Groundhog Day

I saw Groundhog Day one more time on the TV today. I saw this movie first time in UK in 1996 on a tape given by Paul Klaassen. It turns out the background of the movie is real. The plot is simple, an egoist weatherman (Bill Murray) gets caught in the time warp in the small town of Punxsutawney until he becomes a better person. He faces the same Groundhog Day again and again and again... well you get the point.
I remember Paul saying that we are very much like Phil Connors (Bill) in the movie... and I agree. We are all caught up in the same day. We do same things every day, wake up, goto same office, drink same coffee, meet same people and talk about same things. Next day it is all same day again. Gosh.. I even have same wife to meet every day! My travelling engagements have also become kind of routine now...

I liked the movie first time and I still like it every time I see it. I generally like Bill Murray and his tongue-in-cheek comedies.

Here is one more thought.. According to the legend, Punxsutawney Phil (the groundhog - website ascertains that there is only one !) has been predicting weather for 119 years on every 2nd February.. how much more routine you can get?

Rental Car

It is rather interesting experience to travel on business. Staying in hotel has its own advantages (e.g. late night TV and room service). But most I like is rented cars. Everytime I travel to a different country my stay is never long enough to actually buy a car for while. So I end up doing these monthly rents. My fav. company so far has been Hertz. And they get me new cars every time. So far I have driven, Chevy Impala, Explorer, Focus, Elantra, Camry, Corolla and many other models that I even don't remember... I guess it is my little fantasy world. I drive new car every month which otherwise wouldn't have been possible for me at all to buy.. Definately not in India where I stay. Most of these cars when imported would be hugely costly and some are not even available...
It is just funny to think about it. The person who could not otherwise even dream of buying these cars can drive them with relative ease and cost in a different country at very less cost when rented.. welcome to globalization and capital world...

Beer for the breakfast

Ok.. it is almost one and half month now that I landed in US of A. Routine business.
One of the first things I did at Chicago airport was eating a big mac. Now..I know there is quite a bit of political uproar about big burgers (remember 'Super Size Me' ?) but for me it was the begining of my stay in America. For some reason or other I could not imagine an American trip without eating big mac.
Another advantages of travelling alone on business is you get to stay in hotels all by yourself. You can watch TV at 3:00 AM in the morning and nobody bothers you. You can use one towel everyday and housekeeping cleans it. You can run the AC for entire day and utility guys are not after you.. God I love the business travel. I have a Waffles House (Good food since 1955.. yeah right!) right across the hotel, I enjoy very lazy breakfasts there (and they are cheap - just what the doctor ordered). However on a recent weekend, I dozed around till late and actually had to cook breakfast by myself. Naturally I needed a cold drink to go with my breakfast. It turned out to be Mexican Corona. Now I am not against imported beer, I believe Americans have their own share of good beers, but it just turned out to be at right place at right time... Well nearly, I have a Circle K few blocks away from the hotel and at present they are my primary suppliers of quality beer. It is little scary place where the guys behind the counter ask ID for every transaction and think twice before opening the cash register for return money. But they have a good stock of beer, a cold room and lots of Corona. At first I did not catch the Corono with lime (its not lemon) taste, but now I have learnt to appreciate it... Afterall it is not everyday one has beer for a breakfast.

PS: Another Americanism: Everything is a chain across the nation. CircleK, Waffles House, Old fav. McD.. Thus thankfully anywhere you go in America, there are same TV commercials, so you know when is the time to sip a beer between TV shows.