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.