I Never Understood, The Frequency...

The kitten was not starred.

I just had the most terrible, sucky, fucky, pissy weekend of my life.

I have almost recovered, but still cannot believe that all that shit happened to me.

I am hungry. I will cook something and eat it while watching Darjeeling Limited (thanks to Netflix). If I get time tonight, I'll write about my wretched weekend. If I don't, I'll write about it in the coming few days.

Star Me Kitten.

Eat It!

Living alone can take a toll on your eating habits/routine at times. I was kind of tired of cooking everyday, so I really did not cook anything in the last 3 - 4 days. I survived on Maggi, ready-to-eat desi stuff, biscuits, pasta, and similar junk. But today I somehow decided to eat a royal dinner, and by royal I mean more than one item to eat. Usually I make one sabzi, but today I made not one, not two but three items! I don't know what got into me but I just had a very satisfying dinner a few minutes ago.

Menu:

- Aloo Bhindi.

- Matter Paneer.

- Daal.

- Roti.

- Chawal.

Awesome bawesome!!!

Niagara Falls

I must admit that when I reached Niagara Falls, I was disappointed. I was expecting the falls to be HUGE - like falling from the Sears Tower or something. But the falls were not higher than perhaps a 10-12 storey building. To make things worse, the American Falls are not very pretty at all. To be honest they are just like any other waterfall, all you see is water falling from a height. From a distance we could see the Horseshoe Falls on the Canadian side - beautiful, magnificient, falling so gracefully and creating a mystifying mist. Standing there, I suddenly wanted to go to the other side. Visa restrictions (for a brief period of time, that is)do not permit me to travel outside the country. That is why we had to come to NY.

The next day we came back to the falls again - to take the "Mist of the Maid"...

..and that made my day.

The boat actually takes you to the Horseshoe Falls, and when you reach there, you get to see how gigantic those falls are. When the boat approaches the base of the falls, you just want the boat to stop there so that you could just keep looking at the falls and admire its beauty. That is the time when the falls leave you totally spellbound.Strong winds, water and noise from the falls, and the mist all add to the magic that make you smile, scream, and enjoy the moment that you would perhaps remember your entire lifetime.

Those who plan to go the falls, please take the boat ride. It's only $12.50 per person, and honestly, your trip would be incomplete without it.

Learning To Fly

BEFORE YOU READ: This is perhaps the longest post i have ever written. Please be patient :).

I always think about blogging about my "flying" experiences - what I go through/observe/experience when I take a flight and go somewhere. But thanks to procrastrination and ennui, I never write anything about them because usually there is so much to write. Just the thought of writing a lot tires me, and eventually the idea of sharing my amazing experiences, if you will, is abandoned - shamelessly.

But this time is different. I am determined to write about my trip last week to Niagara Falls. I have already started this post, and hope to finish it. This post may look like a chapter from a fiction novel simply because it's going to be so long. So my dear readers, please read this with a soda and popcorn in your hands. I am not promising entertainment, but I have observed that munching something while reading usually makes the process a lot less painful and a lot more entertaining.

My mom's friend had come to Baltimore to visit my sister, and since she was on the east coast, she thought she could fulfill her lifelong dream of going to see the Niagara Falls. My sister volunteered to take here there. She asked me to join them too, which I did. I flew from Des Moines to Baltimore last thursday. From there, we were to drive all the way to the falls and back.

Andrew, like always, was nice and kind enough to give me a ride to the Des Moines airport.

I checked in my bag, and moved towards security to find out that within the next few minutes, I would experience the most fun security check in my life, ever. The TSA guards were joking with me and each other, and they all smiled, which of course, is very unusual. I must say that it was perhaps the most laidback security check I have ever witnessed in this country. I remember the security check at the Bloomington airport being stricter than this.

Anyway, there was still like an hour left to board, and I was hungry too, so I grabbed a southwest chicken sandwich. Now, whenever I travel, I tend to overstuff myself with food. This time was no exception either. The sandwich actually was pretty big. But something inside me made me think that just that would not be enough. So I bought fries. And soda. I sat down, eating my stuff and reading "Grab On To Me Tightly As If I Knew The Way" which I had borrowed from the library just the previous day. Within a few minutes, I knew that the fries was a big mistake. But I usually don't waste food, so I kept munching away to glory.

The aircraft that was to take us from Des Moines to Chicago was one of the smaller ones - narrow and pointed, which is good enough to be a private jet but bad enough to carry like 50-60 passengers. The flight took off on time. I was still reading my book, and by the 20th page I knew what to expect in the coming 200 or so pages - utter American teenage nonsense. I dozed off, without even bothering to get my free soda and pretzels.

I woke up just in time. The plane was to land in the next 20 minutes or so. I was glad I slept because usually I cannot. The plane landed and I made my way to the gate from where I was to catch my flight to Baltimore. When I got inside the aircraft, I opened my nonsensical book and started reading it again, just for the heck of it. Within a few minutes a desi guy came and sat next to me. I could tell that he was really nice - more so because he tried to start a conversation with me which went something like this:

Guy: Hi!

Me: Hello there!

Guy: How are you?

Me: Good, how are you?

Guy: Very good, thanks.

Then, like an ass, I continued to read my book. I knew the guy wanted to chit-chat, but I simply ignored him.

I had suddenly turned anti-social.

To be honest, I am usually nice to other people. Really nice. But this time around I don't know what happened. I totally snubbed him. I didn't like it, but I think I was tired, and I was reading that Godforsaken book. I guess I didn't want to be disturbed.

About 40 minutes before landing, the pilot announced that a tornado was following us from North Carolina, and that hopefully we would be able to beat it to avoid the excessive rain that a stupid tornado brings. That is when the guy started looking out of the window and said something about the weather. I replied back, but since I was in my anti-social mode, I said something that was perhaps not interesting enough to maintain the longevity of our conversation. The guy then started talking to the lady on his right, and I overheard him saying that he was coming from Oregon. That is when I did a 360 and turned totally friendly and nice. I told him how I always wanted to go see Oregon, and how the air tickets are always so expensive (the last time I checked, it was $600 for the memorial day weekend :(( ). The lady, who was coming from Wisconsin, told me that I should definitely go to Oregon, and that it is very very beautiful. She also told me that I should drive on highway 101 to enjoy my Oregon experience to the fullest. I said I will.

The three of us started talking non stop, and after a while I got to know that the guy was originally from Pakistan, now a Canadian citizen (based in Toronto), and currently living in Baltimore with his family.

I told them I was from India.

The flight landed on time, but we were a little late in beating the tornado. Well, the tornado did not come to the Baltimore area, but it was raining like crazy out there because of which our luggage were not taken out of the aircraft for like 45 minutes. When I finally got my bag I got out of the airport and got in my sister's car. Our aunt had also come. I said namaste to her. Our chit-chat started and we drove away.

I was to come back to Des Moines last sunday, and my flight was at 7:30 in the evening. Our aunt was also going to Kentucky that very day. Her flight was in the morning, though. We took her to the airport, and I went in with her to help her check in.

That is when I got to know about a crazy Southwest concept.

Apparently, the last 15 boarding passes are not given at the check in counter - they are given at the gate. So basically, if you are late, you have to run to the gate. If somebody else gets there before you do, then you can kiss your flight good bye - doesn't matter if you have a confirmed ticket or not.

We were in a similar situation. My aunt did not get her boaarding pass. The lady at the check in counter asked me to go with her, in case my aunt had communication problems. She gave me a pass that would let me go through security without a boarding pass. We both went through security and reached the gate. Apparently, there was no else to claim one of the last 15 passes, so we were safe. The guy gave my aunt her boarding pass that she deserved. We waited for a little while. When boarding started, I touched her feet, bid her goodbye, and came out of the airport.

Then my sister and I went shopping.

When we came back at around 5:00 PM, I decided to check the status of my flight. Usually, I don't do it. In fact, I have never checked my flight status the day I am suppposed to catch it. I just show up at the airport assuming that the flight would be on time.

But for some odd reason, I checked the status online. This time. And this is what I saw:

Flight 327: Baltimore to Chicago

Status: Cancelled

Reason: -

I have experienced many delayed flights in my life. But cancelled? What in the world is that?

I could not believe it. Who would have thought that it would ever happen to me? Bad things happen to other people, don't they?

But here I was - facing the bitter truth. I was victimized. I felt so molested. Suddenly the world seemed very unfair, and I was still in shock.

I called customer care. I spoke to Richard about my situation. Now obviously Richard was sitting in India, but I did not have the time and energy to chit-chat about that. He told me that there is a flight from Dulles airport in Virginia at 7:41, and that I should try to catch it.

Current time : 5:15.

Time it takes to reach there: 1:30 hours.

We immediately left. My sister decided to speed (she loves it) , but as luck would have it, it started to rain. And then there was a traffic jam. And then I called customer care again, and spoke to Archie. I told her that I am stuck and that I might not be able to make it. She was very nice and patient. She said no problem, and put me on the next flight from Dulles -at 6:00 AM next day, on standby that is. Since we were stuck already, I decided to chat with her informally. I asked her if she was in Delhi. She said she was. I told her that I was from Delhi too. I then asked her her real name. She said Aarti. I then asked her where she lived. She said South Ex. She then said that it is always a pleasure to talk to Indian customers. I said thank you. I also told her that she was very kind and helpful.

We reached Dulles at 7:20. I went to United's check in counter where I met another very very nice lady. I explained my situation to her, and she did whatever she could to help me out. Apparently, it was too late to board the aircraft, but she gave me a pass that would let me pass through security. I thanked her and told her that she was the best. Another lady standing next to her said, "Yes, she is". We all laughed.

Then I ran.

The guy at security looked at the time on my boarding pass, then looked at me, smiled, and said sarcastically, "You are a little too early for your flight". I said I know. I made it through security, ran towards the gate only to find out that boarding was over and that they had shut the gate. The aircraft was still there - it had not taken off. But I could not board it.

That was the perfect time to use my favorite quote coined by yours truly - "I know how good my bad luck is".

I was to take the 6AM flight now. I told my sister to go back home, and that I would spend the night at the airport.

I was hungry. I went to a store where they had chawal chole! It was frozen, but the Japanese lady behind the counter offered to heat it up for me. I then went to another store to buy chips where the desi owner was busy flirting with a desi customer girl. He looked at me and asked his sidekick/flunky to see what I wanted.

I bought the chips and found a spot where I could charge my phone. Thank God I had my phone charger in my back pack. I sat on the floor and ate my food.

After a "heavy" meal, i decided to sleep. I lay down on the floor, with my back pack doubling up as my pillow. I tried to sleep, but the floor was so dang cold, that I was almost shivering. I decided to get the security check done so that I could sleep on one of those longer seats at the gate. I went to security only to be told that I should come back after midnight. It was 10:20.

I then went to Arrivals. Walked around and looked around. There were many flights coming in - both domestic and international. I loitered around for some time, then went to Departures to try to sleep again.

I did.

Try, that is.

Around 1:00 I got my security check done. I was actually the only one, so there was no rush. I asked one of the TSA guys about a good place to take a nap. The guy was very nice (Peurto Rican). He told me that I should go to Terminal D instead of C because D is much more warmer :). I thanked him and started walking towards D. Luckily my flight was from D too, so that kind of made me smile.

I reached my gate, found a long seat, and slept. For around 3 hours. I am pretty sure I snored.

When I got up at around 4:30, I was surprised to see so many people for a 6 o' clock flight. There was another Indian guy. He told me that he was in a similar situation - missed his flight the previous night and all that jazz. We spoke for a while and then boarded the same flight.

Awesome flight. Slept throughout.

In the flight to Des Moines, read around 80 pages of that idiotic book again.

And of course, Andrew was at the airport to receive me. We took my luggage, went to eat breakfast at Perkins (hadn't had American breakfast in a while :)) which was awesome, and then reported to work.

I haven't written anything in a while because I was busy having fun . More coming up in a few minutes.

The Namesake?

Today I decided to watch The Namesake. Dissapointed.

It's ironic how while reading the book I thought that Jhumpa Lahiri had paid too much attention to detail - to the extent that it annoyed me. But the movie is just the opposite. No detail at all. Everything in the movie happened so abruptly - so abruptly that it annoyed me.

And the facts - completely twisted.

- To start with, Ashoke smokes in the movie. Now, in the book, Ashoke was apparently the only bengali guy in the US who did not smoke.

- When Ashoke goes to meet Ashima at her house, her parents tell his parents that her best subject is English. Then her dad asks her to to recite something, and she recites"Daffodils" by William Wordsworth. As far as I know, that never happened in the book.

- In the movie, Ashoke is doing his PhD in fiber optics in New York, but the book mentions that he was in Cambridge. Surprise Surprise!

- The movie completely ignores Gogol's ceremony in which he is asked to grab either a pen, a dollar bill, or something else (can't recall what). I thought the scene was funny. Instead, they show Sonia's ceremony.

- Gogol's college girlfriend Ruth does not appear in the movie at all.

- The Ganguli family goes to India for 3 months after he graduates from high school. In the book, they went to India when he was still in 10th grade.

- In the movie, Gogol meets Moushumi after his high school graduation. In the book, he met her when he was 6.

- Which reminds me, On the day he graduates Gogol is shown smoking weed with his friends with a tassle wrapped around it. First - Not mentioned anywhere in the book. Second - utterly gross.

- Ashoke barges into Gogol's room when he is headbanging and air guitaring to Pearl Jam's "Once". In the book, he was listening to The Beatles.

- In the movie, Gogol discusses his plans of changing his name with everyone in the family at the dinner/lunch table. Ashoke just says "everything is possible in America" and goes away to smoke. The book, as a matter of fact, had several pages dedicated to this situation - "in detail".

This is when I couldn't take it anymore and decided not to watch the rest of it. Those of you who have not seen the movie - don't. Read the book instead. It is much more engrossing and painful - and will bring tears to your eyes.

I Did It!

Very proudly, and shamefully indeed, I admit that I finished reading an entire novel today. Reading has always interested me, but the last two and a half years of grad school kept me away from "non school" books. Not that I did not attempt to read a novel in this time period - I did, and there have been two books that I almost finished. One was "Live From Middle America - Rants From A Red State Comedian" by Brad Stine. It is basically his opinions on why Liberals suck big time and that being a conservative is the way to go. My favorite quote from the cover of the book - "Chemo is for cowards"..lol! (Apparently, people in Tennessee say that) I really wanted to finish that book but unfortunately I had started it during my toughest semester - so there!

The other book that I was close to finishing was "Playing for Pizza" by John Grisham. I finished more than 150 pages of it's 250 odd pages, but deep down inside I felt that the story was baseless. It's actually about an inept NFL player who is shunned by NFL for messing it up big time in a certain Super Bowl and is then picked by a football team in Milan, Italy for their own Super Bowl.

The Namesake. This is the book I finished just a few minutes ago. I think the reason I liked it is because I understood most of the things Jhumpa Lahiri mentions in the book. It is about an Indian family that comes to the US and raises children here. Well, it's actually a lot more than that, but in a nutshell, it is about the lifestyles of parents who are immigrants and first generation American children, and the conflicts that result because of this difference.

So here I am, adding another feather to my cap, reviving my long lost hobby, and planning to pay a visit to the library not for music CDs and DVDs, but for something else :).

China

The entire National Geographic Magazine's May 2008 issue is dedicated to China - it's history, culture, people, development. There are just so many beautiful pictures inside the issue, and every picture would make you go visit China all the more.

We know that the entire world talks about India and China - the economic boom, the tremendous development, GDP touching new heights and what not, and the latest issue of NGM actually shows all this happening - in pictures. The land of Dragons is slowly turning into a land of some really creative and well designed buildings that add to the scenic beauty (you have to see it to believe it) of the cities those buildings are located in. And of course, the Olympics just around the corner is making sure that their architecture stuns the entire world. Also, just like India, housing is on a rampage in China. New houses are being constructed like crazy. People drink this particular $12 drink in bars that is "on fire". Rich women don't have to go to Europe anymore to shop for their favorite dresses - everything is now available in their own country. Somewhere around 60% of first time car owners in recent years bought their cars in cash!

Huge development means the presence of MNCs, which in turn means an increasing number of expats from all over the world. This also means inter-racial marriages which seems like a fairly new concept in China. However, women are overall happy because they have "more choices" now! :)

Photographs flicked from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/

Hello Sexy! Part 2

Background.

Now here's another one. This one's about getting online degrees.

Please pay attention to the red box. The ad in that box says:

"ONLINE DEGREES. Click here for Top Online Schools". Then it has a list of some of the degrees available.

Now here's my question. If you want me to join one of your so called top online schools, why do you have to show me a picture of a hot busty sex Goddess who's seductive eyes say "come fudge me". Wouldn't you be in a better and safer position showing me a picture of a nerdy guy sitting in front of his computer solving a fancy quadratic equation or making a powerpoint? Wouldn't that make me think that the online schools are really serious about providing education to some of the lesser fortunate ones who do not have the time and perhaps the money to attend a full time school?

This one looks like an ad circulated by frat boys to recruit freshmen. This is like telling those kids to attend school not for education, but for unlimited sex. And who in the world would get such a hot girl in an online school for crying out loud?

Seriously, who are we kidding here?

Flash To The Power of n

This morning I woke up to my ridiculously hideous fire alarm like sounding phone alarm. At first I could not understand the situation simply because I am used to getting up to a nicer sounding radio clock alarm that goes off four minutes earlier. I did get up to switch it off but instantly got lost trying to determine what might have gone wrong with my radio clock alarms (ya, two of 'em). I looked at one of the alarm clock and saw the digits flashing. That is when I realized that there was a power outage last night, and that all the clocks have been reset. I looked at the other clock - same thing. I said "what the hell" to myself and continued with the daily painful, forgetful act of getting ready to go to work.

I came back in the evening, watched some TV and came in to my bedroom to switch on my computer. That is when I saw those flashing digits on my radio clock again that reminded me of the entire "getting up to the weirdest alarm sound" encounter. I was lazy enough not to set the time on both the clocks and that is the reason why I am so annoyed right now. One clock is almost in front of me, just a little to the left. Now them flashing numbers are hurting my eyes. They are not directly in my line of vision, but I can still see them do the new age phoenix repeatedly from the corner of my left eye. The non stop flashing is making me think of an SOS call of a sinking ship going horribly wrong.

The situation I am in right now is worse than the one in which you are with a girl who seeks constant attention. I want to get rid of it but I can't , because it's happening right in front of me. I can make it stop but I won't because I am too lazy. It's like I know I am getting fatter by the day but I still won't go exercise (figuratively speaking, okay?). It's like I know I am damn hungry but still won't eat at my relative's house because I am shy (figuratively speaking, okay?).

laziness has become a way of life. Sometimes I wonder if my children would be so lazy too.

Help me God.

Just Perfect!

Today I biked to work. I was wanting to do it last week too but the intermittent rainfall three out of those gorgeous seven days made me defer my plan. Today was supposed to rain too, but my morning dose of the weather channel suggested otherwise. It was beautiful this morning. Although it was forty degrees F at 8AM, I still decided to bike considering the fact that the temperature would be somewhere in the mid seventees in the afternoon.

I did not dress up like I usually do for work. Instead I wore shorts, a dirty t-shirt and a windcheater. I did pack my jeans and another (not so dirty) t-shirt though, which I planned to change into at work (yes, I wear jeans and t-shirts to office). The reason I did not dress up was because of the fear of looking like Jim Halpert from "The Office", who as you may know, rides his bike to work all dressed up, and when he reaches "The Office", is all sweaty, especially under the arms.

I set out at around 8:07. At one intersection I was waiting to cross the road when I saw this huge Pontiac SUV swerving in style right in front of me. The swirve somehow undid the cap on its fuel tank, and I saw the cap fly in the air, ultimately landing just a few steps away from me. The driver perhaps witnessed the action in his rear view mirror too, so he stopped. I picked up the cap, biked up to the driver and handed it to him. I heard the usual "Thank you sir. I really appreciate it". I said "No problem", and moved on.

I knew there was a shortcut to reach work. But I did not know where. So I decided not to take any chances and pedaled away to glory on the shared path, which is intended both for pedestrians and bikers. After stopping at two more traffic lights, I finally reached work - in around 25 minutes.

Before leaving work for home, I checked the biker's map online and decided to take the shortcut. The route was unpaved and kind of looked like a trail path. I pedaled a little more, only to realize that the path ran through a beautiful golf course! While pushing them pedals back home I felt very good. I felt like by not driving a car or riding a bus I am actually showing some concern for our environment. Also, the bright sun on top of my head and the cool breeze slapping me in my face almost made me smile.

The day was just perfect for a bike ride.

20 - 20

820 miles.
16 hours of driving..
..In 2 Days.

Yes, I went on this awesome, spectacular, painless road trip all by myself to spend time with friends. It was kind of an eye opener for me. A lesson - for underestimating the midwest's beauty.

I always thought that there was no scenic beauty in the midwest. The only thing to see here were corn fields that perhaps outnumbered the population of India. Jay Leno recently joked about how the earth quake a couple of days ago wanted to flatten Iowa but really could not because it's already flat!

But before entering Illinois, I passed throught this beautiful city called Dubuque which immediately made me think that I may have been lost. The city is situated on the banks of the Mississippi, and there is a very narrow bridge that took me across the river, and while I was on that narrow bridge I risked my life by taking my eyes off the road, looking at the scenic beauty that the river offered, and concluding that the midwest is beautiful indeed.

When I hit highway 20 from 35 North, I saw the usual scene - cornfields, cornfields everywhere not a corn to eat. It was like that for nearly 170-180 miles. I did see a few bigger cities (according to Iowa standards, that is) and took a break in Waterloo where for the first time in roughly eight months I had a McChicken meal. I was thrilled. Totally. The very first bite brought back memories of my days in grad school, when I would not have enough time to go back home before class, and I would go to the only McDonald's in Normal and eat a McChicken meal almost everyday.

Anyway, around 30 - 40 miles from Waterloo, things started to change. The corn fields suddenly vanished and I saw myself surrounded by greenery, greenery everywhere. There were a few very beautiful colleges, and I realized that I was turning my steering wheel a lot more often. I was not on a straight road anymore, and it was time to stop singing (sang to myself for around 3 hours) and pay attention.

The journey was very fascinating from Dubuque onwards. I drove through (small) mountains, before reaching this amazingly beautiful city called Galena in Illinois. The narrow brick roads that went up and down, zig and zag immediately made me feel like I was somewhere in Europe. Not that I' ve been there, but the pictures of Europe that I have seen over the years made me think that I was really somewhere there.

Zigging and Zagging my way to glory, I passed another location that overlooked a huge green area of land with perhaps thousands of black and white cows roaming around - eating grass and making merry.

Then I passed through many small towns that were unique in their own ways. One town had a glass museum, another town had a "peculiar house" on sale, and in most of these towns, there was land in abundance, and people had built there houses in the middle of huge farmlands - just like in those beautiful postcards and posters that we have been admiring since childhood.

Well, the one way journey ended when I reached Freeport and saw Kedar's face. Seeing him after so many months was really very nice. He surprised me by feeding me a chicken dish that he had made, which was damn hot and very very delicious!

From Freeport we went to Normal, where we spent the night with Shalva, Vinay and Harsh. Drank the entire night and had amazing fun after such a long time. Next day around noon we left Normal. I dropped Kedar first and came back to Ames - once again admiring the beauty of Galena, IL and Dubuque, IA, thanking mapquest for making me take highway 20.

Highway 20 was really amazing. I was earlier kind of apprehensive about taking 20 just because it is not an interstate, and that there would be a lot of traffic and the speed limit would be not so great. Well I did find all that (in some towns the speed limit was 25 for fudge's sake), but thankfully I discovered some really beautiful places that totally changed my perception about the midwest.

I just wish I had someone sitting next to me taking pictures.

All I Want Is....

I was talking to this friend of mine about how I have failed miserably - as a boyfriend. I have had quite a few encounters, however something somewhere goes terribly wrong. Consistency is absent, and commitment - it always flies out of the window. My friend also agreed that it has been like that with her too. Things go wrong when she thought everything was just fine.

So we were discussing our relationships gone sour when another friend of mine emails me about her wedding in July. Her fiance and she have made a website, which has stories of how they met, their personalities, pictures of them together and what not. And of course, Barry Louis Polisar's All I Want Is You played in the background, which reminded me of Juno. Also, the song is so beautiful that it makes you feel like eloping with your (in my case non-existent) girlfriend as soon as possible.

How ironic.

But of course, singlehood is bliss too. It has it's own advantages, and honestly, I am having a ball of a time. Over the years I have realized that the flaws are in me. I am to be blamed. And that I am not fit for a relationship that demands committment.

I will not ruin somebody else's life.

Yummy Yummy Yummy I Got Food In My Tummy

Living in a university town is fun.

I got up at 11:20 this morning and peeped out of the window to find snow everywhere. It was indeed a shock. Now come on, who expects snow in the middle of April.

So I was simply sulking and drinking my tea (too early to drink beer) when Andrew called. He told me about the International Food Festival in the university, and was calling to know if I would join him at all. I said yes, considering the fact that I would end up drinking endless number of cups of tea if I stayed at home.

The place was crowded, and I don't think I have seen so many International people in a big room before, not even at Illinois State. We started with Nepali food - Momos (two tickets), and what a good start it was. Then I tried some Puerto Rican rice and beans which was very delicious. We went to the Indian stall to see what they were selling. It was Tandoori Chicken. From my experience at Illinois State I knew that TC would be expensive. Andrew thought that the TC he makes looks better than what they were selling.

A slight digression - It was kind of weird to see Nepalis selling Mango lassi.

Anyway, we moved on to Sri Lanka, and they had daal vada. Since I had not finished my bean rice I told the lady at the counter that I would come back. Next stop - Pakistani. Looked extremely delicious - a chicken dish with naan. Six tickets. Backed out.

Then I tried a Sudanese potato dish which was very similar to the potato sabzi we make with gravy. But it had its own unique taste. The guy filled the entire bowl with that dish, and boy, was it heavy! I took a lot of time to finish it. I went to the Sri Lankan stall to get those vadas. One ticket, so I bought two. Very nice, they were. I also stopped at the Latin American stall where they were selling something that really caught my attention. I asked the lady what it was and she said it was made of corn flakes, condensed milk, and caramel. "Just like a cookie" she said. I decided to try it. It was actually for two tickets but the kind lady gave me a deal. She charged me just one ticket. I decided to buy two.

It was delicious. Not very sweet, just perfect. I really really liked it.

Soon I was out of tickets, so I bought four more. In the second round I bought Indonesian noodles with chicken and also their dessert, which was kind of different, and good. The grand finale was a stop at the Latin American stall to buy the corn flakes cookie again. Delicious!

Funny, Isn't It?

I have realized that I cannot watch just about any comedy movie. It has to have that element that would make me laugh my lungs out.

I guess there is a variety of comedy movies. One - that is cheap to the bone and is outrageously ridiculous. Two - subtle, intelligent humor which involves a small, creative effort that results in a big imact. Three - Romantic comedies - romance to the power of n with a few "funny" things thrown in to make you chuckle. Finally, "based on true story" comedies - the ones in which the protagonist is a loser, and everything he does goes wrong (read Adam Sandler variety) which apparently is funny for some reason(ever noticed that the losers in such movies are usually men).

I really like type one and two. These are the ones that make me laugh the hardest. I can watch such movies every day and every night. Type three is a big no no. As I said, I watch comedy movies to laugh or to atleast maintain a constant grin on my face throughout the movie. I don't want to chuckle. I can't watch a hundred minutes movie to just smile on the cute things the couple indulges in. And of course, an interesting fact - All these movies start with the girl hating the guy. In the end, however, they kiss, and sometimes even marry. Life is so beautiful. Romance 24 X 7 is what it's all about.

Type four - silly. So silly that it's not even funny. This movie usually does not have a good storyline, and is forgotten within weeks of its big bang release. No wonder such movies don't win Oscars. I have tried to watch such movies, but fail to finish them. No, I don't fall asleep. I just pull the disc out of in anger and disgust, cursing myself for bringing such a nimrodic movie. I then slam a beer to get rid of the pain.

Oh yes, I also like movies in which the F word is superoverused, like atleast twice in one dialog. If you have watched Coffee and Cigarettes (scene 4 - "Those things'll kill ya" ) then you know what I am talking about.

R.E.M. Update

Good news, good news everywhere..

This week R.E.M. made it to the #2 spot on the Billboard Top 200 Album charts :). Of course, they debuted at #1 in many countries in Europe :).

I am totally excited. For the first time in 14 years I am tracking the progress of an R.E.M. album, and believe me, the great reviews that this album is getting from everywhere/everyone is making me really proud. I am proud to be an R.E.M. fan :).

http://www.rollingstone.com/rockdaily/index.php/2008/04/09/on-the-charts-rem-accelerates-to-best-open-in-a-decade/

They also have an article in this month's Spin about their "resurrection" (I own that copy..so proud, so proud!! :)). Read R.E.M.: R.E.BORN here:

My R.E.M. experience has been very very good so far. I will R.E.M.ember. Every. Moment.

Pedaling Away To Glory

I have started biking. Every evening after coming back from work I grab my bike and start pushing them pedals. Since the last 3 days I have been pedaling around four to five miles a day. Just so you know, I bought a new bike - a Schwinn Aluminum Comp. Very nice, very rugged, and very sexy.

I am trying to get into a routine. Cycling really fascinates me, and with time, I am planning to increase both distance and speed. Right now I am only utilizing the seventh gear out of the twenty one my bike offers. I tried the tenth gear yesterday and within no time my thighs were all red, crying in pain. So I decided to stick to just the seventh for a couple of days and then go up a few levels later on.

I bike for 25 - 30 minutes. I will increase it to an hour or so once I regain my lost stamina.

Here's the baby:

Living Well Is The Best Revenge!

Awesome.

I am so glad that the R.E.M. I have known is back, and they for sure have accelerated! I had preordered their new album Accelerate (which I received yesterday) - and I am happy. The album is really really good - so good that I want to listen to it again and again. Thank God for that!

I must admit that I did not really enjoy their last 3 albums. It all started with Up, and boy, was that a disappointment. After New Adventures in Hi-Fi, I was expecting something that would be one level "up", a more exciting, more rawking album (thanks Dani). But it made me cry. But I was not ready to accept that the album was zilch. I was so strongly attached to R.E.M. that I believed whatever they said about experimenting with their music and all that jazz.

When I heard Reveal, I totally lost focus. The album was a mish mash of nonsense, stupidity, and perhaps a little overconfidence on R.E.M.'s part for thinking that this record would do wonders. It does have a few good songs, but overall it's so not R.E.M.

Around the Sun was good. Not excellent, but good. It's slow overall, but atleast I could play the CD from start to finish without losing my mind. However, deep down inside I was a little sad, simply because I missed the R.E.M. that rocked. I missed the energy that Michael Stipe showed when he had longer hair. I missed the guitar riffs that Peter Buck played when he was leaner. I missed the bass lines Mike Mills played when he used to wear cowboy suits. I missed (and would still miss) the drum beats by Bill Berry without any emotions on his face.

After these albums, I was pretty sure that R.E.M. had mellowed down with age, and that I would have to get used to listening to their "piano riffs" and Stipe's voice filled with pain and sadness.

Well, thank God they accelerated!

Accelerate is old wine in a new bottle. The old R.E.M. is back - the mid 80s R.E.M. , and they rrrroocckk!!!! Since yesterday I have been listening only to Accelerate, and loving every bit of it! Songs worth mentioning are Hollow Man, Supernatural Superserious, Living Well Is The Best Revenge, Until The Day Is Done and Man Sized Wreath, and I'm Gonna DJ. Listening to this record is all the more fun when you are driving - Your head just goes up, down, up, down, up, down...

I must also mention that I bought their concert ticket! I am so looking forward to this concert in Chicago. My R.E.M. experience has started.

:)

Spend Spend Spend!!!!!

Today I decided to check out the Walmart super center that recently opened in this town. Well, the motivation to go there actually came from the salary deposit in my bank account last night. To be honest, I really did not need anything from there. But then, as the wise men say, old habits die hard, and the habit we are discussing here is not going to a superstore on saturday afternoons, but actually spending money - wherever and however possible.

For some reason I took the cart today instead of the usual basket, and a cart usually means a bigger bill at the checkout counter. I bought a few useless things, and by useless I mean stuff that I don't "really" need - a webcam, kitchen towels (have 5 of them already), screwdriver (have two sets already), wrenches (seriously?), a radio clock (Got two of those), night lamp in the shape of a tea kettle (no way dude!), guitar picks, and a few more things. But honestly, the number of items were around ten to twelve, that's how I qualified to get into the express checkout counter. The lady at the counter was nice. She asked me if I played the guitar - I said I try. The kettle shaped night lamp actually brought a smile to her face :). She thought it was cute. I said it was funny.

Then it happened. After ringing all the items she said, "One O Seven please". While paying for stuff I usually don't pay attention to the amount that the person says - I just swipe my card and give my autograph on the electronic card machine (whatever it's called). But today was not any other day. I was about to swipe my card when I suddenly thought to myself - "now wait a minute. Is it really One O Seven bucks? The lady must have made a mistake while ringing all the items". But after two seconds I did swipe my card. She gave me the receipt and said that I should have a good afternoon. I reciprocated and while walking out of the store decided to do a manual addition. I pulled out the receipt from my pocket and started adding numbers. When the first four items (out of ten or twelve) added up to fifty, I stopped. I had no doubts about the (mis) calculations anymore.

From Walmart I went to Fareway to buy some grocery - basically beer. I usually get Ice House because I think that beer can really give you an orgasm, plus it's cheap, perhaps the cheapest. If I don't feel like drinking Ice House, I get my favorite beer - Rolling Rock. Since my day was already screwed (in terms of careless expenditure, that is), I decided to go on a rampage. I paid an extra dollar and bought Leinenkugel.

Then in the evening I did not feel like cooking anything, so I decided to get something from Subway. I went there and bought not one, but two footlongs. Yes, Footlongs. Two. Not One. And then on my way back home I stopped at Gumby and got ten chicken wings from there.

F*ck!

So actually, this story can tell you a lot about me. When I decide to screw up, I do it big time. If you don't believe me, go ask the credit card companies.

Doesn't the Fed just love people like me these days?

Enlightenment For The Brown Kid

I broke my own promise. I had decided to publish not more than 12 posts in a month (and not less than 12 posts in a month) because I just thought that the number "12" next to every month in the blog archive would look cool. Well, this post's going to turn March's number to 13, but then, what the hell - It's a stupid, baseless, illogical promise anyway.

So Andrew has been "teaching" me a lot of stuff about what he (and other kids) did when he was little. I must say that whatever he tells me is very very enlightening. Now, did we (Indians) ever know that a cartoon character called Rude Dog existed? No, I don't think so. Did we ever know anything about Cabbage Patch Kids or Garbage Pail Kids for that matter? No no no.

I told him today that in Illinois I hung out with the wrong crowd. Lol!

And seriously, I find these things really interesting because the information is pretty much useless. Now that's how I always like my information. Useless. But - it should be entertaining. If somebody tells me something about any random scientific/philosophical theory..I usually yawn. So whatever Andrew tells me is fudgin' A.

A slight digression - I have decided not to use the F word on my blog anymore.

So like I said, these sessions, if you will, are very informative. He also tells me a lot about the 90s music *drool*. So basically, I am that Indian kid who thought he knew "a lot" about America but was absolutely totally ridiculously nimrodically wrong. Well, not for long, because I have a tutor now.

So Andrew, if you are reading this post - Thank you! ;)

Dang it, Bobby!

...And Another One!

300 pieces, this one.

I am on a roll, aren't I?! ;)

Another One

Nailed another one..this one pretty much broke my back though.

500 pieces.

Beep!

I just hate it when the microwave keeps giving the constant "friendly" reminder beep after the food is done. Why can't it just sit quietly and mind its own business? My microwave is actually beeping away to glory as I sit in my bedroom and type this post.

Mr. microwave - I know the food is done. The only reason I am not taking the food out is because I am doing something that is probably more important.

I am hungwee *groan*.

To Bathe Or Not To Bathe

Every saturday afternoon (not morning), when I am taking a shower, a thought comes to my mind - Why is bathing a necessity? Why cannot it be a hobby, or an activity?

This thought comes to me only on saturdays because that is the only day when I bathe with no worries - of getting late to work, etc. I just stand under the shower - and sink into oblivion. I must confess that I thoroughly enjoy the process..only on a saturday, that is. So again, why is it a necessity? Why can't I just wash my face, brush my teeth every morning and just go to work, without bothering too much about body odour and all that nonsense?

*sigh*.

Hair Cut

I have not had a hair cut in 3 months. I am trying to grow my hair, and I really want to see how much more can my hair make people scream in disgust and agony. I look shabby already, and to be honest, I really don't know how to take care of my hair. I do use shampoo and conditioner fairly regularly, but that's it. I don't know any other magic trick that would make me look like Zoolander.

I usually get a haircut every month, or perhaps one and a half months.

Today, however, I thought that it's really not such a good idea, and decided to get a hair cut. I have a job now, and I really cannot afford to look like a hippy - my officemates would start despising me. So I bathed, shaved, dressed up and got out of my apartment. It was a little cloudy and windy, but nice overall. I reached Main Street where I checked out six different salons, one by one.. - all fudging closed! Can you believe it? Not even one was open. All closed! Now the people that run those salons should realize that their are some businesses (like theirs) that thrive only or mostly on the weekends. So those involved in such businesses cannot afford to shut down on saturdays and sundays. That's utter foolishness. If they were cutting hair for free then it would have been a completely different issue. But no, they charge you 12 - 15 bucks, and they want you to go to them at their convenience - not yours.

How in the world is that supposed to make life comfortable (mine, not theirs)?

Have We Met Before?

Have you ever wondered what your childhood friends are doing? Where they are, how they are? Are they married? Do they have kids already? Are they happy?

The reason I ask this is because many of us cherish the time well spent with all the wonderful friends we had when we were little kids, but somehow lost contact with them because they either changed their school, their family moved to a different place, or something else happened.

I have always appreciated the presence of my friends in my life, and like all of us, lost touch with them when I was growing up.

However, thanks to Web 2.0 and social networking, I found most of my long lost school friends after 18 fudging years!! How many? Let me count - seven! I am still on the lookout for a few more, but its okay, I atleast found some of them :).

I spoke to two of them over the phone recently. It was an amazing feeling! Of course, their voices have changed. They sound very very matured. They throw in a hint of sophistication when they talk, yet they are very down to earth. They have their own issues in life, but they walk unafraid and face whatever that bumps into them. Surprisingly, six of them are still unmarried - one would tie the knot this year though.

Two are sitting in Dublin, Ireland (student, nurse), one is in Baltimore, US (doctor [MD]), and the rest of them are in Bangalore (manager, maintenance engineer in the Indian Air Force) and New Delhi, India (service industry).

After talking to them, I want to meet all of them now. I want to see those lovely faces, share my experiences with them, and bring joy to them.

I hope I get to meet them, and if everything goes well, I will be able to meet them. Distance is an obstacle, but I think it would be easily tackled by my determination to see them.

It's a small world afterall, isn't it?

Perfect!

Background.

Solved another 300 pieces puzzle today. The outcome was good. No missing pieces this time.

But there were times when I totally panicked because I could not find the piece I was looking for. Everything did work out well in the end but I still do not trust the manufacturers' quality checks ;).

Colours Run

For some reason I have not been able to grasp the music that's prevelent these days. I think the bands that used to make music for the sake of music and not for making big bucks do not exist anymore. Today's music is very glamorized and commercialized. I really cannot focus on the music made in this decade.

But call it serendipity or whatever, around 6-8 months ago I found this band called Colours Run on last.fm that simply swept me off my feet! Yes, I fell in love with them instantly. Colours Run is from Manchester, England, and their music is very very nice, very different, and very British. They sound a lot like Coldplay, and their songs bring happiness to my soul. I was listening to one of their songs today and decided to tell the world about it :).

They have recently released their EP called The Sticks EP. It's available on iTunes and on CD baby, and it's for 10 bucks.

My favorite Colours Run song: "Beautiful Waste of Time".

Note: I am stuck in the 90s and I am proud of it.

Self Control, eh?

I have been resisiting temptation - big time!

I have gotten into this habit of getting on to Amazon, Deals of America and other such websites and looking at all the wonderful materialistic things available on this planet. I instantly fall in love with them, and decide to buy them right away. I even click "check out", but the moment I am asked to enter my credit card information, I say to myself - "Hmmm..do I really need it?". My inner self gives me a big NO. Then I ask my inner self to justify the negative answer, and the answer that follows is "I REALLY don't need it". That is when some sense prevails and I realize how stupid I am. I just don't allow the devil inside me to control my thought process anymore. I close the browser window, and then say to myself - "Boy, I REALLY didn't need it".

Six days have passed (in this monh, that is!) and I have not bought even a single item that would make the devil inside me dance with pleasure. I am just thinking that that the angel inside me deserves better treatment. No more tears, my angel, no more tears.

Some of the things that I have avoided in the last so many days are:

- Laser Printer.
- Music System.
- Music System.
- Electric Accoustic Guitar.
- Wireless Speakers.
- Under Cabinet CD Player.
- Numerous HDTVs.
- Furniture at IKEA (!).
- Useless yet attractive stuff on Deals of America.

The Missing Piece

My worst nightmare has come true.

I could not finish a puzzle a few days ago because there was a piece missing in the puzzle set.

See the missing piece?

This is what I have dreaded all my life. For some reason whenever I bought a jigsaw puzzle I got the feeling that it would have a piece missing. For so many years, however, this never happened, and my fear was overpowered by the manufacturer's superb quality checks.

But it happened. Two days ago, and now my fear has resurfaced. I will never be able to finish a jigsaw puzzle with full confidence. There will always be an element of suspense. There will always be tension.

The only soultion that comes to my mind is to count the number of pieces in the puzzle first, and if there are any pieces missing, repack the puzzle, send it back to the manufacturer and ask for a refund. But what if I am about to solve a one thousand piece puzzle? Is counting the number of pieces before starting to solve the puzzle really feasible? I don't think so. What if while counting I get bitten by an ant on the floor? I will lose count of all the pieces and will have to start all over again. So I guess I should just keep my finger crossed and hope for the best everytime.

"A Short Digression"

While posting my previous blog entry I somehow realized that I have a tendency of sometimes digressing from the original theme of my post. I usually do this by starting a new paragraph with the word "Digression -". Let me tell you how I got into this habit. It all started when I was doing my undergrad last semester project (in VC++ ;) ). I was reading the "RFC 1939" to get a clear understanding of what POP3 does. In that document, on the very first page is a paragraph that is titled "A short digression". I did not really know the meaning of the word digression, so I quickly looked it up in the dictionary. I then realized that we could stray from our main topic/theme by simply using the word "digression".

I have been consistently using that word in my projects/research paper/blog since then.

Mixed Doubles

I just finished watching "Mixed Doubles" on youtube. The title of the movie is self explanatory. I kind of had the impression that this movie would be very erotic and sleazy. But it really isn't. The movie is based on a very bold theme. Apparently, the protagonist is influenced by his friend who is married and lives in the United States. Basically, this film is an eye opener - tries to tell you that Indians are opening up to certain things that are traditionally forbidden in our culture, the things that have long been associated with the Americas and Europes of this planet. The way the movie ends is really strange, but yes, it does convey the message.

I am All Ears

Had to get one of these. Not because they are noise cancelling headphones and all that - just because they are headphones. I have tried and tried, but for some reason the left earplug in any earplugs that I have had just would not sit in my left ear for long - It always keeps falling out.

Misery Loves Company

I spoke with a good friend after so many days. He is under a lot of pressure these days - he has his thesis proposal due and has to take his PhD qualifying exam by the end of spring. Well, he was just a little frustrated, and was wondering as to why life becomes more complicated and stressful with time. He says that it should be just the opposite. With education and experience, life should be a lot more nicer, easier, comfortable, and a lot less painful. But that is not the case. I did not disagree with him because each day brings a different kind of trauma. Sometimes I feel that every time I am involved in something, I am being tested. Everything is a challenge, and the misery that comes with those challenges just does not stop!

So, my childhood dream (well, it's not just mine) of having a huge mansion and an infinite number of cars (like all the sheikhs have) and an endless supply of money - would it ever come true? What about a random lawyer calling me up and telling me that a distant uncle or aunt just died and left me tons and tons of money - would that ever happen? Will I ever win a lottery? Will I marry the daughter of a business tycoon who would request me to take care of his business because it's becoming a little too much for him to handle or that he has seen it all and now wants to go on top of a mountain to medidate?

Well, all these questions have one common answer ---- NO.

My past experiences say that I will always have to slog like a donkey. I will always be the average Joe. I will spend my entire life dealing with family issues, and my future wife would also be from a middle class family, and we would both work our entire lives to make ends meet, to give our children good education, and blah blah blah.

I know how good my bad luck is. I rest my case, your honor.

Yay!!

I don't know if you know this already, but my Philips MCM530 music system has the ability to connect to my computer. I was able to connect it to my laptop just fine when I first bought it, but after a few months I started having problems with it. My music system would not connect to my laptop anymore.

However, things changed just a few minutes ago. I downloaded the software/drivers and decided to give it a shot once again, and voila! it worked - without any glitch whatsoever!

When the "USB" LED on the system stayed steady, I was thrilled (when there is a problem, it would either not light up at all or would blink).

The USB port on my computer seems to be working just fine.

After successfully establishing a connection, this is what I saw/see now on the little screen on my music system:

And I call this the "power house". It lets me control all the songs playing on my computer. I can play/pause/stop/rewind/forward and change tracks on my computer without having to touch the keyboard! With this in my hand, I can control my playlist even when I am in bed :):

By the way, I can also connect my MP3 player to the music system through the AUX ports at the back (just FYI!!).

And finally, this is what the entire setup looks like:

Crazy, innit?? :)

Here's a demo:

View From My Room

Shadow

That's me in the corner...that's me in the spot..light..

Take The Back Seat, Will You?

I don't know how I forgot to blog about this!

When I was in Baltimore I fell in love with this family run Indian restaurant that cooked awesome food! Their food was pretty cheap, considering the fact that they were based in a big city in the US. I must tell you that it was not a big restaurant, and it was not really set up like a typical restaurant, you know, lighting, ambience and all that jazz. Here's a picture for your viewing pleasure:

You see what I mean? It's pretty small - nice, and clean though. They have a few tables for those of us who would want to sit and eat there. But mostly people get their stuff packed.

However, the one thing that made me laugh non stop ( and my sister too) is something that you would just not expect to see inside a restaurant. It was in the "waiting area", and it was supposed to make your bum comfortable while you waited to get your stuff. See "it" for yourself:

Lol! Did you see that? It's a fucking back seat of a car!! Here, take a closer look:

Now why in the world would you want to "install" a car seat in your restaurant? Of course, you can always say "cost cutting", but hell, why would an Indian restaurant cut costs when it's running so well and making big bucks? Well, one thing I know is that Indian restaurants take their customers for granted. They know that their customers crave Indian food, and that they really don't give a flying fuck about the ambience and all that shit and crap.

Hence, the exploitation.

Hello Sexy!

I was on buy.com today, looking at some MP3 players that they have on great discounts. They have the President' s day sale. Well, it seems that there was a very high volume of traffic. Now, you know how when there is an error the website would show a general error page and say that there has been a problem and that you should wait for some time and all that jazz? Buy.com did the same thing, except that they had a very hot looking model on the error page. See it for yourself:

Now, somebody please explain this to me. I am totally stumped. If buy.com were a fashion website, it would have made more sense, but why would that website have a hot/sexy /cute/beautiful/whatever woman on its error page? Why do I get this feeling that this error page itself is an error? Is this a faux pas? Or a prank played by one of the horny programmers? Or a President's day joke?

What is it?

I upgraded my blog template and I hate it.

Motivation, Will You?

Okay, just put my dirty clothes in the washing machine.

So I was walking to the library yesterday when I saw this weird thing that is obviously a part of 1st National Bank's employee motivation program or whatever. Here, let me show you the picture first. Sorry about the bad quality, I took it with my camera phone.

It says "1st Class Service. Reserved for Employee of the Month".

Now that got me thinking. Is motivation that cheap? I mean, would an employee be motivated enought to meet his objectives or targets just to get a parking spot for himself/herself? Would I really be excited if my boss tells me that I will get my own parking spot if I perform well, or outperform others? Ummmmmm...I don't think so. On the other hand, would I be excited if my boss tells me that I will get a raise, a bonus, or perhaps a paid vacation if I perform well, or outperform others? Yes. Definitely.

And the other thing that came to my mind was that a reward should give you an advantage, not a disadvantage for God's sake. The next picture does not tell you much about the spot but let me tell you that the "reserved for employee of the month" spot is the farthest from the office entrance!

Now come on you guys, let some common sense prevail. Wouldn't the employee of the month want their car to be parked as close to the door as possible so that they could get in and get out easily, without having to walk so much in the freezing cold (now that's a real privelege, innit?)? Don't punish that guy for being smart and hard working. And seriously, in this case, no one would want to be the employee of the month - especially if they have to walk 200 feet to get into the office building when it's -25 degrees outside.

What do you think? Ha ha.

Details

Alright. So the Internet is up and running.

My friend is a father now. His daughter's name is Mayra - Mom and Dad basically combined their own names to come up with this one. So from now on, little Mayra can technically and officially call me uncle. Not that I like it, but it's okay. The next time I meet her though, I will tell her not to call me uncle.

The job's good so far. I have got very cool colleagues at my work place.

Iowa State is huge. You can never tell where the campus starts and where it ends. And the campus has some beautiful buildings. The place where I work is not in the main campus area, which basically means that reaching there is not really easy. Not that it's difficult, but I have to change buses to reach the College of Vet Med, and to do that I have to wait for 10 minutes everyday at Lincoln and Beach out in this freaking cold.

Yeah, I have been watching a lot of movies. I became a member of the Ames Public Library - not to read books, but to get DVDs and CDs. Just so you know, they also have music CDs, which I think is pretty cool, and their collection is not too bad either.

And of course, no soda. I do have a craving for it, but somehow I stop myself from buying that evil drink. But I have started drinking beer big time. Well, not big time, but during weekends. It's good fun. All bad things are fun.

I was in Beardshear Hall a few days ago, and I saw the strangest looking urinals in the restroom.

Now here's the thing. Any Indian would think that this is an "Indian Commode". But the only thing that would confuse them is the height of these "commodes". Well, honestly, that is what happened with me. When these urinals came in my line of vision, I said to myself, "Hey, Indian commode!". But after paying attention to it's height I realized that it's a urinal. And peeing in these urinals is way too awkward.

I bought the Xbox 360. Thank you, thank you.

And I played the most amazing game on it - GRAW2. And was disappointed. Because..I finished the single player game in less than 10 hours! Can you believe it? Man, video games are supposed to keep you busy for days, and even months. So not fair.

And last but not the least, I live near Downtown Ames, which has almost everything you could ask for. The biggest advantage is a grocery store just a few steps away. Now I can (and I have) get rid of my weekly mandatory trip to Wal-Mart. *awesome*.

It's sunday night and I have not done my laundry yet. Got to do it ASAP.

Whew!
The Internet in my apartment has still not been activated, and I have been dying to blog about so many things in life. So I decided to use my phone to do the needful, and as I type on the tiny little keyboard on my Treo, I get the feeling that it would not be a very pleasant experience (my thumbs hurt already).
I have changed my mind. I am going to be not at all descriptive, and would keep the typing to the minimal. But you should be expecting details about the following things in the near future:

-My friend recently became a father, and I became an uncle *applause*.
-The job's good so far.
-Iowa state university is huge.
-I have been watching a lot of movies lately.
-I proudly announce that I have not had soda since the last so many days. It's not healthy they say. So I drink only water.And beer.
-I saw some strangely shaped toilets in Beardshear Hall (got pictures,will post).
-I bought the 360.
-Finished GRAW2. In a few hours. Very disapppinted.
-I live near the downtown. Loving it!

Don't Be A Bad Boy!

Have you ever realized how rude and blunt some of your near and dear ones can be? Sometimes people dont realize that the way they talk and their "tone" can really make things worse - even if what they are saying is not a big deal. There is always a polite way of saying something, and if you cannot be polite - you can say it in a funny way so that the person at the receiving end does not feel disgusted and hurt.

Computer???Noooooooo........

The problem with switching on your computer is that it makes you stick to it forever. You hardly ever turn it off. You glue yourself to it. You would not have anything to do, but still you would sit in front of it, pretending to be busy doing something. If you are watching TV, you can atleast turn it off instantly and walk away. But your computer puts a spell on you - always. Have you ever turned on your computer, checked emails, and then turned it back off instantly? I am sure you have not.

New Soul

Have you watched the Mac Air commercial? Nice song, ya? It's called New Soul, sung by Yael naim.

IA

My profile has been edited. I am not in Normal, IL aymore. I am not a student anymore.

Reached Ames, IA just two days ago. I have not been really able to admire the beauty of this town (I get this feeling that it's beautiful, that is why) simply because the entire town is covered with snow. The roads have not been cleared properly because it just doesn't stop snowing here. Nevertheless, the snow should melt and all the trees should come back to life in a few months (!).

Blidget, Anyone?

So really, I don't know what I did. I was on widgetbox.com a few minutes ago, and was just generally playing with all the widgets (digression - pay attention to the sentence "playing with all the widgets". What would happen if I turn the "w" in widgets upside down? Now I become a politically incorrect, perverted bastard who loves to have sex with little people). I was playing some really cool games there, when I saw a link that said "immediately turn your blog into a blidget". Now I do not know what in the world a fudging blidget is, so I decided to give it a shot. I did something - and it made something. I do not know how to describe it, but I guess it made my blog's widget and called it a blidget (without the log's - if you know what I mean).

Anyway, You can find the blidget here, and if for some strange reason you decide to install my "blidget" , you know where to go. But for God's sake, please don't think that I am trying to promote my blog or whatever. The blidget is a result of an experiment/accident, and I am just sharing the reults with you all.

Conviction

Decided today to check what Sam Fisher is up to and got to know that Double Agent's successor is going to be out this year in the second quarter (stale news, but I got to know about it just today). It is called Splinter Cell: Conviction, and is being made exclusively for the XBox 360 and Windows platforms.

Apparently, Anna is in trouble this time.

Those of you who have not played Double Agent, Fisher is now an escaped convict, and the government is desperately trying to catch him. In this installment Sam would not have his trademark goggles (he is on the run, so has limited resources) and his SC-20K rifle, which is sad. But he has sixth sense now, so he can smell any cop/guard following him, even if they are not visible to him. He also has a sub machine gun hidden under his hood.

The crowd in the immediate environment reacts to sam's actions. If he does something funny, somebody from the crowd may attack him, or call for help.

For details, read this article on Wikipedia.