This weekend we had an outdoor activity day. It was one of those team building exercises. We had some fun on obstacle courses, there were some climbing activities, raft building, climbing, etc. It was a good time.

The most "interesting" part of the day was when we got to walk across this tight rope about 25 feet above the ground. It wasn't too hard because you could hold on to ropes as you crossed and it didn't seem dangerous at all because you were strapped into a harness and a safety line at all times. After you got to the other side, you strapped yourself to a different line and you could repel down the tree while a guy at the bottom belayed for you. The "interesting" part was when the belaying guy decided to try "dynamic belaying". This basically means that he let me free fall for 20 feet and then he yanked on the line just before I hit the ground. I still can't believe I jumped.

It was only about 20 minutes from the office. I was amazed at how quickly Bangalore went from bustling city to jungle. I saw a few monkeys and Vijay said he saw a cobra. Here are some pictures:

There's also a video of the guys playing a Hindi singing game on the bus ride over. I'll post it later if I get the chance.

Monsoon season is supposed to be pretty much over here in Bangalore, but we caught up in one heck of a storm last night. Bill, Joe and I went to a restaurant that's just around the corner from our hotel called Spiga for dinner. As soon as we left our hotel, it started to drizzle a little. By the time we were done with dinner, it was coming down extremely hard. Joe said, "since we're going to get soaked, we might as well walk." I thought, I might actually make it back before I got too wet so I started to sprint back, but I got soaked pretty much instantaneously. The drainage system here isn't great, and I had to wade through ankle high water (DJ said he had to wade through waist-high water!).

We also went to check out a live band, Thermal and a Quarter, at Zero G last night. It was a good show. They had some catchy songs, and excellent musicianship.

I have a cell phone here now. If you want to call me from North America, you have to dial 011 91 9880009273. Although, I wouldn't do it too often since it's super-expensive. You can send me an SMS for free by sending an email to though (the plus sign is not a typo).

I've been even busier than usual lately. This past week I was working on this huge TU assignment that has occupied all my time, but it's done now. I think I'm going to get another one on Monday, but this weekend, I'm completely free. Although I've been in Bangalore for a weeks now, this is the first free weekend I've had.

On Friday, I went to a club called Purple Haze with Joe, Bill, Vijay, Mrinal and DJ. It was quite good. They played a lot of rock and the atmosphere was awesome. I was telling DJ that I wanted to check out Electronic city (it's an area in Bangalore that contains a lot of Bangalore's largest IT companies). Luckily for us, DJ knows some people at Infosys and we were able to get a tour of their campus. Infosys is probably the most well-known IT company in India. Their campus was extremely impressive. It's probably the nicest company headquarters I've ever seen. It's even nicer than Microsoft's. Check out the pictures.

If you're in Canada right now, I hope you're having a great holiday.

India's been quite nice so far, and I've really enjoyed experiencing some of the nuances of its culture. Although lately, I've been a little homesick. I miss my family, my Christine, my friends and even all the silly little amenities that I can't seem to get over here. The other day, I actually said, "what I wouldn't give for a Walmart India...". Luckily we found this mall called the Forum, which is really nice. It's the only mall I've seen so far that kind of reminds me of the malls back home. It has a lot of stuff including a decent book store and some nice western food. :)

I'm still amazed by the traffic here. I think "right of way" is determined by momentum. Yesterday, we had dinner at a restaurant named Samarkand. Mrinal gave me a ride over to the restaurant with some other TUers. It's pretty fun to get in a car and bob and weave through Indian traffic at night. Here are some pics.

The other North American TUers. This is a horrible picture. From left: Joe, Bill and Vijay

I think this applies to the entire city.

In Mrinal's car. From left: Mrinal, DJ, Prem, Me.

Some TUers

Some more TUers

I get a copy of The Times of India everyday. Indian politics is kind of interesting. I'm starting to get a bit of a grasp of it. No one here seems to know anything about Canadian politics or much about Canada for that matter. A few Indians do seem to be aware of American politics though. Do you know what the best part of The Times of India is? Dubyaman (you can use indiatimesjy:indiatimesjy for the registration). I think "Autobiography" is my favourite. :)