Random Thoughts Of My Life
Do you live on Google the way I do? Well I found this site which compares the challenger Bing to Google. I was really impressed when I saw when I compared a search on iPhone battery life.. which as my friends know is my latest gripe..
I just read today that Bing usage is growing everymonth.
Take a look at the link on Mashable which talks about the 5 reasons to switch from Google to Bing.
TTYL for now..
Is giving a child an allowance a privilege or an guaranteed right as a passage into adulthood?
When I was growing up in the 1970’s in NYC, I had a similar conversation with him (he’s of course from India and his thoughts are a bit different from mine). He chose to give me a minimal allowance per week (let’s just say less than $1). At that time, it was enough to buy some bubble gum and Marvel comics from the local 5 and 10 Cent store in my neighborhood in Flushing, Queens.
Of course I was not satisfied (nor happy) and decided during my teenage years, to bypass this menial token allowance (in my teenage mind of course) and earn to feed/supplement my weekly additiction to pinball, stickball, baseball cards and my all time favorite Spiderman/Captain America Comics. So I did odd jobs, paper routes, and anything else resourceful to feed my vices.
Now about 30 years later, I just had a conversation with my 10 year old about allowances and I realized that I had become my father! We finally settled on $5 per week (with chores as motivation of course!).
So going back to my original question: Is giving a child a privlilege or a right?
In my mind: I know every child deserves some money for spending, but what amount is proper? Additionaly, should a parent expect anything back for this allowance?
My thoughts on both these questions are:
Yes, every child should be given an allowance, but should expect some work (outside normal household chores) from the child.
I’m sure may parents might disagree with the above, but being from the Baby Boomer generation, riding the middle of the road on this subject is difficult for me.
I do hope if you have some thoughts on this issue, you do respond to this entry, as I look forward to some insights… 🙂
TTYL for now.
So as many of my friends know, I’m a Tennis fanatic.. Next two weeks are heaven as the US Open is in Flushing Meadows!
I already went once on Wednesday and I’m going again tomorrow with my kids. A few of my firends got there by 1:00 PM and we spent the whole day, jumping from match to match (the only way to enjoy the Open).
Tip: Buy the water outside the gate first ($2.00) as opposed to paying $4.50 inside the tennis center. Also make sure you are well fed, otherwise your wallet will quickly go when you start purchasing the overpriced “food” inside.
Be end of day, I was so beat, that driving back to NJ, was tough. Thank god, the Holland tunnel wasn’t backed up (as it normally is when I want to go through to NJ).
Tomorrow I go with my Girls, so I anticipate the tip above will not be enforced..
TTYL for now
I recreated this post from Google’s cache of my blog.. Yes I this should have been posted BEFORE the August 26th posting. I will get better as I re-adjust blogging on wordpress.
So this week we are in Pagosa Springs Colorado. It was truly an adventure to get here from NJ, but we finally did arrive via
Middletown, NJ —> Atlanta (Overnight)) —> Albuquerque, New Mexico —> Santa Fe —> Pagosa Springs…
Besides the high altitude affecting me (9,700 above sea level), I’m having a blast thus far. You couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful surroundings and some seriously needed R&R. If I didn’t go on this vacation, it would have only gotten uglier at work.. Let’s not even go there.
For the past 2 days, we’ve played Tennis (multiple times). Let me tell you as an tennis enthusiast, playing tennis in high altitude take a bit of adjusting to.. Your opponent might think you are going into cardiac arrest, but in reality you are just gasping for breath between points (with no cardiac arrest). After a few games, your body adjusts, but it’s an experience you need to have at least once.
We did some hiking at Williams Creek. This hiking was brutal. See above for breathing issues. My sister in law’s quote: “I looked pale and she was concerned that I was going to have a heart attack”. Actually, it’s kind of difficult for a dark skinned South Asian to look pale.. I should have taken a picture of myself, I guess.
Today (Monday, August 23), we are off to Durango, Colorado for an train ride through the mountains..to Silverton!
BTW, you have to check out Wyndham Pagosa for a place to stay.. We tayed in a time share and let me tell you, this was awesome! 3 bedrooms with a jacuzzi and a backyard view of a lake (with the Geese). Too bad I didn’t pay the 18 hole miniture Golf till the last day! My bad!
Anyway, family is on my case to hit the road for our adventure today.. will provide some more updates tomorrow!
TTYL till then.
P.S.:
Today we spent the day in the fabulous Mesa Verde National Park in Cortez Colorado. I’ll write more about this in another entry later..
My story for this entry is how oh-so-close close I came to losing my iPhone 3GS courtesy of my dear 14 year old Nephew and my lack of paying attention!
Tonight while we were in Durango, Colorado, I experienced the good side of humans..that in my opinion, would never happen in the NY/NJ area.. I guess I’m just being cynical.
I gave my nephiew my iPhone to play with when we were in a store.. Well what does he do? Instead of giving the iPhone back to me in my hand, he puts it on the counter in front of me without telling me..
All of us leave the store and walk a few blocks down and I ask for my iPhone and he says: “I gave you the iPhone back to you in the other store”.. So I race back 2 blocks to the store and amazingly, someone had handed in my iPhone to the clerk at the counter!
The person who had found my iPhone was a teenager with her parents.. I profusely thanked her and left the store. I went back to my family and I realized that I had forgotten to reward this great person for handing in the iPhone.. So I race back the 2 blocks to the store and offer her a reward and wouldn’t you know it? She refuses! I first offered her $10 and then $20, but she declined both! Now that is character.
Now that is something that I have never seen anywhere! God bless this child for doing this good deed for the day. As many of my friends and readers know I’m a skeptical/cynical New Yorker and thought for sure that I had lost my 3GS phone.. What a pleasent surprise..
Lesson to be learned here: Never ever let any anone use your iPhone w/out a promise to return it to your hands after usage!
As I sit here and write this entry, I wonder if I would have been this fortunate, if something like this would have happened where I come from NY/NJ?? Hmm..
So we are back to being on WordPress. Lost some post’s, but hey that’s part of life.. amoghe.com no longer works..
Dad's Taxi 