Rahul, don't go away :(

[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!!

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 sometimes try out some random tunes 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 to my ears from my ipod.

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

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

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)

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

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??

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 :(:)

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!

fantasy woods
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

wonderful!

through
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

gorgeous!

railway
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

crow on a dry tree!

rural decay
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

awesome!

edit
Originally uploaded by _Neverletmego_

They inspire me!

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

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 !

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?

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!

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 Claypit @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

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!

"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.....

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.