Sunday, June 24, 2018

Don't get good sleep ?

I've been traveling quite a bit in the last 2 months. And when I'm not traveling, I've been picking and dropping people to the airport, tourist spots, casinos, ... at all times of the day. And night. This has resulted in me not getting too much sleep. And hence I wanted to optimize the time I did get to sleep.


I did what I always do when I need help. Searched the fountain of human knowledge. The reliable Internet. And here's the best one that I found. The fact that it was by one of my favorite speakers, I suspect is more than a coincidence. Its definitely worth reviewing. And practicing some of the Tips. Maybe even all 10.

Sadhguru's 10 Tips To Sleep Well & Wake Up Well


Sunday, June 17, 2018

Flowing Fire : Hawaii's Volcanic Eruptions

Our family - my Mom, my siblings and most of our families had planned our Hawaiian vacation a few months ago. At the end of May, the Big Island in Hawaii made news of volcanic eruptions of a scale unheard of. And we were not sure if we should go ahead. Here's a sample of the news from May 29.

Fast-moving lava from volcano flows into Pacific Ocean


We did finally decide to make the trip and landed on the Big Island at the Kona airport on June 13th. It seemed like most of the Big Island was safe. And the areas of active volcanic activity were closed off. This meant that we would not be able to see the volcano's. We were a little disappointed, as we had never been near a volcano and were looking forward to this as the highlight of our Hawaiian vacation.

Yesterday, we heard that limited helicopter tours were being allowed to fly around the active volcanoes. We checked and found that they were super expensive. Nevertheless, we felt that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and decided to go ahead. Only to find that there was no availability for that day. We checked for the next day, There was 1 slot. The last flight of the day at 5 p.m. We grabbed it.








It was an experience of a lifetime. I could go on and on. My mom who is quite conservative with how money should be spent, said, "This was absolute Value-for-Money". Which is the first time I've ever heard her say that. And rather than show you more of our amateur photos and videos, have a look at some amazing footage taken on the next day of our trip.

NEW LAVA FLOW IN HAWAII (JUNE 17, 2018)


Once you've experienced the Beauty and Fury of Nature, you want to know more. And this led me to:

Why Hawaii's volcano is so UNUSUAL

 

Nature has several fascinating experiences it shares with us. And if you do get an opportunity, this is one of those you should not miss out on.

Sunday, June 10, 2018

Aloha !

One of my childhood dreams was to go Hawaii. And finally this week I did. And our Hawaiin vacation started in Maui.

The beauty of Maui was visible from the air. As we came in for landing the beauty of the island figuratively and literally came up to us.

Maui was awesome and beautiful. And since a picture speaks a thousand words, I'll let the pictures do the talking.


And in order to experience Hawaiian beauty completely, 5 of us, Mabel, Don, Mari, Reia and I woke up at 3 am and drove 2 hours to experience one of the world's most beautiful sunrises at over 10,000 feet. With the sun rising with clouds both below and above the sun. And described by the local Hawaiian forest ranger as an Epic sunrise. A fitting event to our Epic holiday.


And to Maui and Hawaii, Mahalo !

Sunday, June 3, 2018

Billy Joel : Live at MSG

Yesterday Mabel, Frank and I attended a Billy Joel concert at Madison Square Garden. It was his 59th live performance at MSG and his 99th live performance.

Billy Joel was a superstar during our younger days in the 80's and 90's and to many of us, still is.

It was a nostalgic look-back as to the music we grew up with. I learnt what downtown and uptown meant after Billy Joel's "Uptown Girl".

Thanks to Dennis Farell for capturing a part of the encore.

Billy Joel 6/2/18 @MSG show #59 of the run #99 lifetime. Front row, partial encore.



And for fans of Billy Joel, here are my 3 most favorite songs with Uptown Girl being #1, even if just for the memories.

#3 She's always a woman



#2 Piano Man



#1 Uptown Girl