Jesse's Blog

Sundays are Fundays!

Jesse — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 07:56:04 +0000

Sunday was a blast. Simran donated the use of his family’s farm in Chattarpur for a relaxing picnic in uncharacteristically pleasant Delhi weather. Good friends, decent food (still need to practice that one), lotsa drink and great fun! Check out the pics in the album above.

HDR Imagery

Jesse — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 15:52:27 +0000

Lately I have been playing around with creating and tonemapping high dynamic range images, applying a bit of artistic flare. Here are some of the results!

Reawakening

Jesse — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:37:05 +0000

Last weekend I played paintball for the first time in about 10 years. I forgot how much I love this sport. I can’t believe I ever stopped playing.

10 of us joined Denise to celebrate her birthday at The Paintball Company’s permanent speedball field at the Best Western Resort and Country Club in Haryana. It was a hell of a drive to get there, and there are closer places to play in Gurgaon, but it was well worth it.

The action was fast-paced and we all had a lot of fun. The only downside, because I’m a stickler, is that the equipment was a bit underwhelming and the paintballs weren’t very accurate. Maybe I’ll have to buy a paintball gun and bring it back from the states!

Jaipur or Bust

Jesse — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 20:25:21 +0000

On Taeber’s last weekend we headed on a road trip down to Jaipur to see some more of India. I have never been to Jaipur, but it turned out to be one of my favorite places. After a 6 hour drive (I was driving) including stops at places like McDonald’s and Cafe Coffee Day, we arrived and attempted to quickly locate a hotel for the night.

After calling some friends we ended up staying at Hotel Arya Niwas. We had a bit of trouble finding it, mostly because I was relying on Google Maps for my Blackberry (search results are a little whack in India). Once we found it, everything turned out to be really great! Not only were the rooms reasonably priced, but the food from the restaurant (a mix of Indian and Continental) was fantastic! The three of us watched a few episodes of It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia before heading off to sleep.

The next morning we took a half-day government-run city tour. We saw a lot of nice forts and even got a bit lost in one of them, racing against the clock to return to our tour group waiting for us in the parking lot. I hear we missed out on some of the cooler things in Jaipur that are only on the full day tour, but I’m fine with saving stuff for next time. The Jantar Mantar observatory more than made up for it!

We ended the day with some Rajasthani Thali at Hotel LMB’s restaurant. The serving staff was very friendly and explained every dish to us. Thanks to Nicole, Taeber and I experienced some new Indian food that we liked a lot. I have already had a second serving since I have been back in Delhi.

We would have loved to stay longer but it was already getting late and we had a long drive ahead of us back to Noida. Entertained by USB sticks full of Taeber’s music and Nicole’s road games, everything went smoothly. Except for the part where we dashed across the highway and I nearly twisted my ankle on the metal railing and fell into the gutter in an effort to get to Cafe Coffee Day. That wasn’t so smooth.

Rishikesh and Shivpuri

Jesse — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 09:04:01 +0000

This weekend Taeber and I went up to Rishikesh and Shivpuri to get out of Delhi for a few days. The air was clean and fresh, the water amazing, and we were a bit surprised by the fun we had. We went rafting and even explored the Beatles’ ashram (which I wasn’t able to find on my last trip). Thanks, BlackBerry GPS with Google Maps!

Taeber has all of the rafting pics on his camera. We’ll get them posted soon!

Band Names - Help!

Jesse — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:17:32 +0000

So we need to think of a name for our Delhi-based band. We play hard/modern/classic rock. Do any of these grab you? Feel free to suggest something!

Heavy
Ricochet
Solid
Massive
Ritual
Superstructure
Pseudosound
Agronomous
Methodical
(The) Method / Methyd
Mythic
Darko
Slivr
Jacknife
Mallet
Torn
Weasel
Boa
Metrognome
Satchel
Vagaband
Overage
Gain
Disdain
Scorn
Ampd
Jacked

Evil Frozen Icebox of Inescapable Doom!!!

Jesse — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 20:53:59 +0000

There’s a lot going on in my life that I should be blogging about. My brother just moved to India, we have restructured the company and given me a promotion, I just spent a week in Goa, and I have some kickass new music equipment I’ll be using in my new band. However, none of this seems quite as interesting or indeed pertinent as the fact that my icebox has taken over my fridge. Seriously. I can no longer shut the door because the solid block of frozen water is protruding out too far. The entire interior is soaking wet. The floor of my kitchen is like a monsoon flood. For the love of God and all that is good and sane! There’s only one thing to do: Clean out that biznatch and unplug it before it’s too late.

[update @ 3:33 AM: The entire fridge is now sitting thawing on the patio, perishables trashed, non-perishables sitting on the counter.]

You want me to wear what?

Jesse — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:56:36 +0000

This place continually and comically contradicts itself, or so as much as my life is concerned (scientifically regarded as an accurate control specimen for “normalcy” in India). Today, in the same town where a police officer once scolded me in broken English for walking around with my shirt off (”This India. You naked.”), I have been asked to wear less clothing next time I go to the pool.

They want me to wear a Speedo.

Let’s back up a bit so you can experience the utter absurdity of my situation. I’ll break into screenplay format:

EXT. POOL DECK - DAY

A posh, upscale residential community in Uttar Pradesh, India. Hot mid-morning sun blankets the deck. Workers mosey about doing a horrible job of what they are paid to do, but hiding it well.

JESSE strolls unassumingly across the pool deck. He is dressed simply and comfortably in a tank top and plain black swimming trunks that he has been wearing to the pool for years.

GUARD intercepts JESSE, speaking Hinglish.

GUARD

Swimming costume theek nahi hai. Not allowed.

JESSE

What?

GUARD

Not allowed.

JESSE

Why?

GUARD

No sir.

JESSE

Why? I don’t understand.

GUARD

Sir.

JESSE

Hey. Mein nahi janta. Hindi nahi janta. English.

GUARD motions for JESSE to follow. JESSE places his BlackBerry and other possessions carefully on a chair. They walk across the deck and approach the FACILITY MANAGER, with whom JESSE has an awkward cordial relationship.

JESSE
(Shaking hands with FACILITY MANAGER)

Hey, man. What’s going on?

GUARD and FACILITY MANAGER converse briefly in Hindi.

FACILITY MANAGER

Actually, this shorts is not allowed. You must wear proper swimming costume.

JESSE
(Pulling purposefully at his shorts)

This IS a swimming costume! I wear it only in the pool. Look, it has netting inside and it’s even a Speedo brand.

FACILITY MANAGER

OK sir. Next time. Now, OK. Enjoy.

JESSE

Thanks but I really don’t understand. In my country this is a swimming costume. What do you want me to wear next time?

GUARD

Actually, in India this is not proper swimming costume. This is a shorts.

(Motions to upper thigh in the shape of tight boxer-briefs)

Something here smaller. Tight-fitting.

JESSE

Let me get this straight. You’re Indian, this is India, and you’re telling me to wear LESS clothing?

FACILITIES MANAGER
(Laughing)

Yes sir. Next time.

In the background, a worker sprays JESSE’S BlackBerry with water from his gardening hose.

Do I get beers on voting day, too?

Jesse — Fri, 08 Aug 2008 10:11:18 +0000

Last night out in Delhi I met up with some friends from the Democrats Abroad group doing a pub crawl to register voters. Practically with beer in hand I filled up the form and registered to receive my absentee ballot. I think this is a good strategy. Do we do this back home?? Hahah!

Drag Queens of Delhi

Jesse — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 08:04:39 +0000

Aug 4th 2008 article in the Hindustan Times, HT City p3

On Thursday we organized a drag party at one of Delhi’s nightclubs. The ratio of guys dressed in drag to girls dressed in drag was really low (you all know I’m a crazy mofo and was, of course, one of the 2 guys decked out to the level of the girls). The looks on peoples’ faces were priceless, especially when we started dancing in front of the DJ at Capitol! Can’t wait until next month when we have an entirely new but equally awesome theme.

Oh. You probably want to know what we looked like: