Eurotrip 2011 : Episode 1: The disaster otherwise called "flying economy"

This post will be a really long one. I just wanted to put into words our wonderful experiences during the trip, so that I could re-live them years from now.

Packing Light

Our trip began on the 19th of May 2011, with a flurry of unpacking and repacking, I had been of the mind that backpacks would be most well suited for such a short journey. I had spent quite some time trying to drill into Tina's head that packing light would be in our best interest. A few weeks earlier, much to my delight, I had successfully put in all our clothes into my newly bought REI Mars 80 backpack. This left us with my standard size backpack to fit in all the extras - the few things Tina might need for toiletries etc. As the last few hours wore down, this backpack started to fill up fast, and despite my negotiations with my wife, it was difficult to leave out any particular thing. Long story short, 5 minutes before Anish was to arrive to drop us to the airport, the bag was looking like a distended tragedy waiting to unfold. We left for the airport with another full sized suitcase into which my backpack regurgitated most of its contents.

American Airlines, or was it Iberia

In my super-meticulous planning, with the determination to keep this trip as cheap as possible, I had booked my flight almost 6 months in advance on the ticket site, vayama.com. I had watched trends in prices for a month or so, researched historical peaks and highs, set up numerous online triggers to send me message, but in all my infinite wisdom, had not checked up on the actual airline I was flying.

I had booked a codeshare flight , and was under the impression that I was flying Iberia. I discovered a few weeks before flying out that I was actually flying American Airlines. This, at the time, did not raise any warning bells, but given my experience, there is now a very very large sub-conscious bell now programmed to go off at any mention of this esteemed airline. 24 hour before the flight I went to the Iberia website to check in, as instructed by my e-ticket. However, there appeared to be no way one could choose a flight on Iberia leaving from San Francisco. So I went to the AA website, which would no longer accept my Iberia reservation code. A few phone calls later, and armed with the AA code, I tried the online check in , just to be told that AA cannot let me do online checkins. Then I called up the Airline and they assure me that I can go to the Airport to get the seat. Fast forward to the next day- drop off my bags at check-in, but I am informed now that the seats will get allocated at the boarding gate.... Fast forward another 30 mins - we are told at the gate that there is no way to allocate seats till the flight is ready to board, and THEN it turns out we have already been allocated seats, but WAIT , not just any seat , the last seats, right next to the toilets and with no option of reclining the seats. To make matters worse, they had no blankets on board, no personal entertainment system, and the screening of the Bieber Movie to keep us entertained. Well, I am certain that the bludgeoning of this airline is a common theme in the travelogues of American flyers, but I end by saying that I do sincerely believe that this will be my last time ever on this airline.

At least we got a little liquored up before the horrible flight!

The Big 3-oh! & 2013

2012 draws to a close in a few hours. It will probably strike midnight with me looking into Andrew's crib at his peaceful face. I will sigh and say to myself that this was easily the best year of my life and more than anything it had to do with family.  Having Andrew has been the best feeling ever, it has filled my life with a lot of happiness, and despite being so much work, he has been such a wonderful experience. I just hope that I continue to feel this way for many years. He has a lot of energy and is extremely curious. He does not want to sit still at all, constantly exploring his surroundings and getting into trouble. For several months now, he has been standing up while holding things - cruising, they call it. We wait with excitement and some degree of fear for the moment he takes his first few steps unsupported.

Not so long ago, I turned 30, and I felt pretty good about where I was in life. I am happier than I have ever been. Life, for me, has gotten progressively better over the past 8 years or so, with the exception of the miserable time I spent in UMich, but even that period has led to a lot of professional happiness and progress.

I guess there have been several themes of priorities I have had over the years and I may have written about them in the past. As the years have gone by, I have become more interested in personal finance. I was a late start in this regard. Only recently has this taken center stage, and I hope my 30's will be a positive experience in the art of building a sense of "financial security" for me and my family. I was very fortunate in most of my career, starting all the way back at Infineon. Nvidia has also been a great experience, I have learnt a lot, and they have allowed me to be very close to Andrew in his first year. The speed of learning has not been the fastest, but fairly significant. I am more or less happy with the varying learning opportunities.

The other thing that has become important to me is political and moral philosophy. I find myself somewhat persuaded by libertarian ideals, swinging from an ambiguous left to a somewhat concrete right-wing mindset.

Still very early I think to tell about where I will settle, but my change of mind was influenced a lot by my colleagues at Nvidia, chief among them, David D.

Another far more remarkable change is the onset of some form of minor philanthropic impulse. I have been a deeply selfish person all my life and unapologetically so. I have shown myself capable of kindness on rare occassion, but no one I know would characterize me as kind . This stemmed, somewhat, from my very clinical and apathetic view of the world. Andrew inspired this change in me. I questioned my apathy and wondered about the plight of other children born into this world into less forgiving circumstance. What would a poor father who loved his child wish of the world? And I guess, I understood, that I have nothing to lose to be a little more kind. And I should give simply because I can and because someone needs it, and leave morality out of it.

Life is ever changing, and a place of infinite learning experiences. I am glad that I am still as much in awe of the universe around me despite all my cynicism. Looking forward to being a better man in 2014.