I'm home! And all it took was a 4 hr drive to the airport in Mumbai, a 10 hour flight to London, a 6 hour layover in London, and then a final 9 hour filght to Chicago. I had a fantastic time but it's great to be back home.

The fist day of wedding celebration. I think we fed half the town in the evening ceremony which lasted till 2:30am. I also went to see the market and took in a trip to the spa. I got the special shave which included a vigorous rubdown of my entire face.

On Dec 17 I started the pleasure part of my trip. I flew to Mumbai early on wednesday, met up with my dad and family and drove to the family home at Valsad.

Early the next morning we were off for a 6hr drive to Ahmedabad to see my grandma and uncle. I had been waiting for that moment for a long while. She is 94 years old but at times still has the humor I remember; like when she put her hand on my head and commented on my short haircut. It was truly memorable.

Then to top it off, I got to spend a few hours on a motorbike touring Ahmedabad with my uncle. No helmet, sucking down exhaust fumes, hanging on for dear life, and clicking away trying to capture all the sights and sounds. It's probably going to take me a few months after I get back home to clear up my lungs. There is simply no way to get a real feel for street life unless you actually experience it in person. It was a really short trip , but I got to accomplish something I have wanted to do in a long while.

Chatting with Micah and Mary Beth on skype. Man I love technology.

• I hate make generalizations, so I’ll try to be as specific as possible. 10 out of the 15 people in front of me in the first boarding group on the BA flight at Heathrow felt some exception should be made because they were not in the first group but needed to be. This included the family with the 10 year old who needed to pre-board because they considered him an infant. The kid seemed rather bemused by his mother’s assertions that he was. And the sharply dressed gentleman who completely ignored the announcement specifying that this time slot was for only those in the first boarding group. His reasoning; he was in the way of all the others and should be let though. All of the others had some other bogus reasons too, I guess this is just a consequence of our entitlement culture. In all cases the BA gate agents were too polite to argue, they simply let the folks through, despite my evil stares.

• The family with the 10 year old and their friends ended up sitting behind and next to me. When I got to my seat, the mom had already claimed all the overhead bins around our seats with her jackets and blankets; she was waiting for the rest of the family to board with their assigned groups. Kudos to them for following the rules. When I attempted to move her jacket to place my bag in the bin; I didn’t know she was ‘calling them’, she informed me they were reserved. When I informed her it was unreasonable for her to do that considering there was limited on board storage and she had boarded in the wrong group anyway, all I got in response was, ‘but Sir, we have a lot of bags.’ How do you argue with that? I didn’t. But I did get even by refusing her husband any room on the shared arm rest. I can be petty too.

• The trip from London to Chennai is a bear. I slept through most of it but not quite enough. Two Indian meals and 9 hrs of sitting don’t mix. I’ve heard most people lose weight during their trip here, I think I am going to be the exception. I can already feel the pounds adding up around my waist.

• The Chennai airport is like most others in the developing world, a cavernous building with little character. And lots of signs notifying you were to queue up, where the lifts are, and where only authorised people are allowed. Those are not spelling mistakes knuckleheads. That’s her majesty’s English.

• The trip from the airport to the Radisson , especially late at night, is a little like stepping back in time. At least it was for me because I have some reference points. You travel through a few rather decrepit looking neighborhoods and a lot of road construction and then arrive quickly at a really nice, gleaming hotel compound.

• The service at the hotel was impeccable, from the driver who picked me at the airport, the bellhop, the front desk, the concierge, and the restaurant staff. 

• Being at the Radisson is like being back home. See hunnie, you would have been just fine making the trip.

• Even Micah would be covered.

• The breakfast café rocks, especially the scrambled eggs, and the coffee. Throw in the guavas and papayas they serve and I could eat there every day.

• Now it’s time for this insomniac to get some sleep….

Here is what the Satvedi family has been up to this month:

We spent thanksgiving at the Marrochello's . It was a great opportunity to connect as a family, reminisce and enjoy indulge in some great food and fellowship. I think the best time was had by the oldest kid; Dad really enjoyed being surrounded by his 7+1 grandkids.

The official press release for the at-large audience was distributed on November 24, so I'll keep this kinda brief. We are expecting a new addition to the family sometime in May 2010. Interestingly, I found out about this new initiative just a few hours before another rather large project at TravelCLICK was to go live. I was crashed out on the living room floor sometime around 7am on September 17 after a fitful night of sleep having had to wake up every few hours to check on deployment status when I awoke to Micah yelling  ‘Daddie’ and walking to me bearing a gift. The gift box contained a positive test stick. So here we go, we just kicked off another major project. Geez… can’t a guy take even a few moments and savor the completion of one before starting another? All kidding aside, we are incredibly excited.

In the near future I am heading to India for both business and pleasure. I will spend the majority of my time visiting our teams in Chennai and Bangalore; the rest visiting family and attending my cousins wedding in Bulsar. While I am a little nervous and apprehensive, considering this is my first trip back in 25 years, I am also quite excited. I’m especially looking forward to meeting my team members who I have only talked to on the phone and being able to work with them in person, to seeing first-hand the great strides India has made in the last few years, and most importantly connecting with people.  On the personal side, I am so looking forward to getting reacquainted with family members who I have not see in a long, long time.

The time apart from Mary Beth and Micah is going to be incredibly tough on all three of us. Since we have been together as a couple and a family I think the longest we have been apart from each other is a few days. This is going to be quite a challenge, and more so for Mary Beth and Micah. To family, friends, and neighbors, I hope you are able to make some time and check up on Mary Beth and Micah frequently. To anyone else, you should be aware that Micah’s older brother Rubix is a 110lb Rottweiler with a rather disagreeable temperament especially when it comes to strangers. I know you don’t want to spend the rest of your life sucking down meals with a straw.

And finally, here is what we went through to get our Christmas pictures. This is my son…