YSA - NYE 2003
December 31, 2002 - January 1, 2003
San Diego - The Westin Horton Plaza Hotel
The inaugural retreat in Atlanta (May 2002) now a memory, YSAers went their separate ways, each back to the daily grind. The bonds forged in Atlanta were strengthened as they met in the course of their travels - London, New York, Los Angeles, Hong Kong, Miami, Chicago, Singapore, Madrid, Jakarta, and other places. A whirlwind romance here and there, a couple of engagements in the offing and two marriages later, the rising Phoenix flapped its wings by announcing a slew of festivities to ring in 2003. The location - San Diego, in beautiful, sunny southern California!
In days preceding the countdown, the momentum of the phones ringing and e-mails flying back and forth with all the coordinating and planning created a palpable anticipation in the air – it was bound to be off the hook! Mini YSA groups formed around the globe and drew up strategies to make a weekend out of it.
Dec 26th – Mumbai: Cult Jones wipes his brow, adjusts his fedora and thinks – I am crazy to be doing this with a fever of a hundred and two – then proceeds to board his flight to Los Angeles.
Dec 27th – Atlanta: Three of the Six Amigos (Birmingham, Atlanta, Montreal, Chicago, and New York) feast on a signature breakfast at 5:00 am before heading to the airport – chocolate chip Mickey Mouse pancakes and coffee.
Dec 27th – Chicago: The Martini Man runs into traffic on Chicago’s highways, missing his flight to LA, and is re-scheduled for a flight 5 hours later.
Dec 27th – Los Angeles: Five of the Six Amigos wait two hours for a mini van and finally accept a green Silverado pick up truck. They promptly head back to LAX.
Dec 27th – Los Angeles: - Cult Jones crawls into Princess’ Diamante at LAX. “I badly need a bed” he says - Princess drops him off at the Radisson Beverly Hills so he can rest and recover. Or try to, at least.
Dec 27th – Los Angeles: Meanwhile, on the other side of LAX - the Martini Man checks his voicemail to find instructions to meet the rest of the Amigos curbside with his luggage. His phone rings again – “We’re here!” “Where?” he says, looking right and left for a minivan. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he spies five smiling faces waving at him. Thinking “Nah, that can’t be them” he looks away, still searching for the minivan. Then he looks again, - what is that thing they’re driving? Was this a joke of some sort? They wave him over, he shakes his head in disbelief as he jumps cowboy style into the truck. Six Amigos in a Silverado, all snug as a pair of Levi’s began their nine hundred mile road trip.
Dec 28th – All over Southern California: Three sisters from Switzerland arrived in the U.S. several days ahead, touring the east coast and more importantly, shopping the west coast. Cult Jones finally recovers enough to meet up with New York’s Finest, Princess Sonia and her court in Los Angeles. The Vaswani Brothers landed a few days early to take care of business and caught some R & R at the luxurious new W Hotel in San Diego, even discovering the recipe Anil taught Chef Joe B for Tandoori Shrimp on the hotel restaurant’s menu! A maverick from New York, Vintastic and an adventurer from Miami took in some early sunshine and sightseeing. While the Switzerland Sweethearts roamed Horton Plaza, New York’s Finest and Princess’ Court serenaded the city of Angels and realized how good chicken and waffles together could taste; the Six Amigos barely got to know the fluffy side of their five-star hotel pillows, the Vaswani Brothers, the Maverick, Vintastic, the Adventurer, the Houston Hotties, and the Swiss Girls rated local restaurants and the nightlife of the famous Gaslamp District in the three days leading up to the event. The fun before hand came with the bonus of being escorted by two lovely local YSA San Diegans with their fine disposition, availability, and tips. It was the eve of the Eve, and Princess, her court, New York’s Finest, the Six Amigos, and the rest of the YSA Crowd were scheduled to storm San Diego within hours.
Dec 31st - New Year’s Eve – San Diego: The coo-coo clock strikes three and out comes the chai & fresh fruit with warm chocolate fondue in the midst of a game of Sindhi Taboo. Words like ‘palang’ (bed), ‘vado’ (big), ‘kataloon’ (dates and / or cockroaches), ‘vaareh’ (hair), ‘satnarain’ (full moon), ‘katha’ (religious story) ‘pooja’ (prayer), and ‘peetal’ (no translation needed) resonated through the lobby bar of the beautiful Westin Hotel. Leave it up to Sindhis to, one, incorporate ‘peetal’ into a game; and two, to play it within the confines of a hotel lobby bar. Exhausted by the pre-New Year’s Eve hoopla, and chock full of new Sindhi vocabulary, many lobbied for ‘araam karan’.
The doors to the last night of 2002 officially opened at 8:30 P.M. sharp but Sindhi Standard Time prevailed as YSAers filled the ballroom an hour later. Dancing, drinking, eating, hugging, chatting, and flirting filled the night before the countdown. At midnight, cameras flashed everyone, good wishes were exchanged, and the three versions of our beloved classic Jhulelal song helped us ring in 2003. The partiers partied on ‘til 3:00 A.M. The New Year had started like sugar in a baby’s mouth. But this wasn’t enough - the party engulfed the hotel lobby until sunrise!
Jan 1st – San Diego: The time had come to be thankful for the light that illuminates all our lives – the morning started with an explanation of the Gayatri Mantra and its place within Hindu philosophy. With each chant, YSAers took turns lighting sixty diyas - each new flame added to the serenity and the energy in the room. What an amazing way to start 2003! San Diego resident Mr. Atma Advani showed us his slides and shared the influence of the Hindu Vedic philosophy on each of the world’s major religions, giving with YSAers an insight on the impact our religious heritage has had on all of the world’s major religions.
Khado kithe aye? Everyone famished, food was finally the number one priority. A stately brunch satisfied the finickiest of all palettes. The feast consisted of chicken in a pesto cream sauce with sun dried tomatoes, salmon and asparagus pasta, a variety of salads and desserts, an array of fresh fruit, an assortment of vegetarian dishes and breads, fresh squeezed juices, and two chefs working a full service omelet station. Yup, that definitely must be the Sindhis again. We ate to our hearts content. There was no room for another bite or sip. No complaints here. In fact, many stayed another night to enjoy the beautiful warm winter setting.
Those who lingered in the lobby waiting for their evening flights back home analyzed the events of the last few days. The camaraderie of lazing around on full stomachs and reminiscing, sharing stories & jokes, and trading phone numbers and e-mail addresses was just as much fun as the entire event itself. No doubt, many more great memories had been created. Some whispered the ‘M’ word – how many, if any…. those are made in heaven and we’ll leave them alone until the time is right. But many more whispered the “R” word – where would our second Retreat be? Any bids? Word on the street has it that Vancouver is the frontrunner for May 2003, but who really knows? You can find the answer at www.YoungSindhiAdults.org.