Droplets Of Thought.

Positivity leads to Happiness!!

2010-07-18T12:42:00.003-06:00

Follow your heart.

Have a sense of wonder.

Find people you love.

Set goals.

Help others.

Sing & dance.

Pamper yourself.

Face your fears.

Exercise.

Get in touch with nature.

Lighten up.

Get a good night's sleep.

Read good books.

Don't compare yourself with others.

Be open to new ideas.

Don't focus on negative thoughts...

Focus on creating what you desire.

Make time just to have fun.

Keep the romance in your life.

Love your Mother Earth.

Want what you have.

Be true to yourself.

Source: a video on Fb titled "Be happy" by Shaimaa Ali Abd El-Aal

I wish for a just and beautiful world.

2010-07-17T06:32:00.007-06:00

I wish for a just and beautiful world.

I wish for a world with no paper currency.

I wish for a world where we have only "moral" & "character" currencies.

I wish for a world where the good people are rich and the bad people are poor.

I wish for a just and beautiful world.

"Daffodils"

2010-04-16T01:25:00.004-06:00

"Daffodils" by William Wordsworth is one of the other poems I love.

William Wordsworth was a great romantic poem and this poem reminds us of happiness and joy in life that nature brings to us. We should take time out of our busy lives to appreciate the beauty of nature.

Here goes the poem ( source: http://www.poetry-online.org )

"I wandered lonely as a cloud
That floats on high o'er vales and hills,
When all at once I saw a crowd,
A host, of golden daffodils;
Beside the lake, beneath the trees,
Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine
And twinkle on the milky way,
They stretched in never-ending line
Along the margin of a bay:
Ten thousand saw I at a glance,
Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.

The waves beside them danced, but they
Out-did the sparkling leaves in glee;
A poet could not be but gay,
In such a jocund company!
I gazed—and gazed—but little thought
What wealth the show to me had brought:

For oft, when on my couch I lie
In vacant or in pensive mood,
They flash upon that inward eye
Which is the bliss of solitude;
And then my heart with pleasure fills,
And dances with the daffodils."

A bit of analysis of the poem can be found here.

"Sweetest love, I do not go"

2010-04-09T03:18:00.005-06:00

April is the National Poetry Month in USA. I know no poetry. But I like to read poems.

I had been searching hard for this poem for months and finally I somehow got lucky today. Thank U Google.com !! I think it was the "right" search term or may be it's just that Google has "gotten better" !! :)

This is amongst one of my favorite poems from Xth standard. I was particularly struck by the concept of comparing " a long journey away from one's beloved" as "a feigned death". This is by the English poet, John Donne.

The poem goes like this ( source: http://www.online-literature.com/donne/348/)

"Sweetest love, I do not go,

For weariness of thee,

Nor in hope the world can show

A fitter love for me ;

But since that I

At the last must part, 'tis best,

Thus to use myself in jest

By feigned deaths to die.

Yesternight the sun went hence,

And yet is here to-day ;

He hath no desire nor sense,

Nor half so short a way ;

Then fear not me,

But believe that I shall make

Speedier journeys, since I take

More wings and spurs than he.

O how feeble is man's power,

That if good fortune fall,

Cannot add another hour,

Nor a lost hour recall ;

But come bad chance,

And we join to it our strength,

And we teach it art and length,

Itself o'er us to advance.

When thou sigh'st, thou sigh'st not wind,

But sigh'st my soul away ;

When thou weep'st, unkindly kind,

My life's blood doth decay.

It cannot be

That thou lovest me as thou say'st,

If in thine my life thou waste,

That art the best of me.

Let not thy divining heart

Forethink me any ill ;

Destiny may take thy part,

And may thy fears fulfil.

But think that we

Are but turn'd aside to sleep.

They who one another keep

Alive, ne'er parted be."

I am so happy to have found this on web. It's such a lovely poem.

I feel like writing today:)

2009-12-25T21:18:00.009-06:00

I am writing after a very long time.

I am still in College Station. But am no more a student now. I am transitioning. I graduated on Dec 19th and am ready to step into a different world. I know how it looks like. Because I have already lived in it.

By the God's grace and wishes of my family and friends, I have a good job offer and if everything goes well, I will soon be moving to California. Hope nothing comes in the way.

These last few days at College Station have really been great. And I am sure of more of such great days ahead. And it's all thanks to a bunch of great friends I have made here. Life is meaningless without friends.

I came to this school (A&M) knowing no one here. May be a few. But just online. During the course of my stay here, I came to know a lot of beautiful people, a lot of inspiring people, a lot of kind-hearted people. I am fortunate that they accepted me as their friend.

I have laughed with them. I have cried with them. I have traveled with them. I have danced with them.I have consoled them and been consoled by them. I have partied with them. I have argued with them. I have embarrassed them. I have fought with them. The list goes on.

Yes, life is meaningless without friends. I will miss them when I leave this place. Yes, I will miss them a lot.

I am a very emotional person. I feel we should let emotions play the same role as intellect in our lives. It helps us to explore the irrationality. It helps us to be non-robotic. It provokes us to do things "Just for the heck of it". I mention this because the most part of life I have lived here, I along with my friends have explored doing things "Just for the heck of it". And we occasionally talk about our silliness and care-free attitude. I guess this is the unique beauty of student life, the unique freedom of the world a student lives in. I will surely miss these things when I step into the world waiting for me.

I think I will write a few more blogs before I leave this beautiful place and part with my awesome friends. I might always be e-connected with them but the physical distance will make me miss them:(

I am writing after a very long time.

Why did I choose to write this one?

The prevailing good times at 314 is one reason.Talking to a few good friends further provoked me.Reading the protagonist Susan from Dean Koontz's "The House of Thunder" talk about how badly she missed her childhood/adulthood by being scientific and rational all the times and keeping emotions at bay, finally sealed the deal:)

I am now off to enjoy a potluck dinner with my friends. We plan to go to Dallas tomorrow to watch some recently-released good movies and to spend time together with some good friends living over there. We are yet to plan for the New Year eve. We will do that soon:)

More to come. Love U My Friends. You Complete My Life.

Not the way to start the Day.

2009-06-12T05:44:00.003-06:00

I have been awake almost the whole night - thinking about something that happened in the night earlier and in the excitement and hope of the surfing trip today. The latter didn't happen. And I feel very guilty for the former.

It's not the way to start the day. In fact it's a depressing way to see the sun light the day.

Many at times, things don't happen as you plan.
Many at times, you learn a lot -the harsh reality of yours- through the eyes of others.
Many at times, you end up hurting others for reasons not in control of you.

You feel bad as well as sad about all these but this is what is called Life.
Life has to go on, you have to dream on.

Wish U a wonderful day!

Love u Arpita & Vedant!

2009-04-28T06:29:00.014-06:00

"I am alive because of you. My heart beats because I know you are always around me. Be it sunshine or thunderous storm, I am always gonna be by your side, holding your hands.". Wow! Vedant, how romantic of you for Arpita! Almost brought tears to my eyes looking at you guys yesterday!!

When sun was desperate to come out from behind the clouds, when rain was willing to pour down no more, when breeze was blowing its kisses to everyone on the bank, we witnessed a sweet couple with promise of ever lasting love reading vows for each other. What a wonderful moment!!

Arpita & Vedant, I know it might sound now a cliche for you ,hearing for last six years, that how gorgeous you guys look together but I would like to repeat it again, "you guys look fabulously gorgeous together". I love you guys very much:)

With each passing day,let your vows strengthen your love . Do this for yourselves. Do this for us. Because your love inspires us:)

Rahul, don't go away :(

2009-04-07T09:32:00.010-06:00

[this is dedicated to Rahul Bhatnagar- my friend. He is simply awesome. I have never met anyone like him in my entire life.]

[ He is set to leave for India in a month for a new beginning in his life.]

Rahul, don't go away,
because I will miss a great apt mate in you.
because our UIP gang will miss a great friend in you.

Rahul, don't go away,
because when you leave, you will make us all cry like babies.
because we will miss all the creative craziness coming from u.

Rahul, don't go away,
because Apt 314 will miss you.
because we still have to invite Chameli living down to our party.

Rahul, don't go away,
because facebook will be sad.
because we will miss facebook albums with more of our good pics .

Rahul, don't go away,
because I will miss eating pakore made by you on a rainy day.
because I will miss random jumping around and diving in the pool with you on a rainy day.

Rahul, don't go away,
because UIP will miss a skilled taaka-bheerane-wale in you.
because UIP will miss a caring and free-spirited dude in you.

Rahul, don't go away,
because I will miss having laughter-laden talks with you on serious subjects.
because I will miss the moments of appreciating beauty around us with you.

Rahul, don't go away,
because we will miss a talented creative designer in you for our future theme parties.
because we will miss a photoshop genius in you among us.

Rahul, don't go away,
because we don't want you to go.
because we want you to stay with us and make us laugh all the times.

Rahul, please don't forget us if you chose to go away.
because no one among us will ever forget you.

My guitar!!

2009-01-19T06:38:00.004-06:00

It's a new year. I didn't make any resolutions. Because I didn't want to break any. But new things will be done as that's what defines the continuity of a meaningful life!! Woohoo!!:)

My guitar is sad because I don't play it. Only Vedant and Usman play it sometimes. And some other friends try out sometimes some random tune on it for their love of music. A hand drawn chart of music notes and Major and Minor chords for guitar lie hung on my bed room wall , unrefereed and unused for a long time.

I hate this.I hate myself for this. I want to learn guitar. And I want to do it soon.

Listening to four hours of non-stop music on Pandora from the likes of Cold Play,U2,Pink Floyd,Keane,Killers etcetra makes me resolve to devote a day exclusively for music - enjoying and exploring it non-stop. Just not the music, it's origin and beauty too.It's gonna be 24 hours of music and nothing else. May be a bit of food and drink:)

Amen! I want to sleep now with music playing in my ears from my ipod.

la música es la vida!! viva la vida!!:)

"Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet Yaad Rakhna" by legendary Kishore Da

2009-01-03T12:58:00.011-06:00

This song is a wonderful toast to the people who are in deep love with each other and are departing but don't want to say goodbye at their hearts. In the sweet voice of Kishore Da, this song captures all the emotions of such a heartbreaking moment.

This effort is dedicated to two of our ( read me and my friend circle) beautiful and charming Croatian female friends whom we bode farewell on the night before the previous. Though they may now be 7 hours apart from us , busy with their lives in beautiful Croatia, I am pretty sure they will always be part of our every party gossips:)

Song ( thanks to search on You Tube)
Chalte Chalte Mere Ye Geet Yaad Rakhna

Lyrics ( with English translation - thanks to google search result )

> (in Hindi)
followed by English translation:)

> Chalte Chalte Mere Yeh Geet Yaad Rakhna
As you walk along, remember my song

> Kabhi Alvida Na Kahna, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
Never say goodbye

> Rote Hanste Bas Yunhi Tum Gungunate Rahna
While crying or laughing, simply, sing quietly to yourself

> Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
Never say, goodbye

> Pyar Karte Karte Hum Tum Kahin Kho Jayenge
While loving each other,we will disappear

> Yunhi Baharon Ke Aanchal Mein Chhup Ke So Jayenge
Like sleeping in the gently blowing wind of the season

> Sapno Ki Duniya Mein Tum Yunhi Bulate Rahna
In the dream-world, you keep calling me

> Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna
Never say, goodbye

> Chalte Chalte... Beech Rah Mein Dilbar Bichhad Jaye Kahin Hum Agar
If we get lost, by chance

> Aur Sooni Si Lagey Tumhe Jeevan Ki Yeh Dagar
And quiet and calm feelings creep on your life's wall

> Hum Laut Ayenge Tum Yunhi Bulate Rehna
I shall return, you just keep calling me

Though very romantic, this song captures the emotions of any two ( or groups of ) departing souls in love with each other:)

With Love to Ana n Kata from all of your [UIP + non-UIP] friends from College Station, Texas:)!!

My "adieu" mail while leaving my job at "CSC" ( Dec 2006)

2008-12-10T00:59:00.008-06:00

Today, I was digging through my e-mails to find the e-mail id of a friend back in India and I chanced upon this piece of writing I had penned down as "goodbye" e-mail to my friends while leaving my job (CSC) for MS at A&M.

//reproduced without any modification//
// I had to send this e-mail from my gmail account. Reason: I had gotten so late at my office ( past 12 am) doing last minute things on my last day that by the time I got back to writing the adieu e-mail, I had already got my employee account revoked ( past 12 AM).:( talk about perfection!!

------------
Sun, Dec 24, 2006 at 12:52 AM

Adios - Time to say 'Will Miss U'!

"My wrist watch stopped ticking at sharp 10:59 PM 22nd Dec,2006 and I never knew why and how? But it only meant when 22nd Dec was preparing to pass the baton to 23rd Dec, my watch chose to play game with me by being stuck at 10:59 PM , 22nd Dec.I misjudged my transition from being an employee of CSC to a visitor of CSC and the price I have to pay is very obvious to you - mail not from Manish Kumar Singh/FSG/CSC !!

It's been a great experience working at CSC for the last 2.5 years. More so as the road traveled wasn't level and straight. But I surely enjoyed the roller coaster ride and it was fun-filled and enriching.

Shall never forget the fresher training days with all my great buddies, Days of leisure and slogging at work, Canteen gossips , Soccer Fridays and every thing else that touched me. Moments spent with my team mates working as well as partying are unforgettable. My team mates rocked!

Life is a journey to explore the unexplored with convenient halts. With this zeal and having explored what CSC had in store for me, I move ahead chasing the bigger and taller dreams. Seeds were already sown in my Undergrad years and I could watch them sprouting during my stay at CSC.I have decided to pursue Masters in Wireless Communication at Texas A&M University, College Station in TX,US.I am excited about the impending student life but will always be reminded of how it is at Work Place.

I am grateful to all of you who bumped into me and accepted me as your friend. Friends once made are always missed in their absence and so shall I. Thanks a ton for all your love, care, consolations and encouragements!

I remember one of my college friends writing in my Slam Book, "To meet and depart is the way of life but to depart and meet is the hope of life. We meet to create memories. But we depart to preserve them and that is Life..". And so I say to all of you.

With this note, I wish you all the best in all your endeavors in your personal and professional lives. Do keep in touch.

Wish U all a Merry Xmas and a great New Year ahead!!

Ta-Ta. Will Miss U! "

-Manish
-------------

Some of the good wishes I received in response( am thankful to them):

"Good luck for your future..... hope all your dreams come true.... have a rockin stud life!! " - Ratnaker

"Wish you all the Best in your pursuits. You will scale great heights." - Raj

"Your mail was indeed one of the best good byes mails received so far.....All the very best for life ahead....This new year is going to be new for you in the truest sense.." - Natasha ( from HR) [very flattering indeed]

------------------
I hope to write to all of them back again on the eve of this x-mas and new year!!

Mumbai under Terrorist Attack

2008-11-27T15:46:00.004-06:00

Life can be so uncertain at times is so baffling.

Mumbai is caught up with a major terrorist attack. The city had never seen an assault of such a magnitude on her heartland. It all unfolded last day (Nov 26) with coordinated terrorist attacks at multiple locations around the same time. Mumbaikers were running for their lives. Rich and Poor, Indians and Foreigners , all were under attack.

Terrorists in Taj and Oberio were hunting for people with American and British passports. These terrorists were there to show the world that they hate Westerners and they are ready to kill and murder anyone who associates themselves with the Westerners. How pathetic!!!

We have seen 9/11, Madrid's rail bomb blast, Britain's glasgow airport terminal attack, Pakistan's Islamabad Marriott attack and now Mumbai is reeling under the pain of 24 hr non-stop terrorist drama. Where else? What else? World , as it seems,is no more safe. Ironically, even the Islamic countries with which these terrorists associate are not safe.

What do these terrorists want? An end to worldwide western influence and their dominance over the world? That's not gonna happen simply because the world is now a global village and western countries by the virtue of their superior status will have a major role to play.

We have seen that war is not a solution to this menace. What else is then the solution? Are the terrorists willing to rationlize their thoughts and demands? Or is it asking too much from them? May be it's like u have to be irrational to be a terrorist!!!

I sometimes wonder whether this is how it's gonna be forever and we need to keep doing our daily job without worrying about another terrorist attack in our neighboorhood. Is the future so bleak or am I being excessively pessimistic? Does anyone have a solution?

Facebooking - wastage of time??

2008-11-20T16:17:00.003-06:00

I wonder how many people would say Big "NO" to this question. Afterall something which becomes integral part of your daily routine could no longer be counted towards "wastage of time". Someone who is addicted to "The Hills" on every Monday, or "Family Guy" on every Sunday or for that matter "CNN" or "Fox" News everyday , doesn't count watching these shows as wastage of time. It's part of their lives. It's what makes them happy for happiness is not uniquely defined.

Isn't it the same with Facebooking? It's an addiction - online social addiction. It takes up a good chunk of ur daily time. Is it a meaningful or fruitful activity? It helps you to remain connected with your friends on a daily basis without offline communication (cell, letters etc). It makes you feel happy to be always-connected with your friends. Is it meaningless?

I guess once you embrace such activities as part of your daily routine, you automatically build your daily schedule around them.

I hope I could find more examples of students from my generation who are facebook addicted and still great researchers. That would bolster my case and keep my addiction intact.

Blogging Break :(:)

2008-11-05T23:17:00.003-06:00

I am desperately trying to get back to regular blogging... now i am spending a self-approved break from blogging ...

I will love to follow the blogging style of Mo's (http://thestonehengediary.blogspot.com/) ... small but impactful blogs... makes easier 4 ppl to read and doesn't take much of ur time also....

gotta complete an assignment and a presentation... the usual school stuff....

will be back soon...

till then enjoy viewing some of my recent photo albums on facebook...

Halloween Celebration - I & II
Big Thicket Trip - Camping and Canoeing - I & II

gorgeous beauty!

2008-09-29T00:09:00.001-06:00

fantasy woods
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

wonderful!

2008-09-28T23:48:00.001-06:00

through
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

gorgeous!

2008-09-28T23:47:00.001-06:00

railway
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

crow on a dry tree!

2008-09-28T23:45:00.001-06:00

rural decay
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

awesome!

2008-09-28T23:44:00.001-06:00

edit
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

They inspire me!

2008-09-27T02:52:00.007-06:00

Life has so much to do and many times you learn that through eyes of others.

You idolize a few people who become the source of inspiration and aspirations in your life.

It's 3:55 a.m.I am just back from an iftar party thrown by a pakistani friend of mine.It was a fun filled party with a lot of good food to eat and beautiful people to meet. A few were inspirational.

This is just a short list of my close friends , surely a non-exhaustive one, who inspire me to live my life by giving it a purpose. Life is beautiful. It is too be enjoyed. It is to be won.

Parimal parag, Abhishek Anchilya , Rahul Ravikumar, Rahul Bhatnagar, Soma, Arzi Adbi, Sreejan Chaudhary, Nistha Tripathi, Ananya Banerjee, Anurag Krishnan, Vedant, Arpita and the list goes on!

Hope I can learn something from them!

"Red Bull " Car

2008-07-15T20:40:00.017-06:00

What a sweet turn of events on a sweet evening!

It's UTD campus. It's evening time. It has just stopped raining. clear blue sky and nice cold breeze.what a nice weather! And I am out for jogging. In fact, I have just walked out of my apartment complex and about to start jogging.

And here is what happens! Just I didn't have my sweet W810i with me, otherwise I could have got a more vivid story for you. but anyways.

There comes a car driving to the side of me.It's a customized car.It seems to belong to someone who is very crazy about "Red Bull" - the energy drink you know. It's a small car with Red Bull logo on it and has a big Red Bull can attached at the back. It's a 2-seater. It's a VW Beetle.it looks like the pic on the right( i couldn't take the pic, so got from google images).

I had never seen such a thing before. Infact had never even heard of anything like that. So out of excitement I gave a cursory sideways glance towards the car to find out who was the proud owner of the car. And there I find two beautiful ladies smiling at me as I turned my head towards them, they sitting in the car. Cool! Nothing unusual! I passed by the car treasuring another moment of sweet surprise on the land of USA -VW's "Red Bull" Car being driven by a pretty woman!

And then I hear one of the ladies coming behind me shouting, " hey! do u need a can of Red Bull"?(free of course) I look back and say, " yeah, sure!" She is in black shirt and shorts carrying a bag full of Red Bull cans.It's then this thought struck in my mind that this whole thing is a Red Bull promotional campaign. Innovative Marketing. Isn't it? I ask her if she is a representative from Red Bull and she goes, "yes, I work for them". I compliment her on the beautiful customized car they drive and she thanks for that. She then shouts to a bunch of soccer playing guys for the Red Bull cans and one of them shouts back," we love you! you are so great! what's your name?" and there I know that she is Sarah. her other friend is waiting for her in the car.

I pace ahead for my evening jog.

They also drive out of the campus. Seems we were the last "Red Bull" marketing targets on the campus for today for those pretty women!

Nice experience it was!

As I write, I also found another blog on this "Red Bull Car" finding.

need to take a "cold" bath now after a sweaty jogging session! gnite! catch u later...

life in TX without your own car is worse than living in hell !

2008-07-13T19:34:00.011-06:00

OK! before i proceed to talk something in relation to the topic of the blog,just wanted to let u know to check out this cool feature from google for the gmail users. U can now log off your inadvertently left logged-in sessions from anywhere - remote log out.

Now back to the main theme.

I guess reading the topic should have provided u enough hint how distasteful and painful a story I am gonna narrate you.

Not long ago, just yesterday, it happened so that I had to go to Post Office to return ( via mail) to JC Penny a khaki shorts I had bought online a few weeks back. Now I don't own a car. In fact, I don't even know driving. poor me. anyways. So I mostly rely on Dallas's city bus/rail service to commute to and from my work or for that matter between any two distant points A and B ( remember I am now interning with Nortel in richardson,dallas,tx.otherwise I study at A&M) Though I have a few friends here who posses car but I prefer not to ask for their assistance. they are too busy. i like to think that way.

So I had to go to Post Office. This is Saturday.And bad thing about bus service on the weekend is that it is almost nonexistent. Very low frequency. I looked up on google map for a nearby Post Office. Got the address. Got the bus route to the place. But to my bad, I looked up the time table for weekdays which is very different from the weekend (remember -very low frequency). Reached the bus station and kept waiting for the bus and it's then I realized I had got the wrong time for the bus. I had to wait for 45 mins before the bus arrived.to my relief it did arrive. Please note that it is a story unfolding around 2pm when bitter sun is basking in its glory.beware of TX summer. It would kill even a Delhite.

Finally I boarded the bus and reached my destination bus stop. Got down and then started the hunt for the Post Office. The sun was killing me. To my utter frustration, even after half an hour of search I couldn't locate the Post Office at the address I had jotted down from the net. I looked around in the locality, asked a person also ( which happens rarely here; u r on ur own) but of no help. I was too tired by then. First, 45 minutes of wait for the bus and then 30 minutes of Post Office hunt in scorching Texan summer.Are you kidding? I was about to die out of dehydration. I guess I was the only guy walking on the street. Everyone else had their vehicle.

I couldn't continue any longer and decided to head back to home. But again I had to take the bus. Only that it was scheduled no before than 30 minutes:( I was ruined. Another 30 mins of wait. I t was then that I determined that no matter what I am gonna get learner's driver license in the next week. U need to have it before you can apply for driver license.You get learner's after taking a computerised objective written test.

Bus finally arrived after 30 minutes of unbearable wait.Got into it.Got down at my destination. Headed directly for a can of coke in a restaurant, only to realize that I had to walk for another 20 minutes under sun as the bus to my apt didn't run in the evening on weekends. I couldn't believe my day! I was getting roasted alive and I couldn't think of anything else but all evening and night of sleep when back at home. The worst thing is that I couldn't locate the post office.

That's my story. Doesn't it sound awful and pitiable?

I am getting my learner's driver license this week no matter what!

With no well developed public transportation, one shouldn't dare to live in a big city in TX like Dallas without a vehicle of his/her own.

Enough is enough!

Should I write or Not?

2008-07-13T18:44:00.004-06:00

I have been delaying off this entry for a long time now. But you know, with so many good blogger friends around, it's hard to get remain un-motivated ( yeah this is a new word). yes, I am again referring to Sreejan,Nistha n her friends, Anurag n his ISB blogomanics:)

So now when I have got started let me begin by reminding that I am now in richardson (close to Dallas,TX) interning with nortel networks for another 1 month. And then will head back to TAMU for a year of more school.

Till now the internship has been good. not hectic as such. have learnt a few new things and hope to work on them in next one month. honestly speaking 3 months is a very short duration for the project I am working on.but this is the choice I made when in the beginning I was offered internship for 6 months. i preferred to go for only 3 months and they happily agreed with my demand. so no whining.

in short I have enjoyed the stay till now.I am staying in UTD campus in a subleased apt. good thing about living on a university campus is that u get access to university's rec center, the oppurtunities to play outdoor sports with univ students, glimpse of hot girls more often than would be possible otherwise and a few other trivial things :)

hope things continue in good spirit till my stay lasts!

What a nice weekend!

2008-06-16T00:50:00.005-06:00

2400 Waterview Pkwy,Richardson,TX

Monday, June 16

How should I rate my weekend if it goes the way I describe below? I like to rate it as "nice".

3 hours of passionate basketball game on Friday with my internship mate Bojan and his friends.
Great Euro soccer Group D matches on Saturday. Spain's last minute goal breezed them to the QF round .
Delicious dinner at Clayp it @Richardson on the Saturday evening. The receptionist was an Indian gal and she was real gorgeous and sweet. That added a plus to the already beautiful ambiance of the restaurant:)
Sunday seemed a bit frustrating in the beginning, primarily because I couldn't watch the live Euro soccer Group A matches thanks to NO net connection during the day.The connection restored in the night and I could watch the replays on espn360.com and footytube.com.The thrilling victory of Turkey over Czech was a match not-to-be-missed. Turkey now advances to QF to play with Croatia. My dear friend Mr. Bhatnagar bets that Croatia is gonna make to semis by defeating Turkey 2-1. I say NO.Croatia is destined to lose that match.Score, I can't predict.

Weekend ends and it's almost bed time now with Monday to Friday 8-5 routine beginning yet again tomorrow.

good nite!

She conquered; he got demolished

2008-06-10T22:51:00.006-06:00

Ivanovic, to my great delight, won her first grand slam by beating Dinara Safina in straight sets in the French Open final at Roland Garros. She deserved it. She played hard throughout the tournament to clinch the title.She is now ranked no. 1. She must be very happy! Infact she is!

The Men's category on the other hand had a very dull final with world no 1 Rodger Federer suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Mr. Spaniard , Rafa Nadal. Federer couldn't overcome his nemesis and lost yet another opportunity to fulfill his dream of winning all the Big titles.

But tomorrow will be a new day and we would have a plenty of new games to enjoy!

Wimbledon is at the corner! knock-knock!

Federer needs to regain his charm after a series of dismal clay court performances. Ivanovic needs to prove that she can win on green courts of Wimbledon too!

Ivanovic is closer to the French Open title!

2008-06-02T20:43:00.009-06:00

"Dinara Safina proved her title credentials with a 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 win over top seed Maria Sharapova in the fourth round of the French Open" says BBC News.

With Maria out of the race for the French Open crown, Ivanovic seems to be in a good position to clinch the title. Ivanovic is in great form and she needs to get past the Swiss nemesis Patty Schnyder today to keep her hope alive. The match is being touted as "the Match of The day" and should be no less entertaining than that between the two Russian princesses Safina and Maria.

Hope I can watch the match somewhere on web!

All the best to my favorite Ana Ivanovic! Go gal!

On being nice to others.....

2008-04-29T21:43:00.007-06:00

Sometimes it happens this way. U sit back and reflect on your past. You feel guilty of the way u handled a few things and resolve not to let it happen so again. Evolving through learning, you can say. May be something close to Darwinian Evolution theory.

"Being nice to others" , in my opinion, is such an absolute necessity that the guilt of not being so certainly figures in our reflection in the past.We might have different opinions about a lot of things but that doesn't call for any sort of animosity. We can be violet and red and still be part of the same visible color spectrum.We can support Obama and not Clinton and still be a democrat.

I have had quite a number of such experiences of NOT "being nice to others" which on hindsight make me feel a goofball . Why did I react that way? What good I did for myself if not for others? These thoughts somehow struck me today and motivated me to write this article thus ending my blog-drought in a way.

Life is a beautiful gift.It's an one time opportunity to surround yourself with good people by being good to others. Why should you miss it? I know you can only have a silly reason worth not sticking to it. So move on and grab the opportunity. Hold on! Am I advising u? I can't dare. You could be violet when I am red. But yes you can listen to me.

I don't want another such day in my student life:(

2008-03-06T10:23:00.004-06:00

I remember those "uncomfortable" school days when I would leave home for school but wouldn't go to school. Why? Because I would not have completed my homework. And it used to be better to go to school a day after with absence letter (of course with forged signature;)) than get punished in front of the whole class/school for defaulting.

I thought those days won't appear again. But to no respite, those days are back again.Twenty years of long time don't kill your bad habits.

Wonder what prompted me to blog at this point of time. I have bunked a class. Because the class is taught by my research adviser and I am too ashamed to face him in the class for having canceled our research meeting twice. The only way out is to write him a SORRY mail and hope to attend the next meeting with VERY GOOD PROGRESS on research.

What a bummer! I feel like banging my head on the wall. But I am still sane and don't want to visit the Beutel Health Center!

THE END.

2008-01-27T11:26:00.000-06:00

It was a historic moment.It was a moment of immense pride and dream come true for him. It was a moment of ecstasy and jubilation for him.

It happened when the Serbian prince Djokovic knocked the Frenchman Tsonga down in the grand finale of Men's Singles Australian Open 2008 at Rod Laver Arena. Novak Djokovic is the first Serbian to win a Grand Slam title and that too at just a young age of 20. In fact, he made his name in the history book as the youngest male tennis player to win Australian Open at Melbourne.

What a pride moment for him, his family and his nation!

Men's tennis has gotten better with Federer,Nadal,Djokovic and likes of Tsonga threatening each other for the coveted position of Rank 1. It might well be the beginning of a new golden era with new players reigning the turf.

It was fun watching games at wee hours, only to get late for class & job:)

Sadly , it's now THE END of Australian Open 2008.

She couldn't make it..But She can.

2008-01-26T11:53:00.000-06:00

Ana Ivanovic couldn't match Sharapova's prowess in the glamorous finale at Melbourne, AO 08. She lost 7-5,6-3 in a 90 minutes battle.It hurts!

She was in tears at failing the expectations of the Australian crowd - a grand slam win by Ana Ivanovic. But she is just 20 and has immense potential. She is surely set to win the next grad slam she plays.

I like her. I like her play. I like her personality. She is a woman with great heart and impeccable talent. She will go a long way.

Her diar y note on her loss to Sharapova is so touching and testament of what a beautiful woman she is.

She is still smiling and expecting to beat Sharapova when they meet again!

Yet Another Stunner in AO '08

2008-01-25T05:44:00.000-06:00

The Federer Tennis Machine was brought to a shocking halt by the Serbian Djokovic on Day 12 of AO 08!

Djokovic tread past Federer to set up a clash with the unseeded Frenchman Tsonga in the Australian Open 2008 Final. None of them have won grand slams ever!!

Surely a bad day for the Lord of Tennis!!

My prediction of Federer winning the Semi went wrong but am still sticking to Tsonga clinching the Final! Lets see what happens!

Two Serbains in two different finals! Country must be proud of Djokovic and Ivanovic and praying for their wins!

Tennis couldn't have got better! I am loving it!

Australian Open 2008

2008-01-24T05:10:00.000-06:00

Nadal left helpless and shocked.
Unseeded Tsonga making it to the Men's final.
Ivanovic resurging from 0-6 down to send Slovakian Hantuchova packing home.

What a day in the AO 2008! It was day 11 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne.

I am dying to see Ivanovic, my favorite tennis princess, outclass Sharapova in Women's final. You might not predict so. Neither they predict so. But I am rooting for her, only for her.It's already being called as "possibly the most glamorous grand-slam final in history". Clash of drop-dead gorgeous tennis princesses!

Then awaits the blood bath in Men's game. I am afraid that Federer will find his nemesis this time in Frenchman Tsonga - the find of AO'08. Frenchman's strategic tennis intelligence coupled with immense physical strength makes him a great contender for this year's AO.

I predict Fed vs Tsonga in the Men's final with Tsonga as the winner!

If Djokovic could take on Fed in US Open 2007 , Tsonga can obviously in this Australian Open 2008.

let the game begin.

Bravo! Federer is the Lord of Tennis!!

2008-01-19T04:16:00.001-06:00

It's Australian Open 2008. It's Rod Laver Arena at Melbourne.

An epic battle between rookie Siberian J.Tipsarevic and the best of the bestest Federer just ended in a result so relieving to me! 4.5 hours upwards game . A 5 setter. 50+ combined aces. What a nail biting match!

What more you accept out of a game?

Federer won the game to advance to the 4th round of Australian Open. It was a hard fought victory against the immensely talented Serbian Tipsarevic.It ended in 6-7,7-6,5-7,6-1,10-8.

Go Federer! Go! Do watch out for the Spaniard bull though. He is lurking there.He is Rafael Nadal!

New Year,New Things.

2008-01-18T22:07:00.000-06:00

I was in India this dec for a short trip. It was great to spend some quality time with my lovely sisters and mom n dad. I also managed to visit my maternal grand-ma and grand-pa who have been very close to my heart.

Was back to College Station on 27th dec.

Winter break and you in College Station. A very pitiable situation!!

But fortunately, Anshul one of my Rurki friends was here in Austin for a business trip from AMD India and so I got to celebrate the New Yr in style:)

Austin, the Music capital of America, was a great place to be on the New Yr eve. Melodious music pervading the Austin Downtown, street performances by talented break-dancers ( am in lack of word here:)), electrifying African-Brazilian dances, THE crowd to 6th street and not to mention, the 15 minutes of spellbinding Fire work - everything happening around gave the New Yr celebration a true Austin spirit - the spirit of music, the spirit of living life!

With new yr comes new things in life. People make resolutions to formalize the newness they want to bring with the new yr. I too made a few resolutions but in an informal sense. Yeah, in the stricter sense, they may not be called New Yr Resolutions but they are a few new things I want to achieve in this new year. They relate to my studies, my extracurricular activities and my love for playing guitar. Specifics better be kept to the diary so that at a later time I don't find myself amidst the battle of defending myself for not able to keep my resolutions. This way, I get the exclusive rights to amend them and follow the way it suits me:) goofing around!

Feliz Año Nuevo! bonne année! ein gutes neues Jahr! nav varsh ki subhkamna !

I love the people of America. I love the people of Europe.

2008-01-18T21:03:00.002-06:00

It's been a year when I came to USA to pursue my higher studies. Honestly, those 365 days have been a great learning experience. I got to experience the new education culture, the new social structure, the new people, the new fashion.... a lot of new things:)I love the people of America for their honesty and straightforwardness. I love the fashion consciousness of Generation-Y. I love their helping nature.

How do I know Europeans in real life? Mainly as an observer at the Frankfurt Airport on my flight journey to India. You get the snapshot of the whole civilization at an airport as humongous as Frankfurt's. And that's where waiting for 4 hours for the connecting flight to India, I got the glimpse of Europeans in masses - from all over the Europe - Dutch, English, Russian, Belgian, Italian, French. I was most fascinated by their fashion style. how great they are when it comes to fashion! beautiful gals being the ambassador! I long to travel to Europe and experience its beauty!

Being a patriotic Indian, I need not say the OBVIOUS:)

A state of "Mixed feeling"

2007-10-12T05:44:00.000-06:00

it's 6:46 am CST and I should be better off sleeping. But am blogging.Emotional eruptions, u see.

You don't get sleep when you are down.You don't get sleep when you are unhappy with yourself.This fall semester has so far been not a satisfactory ride.I am not impressed with myself and how I have managed my precious grad time.Am sober and unphilosophical;)

On a positive note, I did make some great and fulfilling decisions.

1. I joined CRY TAMU as an active volunteer and have been democratically accepted for the VP position. I look forward to bring great and positive changes to our CRY TAMU chapter with my awesome team mates.

2. I bought an acoustic guitar at the start of the sem and am desperately trying to learn playing some tunes. Plain White T's -Hey there Delilah - should be the first. I am though horrible with remembering music lyrics.

3.I bought Football Sportpass this sem and have been a loyal 12th Man watching A&M winning all of their home games.Last game against OSU (24-23 win) was a thriller.

4.I have been going for most of the Women's soccer home games and am proud of our smart gals. Today is the big day!! t.u vs A&M. rank 1 vs rank5.

5.I frequent gym with passion. I love working out.

I don't wanna miss the beyond-the-study thrill of the grad life and am pretty happy with what I have been doing at this front.

BUT.A big BUT. I am not satisified with how I am doing with my academics. I have not made good progress with my research. I should have had.I am not making good use of the classroom lectures.Assignments get done invariably on the last nite to submission. Guess that's not uncommon. Usual grad life.Yet , I can try to do better but have not been putting a good effort towards that.

BUT Sem is not done yet.It's half way to its finish line and I plan to make the BEST use of the remaining time.

We come to tryst with such a state of "mixed feeling" a lot of times in our lives and in my opinion, we should use these oppurtunities to contemplate and move on with a positive note.

And so what I am doing. Hoping for good days ahead!!

Serbs have arrived !!

2007-08-13T20:16:00.000-06:00

Djokovic stunned Federer in Men's game and Ivanovic overpowered Nadia Petrova in Women's game. What a day for Serbians!! After Russians, it's now the Serbians who are hogging the limelight for their tennis prowess!

Novak Djokovic crushed Roddick and Nadal in straight sets in his way to set up the meeting with Roger Federer in the Final of Rogers Cup in Montreal.

Defeating Roger might have been the sweetest thing he did but with this much deserved win he also became the first player to beat the world’s top three ranked players in the same tournament since Boris Becker defeated No. 3 Michael Stich, No. 1 Pete Sampras and No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic in 1994 in Stockholm.

His intelligent game of tennis with balanced talent made Rogers gasp for life on the Big Day. Djokovic is the talent to look out for this Summer!

And then came the Serbian beauty at LA in style and walked away with the Trophy stabbing all her opponents.

Ana ,19,pulled a deserving win against Petrova in the final of East West Bank Classic in Carson, California and propelled herself to a career high of rank 4.Her forehands were deadly and accounted to 21 of 31 of her winners.

Petrova was overwhelmed by the majestic game of Ana Ivanovic who is sometimes compared to legendary Steffi Graff for her forehand shots.

She is the upcoming nemesis to the present tennis princess Maria Sharapova. Maria better be working on her shots!!
Above all,as stated in Wikipedia, Ana Ivanovic has been called the prettiest female player to ever grace the Wimbledon courts by the British tabloids. Way to go damsel!

US open series is getting interesting by each passing day and more amazing is the emergence of hidden talents to the world stage.

i am loving it!

She came, she conquered

2007-08-05T17:16:00.000-06:00

The tennis princess Maria Sharapova clinched her first title of 2007 by wining the Acura Classic tournament @ San Diego. It was not an easy final against the 11th ranked Swiss princess Patty Schnyder but Maria kept her nerves and clinched the title 6-2,3-6,6-0.
This win gives her the confidence to move ahead elegantly towards the US Open and repeat the victory story of 2006.

Go Maria, Go!

"lethologica"

2007-07-22T15:08:00.000-06:00

As WordWeb dictionary defines this word, Noun: lethologica ; the inability to remember a word or name.

I feel I am suffering from this psychological disorder and that worries me. This comes in the path of effective communication and sometimes I have barely escaped from putting myself in unfathomable embarrassing situation. I feel I am still in the infancy of this disease and am struggling hard to nip it in the bud.Cure is surely fuzzy.

I learnt more about this disorder on Wikipedia and was shocked at its widespread infliction to the Westerners.It's considered a 'lifestyle disease' and is primarliy caused by strenuous mental exercise leading to an onset of memory loss.The other factors which contribute to the disorder are physical fitness, social interaction and base memory capacity.

I fail to understand how I qualify to be one of the victims of this disease? Stress??Physical Fitness??Social Interaction?? dunno!! Base memory capacity?? May be!! Hope not!

Sounds worrisome but thankfully it's just a "lifestyle disease" and is reversible.

Fate of the Flight 93 and the people on-board( 9/11 )

2007-07-22T00:31:00.000-06:00

Sometimes it's hard to contain your emotional outburst.Blogging is one way to let it out!

Today, in the evening I was watching a documentary airing on History Channel on the heartrending story of the crash of United Airlines Flight 93 on 9/11.I can't resist writing about it.

Flight 93 was the only one of the four planes that didn't hit its intended target, instead crashed in an empty field just outside Shanksville,Pennsylvania about 150 miles (240 km) northwest of Washington, D.C. The intended target was presumably the White House or US Capitol Building.

It was the only one of the four planes from which a good number of approx. 10 fone calls were made by the passengers to their loved ones.There were 38 passengers (including the four hijackers) and 7 crew members on-board the plane.No one survived the crash.

The one hour documentary was so touching and gripping that I couldn't leave my couch until it finished. The series of unfateful events on the Flight 93 leading to its final crash were reconstructed for this documentary based on the phone calls made by the passengers and data from flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder.

The terrorists boarding the plane.The terrorists taking control of the plane.It was so horrible.

The unbelievable shock and fear of the passengers. Their struggle on the plane.Their phone calls to their loved ones saying them good bye.Their One Last effort to overpower the terrorists.And the uneventful Final outcome.Everything was so heart wrenching.

Those bastard Islamic terrorists! .Islamic Terrorism is so pervasive.Hope we soon see an end to it!

More about the Flight 93 crash is here...

I felt so good...

2007-07-15T00:13:00.000-06:00

Yeah, I can't resist telling this even if this may not sound so tell able...

I am living on a sublease this summer.For that matter,I was in spring too. A true wanderer I have been.Changing homes every semester!! Anyways. In the present apartment, I have 1960 Zenith color TV in my own room.I have an Universal RCA remote control too:)

Now I had a situation today in the evening.I went to sleep around 6 pm- a short evening snap.And woke up at 7. And then carried out some personal work till it was 11.It was time to take dinner.Sat for dinner with pizza on plate in my room and tried to hook on my TV.But things were not fine. The remote control wasn't responding.I played with some function buttons on the remote control but to no good.I had to manually turn on the TV and select a channel.Remote control to my agony was dead.

Anyways, I enjoyed the pizza though with the thought of dysfunctional remote control on the back of my mind throughout.When I was done with my dinner, I set to resolve the problem.

I first tried out figure out what could have caused the problem.Battery drainage seemed the most probable cause.Fortunately, I had two spare batteries with me but changing them also didn't help.I was wondering what on earth made the remote control go berserk when it was very well functioning in the morning!! I was getting really desperate and anxious with no clue how to get around the problem.Manual shuffling of channel is unthinkable with the present living style.Probably, this was the first time I realized how revolutionary it would have been when remote control first came to the market.

However, I was bent on fixing the remote control.So I googled the web to seek some help.And to my relief, I found a few pages on RCA remote control support.I tried the instructions but apparently it was for remote control with a different set of buttons.Not all remote controls are the same:(

I kept breaking my head on the problem.But you know, hard work pays.To my ecstasy, eventually with hit and trial , I could manage to apply the instructions from web on my remote control and could reset and re-program the remote control.it's working now!! I am able to shuffle through the TV channels.What a relief!!

I felt so good!!

And on hindsight, I believe I apparently slept in the evening with remote control underneath me and probably some magic combination of buttons got pressed rendering the remote control dysfunctional.Whew!!

too young to marry

2007-07-09T20:52:00.000-06:00

Life is Beautiful! isn't it?

people fall in love. they do crazy things. for a moment they forget the whole world and want to be left alone with each other. it's so romantic.

then there is marriage. something very sweet but at the same time it tests people's love for each other. many wonder why 18- is too young an age to get married. when married , one realizes that.

it's a sweet love story.starts with passionate love between two 18yr lovebirds. lovebirds who are smart,beautiful,ambitious & intelligent. she makes it to Harvard but he just misses it. but that doesn't come in their way to get married and so it happens. though in a hard way - against the wishes of Max's parents and Jessica's dad. whatever.

married life begins.Max chooses to move to Boston (Harvard) with Jessica and plans to work full time till he too gets back to school. and here starts the true test of their love.

it was entertaining to watch how they battle with their immaturity which was apparently killing their "bond of love". they go through the phase of immense marital pressure. too young to marry!! situation gets dirty. they separate for a while to save their relationship. but of no help. it finally gets to the point of "divorce". and all this happening between two 18 yrs old passionate lovers.

but you know, true love wins over everything. intensity of love and not the age , is the measure of maturity.

they ponder for a few days. they realize they can't live without each other. that pays.they finally resolve to get over all the fallouts. and they do get back to each other. Max applies to Harvard again and this time makes it. and then resumes the beautiful life of the modern Romeo and Juliet.

this is a sweet story of the movie " too young to marry (2007)" that i just finished watching on Lifetime network on my tv.

i know i am gonna screw up my project and the next meeting with my research adviser coming later this week. but then it was too good a story to resist blogging about.

Manish! BACK to STUDIES.Seriously! u can save your ass.

History was made @Wimbledon today

2007-07-08T11:04:00.001-06:00

Throne was at risk! Stakes had never been so high @ his homecourt !

It was a classic final.It was such an enjoyable experience to watch the champions battling giving their best.Did you miss it?

Yeah, it was gentlemen's final between Federer and Nadal at the center court of Wimbledon. Federer won it 7-6,4-6,7-6,2-6,6-2. He equaled the Bjorn Borg's legendary record of winning Wimbledon title for 5 consecutive years.History was made today.
It was the first time in the last 5 years that Federer had to battle for 5 sets int the final to prove his dominance.Infact this was the longest final ever played at Wimbledon since 1985.Federer had never looked so unnerved.He was pushed to the limit and had tears in his eyes at being luckier on the judgment day.Yeah, he himself said to Nadal at the nets, " You equally deserved it.I got luckier today." The match was so close that you couldn't predict who's gonna make it today.Nadal was at his best and at a point seemed to be better of the two.But then a winner out of two champions is the true champion.And Federer proved the world that he rules the grass! he is the King of Grass! Wimbledon is, his home!
The score itself speaks the quality of the game that was played.Nadal with his power strokes, his forehand and backhand winners made Federer sweat for the title.At a point, Federer was outraged at the Hawkeye's decision before going 0-4 down in the 4th set. He demanded it to be shut off. He was heard saying during the changeover, "it's killing me.I can't believe it(shot) was in." Never have we seen Federer so threatened.It was so uncharacteristic of this great champion. But then he kept his cool and turned the fortune in his favor by playing superbly in the 5th and the decider set.

It was surely an unforgettable game.Nadal though lost showed the world that he too has the potential to win championship at the grasscourt.

This only makes the coming US Open series a more interesting tournament.Is Federer gonna live up to the challenge of the Spaniard? Is he gonna win the US open series for the fourth consecutive time?

Only time will tell!

Sharapova Vs Venus @ Wimbledon

2007-07-04T13:57:00.000-06:00

What a match it was! Tennis Princess Sharapova battling to survive against the Mighty Venus . Sharapova had played some great matches in this Wimbledon before this meeting and was clearly the favorite. In fact, she had an overall record of 3-1 against Venus prior this match.

But it wasn't her day today. She was overpowered by Venus's power game and had a little chance at any point in the match to make a comeback.

But despite the unfortunate result, match was not a disappointment. Sharapova though subdued showed some great fight.She saved 7 break points and rallied for 13 deuces to win a game in the second set to lead 2-1.A big thing in ladies' game!

She surely was not at her best.Her serves were no match to that of Venus. Sharapova's fastest was the average of that of Venus.At the end, better playing lady made it to the QF.
But it's not the end of her world.She is just 20 and young and beautiful and athletic and a great tennis player.

Come 20th August and US open series will lay down red carpet for her.May she show her charisma there!

A weird thought came to me....

2007-07-03T10:36:00.000-06:00

Yeah, it's not the best time to blog when you are at work and that too with supervisor sitting in the same room. But what the heck, I want to blog and I will.

Begin

{

I was just going through Orkut accounts of some of my friends.(Orkut as you know is the most popular social networking site among the Indians .Americans have Facebook on the contrary and though I hate to say , it's much more better than Orkut). And I was wondering why do some of my friends completely erase their scrap book and start afresh. Yeah this is the weird thought that came to me- why do they do so?.I wouldn't do that. Ofcourse, I do clean up the grabage (spams/unwanted messages) but have never thought of erasing all the scraps. Not because I will go through them someday but because I don't want to.

I remember, Orkut was a craze in my undergard years. But I didn't join the movement then ! I joined it only when I moved out of the college and got into CSC. And it was surely one of the best things I did at that time. Orkut has helped me to unite with almost all of my yesteryear's friends. And I love to make the most of it afterall friends are the most treasured possession of our lives.When I joined the Orkut, I had already many of my friends very active members of the group and had "1000+" scraps under their belt. Yeah, I believed it as an achievement! I thought that I too on one fine day will surpass that mark!

Infact that's how it started.The motivation to achieve a big scrap figure only helped me. Specifically, it helped me to be in constant touch with my friends. It's not always about first hearing from them.It's also about being you the first to say your "Hello". This continued. Now with 1000+ scraps under my belt, I don't have the same motivation driving me. But being in a differnet country and away from all of my friends back there, that itself drives me to log onto Orkut and scrap them. So the figure anyways keeps growing.

I would love to see the number growing. A large number reminds me of my achievement to surprass that magic figure of 1000 scraps. I wouldn't make it ZERO and erase that moment from my scrapbook. I guess many of my friends don't think this way!! Otherwise why I would they clean up their scrap book.But then thinking from a different angle, it's just an online messaging tool and so why so much of hooplah. It's like Messenger Online! Message your friend and forget about that! Only I haven't started thinking this way!!Sometimes it's helpful though. You realize that when you have a deadline of assignement/project and you don't care about Orkutting/Facebooking. Scrapping is surely a filler in the busy schedule of a grad student. So sometimes an alternative thinking style helps. A more unlike my style of thinking attaching too much of importance to Orkut and Orkutting.

But then that's how it is and life goes on!

}

End

A weird thought indeed that came to me! I should better return to working now! Multitasking is so tough!

Art of reading "Research Papers"

2007-06-10T15:45:00.000-06:00

5 p.m., Evans Library

It was Friday evening.I got an e-mail from my Prof (research adviser) asking me to let him know by Sunday evening if I have gone through all the research papers I was supposed to.If "YES", we would have a meeting on Mon.This would be my just second meeting with my research adviser.I am still new to "Research".

It's now Sunday evening.But the good thing is that I can reply "YES" to him.

Now, reading 10 research papers in a span of 36 hours isn't an easy task. It's not anything like reading Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code or Watching "Friends"/"The Apprentice".Then you can do it in a non-stop style. This art is all together different. It requires a strategy, strong commitment and above all interest. No doubt I have the interest as "the interest is specifically my research interest". So, one criterion is already met.But unfortunately it's not a sports interest.It has something to do with sapping of mental power and there comes the problem.

We need to commit to a strategy and execute it with concentration.Not an easy task.

For me, studying at home is the best thing.It's your own home.You can study with some soft music on.You can take snacks break or bathroom break anytime you want.It's convenient.It worked out well till now for me. BUT not any more. Research study can't be done at home.Bet me.The cosiness of the home kills your reading concentration and induces sleepiness.Writing/working on computers and reading are two different things.At least for me, I can do writing assignments with music on.It poses no distraction.The cosiness of home doesn't hamper the productivity.But reading research papers and that too for a long period is surely very opposite.It's a daunting task.

So, I chose to do the reading in our Evans Library.You have nice ambiance.Silence.Not the sleep inducing cosiness of home.Yeah, sometimes some beautiful girls do become the cause of distraction :) but then more often you visit library for studying, less distractive they become to your concentration.At least I could almost complete studying my research papers.May be I will have to visit the place more often now till I get an office of own for research.

I should better go trough a few of the remaining ones.cya!

I fell in love with Rebecca...

2007-05-27T08:42:00.000-06:00

Sunday,10:20 a.m.

I have been watching "The Apprentice" Season 4 for the whole yesterday night and today morning.I finished just a few minutes back.Huh, I don't believe that even now I don't feel sleepy.Rather, I am dying to scribble something in here.Reason.This 14 week reality show is so inspiring.18 US talented guys(gals) fight for being "the Apprentice" under Donald Trump.U know what it means? It means unbelievably & awfully something very BIG.

I had watched a few weeks of Season 4 while I was back in India but then yesterday, I completed downloading "Season 4" from BitTorrent and had a ball watching the whole 14 week episodes back by back in a span of 8 hours.It was hell of a night-out!!

I instantly fell in love with Rebecca. A 23 yr old journalist.An intelligent,smart & drop-dead gorgeous beauty.She was an awe to the other 17 contenders.She never bitched around.She played cool and earned immense respect in the eyes of Mr. Trump.And that means a lot.She was unfortunate to break her ankle early in the 14 week fierce battle but then she continued.Not only that, she rose to every occasion and proved she could kick the ass of every other contender even being on crutches.

The stage for the Grand Finale was awaiting her and she made it.Mr trump was so impressed with her and Randal , the two finalists, that it seemed he is gonna choose both of them as his Apprentice. Randal was MIT and Oxford educated.A great leader with charismatic personality.Both of these guys had immense respect for each other.I loved this part.

Mr Trump chose Ronald as his Apprentice and asked him if he wanted Rebecca also to be hired.To everyone's shock, he refused it. He was called selfish while a few minutes back he was a hero and a selfless guy in everyone's eyes. But his decision could have been right also.Otherwise Donald Trump, a 'big opportunist' wouldn't have let Rebecca go so easy. Rebecca could only shake hand with Donald Trump and say, " That's unfortunate". I know baby.U also deserved "The Apprentice".

Hats off to her.A 23 yr old lady making it to so big.She inspires me in many ways.

Have much to do.It's race against time.

A few good movies....

2007-05-25T22:11:00.000-06:00

I have been watching a lot of good movies these days - thanks to the following

1.it's summer break and I have no tension of submitting an assignment the next morning
2.my room mates (Lamby,Rajat) already had a Blockbuster rental when I moved in to live with them
3.sites like peekvid.com and movieforumz.com

This is an era of digital revolution.One gets psyched keeping pace with what's happening in the digital word.But pervasiveness of DVD quality movies is one gift of this revolution.

Tom Cruise starer "Risky Business" comes the first in the order - of watching the movie.I remember I had great fun watching this movie.Tome Cruise's fresh teenage look in this movie fits so properly to the whole plot of the movie.It's a movie about a college going kid.His parents go out for a vacation for a few days and hand over the keys of the palatial home to him whom they "TRUST" big time.Poor Parents!! In such a setting starts the "ultimate entertainment" and " the "risky business". I fondly remember the delivery of this dialog( to Tom Cruise from his one friend). It goes like this

"Often say what the fuck.It provides you freedom.Freedom provides you opportunity. Opportunity makes your future."

Second movie I watched was "Blood Diamond". I have a habit of first seeing the IMDb rating of a movie and then watching it. A rating more than 6.5 , I consider , approves a movie to be great. This movie has a rating of 8.0.It stars DiCaprio & Jennifer Connelly in a story which is at times gruesome but overall thrilling and moving. It's based on a real event. It's in the setting of Civil War of 1999 in Sierra Leone.About the illegal mining of conflict diamonds in Sierra Leone and the atrocities met out by the rebel force (RUF) on the locals.DiCaprio (Archer) plays a role of a mercenary and is in hunt of the "Blood Diamond".He cuts out a deal with Solomon who would lead him to this priceless diamond in exchange of the promise that Archer shall find Solomon's son with the help of Maddy( Jennifer),an American Journalist. It's an awesome movie.

"The Cranes are Flying" is the third movie which I liked a lot.It's a Russian movie made in 1957 in the setting of World War II.It's black and white.It's a love story with a cruel ending.War reckons her lover to go to the front and fight against the Germans while she awaits,gets harassed, marries some other guy only to find later how deeply his "brave" boyfriend loved her.It's a touching story.A movie made in 1957 with superb direction.Go for it dude!!

The fourth movie which I shall recommend watching is "The Battle of Algiers". It's a French movie depicting the fight of Algerians against French Rule for their Independence. It reminded me of our Independence movement against the British Rule.The characters and events in the movie look so much real.The battle of extremists group ,National Liberation Front (FLN as in French) against the French rule is one main draw of the movie.The tactics of FLN insurgency is worth watching.In the end we find, as in our Independence movement, a mass uproar only brings freedom to them.

Nice movies they are.I really enjoyed them.With lights switched off,a glass of wine and sound surround system turned on, go and enjoy these movies.

"Indians don't pay tips"

2007-05-25T19:26:00.000-06:00

Don't get mistaken my friends.I am just barely 5 months old in this country and too inexperienced to make such a "sweeping remark" about my own race. These are the words of a Yellow Cab driver.It's neither a racist remark. So chill out!

Do U wanna hear the story? I know You do... so let me get started.

It's the story of last weekend.Sunday to be precise.I had went to Austin last friday to meet my undergrad pal, Anshul ,who was here on a short business trip from AMD,India.We had a nice time.We were meeting after 3 years.We did bakkar, ice skated, dined @Java Noodles and California Pizza Kitchen and hanged out with his new Austin friends. Saturday whizzed past in no time and I was about to leave Austin.

I had managed to get ride from College Station to Austin by my college mates but had no one to bring me back from Austin.Walking was not an option:), so finally had to book a ticket on Greyhound to head back to my school.Sunday was ruined.But this is one of those God crafted events. He wants us to realize that how lonely and helpless we are in "US of A" without a Mercedes, read a chaar pahiya gaaree.

Bus for Bryan (neighborhood sister of College Station - CS doesn't believe in possessing a BUS STATION;) ) was scheduled at 12 noon and I had to get my buss pass from the ticket counter an hour before.So basically I had to reach the Austin bus station at 11 a.m. My Sunday had already begun.I had to travel 20 miles from Anshul's house to reach bus station.Woke up at 8:30 although the alarm was set for 7:30.I dunno whether the alarm clock ever tried to wake me up at the "requested" time.Anyways.Performed the daily chores.Called up a Yellow Cab to journey the 20 odd miles.Took breakfast.Bode adieu to Anshul and hopped into the Cab and got going for the short trip to Austin bus station.I started at 10.

Journey was fun.Believe me.The cab driver seemed to be very interested in India and her people.And so right away when we left Anshul's apt complex, he got going.He was very eager to know my opinion about act of "public kissing" in India.He was utterly disturbed at the Indian public's display of anger for recent Richard Gere's kissing of Shilpa Shetty on an AIDS campaigning stage.To my shock and surprise, he was so aware of this news.I know many of you may not be.He had the concern that why are Indians so cynical about kissing in public- even about just kissing on cheeks.He considered it to be kinda greeting.Now it was my turn to put the "act of public kissing" in Indian context.I talked about the differences between Western and our culture.About the difference in their thought processes. Beliefs of our older generations and changing mindset of we the younger generations.It went on for a few minutes and I assured him that 5 years down the line he won't have any such complains with the Indians:) He was satisfied.He seemed to be happy.He had been in the driving business for last 18 years.He was a Nigerian.And he loved passing comments on beautiful women racing with his Yellow Cab in Austin traffic.

The journey wasn't very long and I reached Austin bus station at 10:30.Time to pay the bucks.The fare turned out to be 40.19 dollars. I had 2 notes of $20 and a note of $10 and a dollar in quarters and the Credit card. I had already started deciding upon how much to pay in tip(while he was parking).Just pay $41 or pay by credit card with some $3 tip.I had not even finally decided then pat came the verdict from the Nigerian dude "Indians don't pay tips". I thought what the fkuc. I didn't get challenged. He knew I was a student.I paid $41 and wished him " a great day!".He made it so easier for me.

Ridiculously, I just paid $29 for my trip from Austin to College Station by Greyhound for 5 hours of journey.Cab cost me $41 for 30 minutes.This is the charm of this place.This is USA my friend.

Spring Sem @ TAMU

2007-05-23T14:48:00.000-06:00

In a few words, "it was exciting but difficult".

I joined Texas A&M University, College Station in Spring 2007 and have just completed the semester.To start one's graduate studies in Spring Sem is not a great choice and I realized that early in the mid of the semester.And by the end of sem, I was already suffering.

But not everything was so gloomy and depressing.It was an exciting experience to be part of the grad studies at TAMU.It's so much different than what we have in India.Differences emanate from the societal thinking itself.The education system out here is very flexible and practical.Professors are buddies to the students and that makes the journey of a student less painful and horrible.

When I first came here, I was staying with my seniors from Roorkee. They took me around the campus and showed me the important buildings which I would often need to visit.I remember I fell in love with the campus at the first sight. The greenery, the peace, the vastness of the campus,the beautiful gals around , everything about TAMU enthralled me and I knew I was headed for a splendid two years of my life.And I am enjoying my stay!!

In the first month of my stay, I could find an on-campus job with a good monthly salary and that has helped me to live a peaceful and anxiety-free life on campus.Parents were happy to learn about my job and that made me feel even better.

But last four months have been really an uphill journey and I had moments when I would feel very depressed with my failure to manage time.I have always been a VERY BAD time manager.But the bad experience has helped me to refine myself and emerge as a better time manager. I am now more organized and less unpunctual.

Now is the "break time" and the summer semester starts from 29th of May.This semester would surely be a testing time for me and I am looking forward to the impending "Challenge". I am also kicking off my research this summer in my favourite field of research interest - AdHoc Wireless Networks and I hope to do good work.It should be an exciting summer.Summer of '07. What do u say?

Prologue...

2007-05-23T00:50:00.000-06:00

The last blog I posted is dated Sunday,Nov 5 2006.A long time indeed before I am back.

Back then I was in India.I was working for CSC as a software engineer. My blogs were reflection of my then state.

Now I am in USA. I am a graduate student at TAMU pursuing MS in Wireless Networking.I came here in January and have just completed Spring Semester.

I call this post as "Prologue" to identify my subsequent blogs as a fresh start.This post is the bridge linking my past archives with the up-coming posts.Blogging is now more convenient and blogger comes with more features, thanks to Google. And so you can see the change in my blog's look. A few of my friends have been inspiration to me when it comes to art of blogging and their blogs can be found under "Their Blogs" section.I would like to make special mention of Anurag's and Nishtha's blogs which are very rich in ideas and thoughts. Sreejan's travelogue is really awesome.

Blogging is as much an art of creativity as it is a pastime. I mean it and intend to stick to this line of thought.

Have a nice time going thru this web-space!!

Love,Big Love,Great Love

2006-11-05T01:59:00.000-06:00

Love is which lasts for 2 months.

Big Love is which lasts for 2 years.

Great Love is which changeth the life of the person.Great Love knows no comparison.A lady in love feels her man as the BEST.A man in love feels his lady as the BEST.People in Great Love are everybody and everything to each other.

Hypocrisy ....

2006-10-28T07:18:00.000-06:00

Not an unheard word.Not an unheard character.

Hypocrisy if put in words mean "Insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have".Pretention in other word.

Many times we see people resorting to pretention to win heart of others, to win business , to impress people around themselves.Sometimes it surely turns out to lead to victory route but almost all the other times it results in fiasco and shattering of the relationship that has shaped up - be it business or professional or personal.

When a fresh graduate joins a job and gets going, he needs to develop good professional rapport with people working with him.All depends on how the guys around him project themselves.In the first few days or a few months, when the interaction with the team members is only at work place,person may intend to harbour a certain opinion about his team memebers.Some may be hypocritical in nature and tend to project theselves as what they are not.But the story doesn't last long and surely on one heart-breaking day, the person realizes that he wasnt' correct about some of them.He was being cheated.And then the professional relationship takes a deep dive down to an unrevocable state.Only if it had started honestly, this situation wouldn't have arisen.

Similarly, we also see such hypocrisy in relationship between so called friends.When one learns that his trust on someone was betrayed, friendship surely takes a whinning route.Unxpected happens when one least expects that to happen.We hear of cases when a guy and gal seeing each other for a year or two breaks up.Reason.The Guy learns that the gal wasn't what he was expecting.He was being cheaten.It is surely tough to gauge a person's psyche in some limited number of days.It just takes an unfortunate event to take place and u know the person who seems to love u the most is a Hypocrite.It hurts more than anything else under the sun as emotions,trust and faith are collectively involved in such a relationship.

Friendhip, on a professional as well as peronal level, blosoms only when the foundation is laid in true virtues of the participating people.Hypocrisy is something which just looks for an ugly day to raise its ugly head and then u know u were the fool to believe some one who always cheated you, who posed himself as some one who wasn't but who you wanted to be.

We always wish to be surrounded by good people, by the people in whom we can repose our faith. Some of us are fortunate and some of us are not.But whatever be it, aleast one should strive to be honest to himself and others. Hypocrisy should be BIG NO-NO.

Being an IITian....

2006-10-28T06:00:00.000-06:00

"Don't judge others too quickly.I thought my son was useless because he didn't get into IIT.I tell you what,I was a useless father.It is great to get into IIT,but it is not the end of the world if you don't.All of you should be proud to have the IIT tag, but never ever judge anyone who is not from this institute- that alone can define the greatness of this institute."

This excerpt is from the best seller "Five Point Someone" by Chetan Bhagat and I quote it here because being an IITian,I firmly believe in the spirit embodied in the lines of the quote. Being humble and courteous with a sense of pride is what has been my learning.

How does it feel to be one of them?How high are the expectations of others ? or rather does the IIT tag make one to raise one's expectation from himself/herself? Myriad of questions and varying answers we might have.But whatever one has to say , this breed is undoubtedly a revered one.Exceptions surely abound when u can find people scornful about them.Reasons I could never find out.IITians are the confident lot and know for sure that the world is watching them.They are idiolized and that always instills a sense of pride in them.

But being an IITian, in my opinion, shouldn't be reflective of possessing certain common traits.Afterall it's just about graduating from one of the seven IITs.Undoubtedly they represent the elite guys of our country.And so they are expected to dream bigger and climb higher.But at the end of the day, it all boils down to the individual.And that makes each one of them different from the other.One shouldn't harbour a generic opinion about them.They span all the characters present on the earth- from being the stupdiest to the smartest, from the not-versatile to very-versatile, from very carefree to very responsible and so on.

I have many times experienced my faliures being linked to that of an IITian.Something I have always hated to hear.I would love to contribute to the glory of the IITs but it hurts to hear happening otherwise.An IITian is taught to be an achiever.If he achieves,hats off to IIT.If he fails, the failure is his and not that of an IIT.

Thinking on a different line, IITians are just a few among the vast lot of equally smart and brilliant engineers. Many are far better also.One way of looking at them is they got lucky on the crucial day and had a journey of privileged what many ud say.I guess it's all about knowing the oppurtunities and striving to grab them.Rest should be left to Lady Luck and to HIM.

The world-wide fame and brand equity that IITs have acquired in years is the contribution primarily of its alumni and that makes every IIT graduate feel as his duty to contribute to building up of the brand IIT.It has not just made IITians gain recognition world wide.Rather, the Indian Talent has got marketed on the World Stage.

I personally feel proud of the tag IIT and want to live by the high expectations of my own.It's all about enjoying the life to the fullest and striving to be a nice person.It's about being humble and courteous and inspiring others to be the same.It's about being honest to yourself and avoiding being hypocritical.

Confusion Confusion All Around......

2006-10-15T06:16:00.001-06:00

Today I was just going through the Web looking for the meaning of chatting phrase 'ciao'. I discovered that it's not like any other chat acronyms but is an italian verbal salutation and greeting meaning 'goodbye' when used in English.

And then I thought of browsing through the list of chatting abbreviations we generally use.I googled the phrase "chatting abbreviations" and was thrown up with 3,310,000 search results. The third one led me to www.mistupid.com/internet/chattalk.htm.

I was particulary verifying the acronyms CYA,CU- the ones closer to ciao. And Oh God!! I found that 'CYA' means 'Cover your ass'. Really?? I have been using this phrase throughout my chatting years to gracefully say 'goodbye' to my chatting partners on Y!, gtalk and Sametime!!I always meant it as 'C U After'. I was confused for a moment.

But I had seen many of my frnds - a lot of female frnds too- also using the same phrase and hopefully with the same intention as I.They udn't have meant 'Cover You Ass'.Scarry Feeling!!

To reconfirm, I googled' CYA' and followed the second search result. It took me to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CYA and from there I moved onto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Internet_slang_phrases.

And then I had a sigh of relief.The list confirmed that CYA also means 'CU After'.Phew!! A big realization indeed.'CYA' means 'Cover Ur Ass' as well as 'C U After'.Usage is contextual.

A lot of Confusion!!

Inspiration...

2006-10-15T04:35:00.000-06:00

The other day I was going thru one of my dearest friends' blog and was truly inspired by his beautiful postings.He has great control over the English language and that makes his blogs exude literary brilliance.

That inspires me to read a lot to write much better than what I am doing now.Inspiration to write better.

Inspiration what I am talking about can be understood as "stimulation, motivation, incitement, spur" to do one's work.We sometimes idolize a person to get inspired and at other times we are self-motivated.

A poster in one of my team-mates' cube reads " A definitive way to see myself grow as a person is to surround myslef with people smarter than me!". A nice saying!! If we work with good people, that surely inspires us to do better and emerge as a better professional.

Mahatama Gandhi inspired the billion Indians to stir against the British Empire non-violently, Sania Mirza inspires the million Indian gals to dream bigger and taller, Sachin inspires the million Indian boys to think and dream cricket all the times....We see the phenomenon of inspiration rolling all around through all ages.

Personally, I am inspired by people around me who are very calm and cool and carry out their responsibilities without compromising their integrity,people who are practical and inspirational in their character,people who are caring and respectful in nature.

U too r inspired by someone or something! Rite? Nope? then U r self-motivated..:-)

A few sweet words...

2006-10-14T06:03:00.000-06:00

Sweet words are easy to say, Sweet things are easy 2 buy,
But sweet people are difficult to find.

Life ends when U stop dreaming, Hope ends when U stop believing,
Love ends when U stop caring, Friendship ends when U stop sharing.

To love without condition, To talk without intention,
To give without reason, And to care without expectation is the heart of a truefriend... :-)

- Knahee se choree kiya....

Sorry...

2006-10-09T20:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry- One of the most extensively used phrases in our daily life. I thought why not pen down something on this.

Oxford dictionary defines it as an adjective 1. sorry for his actions regretful, apologetic, repentant, penitent, remorseful, contrite, ashamed, conscience-stricken, guilt-ridden, in sackcloth and ashes, compunctious.

The phrase is used to show one's regret and apology at hurting some one close or at doing something unintended."I am Sorry" is an expression of humbleness and speaks of the caring and respectful nature of the person.The usage of the word is conscience-driven and serves as the measure of politeness of the person.

But the interpretation is surely contextual.Saying "Sorry" when you are being bullied, is show of one's cowardice.It's a way of providing strength to your enemy."Gandhigiri" may speak of tolerating your enemy but it doesn't preach yout to be coward and meek.

"Sorry" is the word of Humbles and not the Weaks.It's a powerful tool to maintain harmony and peace around us.It loses its effectiveness when used as an Excuse.U can't commit a crime and feel sorry about it.That's in itslef is making mockery of the strength of this word.

There went an opinion on the word "Sorry" !! What do U say?

Women are Beautiful...

2006-10-08T01:43:00.000-06:00

Discovering the beauty of women has always been the ecstacy and preoccupation of men.I know many would love to differ.I respect their opinions.But from where I see, women form an integral part of men's life and vice-versa is also equally true.

Wait for a minute! Don't be illusioned reading this article that I have done some kind of study on human bahaviour or had a great experience learning the behaviour of women in particular.It's an article as immature as it could be.It's JUST an opinion.

Women are cognitively and emotionally very different from men.They complement men's characters.They tend to see what men see with a different perspective.They are good in arts and literature.Have gr8 memory and emotional IQ.

Yeah, they let tears roll out of their eyes in moments of grief and despair.But if you didn't know, then this is the best you to deal with such circumstances.Article titled "Cry your heart Out" on the " Mind Over Matter" page in 8th Oct issue of Sunday Times of India,Mumbai beautifully explains how has today's society been misled to believe that NOT Crying is the coolest thing U can do.Bad though!!They are disciplinarian in nature.But mind you in a very practical manner.That's the best part.And that helps men to get a little bit disciplined in her associationship.

The other day I was shuffling thru channels on my TV and I chanced upon "Man's World Show" airing on AXN.A must show for all human species on earth.I guess women would laugh on the tips provided to encounter/seduce them and men would gasp at how complicated the female species is.They had "Nikki" from Neal n Nikki and Amrita Arora as guests on the show to unfold the mystery that the woman is.Oh gosh!! they were all gung-ho detailing how women are the better lot.How good they are at lieing and getting away with it.How good are they at multi-tasking and juggling with multiple hunks-cum-bakaras .Yeah the guys know that!!

Surely the female gender is a complicated one.At times they suffer from "attitude" problem.In some cases, they may be completely different from what they appear to be.They have penchant to first test and then taste.A practical approach indeed.But they are beautiful.One needs to break into the seemingly complicated self and discover the inner self- the beautiful inner self. Fortunate are the men who are able to do that as it needs the winning of woman's heart and her trust.A tough task indeed!!

Life is like that. Discovering the beauty hidden within in a hard way.Frustration and dejection come in the way. But afterall that happens with every thing, with every goal we set to achieve.
I guess life becomes more beautiful with such pursuits.We are born to live once.Shouldn't we live to disover the beautiful things around? For Men, Woman is One of Them.

To all the guys.Have happy time discovering the beauty of Women!!

Focus - necessity of the day

2006-10-05T01:48:00.000-06:00

It's 1:08 pm by my watch.It's Thursday today.I am at home trying to compile this post. I work in CSC.I shuld have been in the office hitting the IBM keyboard to get some code up and runningon Mainframe. But I m not.

What ud have made me sit and write this post at this time? There are numerous.But one reason stands out.A few days back I was watching 'Titanic' on Star Movies.Remember the scene where DeCaprio is painting the portrait of Kate Winslet with only diamond necklace on her.She asks, "arent' you blushing, Mr painter" and Decaprio replies, "it's all about painting the landscape". That's focus.Focus of a painter, an artist.

We all are artists in one way or the other.And definitely needs to be focussed to get going happily in our life.Focus helps us to set and define our priorities as at any point of time in our life we may have a lot of things to achieve and accomplish.But it's only human to not able to achieve all of them with perfection.And this is where focus and setting priorities come up.

Remember the college days.Some guys would be too busy working to score perfect 10.Toiling day and nite to impress the Profs. Some would be sleeping all the day with bottle of whisky on study table, bunking classes, living on proxies. Some could always be found hanging out with gals or loitering in vicinity of gal's hostel.All were focussed in one way or the other. One decided to focus on studies, the other on enjoying life and the another one on flirting. Acceptable.

But yeah what was the rite decision? No one knows. It's the person himself who has to take that decision and that what takes him to a different route.But yeah u have to be focussed.That's the bottomline.

I remember when we would tease some of our friends in my grad year who had the penchant of always being found at Nescafe with one or the other gal.We would ask,,"Bhaiya, be Focussed.".And the reply ud happen to be anything from "I am enjoying spending time with them" to "I am testing her ATTITUDE" to "AM trying to FOCUS".Guys know what they r doing.Gals know what they r doing.Focus could be different.Both of them may live in illusions.

Focus is required to achieve some purpose.Purpose which unflolds easy going life for one. Fillers around that Purpose may not require Focus.

Lecture on Focus ends here.Have a Nice time Focussing (on) the rite things;-)

"Professionalism" - my interpretation..

2006-10-01T06:35:00.000-06:00

It's been 2 years working in the IT industry and like every IT junta I have learnt the bads and goods of this Industry...

The Industry is so large that u can't miss finding the variety of junta u may be loooking for.Uniqness of personalities brings flavor to the working environment,makes it lively and surely challenging.U can find people talking about being professional synonymus with being smart in our daily life.When I was in college, I was intrigued by the term "bein practical" and when I joined industry I fell into the trap of "being professional". What the hell this means?

Professionalism as many define is all about being smart enuf to return home from workplace unscathed.To work no more than what u r being paid for i.e no of hrs to work ~ amount of paisa coming to one's salary a/c.Nice definitions!!

But when a defintion hints of being irresponsible, I would say that's an unacceptable one and such a smartness is self defeating and void in nature.Many times people tend to believe and practice such a hollow definition of professionalism.They laugh at others when they forget that they themselves are the center stage of laughter.Sooner or later they learn the lesson of true professionalism.

In my opinion, professionalism is all about being responsible, being able to motivate others to be the same.It' s about being interested in contributing to the cohesiveness of a team.It's about respecting each other's potentials , rather than coronating oneself as the "smarter" one.Believe me that's suicidal and self-mockery of oneself. Smart is okay,Smarter may not be.It's certainly difficult to have flamboyant personal relationship with evryone at the work-place but we can always have good professional relationship with every1.Afterall that matters more at the work-place. Professional smartness is not at all about being able to mange to work less and pass on the blame for the same to others.Such an smartness is illusionary in nature.It may work somehwere but is bound to put one in deep shit at every other place.

I guess I shud put FULL STOP now.So it goes here.

My take on "five point someone"...

2006-06-04T04:36:00.000-06:00

"This is a work of fiction, but fiction needs real inspiration.I love them all so much that I could literally write a book on them."
- Chetan Bhagat, author of "five point someone"

Here is a marvellous literary work by an ex-IITian, a 1995 batch IITD graduate.A real gripping gatha of campus life at IIT.

I don't have to say much about the novel.It's a class in itself. It's flawless,lucid,very true and makes a gr8 reading for any IITian or non-IITian. I could relive my IITR days for the 5 hrs I devoted to completing this novel.An amazing story.A four-year ordeal of 3 bosom friends to survive the IIT system with touching love story between Hari, one of the three friends and Neha, a Prof's daughter.A tale of 3 friends copping up with their 5.X GPA, a fallout of "system of realtiveness" at IITs.

Read for yourself and I guarantee u won't disappoint urself ,rather you ud get inspired to pen down some article in praise as I am doing rite now:-)

I found some phrashes and paras in the novel very striking and touching and so decided to pen them down here .

The best one

"Two,don't judge others too quickly.I thought my son was useless because he didn't get into IIT.I tell you what,I was a useless father.It is great to get into IIT,but it is not the end of the world if you don't.All of you should be proud to have the IIT tag, but never ever judge anyone who is not from this institute- that alone can define the greatness of this institute."

"Alok recalculated his score,hoping for some miracle to happen on the calculator.But miracles never happen in IIT, only crape grades do.

"See that is the thing.Once you get a GPA in IIT,everyone has an opinion abou it, about you, even if it's a fashion design student."

"She held my hand,though she hadn't stopped laughing.What is so funny to women all the time? And why do I still find her so beautiful? And why the hell can't I kiss her?"

"Girls are beautiful, let's face it, and life is quite, quite worthless without them."

""How's Neha?"Alok said.
"She is fine.That is the only thing that keeps me in IIT,"I said. "

"Cooperate to Dominate.The IIT system is unfair because:
1.It suppresses tlent and individual spirit.
2.It extracts the best years of one's life from the country's brightest minds.
3.It judges you with a draconian GPA system that destroys relationships.
4.The profs don't care for the students.
5.IITs have hardly contributed to the country."

"How did I get here? I was topper in my school all my life.That is how I got into IIT,right? But then why I am now a low-perfomer, five-point something cheat sitting on the insti roof at midnight,unsure of my future?"

""It is about knowledge.And making the most of the system,even if it has flaws.And it is about not listening to bloody Ryan all the time,"I said."

""Oh Neha,don't cry,"I said, probably to make her cry a bit more.I can't tell how good it feels when a girl cries because she missed you."

PYAAR bahut hee complex cheez hai;-)

2006-06-03T00:54:00.000-06:00

Pyaar aankhon se jataya to bura maan gaye,
Haal-e-Dil humne sunaya to bura maan gaye,
Woh to har roz rulaya kartee hai,
Ek roz humne rulaya to bura maan gaye....

Agar hoti ye pyaar ki rahen itni aasan
to isme itni kasme khane ki jaroorat na hoti,
agar samajh hi jati ye duniya pyaar ko itni aasani se
to sayad Sajahah ko taj banane ki jaroorat na hoti...

Dil Ki Nazuk Dhadkano Ko
Mere Sanam Tumne Dhadakna Sikha Diya
Jab Se Mila Hai Tera Pyaar Dil Ko,
Gam Mai Bhi Muskurana Sikha Diya.

Woh mausam wo bahar uske samne kam thi,
Saath guzra hua waqt woh fiza kam thi....
Door to aakhir hona hi tha zalim,
Kya kare in haathon me saath rahne ki lakirein hi kam thi...

Kab unki palko so izhaar hoga,
dil ke kisi kone mein hamare liye pyar hoga,
guzar rahi hai raatein unki yaad mein,
kabhi to unko humse milne ka intezaar hoga.

- Compiled from Net

Let me run backwards to My School Life;-)

2006-05-31T23:05:00.000-06:00

Years have passed when I got separated with "my school days".The bereavemnet was no less than when we lose some one very dear in our life.We wish to relive those days ,to enjoy those golden moments of our life.Alas! we can't do that.We can only recall the memories of the passed days and try to be happy talking them.How harsh it is:-(( Wish We could fly to our past and spend some moments and come back to our present...;-)

I remember the bunch of lies I used to keep in stock to evade the scolding for spending the pocket money for a week in just a day,the scolding from dad during so called "study time", punishment from seemingly nice lady teachers in my kindergarten days, sharing the tiffin of dear friends in the recess period and many such more moments.

I remember one day in my KG class when one Fat Lady Teacher put chilly lipistic on my lips for abusing one of my friends while fighting with him.U can understand what ud have happended to this the then innocent child:-( Some of the memories of your past get imprinted so firmly on your subconscious mind that it is hard to erase them.It's once of them:-(

As the days passed on , I moved on to higher classes ( that means I managed to keep passing;-)) and had stories of my own.Failing in the subject of MATHS in classs 4 and then scoring cent percent in class 7 is one of the most mysterious thing that has happened to my life.I firmly believe that it couldn't have happened without help of GOD and that proves that GOD exists ;-)

And ofcourse how I can forget the days when I used to sneak out of my home in the afternoon, when my parents ud be asleep , to play cricket with bunch of my school buddies.Cricket was one game.Then "Gullee-dantaa" was another.Playing Desi Hockey on verandah of a common friend.Football in the backyards of a common friend.Game of "Keet-keet" involving both male and feamle buddies...how eventful was that life.....

And do I remember playing any indoor games?Yes the favorite one was "Chor-Sippaahee". Then all time favorite of all , Ludo and Snake&Ladders.The game of Hauzy (have i spelled it correctly?). Many others that I have forgotten and there are lots which I haven't played.I am discovering a lot of them from some of my team-mates at my work place:-).

Honestly speaking, I got into studious mode in my student life from class 9 ownwards and then there was no looking back.I remember being very shy with my female classmates and the worst part was that I never approached any of them inspite of some of them very beautiful and intelligent and being great fan of mine;-)If you don't care for others, you shouldn't expect any such favor in return.

Days of Class 11 and 12 were mostly focussed on studies.Being far form home had its own challenges.I know I didn't made the best use of those 2 years.Though results weren't bad given I made it to one of the most reputed colleges of our country and that's gonna help me in a big way at every stage of my life, but I could have been more versatile than I am today.

Talking of the "school days" is one of the all time favorite topics and it truly brings out some of the best moments we have lived in our lfe.

Run-Up to the Soccer World Cup 2006

2006-05-27T08:25:00.000-06:00

Soccer World Cup 2006 is here.Countdown has started.Soccer aficionados are waiting crazily for the kick-off day. Rn't U? I am.Come 9 th June and I don't know whether I shall be able to give enuf time to my profession and day dreaming about her;-) Soccer is such a game of passion.

As run-up to the biggest event in soccer at Germany this year, our company(CSC)'s Indore center organized soccer tournament for the crazy soccer lovers.Five teams came out with the list of their star footballers (I shud better talk football than soccer:-)). Teams were X-Busters,Phoenix Blues,Mavericks United,AL Stars and Galaxy Stars each consisting of 8 players.40/400 people participating in the event.Isn't it an amazing ratio? Such is the spirit of playing football that prevails at CSC Indore center. Out of those 40 stars, I was also one playing for X-busters as the team's striker.

The tournament kicked-off with Phoenix Blues as the favorite and AL stars as the rookie.X-busters,Mavericks United and Galaxy Stars were teams each with one or two regular football players and posed gr8 threats to the Haughty Big, Phoenix Blues.

It was the first match.Between Phoenix Blues and my team. First half of 20 mins was a gr8 show of skills by both of the teams.Score read 2-1 in favor of the Blues by the end of 1st half.Second half began and we showed some grit to level the score.But our disappointing finishing shots always eluded us the levelling score.The Blues, true to their potential showed a majestic display of game and put us down by 4-1 by the final whistle.That helped them to stamp their edge right from the DAY 1.

As the days of the tournamnet progressed, AL stars kept losing their matches with all other teams and surprisingly losing all of them by a margin of 5 goals.On the other side, Phoenix Blues kept winning all of their matches by good margins.My team showed some gr8 play but couldn't win any of the league matches expect te one with AL Stars.Such was my luck that inspite of making some great moves and getting clean-goal oppurtunities, I couldn't shoot any goal.I remained goalless.Friends outside the field used to say,"Manish yaar , u played gr8.But Luck was not on your side.Goal ke mamle mein tum unlucky ho."I knew , it was more coz of my nervousness in the penalty area that I failed to score than my bad luck.But anyways,words of praise for good show of play, pouring in from all the sides helped me to console myself to a great extent and I always looked forward to score in the next match.But that eluding goal never came in any of the next matches:-((

At the end of the league matches, the four teams expect AL stars made it to the semi-finals and our team was once again poised against the still undefeated Phoenix Blues.We were awaiting eagerly for this clash and hoped to reverse the first clash's score.A Big Hope but Not an Impossible Hope.

The match started with gr8 zeal and to much of our expectations we showed a gr8 game-play.We hardly gave any chance to the Blues to penetrate our strong defence and our strikers consistently kept on challenging thier defence with great moves and co-ordination in the front-line.But thanks to my VOW to NOT to score any goal I missed some of the gr8 oppurtunities I got in the first half.I can't forget those two oppurtunities when it was just me and the goalkeeper across the flying football.And both of my shots went into the safe hands of the goalkeper avoiding such a large dia of goal post.I don't know how much my team members cursed me for those unforgivable misses but atleast I know this that they kept me saying that I cud do it and just neeeded to be focused and put one shot in the right area. First half was really entertaining.We could see the Mighty Blues sweating out of fear of losing the game.They ud have never dreamt to lose the game on such a big day, the semifinal.But the fear was real and we cud see that on their faces.The second half started with equal vigor but as the match progressed our team started to show the loosening of their grip on the ball and much to our disappointment and to the Blues' ecstasy , they put 4 goals in our goalpost in the last 10 minutes.A pathetic ending to the gr8 start.I cudn't forgive my lost chances.It was me who lost the match for my team.But nothing cud be done now.We were out of the race to the Cup and more depressingly, I remained goalless throughout the whole tournament.To say a good striker, but not able to score any goal.Sounds so funny but this is the harsh truth I am living with.

Mavericks United was the other team who made it to to final to set clash with the yet Invincible Phoenix Blues.The final was surely a good game but ended in an expected result and the Blues went on to win the Cup with a convincing winning score of 2-0. Good team surely deserved to be the winner but I knew our team could defeat theirs had I played with more intelligence and focus.

Kaash wo wanha hotee
mujhe protsaheet karne ke liye,
Mein ye abhaaga goalless Manish
ek goal kar paya hota.

;-)

Hasna Jarooree Hai!!!

2006-05-26T20:10:00.000-06:00

In the last few weeks, I have been made to realize by my team at my work-place that I am gonna be christened as the "Laughter Trigger Prince" (Prince makes me feel better;-)) of my team and it seems the day is not far away when my team shall raise toast for me in celebration of that. How scary I feel day- dreaming of the events!!:-)))

I am very well known for my penchant for coming out with out of the blue one-liners. I remember doing so at movies time in our hostel rooms in my undergrad years, on the trip to Panchmarhi with my previous team,on the tour to Goa with my gang of CSC friends on the new year celebration,at snacks time in CSC canteen with my team members,during the lengthy bakkar session with my team mates.So when do I don't do that? Hardly anytime:-)

These one-liners have often bagged me advice from my dear friends on being careful while using them with people senior to me.Whenever I get such an advice, I speak in my mind to my dear friend,"I understand your concerns,dear.But Manish with friends behaves differently to Manish with senior people.Extrapolation works fine for Stock Market, not for an indvidual's behaviour.I do keep in my mind what I have to say and when:-))"

It's not just my one-liners that make people do ha-ha,ho-ho,he-he but sometimes they get to laugh for some wrong reasons also.I am still compiling the list of "those wrong reasons" and once complete I shall surely post them here.That shall surely a make a fun-to-read list;-)

Sometimes I feel , I make people laugh to their hearts for free when many people earn handsomely for doing the same by preaching "Hasya Yoga".A missed oppurtunity for me!!

Hasna Jarooree Hai... doesn't matter whether u r watching Ram Gopal Verma's Darna Jaroore Hai or a comedy sop on the idiot-box coz afterall Laughter is the best medicine.But yes words of advice.Hasna is not at all Jarooree at other's weaknesses.That's more of rediculing the individual than amusing yourself.Many might take it lightly while others might get offended also.

SHYNESS puts you on BACKSEAT in Life...Really??

2006-05-23T13:08:00.000-06:00

"Hey Man!! Be bold...be confident.."
"Beta Lazaate nahee hai... "

Common reverberating phrashes we keep listening as we grow up in our LIFE... We all try hard to abide by these sayings but not each of us succeed...but does it really matter? and am I correct in saying that every one of us do try hard to grow confident,outspoken and extrovert (the mother of ALL)? Who cares?

But yup, I believe in the fact that "Shyness surely pulls u back at times when U need to step up and deliver".It could be an occasion as professional as making a speech infront of a completely unacquainted audience or an occasion as romantic as proposing to the lady of your love or even saying a few words of admiration to her.

I put myself in the category of AMBIVERT. At times I have proved myself a dumb a** by being reluctant( or better SHY) to speak out my heart but antagonistically at many times I have also
been very expressive and outspoken with my friends and dear ones. And in day to day life, my ambiversion rules.

What about you? Are you Shy? Not able to fight for your rights because u can't confront and speak on face?Not able to talk to her because u think a lot than cud happen? Here is the tip.Renounce your bloody Shyness and wear the hat of Confidence and everythig would fall in place.So easy to say but equally tough to follow.This is what Life is all about.

"Trust" isn't just a 5 Letter Word...

2006-05-13T07:29:00.000-06:00

Do u remember some thing of this sort - "Protein is the building block of human body"? HeHe.Such a commonplace fact.

"Trust is the building block of any relationship" is equally commonplace.But then since I have chosen this as a title of this post, let me put my own views over here.That will make it different from what u might have read before.Rite!!

Friendhsip between two persons sprouts on the ground of certain similarities and then blosoms with each passing day.What keeps it going? Not the kick-off parameters of attraction,likeness,similarity in characters... Believe me none of those craps help.It's largely because of the kind of trust and faith two persons share between them. Haven't you ever experienced that? Ofcourse you would have if you possess a bosom friend.

I have had such brushes of expereince and was reminded of the fact that you owe as much to ur male/female friend as much as he/she to you. Trust, I meant. If he/she happens to confide in you regardless of his/her personal or professional interests, you also need to do the same.Because listening to others story is so pleasing but sharing your own, when it can have profound impact if revealed, is when Trust is tested. Many a times you forget that or are misinterpreted and the relationship can be seen gasping for life. Trusting anyone is really a very very difficult task.For the simple reason as it involves understanding the person in totality before u do that.

Gr8 friends are able to do that.They are gr8 support to each other in times of difficulty and need.Trust helps one to forego every LITTLE thing and think about BIG things in a relationship.I have expereinced it with some of my close male/female friends.

Do u think even now that Trust is just a 5 letter word?

Am I suffering from Acute Amnesia?

2006-05-05T18:18:00.000-06:00

It seems that now-a-days I have started taking my life extraordinarly serious and in the process have damaged my brain cells leading to frequent embarassing forgetfulness.Sounds so serious and pitiable!!! I know u must be praying for the "untruthfulness" of this fact because I not only pray for the same when I am wide awake but also in my dreams.....

The other day I forgot that "Nokia" is not a sports shoe brand but a famous mobile brand.Otherwise why should have I asked my dear colleague and friend that whether he is wearing "Nokia's Shoes". U can say it as slip of tongue.I would also love to say that.But too many slips of tongue lead to too much of embarassement and it's better to assume urself as a diseased person than a healthy one with such a grave defect.

I often forget the names of people I interact very seldom even though I might have shared some good moments with them in the past.And the embarassement befalls when the guy happens to meet me greeting " Hello Manish!!" with a smile on his face and I, thanks to my gr8 memory,am able to say just "Hi" though I would have loved to say "Hi X" where X is the first name of the person.Medication is not the cure,determination to improve my memory surely is. Why do I say so?

Simple. A few months back I used to remember only one mobile number, ofcourse, just mine( thugh I have put that too in my contact list in case my memory plays the spoilsport).I didn't remember even my home number.Sounds so pathetic. Then one fine day I determined to engrave my home number in my brain and suprisingly now it's on my tongue all the times.And ofcourse I would hate to forget her number but you never know. Life is like that!!

And yes my Sametime - Offical IM - passwd.Should I give u a hint how tough is it? 44%#F34KU69C happens to be the template. A few weeks back I couldn't manage to remember it.But today it's on my tongue.A marked improvement.Don't u think so?

So again I ask myself - Am I suffering from Acute Amnesia? The answer is a BIG YES if I am an escapist and a BIG NO if I recognize the fact that it's just one's mental framework that leads one to feel so.

So should I be happy with the fact that in a few days to come I will surely remember that Nokia is a mobile brand and Nike a sport shoes brand and not vice-versa.Only time will tell.Or do I also have stake in that. YES, I do have.