Once upon a time....

Alright, here is a GRE question for you. I answered it incorrectly but I do not understand the thought process behind the given answer choice. So leave me your answers if you will so that I can justify my opinions::

Recent advances in research methodologies in neuroscience have created excitement in academic circles and have __________ greater interest in funding new research projects in the field.

a) stymied
b) intensified
c) magnified
d) engendered
e) multiplied

So? What's your choice?

Have you ever been swamped by offers so wrong that you wonder what you have been doing to attract them? I have! I used to be nice and easy-going with people who I suspected to be jerks just to give them, you know, the benefit of doubt in case I was mis-interpreting them. But not anymore. I have stopped being super-nice because I do not have the time or energy to deal with the actions of berserk people. Sure I feel guilty for being so rude and cocky to someone, but my antipathy overrides my guilt a lot of the times. And yet, despite of all my efforts to beguile and shove away these irritating individuals, these annoying characters (who are probably devoid of self-respect I wonder) try to strike a punning, perversive conversation with me! What did I do to deserve this I ask? Being affable isn't a coveted virtue for me anymore...

Holy cow! there are so many international Indians in all the masters programs that I have been applying to that it scares the crap out of me to have to compete with these guys for getting admission. And even if admitted, I would love being around Indians, but a part of me is also scared that I will not get an all-rounded cultural experience if I am surrounded by desis all the time.

I do not know what this says about me :-P

Before I get comments saying that I need to update my blog :P, here is what has been going on in life lately:

1. Chasing deadlines at work to meet an important milestone. Work-week is therefore stressful these days, but I enjoy doing it since each piece of work is a new challenge that needs to be tested and corrected for.

2. Going for a walk/jog in the evening. I usually escape to the downtown area which is very cute with shiny buildings with old-school architecture; it feels like you are walking in a town from 80's. :)

3. The walk/jog always ends at the library, where I spent an hour or two ruffling through the pages of different GRE books, trying to solve exercises and cramming vocabulary. Honestly, I am too tired to retain more than half of the words that I read. Afterall, there is a myriad of words that need to be fit in my coconut-sized skull, but I shall write a more interesting entry on my GRE study experience next :P....

4. Weekends are usually spent at home - helping mom with groceries, general cleaning around the house, laundry :P, finishing chores, playing tennis, working-out in the gym, catching up with new developments in the family (which there always are, given how big both my parents' families are!), relaxing and watching Indian song videos on TV.

5. Now I am also in charge of finding a place to visit over the Labor Day weekend. I do not want to go to a beach (have been to too many in this area), and the selected place has to be within 5 hours of driving distance from Chicago. So, any ideas? So far I have only come up with Rock Island in WI, which is an island without any luxuries (not even cars and bikes are allowed, so you have to walk where-ever you need to go, and cook using firewood :D), but all the tents have been booked already for that weekend :( ... Let me know if you have any suggestions for places that would match the above description !! :)

6. Went to Six Flags Great America yesterday for the co-op outing from work!! It was amazing!! My boss ended up spending over $600 on the 8 of us. He brought us flash-passes so that we did not have to wait for hours in lines at any of the rides!! I liked Raging Bull the best and hated BATMAN ride the most. BATMAN ride gave me a neck-ache, and made me nauseous because it spins and loops around so fast that your head bangs from side to side or hangs loose downwards during the steep drops. Ahh... don't remind me! Its deja-vu all over again even though I am sitting in a perfectly still chair *yuck*

Alright, so with that I am going to wind up this entry and get ready to leave for home. Happy weekending to ya all! :)

aye mere vatan ke logon
zara aankh mein bhar lo paani
jo shaheed hue hain unki
zara yaad karo qurbaani

jab ghayal hua himaalay
khatre mein padi aazadi
jab tak thi saans lade vo
phir apni laash bichha di
sangeen pe dhar kar maatha
so gaye amar balidaani
jo shaheed...

jab desh mein thi diwali
vo khel rahe the holi
jab ham baithe the gharon mein
vo jhel rahe the goli
the dhanya javaan vo aapane
thi dhanya vo unaki javaani
jo shaheed ...

koi sikh koi jaat maraatha
koi gurakha koi madaraasi
sarahad pe maranevaala
har veer tha bhaaratavaasi
jo khoon gira parvat par
vo khoon tha hindustaani
jo shaheed...

thi khoon se lath-path kaaya
phir bhi bandook uthaake
das-das ko ek ne maara
phir gir gaye hosh ganva ke
jab ant-samay aaya to
kah gaye ke ab marate hain
khush rahana desh ke pyaaron
ab ham to safar karate hain
kya log the vo deewane
kya log the vo abhimaani
jo shaheed...

tum bhool na jaao unko
is liye kahi ye kahaani
jo shaheed...
jay hind jay hind ki sena -2
jay hind, jay hind, jay hind 

Bharat humko jaan se bhi pyaara hai, sabse pyaara gulistan hamara hain- I miss the smell of wet sand before and after rains, the warmth of people, the simple lives, the pious relations and the strong bond towards our motherland. On days like these, I wish I could be standing on that blessed soil where I grew up and learnt how to and what to live for. Wishful thinking, wishful thinking....

Anyways, heres wishing you all A very Happy Independence day!!

I just finished watching Life In a Metro, and I am pretty aggravated by what is being preached through the movie. Konkana Sen is taught to accept the fact that Irfan Khan can have the nastiest habits, but she should still be acceptive of them and learn to love him for his other qualities (which I did not even think existed- afterall, the man lied to her about not drinking, was ready to leave his wife on the day of his wedding and acted like a total villager).

Also, does Shilpa Shetty or Shiksha have to put up with her husband for the rest of her life, despite of how she was treated?! Do these men ever learn? Are they ever ashamed of themselves??

Well, I guess I was okay with Dharmendra pair and Sharman Joshi and Shiney Ahuja couples. But I really wonder if life in Indian metros is really like what they have shown in this movie? Are they really that needy and superficial???

The neighbor on my right is my friendly Post-It neighbor, but the one on the left is a little cold and unfriendly. My boss once described him as the most irrational person working in the Systems Validation department, which I found quite ironic since using logic and rationality to test the system and software are the foundations of his work. Anyways, we always hear him arguing on the phone with a new person each time, and he mutters under his breath as he fumes out after putting down the receiver. His favorite abuse word is not BS, but horse-s***, and his usage of that word cracks up my Post-It neighbor. This validation guy also seems to have a loud, feigned laugh that sounds like a grand-father laughing at his silly little idiotic grand-children. (I am not doing justice to his laughter; do you remember Amrish Puri (Mogambo)'s laugh in the movie 'Mr. India'? yeahhh, thats how he sounds!!)


Next down the aisle in the direction of this disgruntled neighbor of mine is the cube of my ex-boss. She is currently part-time, but there has never been a time when people are not excited to have her around! An alumni from my university, she is very perky, inevitably smart, an extrovert and a party-lover. I think I enjoy working with her more than anybody else, and am glad that I have had that opportunity this whole term! Did I mention that she is very generous and has often treated us college students to delicious delicacies?! :)


Across from my ex-boss is my current boss. A young guy with a good personality and pleasant nature. But he has too many responsibilities on hand and thus, cannot fulfill the mentoring needs of five amateur minds. He holds up well against the childish teasing by his seniors, whether it be for his unintentional charm of attracting girls or for wearing matching clothes (same-colored pants and T-shirts) or for taking numerous vacations to Vegas. But he is pretty nice as a boss, and has promised the co-ops an outing of our choice, all on the corporate credit card... classy na? :)

.... I need to close my post here and call it a day. But watch out for *maybe* yet another sequel about my other work-related acquaintaces. So long, then! :D

check out the articles on this page: http://www.desijournal.com/articlelist.asp

My fav was: http://www.desijournal.com/article.asp?articleid=306 out of the few articles that I read.

Current status: downloading songs and gathering matinee masala for my radio show this sunday. Listen to me live at www.wnur.org on Sunday 4-7 pm Chicago time!

I shall be heading home tomorrow for the weekend, and my next post will not be until next week... Just wanted to share that with you :-P.. Have a lovely weekend!!

Being the ideal employee that I am, I decided to let you peek into my daily work-life. Not the technical side of my job ofcourse, since I do not want to get into trouble for violating company confidentiality (not like you would be fond of the nitty-gritty of my engineering tasks anyways :-P). It has been almost a year working at this medical device company, and a lot has changed over time, but I have only enjoyed my experience here more and more with each passing quarter.

So where should I start from? Oh yes, with my cube-mate ofcourse!! When my division got sold-off to a private investment firm (TPG a.k.a Texas Pacific Group) early this year, the hiring managers went on a mad recruiting spree to maximize their employee per inch of office space ratio. And that is why I, like all other contractors and interns, am sharing my cube with a fellow worker. Some of the super-cubes have like four employees sharing the common walls of the cube. Not the most efficient way to work for sure, but a very coy way to chat and bond away with your colleagues. And so I get to share my socializing fervor with a blonde engineering co-op!! We get along quite well, and thankfully, she is not the typical blonde character! :D She is, a spoiled American kid though, and also a complete party animal! We share jokes and our frustrations on a daily basis, apart from the giggles aroused by chairs that seem to bump into each other every time one of us moves a little from our designated spot!

Let me move on to our neighbor on my right side. We have a special mode of communication, especially when we are distracting each other by talking loudly. We use post-its to notify each other of our grudges and opinions. Oh, we are friends and we are definitely on speaking terms with each other, but it just so happens that we find posting sticky notes on each other's cube walls to be a funny and effective mode of communication. In a typical week, we usually exchange about five post-its over the tall common wall that separates our cubes. :D

Man, I have so many other people and events at work that I could write about, but I will have to hold off until my next post to describe my work community and environment. I guess you will have to wait for Parts 2, 3 and maybe 10 of this post. Stay tuned! :D

I managed to impress myself for a very silly reason (not the first time I will be doing this, ofcourse!). I have seen more movies in the last month than I have seen in the entire year(2006)! Amazing, isn't it? Ok fine, I only saw like 3 movies in 2006 :-P. Forgive me for not being a movie buff *grin*

The following movies made it to my seen list.
1. Delhi Heights (first time I saw Neha Dhupia act, an alright movie)
2. Khosla Ka Ghosla (hilariously real!)
3. Partner (saw it in the theatre, some parts maybe entertaining, otherwise the story is greatly 'pakao')
4. Chandni Bar (depressing, but an eye-opener to the problems of prostitution in India!)
5. Kaho Na Pyaar Hai
6. Bheja Fry (stopped soon after I started)
7. Lagaan (for the second time)
8. Dil Se (only because my bro put it on)

.... and that's all I can remember to have watched in the last few weeks. But a pretty decent turn-around for an apathetic movie person like me.

Thanks to Shalin for the movie website www.videoduniya.com. Amazing quality films for free...! Ah, entertained, at last! :)

U.S. may be a melting pot for people of all ethnicities, but Indians stand out, even more so than the Chinese a lot of the times.

I read up a few articles today on the perception of the market towards immigrants, and India seemed to be at the back of every writer's head, especially when it came down to the professions of dot-coms and doctors.

At this point, I get the feeling that some Americans are spiteful towards Indians, for we seem to have the capability to work harder and act smarter. I read a few opinions complaining about how people from other countries returned to their homelands after several years, and take their capital with them so that America loses its money.

It does seem unfair to me that we gain from this wonderful economy and tolerant culture of America, but do nothing to really give back to the nation. Maybe Indians become entrepreneurs and create several jobs for this economy, or innovate amazing computer chips in the Silicon Valley, or go shopping for overly priced articles at the mall, but they might still want to consider celebrating July 4th with the same fervor as Aug 15th!

You might enjoy reading this: http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/culture/features/11621/

This is insane! It is 12:40 am, I have to be at work by 7:30 am tomorrow and I cannot resist the urge to blog! I am actually exhausted after the long trip to and from Chicago - had numerous thoughts during this commute; those thoughts also included how I wanted to pen down (on my blog) what I felt and why.

Actually nevermind, my brain is giving out very inarticulate signals and the shutters of my eyes are ready to drop any moment now. Will continue this post some other time.....

I am so excited for next week - for some reasons that I cannot disclose over the public webspace!

But I will tell you this: Monday night I am going to Chicago for an informational session of Bain & Co. Consultants. That will be a nice change from the routine work-life, and also an opportunity to clear my questions about consulting!

Next weekend, we are also throwing my friend a surprise party somewhere in Chicago!

Work has been great so far! Things have been moving along at a good pace, and I keep getting attached to my co-workers more and more everyday! They are a bunch of talented, friendly and candid people. Just the type of company I have been seeking!! :-)

Oh, and my car is finally back from repairs. I spent 3K on the old thing - but its still my car and I love it!! Atleast it is newer looking, has nice interiors and a CD Player that works!!

Btw, I am downloading some songs because I am tired of my current song collection. What are your all-time favourite songs??

Lastly but very importantly, does anyone know how to scare these cats out of my room???

A Duke University survey found that immigrants in U.S. contribute substantially to the technological progress and development out here :
http://memp.pratt.duke.edu/news/?id=829

Ahh the uncertainty!! With just one more year of undergrad education left, I am feeling the crunch for time to prepare for my GREs, choose the right grad school program, fill and send out grad school applications, and update and send my resume to potential employers!

The feeling of ending up with an insecure future is intimidating! Better get back to researching schools and degrees....

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Also, I am going to stick up these witty sayings (which I found on web today) outside my cube the next time I go to work =D

Cubicle One-Liners

1. If you do a good job and work hard, you may get a job with a better company someday.

2. The light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off due to budget cuts.

3. Sure, you may not like working here, but we pay your rent.

4. Rome did not create a great empire by having meetings -- they did it by killing all those who opposed them.

5. A person who smiles in the face of adversity probably has a scapegoat.

6. If at first you don't succeed--try management.

7. Never put off until tomorrow what you can avoid altogether.

8. Never quit... until you have another job.

9. Hang in there: Retirement is only 30 years away!

10. Go the extra mile--It makes your boss look like an incompetent slacker.

11. Pride, commitment, teamwork--words we use to get you to work for free.

12. Work: It isn't just for sleeping anymore.

13. There are two kinds of people in life: people who like their jobs, and people who don't work here anymore.

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I made the move! I am now a paying guest in a house with a single mother and her two daughters. I get a small wooden room, neatly furnished with a bed, closet, desk, a tall chest and a TV. Along with wireless internet and other utilities, I also get the privilege to live with two cats! I have never had any pets, nor am I a cat person, but I think I am learning to like them.

The family I live with is amicable, but not really friendly. The mother is a mid-wife who is usually not at home till late night, and the daughters have their own things to do, so I am usually by myself when at home. Luckily for me, I made an Indian friend while searching for a renter close to work. I wonder how depressing it would have been to not have anyone around in the evening! My newfound friend was quite desolate when he moved close to work eight months back. You begin to value good friends and good company even more once you pass through such phases in life.