Say It Ain't So, Doc

Part of the fun of planning for a global excursion has been the number of doctors visits involved in the preparation. Between blood tests, vaccinations, and a general checkup, the costs and time spent have been high. Singapore even requires you to get a chest x-ray to determine if you have any previous exposure to tuberculosis. Now, I know I'm headed outside the U.S., but do people even get TB anymore? My trip to the Travel Health Specialist for typhoid and malaria vaccines even ended up with me even paying an extra $65 for a Polio vaccination. It got to a point where I was waiting for a doctor to prescribe me an antidote for the Plague.

Anyways, as I was scheduling the chest x-ray, I had informed the doctor of my ITBS-symptomatic hip problem that is still annoying the hell out of me even four months later. He recommended I get a hip x-ray as I was going to the radiology department for my chest already, just to be safe.

On Tuesday I went back for the followup, and thankfully, no tuberculosis. Then he pulled out a sheet of paper with the hip x-ray results and told me that there was absolutely nothing wrong. I asked him if he could provide any more color as to why, even after easing off the capoeira and running, I was still having regular pain and "pins and needles" throughout my leg. He calmly turned to me and uttered words that, short of being informed of a terminal disease, are the words that no one ever wants to hear. "Ranjan, you're in great health. What you have to be aware of is that you're heading towards 30 and not getting younger. The body can't do what it did at 20. You can still play soccer, go running, and be completely active, but if you maintain the same level of activity as before, it's necessary to compensate with more stretching and rest. You just can't ignore those physical necessities and get away with it anymore. It's just natural." 

Fuck. 

Kansas Blogging Two: Red State - Blue State

AJ's New York Pizzeria is based off a simple premise: getting a NY style slice of pizza in the middle of nowhere Kansas. I have to say that before moving to New York, even living in suburban Boston, pizza to me was Pizza Hut or Papa Gino's, and the differentiation in quality was generally based on the toppings included. The idea that there was a real difference in two slices of just plain cheese pizza was completely foreign. As pizza has certainly been on my rotation of "kinda meals/snack" and late night drunken eating, I became familiar very quickly with a number of places throughout the city and have of course, in NYC fashion, strong opinions about different places (Frank's on 1st ave and 20th st still being my favorite).



As Adam slowly realized that he didn't really want to pursue his career as a fashion buyer in women's denim at Barneys (I kid you not, that was the pre-pizza career) he started mulling other options. He eventually settled on the idea of trying to bring quality pizza by the slice back home to Kansas. Second row seats during Fashion Week and mornings spent looking at models showing off jeans in SoHo showrooms was to be replaced by brick ovens and quality cheeses. Adam very randomly found one of the nation's leading experts on pizza dough, the Dough Doctor (completely serious), himself a midwesterner, who helped him plan his business-to-be. While a great idea, we were all definitely curious as to whether he could pull this off.

As the restaurant was getting built and we began that battle that happens every four years called the Presidential Election, Adam and me came up with a game called Red State / Blue State. Often on Friday mornings, via gchat (which somehow for all my time at BofA was never blocked...thank you Steve Humble) would talk about our previous night. One of the best instances was when, going first as the Blue State (warning: obnoxious trader sentiment ahead) I recounted a Nobu dinner, followed by cocktails by a 'mixologist' at some trendy new bar, followed by meeting a bunch of eurotrash at some club. The Red State response was about as contrastingly awesome as it gets: Adam had spent the day getting a car sawed in half at a junkyard to be used as decor in his restaurant, then offroading in his 4x4 as part of an offroading club, finishing off with a six-pack while watching tv at the end of the night.



Red State / Blue State went on all throughout the rest of my working days, as even with a physical move to One Bryant Park, my gchat was never blocked (maybe this has a connection to why I'm now writing a blog called life AFTER trading?). As of last summer AJ's NY Pizzeria opened and after my epic travel across the state of Missouri, I finally had the opportunity to sample a slice.



*The pizza was actually very good and very comparable to what I'd consider above average NYC slices. I'm definitely curious as to whether Adam is able to franchise the concept across the midwest. I have to say it was pretty impressive to see the mostly finished product that was built from scratch, and hopefully AJ's will do for pizza what Chili's did for Tex-Mex. As Adam said, I'd rather own the Darden Group (owners of the Olive Garden among others) instead of Cipriani's.

**The meat-lovers pizza Adam affectionately calls the "18th and 8th", to pay homage to a block right near where we lived. The Kansans hopefully will never get the joke.

- Street signs used as table markers so the food runners know where to send which orders. A little bit of NYC kitsch.

***You know you're in the midwest when: after a night of drinking at the K-State bars I woke up on Adam's couch to what smelled like urine. Now, as most of you know, I enjoy a cocktail or two. However, I've so far been spared the indignity of waking up having, as the kids say, pissed the bed. After slightly panicking, I thoroughly researched the couch and vicinity with no sign of dampness anywhere, yet the smell of urine still wafted through the air. Adam walked out and I asked him if he had any theories. He calmly responded that this had happened before and, "I think the neighbors might be making meth." Kansas, I will miss you.

Kansas Blogging

Before heading out for an Asian adventure, I figured there was only really one place I had to visit to get myself prepared. Only one destination could ready me for the culture shock and traveling challenges I will experience as I start in Beijing on May 31st. Naturally, the land of enchantment I speak of is Kansas.

My connection to Kansas is one that runs random and deep. For starters, I was actually born in St. louis....not quite Kansas, but close enough. Then, one my best friends from college  from college was from Topeka. Then, randomly one of my roommates when I studied abroad in Rome was also from Topeka (Adam...more on him later). He moved to NYC in '02 as well and we ended up roommates for a few years. One day in 2003, with the college Kansan friend visiting and between the two of them inviting people over, I had nine Kansanites in my tiny West Village apartment in one day; That has to be a record of some sort.

Anyways, my whole family was traveling out to St. Louis for the weekend for my cousin's high school graduation (yes, this is something Indian people often do). Adam was now living back in Kansas running a pizzeria, so I figured I'd fly out a few days early and visit him to check out his new business. And so began the adventure...

I bought a roundtrip ticket to St. Louis, as I was flying out of there with the family at the end of the trip. My plan was to rent a car in St. Louis and drive on over to Manhattan, KS (yes, Adam now lives in a town/city called Manhattan in Kansas). One thing I completely forgot about the midwest: Things are really fucking far apart. I google mapped the drive and much to my chagrin, 370 miles. Mind you, I had gotten up at 6am for the airport, the flight had a stopover in Pittsburgh, it was now about 4pm, and I had at least a five hour drive ahead of me. Adam had definitely made it sound like this wasn't a big deal, yet this was like driving from Boston to almost D.C., after a whole day of flying. I'm convinced that this could be the average commute of a midwesterner. 

The first thing I noticed was how much easier things are vs. New York. As anyone who's ever tried doing any basic life task in NYC, they're always a pain in the ass. I got off the plane, while waiting for my checked bag, I was able to get my rental car processed at the counter which was conveniently right next to the carousel. Right as I signed my credit card receipt for the car, my bag came out, I grabbed it and walked over the to rental car shuttle. There were no other passengers, but the driver, with a big smile offered to take me over right away. I got dropped off, went up to my car and was on the highway. I am not kidding, from getting off the plane to being on the highway, including getting a checked bag, was all done in around 20 minutes. I was getting to like this magical land already.

I was on the road and exhausted. The road from St. Louis to Manhattan, through Kansas City, is straight, flat, and long. You take I-70 the entire distance, and my Ford Focus, of course without cruise control, could barely keep up with the 18-wheelers overtaking me. Being exhausted, I undertook a steady cycle of stopping to get Diet Coke, stopping to pee, buying more Diet Coke, and repeat. This process, while time consuming, did take me into some pretty amazing truck stops. 

Kansas City is about 250 miles along the way and on the border between Missouri and Kansas. As I drove through, I definitely got a second wind when I saw that Welcome to Kansas sign. I had finally reached this world I had heard so much about and Manhattan, KS was only an hour and change away (yes, my Ford Focus could go 90, which I guess isn't "really considered speeding" according to most people I talked to)

The last two hours were a pretty amazing drive as literally there is nothing around. Even flatter and straighter than the previous stretch, I am convinced I could've driven the entire thing just steering with my knees. If I had cruise control I imagine I probably could've taken a nap, woken up, and would've been fine. The main thing I noticed at this point was how massive the sky was; there is nothing blocking the horizon in any direction. One amazing part of this was I was driving through here as the sun was setting. As I was driving west at a high speed, it seems like I was chasing the sunset (I really did feel like I was living out a classic rock song at this moment) as it lasted almost the entire hour and a half of the drive. 

I was right outside of Manhattan and called Adam to let him know I was close. Here's where it got interesting. I was a few miles away from his place and he told me to stop at a gas station and he'd "come get me". By coming to get me, he meant he'd drive over and then I'd follow him back to his apartment. I had GPS on my phone, but he insisted. I guess this would be like telling someone you'd pick them up at Grand Central...definitely the polite thing to do and helping the traveler avoid that last little bit of confusion? Except, being in the midwest this involved being in cars instead of walking. 

I had finally arrived.