Office Office!!

It was the day when I got my first ticket.. a parking violation.. and I realized that even this leading economy, a so called perfect country to live, is not that perfect at all. The difference being.. here corruption is coded into rules.. so it is “by the book!”

A few days back when my car was parked off street, I saw an envelope on the windshield. I guess it right.. it was a ticket. It mentioned I had to pay $53 for not displaying right registration sticker on my license plate. Here it is called a 5402 violation. The envelop mentioned that that under correctable violation section (4000a) if I provided a proof of correction within 21 days then my fine will be reduced to $10. Well..I was happy.. Thought it’s not that bad! :) So the next day I corrected it by sticking an updated tag on the plate.

After correcting my violation, proudly, I went to the Sunnyvale police station to get a sign of an officer as a proof of my correction. (The ticket was issued by City of Sunnyvale). I was surprised to learn that in a police station here, I have to speak over a phone to the officer who is standing few meters away from me with a bullet proof glass in between!! Well, police station should be supposedly the safest place in the city right! :P. Anyways, so I told him the story and asked him if he can sign off my ticket. He smiled, said "yes" and then pointed me to a notice which said I will have to pay $41 for an officer to walk to my car, check the plate and then sign off. So, for a $53 ticket, which would then (probably) reduce to $10, I will have to pay $41 to get it signed!! Wow!.. and it’s not wrong huh.. it’s written in the rules! :-/

Then he himself suggested me that I can ask around at other places (he did not know where) where I can get it signed for free. So I called up Mountain view police station.. $25 for people not living in Mountain view (free for residents). Thinking on the same lines that I am a resident of Santa Clara, I went to Santa Clara police station.. $11 no matter where you stay! :D .. God.. yahan bhi log lootne ko baithe hai. I can catch a cop on a road and ask him for his sign (probably when he is at Starbucks).. but interrupting a cop on duty.. could be another ticket. So these guys tell you alternatives and then tell you how that alternative is not possible :P. Then I visited San Jose police station.. where finally I got it signed for free. !! The adventure does not end here…

I asked the same officer to confirm that now I had to pay only $10. He had no clue why in first place the ticket issued was of $53. According to him it should have been much less. So again.. now I had to go to Sunnyvale police station to clarify what I had to pay. The same officer at Sunnyvale saw the ticket and said that the fine will not be reduced as it is a 5402 violation and the ticket mentions correctable violation (section 4000a). Well..  4000a means not registering the car at all. So I asked him that not registering the car should be a more serious violation than not displaying the correct sticker right? Then how come that is correctable and mine is not!! His answer was.. “it’s not what we think, it’s what written in the rules”!! :D :D

So then, I did some internet browsing and found that my violation was correctable. I went there again and told him that the website mentions 5204 is correctable. His response “well, the website may mention it is correctable, but that does not mean your fine will be reduced, it only means you can correct it!” …now I had started losing my calm!! I asked him where I can confirm this.. and he said “We  do not handle payments here.. we do not know”.!  I called up the citation processing center (place where I had to submit my payment) and they told me I had to pay only $10 after getting the proof of correction. So I had both answers.. and no way to confirm what I  should be actually doing.

Sunnyvale court is next door. I had read on the internet that I can pay off the tickets at the court,  so I stopped by. I asked the officer there about the ticket, and he directed me to the police station for parking violation inquiries….. Now I am stuck in an infinite loop!! (and I can’t inquire anywhere else as the ticket is issued by Sunnyvale.. so other places won’t have any clue). Bhai SAB TV par Office Office  lagta that bachpan  me.. uske jaise halat hui hai!!

Speaking with my friends I heard few more such instances. A moving violation (like speeding etc.. which is safety related and more  serious, which accumulates points on your license) can be “converted” to a parking violation by paying the lawyer double the amount of the ticket. Any ticket can be “settled out of the court” by paying the officer some amount that you negotiate. All the officer does is tells the judge he does not want to press charges. Well.. all this “lobbying”, “off court settlement”, “converting moving violation into parking” is perfectly fine as it might have been written somewhere!!!

Seriously!! What is the point in blaming our police officers, blaming our system? Bus hum illegally karte hai isliye?? Ya khule aam dikh jaata hai isliye? Log itne jyada hai.. to obviously such instances will be more evident right? Point is.. it’s everywhere and it is wrong.. We should be proud that at least our government does not legally permit these kinds of things (probably?)!!

Don’t know how much I am going to pay for this ticket! :)

The Cultural Difference

After grad life, now working in a company most of time with Americans, staying with an American family, using public transport daily has brought me more close to the American culture, the western way of thinking. There are still many things to imbibe, but some cultural differences between us and these western people are prominent.

Independence, thanks to technology, is what is seen in every American. And now I realize it has many shades. Every person, be a man or a woman, a kid or an old one, a fit or a disabled, can live his entire life on his own. Buses have ramps for disabled to get in, traffic light ped crossings have radio records for blind to help cross, every house has a garage and tools to fix their own vehicle, and internet is everywhere; these people hardly feel a need to interact. Every person has an i-gadget in his ear, a kindle in his hands and a smart phone with data plan activated. They hardly care to come out of their world.

Good thing is you are independent. You don't need anyone to help you do your daily chores. You are free. No one would care if you do stupid dancing on roads or if you kiss your girlfriend at the train station. You don't need to ask around if you are lost, you will have a GPS or an i-phone to see directions. But.. it disconnects people. This disconnects families. A father thinks his son has to leave his house when he is 16 as he thinks "his mother still feeds his a** and after he leaves my house I would spend that money to buy a Porsche" And a kid thinks "I don't have to stay with them, I earn, I have money, and a girlfriend, I can afford to rent a place. So why should I rely on them!" As a result, kids stay with their girlfriend(s), and old people are transferred to old age homes. But there is no regret as nothing changes in their lives, they have all the tools to live their life independently and happily (?).

In contrast, we have grown in a culture where we stay together. We are emotionally attached and kids feel a sense of responsibility towards their parents. The culture in which we are brought up, we tend to take care of our parents when they grow old. When I communicated these thoughts with a fellow American, he was surprised, and felt great about the culture in which people are brought up a few thousand miles far.

I am surprised when I see that every American can fix his car in his house, and does not have to go to a garage. Come to think of it, it’s due to high labor charges here. If they quote me $50 to fix brakes on my $80 bike, I would refer to google and fix it myself. On the other hand, I will easily give Rs5 to a Puncturewala in Pune and get my punctured tire fixed. These guys are surprised when I tell them we have a doodhwala that brings us milk every morning, we have a maid that daily comes and cleans the house and even when I tell that we get the newspaper in hardcopy. They are used to read e-versions.

Within a family everything is "ours" in India whereas here, its "mine" or "yours". The other day I was talking to a collogue during lunch and said "in my house back in India.....". He was surprised and asked me if I owned a house! People here always distinguish between "my house" and "my dad's house". Similarly, within a house, its "my car" and "my dad's car" where as in India its "our car". These people respect privacy to such an extent that my landlady asks her mom for permission to use her car, or to put a couple of her clothes in a washing machine with her mom's.

There are so many more things. But the bottom line is, is it solely the technology and infrastructure that has facilitated this upbringing? With technological advances in India, will we see an Americanized India in a few decades? I hope we consciously imbibe all the positive aspects of technological advances, keeping our emotional attachment, and our strong cultural values intact.

The Midwest and the Valley

It was a leap from Midwest to West. After two fun filled years at Michigan, it’s now time to experience what they call as the valley of startups aka Silicon Valley.

I joined Tesla Motors which is located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Palo Alto, very next to Stanford University. California is a huge state, but Silicon Valley spans from I guess San Jose to San Francisco and it is altogether different than The Auto State: Michigan!

They have their own standings. Where the Big 3 rule (GM, Ford, Chrysler) in Michigan, they are nonexistent here in the valley. Here it’s all about Google, Apple and Facebook. In Michigan every person has to have a Ford (F150 is favorite amongst teens! :P..mereko abhi tak nahi samjha kyu?!) whereas here.. every person has to have a i-gadget. Here you will see all Hondas and

Toyotas unlike GMs and Fords in Michigan. Some people say that here there are more young and educated people that don’t blindly go for American models.. but cmon.. Sikkim la bakarwadi milnara dukan kasa milel! :P. Big 3 has a dominance on their home ground. They have created living for millions of people for over more than half a century! (and also ‘politically’ made sure that no public transport will ever bud in Michigan).

I saw apartments in California! Seriously! This is worth mentioning. Two long years after I saw apartments having parking below, tube lights in the parking, small children playing with their tri-cycles, grandparents sitting on benches and couples going for a post dinner walk. You know what I am saying. Nothing else in US can get more close to India. There is this road called El Camino Real, can be portrayed analogous to Karve road in Pune or ‘main road’ in any other city. This El Camino has shops on both sides. Right from groceries, restaurants, salons…. To Gadgil Jewelers!!! Awraaa! Chitale bandhu ch yayche rahilet.. rather te pan astil kuthetari!

Bike! Valley is very green, eco friendly. People use public transport, people bike to work. There are bike lanes on majority of the roads. Companies have monetary incentives for people who will not drive their car to work. This is not the story in Michigan. Firstly, the distances up there are huge.. you just cannot bike from your home to your work place. People drive for nearly half hour daily to reach their office in Michigan.. One cannot imagine anyone “wasting” so much time here! Secondly, you cannot bike when its below 0F!!

Michigan is more laid back. No startup culture. Whereas here its all about a budding idea and fast paced efforts for its implementation. I am amazed seeing the enthusiasm people here have. Everyone is bubbling with ideas, willing to help, willing to sponsor, willing to guide. People are young and so are the companies. The enthusiasm for innovation is spectacular which I doubt could be experienced in the Midwest. And hence there is not a person who will, after listening to your idea, say.. “40 saal se kaam kar raha hu.. nahi ho sakta ye! Time waste mat kar!”

California is a different ball game, and I am all excited to play this neatly! :)