First Drive in USA

Over the weekend, I drove for the first time in the US. Anil was generous enough to allow me to drive his car for a while, and we basically went out for lunch, and some more shopping (whew!! I wonder when all the shopping will end!!). Anyhow, to cut a long story short, it was a interesting experience. He has a black Toyota Camry, and believe me, it's once of the best colors, but a nightmare to maintain!!

Anyhow, at the outset, I sat on the left hand side of the car, and cursed the number of times that I had an opportunity to drive a left-hand drive vehicle in India, and didn't. The first instinct is for the left leg to depress the clutch prior to starting the vehicle, and that's when you realize that it's an automatic without a floor clutch!!!

Once I got it started, the next step was moving it from P (parking) to D(Drive). One needs to keep the brakes depressed, as otherwise the vehicle will roll forwards. After that it was pretty much smooth sailing. Driving was easy, also I didn't hit any of the freeways as that will take some more time.

Once we stopped, I carried out the same sequence, but in reverse - move from D to P, pull the handbrake, turn of ignition. The best part was that after all this, the left hand instinctively looks for a handbrake to pull, as the body is conditioned to do so, in India.

It was fun. We hope to purchase the car (the honda civic) probably within the next two weeks - so then I'll be sure to give more updates. Also we move into our apartment this weekend - so looking forward to that.

See's Candy @ NEw Park Mall - Indulging in Chocolate

The other day, Mahi & I went down to our good 'ol New Park Mall. This mall is the one closest to our current location. It isn't a very big mall, in fact, by American standards, it's a pretty small mall. That’s where I introduced Mahi to See's Candies - my favorite candy store. The stores are typically black and white and project a very retro look. The service too is very old-fashioned - a lot of warmth and coziness, with a strict adherence to their motto - "Quality Without Compromise".

There are over 100 different varieties to choose from, and the candies have no additives / preservatives - only fresh ingredients, procured from across the globe.

The first See's Candies store & kitchen was opened on Western Avenue in Los Angeles in November of 1921 by Charles See. The sparkling clean, black and white shop was designed to resemble his mother Mary See's home kitchen.

By the mid-1920's See's had expanded to twelve shops, and further expanded to thirty shops during the depression. By 1936, See's was able to expand to San Francisco. Mary See died in 1939 at the age of 85, but the company kept growing.

Following World War II, See's Candy Shops grew as California grew, and opened more shops throughout the state. In the 50's, See's established itself with the new and growing phenomenon of shopping malls.

Today See's Candies are sold in over two hundred shops throughout the West, a true sign of their enduring popularity. And, to this day, Charles See's living motto, "Quality Without Compromise" continues to guide the company.

My personal favorite there is the Milk Almonds – these are roasted almonds, coated in chocolate – simply out of this world. We also were exposed to the remarkable service here – the sweet lady at the counter kept giving us multiple samples to try out – in fact towards the end, we had to virtually refuse, for fear of being unable to waddle out of the store !!!

300 - The Movie

Just a quick one here, as it's close to 0030 hrs. We just got back from watching the "300" movie. Simply amazing.

I really liked the picturization, the theme, the color scheme - everything.

The movie is remarkably faithful to Frank Miller’s original graphic novel, which is a very stylized retelling of the true story of the 300 Spartan warriors led by their kind Leonidas, who made a suicidal last stand against an invading Persian army led by Xerxes at the Hot Gates of Thermopylae. The narrow pass allowed the 300 efficient fighters to hold off far superior numbers for days before finally being overwhelmed and slaughtered.

The director - Snyder is a visual genius. He's created several gorgeous moments, while at the same time not detracting from the action. It’s quite impressive – 300 identical looking Spartans fighting against hordes of identical looking foes would, in the hands of most modern directors, be a nightmare of confusion, but Snyder doesn’t go for the quick choppy editing technique. He allows the action moments to play out in very, very long shots, relying on speed ramping – everybody’s fast! Now it’s super slomo! – to create the dynamics of a fast edit. The long shots are especially fantastic because you are watching the actors going through multiple moves and multiple opponents.

Xerxes - the Persian king and so called self proclaimed God, is presented as a huge, effeminate figure. In a moment directly from the graphic novel, Xerxes is at his most threatening not when facing Leonidas but when he comes up behind him and places his massive hands on his shoulders.

All in all, a must see.