Sitting on board a Southwest flight not knowing what to do and with about an hour and half to kill, I thought I should probably dust off my old blogspot account (oh wait it's now probably called google blogger? and yeah technically I can't access my account on the G cloud; I'm talking about resorting to a good old method of writing (typing probably) on notepad and posting it later). The next question is to what to write on. That's when I realiz(s)e that I'm better of yapping away rather than typing out those random thoughts....
[Aah here comes the southwest special, couple of peanuts packet.....wondering why the flight attendants never give you a packet each of peanuts and pretzels instead of giving two of a kind....and why is that it's just me who asks for a one of each kind...and everyone around has a weird look on their face. Anyway gotten a packet each of peanuts and pretzels. And probably helps when the flight is half-full or half-empty, which ever way you wanna look at life (I admit to stealing this from a flight attendant). And when I'm ranting about the lack of variety here comes the beverage, I've gone for the apple juice WITH NO ICE this time instead of my favorite orange juice...and guy next to me wanted a rum with coke and I'm not enjoying the smell/odo(u)r very much and what's worse the cup is broken with the beverage dripping down.]
WOW....it's 45 mins since takeoff.....and this probably shows how bad I'm at putting my thoughts to text.....
Here's the actual content I wanted to blabber about and forgive me if it sounds a bit (lot?) silly...
I'm gonna make a list of airports I've been to all my life (transits included, marked with a T):
[City, Country, Airport Code]
1. Chennai previously Madras, India, MAA
2. Mumbai previously Bombay, India , BOM?
3. Delhi ,India , ?
4. Secundrabad (old airport), India, ?
5. new Bengaluru (prevously Baglore) airport, India, BLR?
6. Dubai, UAE, ?
7. Kula Lumpur,Malaysia , KL? - T
8. Taiwan, Chinese Taipei, ? - T
7. Los Angeles, US, LAX
8. Phoenix (AZ), US, ? - T
9. Newark (NJ), US , EWR
10. Charlette (NC), US, ? - T
11. San Jose (CA), US, SJC
12. Hong Kong, China?, HKG? - T
13. Singapore, Singapore, ? - T
14. Bangkok, Thailand, ? - T
15. London, UK, HTR? HRT? - T
16. Las Vegas, US, LAS
17. Detroit, US, ? - T
18. Buffalo, US, BUF
19. Chicago (Midway), US, MDW? - T
20. Portland, US, PDX (destination of the current flight)
Aah well...the person next to shows me his FIFA game on IPHONE and says it's the best game....GRRR I should've kept quiet instead of saying that I like FIFA but not the Iphone....WHY he retorts....I'm a PC i say. I understand, he goes on saying that programmer has to use the PC....I should've probably shut up now instead of saying that I've been brought up on PC and find switching to MAC hard(good that I din't retort saying I use LINUX at work).....getting used to a MAC is easy......viruses aren't an issue on MAC he goes on....emphasiz(s)ing that MAC firewall is good....Finally I shut up and smiled wondering what use my security class at USC was of not knowing that firewalls could stop viruses....You should probably get a MAC he insists....I nod in agreement....
Another 20 odd minutes to go....and I guess I'm probably calling it quits here....
Final descent has begun, pilot announces....
Given that this post makes it to the cloud...given that you've made it this far....
The final descent on the flight happened in rain and it was an awesome sight just to look out of the window. Water droplets were like strings flowing paralell to the flight reminding me of the space crafts in the good old sci-fi cartoons....
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The past year - part 1
Well it's been exactly one year since I have landed in the US and just thought would write a blog to give an account of what all happened. It all started with me sitting at the Anna Intl. terminal, Chennai waiting for a Malaysian Airline flight to LA with a mind cluttered with thoughts of anxiety, excitement and of course fear. Anxious just wondering how my life is gonna be like away from the comforts of home, amma samayal(mom's cooking), friends, sms kadalai,cricket match etc. Excited, about the courses that lay ahead. And fear, for a lot of reasons starting with whether I will be able to do justice to the decision I had taken, whether I would be able to sustain my stay during study, whether I will be able to cope with the course work, whether I will be able to clear the immigration and customs at LA (given that I was carrying tonnes and tonnes of avakai and vadu mangai) and the list goes on. Had a good friend who was there with me for most part of this year but for the last month or so.
First few moments at LA wasn't the way I would have liked it with my friend getting screwed by immigration officials due to some miscommunication about his paper work. Then we had to find a shuttle (which we had no idea how it looks like) to take us to a senior's place. The shuttle fellow dropped us two houses away from the destination and there we were standing with all the luggages on the middle of road at around 11:30 pm wondering which way to go. Then came the next struggle, finding an on campus job. Walk into every building and knock every door was the only advise our seniors gave us. Doing that we found out that without a work ex (had no idea that Infy,TCS... were given so much respect here) it is impossible to find a programmer job. Search went on and on from the book store to the library to another library to dept front office etc. We were greeted with one of these two sentecnes "do you have a work study?" or "oh you are early for fall recruitment, come see us in a week". First sentence basically meant international students can't a job at that place and second one gave me hope but also gave me fear as waiting one week would mean competing against hordes of desis would come in. All this while the word food only meant cerals and subs. Btw I forgot to tell you about the computer lab assistant job that I had applied for like million times and I m still awaiting a call.
With the desparation of finding an on-campus job reaching its peak, the search turned towards various cafes. But being late meant that most jobs were already taken by desis (omg never thought there were more desparate people than me!). Closest thing to getting a job was an interview call for a computer store assistant position with an hourly pay of 8$, but given the hundreds of them who were called and my question answering skills I dint get it. Then there were some hope when a cafe manager told me that he had a position open and got my schedule and contact number, a huge sigh of relif! But as luck would have it, when I went there after the weekend I was told that I always end up coming when the manager was busy and that the job has already been taken. The manager then asked me if I was willing to work on Saturdays and Sundays, with anything for SSN and a job I more than gladly accepted. He again asked me for my class schedule and contact number and thats when I realised that he thrown the tissue paper on which he had written my information the previous time. By this time classes had begun and was in full swing with assignments galore. The semester went on with weekly classes and weekend job which left exhausted by the time monday begun. It had its effect on my grades and there started another worry "finding an internship". Wondering whether or not to quit the job I decided to continue with the job to see how my grades were in the next test. The reason for this second thought about quitting the job was the goodies I got right from millk,choc drinks,colas,doughnuts, pasteries, soups etc and also not to forget the 7$ meal coupon with every shift. Man that 7$ coupon would fetch me 2 or 3 meals :D. But when the grades went down the next time around, I quit the job but it was too late to rescue the falling fall grades. But some how managed to escape with a decent grade at the end.
All this while I met new people and that in itself would require a blog to discuss about. This is when I realised the potential of HR, there were people who complained about sleeping on floor, complaing about a roomie who eats more, talking at the back of you, spreading rumors about you(there were some hilarious ones too!), immature mark seekers or should i say mark fighters who compared their grading with some one elses' and made sure that no one else would get to talk to teh TA or professor during their office hours, people who always try to prove a point to you (grow up man!) and to cap it all up a professor who rejected my assignment claiming that I had copied just because I had submitted both mine and my friend's. One of the longest semesters of my life ended n there i went to vacation to my sister's place. Phew wondering what would I have done without her.
PS: too much typing for a sunday night, to be continued later....
First few moments at LA wasn't the way I would have liked it with my friend getting screwed by immigration officials due to some miscommunication about his paper work. Then we had to find a shuttle (which we had no idea how it looks like) to take us to a senior's place. The shuttle fellow dropped us two houses away from the destination and there we were standing with all the luggages on the middle of road at around 11:30 pm wondering which way to go. Then came the next struggle, finding an on campus job. Walk into every building and knock every door was the only advise our seniors gave us. Doing that we found out that without a work ex (had no idea that Infy,TCS... were given so much respect here) it is impossible to find a programmer job. Search went on and on from the book store to the library to another library to dept front office etc. We were greeted with one of these two sentecnes "do you have a work study?" or "oh you are early for fall recruitment, come see us in a week". First sentence basically meant international students can't a job at that place and second one gave me hope but also gave me fear as waiting one week would mean competing against hordes of desis would come in. All this while the word food only meant cerals and subs. Btw I forgot to tell you about the computer lab assistant job that I had applied for like million times and I m still awaiting a call.
With the desparation of finding an on-campus job reaching its peak, the search turned towards various cafes. But being late meant that most jobs were already taken by desis (omg never thought there were more desparate people than me!). Closest thing to getting a job was an interview call for a computer store assistant position with an hourly pay of 8$, but given the hundreds of them who were called and my question answering skills I dint get it. Then there were some hope when a cafe manager told me that he had a position open and got my schedule and contact number, a huge sigh of relif! But as luck would have it, when I went there after the weekend I was told that I always end up coming when the manager was busy and that the job has already been taken. The manager then asked me if I was willing to work on Saturdays and Sundays, with anything for SSN and a job I more than gladly accepted. He again asked me for my class schedule and contact number and thats when I realised that he thrown the tissue paper on which he had written my information the previous time. By this time classes had begun and was in full swing with assignments galore. The semester went on with weekly classes and weekend job which left exhausted by the time monday begun. It had its effect on my grades and there started another worry "finding an internship". Wondering whether or not to quit the job I decided to continue with the job to see how my grades were in the next test. The reason for this second thought about quitting the job was the goodies I got right from millk,choc drinks,colas,doughnuts, pasteries, soups etc and also not to forget the 7$ meal coupon with every shift. Man that 7$ coupon would fetch me 2 or 3 meals :D. But when the grades went down the next time around, I quit the job but it was too late to rescue the falling fall grades. But some how managed to escape with a decent grade at the end.
All this while I met new people and that in itself would require a blog to discuss about. This is when I realised the potential of HR, there were people who complained about sleeping on floor, complaing about a roomie who eats more, talking at the back of you, spreading rumors about you(there were some hilarious ones too!), immature mark seekers or should i say mark fighters who compared their grading with some one elses' and made sure that no one else would get to talk to teh TA or professor during their office hours, people who always try to prove a point to you (grow up man!) and to cap it all up a professor who rejected my assignment claiming that I had copied just because I had submitted both mine and my friend's. One of the longest semesters of my life ended n there i went to vacation to my sister's place. Phew wondering what would I have done without her.
PS: too much typing for a sunday night, to be continued later....
Thursday, June 28, 2007
~visa power~ go get it!
the second dream come true event i have mentioned in my previous post is getting an US visa stamped in my passport. it was a pretty tense thing considering the fact that people who had gone previously painted a picture where the only things the visa officers dint have were a dracula set of teeth and 2 horns. trust me guys they are no way near that. my appointment was scheduled at 7 30 in the morning, so the day started with me waking up at 6 (a rarity during the holidays) and going thro the morning routine then reaching the embassy at around 7 20. was surprised at the people present there being treated shabbily by the local police and we were asked to line up on a foot path ( THAT FOOT PATH IS NOT FOR PUBLIC USE, general public walking there would be shooed off by the surprisingly alert police constables). after that there were several security checks done by the security company hired by the consulate, then ALAS u see some counters.is that all, i think?no i was horribly wrong, those were just the preliminary counters staffed by indians where u get your documents arranged in the order needed by the visa officer. after that u are supposed to head to the next building on the right, i probably missed the instruction as to where to head after these preliminary checks and i asked a volunteer present there, and trust me he started shouting as to whether "where were u when i was shouting all this while?" ,perhaps he doesnt know the meaning volunteer. after that it was pretty easy going, went into the second building got my finger print registered then was seated for quite some time. i was still feeling sleepy and around me all i can see is hungry people`s nails getting disappeared. after that there was the head of the consulate who gave away few tips, few incidents where people got their visa application rejected(those were real funny ones :D, can`t imagine how dumb people could be).few of his quotes were
"i had just shaved yesterday and i had looked in the mirror...i dont see myself being a stupid to take in your statement that u will spend 40k$ for ur studies and come back to india and earn 12k$",
"pls dont give memorised answers to the questions that are going to be asked and pls erase the memorisedanswers to the 'questions i m supposed to ask'"
.the essence of all he said is that the applicant had to be truthful with their answers and more importantly his financial documents.believe me or not two guys standing ahead of me came up with literally same answers to the questions, i have no idea how they made it, same to the extent that both want to work in "big companies like Siemens, Motorola etc (note even the order of the big companies was unchanged!) guess that the visa officer was kind hearted. then came my turn, the conversation I had with the visa officer(VO) was as follows:
vo: gimme ur marksheets n gre toefl score reports
me: here there are, but i m yet to receive my provisional certificate, can give u my 8 sem marksheets n a course completion given by my college
vo: that would do gr8
gave it
vo: reasins for choosing usc?
me: m'am to be frank, i had very litte choice to make because i had only 2 more admitsi
vo: which ones?
me: ut arlington n sunyB
me:sunyb dint give me what i wanted, so i ruled that out
n between usa n uta spoke to a lot of ppl, got their inputs, went thro their sites n finally thought usc would give me better job prospects
vo: weather in california better than other two
< I misheard that her and thought that was complaining about the weather at california and said>
me: yes m'am, buffalo i heard is still worse
vo:exactly, how do u plan to fund ur education
me: fathers savings in bonds
showed the bonds
she was happy
n said alright ur visa would be issued
This is it guys, visa interviews are cake walk if you straight forward with your answers and documents
"i had just shaved yesterday and i had looked in the mirror...i dont see myself being a stupid to take in your statement that u will spend 40k$ for ur studies and come back to india and earn 12k$",
"pls dont give memorised answers to the questions that are going to be asked and pls erase the memorisedanswers to the 'questions i m supposed to ask'"
.the essence of all he said is that the applicant had to be truthful with their answers and more importantly his financial documents.believe me or not two guys standing ahead of me came up with literally same answers to the questions, i have no idea how they made it, same to the extent that both want to work in "big companies like Siemens, Motorola etc (note even the order of the big companies was unchanged!) guess that the visa officer was kind hearted. then came my turn, the conversation I had with the visa officer(VO) was as follows:
vo: gimme ur marksheets n gre toefl score reports
me: here there are, but i m yet to receive my provisional certificate, can give u my 8 sem marksheets n a course completion given by my college
vo: that would do gr8
gave it
vo: reasins for choosing usc?
me: m'am to be frank, i had very litte choice to make because i had only 2 more admitsi
vo: which ones?
me: ut arlington n sunyB
me:sunyb dint give me what i wanted, so i ruled that out
n between usa n uta spoke to a lot of ppl, got their inputs, went thro their sites n finally thought usc would give me better job prospects
vo: weather in california better than other two
< I misheard that her and thought that was complaining about the weather at california and said>
me: yes m'am, buffalo i heard is still worse
vo:exactly, how do u plan to fund ur education
me: fathers savings in bonds
showed the bonds
she was happy
n said alright ur visa would be issued
This is it guys, visa interviews are cake walk if you straight forward with your answers and documents
Monday, June 18, 2007
~style style dhan~
guys, orey the feelings will be continued later. the reason well there are two events that took place, which i feel i should share with u ppl. both the events are kind of dreams coming true.
So, what is the first so called dream come true event about? what exactly happened, well i drove all the way on one rainy very late sunday evening to a not so famous part of the city, so that i could go to an almost unknown cinema hall to see a movie. guess by now most of u would have got what i am talking about, yes the movie was much anticipated SIVAJI-THE BOSS, and the cinema hall was brinda theatre in perumbur.
Alright what is the big deal about this? well, i had always wished to see a rajini or for that matter a vijay movie during the first week of its release. the reason is simple, just to get soaked in the atmosphere created by the audience during those early shows. i know i am gonna get ridiculed for this by so called "hi-fi", "accented english speaking", "intellectual", "multiplex visiting" audience, hell with u ppl is all that i can say!
So when i got a chance to see sivaji on the second day in a not so famous theatre i grabbed it! i enjoyed every bit of that experience be it parking getting full, fans outside getting excited about being let in, fans tearing down tickets when the "S-U-P-E-R-S-T-A-R" tag got displayed, or be it people going agog over the punch lines delivered or be it people dancing, whistling or what not! it was gr8, i mean something that has to be experienced!
Apart from that, the movie was good with rajini stealing the show with his mannerisms or his style of acting(the mottai part was simply out of the world) , shriya was simply superb, n vivek, guess this is his best performance so far!
A good movie, a set of people mad about their matinée idol and a wonderful atmosphere i couldn`t have asked for more! And guess what it din`t end there, it was 3 in the morning when i got back to my friends place at perumbur and the drive back home on those empty roads with breeze cutting across was totally unmatched! It was truly an memorable sunday evening, THANKS THALAIVA n of course a big thanks to harish for getting me a ticket!
So, what is the first so called dream come true event about? what exactly happened, well i drove all the way on one rainy very late sunday evening to a not so famous part of the city, so that i could go to an almost unknown cinema hall to see a movie. guess by now most of u would have got what i am talking about, yes the movie was much anticipated SIVAJI-THE BOSS, and the cinema hall was brinda theatre in perumbur.
Alright what is the big deal about this? well, i had always wished to see a rajini or for that matter a vijay movie during the first week of its release. the reason is simple, just to get soaked in the atmosphere created by the audience during those early shows. i know i am gonna get ridiculed for this by so called "hi-fi", "accented english speaking", "intellectual", "multiplex visiting" audience, hell with u ppl is all that i can say!
So when i got a chance to see sivaji on the second day in a not so famous theatre i grabbed it! i enjoyed every bit of that experience be it parking getting full, fans outside getting excited about being let in, fans tearing down tickets when the "S-U-P-E-R-S-T-A-R" tag got displayed, or be it people going agog over the punch lines delivered or be it people dancing, whistling or what not! it was gr8, i mean something that has to be experienced!
Apart from that, the movie was good with rajini stealing the show with his mannerisms or his style of acting(the mottai part was simply out of the world) , shriya was simply superb, n vivek, guess this is his best performance so far!
A good movie, a set of people mad about their matinée idol and a wonderful atmosphere i couldn`t have asked for more! And guess what it din`t end there, it was 3 in the morning when i got back to my friends place at perumbur and the drive back home on those empty roads with breeze cutting across was totally unmatched! It was truly an memorable sunday evening, THANKS THALAIVA n of course a big thanks to harish for getting me a ticket!
Friday, June 1, 2007
~orey the feelings~
y am i doing this?i ve been vetti all this while reading blog after blog and to some extent they have made me feel sad about the fact that college is over and not again can all of us sit in the same class or the bus or whatever. even for a person who doesn't try to project sadness or emotions outside, its really been tough not to write about my cherished ones. at this point, i wish to say that i feel so honoured and privileged to have been written about by people whom i am gonna miss in the time to come. keep checking my blog for the list of people who mattered most to me!
Saturday, March 17, 2007
what forced me into this....
for some one who ridiculed every other blogger i knew saying that they were so bloody jobless to blog, i shocked everyone including myself when i decided to this. guess frustration, irritation, emptiness could lead you into doing things which you would have least expected yourself to do. now what was i irritated or frustrated about?? well thats a easy call considering the day this has been posted. yup the "brilliant" INDIAN cricket team and the indian sports in general. yes u have stumbled upon an another angry blog targeted at indian sport. having no one else to complain to this is the best platform to vent out my feelings. my present state of mind is that of a person being ditched by his/her beloved. why does this happen to indian sports alone, people are never united, trying to pull others down, people dont perform to their potentail... what better example than the famous lee-hesh spilt or the sourav-chappel spat? just when things look good we have some one ruining it. sucks man,hurts a lot.
how do i describe the feeling when lee-hesh lost a semifinal at Chennai, against some X and Y being a set and a break up? how do i describe the feeling when both conveniently pulled out of this years Chennai open and playing at some unknown tournaments? come on man, this is THE EVENT that launched u guys. dont you owe at least this much to the tournament and the public? i just cant stop myself from wishing you bad luck in all the matches you play.
well back to cricket,how would i describe the feeling when we lost to bangladesh? taking nothing away from the young bangladesh side who really played like a team possessed, india played poorly as if they never really willed to win. a lot of debate had been done about selection processes and the chairman of selectors had not better job but to divulge the captain and coaches preference for carrying an extra baggage, was he washing his hands of the responsibility or was it an indication of sehwag not going to perform? I wished and prayed that it was the former but its proving to be the latter. well if he just wants to have strolls, there are plenty of parks back home where he can have those walking practices. what irks me is he doesnt regret getting out and seems to be more than pleased to get back. well its unfair to criticize a single fellow for the debacle but that just came out of sheer frustration.
dont these of set of over rated people with larger than life image, have a sense of responsibility towards the public? are we fools to be following them right through be it night or day or be it ignoring work, knowing more about them than they do? dont we deserve more? to be frank i have never reacted this extremely to the wins and losses but yesterdays defeat was just too much for me to take. well i wish i had never seen or followed sport and these superstars never really meant anything to me, but that being out of the equation "oh ha india aaya india " :p
how do i describe the feeling when lee-hesh lost a semifinal at Chennai, against some X and Y being a set and a break up? how do i describe the feeling when both conveniently pulled out of this years Chennai open and playing at some unknown tournaments? come on man, this is THE EVENT that launched u guys. dont you owe at least this much to the tournament and the public? i just cant stop myself from wishing you bad luck in all the matches you play.
well back to cricket,how would i describe the feeling when we lost to bangladesh? taking nothing away from the young bangladesh side who really played like a team possessed, india played poorly as if they never really willed to win. a lot of debate had been done about selection processes and the chairman of selectors had not better job but to divulge the captain and coaches preference for carrying an extra baggage, was he washing his hands of the responsibility or was it an indication of sehwag not going to perform? I wished and prayed that it was the former but its proving to be the latter. well if he just wants to have strolls, there are plenty of parks back home where he can have those walking practices. what irks me is he doesnt regret getting out and seems to be more than pleased to get back. well its unfair to criticize a single fellow for the debacle but that just came out of sheer frustration.
dont these of set of over rated people with larger than life image, have a sense of responsibility towards the public? are we fools to be following them right through be it night or day or be it ignoring work, knowing more about them than they do? dont we deserve more? to be frank i have never reacted this extremely to the wins and losses but yesterdays defeat was just too much for me to take. well i wish i had never seen or followed sport and these superstars never really meant anything to me, but that being out of the equation "oh ha india aaya india " :p
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