High Tech Throne


I am getting quite used to the everday luxuries of the high tech capital of the world. Unlike the US and Western Europe, innovation has reached the bathroom in Japan. Heated toilet seats, water jets and a choice of soundtracks (including bird chirping and water falls) are all intended to make your bathroom experience more pleasurable. Japan is already on its way to making intelligent toilets that can monitor body weight, blood sugar etc. Soon there will be no need to head to the clinic for health check-ups. All you have to do is make a short trip to the nearest throne. Unfortuantely things aren't looking all that rosy from a lab technician's perspective. Losing your job due to outsourcing is bad enough, let alone being made redundant by a commode!

Tokyo Subway: The Mother of All Puzzles


Finding your way to the right station is difficult enough. But that's only a small part of the bigger challenge. Once you reach your station you have to navigate millions of intertwining tunnels with gazillions of exits. But I have to say it's been fun getting lost underground. It's a great place for people-watching and window-shopping. Plus its a good workout (no wonder people are so lean and fit here).

Who's Da Bomb?

Tokyo entails a LOT of walking. I was trudging to the conference center this morning lugging a fairly heavy bag. One of the conference attendees offered to help me carry it. I resisted and hestitated but eventually gave in and handed over my bag. He was genuinely sweet and extremely charming. During the course of the day, he helped me haul my bag back and forth several times. I was moved by the unexpected kind gesture from the wonderful stranger. It was only later that I realized that he was a hot shot Deputy Minister from Georgia!

Inside the Buddha's Belly

One of the highlights of the Tokyo trip was the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to walk into the Buddha's belly. The hollow statue was packed with people and their voices ricocheted off the walls creating a trance-like drone. The big Buddha at Kamakura was originally housed within a temple which was washed away by a tsunami at the end of the 15th century.

Royal Treatment

We had dinner at an amazing Indian resturant in Kuala Lumpur tonight..... Delicious food, pleasant ambiance, wonderful company and fascinating conversations. Our party included the uncle of the Malaysian King and the niece of an Opus Dei cardinal. It all seems surreal in retrospect.

Visa Woes

Rude Indian Embassy Lady: That will be $20

Me: But your website said that there is no visa fee for Bangladeshi nationals

Rude Indian Embassy Lady: Well there is.... If you want me to process your visa application you have to produce the money

As usual I had almost no cash on me. So I hailed a cab and rushed to the nearest ATM and back in a record 10 mins. I felt I had already paid my dues by waiting in line an hour and a half the first time. So this time I broke the queue typical Bangladeshi style. She didn't appear thrilled to see me......

Rude Indian Embassy Lady: You can pick up your visa next week. It takes at least 5 business days to process

Me: But the website said it would only take a day.....

Rude Indian Embassy Lady:(Silence accompanied by look of exasperation, digust and disapproval)

Me: I am leaving this Friday. (I throw in a pleading look combined with shock and disbelief...... trying to act like things work more efficiently where I come from and people stick to what they put on their website ;-))

Rude Indian Embassy Lady: Ok.... fine..... pick it up on Thursday

Me: Thank you VERY much (in my head I wrung her neck till her eyeballs popped out of their sockets)

Two Things I Carry in My Wallet

A 9-year long "around the world" travel plan that encompasses 40 countries in 7 continents and ends with a trip to snow-covered Antartica....... I dreamt this up during my bout of unemployment right after graduate school. So I didn't quite take my limited vacation time into account. Plus I am still on the lookout for an adventurous yet laid-back travel buddy (now that Sana Haider has moved on and left me to fend for myself).

A 10 Million Turkish Lira note, so that I can go around feeling like a millionaire...... Of course, when it gets too heady and I need a reality check, all I have to do is remind myself that 1 USD = 1.3 million Turkish Lira. (As of Jan 1, 2005 Turkey deleted six zeroes from its currency and issued the new Turkish Lira.)

When it comes down to the stuff that makes the world go around, somehow I never seem to have enough in my wallet to fund a trip to the vending machine or my bus ride home.

"Maternity is a Matter of Fact, Paternity is a Matter of Opinion"

So it's funny that until recently the Bangladeshi birth certificate featured the name of a child's father and paternal grandfather but there was absolutely no mention of the mother.

Bigger is Better

Get your mind out of the gutter..... I am talking about houses. One of my professors made an interesting observation that family sizes are getting smaller but people seem to want bigger and bigger homes these days.

Desperate Measures

I moved to a different part of the office this week and it's quite lonely in my new corner. So I stole an empty candy machine, filled it up with M&Ms and put it in front of my door hoping people would start stopping by. Well, it did generate a little bit of traffic but most of the M&Ms ended up in MY tummy. I need to find a low-fat bait next time.

Just got it this morning, from a fellow blogger ;) Now who in their right mind would pay $100K to meet a Millionairre? How far are you willing to go for your soul mate?

http://www.orlythematchmaker.com/

What Are You Scared of?

Allodoxaphobia - Fear of opinions
Anuptaphobia - Fear of staying single
Gamophobia - Fear of marriage
Coulrophobia - Fear of clowns
Geliophobia - Fear of laughter
Genuphobia - Fear of knees
Chrometophobia or Chrematophobia - Fear of money
Deipnophobia - Fear of dining or dinner conversations

This one is my favorite and I would pay big bucks to see George Bush pronounce it:
Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - Fear of long words