Discrete events

A new system?

2008-12-02T18:17:00.001-08:00

I lost my speeding ticket virginity 3 days ago. I was way over the limit and this wasn't my first time speeding. Hence when the lady officer pulled me over, I didn't contest it - I had no grounds to contest it. Sigh :( This has made me a better driver. I notice my speed more and honestly I don't feel the need to speed as much. I guess my luck ran out since while driving on roads with no vehicles in sight, at times I didn't realize how much over the speed limit I was. Big mistake.

The previous evening I was advocating a new system with my friends. If you follow the rules of the road (applies in the case where one doesn't get caught breaking the rules), you should accumulate points and hence points on your driving record would be a good thing.

I can hear the skeptics out there, how would this change anything? Think about it..... the higher your score, the safer a driver you are. Every year you get extra points for driving well, like an annual bonus and compound interest. Your Auto insurance company would then have to reduce your Insurance, because you're less likely to drive recklessly.

The flip side is any violations will subtract points, and hence you could end up with a negative score, increasing your insurance rates just like the contemporary system.

The devil's advocate in the car reminded me that one is expected to follow the rules. I say why not. If we can get penalized for bad driving, why not get rewarded for doing a good job?

Comfort from a Stranger

2008-11-30T21:46:00.000-08:00

This afternoon I was on my way back after a exhilarating 4 day trip to California's Redwood National Park. We stopped to have lunch at a food court in a mall, a few miles from Portland. My friend and I were eating and talking about how exhausted we were. An elderly American lady came up to us and asked if we were from India. When we said yes, she told us how terrile she felt about the recent terror attacks in Mumbai. She added that she and her husband knew a lot of Indians and they both love our culture. It's such a shame she said and I feel for your people.

I was taken aback with her sentiments. She knew how to set aside any differences and empathized with total strangers. May God bless her. My friend made an interesting observation - since 9/11, I have met so many Americans and yet never once did I ever feel like empathizing with them over something that was an equally sinister attack on their nation. I just never thought about things that way, regarding any other country and it's people.

Some moments will stay with you forever.

Congratulations Mr. President

2008-11-04T20:43:00.000-08:00

This was my first US Presidential election and what a historic one it was. Barack Obama, will the the 44th President of America and the first African American President. I didn't doubt that Obama would win, but his margin over Mccain is nothing short of outstanding. As much as I would have liked this victory to be Hillary Clinton's, I think Obama has won me over tonight with his tenacity, smartness and leadership.

People of all ethnicities, ages and ideals are out on the streets at midnight, cheering and waiting for the next President to address them. I also enjoyed listening to Mccain address his supporters conceding defeat, and saying the failure was his and not theirs. I respect the man for being a veteran and a PoW. But America has made the right choice. And thanks Mr. Obama for reiterating the fact that anything is possible in America.

I must thank a few folks for making this race so enjoyable: my lunch group, Tina Fey and the SNL folks, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert and last but not least Sarah Palin (all said and done she was a good sport). You betcha ;)

Favorite Office dialog

2008-09-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

Michael: Why does society force men to use urinals, when sitting down is far more comfortable?

So true ;) I pity you guys out there.

Yumm

2008-09-09T22:28:00.000-07:00

I wouldn't describe myself as a foodie. 2 years ago I set out in search of the nice Chapatis. Soon I realized that there are some things money can't buy :(. I resorted to Tortillas and flirted occasionally with frozen ones. Unfortunately things didn't work out between us and i gave up. But now, thanks to mom I'm seeing better days - fresh, round and soft Chapatis (Sujata atta).

Disclaimer - None of this is against my mom's will, i swear she likes to cook :)

Ode To Joy

2008-09-08T01:21:00.004-07:00

Teachers' Day

2008-09-05T18:43:00.003-07:00

Today at work I realized it's Teachers’ day. Talk about a blast from the past! This day used to be so important in school. But now, it’s just another day. In order to make sure that my memory wasn't failing me, I checked on Wikipedia. I didn’t know that different countries had different days to celebrate it. In India it’s celebrated on the birthday of our 2nd President.

School days were amazing. Life was simple - go to school, sit in classes, hang out with your friends, play in the evenings, do your homework and encore! Sure there are unit-tests and final exams, but hey….. how tough were they? It’s a lot easier to say that now and the stress on certain exams like the board exams and entrance tests is too much for kids. But it’s all a part of what I think of as one of the best times of life. Gosh I sound old don’t i? Somehow I still think I’m small.

I had my favourite teachers in school for whom I’d buy greeting cards and flowers. I think I was the kind of kid who liked to be a teachers’ pet (read immature). Of course you always have those that like you and those that don’t. Some come to mind that simply terrified me by their demeanor. But on Teachers’ day we would put up a show for all of them. We’d sing a song (pick a popular one and change the lyrics to suit the day) get someone to play the keyboard and voila – plagiaristic genius! You could dress up in a saree if you were in the 10th standard. Good times. It was a day to look forward to. And yes it was half day of school. Those teachers need a break! And us too :)

In Junior college and engineering, this day didn’t appear on the list of holidays and gradually the importance faded away. When in training in Mastek, some of us thought that we should wish our trainers on September 5th. It seemed childish, but what the heck – we were grateful to them. And we were the bacchas of the company (trainees, subjected to a year of probation mind you!) So my friend and I ordered a bouquet of flowers and went extra early to work, placed it near the Trainers’ cubicles before they got in. The day passed and none of them mentioned anything :(. Now I know it’s immature to expect an acknowledgement for something so puerile, but it was Teachers’ day, didn’t anyone get the importance of it? It took them 24 hrs to say a thank you, but that didn’t matter, we felt content.

Today this day has less meaning for me than it did back in 2004. So I decided to dedicate this post to all teachers who have made us who we are, it’s a special relationship. I just realized, I’m so old we didn’t have email addresses in the 10th standard! I got mine in JC, so no contact with any of my school teachers. Never mind – Happy Teachers Day.

The Chamber of Secrets

2008-04-29T12:25:00.004-07:00

Scene: At the Science Library
Me: Hi, I'm looking for a Call Number and am unable to locate it
Lady #1: (Looking at me with disdain) Were you not able to find the book or the section?
Me: I can't find the entire section
Lady #1: Let me send someone to locate it
Lady #2: What's the call number?
Me: QA 76.73 P39 XXXX
We walk downstairs to where the computer books are kept. First floor North.

Me: See this rack ends at QA 76.73 P39 and the next starts at QA 76.73 S. So I don't know where the section in between is
Lady #2: Now that's really weird. It should be here
Retraces my steps
Lady #2: I've been here for 2 years. And have not come across this problem
Continues to retrace my steps. Finally gives up and we go back to the front desk

Lady #2: (Tells Lady #1) I swear the entire section is missing!
Lady #1: (Sitting and frowning. Looks towards me) We'll just put in a missing book request. Can I have your CAT Card please
Me: Isn't there a way to find where this section is? I mean it's a big section from 73 P38 up to 73 S
Lady #1: All I can do at this point is put in a missing book request. And you can get it in the next 10 days via an Inter library Loan. You can put in a request on our website
Me: Grrrrr. But I wanted the book today and putting in a request is not going to help me
Lady #1: That's all I can do for you
Me: Grrrr. Alright, then never mind
Me: (Thinks) How the hell can an entire section be missing? What is this, the Chamber of Secrets??

I walked down again and was determined to find it. I retraced all my previous steps and was getting more frustrated as I went through the aisles. Finally I was close to giving up and what do you know. I found a section along the right hand side wall with all the "Missing" call numbers! Yay. So here I am reading the book that has been reported "Missing" on the website.

PS - After the last post, which some found philosophical, I had to put up one of my random ramblings, just to get back to my "element" :)

Vicious Cycle

2008-04-28T01:12:00.006-07:00

Ever so often he gets stuck in a vicious cycle. All that is needed is an external spark. Sometimes when you see the yellow light, you slow down. Other times, you step on the gas.

Suddenly he's living in an alien medium. He feels the most insecure when he has lost that peace of mind - the inner voice that guides him. It's muffled by the whirling sound of the vicious cycle! It's easy to get consumed by it and let it replace the values he cherishes, in the process taking him to new lows.

It's at these times that he realizes just how much he depends on that voice - call it faith or conscience. Without it, he's a human shell. It felt awesome to break out of it! All that was needed was another spark, this one from within :)

Tagged!

2008-04-22T22:19:00.010-07:00

1. Last movie you saw in a theater?
The Great Debaters. On the Coldstone scale I'd say it's definitely a - Gotta watch it! The acting is simple and splendid. Also the script. It deals with such a grave topic, so smoothly and conveys the message very well.

2. What book are you reading
Code Complete. My dear sweet manager has sent me 2 books, which I intend to read before I start. I'm not being sarcastic here, I really think he's dear and sweet. I just wish I was a better reader

3. Favorite board game?
Monopoly :) takes me down memory lane. When I was small, I used to play with my brother who was always the Banker. I was horrible at it, but that never deterred me. And the other memory is Thanksgiving night in 2006 outside Circuit City, when I had no intention of buying anything, but nevertheless looked like a serious shopper. Ended up losing badly there too

4. Favorite magazine?
Nothing in particular

5. Favorite smells?
I don't have the best perfume sense, but I do like Coolwater among women's perfume. I also like the smell of petrol, the smell of the mud outside my home in Bombay after the first rain, the sweet smell of what mom's cooking when I enter the building (I live on the ground floor)

6. Favorite sounds?
My roommates keyboard every morning :P .... beats an alarm clock, I'll tell you that much

7. Worst feeling in the world?
When someone I care about is hurting and I can't do anything to help them

8. What is the first thing you think of when you wake up?
What is she typing so furiously?

9. Favorite fast food place?
Aditi Fast Food. I have paid homage to this place and it's signature dish - Idli Chilli several times. It's on the first floor of the BEST building at Andheri West station, in case you are there, do drop in :)

10. Future child’s name?
Something cheesy like Puchkoo. Hehehe yes he/she will be scarred for life. Muhahahaha

11. Finish this statement. “If I had lot of money I’d….?”
Sponsor more children. This is not a Ms. World answer, I really would

12. Do you sleep with a stuffed animal?
Yes, sometimes. Garfield is the most useless character. He stays in bed, tucked under my comforter all day and makes me jealous :(

13. Storms - cool or scary?
Scary

14. Favorite drink?
Non alcoholic - plain mmmmmilk
Alcoholic - red wine

15. Finish this statement, “If I had the time I would….”?
Respond to a Blog tag :)

16. Do you eat the stems on broccoli?
Yeah why not?

17. If you could dye your hair any color, what would be your choice?
Shocking pink

18. Name all the different cities/towns you’ve lived in?
Bombay, Dubai, Tucson, Kansas City

19. Favorite sports to watch?
I can watch anything other than American Football, punja competitions and WWF

20. One nice thing about the person who sent this to you?
Rahul is a good friend, is crazy about Lost and I like discussing plots with him. I realize that I have not understood so many things. He is a patient listener and is very supportive of his friends. His friends matter a lot to him, and I think that's a good thing

21. What’s under your bed?
Now don't laugh. I keep plastic bags...... I said don't laugh! They're not just any plastic bags, but good/decent looking ones, like if you have to carry just a book. I've never used any of them till date, but just keep accumulating them

22. Would you like to be born as yourself again?
Oh absolutely! I'd love to make the same mistakes all over again, just for kicks

23. Morning person, or night owl?
Although I prefer being a morning person, I can be a night owl too

24. Over easy, or sunny side up?
Over easy

25. Favorite place to relax?
The UA Mall. It's like my brain cells get recharged. I love strolling there

26. Favorite pie?
Nothing in particular

27. Favorite ice cream flavor?
Choco chip, choco almond, etc. Anything chocolaty except choco mint. eeks!

28. Of all the people you tagged this to, who’s most likely to respond first?
In decreasing order of response time Sheshu, Rohit, Parag, Bhavin, Karthik, Joann, Nikesh :)

GPScapades

2008-04-20T22:27:00.007-07:00

I consider it as my Graduation gift to myself... got a Garmin Nuvi 360, after thinking about it for a while. Today we planned a trip to Tempe and the Ganapati temple and I was doubly excited, as it would be my first test of driving with my GPS, yay! The trip was an all day event and am tired as hell right now, and overall had a good time But not without some hiccups :) But then, what's a road trip, without a little excitement? :P

Hiccup 1
Scene - Leaving Priya Indian Cuisine after a sumptuous lunch
Characters - Andy (co-driver), Bob (Rear seat passenger #1) and yours truly

Me: Ok I've set the GPS to go Home. I set it last night, so we should be good to go
(Everyone agrees)
Common sense: Take a left and go to I10.
GPS: Take a right and then take a left onto XYZ Street
Me: Hmm, that's odd, but it must be an alternative route
(Everyone agrees)

Bob: Yea there is an alternative route from Phoenix to Tucson and we might even bypass the horrid I10 traffic into Tucson!
Me: Yea, that would be nice

GPS: Continue straight and next turn is in 74 miles!!
Andy: Are you sure you set home correctly?
Me: Yea it showed me current location at home in Latitude and Longitude and I said, set as Home
Andy: I don't think we're in the right direction and 74 miles before next turn, with NO sign on I10 sounds suspicious
Me: Ok change the address and let's see
GPS: You idiots, you're headed the wrong way! Take these corrective steps

This entailed 2 U turns in quick succession, dangerously I might add, panic in the car and especially in the car behind that was following us, and had no clue what was the reason for this erratic change of path!

God knows where Home was set... maybe Bombay :) or the factory where my Garmin was brought to life! But it was certainly miles and miles away from my humble abode in Tucson.

Hiccup 2
GPS: Take exit 55
Me: Ok... off ramp, looks good. Finally we will get back onto I10.
Me: Oh oh... 55A or 55B?
Andy: One's to Phoenix and the other is to Globe
Me: Darn GPS, won't tell me which 55 exit to take!
We approach a fork in the road....
Me: (thinks) We don't want to go to Phoenix for sure, maybe it's Globe that's in the direction of Tucson. Let's take 55A
Of course it was the wrong decision! But this one was a quick recovery, a few safe turns, exits, on ramps and like a desert mirage, we see signs to get to Tucson! Yay, finally we're headed home :)

So that was my first GPS experience, kinda funny and yet frustrating at the same time. Taught me a few things:

1. You should never totally rely on one, it's good to have printed directions as a backup, or familiarize yourself with the route in advance
2. Have an idea of whether you want to go in the E or W, N or S direction at these A and B exits
3. Set Home correctly and double check :P

Common sense? Well you know what they say, it's not so common :)

The Lines on the Palm

2008-04-08T13:10:00.003-07:00

Had made this to explain to a friend some time back. Rough sketch of the lines on the palm. It's important to use your active hand, by that I mean if you're left handed, consider the mirror image of this pics.

Occult mumbo-jumbo

2008-04-08T11:31:00.008-07:00

This post is dedicated to my 2 favourite occult topics. I've dabbled in them when I was in Junior College and Engineering, but never seriously. Yet it's something I look forward to reading up on, once I settle down in my next leg of life. These and music. Let's see how far I get.

Astrology

There are a lot of people who disregard this field and think it's nonsense, you're not entirely wrong. But I prefer to take a middle ground. I find it interesting because I have seen some truth, particularly in star sign characteristics and compatibility. Of course no relationship can be reduced to mere predictions and there are ALWAYS exceptions. But it's interesting how people's behaviour tend to reflect the general characteristics of their ruling signs. I've read Linda Goodman's books - Sun Signs and Love Signs, and please pardon me for reading only about Aquarius :). When I read it, I could never identify myself with her description of Aquarian women. But I see the characteristics more now, as time has passed.

As far as compatibility goes, trust me I will never be foolish enough to judge people based on these predictions. But every now and then I like to go back and read, to see if there is any truth in them. And most of the time, I'd say they predict the general trend and dynamics of relationships.

Palmistry

This field sparks more disdain than the previous. I'll never argue with anyone on it. And I know better than to believe that the lines on my hand will guide my destiny. I am a firm believer of fate, but not before you try. And yes, I have been enlightened about Panini (not the sandwich). My interest was ignited by a book by Cheiro, which I bought for 40 rupees at Churchgate station, in 1999. Oh how i loved reading it on the train journey back and forth from college, and mind you, I'm not much of a reader! But reading this book made me really curious about the field.

That's the extent to which I have decided to bore you non-believers about my interest in these fields. I hope to sink my teeth into both the topics and maybe, just maybe, after a little reading, you might start to see things in a new light. A broader perspective, is all I'm asking for.

Mo' Money Mo' Problems

2008-04-03T17:38:00.007-07:00

This is an old song by The Notorious B.I.G. It features Puff Daddy and Mase, I heard it in the Union and it's been in my head since then. Now don't get me wrong, other than the one off rap song, I'm not a huge fan of this genre. I can never understand the lyrics. However the names of Rap stars have always fascinated me.

Who knows O'Shea Jackson, Sean Combs or Cordozar Calvin Broadus, Jr.? But we all know Ice Cube, Puff Daddy and Snoop Doggy Dogg.

Digital Spinner, G. Diamond, Coca J., Flava Dirty are some of the names suggested for 'Natasha A Gaitonde' to be a Rap star by this Rap Star Name Generator site. What do you think, can I pull those off?

If you could be a Rap star, what would you name yourself? Personally I like 'Digital Spinner' for myself :).

Where in the world is Diego Garcia?

2008-03-29T11:45:00.010-07:00

We've been having some trouble in our apartment, and needed to call on the services of a specialist. Nothing too serious... it's all taken care of now. John (name changed), the specialist was an extrovert... jovial and was interested in where I'm from. He said the closest he's been to India is Diego Garcia. Please excuse my lack of geographical knowledge i said, but is that in Mexico? John guffawed, and said - young lady, Diego Garcia is an island in the southern Indian Ocean. And the name is from Spanish ruling descent. This was all very educational, and he went on to say something that inspired this post. John tauntingly said, Americans are known for their lack of geographical knowledge. Now this was indeed a taunt at me, because I've met some realllly smart ones, who are very globally aware. But of course there are others who may not be so involved with affairs outside of their own little worlds.

I enjoyed the conversation, as I felt challenged. I thanked him for improving my general knowledge. But after he left, I was on a quest - where in the world is Diego Garcia? And what I found out was indeed interesting. It's an island that was discovered by the Portuguese (not Spaniards), and now belongs to the UK, but since 1970 has been leased to the US. Also the island's military status allows only military personnel to live on it.

Well all that might be fine, but what this means is that the original inhabitants (Ilois) were exiled to Mauritius!! Yes, they were forced to repatriate and abandon their lives, for the sake of the military status of the island and their attempts to take the UK government to court, are even more ridiculous than their situation. Talk about Human Rights!!

I won't repeat too much content, here is a good Link

Freaky coinky doinky!

2008-03-28T01:24:00.005-07:00

Last night I had a dream, in which I was back in school with my fellow house prefects. God I miss those days of competitions and points! I used to hate being in the Yellow House, coz of the stupid taunt. But that's who I was - a Lilian (Each house was named after a Saint, and mine was St. Lily).

I don't remember anything in particular, except that i was with these 3 other girls, who I was sooo close to 10 years back and haven't been much in touch with, except one. We have fallen in and out of touch so much, but it doesn't matter, she was my first best friend and we've been through a lot together.

So anyways, I had this random dream last night. And just a few minutes back my friend messages me on gtalk:
Anthea: hey gurl
me: hey anthie,wat's up?
Anthea: nuthin much. i dreamt of school in the night
me: shit!!! so did i

We went on to discuss that we had the same 4 people in our dream. Neither of us remembers what we were doing. Does this mean anything? Isn't it weird? What are the chances :)

Decisions, decisions...

2008-03-27T11:50:00.007-07:00

The latest talk with batch mates centers around the following common concerns:

1. H1B
This year it's going to come down to the wire, with an almost certain lottery hand out of the visas. Here is where you have to believe in something called luck. Even in the H1 application there is a choice: CoS (Change of Status) or PoE (Port of Entry). Fear not, you will get help here. I received a flowchart to assist me making my decision. Unfortunately, after tracing it, I was just as confused about which one to opt for, as before I received it. That's the time to cry for helpppp!! Ask, and you shall receive good advice about which is more suitable for you. I opted for PoE since I intend to visit home before my OPT expires and I don't want to go through the headache of filing for a return on Social Security and Medicare taxes. Ah well, you can argue this both ways.

2. Apartment
Now this is a big black hole for me. I am not sure about living by myself or living with a roommate. Each has it's pros and cons. And if you opt for the latter, you again need the luck factor, to ensure compatibility, although you can't replace the companionship factor. Luckily for me, living in Seattle-Eastside will not be exorbitant - certainly not cheap, but affordable. I'm hoping to stay in an area where I know at least a few people, it will just be more convenient.

3. Car
This is the most exciting one. For everyone I guess :). Here too, there are so many options.

New, Used or Certified New?
Durable Japanese, Solid German or Gas-Guzzling American?
Coupe or Sedan?
Do you care enough for the environment to go for a Hybrid?

I could very well fall in the "safe" category and go for what a friend of mine calls - the married Desi family car, and he's right. Recently I visited the Maha Ganapati temple at Maricopa. The Dodge Caliber I was driving was swell! 90% of the cars in the lot were:

Toyota Corolla
Honda Accord
Honda Civic
Toyota Camry

Personally, I like the new Camry and Civic, and am not willing to spend a lot on my first car. My sis in law got a red Mitsubishi Eclipse when she started work, and boy is it a pleasure to drive :)

Now if you observe, the H1B affects every subsequent decision. If you're unlucky, what happens to all the stuff you'll accumulate before you have to leave the country? what's the point of buying a new car, why not just buy a dirt cheap car and sell it before leaving (credit to a very wise and far sighted friend for this idea)? what are you going to do with the furniture you'll buy, put it in a storage facility?

First Birthday

2008-03-19T11:54:00.006-07:00

A year back, I did a stupid thing and ended up writing my first post to my then-new Blog. Please join in, I'm sure you know the words...

Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday my dear Blog,
Happy Birthday to you!

From old friends and new,
From old friends and new,
May good luck go with you,
And Happiness too.

Some of you will read this and think, what a weird post! But I think it's important to remember these things. In one year, so much has happened! The Pros (in chronological order):

1. My internship in Kansas City. The Midwest is quite pretty
2. Visited 2 beautiful cities: NY, SF thanks to some dear friends
3. Got better at studies and grades, through some self discipline and support
4. Went home in December and had a lovely time :) well worth the wait
5. Got my dream job
6. Certified to drive in AZ. Got my license on Monday and am super thrilled about it! Again thanks to 2 dear friends
7. Made some new friends and some old friendships grew stronger and better

The biggest Con is that I had to face some situations and at those times, being away from home does not help. A friend once told me that these are the things we gave up when we came here. I never thought about it that way, and am still not able to digest it. But that's reality.

So that sums up my life in the last year in a nutshell.

Blissfully Lost!

2008-03-08T11:29:00.006-08:00

I remember having my favorite TV shows, back home. Of course time in the bus back from the jungle used to be spent talking to friends, laughing like a mad hatter, sometimes for no reason, gossiping, playing cards, etc. But I also used to wait to get home to watch American Idol, Will and Grace, Everybody loves Raymond, Frasier, That 70's Show, and a bunch of other shows.

Since coming to Tucson, and not having a TV for the first year, I weaned myself away from the TV. Well beggars can't be choosers, right? :) And frankly with so much to do all the time, there was no time to miss it.

I have to admit, I have fallen off the wagon! This semester I have been watching Southpark a lot, esp during lunch before class. It's an awesome show. Every episode is educational :P in a weird way. I have just 3 episodes of Season 1 of Lost left, and I started watching it last Sunday. I watched 2 episodes of Grey's Anatomy and liked it, but my Lost obsession has put it on the back burner. It all started last semester with Heroes. I can't wait for the 3rd season!

The reason why I'm posting this, is I have become like an addict! Ask my friend Joann, who keeps telling me to pull the plug! Lost is a brilliant show. I've heard a lot about it from friends, but nothing can beat following the storyline. The plots are intricate, a lot of different characters, so it is not focussed on one person, and some of the characters are oh so hot!

My fav is Sawyer. The bad boy, the lowlife, but with a kind heart. Blonde hair, blue eyes and gorgeous dimples, how can you go wrong with that! I esp liked when he read to Claire's baby to keep him from crying, with those weirdo glasses on :) Damn cute. Jack is awesome too, but somehow I think he and Kate won't work out. My least fav main character on Lost is Charlie. He is impetuous, hyper and irritating at times. Why did he have to kill Ethan? Sayeed is a smart guy and so is Michael. I felt very sorry for John Locke when they revealed the incident with his father and the transplant.

So as you can see, in the last week, I have adopted new characters in my life. I get happy when something good happens to them, and cry when one of them dies. Sad, but true! I sit there for 50 minutes to watch an episode, oblivious to the time. I truly get LOST while watching it!

The way of love

2008-02-19T09:09:00.006-08:00

Love is patient, Love is kind.
It is not jealous, not pompous, not inflated,
Love is not rude, it does not see its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury.
Love does not rejoice over wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never fails.

Taken from the Bible, First Corinthians CH 13 v 4b-7d

The (in)famous whiteboard coding question

2008-02-18T11:46:00.005-08:00

Before I forget, I wanted to share this link. It's for anyone who will face an onsite programming interview, where you are required to use the whiteboard. I found it useful, and just mentally prepares you for it. It's from the Microsoft JobsBlog site. Which I think is really cool.

Some tips:
1. Ask a lot of questions, don't may any assumptions about the input. Decide on a method signature with your interviewer.

2. Discuss and write up pseudocode. This is important, because once you have the logic laid out, the interviewer may not ask you to code the entire program, but a crucial part. Hence saving you time to code what they're looking for and not some trivial functions. More often than not, you are allowed to use some functions without coding them up.

3. Identify test cases before you start coding. This makes you identify some basic conditions like checking NULL pointers passed to your function, bounds check, etc.

4. Don't panic! Always focus on solving the problem. If you panic, you will not be able to pick up on clues dropped by the interviewer. Nothing is impossible to solve, of course it may be hard. And sometimes, a seemingly easy problem, turns out to be a Pandora's box. Focus.

5. Always dry run your code after you write it up with a test case. You might find you forgot to increment a loop variable etc.

Good luck!

The Dew Drop

2008-02-04T08:28:00.003-08:00

Through many years,
At great expense,
Journeying through many countries,
I went to see high mountains,
I went to see oceans,
Only I had not seen,
At my very doorstep,
The dew drop glistening
On the ear of the corn

By Rabindranath Tagore

[Picture from: Garryglen]

The Emerald City

2008-02-03T23:15:00.000-08:00

Something about this place makes me want to visit it again. It's not the best weather or the best downtown, it feels cutoff, yet inviting. Will be back, I promise.

Quotes

2008-01-27T14:39:00.000-08:00

Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You too? I thought I was the only one!"
C. S. Lewis

The easiest thing to do, whenever you fail, is to put yourself down down by blaming your lack of ability for your misfortunes.
Kenneth Hildebrand

Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another!
Walter Elliott

If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.
Thomas Edison

The minute you settle for less than you deserve, you get even less than you settled for.
Maureen Dowd, American Newspaper Columnist

If you can dream it, you can do it.
Walt Disney

Your lost friends are not dead, but gone before, advanced a stage or two upon that road which you must travel in the steps they trod.
Aristophanes

I can't change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.
Jimmy Dean

And one of my favourites...

My father always used to say that when you die, if you've got five real friends, then you've had a great life.
Lee Iacocca

Today and the last 6 weeks

2008-01-26T23:04:00.000-08:00

Someone asked me at the end of the day, what did I do today. I couldn't come up with anything concrete to say.

Well it's a Saturday, my first weekend back at school. I've finally recovered from jetlag, which used to make me look like a zombie in the afternoons (2-4) and evenings (6-10). I started off with the infamous todo list, which never ended! Sorted some papers out, tried to read on up stuff, the usual. In the afternoon i caught up on a very informative episode of Southpark :) hehe. I was gonna watch Heroes, since I thought I was behind but apparently I am up to date; Yes Season 2 was really only 11 episodes, compared to the 23 episode season 1. Frankly I am very disappointed with season 2, it seemed scattered and a little too much to digest sometimes. The ardent fan that I am, I still await season 3!

Today was a very insightful day for me. No i wasn't sitting under any tree and meditating, and no i was not under the influence of anything :) I was sitting and reflecting about stuff. I listed all the things I don't like and what I think I can do to fix them. I realized that there are a few things, I feel bad about, but I really don't think I can do without them. damned if i don't, damned if i do. So should I really feel bad/sorry about something i can't fix? Or maybe I can do without them, but I just don't want to, which makes it even worse and i enter a vicious cycle.

Onto lighter topics. Today one of my best friends is getting married. Am so happy, but I am separated by almost 9000 miles from the nikah. My trip to India was awesome. It really deserves a separate post. I will miss the lazy life i lead for 5 weeks, my family and awesome friends, train journeys where I revised my metro survival skills, the food, rickshaws, walking in 15 minutes to the station at a brisk pace, my church. I will not miss the noise, dust, increased population, inflation, being hounded by beggars, slow internet speed at home, the cell phone i was using that had to be charged every night and sometimes during the day.

Life here is different. It's my last semester and i'm taking just one course. but with the job hunt and a new workplace, i've pretty much got my hands full already. and it's just the first week! Strangely, it feels good to be back too :)

What if....

2007-11-26T00:55:00.000-08:00

Let me warn you that this is going to be a heavy read, not my usual passive rambling. I've been thinking about this till I felt compelled to write it down: What if you knew when your/a loved one's last day on earth would be?

Would it change the way you live each day? Would you go that extra mile to help friends/relatives/strangers in need? Would you hold on to those petty grudges, we get so wrapped up in that prevent us from overlooking things? Would your faith in God be any different? Would you still go on to complete your degree/thesis? Heck what does having a Masters/Doctorate degree matter if you know you're not going to live to benefit from it?

Why can't God tell us in his own way, that today might be the last day you are going to see someone? Wouldn't you hug them and tell him how much you loved them.... try to make up for all the times you weren't patient with them, or you chose not to understand them. In my prayers I ask God for the strength to accept his ways, especially in matters that are not in my control. What else can one do? It's just so hard not to hit a brick wall! God you know what's best and I trust you, but I just don't understand your ways sometimes. Give me the grace for that. I am not obedient to you at all times, so how can I expect you to answer every prayer of mine?

If you made it this far, I must commend you on your patience. No, i'm not terminally ill/dying (what a terrible thought). But yes, these questions plague me right now.

You can never give up

2007-11-24T23:06:00.000-08:00

Wanted to pen down the lyrics of the song Hope by Shaggy. It's a neat song, he describes what his mother used to tell him when he was younger and poorer.

This is dedicated to Grad students all over facing 3 weeks of exams, project submissions, late nights, lattes and after all that, wonderful Christmas vacations.

Son there'll be times when the tides are high,
And the boat may be rocky, you can cry,
Just never give up, You can never give up.

In this life you could lead if you only believe,
And in order to achieve what you need,
You can never give up.

I can smell it!

2007-11-20T17:49:00.000-08:00

The day draws nearer. I've marked my calendar for the 12th of December 2007. The thought of fast forwarding life by a month brings joy to me. I guess it's natural to have this feeling of excitement and joy to go home after exactly 1 year 4 months and 18 days.

The next month however is gonna be hectic. Archi exam, OS project and OS exam (I have a project for Archi, but it's not a big deal). Plus shopping, packing, settling things for the time I will be away.

Time to hit the books and burn the midnight oil! Well not really, considering I need 8 hrs of sleep :) Yes i'm lazy, I don't deny it.

The thought of landing in Bombay, stepping out of the plane, smelling the polluted city I love so much and rushing out to hug my family.....and then another set of Bear hugs for my friends, makes me really happy. I can smell it! What joy.

Besan Pedas - Happy Diwali

2007-11-10T21:27:00.000-08:00

I've always loved Besan ladoos. During Diwali this is the only sweet I used to ask my friends in college for. My aunt Pia makes them very well and the other awesome Besan ladoos I've eaten are made by Varsha's mom. I remember pestering Varsha so much, that her mom actually made a batch especially for me!

It was Diwali and my cooking turn. While talking to a friend about this tasty treat and how much I miss Indian sweets during festivals, my restlessness led to a simple recipe. Just 3 ingredients, that's it! I couldn't resist the temptation. So I prepared my first batch of Besan ladoos in about 30 minutes and let them set.

Unfortunately, I roasted the Besan for a little too long and the mixture was softer than it should be, so as you can see I ended up with 10 Besan Pedas! :(

If you're away from home, you're no doubt missing the tasty treats at this time of year, you can try to recreate the magic of the festival. I hope my effort was worth it. I certainly enjoyed it and I look forward to Easter, the next festival I will have to make an effort to celebrate. I am also excited about the Fremont Potluck on the 17th. Wish you a very Happy Diwali.

Single Parents

2007-11-04T22:41:00.000-08:00

Today in church I sat behind a mother with 2 little kids. One was very small and in a pram, the older one was in her arms and she was holding on to him very tightly. I'm drawn to kids and like smiling and making funny faces at them, hence i sat behind her.

Throughout the service I observed her, albeit from the corner of my eye and was amazed. I don't know this lady, or why she is alone, where the children's father is, maybe he's ill and couldn't come to church, God knows. But I realized how difficult it is to handle two kids simultaneously when they are at such a young age.

Every moment the mother was alternating her attention between the two little boys, giving the little one a milk bottle, cuddling the older one, holding up the little one when he looked like he was about to cry, putting his blanket over him, then getting back to the older son who started to get a little fidgety. It's one of those situations where you wish you had more than 2 hands.

Even going to receive communion was a task, as she couldn't leave either of them behind and had to carry one in hand while she pushed the second one in the pram all the way up to the altar and back.

Maybe it's not right for me to observe someone else so closely, when I should be paying more attention to the service going on in the church, but I must thank this lady for opening my eyes to see how difficult life must be for single moms and dads. I salute you.

Addiction

2007-11-04T22:35:00.001-08:00

How many times a day do you check your email, assuming you're at home? What's the time interval between checking Orkut for new scraps and of late .....Facebook for new Superpokes/Wall messages by friends?

When I go home to India and I have better things to do, will I experience withdrawal symptoms?

My laptop is on almost 18 hours a day and i'm pretty sure my eyesight has become poor due to my HP. One thing I am convinced of - I need a life!

Oprah my real life Hero

2007-10-29T23:01:00.002-07:00

I remember when we first got cable television, in 1991. It was so awesome! MTV was my favorite channel then, my brother's too. Some of the shows I used to watch were Soaps - Santa Barbara, the Bold and the Beautiful (yeah I was a loser). One show I lovvved to watch as I got a little older was the Oprah Winfrey show. I don't know how many would remember the old jingle, "It's four o'clock, where's everyone gone? Oprah's on!". It sounds a little cheesy now, but I used to love it then.

She's a darling of the masses, I'd say she should be the Queen of Hearts, ahead of Princess Diana. There's something about her that empathizes with everyone. I've seen her shows range from performances by the Divas of pop, to helping people cope with serious life-threatening illnesses, to the joy of reuniting a family, to cooking, to medical advice, and the list goes on. I haven't seen any of her shows in the last few years, but she has made an impression on me at a very early age.

At age 53, she has accomplished a lot. <Source: Wikipedia> "She has been ranked the richest African American of the 20th century, the most philanthropic African American of all time, and the world's only black billionaire for three straight years. She is also, according to some assessments, the most influential woman in the world. She's never been ashamed of her past. A self-described promiscuous teen who was a victim of sexual abuse. Winfrey gave birth at the age of 14, to a boy who died shortly after. In 1995 Winfrey herself confessed to drug use." I don't judge her for her past, I do not know her circumstance, but I respect the woman she is today. Oprah has opened a school for educating young girls in Johannesburg, South Africa, which recently got into a scandal with an abusive matron. That situation was handled with gracefully by Miss Winfrey. She fired the matron and another staff member who was accused of not taking any action and humbly apologized to all the parents whose kids attend the school.

Which brings me to another aspect of Oprah, her personal life. She has been with her current partner for the last 20 years, but they're not married. Of course, this has been a topic of much debate. Again, she is not shy of her personal life and frankly, it's nobody's business but theirs. Also her best friend Gayle has worked closely with her on her show and is currently the editor of O, The Oprah Magazine. She is obviously someone who remember her friends even after becoming a billionaire.

Ok the things I like about her the most:
1. An extremely successful yet humble human being.
2. She uses her power and influence to help people. The Angel Network, donations to the Katrina aftermath, visits to orphanages in Africa, etc. A true philanthropist.
3. She is from a below average economic background, faced several complications related to sexual abuse and drugs in her early life and yet she raised above everything negative in her life. She believed in herself and her potential.

With great power comes great responsibility and Ms. Winfrey, you certainly have shown great respect for humanity. You inspire me and I'm proud to be a fellow Aquarian! May God bless you always. And hope to catch your show live one day in Chicago... that would be sweet!

Moving on in life

2007-10-27T00:47:00.000-07:00

There are some battles in life you win, some you lose, and some, you will be prepared and waiting for the orders, but when they don't come, you have to fall back. These are the battles you never get to fight, the questions that remain unanswered and the thoughts that come to your mind, when you're calm and peaceful. These are the unknowns, the things/situations beyond your control.

Life is like a game. Everyone knows the basic moves, but only a few know the cheat codes with experience. To learn these codes, you have to pay a price, sometimes it's money, sometimes wasted time and effort, sometimes loss and sometimes it's just sheer luck! All these levels teach us something, so although our little character may die, we restart the level, knowing the cheat code for that level and move on to the next level, where we start from a scratch.

It's time to move onto the next level, put the past behind, live in the present and create a bright future. Wish me luck!

Anthem

2007-09-27T20:18:00.001-07:00

Of late the song Stand by Rascal Flatts has become my anthem. I just had to share the lyrics as I think they are meaningful and it helps me when I feel down.

Verse 1:
You feel like a candle in a hurricane
Just like a picture with a broken frame
Alone and helpless, like you've lost your fight
But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

Chorus:
'Cause when push comes to shove
You taste what your made of
You might bend 'til you break
'Cause it's all you can take
On your knees you look up
Decide you've had enough
You get mad, you get strong
Wipe you hands, shake it off
Then you stand, then you stand

Verse 2:
Life's like a novel with end ripped out
The edge of a canyon with only one way down
Take what your given before it's gone
And start holdin' on, keep holdin' on

There's another song by them that I really like, called Bless the Broken Road and I heard it for the first time when Carrie Underwood sung it during a qualifying round for American Idol, back in 2005. Hopefully you share my taste in music and didn't find this a waste of your time.

20-20 Champions

2007-09-24T13:52:00.000-07:00

India are the 20-20 World Cup 2007 Champions. What an exciting tournament! The final was perfect... we couldn't ask for a sweeter victory against Pakistan. Almost like killing two birds with one stone. Their prize of $490,000 could be worth a little more on a good conversion rate day. At first I was not in favor of the 20-20 way of playing cricket. It's almost like a soccer game! I know a lot of people hate test matches which run on for 5 days and more often than not, end up in a draw. But there is something special about watching 2 teams go head to head for 5 days on the trot and winning at the end of it. It's something magical. But the 20-20 format has impressed me. Chak de India! I'm so happy with the recent outcome of Indian sports. The Nehru cup, Asia Cup and now this. Way to go guys, you make me proud.

Dilemma

2007-09-17T11:47:00.001-07:00

Over the summer my faith has grown stronger. I've read more of the Bible with some Cerner Interns and I try to relate the readings to everyday life. It's fascinating how the things you are so proud of knowing about life, happiness, family and virtues are all there in Holy books. I say that, because in no way do I think that the Bible is superior to the Bhagvadgeeta or the Koran. To each his own. And I'm sure the underlying message of any of them would be: Love God, do good to others, help people when you can and don't give into evil indulgences. I am no theologian, but i'm certain no religion advises it's followers to be bad persons.

The trouble is, the more I think about these things, the stronger my faith grows and the stronger my faith grows, the more I feel like I should be doing something more meaningful in life. Not that doing an MS from a decent school in the US is a meaningless thing, by no means, but I do not think it does it for me. I'm really trying to put in my best for the rest of school, so that's what makes this even more difficult.

These are cyclic thoughts of mine, and then I realize that I do not have the guts to give up a comfortable life to help the poor, dying, starving, orphans etc. If you think about it, there are many avenues to help people less fortunate than you, and donating money is probably the easiest. So then I put these thoughts of mine aside. I know the next time I watch a movie like Hotel Rwanda, The Constant Gardener, Blood Diamond, etc. that really hit you with the cruelty of the world, I will have these thoughts again. For now it's back to my RA work. Well it's not good that i'm updating my blog on my Prof's time!

I had a second child!

2007-08-27T00:03:00.000-07:00

Since Feb, my friend Nikesh and me have been supporting a 4 year old girl in Mali. Worldvision sends us health reports about Rokia and even a letter written on her behalf by a volunteer. My lil angel is in satisfactory health and is too young to be in school. Maybe one day I will meet her.

My second and most recent child is from India. I don't have much details, but on reading about her i'm guessing she lives in rajasthan. She's 6 years old and her name is Talvar. And is in Good health status (whatever that means). Oh and she loves to play hide and seek. :)

I think supporting someone monetarily is easy. What's difficult and needs a lot of courage is actually living with underprivileged people and helping them. I hope that my kids grow up to be educated and can support themselves and their families, and who knows, maybe even help other kids who have less than them. I also hope and pray that I can support them for as long as it takes.

Chak de India!

2007-08-11T13:23:00.000-07:00

I was surprised to know that Dallas has a Hindi Theatre. It's called Fun India. Bhajjis, chai, gulab jamun, pakoras and the works! Last night my brother Edsel, my sis-in-law Prama and 2 of their friends went to watch Chak de India. Honestly I did not have a lot of expectations. Boy was I in for a surprise!

The movie plot is predictable to some extent. But i loved the underlying patriotic spirit that unites the cast. And I liked the dialogs too. If someone were to ask me where I'm from, my answer would depend on who asks me. If it's not an Indian, I'd say I'm studying in Tucson, Arizona but i'm originally from India. Else I would say Bombay.

The highlight of the movie for me was seeing how diverse our country is in terms of cultures and the effort involved in people from different parts of the country learning to communicate in a common language and living together. It's inspiring.

One think I found particularly funny. There was a stab at there being no difference Tamil and Telugu. The theater erupted with boos!! Hehehe. Frankly, before I came to the US, I was pretty oblivious about South Indian languages and cultures. What????? don't judge me, I was a frog in my well :). But i'm glad for all the experiences I've had and the amount I've learned about my own country first and then the US.

Lastly, I did it!!!! I overcame my fear of rock climbing, and it was fun. I did 3 climbs and gave up on the 4th, as my arms refused to co-operate with me anymore. Thanks to Prama for egging me on, I woke up telling her I didn't think I would enjoy going. See how the mind can play games on you!

Post Internship Honeymoon

2007-08-09T10:52:00.000-07:00

Howdy,

Today would have made 3 years for me in Mastek. Instead, I completed a year in the US on the 27th of July. It feels good to think that I have only a year more to Graduate. I feel like I've grown so much as a person since I came here, FO the B. I've definately become more independent, I know that I can cook and I've made some good friends. I still need to improve on being organized and my concentration on work.

My Internship with Cerner ended on the 3rd of August. Since the 4th i've been at Dallas with my brother and sis in law. They have a nice comfy place in North Dallas, so i'm leading a verrrrrry lazy life! i've been watching movies galore! So far the highlights have been:
* ice skating(awesome fun, i really like it, but i hurt my knee when i fell, it's a lot better now),
* bowling (110) and
* an incomplete attempt at indoor rock climbing (i got too scared after 2/3 steps up :( )

On the 12th i return to tucson. Hoping to sign my work papers for next semester with my Dr. Chiu and that I get the contract for the next semester. Else I will have to start my job search earlier than I anticipated.

15th/16th I will be headed to San Francisco! Driving down with Karthik and maybe Sunil and staying there with Archana. Will meet JK too. Waj and Srivi will join us there. While returning i will be flying back. I'm so excited to see San Fran, have heard so much about it. Even Nicole, my summer internship roommate, who has seen practially the whole of the US (45 out of the 50 states) says it's a fun place :)

School starts on the 20th. This will be a hectic semester with Advanced OS. Plus there is the job search. So lots to be done and very little time. Story of any Masters student.

The highlight for this semester will be reaching Bombay on the 13th of december :) woo hooo!!! I have so much planning to do in terms of finding a balance between spending time at home and with friends... Can't wait to meet everyone, in no particular order of preference! - Varsha, Suneer, Mahesh, the Motley Crew, Joann, Priyanjali and the others. I know i'm missing a some names.

Just to wrap up, these are the movies i've seen during summer: an inconvenient truth, the bourne series, harry potter part 2 & 3, harold and kumar go to white castle, the simpsons, hotel rwanda, the usual suspects, epic movie, departed, hungama, blood diamond, the illusionist, guru, life in a metro, the talented mr. ripley, crash, farenheit 911, fight club, shrek the third, the pursuit of happyness and lock stock and 2 smoking barrels.

I still want to see: the last king of scotland, harry potter and the philosophers stone, stomp the yard, pirates of the carribean parts 1, 2 and 3, oceans 11, andaz apna apna, the prestige, the ten commandments, borat, sicko, cars, how to lose a guy in 10 days, hera pheri, the replacements, transformers, spiderman 2, schindlers list, the shawshank redemption, memento.

Bye dear diary (i wish i had one like Tom Riddle's in the Chamber of secrets), until we meet again.

Natasha

New York, New York

2007-07-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

It's been 3 months since i visited the most populated city in the US of A, but the memories are just as wonderful today as they were when i first stepped onto the populated island - Manhattan. For years i've heard about it from family and friends and kept wondering if it was worth all that jazz! It surely is. I spend 4 days in NY and 2 days in DC and here is my attempt to summarize my trip, please bear with me as it is a long read.

Natasha's log
Manhattan it's simply amazing. I stayed with a good friend of mine (since 11th grade and throughout Engineering in Bombay). He's set up camp at Manhattan. The tallllllllll buildings are breath-taking. The skyline is so wide, you can't cover it with one glance :) and when you walk around, the first day your neck will pain if you keep looking up to the top of the buildings. The tallest is the Empire State Building, which is 102 floors. The Freedom Towers that will be built at the site of Ground Zero will be taller than this. It's supposed to be 1776 feet, which is the year North American got it's independence, making it the tallest building when it's completed.

Day 1, 16th May 2007: Top of the Rock, NBC Studio Tour, Grand Central and Chrysler Bldg, Broadway (Les Miserables), dinner at Bubba Gump Shrimp at Times Square
The view from the top of Rockefeller center is breathtaking. The top of the rock is an observation deck on the 70th floor. After that I went for an NBC Studio tour and saw maroon 5 practicing for a show and i saw the main guy who acts in scrubs. I always thought Zach Braff's nose is too big. But in person, he looks cute :) The Broadway show was wonderful: lovely singing and good acting. Thanks to my friend, we got it at 1/2 price at $60 at a Ticket Booth. The full cost is 120$! too much for my meager RA salary. And the sky around Times Square is soooo bright at night time. You have to be at times square to appreciate it.

On the first day itself I started to see similarities between Bombay and Manhattan:
1. Trains for mass transit: Reliable trains, not as crowded as Bombay of course :) but similar concept. and everyone uses it, including well off people.
2. Number of people: ppl jaywalk left, right and center. Not in smaller towns like tucson (which has a population of a million, so it's not THAT small but i like to think of it as a village) Any crossing at manhattan is like standing at flora fountain outside churchage station at 4:30 pm..... get the picture?
3. Plenty of good economical food along the road (yumm)
4. People selling things on the road (very uncommon in other big US cities)

One thing i loved about Manhattan - people dress up sooooooooooo well and smell sooooooooo good :) it's a treat for both mars and venus. i saw the man of my dreams in the subway, but sadly he took the #4 and i had to wait for the #5 train :D hahaha short lived but eye candy for sure :)

Day 2: Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Madam Tussaud's, Empire State Building, dinner at Sigari (Sri Lankan cuisine)
Liberty was a nice trip, great view. The Madam Tussauds wax museum is supposedly not that great as the original in UK, empire state but i liked it. Some characters were not life like. They made Julia Roberts look anorexic! The Sri Lankan food was awesome. I know nothing of Sri Lanka, other than they have a talented cricket team! I didn't know how spicy their cuisine was. My friends ordered medium spicy for me and I was drinking a lotttt of water even with this spice. wonder how i would have survived the spicy level. Btw, i did this day on the New York Pass. I think you should take a 2 day pass for 85$ and cover all the attractions you want. one day is 65$. Good thing is you don't have to wait in queues esp at Tussauds and Empire State it saves you a lot of time.

Day 3: Washington DC, dinner at Georgetown
This trip was a lot of walking and very very tiring. i started developing corns on my toe :( DC is a very green place. We started with the Lincoln memorial, the reflection pool, the Washington monument, Capitol. All these are in a line. It's actually very beautifully designed. They look so impressive all lined up like that and the deceptive thing is, they look close, but they are prettttttttty far. And another nice thing there is alllllllllllllllllll the museums and entrances are free. Isn't that something. I guess they really want to impress the world with their capital city and make it a tourist spot. So we went to the museum of natural history to see the hope diamond (45 carats from india) and the tiffany diamond (128 carats from south africa).

For dinner we went to the fun district of DC, called Georgetown. It's along the Potomac river and a nice place. This is where you will find all the people in DC. We walked along the river front a bit and then went to an Ethiopian restaurant Zed's. I liked the food here. You eat out of a common big plate and they have these flat round roti like bread.... and they serve food like a thali. The non veg is good, I'm not sure about the veg.

Day 4: Baltimore
Here we went to the Inner Harbor. It was fun. we walked along the water front, went for a paddle boat ride, ate nice sea food. It's ok for a one day visit. We didn't go around the city much, so this is all I saw.

Day 5: Ground Zero, Trinity Church, Wall Street, visited my sis-in-law's aunt, dinner at Rasoi at Journal square, Newport
I was a bit disappointed at ground zero, as you can only see a lot of construction work for the freedom towers. The church was nice, but St. Peter's cathedral, near times square was more impressive i think. Again i was a bit bored a wall street, by then i think tall buildings and the hustle and bustle were not impressive to me. I was so used to it :). Now visiting aunty, Sridevi was good. She and her husband have basically settled here for the last 30-35 years. she lives in a nice building in Manhattan. you get a great view of the city. And i got to eat some nice home cooked poha :)

Then I went to my friend Aditi's place at Newport. Before that we had dinner at Journal Square. A desi adda. This place is fullll of indian restaurants, but i would not like to live at Journal Square, it didn't seem like i was in america. Newport on the other hand was very impressive. High rise residential buildings, a great view of Manhattan, apparently the fireworks on the 4th of July is supposed to be the best view. Nice place to stay, but the rents here are not low at all!

Day 6: Central Park, metropolitan museum of art, guggenheim, south street sea port
This day was very nice. Randal took a day off as he was tired after the DC trip too. Central park is this greeeen oasis right in the middle of the sky scrapers. It's so unique and beautiful. You feel like you're in a different place and it's huge. We rowed in a small lake. My friend and myself enjoyed the Metropolitan museum of art. It's so amazing. Paintings, sculputures, artifacts and lots of important historical information. Egypt, greece, italy, france, england, you name it and it's there. there were sections of the museum on arms and ammunition. they have even reconstructed an egyptian temple here! it's really cool. in 3 hours we ran through just about 3/4th of the ground floor. we didn't even get to the other floor! so you can imagine. I didn't enjoy the guggenheim as it was oil paintings and i don't know much about them. The South street sea port was alright, you get a great view of the brooklyn bridge from here. we met up with another college friend and had some coffee

Day 7: JFK
Hmmm things for me usually don't go this smoothly. I went through 6 days of vacation without a hitch. something had to go wrong. And this was the day. I left randal's house at 5am as my flight from JFK was at 8am (or so i thought) Like a dodo i didn't check my ticket before i left home. I changed two subways to reach JFK in about 1 hr 45 mins. Still it was only 6:45am and i had plenty of time to check in. When i tried to self check in, i realized my flight was at 8pm :(((((( i spent the day in JFK luckily i was carrying a book - The curious incident of the dog in the night time. Despite it's corny title, it turned out to be a nice book.

That's it. End of Natasha's log. Manhattan is definately a must see place. I'm not so sure about living there, I would have to see life in other cities in the US like Chicago, San Franciso, etc before i conclude on that.

A retraction

2007-04-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

After hearing the latest on BBC and watching the serial killers videos, I realize how wrong I was to sympathize with him in my previous post. He was nothing but a weak mind who couldn't deal with the realities of life. And the way he dealt with it was shameful. I feel sorry for wasting my time trying to think of why he did it. Obviously he didn't even deserve that much.

A day of mourning

2007-04-16T14:08:00.000-07:00

My head it throbbing today. Maybe it's coz I didn't sleep well last night. Or maybe because of all the thoughts running rampant in my mind. Although I should be thinking of my DB project, SoCS project, IS work, RA work and DB exam, my mind is on something completely different.

This morning my lab mate Brenda told me about the shooting in VTech. For about 30 minutes I was reading all the news websites for information. Who was this man? Why did he do it? What can push a person so much over the edge? Besides that I keep thinking of how easily this could have been the U of A. I even got upset with a friend of mine who suggested that since we can't do anything about it, we should just ignore these negative feelings and move on.

I agree that nothing can be done, but shouldn't we at least stop to grieve? I don't know any of the 31 (and counting) students who have lost their lives, but I am grieving for them and their families. I'm sure they would have gone on to achieve great things in their lives, but this one man has changed their destiny. It's like plucking a leaf from a plant. That leaf has a purpose. And when you pluck it, you randomly select one and terminate it's life. The randomness of our act alters something (albeit miniscule sometimes) in the universe.

Just last night i was discussing palmistry with a few friends. I am an avid follower of the occult. And no, the occult is not something bad or evil. It's the knowledge of the hidden, according to Wikipedia. My knowledge is very shallow but I would like to study this field more, WHEN i have the time :) The point being, we all have a purpose and a destiny. But the actions of others affect our destiny as much as our own actions.

This man snapped. Maybe all he needed was someone to talk to. Someone to tell him what is right and what is wrong. Someone to sympathize with his pain and suffering. Whatever it may be. I think most times, our lives are very similar. We go through the same ups and downs in life maybe at different times.

So all I can do is think about these things and move on. I wish there was some way to make a difference in this world. What is the purpose of life if you only live it for yourself?

Spring Fling

2007-04-12T00:08:00.000-07:00

Well it's that time of year... no not time for the Spring Fling, but the final month of the Spring Semester. Someone pinch me, it's been 4 months already! Seems like a blur, I can't seperate one from the other. Where has so much time gone?

The last month is not easy by a long shot. With multiple projects, work and a final, i've pretty much got my hands full. Just one more month... come on we can do this!

Or maybe I can fast forward in time by a month... aaaah now that sounds so much better. It will be the 11th of May. My DB Final would be over, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't want to discuss it :) so let's see what's on my plate.

Trip to NYC! Boy am I excited about this. Contacted a few friends and will contact a few more, not now but just before leaving. Have to plan where to go, what to see, how to get there. Mom is not happy that I'm flying in Jetblue and not a more renowned carrier like Continental. But my arguments: it's non-stop and for the same price! Maybe I'll join a tour to see the important places.

Cerner. Hope things go fine here and I can do well. Plus hope I have good company.

Well back to the real world. It's just past midnight and it's the 12th of April dodo, wake up! It's time for your Spring Fling.

The Easter Bunny

2007-04-08T14:09:00.000-07:00

Today is Easter Sunday. Happy Easter everyone. I have been especially busy this Easter. Made a 3 hour long shopping try yesterday to Walmart and then for groceries to Fry's. I picked up what I needed in addition to the ghar ka saaman, which was plenty of Hershey's, egg moulds and wrapping paper. Yes believe it or not, I tried my hand at Easter eggs! Never in my life had I thought I was capable of it. And while I was at it, I decided to cook Chilly Chicken too, since I was was breaking my abstenance today. Although it can't match up to the Sorportel mom has made at home, i'm doing my best. And it was all good. I gave my roommates my first pair of easter eggs and it was ok. But the second batch is better, which is to distribute to friends. So I am not feeling down today, in fact i'm feeling pretty up beat. Played moral police too and invited a friend to church today :)

But this post is not about what i did for Easter. It's about WHY I did it.

Every year my good old friend back home used to get eggs for me as my mom doesn't make sweets for Easter. How I miss being pampered like that! And frankly I was feeling homesick. But it was only when another friend of mine made me realize that I could try my hand at it, that I got motivated. Instead of feeling down about not being at home, I tried to recreate the magic of being at home for Easter. And it worked! The spirit it has brought in me is amazing. I feel good. Even Lopa dressed up in a salwar kameez today for Easter :) talk about being supportive!

So this year the Easter Bunny was my friend who made me realize that I could do make Easter just as happy as being at home. Although it's not the same, it can never be that great, but it struck a chord in me. Life is all about our mindsets. We choose to feel happy, sad, angry, satisfied and even motivated. We have the power to change the way we feel just by making a conscious choice. Now isn't that a wonderful thing? And if it is so easy, then why do we slip through the cracks sometimes?

That's why you need friends. Sometimes your own mind is feeble and you need support and guidance from external sources. Spiritual nourishment! And we can never have enough of it. Until we meet again....

What is the cross you bear?

2007-04-07T03:06:00.000-07:00

Everyone bears a cross, sometimes we are aware of it and have come to terms with it and are better prepared to carry it, while others are yet to discover what weighs them down.

Today being Good Friday I attended the evening service at the Newman Centre, on campus in Tucson. The homily was an interesting dialog between a priest and a nun. The main point that I got out of it was this - Although Jesus was nailed to a cross and it is a menacing sign to us Christians, we revere it and even sign ourselves with the sign of the cross as an embrace of Jesus's death and more importantly his resurrection!

It really made me think. What is the cross that I bear? This Holy Week has been truly memorable for me. Back home, I would be very particular about attending the masses during the week. But without much care about the message of Easter. This year, being the first time away from home, I have had the privilege of experiencing the Passion of our Lord during the homily.

For years, I have heard it repeated by priests and lectors. But today for the first time I really felt the agony Jesus must have gone through to fulfill his purpose on Earth. I have been feeling an overwhelming emptiness in the past week. Something I cannot fill. And this affects every area of my life. Today I had a conversion of sorts. I experienced an iota of the pain and suffering that Jesus had to undergo during his crucifixition and honestly I can only marvel at his character. How can one be so obedient to their Father? How many times was Jesus so close to giving up? What made him continue? Whom did he seek inspiration from other than God the Father?

It is said that Jesus has even prayed with tears to his Father. I do that too. But my tears are because I cannot control feeling bad about something. Jesus's tears are because he knows what is going to happen and he is repenting for all of mankind's sins. He loved us even before he knew us. Talk about unconditional love! It's hard to understand how we believe in abstract thought such as these. I try to be realistic and sometimes question my faith and it's principles. But as time progresses, I am drawn closer to the truth - God loves us no matter who we are and what we've done.

I believe all religions preach the same precepts - Do good to others and God will do good to you. Would it be possible to have a universal religion? Wouldn't life be simple that way. Religion is there as a support system for us. We all have our trials and find it difficult to deal with them. Sometimes it seems impossible and we get frustrated. At these times, we go through a learning phase in life. All trouble gives us some insight into our weaknesses. My aunt Remie says, "Never trouble trouble, until trouble troubles you". Russell and me made fun of it all the time with endless chants of "Never trouba trouba trouba trouba trouba trouba trouba". And it was fun. I never sought to understand what she means - Live and let live.

If I could change one thing about the world, it would be a pandemic religion. No biases and no competitions as IMHO religion is a personal choice and no one should be judged by it. On a lighter note, I would also wish that everyone is bald. Why you may ask. We'll take it offline! Happy Easter.

down the drain

2007-03-19T16:17:00.002-07:00

Stood there helpless. It all happened too quickly. woosh! and there i was red in the face. what should i do? in a fit of panic i entered an admistrative office of the geosciences deparment. The Computer Science Dept. is 2 floors of the 11 floor impressive Gould Simpson Building. The rest is Geosciences and Chemistry. So anyways back to my tragic story. The lady there was Anne Chase. I went in and asked her to help me. As I narrated what happened, she was surprisingly calm. I was surprised she did not burst into laughter. Had she been through the same thing as me? Or maybe someone else she knows had a similar experience. Very sweetly she located the plumbing deparment and called them. What an angel. I told her I'll check back with her in an hour. I cycled back home and narrated the incident to my roommates. Finally someone found it ridiculous and laughed their hearts out. Swapna couldn't stop grinning for 10 minutes! Then I asked myself - do i really want the phone back? what must Anne be thinking of me? I went back as promised and she told me that the plumbing dept. said they can fetch it only if it's stuck. By then I really didn't care! I knew I would have to replace the phone. Hope Edsel takes this well.