Oil change

Last weekend, I finally raised my car on two jack stands and changed the engine oil on my own. Tinkering with my car and making it work the way I want has been a dream for me since childhood. When I got my first bike and took it to the mechanic, I would watch the mechanic's every move. I would ask him "can you make it go any faster" and he would explain how it could go faster and how much gas it would consume and all that. During the 4th year of my Bachelors in Mechanical Engineering, Automobile Engineering was my favorite subject. I was fascinated by the topic of how automobiles work. Ever since, I wanted to do my own car and bike.
This year, I had planned to do this during the winter when there would not be anything else to do outdoor for many-a-weekends. My first try at it was bad. I raised the car, put the jack-stands under it and squeezed into the little space between the car and the floor. I realized I could not see a thing under there. Obviously, the whole car was between the engine and the overhead light. I overcame that lack of visibility and found the drain plug. Then I realized I did not have the right wrench! How stupid. That was it for the first try. The weekend after, I asked the guy at Pepboys as to what is the right sized wrench (how intelligent of me!) and he recommended me to get a complete tool-set - which I bought. Again, I raised the car and tried to undo the drain plug! AH! It wont budge! But after applying plenty of brute force the nut suddenly moved and I unscrewed it all the way by hand. Out came the completely black colored warm oil and the drain pan underneath started filling up! I was ecstatic. Then, I went for the oil filter and changed that as well.
All this took 30 minutes and no sweat at all. Here is my invitation to all my friends to get their oil changed for free! You know my address. Just bring the right spec and quantity of oil with you.

My accent

A couple days ago, I took my son to the Barnes and Noble in Naperville. He likes to visit Thomas the Tank Engine train table assembly at the second floor when he is there. There was another family of 4 there and one of the son's name was Drew. His mother's voice somehow sounded as though she was calling out Dhroo with a mild sound on the 'h' and a rather pronounced 'r'. It definitely did not sound like Droo with heavy 'D', very little 'r' and long 'oo'. So, I was surprised and I asked the mother if his name was Dhruv. Thats my son's name too. That was it, that was the end of my curiosity and surprise. However, later on, it looked like I surprised the mom too. You see, this family was not Indian-born immigrants (as I am). They were many-generations-born-in-America Afro-American and the mother immediately shot back with a wide smiling face - " Where are you from?". Now it was my turn to be surprised. Why am I being asked within the first 30 seconds of a conversation as to my origins? Somewhere in my mind I felt like I'd ticked off the woman. I searched for an answer - Should I say Aurora or Naperville? Then I saw the really perplexed yet know-it-all look on her face and got the drift. I said I am from India. Pat came the next question - "yeah but which part". I go "Mumbai - Bombay". She goes - "Ah!". I go "why?". She goes, "no your dialect sounded like you came from the southern part of India". That honestly is the first time I ever heard that. Especially so because she mentioned dialect. When could I have changed my dialect? However, it was delivered with such confidence that for a moment I thought. "Really?". Then I went, "you seem to know quite a bit about India". And so on until the conversation went into easy territory.
Well, I don't think either of us meant anything else than surprise at each other's pronunciation. But, I just felt like writing about this little piece. God bless her on the very holy day (holiday) today and tomorrow.

Found in a gym bathroom

This is what I found stuck to the wall of the bathroom in my gym. Very good, factual and accurate reading material for all who are interested in fitness - despite the unlikely location!

US Legal Employment-based Immigration pains

On Dec 14th, the DOS released what it calls the visa bulletin. This bulletin is a monthly release of visa number information. These visa numbers are are a statistic. A statistic resulting from application of the Immigration and Naturalization act. First enacted in 1952, this act was an important milestone in shaping the immigration policy in the United States. It abolished race based immigration and set the course for future demographic development of the country. 1952 was 7 years after the world war had ended with the US being at the top of the table in terms of its stake in the world and its power. Japan was demolished. Germany was split. Europe was liberated. America had the best science (by some accounts) and technology. China was not a significant power in those days. It was the time when the first of the baby boomers were being born. I was more than 2 decades away from being born. What a different world and what different nation that was. Time flies. Flash forward to 2007. Between then and now, the law has changed a few times. Once it was to change the quota system and then to curb illegal immigration. The quota system still continues the in a similar way till today. This law creates a great system for the people of United States to accept immigrants. It is especially good for the American people to welcome highly skilled labor force into the country to do the tough jobs which need lots of bright men and women. The particular section of the law (I don't know the section number) that brings in highly skilled labor is the one that stipulates employment based immigration. In other words, this section of the law allows American businesses to hire foreign workers for job positions that they cannot fill with American citizens or permanent residents. This list of job positions are controlled by the Department of Labor which maintains a list of jobs that are hard to fill with American citizens and permanent residents. The American employer petitions the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for an H1 visa for the benefit of a foreign worker. Unlike a visitor visa, this H1 visa is considered a "dual-intent" visa. It means that foreign workers entering the US on a H1 visa have the option of formally expressing a desire to remain in the country permanently. I don't know how better to say it. Let me re-phrase it. It [dual-intent] means that an American employer can petition the USCIS to immigrate the alien worker into the United States. The formal request for doing this is done on the form I-140 by the employer and subsequently or concurrently on form I-485 by the employee. To get to this stage, there is a long wait period until the crucial visa number (created by the Immigration and Nationalization Act) becomes available. You see, only when the law allows can the dual intent immigrants express their immigration intent. Until then, the law allows (expensive) extensions to status quo. Depending on which country one is from, one may have to wait many years to simply be able to apply for an immigrant intent. This wait is very painful for the applicant. During this wait period, applicants are not allowed to change jobs unless they want to start the wait all over again. For example, take the case of a foreign worker who starts a highly skilled job in the United States in the year 2007. This person could have to wait anywhere between 5 to 7 years to simply apply for the I-485 form. During this period, if the person decides to make a career move and the employer revokes the I-140, the person has to start waiting all over again. In most cases, it is impossible to change jobs. In harsh words, you become an indentured laborer albeit highly skilled. It is true. As unlikely as it sounds, it is true. If the person has a spouse who is not highly skilled or by choice did not take a job when in the US, this spouse has to be on a H4 visa. On an H4 visa, this person is not allowed to take a job or any other form of employment at all. No work. I am no expert on this, however, from what I understand, H4 visa holders are not even allowed to do voluntary work. That truly sucks. All this goes on until the visa number statistic becomes favorable. These visa numbers are a statistic. A statistic resulting from application of the Immigration and Naturalization act.
In an unrelated article, I read somewhere that US law defines a mentally incapable person as a person who cannot take decisions on his own volition and whose decisions are heavily and unduly influenced by an external [evil] entity.
From what I am experiencing and seeing many others experience. This is a classic case of dementia. Demented Immigrants and Evil Law.