For a while I thought it wouldn't come, but sadly it did. Yes, I have been told to report for jury duty. My brother told me that indicating "Engineer" for Profession on the questionnaire would probably get me excluded. No such luck.

I know it's my duty and all, but the inconvenience of missing work makes it something I dread. You know, if I'm well educated and employed and don't want to do it, then is it a good thing for an uneducated or unemployed person wanting to do it for the $25/day? Hmmm ... makes you wonder in whose hands "justice" resides. Coerced? Perhaps. Any better way to do it? I don't think do.

My parents have always told me that I should never reveal to others how much I truly know or don't know, unless absolutely necessary. In a game theory sense, its logical to never let anyone get the upper hand by revealing too much. Evidently, this can work out in the oddest of scenarios...

So a co-worker was telling me about his Indian buddy who for whatever reason did not have a car for transportation. Maybe he had one, but didn't want to use it, I don't know. They were in Detroit and his buddy suggested they jaywalk across the expressway to save time. My co-worker refused, telling him that a cop could catch him and give him a ticket, so his friend went alone. Sure enough a cop caught him. As the cop questioned him, his immediate reply was "no english". The cop tried repeatedly to get him to explain what he was doing on the expressway but he kept repeating "no english" in his Indian accent. Frustrated the cop finally decided to give him a lift home. But how to explain the way home? His only reply: "here". So he just pointed and kept repeating "here" till they eventually arrived at his apartment.

Poor cop, smart Desi.

Posted in: Funny,

I just got off the phone with my brother. He was calling from France telling me all the quirks of visiting, the people, the food and the culture. Overall, he's having a pleasant experience, even if it was a business trip. A few weeks ago before he left, I told him to get a picture in the Charles de Gaulle airport. Similar to this one:

So anyways, he didn't get a chance on the way in, so he planned on catching a snap on the way out. However in some weird twist of irony, the section collapsed back in May, killing 5 people. He was talking about music with some Frenchies when the new U2 video came on. He mentioned I wanted him to take that pic, then they told him about it. So, apparently its been rebuilt by now, somehow with all that open space and no support columns, a collapse was inevitable.

Hmmm, I hope its still a good idea to go and take that pic...

So I got the unfortunate job of handing out the candy this year. Lucky for me not too many kids showed up. There were some funny moments. One kid was dressed up as a beer bottle. I asked him if he thought he should be 21 yrs old before dressing up like that. With a momentary pause, his comrades replied "no". And one other kid was covered up in what appeared to be some sort of gift wrap. He could barely say "trick or treat". I asked him what he was supposed to be. He said he was a rock. I said "cool", he lit up and said "thanks". How unique.

Anyways, I have to fit some sort of rant in this post. There were about a dozen or so babies out trick-or-treating. Some of them their parents had to hold them, knock on the door, speak for them, and accept their candy. There were others who just stood there dumbfounded and barely able to move. And one was more fascinated with my blue bowl than the candy I gave him. So, what's with that? Is candy so important that parents have to drag their 3 year old kids out in this cold? Is this (foolish) tradition really that fundamental to a child's youth? I don't know. And although I've never gone door-to-door begging for cheap candy, I don't condemn those who do. I just think parents can think of better ways for their younger kids to have fun. Especially when they don't have a clue about what's going on.

When I was on Devon Avenue in Chicago, one of the stores had a sign near their cold drinks. "Pay First. After Drink."

But this is better!

Posted in: India, Funny,