Rest of 2011

It's been 6 years since I blogged last and this time I am starting it back up because something is compelling me to start writing again.

My last blog was in 2011 which was a very eventful year because I got married that year, had just started my consulting practice via my own consulting company.

Quick recap of the rest of the year, based on of course my travels

2011:

I had just started working in Florida. We moved to Hollywood Florida for the rest of the year.

November:

ACEC meeting: went to Chicago for this HIMSS meeting. Hard to forget that DoubleTree because it was the first time I had a bed bug situation that forced me to move rooms at 2am!

Thanksgiving: we got married in Ahmedabad, India for the second time ( our actual registered marriage was in St Paul, Minnesota in June 2011).

My family did most of the planning, we went in a few days before to get the clothing made and help with finalizing a few things. Mom and dad had just moved to Ahmedabad from Mumbai so everything was new for them and for me.

It was exciting to see all my family and friends.

In India, after the wedding we went to see the Taj Mahal in Agra, Udaipur, Rajasthan and Delhi with two of our friends.

December: celebrity Cruise during Christmas covering Eastern Caribbean

Niagara Falls

There was nothing to keep me in Youngstown besides I feel the need to rescue my wife from Ohio. The good thing about Youngstown however was the proximity to Niagara Falls and Buffalo.

I just happened to rent a Cadillac this weekend, because of all the points I get from my travels, I try to see if I can use them on my weekends specially for road trips.. this weekend it was a DTS, V8 gas guzzler but a sweet ride. It was the complete opposite of the camaro's and the tahoe's that I had been renting, this one actually doesnt make you feel like you are going fast at all.. its like driving a sofa!

The ride to Buffalo was uneventful, though you are driving around the lake most of the time, you can barely see it except for at Erie. The only Marriott in Buffalo that I had booked with my points ended up having a renovation so we moved right across the street to candlewood suites.. nothing fancy about that place. But it worked.

We went that night to Hard Rock and then walked over to the park to see the night lights over the falls, quite a view but the lights from the Ontario side of all the restaurants and big hotels overshadows anything from the NY side. Its kind of a sad feeling of being away from the action!



Next day we did the Maid of the Mist, walked around goose island and got the most spectacular views of the falls.. it was worth the trouble of driving there.

Dinner at Erie, cute restaurant with California cuisine, a little too much oil/butter to my taste.. my food ended up looking like Chipotle ;-)

Next day we headed over back to Pittsburgh to complete my visit with the duquesne incline from Station Square. For 2 bucks you can go up in the cable car and see a beautiful night view of the pitt skyline..

We also enjoyed staying in a jacuzzi suite at the local holiday inn express and eating some PF changs.. a true suburban experience! 

Pittsburgh, the steel city

So I had to spend last weekend visiting my wife in Youngstown, Ohio. I flew into Pittsburgh early in the day and since she was working nights, I wouldnt see her till next morning.. I decided to reach out to few of my friends who happened to be working at University of Pittsburgh and do some sight-seeing.

here's the wiki:

Pittsburgh ( /ˈpɪtsbərɡ/, pits-burg) is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat ofAllegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia^[7] and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States.^[8][9] The population of the city in 2010 was 305,704, while that of the seven-county metropolitan area stood at 2,356,285.^[10] Downtown Pittsburgh retains substantial economic influence, ranking at 25th in the nation for jobs within the urban core and 6th in job density.^[11] The characteristic shape of Pittsburgh's central business district is a triangular tract carved by the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, which form the Ohio River. The city features 151 high-rise buildings,^[12] 446 bridges,^[13] two inclined railways, and a pre-revolutionary fortification. Pittsburgh is known colloquially as "The City of Bridges" and "The Steel City" for its many bridges and former steel manufacturing base.

I had been to the burg once before, attended the Three Rivers Arts Festival and the Andy Warhol Museum. This time I decided to spend the afternoon at Carnegie Art Museum/Natural History Museum, which are really nice buildings on the UPITT campus, here's a few things I learnt:



How many holes do we have in our scull?
5 - 2 for eyes, 2 for ears and 1 for nose... the mouth is considered a different jaw bone and doesnt count.

How many holes does an ostrich have?
14!

How many arms does an ostrich have?
1 - that is used for nothing and covered with feathers!

I saw a ton of dinosaur exhibits and a movie on the sinking of the titanic. It was more informational than the entire 3 hour hollywood movie!

Visited with my friends who made a wonderful vegan meal for me and then we went for a cruise down the ohio river looking at all the high rises and important Pittsburgh architecture from the Heinz football field, Alcoa headquarters to the new convention center, casino and all the different bridges including the Warhol bridge that I had walked on before to get to the museum.




UPMC pretty much owns all the healthcare facilities - hospitals, clinics, offices... they have been buying up everything in the area. They even have their name on the tallest building in the skyline, originally the steel building.. which shows their significance in Pitt, no longer a steel capital!

The administrative headquarters for UPMC are located at the top of the U.S. Steel Tower, Pittsburgh's tallest building

The Wiki:
The University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) is an $9 billion integrated global nonprofit health enterprise that has 54,000 employees, 20 hospitals, 4,200 licensed beds, 400 outpatient sites and doctors’ offices, a 1.5 million-member health insurance division, as well as commercial and international ventures.^[3] UPMC is closely affiliated with its academic partner, the University of Pittsburgh.^[4]

MSP-MDW-ATL-MSP

So I got back from St Louis last Monday and work started picking up really quick... less in terms of real work, most in terms of visiting different hospitals to be with different groups of end users in different meeting rooms, which looked exactly the same except were 40 miles apart!

So Monday, Tue, Wednesday rolls by really quick..

Wednesday night I get to hang out with my friend at Flamezz and smoke some hookah, which was the only social event I had all week. Rest of the week was relatively boring.

Thursday afternoon, I flew to Chicago for my ACEC meeting at Doubletree. I should have realized the hotel was near O'Hare, but I still flew into Midway, took my more than an hour and 80 bucks to get from Midway to Ohare. That wasnt fun!

Here's some detail about HIMSS and ACEC:



HIMSS: "Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) is a 501(c)6 organization dedicated to improving the quality, safety, cost-effectiveness, and access to, healthcare through the best use of information technology and management systems. Founded in 1961 it has offices in Chicago and Washington D.C. HIMSS represents more than 23,000 individual members, of which 73% work in the patient care setting. HIMSS also includes over 380 corporate members and 50+ not-for-profit organizations that share the mission of transforming healthcare through the effective use of IT and management systems."

ACEC: "The Annual Conference Education Committee (ACEC) is a group of annual conference reviewers and ACEC Content Liaisons who each represent an industry, profession, or community within HIMSS. The ACEC is responsible for identifying and programming high quality educational opportunities at the Annual HIMSS Conference and Exhibition. The planning year for the ACEC runs July 1 to June 30.

Annual Conference Reviewers are members of the Society who lend their time and expertise to review proposals submitted to HIMSS through its call for proposal process. Reviewers are responsible for reviewing these proposals, evaluating them through an online system, and conferring with the other reviewers within their topic category group to produce a list of recommended proposals they believe should be accepted for the conference. This review process takes place prior to the ACEC face-to-face meeting, which normally takes place in late August. Proposals recommended by the reviewers are then discussed by the ACEC at their face to face meeting and a final selection is made. Once proposals have been selected by the ACEC, reviewers may be assigned to coach selected speakers, may be asked to evaluate their presentation materials and to evaluate the sessions on-site, and possibly serve as moderator."

So that's what we did all day Friday, went through every topic proposal and selected the ones that will be of the most benefit to the attendees of the conference. It was quite a gruelling process because there were more than 700 applications and only 30-40 education spots. There were e-sessions, roundtables and lectures to consider. 

Friday night I left for Atlanta, it was my aunt's 60th birthday, my brother in law's 33rd, Raksha Bandhan and Janmashtami celebrations so needless to say it was quality time with family, a much needed one since I always feel there is so much isolation in travelling jobs like mine, even if I am lucky enough to have a partner who would travel with me most of the time. 

Raksha Bandhan is especially something I like doing face to face, last year I was in New York and this year I went to Atlanta. 

Here's the Wiki: "Raksha Bandhan (Hindi: रक्षाबंधन, Punjabi: ਰਕਸ਼ਾਬੰਧਨ, Urdu: رکشا بندھن the bond of protection), or Rakhi (Hindi: राखी, Bengali রাখী, Punjabi: ਰਾਖੀ, Urdu: راکھی), is a festival primarily observed in India, which celebrates the relationship between brothers and sisters. It is also called Rakhi Purnima in certain parts of India, like the south.^[1][2] The festival is observed by Hindus and Muslims.^[3][4][5] The central ceremony involves the tying of a rakhi (sacred thread) by a sister on her brother's wrist. This symbolizes the sister's love and prayers for her brother's well-being, and the brother's lifelong vow to protect her.^[6][7] The festival falls on the full moon day (Shravan Poornima) of the Shravanmonth of the Hindu lunisolar calendar.^{[6][8][9][10]} It grew in popularity after Rani Karnavati, the widowed queen of Chittor, sent a rakhi to theMughal emperor Humayun when she required his help.^[5]"

I don't normally celebrate Janmashtami but this year I did because a friend of mine was interested in going to the temple to celebrate Lord Krishna;s birthday. I took that as an opportunity to go to BAPS Swaminarayan Temple which I havent been able to go. I followed the entire fund raising for this amazing temple and the construction for it... 100's of hours that the volunteers had put into this.. 

It didnt disappoint, not just the outside structure but even the inside is intricately carved with different forms of iconic images of deities. The carving the beautiful. 

Here's the Wiki on Janmashtami, BAPS and the Temple in Georgia:

Janmashtami: "Krishna Janmashtami (Devanagari कृष्ण जन्माष्टमी kṛṣṇa janmāṣṭami), also known as Krishnashtami, Saatam Aatham, Gokulashtami,Ashtami Rohini, Srikrishna Jayanti, Sree Jayanthi or sometimes merely as Janmashtami, is a Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Krishna, an Avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu.^[1]

Krishna Janmashtami is observed on the Ashtami tithi, the eighth day of the dark half or Krishna Paksha of the month of Bhadrapada in theHindu calendar, when the Rohini Nakshatra is ascendant. The festival always falls within mid-August to mid-September in the Gregorian calendar. In 2010, for example, the festival was celebrated on 2nd September, while in 2011, the festival will be celebrated on 22nd August.

Rasa lila, dramatic enactments of the life of Krishna, are a special feature in regions of Mathura and Vrindavan, and regions followingVaishnavism in Manipur. While the Rasa lila re-creates the flirtatious aspects of Krishna's youthful days, the Dahi Handi celebrate God's playful and mischievous side, where teams of young men form human pyramids to reach a high-hanging pot of butter and break it. This tradition, also known as uriadi, is a major event in Tamil Nadu on Gokulashtami."

BAPS: "Bochasanwasi Shri Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (Gujarati: બોચાસનવાસી અક્ષ૨ પુરુષોત્તમ સ્વામિનારાયણ સંસ્થા, IAST:Bocāsanvāsī Akshar Purushottam Swāminārāyan Sansthā), often abbreviated as BAPS (formerly Bochasan Swaminarayan Sanstha or BSS), is a major organization within the Swaminarayan sect of Hinduism. The organization was established on 5 June 1907 by Shastri Yagnapurushdas orShastriji Maharaj (1865–1951), a Sanskrit scholar and sadhu who left the Vadtal Gadi of the Swaminarayan Sampraday in 1905. The Akshar Purushottam Upasana, an interpretation of Bhagwan Swaminarayan's succession, is what led to the formation of this present organization. Shastriji Maharaj's successor was Yogiji Maharaj. Presently the sanstha is headed by Pramukh Swami Maharaj.^[1]

BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a charitable Non-governmental organization affiliated with the United Nations. The organization is recognized as a Non-Governmental Organization that holds General Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations.^[2][3]"

Temple in Lilburn, GA: 

The BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Atlanta is the sixth BAPS traditional Hindu stone temple built outside of India. It is also the largest Hindu temple of its kind outside of India. It is currently open to the public. The 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m²) temple, officially called the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, sits on 30 acres (120,000 m²). With hand-carved stone spires that tower 75 feet (23 m), it is the tallest building in Lilburn, Georgia, dominating the intersection of Rockbridge Road and Lawrenceville Highway. More than 1,300 craftsmen and 900 volunteers dedicated their time in putting this 34,450-piece stone marvel together. More than 4,500 tons of Italian Carrara marble, 4,300 tons of Turkish limestone, and 3,500 tons of Indian pink sandstone was quarried and shipped to the craftsmen in India. Then, all of the nearly 35,000 pieces were shipped to the United States. It serves members of the Swaminarayan branch of Hinduism, which originated in India more than 200 years ago. The traditional design features custom-carvedstonework, a wraparound veranda and five prominent pinnacles reminiscent of the Himalayan hills.

The Lilburn location is the largest temple in North America for BAPS. Built at an estimated cost of $19 million, the temple complex is only the third of its kind in the country, surpassing BAPS temples in Houston and Chicago. Tony Patel with Alpharetta, Georgia based Newport Design Group Architects served as coordinating architects for the project.

The organization’s current spiritual guru, Pramukh Swami Maharaj, came to Lilburn in 2004 and blessed the first foundation stones. The guru, who celebrated his 86th birthday in 2006, returned to Lilburn in August 2007 to sanctify the completed temple. Upon completion, a keystone weighing more than 2 tons was twisted into place on the ceiling of the central dome inside."

The first birthday party was at an Indian Restaurant, the second one was at a club house.. Spent the night with my friends in Atlantic Station.. overall a very nice weekend. 

Day 2 St Louis

Day 2 in St Louis was quite uneventful since we spent most of the day doing chores... at the big box stores, costco, target, walmart...

We did manage to squeeze in a movie, Dinner at The Hill and a trip to the Arch.

Glee was a fun movie, not as much fun as I expected.. maybe I should have done a little research because it was talking about their concerts across the country rather than a movie based on the show. It was still fun to watch them prepare for the show, the fans and how the show has changes their lives.. very similar to the Justin Bieber movie we saw a few months ago. I actually liked that one more, just cuz I really didnt know how that kid was.




Here's the Wiki:"Glee is an American musical comedy-drama television series that airs on Fox in the United States, and on Global and Fox Canada in Canada. It touches on the high school glee club New Directions competing on the show choir competition circuit, while its members deal with relationships, sexuality and social issues. The initial main cast encompassed club director and Spanish teacher Will Schuester(Matthew Morrison), cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester (Jane Lynch), guidance counselor Emma Pillsbury (Jayma Mays), Will's ex-wifeTerri (Jessalyn Gilsig), and eight club members played by Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Cory Monteith, Amber Riley, Mark Salling and Jenna Ushkowitz. For the second season, formerly recurring cast members Mike O'Malley, Heather Morris andNaya Rivera were promoted to the main cast."


We had dinner in the italian neighborhood, little did we know it was such a catholic city... most of the places were closed, we ended up in a pizzeria which was quite disappointing. 


The Wiki:"The Hill is a mostly Italian-American neighborhood within St. Louis, Missouri, located on high ground south of Forest Park. The official boundaries of the area are Manchester Avenue (Route 100) on the north, Columbia and Southwest Avenues on the south, South Kingshighway Boulevard on the east, and Hampton Avenue on the west.

Its name is due to its proximity to the highest point of the city, formerly named St. Louis Hill, which is a few blocks south, at the intersection of Arsenal Street and Sublette Avenue. The intersection borders Sublette Park, the former site of the Social Evil Hospitalbuilt there in 1873.

Italians, mainly from northern Italy and Sicily, immigrated and settled in the area starting in the late 19th century, attracted by jobs in nearby plants established to exploit deposits of clay discovered by immigrants in the 1830s."

Finally once it cooled down, we went to the Arch, which does look the best at night. The whole construction of this steel structure with a tiny viewing window, the historical significance as an entrance to the west of the city, its egg shaped people mover/trolley... all very interesting and a must for St Louis and history buffs. 

The Wiki: " The Gateway Arch, or Gateway to the West,^[5] is an arch that is the centerpiece of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial in St. Louis, Missouri. It was built as a monument to the westward expansion of the United States. At 630 feet (192 m), it is the tallest man-made monument in the United States,^[4] Missouri's tallest accessible building, and the largest architectural structure designed as a weighted or flattened catenary arch.^[4]

Located on the west bank of the Mississippi River where the city of St. Louis was founded, the arch was designed by Finnish Americanarchitect Eero Saarinen and structural engineer Hannskarl Bandel in 1947. Construction began on February 12, 1963, and ended on October 28, 1965,^[6][7] costing US$13 million at the time^[8] ($90,491,005 today^[2]). The monument opened to the public on June 10, 1967.^[9]"