The last year in my life was one when i endured a host of problems, struggled through a phase which I had expected to be a lot simpler if not downright easy. I moved to California after my final semester from Kansas so that I could find a job soon (which most people had at that time!) and then complete the 'formalities' of a thesis...oh how I was mistaken..!
The thesis had its complications and I was not having much luck with the job search..The best part so far had been the marathon drive from Missouri to San Jose with Karthik. I settled down into his place..The India tour of Australia provided some much needed break from the otherwise strenuous job hunt.. Karthik left to India in Feb on some official work and I was just wondering what I would do alone..Well.lucky me..this is when I moved into a different house in early March with JD, Vikram, Gopa and Shiva..Also had Jayanth and Karthik living fairly close by and I cannot ever imagine a better life personally nor a better place than San Jose.
By then, life was taking one twist after the other and I was deep in trouble with the job stuff and also struggling to complete my Masters which at one point seemed 2 easy..I can never forget how these guys encouraged me and helped me through these very testing times..They had many a kind word and offered so much support that its hard to write about. I managed to complete my MS with quite a bit of a struggle but eh job situation had become a lot more grim and I used to have a lot of mood swings (extremely unlike me) and started thinking at many times that I was a failure. I cant help but restate the value of having had this bunch of guys around..else I most certainly wouldn't have made it through that stormy phase. I was able to withstand all disappointments and personal losses (granny expired) courtesy the support I got from these fantastic guys!
California as such played its part in rejuvenating me...it had a plethora of restaurants and we often made the visit to the favorite Indian ones like Saravana Bhavan and Komala Vilas (my fav-trust no1 will disagree :). Great times were spent in these places and also the visits to San Francisco on more than 1 occasion, half moon bay (Vikram's favorite) and Santa cruz beach.
When I am around, cricket cant be far away and playing in the cricbay league and practice for the matches were part and parcel of the weekends. A typical weekend involved cricket in the mornings, lunch at Komala Vilas, sleep to make up for lost sleep on Fri nights..freak out in the evenings, dinner outside at a diff place and more often than not, booze again flowed at home. There was never a weekend booze session without its arguments, funny moments and of course without 'ur truly' getting his ass kicked..I used 2 b pissed a lot of times but in hindsight, its something I yearn for daily now...
Tennis was another big passion of mine and I was very regular and almost always a common factor whenever anyone wanted to play. I simple loved the game and the facilities that were available in the beautiful California.
Vivek visited twice and provided me with a really vital break from the monotony of job applications and rejects. We guys had a whale of a time and made it to LA both times. I could just go on and on about California and the gr8 guys i had around me ...but all this pretty much masks the trying times I was going through..A job materialized at last but I was going to have to go back to India for that one..I instantly felt the pinch..
Rejoicing that I had the job was one thing, the very fact that I had to go back leaving all these wonderful guys and head home was too difficult a pill to take...The tears didn't flow but deep within I felt so down that I could not afford to let it show..Agreed home has a few advantages no place does..but California and the gang of guys shepherded me through what I believe was the toughest phase of my life so far and I have absolutely no doubt that I have been the luckiest guy to have met these gr8 buddies and can say without a shadow of doubt that the stay in Cali with my friends has been the definition of the Joie de vivre
2 comments:
If you can think--and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And--which is more--you'll be a Man, my son!
I quote my fave poetry for you, Madhu.. Good luck!
madhu
you are really great. only another great mind can understand the depth of your blog and the vast knowledge you have in hindi film songs. i doubt even the hindi filmi people know so much about their field. well done madhu a great job and i am proud to be your mom bye.
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