Stuff to Do in Portland During the Davis Cup Weekend

Im getting excited about the Davis Cup Finals in Portland coming up right after the Thanksgiving weekend. Im proud to be part of the Pacific Northwest Tennis community, having played USTA tennis in Seattle for a couple of years now. A whole bunch of us are heading down to Portland together and aside from the tennis (separate post on that soon) we are going to stay in Portland's famous Pearl District. Im pretty excited about exploring Portland with friends.

Here is a selection of places that I have scraped off yelp that I'd like to share. Please leave comments and let me know what you think about the existing list and also if you have more suggestions



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Hingis' strange decision

And this is the reason for my announcement. I have no

desire to spend the next several years of my life reduced to

fighting against the doping officials.

I am frustrated and angry. I believe that I am absolutely 100 per cent innocent. The fact is that it is more and more difficult for me, physically, to keep playing at the top of the game. And frankly, accusations such as these don’t exactly provide me with motivation to even make another attempt to do so.

- Martina Hingis

I have been shocked by the news about Hingis. I am not rushing to any judgments regarding her guilt and alleged cocaine usage at Wimbledon, but I have been thinking about the point she has made by pro-actively coming out with the news. While the WTA and other sporting bodies maintain that any athletes accused of drug related charges are innocent until proven guilty, the fact of the matter is that the media starts a trial as soon as the information is "leaked". Speculation and a leaning toward the worst case scenarios are often used by the media.

I believe, as do a few others, that Hingis has made a statement against the existing, long drawn appeals process by coming out with the news of her cocaine test herself. The process is crowded in mystery, which often gives some mystery European official crave the spotlight by "leaking" the news. However, I believe that she was wrong to retire. She could have made a bigger statement by coming out and continuing to play at the same time. There could be bigger factors at play that we dont know about, such as low levels of motivation, frustration from injuries, lack of major titles after her return to tennis or her breakup with Stepanek.

She is also not the first high profile athlete to be suspected of cocaine usage. As this article in the Montreal Gazette explains, Mats Wilander and Karl Novacek tested positive for cocaine usage in 1995. Wilander was a former number 1 while Novacek was a former top 10 player. They both received a 3 month ban and then returned to the game. Now its a 2 years ban for the same offense. Interestingly, cocaine is not a performance enhancing drug. This article explains that cocaine has a harmful physical impact on athletes which include seizures and even sudden death. That and the fact that athletes are public figures and role models makes cocaine and sports a bad combination (or anything else for that matter). However cocaine is not a performance enhancing drug, which makes you wonder if cocaine usage in sport should carry the same punishment as performance enhancing ones.

I feel for Hingis - I really do. But regardless of whether she is guilty or innocent, I think she took the short (though courageous) route out. A two year ban and the lengthy testing and appeals process probably influenced her hasty decision. I would still love to see her on the court :) The WTA also needs to do some thinking about the testing process and doping punishments.

What do you think?

A cupping at Stumptown

As lecherously shady as it sounds, a "cupping" turned out to be not so bad after all. On a deliciously sunny and prematurely wintery Seattle saturday afternoon I headed over to Stumptown with my friend Ken to see what a cupping exactly is.

To give some context here, Stumptown is an independent coffee house from Portland which has just opened in Seattle. They have revolutionized how coffee is bought, processed and how the coffee growers themselves are treated in the whole process. You can drink your fancy cup of coffee and empower the coffee grower, his/her family and workers. Everybody wins!

On to the cupping which basically consists of a row of neatly arranged coffee cups in Stumptown's basement. Each type of coffee is poured into three  cups and each set of three cups was separated by a cup with plain water. Our host, Kyle, explained that we would be tasting coffee from a single cup using a spoon, dipping the spoon in the water and moving on to the next cup. There is a need to have 3 cups with the same coffee because sometimes a single bad bean can skew the flavor of the coffee. Tasting the same coffee from three separate cups gives a better sense of the true flavor by discounting any undesirable variations. Kyle then proceeded to "break the crust" by removing the frothy foam you see in the picture (note picture is from this site)

The tasting technique itself is also very interesting. You basically have to slurp the coffee so that you utilize your taste buds. However swallowing is not advised because the palette and the throat become desensitized as the cupping proceeds. Kyle proceeded to demonstrate the technique with a very aggressive and impressive slurp :) We followed suit and proceeded to spit out the coffee after each slurp. 

Now to the coffee's themselves. I didnt note the names but there was one from Gautemala, two from Ethopia and two more that I forget. My coffee ignorance was soon exposed another guy commented "definitely has some blueberry" - I responded with "Oh, I didnt know there was blueberry in coffee beans". He then patiently explained that fruits, flowers etc are used to describe the taste and smell associated with a particular coffee... wow! 

Anyway, I soon got into the act by pronouncing that one of the coffees had a "nutty" flavor. Kyle agreed by saying that it had a pistachio like aftertaste. All in all it was a great experience - the coffees had subtle variation in acidity. Some were tangy, some citrusy and others nutty and fruity. The most fascinating part came at the end when Kyle explained who the coffees came from. The names of the families, the farming practices, the variations in flavor due to slight changes in elevation are all things that I never used to think about when horsing down my daily mocha. Coffee drinking is now a more holistic experience for me

Oh, btw I also got one of these:

 

Seattle's best coffee houses

Since Seattle is one of the best places for quality coffee and I happen to keep discovering new ones since I live in the city, Im compiling this list (by popular demand). What people dont know is that there are also some pretty awesome tea houses (see post below). Rely on google for directions - Im not going to do everything for you :) Other guides will follow soon... comments and suggestions are welcome

Coffee

1. Stumptown: new kid on the seattle scene, but theyve been around in Portland since 99... they have a couple of barista's from my favourite place, Univeristy Zoka and they coffee is great. Not much to eat here and the seating is not made for chilling. Its also open till 11pm only. Located on 12th Ave in Cap Hill and the cross street is 12th and Madison. The espresso machine alone is worth a visit :)

2. University Zoka: the perennial favourite where you can chill in preppy wood pannelled surroundings. The coffee is pretty awesome and theres always good stuff to eat.. my fav is the zoka bar. The word on the street is that a few barristas have left and the quality of the mokas does reflect this. However Im hoping that the new barristas get better soon because this place is too great to go off the radar

3. Victrola: One of the 3 V's on Cap Hill (Vita, Victrola and Vivace). I dont think its open till late but it has the best brownie Ive ever had... and it was a vegan one too. The coffee here is also great and the ambience is also awesome

4. Bauhaus: Can a coffee shop get any better if its open till 1am! The surroundings are awesome ;), the coffee is always consistently great and this place is bulit for chillin like a villain.

Seattle's best tea houses

1. Miro Tea: Located in the heart of Ballard, this places is going to be my fav hangout during the long, cold, wet Seattle winter. From the sorghum wallpapered surroundings to the funky lighting and deep calfskin leather sofa, this place has a warm earthy core. And the tea-istas (my own own word, sounds similar to Tiesto but with an 'a') are very helpful. Jeannie, the owner is awesome - she will make you a masala chai that is the closest thing to doodh patti (sweet, milky, overbrewed Pakistani/Indian roadside fav). The cosmonot and the Matcha lassi are unique and tasty cold tea inventions. The crepes, cheesecakes etc are also great. Open till midnight on weekends

2. Remedy teas: Is as clinical and lab like as Miro is warm and inviting. However the tea selection is great and is not as far out of the way as Miro because it is located in Cap Hill

3. Panama Hotel, Tea and Coffee House: This place is just great. It is calm and serene, just as a tea house should be. It is located in a hotel opened in 1910 by a Japanese UW graduate, the hotel has the only Japanese bath-house in the US. The tea menu looks very inviting with "Bombay Market" and Celyon black teas. The brick walls, antique furniture and intriguing cellar add to the old world charm. Make sure you take a piano playing friend along. Also has free wifi and LavAzza coffee

4. Floating Leaf Tea House: Ive only seen it from the outside during my trips to Ballard but the floor seating and interesting looking tea menu makes me want to try this place out. Definitely worth checking out after a breakfast/brunch trip to ballard since it closes early.

Funny Pakistan Cricket Quotes

"Pakistan is the sort of place every man should send his mother-in-law to, for a month, all expenses payed" - Ian Botham, after England's 1984 tour to Pakistan

"Why don't you send in your mother-in-law now? She couldn't do any worse" - Aamir Sohail's belated, but effective response after Botham's duck in the 1992 World Cup Final

"I knew God was on our side" - Imran Khan after the 1992 WC final

"I have never upset anyone in my life" - Miandad before the 1992 Pakistani tour to England

"Ive waited 6 years for your autograph, Mr Wog."
"Well, another 10 minutes wont hurt you mate." - conversation between a Pakistani fan and Steve Waugh as the latter left the field during Aus tour of Pak in 1994

"They've always had a lot of talent, a lot of good players, but they're like eleven women. You know, they're all scratching each other's eyes out" - hauntingly accurate words from Ian Bothan on Pakistani sides he's known

"Atleast when a side like Australia tries to rattle you, they do so in a language you can understand" - Billy Alley overestimating the English skills of the Pakistani players in 1992.

Federer's level of greatness or the health of the game?

So today I sent an email to Ivan Lendl. I know thats totally off topic but if you keep with me I'll explain. If Im lucky we (people of Seattle) might even get to meet him. Still with me? :)

So thanks to the ridiculous amount I pay for DishNetwork I was watching Arantxa Sanchez Vicario being interviewed on Tennis Channel. During a commercial break Ivan Lendl had some great analysis on who the best ever mens player is. Great deal right? Even the commercial breaks have these neat tidbits.

Vicario
So anyway the whole tennis community these days has taken Federer's achievements for granted - they talk about his greatness and his potential for future greatness in the same breath. Oh so he's closing in on his 12th title - he can go ahead to 20+. Rolex is running a new print ad with the words "Let's not talk history yet. He's still making it"!

Personally, I have no doubt that Federer already is one of the greatest - he doesnt ever need to win the French to prove anything. Hes going for a record 4th consecutive US Open which would be a first since 1923 when Bill Tilden did it. His record at Wimbledon speaks for itself. Even though Im a big fan of Federer and the artistry of his play, I'd like to focus more on the health of the game. Sure Fed-Ex rolls on but a hobbling Nadal came very close to unseating Federer from his grassy throne. Then Djokovic beat Federer in a cliff hanger in Montreal. Did you know he had the audacity to lure Federer in with a drop shot and then hit a lob; twice! Both times in the deciding tie break (including match point)

He has continued to impress while Nadal seems to be having a bad start to his summer hard court season. There's also the other usual suspects that you can throw in the mix - the deft Murray who cant do much without his wrist healing completely.

There's Gasquet who hits a backhand like he developed it in his mothers womb (sorry, it is starting to look even better than Henin's).

Interestingly you can can add Stepanek to the mix as well - after all he is free from the curse of "being with Hingis". I was really impressed with the way Stephanek played in the first set of his semi against Federer in Montreal... he really served and volleyed well and took it to Federer using his return game.

Roddick has been really un-impressive. Seems like people have figured out that the best way to neutralize his serve is to chip it back off both sides (straight from a page in Fed's book). His ground strokes really sit up and lack depth and thats not a good thing on the fast Flushing Meadow's courts where short sitters will really be punished.

You can see that Federer is the measuring stick in each case. You have to measure up or get wiped out, as Blake did in the Cincinnati finals. NY is the stage, Federer is the lead actor with all the others as an ensemble vying for the best supporting actor's role. Whether they get the part or not depends more on the state of their respective wrists, abs, forehands, serves etc etc. Its all in the mind... whoever is fearless and catches Fed on a bad day (not to be confused with the one that cuts rates... its been having lots of bad days :p) will triumph.

Whether Federer has a bad day is another topic... the man has raised perfection to an art form. Its whether the ensemble cast has the mental strength (physical fitness assumed) to challenge Federer. He is so used to his opponents being in his awe that I guess it is a bit unusual for him when someone other than Nadal raises their game and actually presents him with a strong challenge. However, getting to be the best supporting actor is totally different from upstaging the lead actor :)

Djokovic just did it... can someone else do it? Can Roddick feed of the crowd? Can Nadal shake off his dismal US season and rebound? Can Murray exorcise his inner demons and forget that he injured his wrist. Or can Djokovic get over the fact that he managed to beat Federer, Nadal and Roddick in succession to winning Montreal. These are all very intriguing questions... I cant wait for the answers and watch the drama unfold in primetime technicolor with HD and dolby surround. Yes, I will be there myself but only for the first Sunday. The rest of the saga will have to be watched on TV.

Anways, back to my original thought. So Lendl mentioned Laver, Sampras and Federer as candidates for the best ever title. He feels that Federer really needs to win the French. No surprises there. He also said that if Federer goes on to win 20 slams without winning the French then the equation changes. I sent in my comments to him along with an invitation to attend an Amazon.com fishbowl. Fishbowls are very small employee only events where artists share their thoughts as they are about to launch a book, music etc. Lets see if Lendl responds :) For my own selfish sake I hope he accepts.

The lead role

And the ensemble





Maybe I will follow up with an analysis of the women's game

Happy Birthday Pakistan

Aug 14th was Pakistan's 60th birthday. On the same day in 1947 the British finally relinquished the "Jewel in the Crown". The giving up of territory by the British, in areas they really did not belong in, was in accordance with the times. No real surprise there. However, the carving out of a separate muslim homeland called "Pakistan" from the India was the real unprecedented event. The creation of Pakistan was a unique event in contemporary history - the only comparable event was the creation of Israel which happened around the same time period. The key difference between these two events is that Pakistan was created as a nation state for the Muslims of the Sub-Continent while Israel was created as a Jewish homeland. Differences in rationale not withstanding, the political consequences were similar. If you continue looking at the histories of the two nations, the comparison becomes fascinating. There has been a noticeable flow or Jewish people from all over the world into Israel, while Pakistan has largely exported people all over the world (after an initial influx of millions of refugees from what is now India)


Anyways... enough comparisons which may get me into trouble. I did notice that the pessimists and 'realists' had a field day labeling Pakistan as "the experiment that failed" and as a 'failed state'. I have been hearing these labels for a while but I still fail to understand what a 'failed state' exactly is. Some deconstruction (*sigh*) is in order. Do a people who learn from the mistakes they make, constitute a failed state? What if the mistakes have been made for them by others? I too realize that Pakistan is faced with the toughest challenges of its 60 year old history. But we have struggled to find the right leadership and the right balance of power between the institutions. Pakistan's founding father, Jinnah, died in 1948. Since then we have had corrupt democratic leaders and the army in power.

We all know about the situation as it exists today - no need to elaborate. However I do believe that the people of Pakistan are now beginning to think about their future. They are beginning to debate the finer points of the situation they are in. You see blogs such as Pakistaniat which may be overtly patriotic, but still foster interesting debate. The independent TV channels present all sorts of view points. FInally the proliferation of cell phones has brought down the communication barriers that existed. All of these factors combine in a portent way, empowering the people. A case in point was the coverage the suspended chief justice received on TV. The private TV channels reported on his movements like a cricket match (maybe because of the state of cricket affairs). For the first time people got to see the face of street power when the karachi massacres happened. The end result was that the judiciary prevailed as an institution.

Looking forward I see Pakistanis debating the political future in the same way and influencing the course of political action. I may have focussed too much on the political situation, but development in other areas follows political stability. Lets see how things pan out.. but I sure dont see Pakistan as an experiment that is going to blow up in the face of the world. In fact, the future looks bright and we all have a role to play in it. I found a very appropriate verse in this patriotic song sung by Mehdi Hassan which reads "hum tou mehz unwaaN thay, asl daastaN tum ho" (we are mere topics, the real tale is you).

Lets start on a fresh page.

My Dadi

Once again, its been a while since I posted.. I just hope it doesnt become a recurring theme. Unfortunately I have some sad news to share. My dadi (Urdu for paternal grandmother) passed away last weekend after fighting cancer. Being here, so far from my family is difficult because I know that I cant be there to help and share their grief and sense of loss. A person's passing away creates an unimaginable void - simply being there helps. So while I couldnt be there physically, I have been praying for her from here, in Seattle and I ask you to do the same.

My dadi was a true fighter. This was the 3rd time in a few years that the cancer came back. While she saw her grandson and her younger son (my uncle) succumb to the same disease during her lifetime - she fought it each time. The strength of her will and positive attitude was and still is a source of inspiration. Her will seemed to grow as she fought the cancer each time, but it did sap her physical strength and she got too weak with time. I was lucky that I did get to spend some time with her in April/May before the latest occurrence was detected. At the time she was in good physical and mental spirits, enjoying my company. I consider myself extremely lucky to have spent the time I did with her.

May Allah Bless her soul.

First week at work

So the first week at my new job at Amazon is over. Its been a fun and exciting first week! Day 1 started off with a 4 hour orientation starting early in the morning. Orientation was in the Pac Med building which is one of the 4-5 buildings in downtown Seattle where Amazon offices are housed. Jeff Bezos and some of the other senior executives also have offices in this building which is a Seattle landmark.

The Pac Med Building

The Pac Med is one of my favorite buildings in Seattle because it has a distinct character of its own. The orange brick facade glows red in the setting sunlight and it towers majestically over the city because it on top of Seattle's Beacon Hill. The art deco and brick facade reminds me of film noir and musty detective movies.

Anyways, orientation was great. I had to complete the customary paperwork but then noticed a new knapsack next to my chair. Initially I didn't pay much attention to it, but during the break I heard other people exclaiming that they had discovered new laptops in their bags. On closer examination I found a new dell laptop in mine. The coolest part of the orientation was a trivia contest which required us to form teams of 4 - it was a great way to have some fun. learn more about the company and make some friends. The guy next to me had just finished his Masters from UIUC while the two other two people were also switching jobs.

My manager came to pick me up after orientation, we had a really quick lunch together and then headed up to my office. The first week has been great so far. Ive been impressed by the efficiency and organization at Amazon. For example my manager had already prepared a plan for me on my first day which helps me identify what needs to be done in the upcoming days and how. My login and network creds worked immediately - unlike Microsoft there was no waiting around for things to happen in the first week. Im still getting used to waking up really early commuting all the way to Seattle, but the commute should be over soon after I move to Seattle at the end of the month

So while the work week has come to close, our tennis season moves into high gear. We have won our USTA 4.0 division and are in local playoffs. Starting tomorrow, the top 6 teams from the 3, 4.0 division battle it out for the title of Seattle champions. We play two grueling back to back fixtures tomorrow (2 singles and 3 doubles) and hopefully will make it in to the finals on Sunday. More updates on how we did later....

I know, I know... Ive been away for a while and I feel guilty about it. I can come out into the open now :) As of 5 pm tomorrow I will no longer be a Program Manager at Microsoft. No more sending mails which start with "Adding person_blah" and passing the buck along... hehe!

After all isn't that what PMs are supposed to do ?! I think it was Brian Valentine (VP running Windows, before he made a graceful exit to Amazon last year) who joked at one of the legendary Friday unwinders that he saw a PM trying to sell mattresses at the corner of the street. Well, to be honest being a PM has been very interesting experience - I have learnt a lot about process (at times a lack thereof or an excess of it), how to work with a ton of teams at the same time (some of them remote ones) and more importantly what makes me tick (bad/good managers, the need to innovate, targeting real customers with products/services they can use etc)

I will be following BrianVs example and joining Amazon from Monday as a Technical Product and Program Manager. I am pretty excited about it! Ive been wrapping things up at work, cleaning up and going through the surprisingly few processes before my last day at Microsoft. My team has been great to work with and I am sad to leave them. But a new job and beckons. To make things more interesting, I will be working in downtown, in the tallest building in Seattle, Columbia Towers.



Columbia Tower is the tall black building (office is on the 20 the floor)

Commuting from Redmond where I currently live is going to be a pain so Ive spent the past couple of weekends looking a scores of places in Belltown, Fremont, First Hill, Queen Anne and South Lake Union (SLU) neighborhoods. Each neighborhood has a distinct flavor, but SLU struck me as a very exciting one - its an up and coming neighborhood to the south of Seattle's Lake Union. My friend Saad and I spent quit some time checking out the neighborhood and Vulcan's ultra-cool discovery center



Paul Allen's firm Vulcan owns 50+ acres in the area between the lake and downtown and is developing the area by constructing condos, rental buildings, retail space a street car going to downtown as well as improving the park next to the lake. So... I was hooked to the area but wasnt able to find anything within my budget. Luckily my tennis buddy Phil hooked me up with a friend and I ended up finding a great new condo a block away from the 5 start Pan-Pacific hotel which houses a new Whole Foods in the 1st floor. The street car is also a block away. Here are some pictures of the condo (model)


Nice kitchen a stone/chalk tops, maple cabinetry


A view of the living room attached to the kitchen - I love the 13 foot window wall


A view of the complex at night - the taller building in the foreground houses the whole foods and is adjacent to the Pan Pacific Hotel


A snapshot of the floor plan

In the next few days Im going to use my creative juices on how to arrange my furniture in the new apartment and how to lay things out. I also promise to post on my first day and week at my new job - I know more than a few people are curious to find out what things are like at Amazon (you know who you are!)

strawberries

strawberries, originally uploaded by obaidk.

Fresh home grown ones!

The beginning

I know nothing about blogging! I created this blog yesterday after being inspired by my friends, Ken and Saad, who have great blogs of their own. I have been meaning to to create one of my own for a while because simply put; writing makes me think. The last time I wrote anything of significance was for my Post-Colonial Theory class more than 2 years back.

I'm hoping that I'll make a mental note of my thoughts and then jot them down here at the end of the day. Another reason for blogging is that Seattle really is in the corner of the world - natural beauty and good coffee (more on that later) make up for the isolation. Its hard to stay in touch with friends (scattered all over the world) and family (other side of the world). This blog should help stay in touch with them.

I'm currently sitting at Seatac airport, waiting to catch a flight for home. Its going to be a long 22 hour flight! Atleast I managed to get exit row seats with better leg room. I hope I'm not next to any bawling babies. I was hoping there would be free wifi at the airport but I was disappointed. There aren't even any power outlets for my laptop. Even the buses and parks have free wifi!

Anyways, enough complaining. The last few weeks have been very stressful due to a number of reasons. Thank God, things are looking much better now and I am getting to spend some much needed time with family. During these past weeks I had been making an almost daily trek across the lake to University Zoka - a great coffee shop in Seattle's University district (Rahul, thanks for directing me there). It was my intellectual watering hole during those weeks. Well, if it isnt obvious by now, Ive named my blog after those trips (countless non-fat mochas, great baristas and their unique music mixes and the company of friends who I dragged along). This is just the beginning!