Nerve Endings Firing Away

Thanksgiving is arguably one of the most popular holidays in the US, given the ever popular familial hues. But I should have no reason to complain since that translates into a week-long holiday, which incidentally I am spending in solitude, trying to finish up on procrastinated pile of research papers ranging from mundane fiscal trend micro-analysis to hopefully-exciting innovation macro-policy.

I love to rub these verbose academic subjects in your face, especially Star, that seem to be so far out of your reach but in all modesty I should admit that they, in fact are no great shakes. Anyone with a modicum of IQ can easily make sense of such common-place knowledge. If you have had a MBA friend who boasts of “analyzing innovative strategies for business networking” and in reality ends up forwarding emails to his peers, you know what exactly I am talking about.

Academics apart, the stress-relieving drive to calm your nerves is virtually out of the question with the massive 16-lane interstates weaving through downtown Atlanta are chock-a-block with bumper-to-bumper traffic moving painfully slow. Family vans and SUV gas-guzzlers, crammed with kids kept quiet only with a Finding Nemo DVD while the dad patiently lends a deaf ear to the side-seat driving instructions from the mom. A similar scene halfway across the world in downtown Mumbai would be replete with a philharmonic orchestra of car horns and educative lessons in multi-lingual swear words, although the pollution levels would be the same.

But thankfully, if you want to look enjoy the pleasure of the Camry commercial; take an uncommon pleasurable drive on Thursday afternoon anywhere on the American sub-continent except of course the ever-crowded Desi-infested Edison in Jersey (so I have heard).

This Thanksgiving, unlike others which have ranged from studying for a time-pass GMAT exam (yup, I am weird) to attending a full-fledged Thanksgiving lunch and dinner hosted by a Baptist Church and a devout Christian family respectively. But I must admit that I did enjoy those experiences, devouring the turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans and asparagus and other stuff that they call southern traditional food. Not once but twice in a day that year. This year, I just might have a normal lazy Thanksgiving lunch at home.

For variety sake there is always that stroll in the local Perimeter Mall that brings you in the holiday mood. You know its fall when colors are changing in the Gap window. I resist the temptation to say “It’s a girl!” to a pregnant woman wearing a Guess T-shirt. Apart from such random walks, its back to the books.