The Freeway IS101

So I finish customs and stuff and come out to meet my uncle and his 2 daughters...we exchange pleasantries most of which includes how well my body is built up!! :D anyway we leave for san jose where I am gonna crash for the next week or so before I head to Amherst...

And as we make our way there after i fumble with the seat belt a little...well what do u expect, life la munnadi laam seat beltam pottadhae illa but inga its 250 $ fine apparently... I get the first taste of travelling on an American freeway and let me tell u, the experience is awesome!! It was huge concrete snake like monstrosity that went on and on till ur eyes could see with roads leaving at some places and joining in others. So many a car just literally flying past u!! On the freeway ,which btw are like really big highways, most of them 3-4 lanes minimum running for huge distances often covering many cities. (my uncle explained that many relativley small pockets are made into cities and within 30-45 mins on a freeway, u can pass 3-4 cities!!)...as i was saying, on the freeway most cars travel at around 80-90 mph and at 1 mile=1.609 km, u do the math on how fast everyone is going (enakku 70-80 kmph la ponnalae vayatha kalakum, idhula 100 mph na shebba!!)...its almost like everyone is in a rush...but it made me realise why americans are quite serious about their traffic rules :1) it can land you insanely high fines... talking without an ear peice without driving is straight 300$ fine (300X50=15000 rs!! ada kadavulae...adhukku na oru kodi ear pieceae vaangiduvaen!!) 2)at the speeds these guys drive, one small mistake na sure body thambi... andha speed la laam accident aachu na body kooda kadaikadhu nu nanaikiraen...

As cars whizzed by me and changed lanes, I began to see a pattern emerge in the way the freeways were planned and constructed. Though I am not going in detail to explain them, it was pretty easy to see a very well defined system with sign boards indicating directions and distance at regular intervals, digital electronic boards and proper areas to stop on case of breakdowns and more.

And I also got to see the idea of a carpool lane in work (a carpool is a vehicle having 2 or more passengers...you might think that as ineffecient but on close observation, i noticed that they were only single drivers in most cars and the carpool lane was relatively empty and hence much faster. As i ponder over it, I am told that these lanes are completely full everyday at around 8 in the morning and at 5 in the evening when kids are dropped and picked up from school and...and parents have till 6 to pick up their child from school or else they are fined 10$, yep 10 frikking dollars for every min after 6 that they are not there!! You might say that it sounds extreme but I kinda like the idea of a heavy fine...hitting someone where it hurts is good way to remind us to be careful).

I keep my eyes fixed on the road trying to take everything in...the cars, the signboards and the people. On our way home, I passed thru Mountain View and managed to catch a glimpse of Google HQ...it was quite surreal.( Their campus has around 40 odd buildings occupying what was once Silicon Graphics). I also managed to see the offices of Cisco, Microsoft,Novell and every other tech/soft company who came to our campus last yr and did not pick many :P From a distance, I also got a look at the California division of NASA (the name itself inspires awe doesnt it)!! Its not the launch station though( thats at Cape Canarval)...idhum veruma construction and training centre aam...ada paavigala evalo perusaa irruku idha paathu veruma appadi sollitaanagalae!!

So ippadiyae car la timepass panni about a hour went by and I reached my uncles place at 1026 Ivy Glen Drive, San Jose, CA. But its never about the destination is it? its always the journey that matters!!

Natesh

"I am too old for this shit"

PS: Most of these cars come up with these GPS systems and shebbbaaa mudiyala pa...over technology... everything comes on the screen and there is superb detail!! Aaaah indha madhiri tech paatha ennakku pull arikadhu :)

PPS: And i thought we were going fast till i saw this biker, fully clad in black leather speeding past us with his super hot girlfriend(how do u know that u mite ask? they must have been wearing helmets for sure and must have past u in a matter of seconds aana yosichi paarunga ....remba gethu bike, full black in color... driver gethu get up la going at around 120-140 easily...the girl has to be hollywood level hot!! or else something will be terribly wraang with the picture... ore jalpiya mudinjirkum!!) clutching onto him tightly and all englees movie kinda songs strted to play in my head with the long guitar solos...not sure why though...