February 2006

It's time for my monthly post, I guess.....and a recap of some good experiences....

Two weeks ago, I was in NYC, pitching to the Army!  I was hoping that I could say that I too 'spoke to the troops', but alas, the bloke was a non-commissioned employee!   But the meeting was good - hopefully another trip in the next couple of months.

Had a great time in NYC - the highlights of which were:

*  3 hours walking through the MoMA:

*  tapas and italian appetizers (the olive oil at beppe's was unreal) in greenwich village:

I was supposed to spend the entire weekend in NYC, but i flew back to SF on the premonition that Sunil and Anu might have their baby.... I flew back on sat night, and all was well... but sure enough, sunday morning, Anu had her contractions, and little Zach was born in the MIDDLE of Superbowl XL!  And would you believe it, he came out looking like this:

This past weekend, spent friday night with the family.  We called Dad & Mum in India and they blessed the child over google talk!  miracles of modern engineering.  and then we had some great hyderabadi and chinese food.....

Saturday night, went up to the city and went to church at cornerstone (http://cornerstone-sf.org/home.htm) - the music and talk was stellar as usual.  Then had dinner with Jeff Burkebile and Andrew Brackenberry at Pakwan - great authentic indian food...

And to top of the night, went to this new coffee shop - quite the hip place to be apparently - and was definitely a novel concept, and evoked thoughts of the CCCP!

<--- http://ritualroasters.com/main.html

Sunday was the second EXPerience...

We've had two EXPeriences so far - I spoke at the first one in January with Ben on worship (another shameless plug for his band Tremolo:  http://www.tremolomusic.net/).  And yesterday, Tilden led with Radio Altar on worship...

I was pretty stoked with the two experiences, and was encouraged by the diversity of cultures in the second one.  I am trying hard to keep the diversity consistent with the diversity of ALCF, so we'll see how things progress with that.  I've got some meetings set up with different pastors of ministries at ALCF - hopefully we can draw more and more of a diverse mix of people!

OK - so it's been a while since my last post, but thought it might be good to see how long this new year's resolution to be more 'update-friendly' would last...

i've been traveling like crazy - have been in six countries in the last 30 days... 

Who would have thought i'd have seen such bizarre sights as:

-  a homeless man on the streets of Zurich on a snowy night

-  a Bavarian woman bartender who had forearms the size of my thighs

-  all of Tokyo, but particularly Harajuku on a Sunday afternoon

-  the priceless view from the 13th floor at Bangalore's Barton Center

-  the irresistible charm of Dubai - with lots of money and a good job, i think it gives san francisco a serious run for an amazing city to live in

Overall, i was amazed by:

- the precision of schedules in switzerland,

- the safety of traffic while speeding on the autobahn,

- the extent of bowing and respect for business cards in japan

- the apalling increase in pollution in bangalore, and

- the burgeoning opulence of dubai...

And I am thankful for:

- a new appreciation for harmony and balance from japan's culture

- the nostalgic experience of New Year's in bangalore - reminded me of my childhood years...

- new friends in dubai - swapping theories on enduring love in a coffee shop, and listening to songs of despairing love (in hindi too) - and all at 1a!  priceless!

On the christian front:

-  i spoke at the rzim conference on the 4th of january - i'm still awaiting the official feedback from ravi, so we'll have to see what happens with that..

-  i am speaking this sunday at alcf's new worship service called Experience - PLEASE PRAY!

http://www.alcf.net/pages/page.asp?page_id=4400

Why Silicon Valley is one of a kind:

[From the Palo Alto Daily News' Police Blotter]

Resident reports smell of nail polish in the air

HELLO???!!!  Too much money has made us mad!

I'll have to update this blog with personal stuff soon, but thought I'd put this on to always remind me, and for others who might read this......

I have no political bias in putting this - I'm in no way an anti-war activist, but I also want to be an aware, practical, and responsible Christian......

http://costofwar.com/index-aids.html

Folks,

Tremolo has hit the record stores.Buy the album – you won’t be disappointed…

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0002UQFJS/qid=1123634010/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-8194132-8844713?v=glance&s=music&n=507846

I played a cricket game this weekend – first one in over 9 months.The best thing about it is that I played with Santosh for the first time in a very long time (brought back memories of times we played together back in high school in India – and the nervousness throughout the game because we went behind our parents’ backs to play!).And a really cool thing was that we were even bowling in consecutive overs.So it was S. Poonen bowling from the East End, and S. Poonen bowling from the West End.

And here’s the synopsis of how things look, one day later:

Good news:

I discovered that I have additional muscles that I never knew existed

Bad news:

It doesn’t look like they had ever been used before – so I’m paying the consequences today.

But even with all the pain, I don’t think I’m going to stoop so low as to use a product that ends up insulting Ben by calling him names!!!

In other news:

Books:

I’m currently reading F. W. Boreham’s Temple of Topaz.  It’s a great, great book – the bloke was born with the ability to tell a story.  I wish there were more Christian writers like him and Muggeridge - for this post-modern generation.

Music:

I’m loving the chance to listen to Robert Stewart every Tuesday night up in the city (http://www.therobertstewartexperience.com/).  He is, by far, the best live jazz in the city – and the best part is that it’s free!  Good jazz has a way of reaching deep down to my soul – in a way that few other forms of music can!!!

I think I know something that would happen in my wedding (if that ever becomes a reality).  It will be Robert playing the sax, and Zareen on vocals.  Everytime I've heard the two of them together, it's been nothing short of brilliant.

(Here's my shameless plug for my favorite cousin Zareen's website.  If you ever need a jazz singer, she's the one you want!  http://www.zareen.com)! J

Ben Patterson’s band Tremolo hits record stores on Aug 9^th.  What a cool feeling it must be to have your album in record stores across the country.  For those of you who don’t know, Ben Patterson is a good friend and ex-roommate (and we might be living together again shortly).  For those who want a good record to listen to, go buy Tremolo’s new record, LOVE is the greatest revenge (http://news.modernrock.com/2890).  Mark the date, folks - coming to a Tower Records near you!!!

Life:

I’m looking forward to chatting with my family about my significant life decisions in the upcoming days.  I had a great time in ATL with RZ and the ball is now in my court – to decide how I want to work with him.  And couple that with the pretty enviable alternative options in the corporate world - the choice isn’t easy to say the least.

Even though I have to choose between three GREAT options, I am still petrified of making the ‘wrong’ choice. “This only serves to confirm my suspicions that I’m still a man in need of a Savior.” (do you recognize this Charlie Peacock line, Susan - from your favorite DC Talk album?!)  Or in this case, in need of a person who will just tell me what to do, rather than making me pick!!!!!