The Business of Being Born

I stumbled on this documentary on Netflix and started watching it expecting it to be some comedy. It was one of the most informative videos about today's healthcare system and human birth. Its definitely worth the watch for folks who intend to have their babies in the US.

Some interesting takeaways:
(1) The position for giving birth in the US hospitals is not really the convenient one and makes the labor more cumbersome,
(2) Once labor goes beyond 20 hours, hospitals recommend interventions like using labor inducers like pitocin, use of vacuum and other aids to get the baby out.
(3) Once intervention starts, there's a high chance for the birth to end with a caesarean operation.
The documentary explained how giving epidurol reduces labor effort, resulting in giving pitocin to increase contractions, causing more pain for the mother, as a result additional dose of epidurol and then followed by pitocin eventually causing distress to the baby and save the day by delivering via c-section.

I dont know whether folks can avoid (1) but definitely requesting and being adamant about not using interventions is the way to go. I dozed off beyond the first 1/2hr .. so please go and watch the rest of the video for additional takeaways :).

What better than your own company :)

Last week, I received a mail from my room mate in Bangalore whom I'vent met for 8 years now :). It was so nice and refreshing to hear from her. Such contacts always triggers a journey down your memory lane :). Fresh out of college.. I always did things that I wanted to do and go to places where I wanted to go irrespective of whether I have company or not :). Back then, only place in India where you will be looked at as a weirdo if you dont have company was Brigade road...seriously :). Still, it never bothered me :). That was a common trait between me and this friend of mine :). This crossed my mind this weekend when I was trying to get hold of my usual brunch company and other friends to go with me for my favorite traditional american breakfast. Sadly, I didnt get to have the traditional american breakfast this weekend. Worse still, no company for a late lunch either. So, I did the unspeakable :P.. I went to an Indian restaurant and had my lunch alone. Was I sad.. no... I very much enjoyed my food and my own company :). Thats when I thought about how I was 8 years ago(even 3 years ago). The problem with needing company to do the things you want to do is that 75% of the time you will not get to do what you want to do and/or strike a compromise the rest of the time. Being with yourself is a great luxury.. you tend to observe a lot about yourself and your environment in the absence of a companion. When you are alone, you are more approachable and some of the most interesting encounters in my life had been when I travelled (which I always did alone :)).

Baby Peter

Unimaginable pain and torture underwent by a 17month old baby before he died.. no words to describe..http://www.therevival.co.uk/forum/general/4287.

There are so many things that bothers me :
(1) The law protects his killers by not naming them.
(2) They will get a maximum of 14 years in jail probably well fed and well rested during their stay,
(3) Mom(one of the accused) is being given the right to take care of her new born baby that followed Peter.

Ideally, Baby P's mom, her bf and the accomplice should all be tortured in the same way while being kept alive until their death.

I do think Baby P's natural father should also be punished and tortured for not noticing whats going on with his baby. How come he's going scout-free ?

As I think more and more.. what scares me is we dont have a child care/child protection program in India. I dont know how many kids are in this neglected state in India.

Babies and Toxicity

Having been around babies and people having babies for a long time, I've learned a few things over a period of time that I want to share with you all. This is the first post in that series.

Preparation before conceiving: You would have heard about eating healthy, maintaining optimal weight, taking multivitamins with atleast 400mg folic acid , no smoking/no drinking etc. I've one more to add to the list : Detox yourself two months before you become pregnant. There's nothing like conceiving and growing the baby in a healthy body compared to feeding the baby healthy after it is born. Try to keep your stress level to a minimum by exercising/meditating, eating right and going to bed at the same time everyday.

Vaccinations: Oflate there's a lot of controversy about vaccines with thimerosal.. see the article http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2510/autism_and_vaccines_evidence_of_a_connection.html?cat=5. Remember, the following: (1) ask for thimerosal free vaccine when you give your baby shots, (2) it is perfectly acceptable and ok to give your baby shots on a delayed schedule.. do not pack on two shots at a time.

This is going to be the last post for a while...

I've been idling a lot in the last couple of weeks. I am going to work on it starting now. Agenda going forward: dont catch yourself idling/wasting time. I'll update you how it went after a while. Until then, goodbye :).

Same sex marriage

I don't know whats all this hallelujah about same-sex marriage. If gay/lesbian couples want to get married, let them get married. It is as simple as letting two people in love get into a dignified relationship. If the problem is calling their union as "marriage" is bothering folks, give the "civil union" countrywide sanction. The biggest problem I see is, "civil union" is not allowed in all states and hence not valid across all states. The rights that come with being a spouse is not completely available to "civil union" couples. Many folks have problem with gay marriage because they feel the concept of marriage is tied to Religion. Marriage is an independent concept and it shouldn't be mixed with religion. Come on.. Even atheists get married. To grant the rights that come with marriage to another person who's not legally married will cost several thousands of dollars, whereas marriage license costs only some 100 dollars.

Given two issues, extra marital affairs and gay marriages, I find the first one a bigger problem. Extra-marital affairs are a bigger threat to the institution of marriage than gay couples getting into the institution. People who are calling themselves protectors of the marriage institution should work to bring in legal penalties to folks indulging in extra-marital affairs.

What do you say ?

Illusions about marriage

Oflate, I've been closely observing lot of couples. One thing I am impressed with, is the single minded commitment and trust they have in their partner. They understand their partner's weaknesses and vulnerabilities, and patiently work with them to overcome or circumvent those weaknesses. They love unto death the whole package of their spouse, all their positives and negatives.. what they see is the person(soul and heart behind the facade of flesh). As somebody once told me, its in your hands to make or break a person especially if they are your spouse. So, handle with care :). People endure through bad and hard times. Anyways, this is what I learnt today.
I can very well see myself becoming one of those persons who think their way is the right way when it starts working for them :).

Past one week.. one year

When I first heard about Obama and listening to his debates... reading about him more and more .. I am so full of admiration for this man. A Man in the true sense... dignified, respectable, follows his dreams, protective of his loved ones, competitive, disciplined, good hearted, compassionate... what not. Its so refreshing to see such a person being given the role where he can make a difference. It makes me believe in the goodness of the world and its fairness. Here comes my selfish part... I so wish I can meet a guy who has all these qualities with atleast 1/4th of the intensity he has. This week, I started feeling that there's nothing wrong in having such expectations. I've been lowering my expectations in my search and ofcourse, I've been disappointed with the people I've come across.. and rightfully so. For once, I'm starting to think you should definitely sought for the best and rightfully so :). To be frank, My expectations are not that much. All I am looking for is an honest/straighforward, responsible and compassionate guy.

Fitness

Often we give all kinds of excuse like hectic work etc and not spend enough time taking care of our health and not spend enough time with our family. We really have an inspiration in our new president elect. During his long arduous campaign, he spared 45 minutes every day to work out in the gym and so did Michelle Obama by having frequent 90min workouts. Check out here

I'm so proud of you, America :)

This is the third US election I witnessed as a resident of United States. Last election campaign was so painful to watch.. I was wondering why United States( a land of the capables) couldnt come up with better solid candidates. This election answered and addressed with some great candidates. My admiration is not just for Obama getting elected, but by the way the whole election went and how everybody conducted themselves. McCain's conceding speech was awesome to watch.. it was so touching and admirable ..exhuding dignity... the right kind of guiding words you would expect from a great leader. I admire the endurance Obama and his campaign displayed by working on and on till the end.. the thorough job they did for the past two years.. not neglecting any voter and their execution of strategy. It just made me think he's definitely the best of the lot and can be trusted to do the best. The work that is going to land on his lap is unimaginably big, but I wouldnt trust it with anybody than a man who has proved himself with his life so far and with his calm & composure throughout the whole campaign when every one of his opponents were losing his/her cool every now and then. The real work of getting America back on track is just about to begin and will be long arduous journey.. but with the right leader who seems promising enough to keep all the sheep trotting in the right direction. Kudos to America for having done the best given the circumstances and this election showcased some of the best qualities of americans.
I love you America :)

Upcoming events in Seattle

(1) Meditation - heard about a two-day workshop coming up soon.
(2) Dine for $30 has started. Its a great opportunity to try different high end restaurants without emptying your wallet.. http://www.dinearoundseattle.org/index.php

Judging people...

I was feeling lousy yesterday after being mean to a close friend of mine. After a day of brooding for having become the mean person I have become, I remembered what a friend of mine said a while ago. "Do not judge people including you in their worst times, you will only be a hypocrite amd it serves no good purpose". So very true.. I never used to like the instances when somebody or the other criticizes somebody else especially when they are going through some tough time. Recollecting the recent past, I've commited two counts of such offence myself. Another instance of hypocrisy.. I've often told myself I shouldn't fight with my loved ones and they deserve the longest leash but often we give the longest leash to strangers and we hold our loved ones to a very high bar. It is only human to falter in tough times.. so forgive and forget.

When you are hurting...

I know these are tough times for many people. Economy, career, personal life.. multiple reasons. Fear is the biggest factor.. fear of the unknown, fear of the future. Our first move will be to try to take refuge with the known.. the known comfort zone. Learning to manage one's fear is critical for long term happiness. Stay grounded.. do not make any drastic moves without much thought. If a change is essential, just embrace it. Fear hampers your rational thought process and can negatively affect your decisions. So, take a step back, take a deep breath and see what you can do the best under these circumstances. And just do it. All situations are transient. As one of my friends well put, "Life is like a test cricket. You have to do what it takes to stay in the game when things are not going well for you.. so that you will be there and ready to hit when the right ball comes.. until then just "doku" like Sunil Gavaskar used to" :). Ofcourse, my favorite was Sanath Jayasuriya.. ok.. I am digressing from the topic here.

I remember the day before flying out to Seattle from North Carolina. I did not know anybody in Seattle. When I was looking at where my office was located, I found it was in downtown and they dont provide "Free Parking". I couldnt imagine joining a company that doesnt have a parking lot.. and all my other fears started coming down on me. I called my parents and cried my heart out. They recollected their own experience of moving from a small town "Udumalpet" to "Coimbatore". When they moved, they were moving slightly away from my mom's parents(who were breathing down their neck all the time in a nice way.. always there to help them out) and to a big city. They were wary of the higher cost of living and starting from scratch in a way. What motivated them to move was the possibility of sending us to good schools. My parents gave me the encouragement that I will find the move refreshing, will meet new people and make new friends.. and many a times.. the path to a better life is taking a walk into the unknown. Everything lies in the perception.

What is that I like about Amazon.com ?

Aside from the fact Amazon is my employer, there are a lot of things that I love and learnt about Amazon.

Great customer service. Amazon is so customer experience focused and focuses on fairness.

Great Management. Jeff Bezos is very hands on and always focused on the long term growth of the company. He comes across as a very grounded person, irrespective of how Wall Street perceives the company, he's always investing for future growth of the company.

Frugality. As an employee, it does bug me me how frugal the company is. We dont have a well stocked pantry.. not the latest laptop.. some companies pay for the use of your personal phone for office use etc. I am not a frugal person in my personal life .. so you can see why this bugs me. So, why do I still like frugality of Amazon ?. Amazon builds home grown products.. hires the smartest engineers and builds its own products. It will be a tough sell to ask Amazon to buy another company. If you go with such a proposal, they will ask you to build the product yourself. That doesnt mean Amazon does not buy other companies. Amazon does buys but many a times, doesnt totally integrate under Amazon flagship. Those companies run fairly independently. Amazon hardly shells out money for marketing. Marketing is in the form of free shipping for orders >25$ and prime program .. highly targetted spending that will promote customer experience and brand loyalty.

Time to market. This is not meant to bash any major company. One thing that bothered me about Microsoft.. they had this Microsoft surface technology in their hands long before Apple. They were so focused on making the product complete and thought too highly about the product that they kept postponing its release. Microsoft has business in all markets like Mobile, music player, what not. How much time will it take to promote the use of a new technology across all areas?. Not many in the market has seen the MS Surface as a product yet. They could have made 10 times more money with this technology as Apple made with the Iphones. The difference is where the focus is. Microsoft is more developer centric... Apple is more sales centric.

Execution and follow through. Best examples are EC2, S3 and other webservices. I thought Amazon is trying an area which was cool but not really a lucrative area when they started it. Now, I see the difference between other companies that tried this before Amazon and Amazon. The difference lies in the execution. Amazon is very result oriented.. less talk and more work and focus on customer experience.

It is easy to move around the company and learn a lot. You can talk to people across the company and learn a lot about whats going on. Company all hands meetings are great eye openers. You get to know a lot about the stuff that is being built in the company.

No wonder, I've seen many ex-Amazonians turn into entrepreneurs. Amazon itself has lots of entrepreneurs turned into employees.. such people have better strategic vision and tend to keep the big picture in mind while working on their part.