I think this might be my week of complaining. I spent way too many words talking about cell phone etiquette when in line. Now I'm annoyed by the fact that telemarketers are already all over my new phone number!
This phone line has only been around for 10 days and I'm already getting 4-6 calls a day. Glory be the invention of caller ID since I can tell how many random calls I get while I'm away (I wonder if the dogs get annoyed by all the calls when they're home alone). What I don't understand is that Comcast says they keep all numbers private. How is possible for the Chronicle, the local Police Department, and every telemarketer around already have my number?
When I got the line I figured I would add it to the Do Not Call database but I wasn't in any rush since I figured it would take some time (and me sharing the number) for telemarketers to find out I got a phone line. Lo and behold, just 2 days after the line was installed, I got the first call! One business day! That's all it took!
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Niceities
Okay, so maybe I'll sound like a rube who should get with the times. Afterall, everyone's busy so we gotta do as much as possible in as little time as possible. It's called multi-tasking right?!
But there's one thing that I really try to avoid whenever possible: Talking on the cell phone while being assisted by someone.
You know the story. You're in a checkout line and your phone rings. So you answer it and in the meantime you've gotten to the front of the line and need to checkout. What do you do? Here's the options which I think most people likely consider:
I'm sure that you can guess which option I usually take? Number 3. I used to take option 1 or 2, but at some point I realized that I was being inconsiderate to both the checker and the person on the phone with either of those options. Now, if I was being totally considerate of the entire situation, I'd just let the call go through to VM and call the person back. I only do that if I'm about to start my checkout, but normally, I'll pick up the phone and tell the person I have to hang up when it comes time.
What's my main reason for doing this? Honestly, the first thing I think of when I see someone take option 1 is that they're treating the checker like a servant. Yes, obviously, the checker is there to serve you the customer. But do you have to treat him or her like a man-servant?
I just saw this in the cafeteria this afternoon. What drove me to finally blog about this is the attitude the customer had with the checker. Not only did she continue with her phone conversation, but when the checker asked her what she had (a salad and chicken), she looks dismayed at having to tell the checker a second time. And in between telling the checker what to ring up, she's apologizing to the person on the phone for asking him/her to repeat what was just said.
Seeing that just makes me feel bad for the checker. She's doing her job and you can barely give her the 30 seconds it takes to complete a transaction? I personally feel guilty if I do this to someone and rather than make a stupid face to the checker, make the checker dislike me, and still feel bad about it, I just slow down and give each person the time and respect they deserve.
I've expanded this to regular situations when I'm with a friend. I'll usually not answer my phone unless I know it's going to be short or if the person has called me a couple of times. Even then, I still try to tell the person I'm with that I need to take the call and why I need to take it. It's the least I can do.
But there's one thing that I really try to avoid whenever possible: Talking on the cell phone while being assisted by someone.
You know the story. You're in a checkout line and your phone rings. So you answer it and in the meantime you've gotten to the front of the line and need to checkout. What do you do? Here's the options which I think most people likely consider:
- Give a smile to the checker and act like you feel guilty that you're on the phone, but you remain on the phone. You may talk to the checker if absolutely needed, but your focus is on the other end of the phone line, not the other side of the check-out counter.
- Give a smile to the checker, tell the person on the phone to hold on a second and finish your business with the checker. The whole time the phone is still on and you resume your conversation as soon as you're done with the checker.
- When you get to the front of the line, tell the person on the phone that you'll have to call them back and hang up.
- You get out of line while you finish up your conversation and get back in line when you're done.
- You don't take the call, finish up with the check-out, then check your voicemail and/or call the person back.
I'm sure that you can guess which option I usually take? Number 3. I used to take option 1 or 2, but at some point I realized that I was being inconsiderate to both the checker and the person on the phone with either of those options. Now, if I was being totally considerate of the entire situation, I'd just let the call go through to VM and call the person back. I only do that if I'm about to start my checkout, but normally, I'll pick up the phone and tell the person I have to hang up when it comes time.
What's my main reason for doing this? Honestly, the first thing I think of when I see someone take option 1 is that they're treating the checker like a servant. Yes, obviously, the checker is there to serve you the customer. But do you have to treat him or her like a man-servant?
I just saw this in the cafeteria this afternoon. What drove me to finally blog about this is the attitude the customer had with the checker. Not only did she continue with her phone conversation, but when the checker asked her what she had (a salad and chicken), she looks dismayed at having to tell the checker a second time. And in between telling the checker what to ring up, she's apologizing to the person on the phone for asking him/her to repeat what was just said.
Seeing that just makes me feel bad for the checker. She's doing her job and you can barely give her the 30 seconds it takes to complete a transaction? I personally feel guilty if I do this to someone and rather than make a stupid face to the checker, make the checker dislike me, and still feel bad about it, I just slow down and give each person the time and respect they deserve.
I've expanded this to regular situations when I'm with a friend. I'll usually not answer my phone unless I know it's going to be short or if the person has called me a couple of times. Even then, I still try to tell the person I'm with that I need to take the call and why I need to take it. It's the least I can do.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Snap! Crackle! Click! India Wedding Photos
The excuse for us to go to India was a relative's wedding. And being a wedding photographer, I obviously took photos during the events. It was actually more difficult getting shots that are different than I usually take during a wedding gig. While I'm always trying to be creative on any job, I usually take some stuff which is standard across the board since the clients are looking for certain things at a minimum. So I tried to stay away from those typical shots this time. And since I wasn't a lead photographer I had the chance to roam around and not capture every little thing. Even then, I kept thinking about all the different shots I could get of the ceremony details. So I had to stop myself from falling into that "rut".
What I tried to do is thinking about the wedding from the perspective of a guest, which I rarely do. Even when I attend a friend's wedding here, I'm always looking over at the photographer or videographer. I annoy myself sometimes with not being able to take my mind off that stuff...I'm sure I annoy my wife much more offten :)
Anyways, so I tried to stay in the crowd as much as possible and stayed away from taking photos of the bride, groom, and their parents. And here's a few of the shots I took....click through to see more about each on Flickr.
Mandap Mandwo...with a little zoom action. No Photoshop!
Trying to get the feel of the rush through in an image. Touch is such low light.
More baraati rush.
Onlookers
Captured Photographers. Notice the second guy talking on his phone even when events are going on.
There are more in Flickr so head over there to see the rest.
What I tried to do is thinking about the wedding from the perspective of a guest, which I rarely do. Even when I attend a friend's wedding here, I'm always looking over at the photographer or videographer. I annoy myself sometimes with not being able to take my mind off that stuff...I'm sure I annoy my wife much more offten :)
Anyways, so I tried to stay in the crowd as much as possible and stayed away from taking photos of the bride, groom, and their parents. And here's a few of the shots I took....click through to see more about each on Flickr.
Mandap Mandwo...with a little zoom action. No Photoshop!Trying to get the feel of the rush through in an image. Touch is such low light.More baraati rush.OnlookersCaptured Photographers. Notice the second guy talking on his phone even when events are going on.There are more in Flickr so head over there to see the rest.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
After every trip to India I get questions such as "so are things really different in India?" It's a basic question that I'm sure every person gets when they return. The obvious answer is "Yes" since India's a developing country. And there's usually an undercurrent of woe when talking about how fast India is developing like "Man, I can't be-LIEVE that people are doing XYZ there now!"
[On a quick side note, if you think about visitng ANY place after 5 years, you're bound to see changes varying from subtle to significant. Heck, in the last 5 years, even Milpitas has changed a boatload!]
So usually, when answering this question I focus on the visual changes to the country either in terms of buildings and fashion or things that you find on TV. This time however, the biggest change I noticed was much more subtle.
And that is the the onslaught of credit cards and loans. First off, I'll say that I'm a happy consumer who greatly appreciates credit cards and home loans. But while I'm a heavy user of credit cards, I NEVER rollover a balance on my credit card from month-to-month. Also, even though we have a HUGE mortgage to pay off, before wading up to our knees in loan debt, we carefully thought about our long term plan for housing since carrying this size loan is not a fun thing to do permanently.
That being said, my description about the coming of a credit-based lifestyle in India does indeed have an undercurrent of woe. The main reason for that is the likelihood that many middle-class people are going to get caught in the web of too much credit card debt. Not to say that Indians don't have a good financial sense, but until very recently, India really ran on current accounts. Basically, whether payment was made with cash, check, or some sort of draft, the money being exchanged by lay people has heretofore been real money that already belongs to them.
That obviously isn't the case with credit cards and loans. And that's what scares me. The easy availability of credit cards is a real problem here in the US where such things have been very common for at least 25 years. I've known a few people who just couldn't control themselves with a credit card in hand. Even if they may know that the money is not actually their's, they get this feeling that regardless of how much they spend, they'll figure out a way to pay it off eventually. It's this capitalist can-do attitude that can be great most of the time, but can also get you in trouble if you can't follow through.
And trust me, Indians are masters of can-do. And with easy access to credit, my gut feel is that people will get a few credit cards and buy the nice clothes they really want. They'll get a car loan so they can quickly have their own car. And when they acquire this debt, the feeling will be that even if they can't pay it off now, they'll l be making more money in the future so they'll be able to pay it off in the near future once they're earning more from the higher paying job they're going to get in six months.
There's obviously a big chance these people will get caught in a downward spiral. I haven't heard many anecdotes about people actually getting caught up in this, but I've seen the signs from various companies looking to offer credit to anyone who wants it. It could be the Citibank hawkers outside the Bombay airport offering a credit card to anyone who can show them a boarding pass (as in, hey if you can afford a plane ticket, you can afford a mountain of debt!). It could be the car ad with a big starred section offering up credit to people who need it.
And so that's the biggest change in India I've been mentioning to people. The development of a credit based economy is certainly good and will help the Indian economy grow by leaps and bounds. I just hope that the users of this credit don't forget that it's just credit, not cash in their pocket.
[On a quick side note, if you think about visitng ANY place after 5 years, you're bound to see changes varying from subtle to significant. Heck, in the last 5 years, even Milpitas has changed a boatload!]
So usually, when answering this question I focus on the visual changes to the country either in terms of buildings and fashion or things that you find on TV. This time however, the biggest change I noticed was much more subtle.
And that is the the onslaught of credit cards and loans. First off, I'll say that I'm a happy consumer who greatly appreciates credit cards and home loans. But while I'm a heavy user of credit cards, I NEVER rollover a balance on my credit card from month-to-month. Also, even though we have a HUGE mortgage to pay off, before wading up to our knees in loan debt, we carefully thought about our long term plan for housing since carrying this size loan is not a fun thing to do permanently.
That being said, my description about the coming of a credit-based lifestyle in India does indeed have an undercurrent of woe. The main reason for that is the likelihood that many middle-class people are going to get caught in the web of too much credit card debt. Not to say that Indians don't have a good financial sense, but until very recently, India really ran on current accounts. Basically, whether payment was made with cash, check, or some sort of draft, the money being exchanged by lay people has heretofore been real money that already belongs to them.
That obviously isn't the case with credit cards and loans. And that's what scares me. The easy availability of credit cards is a real problem here in the US where such things have been very common for at least 25 years. I've known a few people who just couldn't control themselves with a credit card in hand. Even if they may know that the money is not actually their's, they get this feeling that regardless of how much they spend, they'll figure out a way to pay it off eventually. It's this capitalist can-do attitude that can be great most of the time, but can also get you in trouble if you can't follow through.
And trust me, Indians are masters of can-do. And with easy access to credit, my gut feel is that people will get a few credit cards and buy the nice clothes they really want. They'll get a car loan so they can quickly have their own car. And when they acquire this debt, the feeling will be that even if they can't pay it off now, they'll l be making more money in the future so they'll be able to pay it off in the near future once they're earning more from the higher paying job they're going to get in six months.
There's obviously a big chance these people will get caught in a downward spiral. I haven't heard many anecdotes about people actually getting caught up in this, but I've seen the signs from various companies looking to offer credit to anyone who wants it. It could be the Citibank hawkers outside the Bombay airport offering a credit card to anyone who can show them a boarding pass (as in, hey if you can afford a plane ticket, you can afford a mountain of debt!). It could be the car ad with a big starred section offering up credit to people who need it.
And so that's the biggest change in India I've been mentioning to people. The development of a credit based economy is certainly good and will help the Indian economy grow by leaps and bounds. I just hope that the users of this credit don't forget that it's just credit, not cash in their pocket.
Monday, January 08, 2007
Snap! Crackle! Click! A few shots from Mumbai/Bombay
I'm a bit lacking on words right now, so I'll just mention a few photos I took while in Mumbai...click on each photo to go to the Flickr page for more description and to leave comments
The Taj Hotel in Mumbai on a sunny day. I wish I had my wide angle lens. Given that it was my first day in India, I really regretted not bringing it and thought that I'd really miss it. But in the end, I rarely thought about lens selection the entire trip since I had a good all round lens on me.
Silver Plaza shopping for jewelry. Mind blowing how efficient they are here with showing you the exact selection you're thinking about. It's almost like they're reading your mind. December is NRI (Non-Resident Indian) season since Indians from all over the world take their vacations at that time of year and so many are doing wedding shopping.
Dark magazine stand on the streets of Santa Cruz (Mumbai). In reality it wasn't this dark and creepy (the sun was just setting), but I love what's possible when you can control your camera well. The only photoshopping I've done to this is cropping and adding a bit of brightness to the light bulb.
The Taj Hotel in Mumbai on a sunny day. I wish I had my wide angle lens. Given that it was my first day in India, I really regretted not bringing it and thought that I'd really miss it. But in the end, I rarely thought about lens selection the entire trip since I had a good all round lens on me.
Silver Plaza shopping for jewelry. Mind blowing how efficient they are here with showing you the exact selection you're thinking about. It's almost like they're reading your mind. December is NRI (Non-Resident Indian) season since Indians from all over the world take their vacations at that time of year and so many are doing wedding shopping.Dark magazine stand on the streets of Santa Cruz (Mumbai). In reality it wasn't this dark and creepy (the sun was just setting), but I love what's possible when you can control your camera well. The only photoshopping I've done to this is cropping and adding a bit of brightness to the light bulb.Thursday, January 04, 2007
Snap! Crackle! Click! Let the image parade begin...
Rather than work through all of my photos and then post a final gallery, I've decided to post photos little by little. I've already edited about 1/2-2/3 of the photos I took while in India so I'm going to pick out specific ones...either just because I love the photos or because there's a story to tell.
For all these photos, I'm posting them up at Flickr so click on the image to go there and leave comments if you want. Also, since I'm posting more photos to Flickr than I'm actually including in my blog, check over there to see a broader selection.
And with that...let's begin with some village children...
As I mentioned on Flickr, there's just something about this girl that catches my eye. She's obviously a very pretty girl, as are so many of these village children. But her attitude was really what made me think twice after I took the photos. And while this isn't my favorite photo from my trip, I knew I'd want to post it first just because it left an impression.
And what else left and impression?
"Want Pen!"
I'm not sure why pens are such valued items in India, but ever since I was little, my cousins over there would always want my pens. While we've all grown up, these kids are still having a blast hamming it up and asking me for any pens. In fact, I took extra pens with me to India since I just knew there would be an occasion to hand them out.
So enjoy, and come back soon.
For all these photos, I'm posting them up at Flickr so click on the image to go there and leave comments if you want. Also, since I'm posting more photos to Flickr than I'm actually including in my blog, check over there to see a broader selection.
And with that...let's begin with some village children...
As I mentioned on Flickr, there's just something about this girl that catches my eye. She's obviously a very pretty girl, as are so many of these village children. But her attitude was really what made me think twice after I took the photos. And while this isn't my favorite photo from my trip, I knew I'd want to post it first just because it left an impression.
And what else left and impression?
"Want Pen!"
I'm not sure why pens are such valued items in India, but ever since I was little, my cousins over there would always want my pens. While we've all grown up, these kids are still having a blast hamming it up and asking me for any pens. In fact, I took extra pens with me to India since I just knew there would be an occasion to hand them out.
So enjoy, and come back soon.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
HFL = High Flood Level
Well, Happy New Year!
After a long vacation related hiatus, I'm back. Before I left for India I wasn't sure I would want to blog while on vacation, but I figured I would probably find something to write about. And while I certainly had things to relate, I really had no desire to do so. And so a month and a half passes by like *that!*
Anyways, I start off the new year with photos. And the first photo is the simplest of them all:
My hometown in India is in Surat, Gujarat (well, it's technically Bardoli which is 30km away, but let's not nitpick since I was actually born in Surat and the majority of my relatives live there too). Over the years, Surat has had its share of problems, like riots, the plague, and flooding. Last August Surat saw the flood to end all floods. Days and days of water up to 30 feet deep.
And yet, you can't tell anything of the sort happened just 5 months ago. Except for these crude markers all over the city. They're marks of history and resilience. This specific marker was about 15 feet off the ground, but they range from just 2 feet off the ground all the way up to 30 feet. And where ever you go, the City has painted reminders of what happened in early August. What's more is that people are proud of what they've overcome. So much so that even if they re-paint the outside of their buildings to erase the marks of rain, flooding, and wear and tear, they still leave an untouched box around the marker to ensure everyone remembers just how high the water came.
It's still a bit difficult to pin down exactly what happened to cause such severe flooding, but the basics are clear. Torrential monsoon rains were much heavier last summer than usual. The Ukai dam upriver from Surat was way over it's normal limits. Dam workers waited and waited to release water from the dam. And when they finally released the water, they did so in fell swoop, rather than staggering the release over time. The water reached Surat six hours later and didn't subside for at least 8 days.
Here's an editorial about how the floods could have been avoided:
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/portal/2006/10/600
This person has compiled a good set of photos from that time:
http://news.webshots.com/album/555111753wseoID
So this man-made disaster really got the best of people for while. The funny thing is that even though people were stranded without power or fresh water, they still managed to drink whiskey from rooftops every day.
Immediately after the floods, we had heard stories of mud and filth throughout the entire city of 4 million people. But arriving in town just 3 months after things dried up, I was surprised at how little seemed affected. Sure, there are still junked cars in specific areas, but life seems amazingly back to normal. The loom industry which Surat is so famous for is still running like mad. I would have figured that many looms would have been destroyed by so much water and mud, but going through the streets, you can still hear them running 24 hours a day. I heard many stories from friends & relatives about what they did during the floods. Thankfully, none of them lost anything besides some ruined property, but there were some 200 accounted deaths and likely many more uncounted deaths of those swept straight into the nearby Indian Ocean.
From the stories I had heard prior to leaving for India, I wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly some devasation would still be visible...but not a single sign except for these painted markers? Amazing. I hope to see the same reminders when I return to Surat in the future.
And so a simple photo to represent something amazing and to start 2007.
Many more photos to comes.
After a long vacation related hiatus, I'm back. Before I left for India I wasn't sure I would want to blog while on vacation, but I figured I would probably find something to write about. And while I certainly had things to relate, I really had no desire to do so. And so a month and a half passes by like *that!*
Anyways, I start off the new year with photos. And the first photo is the simplest of them all:
My hometown in India is in Surat, Gujarat (well, it's technically Bardoli which is 30km away, but let's not nitpick since I was actually born in Surat and the majority of my relatives live there too). Over the years, Surat has had its share of problems, like riots, the plague, and flooding. Last August Surat saw the flood to end all floods. Days and days of water up to 30 feet deep.
And yet, you can't tell anything of the sort happened just 5 months ago. Except for these crude markers all over the city. They're marks of history and resilience. This specific marker was about 15 feet off the ground, but they range from just 2 feet off the ground all the way up to 30 feet. And where ever you go, the City has painted reminders of what happened in early August. What's more is that people are proud of what they've overcome. So much so that even if they re-paint the outside of their buildings to erase the marks of rain, flooding, and wear and tear, they still leave an untouched box around the marker to ensure everyone remembers just how high the water came.
It's still a bit difficult to pin down exactly what happened to cause such severe flooding, but the basics are clear. Torrential monsoon rains were much heavier last summer than usual. The Ukai dam upriver from Surat was way over it's normal limits. Dam workers waited and waited to release water from the dam. And when they finally released the water, they did so in fell swoop, rather than staggering the release over time. The water reached Surat six hours later and didn't subside for at least 8 days.
Here's an editorial about how the floods could have been avoided:
http://www.hardnewsmedia.com/portal/2006/10/600
This person has compiled a good set of photos from that time:
http://news.webshots.com/album/555111753wseoID
So this man-made disaster really got the best of people for while. The funny thing is that even though people were stranded without power or fresh water, they still managed to drink whiskey from rooftops every day.
Immediately after the floods, we had heard stories of mud and filth throughout the entire city of 4 million people. But arriving in town just 3 months after things dried up, I was surprised at how little seemed affected. Sure, there are still junked cars in specific areas, but life seems amazingly back to normal. The loom industry which Surat is so famous for is still running like mad. I would have figured that many looms would have been destroyed by so much water and mud, but going through the streets, you can still hear them running 24 hours a day. I heard many stories from friends & relatives about what they did during the floods. Thankfully, none of them lost anything besides some ruined property, but there were some 200 accounted deaths and likely many more uncounted deaths of those swept straight into the nearby Indian Ocean.
From the stories I had heard prior to leaving for India, I wasn't sure what to expect. Certainly some devasation would still be visible...but not a single sign except for these painted markers? Amazing. I hope to see the same reminders when I return to Surat in the future.
And so a simple photo to represent something amazing and to start 2007.
Many more photos to comes.
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