Connecticut and that too Oakdale Connecticut, the only way you can keep your sanity is to play tennis pretend to be Ethan's playmate EAT watch 'Maneaters of India' run off to the mall and Gamble Of all the above the only unique selling point is to be able to Gamble. Denizens of that part of town claim that the local Casinos have the largest gaming floor in America (frankly thats not verifiable). Anyway a few trips to the casino left the Cherickels richer. I lost, my wife won. So if there is one reason you are not considering moving to Connecticut then think again cos - you could be richer or a lot poorer (depending where you buy your property) Would love to scribble some more but I think thats my boarding call to Samba Land.

All is well in America

Its official, no nostalgia to be back except frantic scrambling for the shopping malls. A few trips on I95 (lifeline for those on the eastern seaboard) and the familair rumble through NJ burb's failed to produce any throbbing of the left ventricle. Though I must admit being back in Bestbuy was a good feeling. Observations worth mentioning.. 1. Jay Leno and David Letterman are visually a little older 2. Vegetables are tasteless 3. Gas prices are crazy but no shortage of jams 4. I can still recognise most of the cars on the road 5. This is still a shopping paradise 6. Learnt how to double in Blackjack 7. Riju's cooking still rocks 8. I still miss NY. 9. Dress pants suck 10. Ruth and Ajit are happily married My daily schedule consists to sleeping, eating, gambling, tennis and animal planet . This was enough of a diversion, need to get back to breakfast.