Excerpts from my book shelf 2 - US Presidents and Secret Service Agents

'Within arm's length' is an interesting book by Dan Emmett, a former Secret Service Agent (SSA). The books is about his life as a SSA protecting the most powerful person on earth, the US President or what they call, POTUS (President Of The US).


The book, for obvious reasons, doesn't delve too much into the different incidents that happened in life as a SSA, except for a brief account of what happened when President Bill Clinton took a stroll on the Bridge of No Return diving North Korea from the South. The book is more about the practical challenges faced by a Secret Service Agent like traveling extensively with the President across different countries and time zones with little or no rest and yet having to be alert all the time and protect the POTUS from any impending danger.


The book talks extensively about the physical training that goes into making a SSA to ensure their physical fitness and alert reflexes to guard their most important person they are out to protect.


What caught my attention more than anything else was the fitness levels of the US Presidents. Many of them were in the habit of running and the SSAs, entrusted with the task of being by the President's side at all times, had to run with them too.


Former President Bill Clinton took just about 9 minutes to run a mile while President George HW Bush, surprisingly, took just 6 minutes to run a mile, leaving the SSAs puffing and panting for breath. I compared that with my 10-and-a-half minutes per mile distance and am still looking for a place to hide my face.

Excerpts from my bookshelf - 1 - Middle Eastern Crises

With 2014 coming to a close I'm speeding up my reading to reach the target of 12 books for the year. I have picked up some really wonderful books from the library and a few from my India trip.


Meanwhile Time magazine, which I have been subscribing, has also been publishing some really interesting stories on ISIS and the crises in the middle eastern region. The articles elaborate on the fundamental differences in the Islamic countries in the region for someone like me who always gets mixed up between Sunni and Shias countries, their relationship with each other and with Israel.


Some interesting nuggets of information from Time magazine.


The rise of terrorist group ISIS (Islamic State in Syria and Iraq) has in a way got US closer to Iran. The US in fact has partnered with Saudi Arabia to host training camps for Syrian rebels to help fight ISIS. Saudi in return wants US to stay away from Iran, which the country considers its worst enemy.
The Syrian dictator Bashar al Assad, who has been facing rebellion within his country and criticism around the world for using chemical weapons against his own country men, is an ally with Iran in this fight against ISIS.

Sri Lanka's strategy in Tamil fishermen issue

I'm wondering what kind of foreign policy approach is Sri Lanka following wrt India? If the five fishermen facing death sentence are indeed guilty of smuggling drugs then how is the President willing to pardon them?




The Sri Lankan President's argument is that, Indian High Commission should not file an appeal in the Colombo High Court contesting the sentence as the judgment may take months to come while he, as a President, could pardon the fishermen in a few days. Should we suspect that the case against the fishermen is weak and that is why the President not want the Indian High Commission to appeal in a higher court?




The Sri Lankan President has also said that he has been in talks with the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the pardoning and that Indian High Commission should not waste effort in trying to appeal the case. It is understandable that there would be back channel talks in such sensitive issues. But somehow, something seems fishy here.

The day a Bangalorean was 'Bangalored'

I experienced today what has been so far the most ironic moments of my life. I, an Indian by origin, who came to the US almost two years with a techie husband (what else) landed in a job as a Website Editor just a month ago, only to lose that job to someone back in India. I've heard of the term 'Bangalored', which typically means losing your job due to the outsourcing of the job to a low cost off-shore center like Bangalore or Manila. But for someone like me from Bangalore (ok not exactly from Bangalore, but from another metro 215 miles away, called Chennai) to be Bangalored was something surreal. 

We were just an hour into work on this Monday morning when about 80-100 of us were called in for a meeting all of a sudden. As the HR head started elaborating about how the company was making a lot of efforts to control costs, we were prepared for what was going to come next. That was when we were told about us being laid off and that the jobs were going to be outsourced to India and Philippines as part of the restructuring exercise by the company. Thank you guys! I now know how it feels to be 'Bangalored'.

My second best production

Following my first best production in August 2007 (named Isha), this could well turn out to be my second best.

After more than a month of daily practice sessions  my 11 lovely students came up with a wonderful performance at the Festival of Nations event in our apartment at Edina, Minnesota.

I never knew teaching children would be such an enriching and learning experience for me. Thank you dear children.

Visited two new states

Have added two new states to the list of US states that I have been so far, Arizona and Nevada, with the recent holiday to Las Vegas and Grand Canyon. Here is the list of states that I have been so far.

1. Minnesota - where I stay       - July 2012

2. Illinois - due to the visit to Chicago - August 2012

3. Arizona - Grand Canyon                  - April 2013

4. Nevada  - Las Vegas                        - April 2013

Waiting to add New York, Florida, California and Texas to the list.

Lonely planet

Relationships are transient! And there is no other place you realise this more, than as an immigrant in a country like this. You travel thousands of miles away from your friends and family to work here, in this country of dreams. You make new friends here, many of whom are from your country and on similar visas. You share everything, be there for each other, for both of you know that staying so far away from family and friends, you do not have anyone else to go to in times of distress or emergencies.

And then comes the day when your work requires you to move out to a newer city or your friend moves on to a newer project in a different city. And then you feel this huge void in your life. And it takes a while before another friend comes in to fill that void.

There are times when you feel down or dejected and want to share your feelings with your mom or your close friend. But you do not want to disturb them in the wee hours of the night or in the morning when they may be busy getting ready to work. You wait till it is a good time to talk, for both of you on either sides of the world and then call, if and only if the issue is still relevant and has not fizzled out already.

Friendships made here are like the relationships made during a train journey. As long as you are in the train, traveling in adjacent seats you share your packed lunches, play games, take care of their babies and exchange stories and anecdotes as you sleep in adjacent berths. But the moment the train lands in your destination you pick up your bags and move on for there is a different world outside the train with so many jobs to be done, resposibilities to be fulfilled.