Expressions – Bhagwad Jal Park

It seems to be finalized. We’re probably going to be flying to Chicago tomorrow night. I say ‘probably’ because we haven’t got the tickets yet. Anything can go wrong!

It’s about bloody time I say. We were supposed to be flying a week ago, and everything is packed and all. All my buyers on eLance and oDesk have been notified that I would continue my work from Chicago, and they’re probably wondering “Not yet? When is this guy gonna leave?”!

Image Credit: Gerard Girbes

But that’s the way it is in large corporations. My wife works for the largest IT company in India, and like all other large organizations, they have bureaucracy. Mail from this fellow, permission from that guy, clearance from these people, approval from another bloke, howls of “I sent you the mail, but you haven’t……”. Thank God I don’t have to deal with all this!

One of my latest articles is how Robots will destroy our Economy. I think it’s very interesting to see how we’re going to be affected by artificial intelligence.

The thing I’m looking forward to most in the States is the purchase of a new Laptop. I still can’t understand how they’re three times more expensive in India than in the US. I mean I can get a great laptop from “Best Buy” for between $500-$700. The equivalent in India would be $1500 – $1800. So that’s my first action. I want something with an international warranty, and from what I’ve been told, only Dell and Apple offer that. Since Apple is out of my budget, I’m going for Dell. I’m going to buy a Dell Inspiron Laptop.

It’s at least twice as powerful as my desktop computer at home. And I’m a power user with Add ons and all. I try not to use the mouse and rely on keyboard shortcuts. I have some other pretty cool tricks and work practices too.

Anyway, let’s hope that the next post will be from my new Laptop in Chicago . I need to get an Internet Connection as soon as I reach. I’ll be staying in Schaumburg. Suggestions from anyone?

Now that my wife’s company requires her to be on site in Chicago, I’ll have to continue my work there. Actually, it’s not in Chicago. It’s in a little village called Schaumburg.

Things haven’t been easy. We were supposed to leave this week, but the medicals haven’t been scheduled yet. Also, my Internet connection was screwed for the first two days of the week. Something with the DNS servers. And I don’t like doing half a week’s work. I’m funny that way. Either I do everything, or nothing.

Image Credit: mfajardo

So I’ve lost a week’s revenue. To make matters worse, I’ll need to buy a laptop as soon as possible so that further time isn’t lost. I’m trying to do some work in advance so that in case I leave in the middle of the week, my buyers wont’ suffer.

The journey will take 36 hrs! I’m dreading the thought of spending all that time doing nothing but sit in the plane. At least I won’t be alone. My wife and I can spend some quality time together without interruptions and phones. I can make progress on Burne’s “What do you say after you say hello?”. A great book with some fantastic insights into the motivation for human behavior.

I’ve just finished an article about Autos in Chennai, and how they manage to beat the laws of Economics by forming giant cartels. It’s the only piece of work on the planet that addresses an issue that should have been analyzed to death by now.

Now that I’ll be in the US, I need to earn at least $15 an hour to cover my costs. Of course, my wife will be earning big time, but hey, a guy has his pride. I want to be self sufficient.

Feeling rather sad about leaving my room in which I’ve worked every single day of the working week for over three months now without a break even once. I’ll miss my routine, and I hope it doesn’t make me careless.

Let’s see. We should be flying in a matter of days now. Perhaps Tuesday or Wednesday morning.