Name:
Location: New York, New York, United States

My move to New York has become something of a challenge and a tremendous source of entertainment for friends and co-workers. So I've started this blog. Hope to amuse and educate you.

Saturday, April 02, 2005

Enero, Febrero, Marzo 2005

I just read through my new year resolutions to see how I was doing. Here they are, I'll paraphrase:
"
So my resolution this is is to 'live my life like I mean it' (I read that somewhere). I want to learn more (languages, painting, art), cook more (so I don't eat out so much), read more, write more, walk more (in central park... followed by yoga) and try to be happier. To that end, I've decided to do a book review section at the end of my blog to keep track of what I read.
"

Healthier : check. I've been walking alomost everyday. Doing some yoga and eating very very healthy.

Wealthier: very poor. I've been eating out and shopping. Been on atleast one serious vacation... but thats the good part and should feature in the next para. Actually, being wealthier is overrated.

Wiser: check. I did the whole semester of spanish classes. I formed a spanish speaking group that was meant to meet up often and have chat sessions. I tried to organize this twice, but both times some of us just met for sangria and tapas and got happy. No spanish talk ensued, but we solemnly promised to try again later. I still remember most of my spanish numbers, days of the week and days of the month (thats enero, febrero, marzo for you), but I've forgottten how to say 'I went shopping in downtown Nueva York even though it was raining!' I haven't painted or sketched at all, but one can only do so much. I have read a lot though, and written precious little. But that can easily be recified. I've included an extensive book review below.

So what did I do this year? Spanish classes were the highlight of january. In february we went away to Boston for a short weekend. That was great fun because we lived in a plush hotel in downtown Boston. Later in march we went to the lake district to celebrate the fact that animesh had finally got a job.

Actually Animesh's job search started early this year in the 2nd week of january. Because it took so long and such a big toll, I think it warrants a mention in this blog. The guy is great on paper. So he got called to about 13 first round interviews, in both finance and consulting. His preferance was for finance, and there were Merrill Lynch, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, CSFB, BoAmerica. In consulting, he had the giant, McKinsey. But at every first round, and many second rounds, Animesh stumbled for one or the other reason-
-Not enough finance experience (duh!! the guy is an engineer, what did you expect?!)
-Not a credible enough story (why does an engineer want to go into finance? because he wants to make money?!)
- Not enough attitude (does an engineer really really want to go into finance? um... yeah)
I think the guy did atleast 20 - 25 interviews, improving with each one. I tried doing some mock interviews at home which always resulted in prolonged acrimony. We disagreed on what I was meeting out: 'constructive criticism' or 'ego bashing'. In the end, when the man had about hit rock bottom, he got what he had wanted to start out with. A summer internship with Merrill Lynch's risk management group. Its a highly quantitative field (hooray for engineering) and gives a great overview of various financial instruments. Animesh celebrated by getting wasted at the Russian Vodka room. This was the same night that my high school friend, Prerana, was visiting. Instead of hanging out with us in the meat-packing district, he payed homage to the ceramic gods in the loo.

In february we had some serious cold weather. The weekend my mother stayed with me in New York, we had a blizzard, no less. I think she was quite impressed. We also had 'The Gates' exhibition in Central Park. A couple of artists, Christo and Jeanne Claude, spent $20 mill of personal cash to fund this 2 week outdoor art exhibit. 'The Gates' consisted of a series of curtains placed all along the jogging paths. Animesh and I both agreed that it looked like india in bol-bum season. The curtains were that kind of muslin in that shade of saffron, I promise. Either that, or we are encumbered by our bourgeoisie tastes. February is also about Valentine's day... which means wedding anniversary for us. We didn't do anything that weekend... but went to Boston a few days later.

In march we went to England during animesh's spring break. I also increased the frequency of visits to the doctor for a persistent problem with my insulin resistance. He put me on my hardcore South Beach diet... which is the only reason I eat healthier now. Its akin to capital punishment for someone with as much of a sweet tooth, but I guess I had it coming.

Finally, I read an awful lot, even if I say so myself. I liked some books better than others and here are my honest thoughts about them. Now before I start on my 'constructive criticism', I would like to add that I am no writer at all... and all these guys I read are great. They are being compared to other greats... and if I sound presumptious, its only because this is, after all, MY BLOG :-)
1. Namesake, Jhumpa Lahiri: Good overall treatment of the bengali-american family, but then she should know. I did think she tried too hard to make characters in the book fit stereotypes. Gogol Ganguly, the protagonist, is well done and believable, but his girlfirends... all of them, are too unidimensional (and unlikable). But Gogol's relationship with his father is sweet and I'm a sucker for these things. Overall, I liked the book a lot and would read Jhumpa Lahiri again. But Interpreter of Maladies was way superior.
2. The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass (His Dark Materials trilogy), Phillip Pullman: This is the first time I read Phillip Pullman. I know I like fantasy, and this is very well written. Its meant for children but he deals with some serious issues about life and church and the problems with organized religion. I liked the first book best, the second a little less and the third, unfortunately, left me slightly unsatisfied. The characters are magical and believable. I definitely recommend book one.
3. The Last Song of Dusk, Siddharth Dhanwant Sanghvi: Another new Indian author recommended by my mother. The book is different from any I've ever read, and I would recommend it just for that. It has a musical style, and is atleast part fantasy. There is a plot in the background about a couple, in early 20th century India, whose relationship changes with the death of their first born. I get the distinct impression that the plot is not overly important, but in the end, some of my 'Why did that have to happen?' went unanswered, and that always bugs me. I'll read Shiddhart Sanghvi again, and try not to be so anal about the plot.
4. Liar's Poker, Michael Lewis: Necessary reading for all wall street type conversations about the bond market, I suppose. I thought it was exciting and fast paced. It will either leave no impression, or make you wish you could move into finance and rake in the moolah.
5. Confessions of a Street Addict, James Cramer: James Cramer is the hyper-vocal host of 'Mad Money' on CNBC. I like the guy after reading his book, though I would never want to work for someone so unforgiving. Another required reading for the wall street types and very fast paced. I was sometimes lost in the details of the deals he talks about, but that's because I'm not a wall street type (yet :-).
6. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, Mark Haddon: Another new author and this book is just remarkable. Its about a little boy with autism, but rather than discuss autism, it walks you through how the little boy thinks (and actually solves a mystery) in the boy's own words. This is a small book, and a must read.
7. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini: This was recommended to me by my friends Mike and Rachel. Rachel runs a book club that I want to join. This is a story of a man from Afghanistan... it is also a story about Afghanistan. Its in three parts- the first part is about the little boy, Amir, in Kabul. While this part is well written, I took me over a week to read this part- I was bored. Then it picks pace and Amir and his dad travel to the US and their relationship becomes ever so sweet. The last part is about Amir returning to Afghanistan and fighting the Taliban and saving the day. Its a complete hindi movie at this point. But I still think about the book and I've become very interested in Afghanistan politics and history. The book is an especially good read for Indians because of the paralells in our cultures.

Thats it for this time. I'll update more frequently henceforth. Thanks for reading and remember I love comments!

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

i always knew you'd kep writing one way or the other. your blog makes a good read. you may read "the sari shop", its good small town india stuff - at least authentic and supremely funny at times - sulagana

6:47 AM  

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