Well guys....the new blog has taken a while coming....its another 'boring' lookback, retrospective or wutever u call it at the last few years..got to the US of A in haste and amidst a lot of confusion sometime like late dec 2005.. since then, my life has taken turns aplenty..have met radically different people, had myriad experiences..some wonderful..some not so memorable..travelled all round the US..well almost!, ogled at pretty chicks and wondered why the lucky bum next to her cant be me...overall it aint so bad an experience as some may make it seem and also I should state in bold...certainly not as rosy as is projected...well before u guys start thinkin wut the hell this is all about..lemme tell u..its a summary of my life over the past few years..the effects of it are indelible and I have wondered many a time if I made the right decision..of course in hindsight everyone tends to make right choices..ok...its time to get to the bottom of things..
back in India..there was an uneasy feeling about the whole US voyage...though most factors related to the university and courses were all settled...things were still not in place..parents, mom especially was worrying herself every second about how I would manage with my not-so-adequate culinary skills..humongous number of purchases and visits to shopping malls preceded the big day...emotions filled the air..it took great courage for all of us to cut down on the tears and move on to the big moment...Ultimately, the 'man of the moment' got on to the flight and I fel sick in the pits of the stomach...for all that the USA had to offer..i cared a damn for it...my family wasnt going to be with me there and I had no goddamn interest in any of what was goin on.. Food wasnt going in and i felt like puking...somehow held on and decided to sleep...ahh sleep the best solution to most woes...sleep i did like i had been drugged and got up only once at heathrow and then slept again and woke up in chicago...well..even if i had watched a great deal of hollywood movies...the sudden change in culture hit me hard initially...people were friendly and receptive but the apprehension never ceased..delays and other obstacles went by and finally I was at the apartment which I had taken the greatest care to book in advance...the day was dec 31 2005...supposedly new year eve!!
well...as u might have guessed already..i dozed away through the whole of 31st and got up late into 1st jan 2006...one hell of a new year bash...slowly picked myself up and got to terms with where i was...my roomie was a gem...he did help in every way possible and gave me maps and directions to my uinversity which was..well the reason i had gotten to the US in the first place.. visiting the univ seemed to be the last thing on my mind...but the need to access the internet and chat with my parents and sis gave me the energy to go..winter and snow were deterrents but I braved these many a day for that half hour of 'virtual' love and affection..one of these days was when i chanced to meet Sathya who was to change my stay in Kansas forever...never did i think i should speak to some stranger on the road but getting lost wasnt on top of my wishlist...so i did inquire about the way to the apartment and after a smattering of English from both...we thankfully realized that Tamil was the common mother tongue..wasnt that a hell of a relief..? He asked me to get to his apartment and introduced me to each of his friends (thankful especially to have met JD)..I bought a laptop and a phone soon which are in the US was as essential as may i say underwear... nice roomies and a host of great friends around helped in some smooth sailing through the initial turbulent months...
wouldnt wanna speak 2 much about the academic front except that most things went in order..got an RA (abbrev for research assistantship) which was more than useful...got paid well..no fees..wow! suddenly this was life...friends, cricket (Indians..wut do u xpect).. but sadly the one thing amiss was a chick..kidding!..one of my best frds...cka visited me at lawrence in summer and it was an amazing feeling to meet someone who had been with me throughout the last few months in india and had shared many a common experience..decided to meet good ol' frd Kiri and the about to land Maddy in Syracuse...had a gr8 time in syracuse and made a trip to New york and niagara...summer had culminated in the best possible way with me booking a ticket to India in december...
The next few months went by rapidly...all that was on my mind was me goin to india..made a couple of short trips and one memorable one to rolla to meet cka with jd and sathya...went to chicago and had a gr8 time during thanksgivin.... India shopping had begun in full swing and I for one was not the one to hold abck expecially not on the first trip back home...meeting my dear family beckoned and i bought loads of stuff...cka and maddy were coming too.. it was goin 2 b a hell of a jolly time..
sumhow got thru the trauma of travelling by gulf air..with all its delays and sad timings..reached home and the joy that was visible on my parents' and sis's faces cannot be described...got home..hogged like I had been in somalia for years...met my adorable granny who was a huge repository of knowledge and without doubt my greatest inspiration when it came to studying our culture and mythology etc...met up with most relatives..visit to Tirupati with cka..Viv was leaving to the US just like I had the previous year...so spendin quality time with him was paramount..and i did manage 2 squeeze time for tht..overall a really awesome time in india..
got back 2 the US and bak 2 the 'grind'(lol)..trust me...a Masters is a joke..atleast i thot so...did lesser work than my B.E.. a pretty good semester w.r.t trips again...a simple amazin trip 2 florida full of escapades and gud memories..met all old-school buddies..a trip of a lifetime to the west indies for the cricket world cup ended in a fiasco!
on the academic front...brought out a research paper-just 2 show my nerdy side as well.. and..as a reward for that..took off on a trip to california...had a great time and simple loved the bay area and LA...and after this embarked on another india trip...people mus b thinkin wut the hell i've jus been upto in the US..:D
and this time the whole india trip was a surprise...beautifully planned and executed with precision..sumhow the loopholes din give it away...family was shocked and it was a fantastic month and half...got my LASIK done and no more specks for me..my long standing companion of 20 yrs was gone..sigh!
got back 2 the US and bak 2 the 'grind'(lol)..trust me...a Masters is a joke..atleast i thot so...did lesser work than my B.E.. a pretty good semester w.r.t trips again...a simple amazin trip 2 florida full of escapades and gud memories..met all old-school buddies..a trip of a lifetime to the west indies for the cricket world cup ended in a fiasco!
on the academic front...brought out a research paper-just 2 show my nerdy side as well.. and..as a reward for that..took off on a trip to california...had a great time and simple loved the bay area and LA...and after this embarked on another india trip...people mus b thinkin wut the hell i've jus been upto in the US..:D
and this time the whole india trip was a surprise...beautifully planned and executed with precision..sumhow the loopholes din give it away...family was shocked and it was a fantastic month and half...got my LASIK done and no more specks for me..my long standing companion of 20 yrs was gone..sigh!
back 2 the US..finishin up the degree...job hunt and etc etc...thats a diff story and a sad one at tht..don wanna mix that with these gr8 times...:D
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