My stalker

Yesterday I realized I have officially acquired a stalker.

I met this woman (let's call her Claire) a few months ago through a social center we both belong to, and I thought she was rather nice. I made a mistake of giving her my cell phone number.

The very first time she called me, I picked up the phone. It was a rather strange conversation - she didn't call for any specific purpose, and whatever she did say was bizarre. I added her number to my phone book and resolved to neither answer her calls nor return her messages.

Unfortunately, that didn't seem to stop her. She has been calling me randomly on my cell phone, several times a week. Last night's message was the weirdest: "Hello, this is Claire. Good-bye". Creeeeeeeeeepy!

Now, all of this is very exciting, because for the first time in my life someone decided to stalk me. It is a woman, not a guy, but hey, I'll take whomever I can get and I am damn proud of having one! How many times in your life a rare opportunity like that comes along?

All joking aside, I have to somehow put a stop to it. Next time I see her at the center, I will ask her to stop calling me... It should work, if she is a bit reasonable. If not and I'll stop posting... Well, you guys will know what to do. Call 9-1-1!

Boston "rapid transit" - is there a solution?

Most everyone I know loves to complain about Boston's subway (or metro) system, known simply as "the T". I stopped counting how many times I heard people say "I would gladly use public transportation if it was functional".

There is a lot to be unhappy about - compared to all major world metropolitan cities, this is by far the slowest. If you've ever been or lived in say, London, Moscow, Mexico-city, Buenos Aires, Barcelona and even New York, you know what I am talking about. Reliability, speed and usability. The three things that every transportation system needs to be successful. In my opinion, Boston "T" lacks all three of these.

For comparison, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to get from the heart of Brookline to say, Kendall Square in Cambridge by bike or by car, whereas riding the T, it takes close to an hour. That's because there is no direct line connecting these two metropolitan areas. Instead, we are forced to ride to downtown Boston to change from Green Line to Red or Orange or Blue.

Let's take a closer look at the Green Line. Did you know that it is classified as "light rail" and not "subway"? No wonder - it runs above ground and must stop at every red light. If you have ever ridden it, you know that all four B, C, D and E trains halt at practically every block. Once you factor in all the lights, the schedule for the trains becomes unpredictable.

Worse yet, three Green Line trains merge at Kenmore. Which means that the green line branches must run in sequence, not in parallel. Not too efficient, is it?

So, what can be done about this? Of course, the best solution would be to put all the trains under ground or elevate the tracks. No waiting on lights, ever. Moreover, separating the various branches of Green Line would help tremendously. However, MBTA is in severe debt and the costs of doing so would be unbelievably high.

Believe it or not, I actually have a solution for the Green line sluggishness. A partial solution, but it would the job. How about breaking the Green Lines (B, C and D) into three separate branches which originate at Kenmore? A separate line would run back and force from Lechmere to Kenmore. Sure, it would require all riders to transfer to the appropriate branch of B, C or D green line trains at Kenmore, but it is much better than the system in place now.

No thanks required. It is my gift to the city of Boston and its residents, absolutely free of charge.

Phone calls from Random Numbers

Something strange has been happening ever since I got back from Tanzania. Every so often I get a phone call from a random number in Tanzania (country code 255). The caller ID is always different and annoyingly enough, the calls always come in the middle of the night, anywhere from 1:30am to 7 am. Which would be day time if you were in Tanzania. Sometimes the phone rings every night, other times, my phone is quiet for a week or so. I called my service provider and they told me I can only block specific numbers, not a whole range. Apart from changing my number, they could not recommend other solutions. Sure, I can also turn off my phone at night, but I like to keep it on in case there is an emergency. Is this some kind of elaborate scam? Anyone had this problem before? Any tips on how to deal with it?

Talking to Dell - lollipops, lollipops

I recently purchased a new flat screen monitor from Dell. It came in packaged together with a drivers and documentation CD. Except that the CD was cracked.

So, I called Dell. One would think that this issue would be resolved in about 5 mins. Send me a new CD and I would be a happy customer again. Not so. First off, ALL of Dell's operations are outsourced. And I mean all of them - sales, customer service, technical support along with software and hardware support. It is all in India, Philippines, Bangladesh, you name it. Anywhere, but the United States. Don't get me wrong. It is not that I have a problem with outsourcing. It is the lack of training and hence, the level of incompetence that comes with it (at least when it comes to Dell). It is also the horrible phone connection - I felt like I was back in the 1970s, calling long distance. It must be that Dell customer support reps use skype, because it is cheaper.

To make the long story short, Dell's way of dealing with a simple matter of sending me a replacement CD was to alternate between transferring me from person to person to putting me on hold. I would talk to customer service, then get to technical support and back to customer service again. An infinite loop. Sometimes the transfers wouldn't work and the "caring" Dell representative would end my call. Worst yet, the elevator music I heard every time I redialed Dell's number was "lollipops, lollipops". As if I didn't feel bad enough already. After talking to about 30 people and spending close to 3 hours of my time, I decided to give up. Yes, I know I can download the drivers online, but I wanted a replacement CD. Is it so unreasonable?

My resolution: I will never, ever buy from Dell again. Not because I don't like the quality of the products. It is that I can't stand wasting my time talking to incompetent "customer don't care" department.

Mantras of peace and forgiveness

A few years ago, when I needed some serious healing from a relationship that went wrong, a friend of mine gave me a few mantras (probably borrowed/modified from Buddhist traditions). I found them useful and in hopes that it may help some of you out there, I am sharing them here. Substitute "X" with the name of the person (or "I")

1. This mantra should be repeated a) for yourself first; then, move on to b) the person you love, c) neutral person, d) a person you experience problems with and finally e) all living beings:

• May I be filled with loving kindness
• May I be well
• May I be peaceful and at ease
• May I be happy

2. The following forgiveness chant is quite powerful and can evoke strong emotions. Repeat it over and over again. Remember, that the primary goal here is to release a part of you that the other person has and return something of his/hers you are holding onto back to them:

With love and gratitude

I forgive "X" and accept him the way he is.

I ask forgiveness for all my feelings, thoughts and actions in relation to him

He forgives me.

Top 10 things - great yoga class

Back in 2005, I compiled this list of top 10 things that make up a great yoga class in my not-so-humble opinion. I was lucky enough to study with a teacher that inspired me to write this list in the first place. Hope it helps some of you out there currently shopping for a good yoga instructor. Enjoy!

1. Novelty. Trying a new asana or two is always exciting.
2. Sense of humor. I love it when a teacher throws a joke or two in the middle of the class.
3. Adjustments by a teacher. Never knew that my body can go that far!
4. Mixing in some tai chi or showing exercises from other styles of yoga
5. Attention to students. Verbal corrections as well as sensitivity and care.
6. The teacher knows the name of every student in the class.
7. The teacher asks you before the class for physical limitations and conditions you have and gives you appropriate directions during the class.
8. Encouragement. An occasional "great job", "Ok!", "you are doing well" makes me want to do better and keep coming back.
9. Seeing that the teacher is passionate about what he/she teaches
10. A sense of enjoyment throughout the class (coming from both the teacher and the students).

Yoga as a cure for a bad day

What do you do when you have just been hit with bad news or simply have one of those days?Well, you could a) get depressed and feel sorry for yourself or b) get off your cushy behind and do yoga. Doing physical exercises is a great way to lift your spirits and my yoga practice never fails me.

I found that the poses which let my chest expand really elevate my mood. My personal favorites are Parsvottanasana (intense side stretch of the chest), the cobra pose (Bhujangasana), the fish pose (Matsyasana), and the backward bends, such as the wheel (Urdhva Dhanurasana) and the bridge (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana).

So, put that jar of ice cream away and do some yoga!