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Jigar weds Reshma

posted May 28, 2010, 1:44 PM by Maulik Shah   [ updated May 28, 2010, 2:18 PM ]

Toronto played hosted as Jigar and Reshma were married at an unabashedly Bollywood wedding! It may be hard to believe, but the highlights do little justice to amount of fun we had nor to how astonishing the wedding was.  From performing at the Garba to dancing at the Reception the party just kept on rolling!
The weather on Victoria Day weekend allowed us to get out and explore a little of downtown Toronto and visit the CN Tower ... you might notice a shot of us as "The Audience"!


Jabbawockeez in Vegas

posted May 13, 2010, 4:51 PM by Maulik Shah



If you're not familiar with the Jabbawockeez, the dance troupe, you should be. That way you would understand how awesome it was to see them perform a whole show, all by themselves. You see, most times you only get to witness the spectacle that is a Jabbawockeez for five or six minutes at a time.  However, their new show, called MÜS.I.C., is all Jabbawockeez, all the time - it's quite glorious!  
We loved how they worked the audience before the show and especially their mastery of body language.  There were also moments were we simply sat in disbelief as they violated the laws of physics just to put on a great show! Their message to the world: the music inspires the dance, so be the music for the people in your life. Who knew you could say such nice things without ever saying a word!

Warrior Dash

posted May 3, 2010, 1:35 PM by Maulik Shah   [ updated May 11, 2010, 10:10 PM ]

We trained ... we fought ... and we conquered!!

Warrior Dash: the most unique race we have ever ran - a 3.5 mile 'dash' through forest, bogs, mud, fire, hay and barbed wire! We had an absolute blast, swimming, slipping, sliding, running, crawling, and jumping our way to the finish line! 



During the weekend, Forney, TX hosted 18,000 warriors with a rock concert, axe-throwing and more! While we most of us trained long and hard for the race, it really went by in almost no time at all. Perfect weather, good times and fitness for all!

Here's to the call of the warrior!!

Spring Olympics 2010

posted Mar 22, 2010, 11:12 AM by Maulik Shah   [ updated Apr 28, 2010, 5:25 PM by Maulik Shah ]



INAUGURAL SPRING OLYMPICS CELEBRATED WITH STYLE

By BOB COSTAS 

Spring Olympics


Associated Press Writer

PHOENIX (AP) -- The Inaugural Spring Olympics were held in Phoenix, Arizona this past weekend at the Desert Horizon Park. After IST related delays and a lengthy warm-up, the games got underway. 

The 3-legged race provided moments of excitement and shock. In the first heat, Djibouti's failed attempt at a diving finish really caught the crowd's eye. The crowd was shocked to watch the racers from North Borneo suffered massive injuries in the second heat. The mismatched duo from Lichtenstein took Gold in the final race. The Lemon-Spoon race opened some eyes, as many of the countries had never actually seen Lemons. While Djibouti had plenty of time to showboat at the end, it was North Borneo and Swaziland who stole the show by forcing a sudden death one-on-one race after a clambering tie for third place in the semi-finals.

The Frisbee toss was marked by dismal failure around the world as, apparently, nobody can throw things through a regulation sized hula hoop. The only ray of light was one rookie boomerang thrower from Djibouti who managed to get one through the hoop on the last throw of the event. This would prove crucial for the final medal count and earned Gosalia the MVP.

The Balloon Hold race showed a variety of strategies. Serious waddlers faced off against furious bunny hoppers and the crowd was really given a spectacle. Swaziland took home the Gold by a wide margin.

Water balloon tossing provided the Olympic committee with a quandry. Three teams exploded their balloons for a 3-way tie for Bronze; half-points were award to each. Some have asked the OC to review their grade school maths. North Borneo outlasted the competition, successfully throwing and catching the balloon over 73.8 ft.

A small display of aggression from the unborn Lichtensteinian Olympian got out of hand and Uzbekistan paid the price. Rules of conduct for unborn Olympians were enforced and the child will be grounded upon birth.

By far the most excitement, chaos and general rabble-rousing came at the Watering Hole event. The event brought the house to its knees as what was supposed to be a game of dexterity became a game of raw jungle war. Hoffman's straight arm technique and various other hand-slapping from all nations, again, put the OC in a quandary. In the end, instant replay was not used; however, the Silver medal was awarded to both Botswana and Swaziland. This provided some relief to the internal conflict of the Botswana team as their day-long efforts had been marked with tension and strife. Lichtenstein was the team fastest to fill the cup on their teammate's head with 12 teaspoons of water. 

The final competition, Kickball, changed the world as we know it. Tybor was able to throw P.Shah out from 40 yards away, making it the longest out in history. The, otherwise nonexistent,  Shah sibling rivalry was on full display when Djibouti threw Botswana out at first base. While the spectators feared a hit in the face, replays and interviews confirmed that it was a hit to a shoulder. The final result was a resounding 8-1 victory by Lichtenstein, North Borneo and Djibouti.

The medal ceremony was marked with celebratory attacks from other teams. Uzbekistan and Botswana soaked Djibouti on the Gold medal stand while Lichtenstein led the water balloon attack. The world was delighted to learn that the medals were actually recycled Salsa jar lids and wore them proudly through the night.

The unique closing ceremonies featured vegetarian barbecue, ungodly amounts of food and drink, video games, poker, polka music, old ladies sitting outside in their knitted blankets, and general merriment. Congratulations to all of the Olympians and hope to see them in 2014.

The final medal count:
 CountryMedal Points 
 DjiboutiHot 10 
 LichtensteinMedium 9.5 
 SwazilandMild 8.5 
 Uzbekistan 6.5 
 North Borneo 
 Botswana 

India 2010

posted Mar 22, 2010, 11:02 AM by Maulik Shah   [ updated Apr 2, 2010, 4:13 PM ]


We took the opportunity to attend Tanay and Neepa's wedding and visit family in India. And wow was it a visit! 

The first two weeks of February took us to Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Navsari, Surat, Bardoli, Mumbai,  and back! While we had been to India before, we had never visited like this. Every couple of days we stayed at a different house or moved to different cities. All the while, we finally met so much of each other's family. Obviously, two days was too fast, but we were both glad to be able to spend time with our families.

Congratulations to Tanay and Neepa, their wedding a lot of fun! Here's the video we made.

Hawaii 2009

posted Jan 22, 2010, 2:22 PM by Maulik Shah   [ updated Jan 22, 2010, 2:27 PM ]

Hawaii Pictures

Christmas: a holiday celebrated on a snowy morning in the middle of winter. Or, running around Hawaii's largest island!

Neither of us had been to 'Big Island' before so we were in for many new treats. The adventure began even before we left. Having booked our flights and hotel, we realized that renting a car in Hawaii, over the holidays, is damn near impossible. Only a private operator, found on Craigslist, who had been planning to bring in an extra car from a different island, saved the vacation. Not having been to the island, we were hoping that public transportation might be a slower, but reliable substitue for a rental car. After having driven almost a 1000 miles during our stay, we know it would have been impossible to do 75% of what we did with public transportation and the same budget would have allowed only 50% had we went with private tours. In any case, we got the car and life was good.

Notes on our itinerary.

Observations:

  • Watching lava spill into the ocean under a clear sky is unreal.
  • Professional lava photographers are exceedingly humble.
  • Convincingly portraying sulfer dioxide poisoning is challenging.
  • Buying a purse from White House commissioned egg carver is an odd feeling.
  • Spending time in a pitch-black lava tube can jog the imagination.
  • When ascending 9000 feet on a 100 mile drive, scenery changes rapidly enough to make you wonder where you really are.
  • Watching sunset from above the clouds is slightly mind-boggling.
  • A clear sky, at elevation, is arresting.
  • Ocean kayaking is unmistakably calming.
  • Sharing a reef with an eel is unsettling.
  • One experiences fear of one's head meeting rocks more readily when one is older.
  • Black sand is a poor choice for building a sand castle.
  • A sea turtle's nest is hard to detect.
  • Even a Ford Focus can handle a broken road, given enough patience.
  • Walking in a delta is really fun.
  • Ascending 900 ft in 1 mile is easier in the back of a jeep than it is on foot.
  • Going on a timed photo safari in a botanical garden is odd kind of race.
  • Large sea turtles cannot see in murky water any better than you can.
  • Walking with an SLR waist-deep in the ocean is less harrowing if you're already planning on buying a new one.
  • The sights make it remarkably easy to see the passage of time, on a geological scale.



Love and Time

posted Jan 22, 2010, 2:21 PM by Maulik Shah   [ updated Jan 22, 2010, 2:26 PM ]


Love has grown and time has flown! The wedding seems far away but still just yesterday. While we're re-building the site, we'd like to share a few photos from the wedding and hope that you know we're very, very grateful for the blessings shared and memories made.

Click here for photos from the wedding! 


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