Once upon a time....

I finished watching Jhoom Barabar Jhoom online, and I can't believe that I watched the entire thing! This movie is even worse than Bunty aur Babli. What is Yash Raj production upto?????

The first half of the movie is a whacky dream, with unnecessary kissing scenes and senseless stories. The second half is just as bad with AB Jr.and Preity trying to cover up their lies. Choreography and the film plot were both below my expectations. The presence of AB Sr. is pretty much useless.

Also, I would like to comment about the increasing interest of Bollywood producers to imitate western concepts of romance. Salaam Namaste, Namaste London, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, JBJ, and several other new movies have been targeted towards NRI audience, and in the process, they also pique the curiosity of ignorant, indigenous people of India. People back home assume what they see on the screen to be the general culture of U.K. or U.S., and often feel peer-pressured to live upto the western culture and be all liberal. I have a problem with the showcasing of such pseudo-ubiquitous ideas by the media. They are not genuine or funny. They are, in fact, sick and a bad influence on the common classes of India. I would be very sad if India lost its culture a few years down in the road on its way to westernization.

What happened to making decent, modest, family-type films? Why can they not come up with better plots rather than retorting to showing skin and "love"? Hopefully, Munnabhai Chale America will not blow my hopes away unlike JBJ.

I do not know where to start. Feels like I have too much to tell, but not enough time to write it all out.

For starters, I started work(co-op) this week. I have decided to move away from home and closer to work. The commute time one way suddenly increased to 1 hour and 30 mins thanks to bunching up of traffic due to road construction, nice weather and low gas prices. I called quits from this necessity of riding the highways and wasting precious time in the car. The downside? I lose out on being with my family on weekdays, have to pay rent for the new place and worry about cooking. Oh, and the question of having a social life after work might go out the window, because I might be by myself after I get back from work....

Also, finally finished reading the John Grisham novel yesterday. It is titled 'King of Torts' and was a gift to my dad by one of his friends out here. It is a very captivating story of one attorney who goes from rags to riches thanks to the American law of suing others. I do not want to reveal much about the book, but I would recommend reading it if you can lay your hands on it.

I skipped work today to get my car fixed. The car issue has been bringing my spirits down - it is distressing to spend money and still not be able to see the results you want. I am afraid that I will lose this car and along with it the money that I paid for it. If this car becomes useless, I might have to lose even more time and money searching and buying another car to help me to get to work. And I will probably go broke at the end of this exercise. Although I am staunch believer of an underlying good behind all unfortunate events, I just don't see a light at the end of the tunnel here. My dad tried to cheer me up, but all in vain. His car might also be having some problems to be fixed. Moreover, I left my boss an awkward voicemail this morning which probably sounded like I was not interested in coming to work. Talk about having a domino effect after a mishap. talk about writing a dry blog.

I need someone/something to instill hope in me again... I am crossing my fingers for the meeting with the car dealer.

dammit! I hate the fact that yahoo advertisements have disfigured my html coded web-page and scattered the contents all over the place :( (if you want to see what I mean, check out http://in.geocities.com/trivedi_shreya)

Now I am in search of some other free web space host which can let me use me copy-paste my old html code without any trouble. I tried Google Webpages, but it is not easy to transport my html code into its pre-set Dreamweaver format .. sheeesh!!

And btw, this is just a mini-rambling, not really my next post :D

My life just took a 360 degree turn in the past week!

For the past three months, I was toiling to ace my classes, network with professors and classmates, maintain a good balance of acads and entertainment, get to know my friends better and explore fun activities.

But now, I have moved back home for summer break, and there is no need or motivation for doing any of the above mentioned activities. Instead, I have been sleeping for ten hours on a daily basis, watching hindi television, eating delicious gujarati food and listening to stories of family feuds. I am also catching up on the lives of my cousins and relatives, and 'patiently' listening to repeated bragging of their social or professional achievements.

But, more than anything else, what has begun to bug me is my parents secretly planning and getting prepared to find a match in the coming years. My mom was always against these kinds of conversations under the pretext that I was too young, and that it was too early to even talk about such matters, but now, all of a sudden, she seems to be laying out a time-line for finding someone. I was hoping that my dad would understand when I told him my life and career plans, but it definitely does not seem like I have been taken seriously!

Alright, I am going to end this post here, and hope that I have better things to talk about in the next one!

The Divorce Letter !

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow.
My little horse must think it queer
To stop without a farmhouse near
Between the woods and frozen lake
The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake
To ask if there is some mistake.
The only other sound's the sweep
Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.

..............Robert Frost

Why is it that I have to miss my cousins' weddings in India? Why is it so difficult to make a trip back home? Why is is that what you wish for with all your heart, does not seem to work out? Why?

Nehaldidi, Megha and Tejasbhai are getting married in Jan-February of next year. I missed another cousin_s wedding around the same time last year. Weddings in India are so much fun!! The family gatherings, the practice of ancient customs and traditions, the fuss over getting ready and looking nice, the mad rush to have everything ready in time, the excitement of meeting new people from the other side, and the ability to enjoy despite of everything. I miss it, time and again, despite of scattered events of advising and scolding given by elders, and some trivial back-bitting and jealousy from few mean women. I have also not seen my old grand-parents in four years now, and *touch wood*, but I am terrified at the thought of never being able to see them again.

I can't go for their weddings, because I will be busy with the final quarter of school at that time. I have always been very close to these cousins, and will not have anyone else's marriage to look forward to after them. They cannot have them other than that time for legit reasons, and I cannot go to India for 3 weeks to attend each one of their ceremonies. I guess there is still plenty of time to figure out a way to attend these family events and make myself happy. And I also think that I should sleep now, since I am a wee-bit emotional and have no motivation to study!

Have a good one, people, and 'may the power of family be with you'! =D

I want to get back to writing, but words don't come to mind. I think I am pre-occupied with finals and projects right now. I can't believe that this quarter is going to end in a couple of weeks!! And with nice warm weather and BBQ season around, who would feel like sitting in the room blogging? :D

We are playing this game in the dorm called 'Assasins'. It is an awful lot of fun!!

here is what each player gets:

"You have a new assignment. Your task, should you choose to accept, is to find
and eliminate the target detailed below. This target should be considered extremely
dangerous and armed with all manner of weaponry (such as clean socks and plastic spoons)
and cunning. They are also working on an operation for a rival- should you complete your
mission, you must take on their mission and complete it so as not to arouse suspicion. Be aware-
you may not be safe. Should you die during this operation, please send a message back to base.
Once you have read this information, destroy it as appropriate to keep it confidential."

Also, the rules of the game require that the assassination cannot be seen by anyone else, so technically, you could use your friends as bodygaurds. But, I got killed on a second day by my predator in midst of our hustling cafeteria, where I had least expected to be assassinated without being seen. I also escorted one of the girls on my floor to her room to prevent her assassination, but found out later that she had not survived too long after I left her.

Here are some descriptions of the murder if you have the time to read them. They are extremely hilarious for me anyways :-P... (The name of my dorm is Sargent)

#1.
I am writing to report to you the untimely, tragic assassination of the late Jennifer Berman,
resident of Sargent Hall, Room 329. Jennifer was brutally murdered in a freak laundry drive-
by, however the identity of her assassin remains highly classified information at this time.
Though there were no witnesses to this tragic event, Jennifer's spirit has come back to report
the details of her passing. As Jennifer innocently walked down to the laundry room in
Sargent Hall to gather her freshly dried laundry, she thought to herself how greatful she was
that it was Friday, and how excited she was to find out who her target would be for the dorm-
sponsered game of assasins. Jennifer entered the laundry room humming to herself, thinking
what a great place this would be to catch her target. She turned to begin removing her
laundry from the machine, when a familiar voice called out her name. Jennifer leaped into
the air, as she had thought herself to be the only entity in the room. However, when she
caught her breath again, she turned to see a familiar face, and unsuspectedly began to make
friendly conversation. Jennifer continued to remove her laundry, until BAM!!!! she turned
once again to find herself face to face with her killer. She screamed for help, but it was all in
vain. The clean sock came like a bullet to her chest before she had the chance to save
herself. As she stood in utter shock, her assasin delivered the finals words that Jennifer was
to hear: "You are two hours late." It seems that her killer had stalked her doing laundry
earlier in the day, and had waited two hours at the crime scene for Jennifer to retrieve her
dry clothes. This tragic event serves as a lesson to all residents and guest residents of
Sargent Hall. Your dorm has been transformed from the safe haven that you once called
home to a battlefield, with assasins lurking every corner. Just remember...In the laundry
room, no one can hear you scream.....


#2. Flashing News::

Shreya Trivedi was found assasinated in Sargent dining hall this evening before having her last dinner. She was merrily picking up some fruits when she heard a friendly voice greet her and touch her back. As she turned around and smiled at her friend, he revealed the deadly sock that had touched and killed her. Shreya desperately looked around to find a witness who had seen the killer with his rolled-up sock, but in vain. It was a pity to be terminated in a crowded place like the dining hall, and she lived just long enough to pass on the name of her target.

This breaking news has been brought to you by S.S.A. (Sargent Secret Agents) to alert residents that they will be killed if they don't watch their backs.

P.S. The spirit of Shreya Trivedi will haunt the dorm and not be at peace until she gets justice. Keep the search on!!


#3.
S.S.A (Sargent Secret Agents) has breaking news!

It has come to their attention that the President of Sargent was assassinated on Friday evening.
The autopsy revealed he was stabbed in the abdomen with a very large knife, possibly a butcher
knife. The killer is still at large, though intel suggests he was kept alive long enough to reveal
his next target. President Taylor was 18 years and 17 days old. He will be missed. Stay vigilant.

#4.

I realized that I never got back to the story from the weekend when I got to fly thanks to my brother's interest in aviation. So here it is, with a few interesting anecdotes and pictures. We made a six-hour journey to get to SIU in Carbondale, close to the southern border of Illinois. And guess how brilliant I acted that weekend? First of all, I was supposed to leave for home Friday afternoon after my classes, so that we could all drive up together for this career fair on Saturday. But instead, I got done with classes, and waited, and procastinated, and procrastinated, until I finally got yelled at 11 p.m. to drive back home immediately. I finally left my dorm at midnight, and made it home at 2 a.m., just in time to start the arduous roadtrip to Carbondale. I ended up going without sleep for over 24 hours that day, my second all-nighter in this lifetime. Phew!!... :-P

So we finally made it to our destination at 8:30 a.m., and got my brother registered for flying with the university pilots. I joked about flying with my brother, and they seriously signed me up for the ride too! So leaving out all the minor interesting stories, we basically flew in a glider (seen in the pics below) at over 2300 ft!! And I clicked pics of the bird's eye view while my brother handled the controls as per the pilot's instructions. But it wasn't mind-blowing until the pilot started playing zero-gravity tricks! He dived the glider nose down in a free-fall condition, so that all of us (including the papers on my lap) inside where being pushed away from the earth with equal force, just as Newton's third law of motion would have predicted. But boy, oh boy, that was some scary adventure. For a second, I was afraid that my heart was going to fly off into the space haha....


And once the two-three rounds of zero-gravity were over, I began to feel air-sick. I was glad that it was time to land and get back on the comfortable earth. Soon after landing, my brother and parents went on for a campus tour while I pulled out my books and started solving exercises with a weary head. My family returned after three hours of touring, and decided to head back after having some lunch. It was now time for the dreadfully long reverse road-trip, but we switched drivers and navigators every two hours, and even my brother was permitted to drive on his driver's permit. The confidence of being able to land a glider successfully and weary family members who could not hold up the argument worked to his advantage of taking over the driver's seat.

It was 7 p.m. when our exhausted family finally reached home. We were all glad for a productive day, good family time in the car, and more than anything, coming back to the comfort of home.

OMG! My friends have been so ecstatic ever since they found out that this British Bhangra group (RDB) is performing at the university! I have never been to a concert or a live (famous) band performance before, so this will be exciting, I hope.

I wonder if I will be able to talk to them in person for the radio thing, because then the whole of Chicago can listen to them! :)

"Before you criticize someone, you should walk a mile in their shoes.That way, when you criticize them, you're a mile away and you have their shoes."

Will be back to blogging after Wednesday... :)

I am so brain-dead right now! Have been working on this C++ code for more than 7 hours now. It is the de-bugging that is getting annoying. Small mistakes in the code that I cannot find argghhh... I thought about starting from scratch, but even that seemed like too much work *sigh*

Anyways, I am already late on this assignment, and can hand it in for 10% penalty by tomorrow evening. Also need to get up early tomorrow to study for the physics quiz in the morning and lab in the evening. Have two more exams coming up on Wednesday of next week! And also have a big homework due then hah!

I wish I were more efficient at acads. :-(

:( :( .. I got done with all my midterms today. And am horrified at my performance in all of them. I literally feel like the dumbest person on campus!! So ashamed of myself that I do not even want to disclose my marks. Life just sucks currently uhhh...

I do not understand what is wrong with me? For example, yesterday, I slept for 10 hours last night, even though I had slept enough the day before!! Unacceptable! Especially when I needed more time to prepare for the exam today. But I took relief in the fact that the midterm grade could be dropped if I did better in the final, and so ended up weaving hopes to do excellent in the final. Why am I so irresponsible???? what should I do to improve? Is it just not my cup of tea; should I just give up? (hopefully, no)


i don't know what else to say. I so don't know what to do with myself. Period.

Thanks for your comments, you guys... it makes blogging a much more joyful experience when you know that others like to read and respond to your entries...

Anyways, I just logged in to say that I will not be blog again until the weekend, just because there is a lot going on. I have a quiz tomorrow morning, a lab due tomorrow night, and two exams on friday morning, none of which I am well-prepared for. :-P

The entire day Saturday is booked for my brother's career fair trip to fly with a pilot at Southern IL University. Sunday I will have to drive back before noon for the radio show (yes, it will actually happen this time :D) and then spend the rest of the afternoon cramming Greek and latin words for a midterm on Monday. Also need to worry about the homework due on Tuesday.

Time flies!! And I might need to too.... :-s

If I were a girl, I'd despair. The supply of good women far exceeds that of the men who deserve them.

-- Robert Graves

-- Katharine Hepburn

-- H. L. Mencken

An ideal wife is one who remains faithful to you but tries to be just as charming as if she weren't.

-- Sacha Guitry

-- Arthur Schopenhauer

The course of true love never did run smooth.

-- William Shakespeare

-- Mother Theresa

-- Gloria Vanderbilt

-- Henny Youngman

I married beneath me. All women do.

-- Lady Nancy Astor, attributed

I am very excited about living in the dorm next year. My roommate and I just came back after picking one of the biggest rooms on our floor. What is more is that we have two big windows facing the east side, which give us a beautiful panorama of lake Michigan (which is more like a sea than a lake!!).
How lovely will it be to be awakened by the first rays of the sun every morning! Or to stand by the window and sip hot chocolate on a breezy evening after a heavy day of classes?

This is probably what they call SWEET Life! :)

I have:
3 homeworks, 1 lab, 1 quiz and 3 midterms over the next week. And I really need to do well in all my classes since this is my senior year. God help me! :-s

Me and my roommate have this habit of sleep-talking, only hers is worse than mine. She will even wake up from bed at random hours of the night (3 am, 4:30 am on several occasions) and start getting ready before she looks at the watch and realizes that she should be sleeping for the other half of the night.

She is actually muttering the words, "Well, thats all I have for now" in a stern tone right now. She is fast asleep and only her sub-conscious brain knows why she sounds so tense. I don't want to sound mean, but she scares me sometimes :-P...

My professor for visual science class, a jovial British man who recently lost his wife to cancer, asked us if one of us would like to write a wikipedia article about vision, because a lot of the material covered in class is based on latest research, and there does not exist an appropriate textbook for it in the market.

Seems like the idea struck a chord in me. I was quite intrigued at the thought of being an author for an article which would be read and searched by millions of students and curious learners. I also know that it will not be too difficult to be approved as the author as I will probably be one of the two people considering writing this thing out of a class of ten. I have always wanted to write for our engineering magazine, but never found the time and motivation to churn out any 'sample' articles. I would have all these ideas for the articles, but unfortunately, they never materialized on paper.

However, I have already set my mind on writing this article. I know that it is going to be time-consuming, but it will just as well enhance my resume, and maybe buy me a good recommendation letter from this prof. Moreover, I am fascinated by the material covered in class and was actually contemplating joining him in his research. But first of all, I need to brush up on the basics, research some sources of information touched upon in class, and find out what kind of information needs to go into the article.

Have any of you ever authored or editted a wikipedia article? Would you be willing to read and give me feedback on my article if I ever got around to writing it? I have not written essays or papers in a long time now, and I am highly skeptical of my writing skills at the moment. :-P

Guess what I have been wasting time on tonight? coding an html web-page. :'(

http://in.geocities.com/trivedi_shreya