Born into Brothels

FINALLY saw this movie yesterday. I had wanted to watch it way back in the day when it was playing in the theaters, but most of my friends thought it would be too depressing and I didn't want to go by myself. Well, they were right. It's without a doubt a sad story - all the more because it's a documentary, so you know that all the stories are real-life, not just commercial Hollywood dramas. That said, it's a GREAT film, that should definitely be watched. I particularly recommend it to Indian-Americans like myself who are lucky enough to have 'rents that were smart/determined/brave enough to leave India to make better lives for their children. Now, I'm not saying we all would have turned out to be pimps and prostitutes had we been born/raised in India, but clearly this movie shows how good most of us have it.

Now that I've got you guys all depressed, I'll try to lighten the mood a bit. It was interesting that the movie came up on Cinemax. Unfortunately, I was too damn out-of-the-mood from the movie to keep it tuned on Cinemax for the good stuff that comes on later in the evenings.

London

Apologies for not having posted in forever. Frankly, I'm trying to do you all a favor by saving you the time from reading about my generally boring life.

Anyways, I had to go to London for a few days for work. Most people I told thought it was SOOOO cool that I got to go there, on the company's dime no less. What they don't factor in is the fact that I landed at Heathrow, took a quick shower at the airport (Thank God for the BA lounge) and went straight to the office. Not very glamorous.

So I got there Wednesday morning. Busy few days at work, but I had a chance to have dinner with a few college friends on Wednesday and Thursday nights. But seriously, the food in London is just awful. Went to a Lebanese restaurant on Wednesday - the wine was good, the prawns less so, and the hummus even less so. Thursday I went to an Argentine steakhouse. Firstly, I can't complain enough about the measured amount of liquor in drinks in London. Plus the fact that the best vodka you can get there appears to be Ketel One - I didn't see Grey Goose in any of the restaurants or bars that I went to. Secondly, the steaks sucked. I mean, it was still a steak, but being a New Yorker (for a few years at least), I've gotten used to a proper steak, eaten without any kind of steak sauce, with nice sides like creamed spinach and hash browns (neither of which was even an option at the place we went - we had to settle for a mediocre asparagus). So I've come to the conclusion that from now on, I shall eat nothing but Indian food when I'm in London - the only food that they know how to make over there.

Somehow, I was able to ramp up my productivity on Friday, despite being moderately hungover, and was able to get out on the last flight out of Heathrow. Left London at around 9pm and landed at JFK at 11pm. For the first time in my life, my bags were like the first ones off the plane, and I was able to scramble into a cab, back home for a quick shower, and still made it out by around 1230. I felt like kind of a party trooper - how many people would go out after a 7 hour flight from a place 5 time zones ahead? Or maybe I'm just an alcoholic. Party trooper sounds better though. In any event, my alcoholism/love of partying was rewarded with a good night out and to top it off, me actually getting asked out (yes by a girl) for maybe the first time in my life. Good times!

As some of you who I've talked to know, my job at Barclays here in NY is no longer, effective March 31. They've offered me a position in London for approx. 3 months if I want it. I haven't gotten all the details re: $, housing, etc., but I'm seriously considering it. London seems to be a fun city, and I imagine it's a little funner if I'm collecting a paycheck and not paying rent. Anyways, if any of you have strong opinions as to whether I should take the job or just f*ck around for a few extra months before business school, PLEASE let me know cuz i'm really struggling with the decision.