Celebration !

Birthdays are always special occasions. And they become even more special when you celebrate them outside your home country. You meet some people just before arriving to a new place and get mixed up so easily that you never feel like staying with some strangers. That's the magic of friendship , I must say. My room mates celebrated my 25th birthday with such an enthusiasm that I almost forgot I am doing it away from home. Last time it was like a very quite kind of thing, with some of my best friends and yesterday it was with my new mates here in US.

Early in the morning ( FYI it was 10 in the morning, but that's still too early for me ! if you don't think it's true, ask each of my room mate how do we get ourselves going for algorithm's classes ) I got a call from Aai , so my day started with the best wishes of the loveliest person in my life. You know, we generally don't appreciate these phones and internet , maybe because they are overused and commonplace things now, but when someone calls you from thousands of miles, I still get a great feeling while talking to them. So after a long gtalk conversion of 1 hour ( I must write a testimonial for Google now ) and followed by a call from Aaba, I lazily started getting ready for routine.

After some greeting calls , at night we had a small get together with friends around and had fun ! Here is how I looked,

pardon me for the close up smile, but can't help, - with tooth wide open is my style ( people suggested to take bath and wear new clothes but didn't agree since I don't want to loose the original and non formal touch ... aah ! you are right, that was just a sincere attempt to hide my old lazy habits ) and I know, I am having a really bad haircut, but if you see - 12 $ is much worth considering than the time frame for which you look really messy ( due to the hair cut ), the catch here is people think of you as a person who is so busy in his assignments and projects that he doesn't care to take a look at mirror . I really look terrific without my glasses, you know when I saw this picture, I felt proud of my decision of wearing the glasses all the time, otherwise people here get frightened easily and could call 911 anytime they see me around :-D

comments , suggestions on new hair cut, on new resolutions ...
anyone ?

A budding coffee maker ...

Until I got the on campus job, there was nothing that I could do except studying. And looking at my past record of being such a great student (:-D) , it was very difficult to pass time. Also, I was thinking of those who spend their precious time in reading my blog, you see - I am consistently searching for something presentable. Fortunately I got a job in on campus coffee shops called Gourmet Beans and Jazzman's Cafe. From the beginning I was open for all kind of on campus jobs including serving in dining halls to monitoring / assisting in public computer laboratory. And as it is I am not having money to spend (after working for two years, you should not ask your parents for money - is my thinking), the job was like a golden opportunity for me, and fortunately I grabbed it, and you people got a new topic to read!

So as it went, I was given a form which I was supposed to fill and then wait for the SSN to arrive, SSN here carries a lot of importance just like the ration card / driving license / PUC (in case you are nabbed by a mama ) in India. I was on the payroll after around 3 days of my application. On my first day, I met a guy called Steve - my manager to discuss my schedule. Steve happens to be a strict professional but an approachable person also. The first day at cafe house was kind of hectic for a new recruit like me. But people here are very generous and kind, my colleague Dorothy (DoT ! her pen name - the exclamation mark is a part of her name, FYI) and few other helped me a lot. There are these 10-15 different types of drinks and remembering how to prepare each is not a easy task for a beginner. I now know the life of a drink maker and cashier, when you work for a software company you feel like you are the only one who is highly stressed, but after seeing people working in dining halls and coffee shops, believe me - It's nothing different! In fact, a software developer's job should be considered less hectic than this, I must say. My roommates are working in few dining halls and I could see how exhausted they look when they come back home after work.

Anyways, forget the stress. Being a drink maker is a good thing for me, I can now make almost all coffee drinks that you people can see in CCD's and Barista's. Every good thing comes with its own counterpart, you can't see pretty chicks while making drinks - that's really bad :( I am trying to achieve both objectives though - I am thinking of devising a new work plan (remember Ford's assembly line principle?), where everyone gets ample time to check out the crowd :-). Cashier's job here is really easy, even a kid who has one working finger and some basic ability to count things and remember the names of beverages can survive. The counting machines are really sophisticated; with touch screen monitors, you just have to select drinks and charge by cards or cash.

Most important thing and a per month account for that sake -
Deductions -
House Rent - $275 + Grocery - $80 since I eat a lot + some more expenses which are rare in my case.
Earnings -
7 $ per hour - 16 hours per week - 64 hours per month = $448
Looks like I am saving some amount Uncle Sam …

Update - Recently I learned that there is going to be a tax deduction :-( which will be reimbursed in the next year.

Into the wild

Man, after a long time there is something worth seeing. This movie was on my hit list since many days but did not get a chance to see it. It's rated at #137 on imdb, but its worth a top ranker. Anyways, who the hell cares about rankings? It's about a graduate student who turns down his normal life and becomes a voyager and then a super tramp ( Alexander Supertramp rather !) I was lucky to see it with subtitles which created a permanent reflection on my memory. I will never ever forget those great dialogues. If you like nature and if you feel great serenity by being close to it, this is THE movie for you. It's not just about the nature and about an urge to cross almost every human limitations to meet the eternal joy, but it has got a standing of its own.

I generally like out of the way movies, the ones with different story line and plot. And this one came with a complete package - eye catching cinematography, ultimate screenplay and lovely music; philosophy + drama + biography, what else can you expect from a movie. More than everything else, I really liked the message that the audience get ( or at least what I got). I initially used to think that one needs to live a highly materialistic life in order to get away from it, sounds somewhat similar to Osho's principle, whatever. And I somehow always used to think that materialistic people are happier than their counterparts. But when I saw this real life story, it changed my look towards the world. You know what, there is always a deep and mystic relation between human and nature, but we ruin it by our so called mannerism and principles of society. We look at everything, literally everything with a predisposed mind that we could not see something beyond certain limit, we judge people by the look they wear, by the language they speak, by so many things that we sometimes forget that human is also nature's creation and it has some instincts of its own, just like the free bird who lives its life in a way the nature has told it to do, in pure organic form. There are no boundaries, no false limits, no 'so called' fear !

Into the wild is a great movie and I really loved it. Some people might find it boring or a little bit slow, but that's how things happened in Christopher McCandless's life and I really respect him for whatever he has done. In fact, somewhere in my mind there is a rebellion who wants to go to the remote place without having any connection with the world. I don't like to replicate things but think this is a place where I should post some really good dialogues, see if you can find some philosophy behind it.

There is pleasure in pathless woods ,
There is rapture on the lonely shore,
There is a society where none intrudes,
By the deep sea and the music in its roar ;
I love not man the less, but Nature more.

- Lord Byron

Rather than love, than money, than fairness, give me truth

- Thoreu

I will miss you too, Ron. But you are wrong if you think the joy of life comes principally from human relationships. God's placed it all around us. It's in everything. In anything that we can experience. People just have to change the way they think about those things. You ought to put a little camper on the back of your pick-up and go take a look at some of the great work god’s done out here in the American west.

TWO YEARS HE WALKS THE EARTH. NO PHONE, NO POOL, NO PETS, NO CIGARETTES, ULTIMATE FREEDOM. AN EXTREMIST. AND AESTHETIC VOYAGER WHOSE HOME IS... the road. Escaped from Atlanta. Thou shalt not return ‘cause the “west is the best.” And now after two rambling years, comes the final and greatest adventure. The climactic battle to kill the false being within and victoriously conclude the spiritual revolution. Ten days and nights of freight trains and hitchhiking, bringing him to the great white north. No longer to be poisoned by civilization, he flees, and walks alone upon the land
to become lost in the wild.

HAPPINESS ONLY REAL WHEN SHARED.

CALL EVERYTHING BY ITS RIGHT NAME.

What if you saw me running into your arms... Would you see then... ...what I see now?

- CHRISTOPHER JOHNSON MCCANDLESS.

First post from America

Finally I reached US safely. Wednesday, 6th AUG - 2008 is going to be one of the most memorable days in my life. I came before two days in Mumbai and stayed at my uncle's place. Every day in last week I could see mixed emotions on my mother's face, little bit happy but more worried face. Her son is going to study abroad and doesn't know when he will be back. He doesn't have a cell phone to reach and doesn't have much money to spend. His son called her once when he reached airport but couldn't speak for more than a minute in four quarters of a dollar. The Internet is well developed these days but she doesn't know how to contact him through it. With the help of my brother she tried a lot but alas ! the place where I belong has got a load shedding of 9 hours and also the timings does not always match. When I talked to her on gtalk, she could listen to my voice but I did not. So, my brother typed in her words and I replied via my voice chat, so nice way to talk to your dear ones ! I could have bought a calling card or cell phone but looking at its prize I didn't feel doing so. Poor me !

Something about the first air travel -
I did not have a jet lag even though the flight was late by four hours. On the airport my cousin gave me lots of instructions of where things are and where should I start from, what should I do and what I shouldn't at custom checks. I was a bit numb while leaving my family but kept my face smiling ( didn't want to increase the intensity of my absence ). Didn't even cry since when I am here in US. The flight was good ( didn't have any benchmark to compare since this was my first air travel so felt quite okay. ) I did not like the vegetarian food served in flight and the entertainment facilities. Watched Kung Fu Panda for some time but somehow it stopped in between and did not come up again. After trying whatever I could, got fade up and slept for about 8 - 10 hours. I was feeling bit cold so wrapped up the blanket all over and had a nice sleep, in the mean time my friends kept on looking for me all the way but could not see my face :-D. After completion of formalities and custom checks at Newark Airport we stayed for an hour or so and got into the bus which was arranged by our seniors.

About seniors -
Three cheers to you guys ! You are so helpful and understanding that you almost made us feel this country as a home away from home. I really appreciate your help since the first day when we new students contacted you. Thanks for taking your time out of your busy schedules and helping us in every single thing which could have been a disaster without your help. I am looking forward for continuing this tradition ahead when I will be at your position after one year.

Some updates -
I am done with getting my student ID card, which means I could travel all over the city using the buses for free of cost, I could use internet facilities and of course ring up people in America from free phones available in the university. I really like the idea of free phones, I must say ;-) I am quite settled now and got a rented 5 BHK apartment with my room mates, costs 275$ ( including heat, water and electricity) per head, each of us have a separate bedroom and a common hall, kitchen. Two of my room mates are first time away from home and adjusting the turns of five people in one toilet + bathroom + basin room is going to be a real challenge and fun :-D

Looking forward for learning lots of new things which in turn means making lots of mistakes !

Clearing the last hurdle

Yesterday was a big day for me. After going through a painful process of applying to universities, waiting for their admits / rejects, gathering hell lot of document to prove that you are financially strong to survive in States; I was at the last resort yesterday - The Visa Interview. I remember someone saying, appearing for GRE and TOEFL is just the beginning, I whole heartedly agree to that statement now. This process has taught me lots of things of how system works and what it takes to leave your country and go to some unknown place for pursuing your educational interests. Right from getting the study material, preparing and appearing for exams, sending application packets, shortlisting universities, selecting between admits and not crying over rejects; I have got a lot of support from people around me and that's why I feel very much fortunate today. I messed up a lot in between the process, sometime I made terrible mistakes but somehow by hook or crook it got carried away; though I have to pay the prize of my laziness and nonchalance. For someone this post might seem like exaggeration of my feelings but it isn't, if you were at my place, you must have felt the same way. If you are unknown of the minute details and intricacies that needs to be cleared or thought of while / before appearing for a visa interview, go see someone who has gone through it.

I made some mistakes while filling up an online form and that delayed processing of my i20. This was essentially the reason for taking the visa date in July, ideally people get it done in 1st or 2nd week of June or beforehand. But what generally / easily happens with people never happens with me. This is a general observation and I have many experiences to support this argument. This D-Day interview was yet another story to tell. Before going to the consulate, everyone prepares the answers of standard questions and by the wish of almighty, they are asked same questions. As I said it earlier, it didn't happen with me. I was standing last in a queue of 7-8 candidates and everyone in front of me came out with a granted visa in a very short time, none of them had to show any documents. As it happens always, I was standing last and was thinking that they ( visa officers ) can't just let people go merrily without being asked tough questions. Being the last man, I knew that I will have to go through a tricky interview. As I entered in the visa interview compartment, I was welcomed by a middle aged (around 55 years) , fat white woman. She was wearing spectacles and has got a typical style of looking through the passage between eyebrows and the glass. I did not care about her looks as I was known to such styles since my school days, many of our khadoos teachers used to stare like that. But contradictory to what I perceived , she was totally different. She was very well mannered and pleasant, she did ask me lot of questions which don't fall in the list of FAQ's but never ever I felt myself uncomfortable while answering them. In fact, I was very confident, looking directly into her eyes, fearless. She even cracked a joke in my interview, which I did understand and I responded by smiling back, but somehow she knew that I was not in the mood of appreciating jokes at that time. 'I was just joking, please don't take it seriously' was her response to my reaction. Sometime back I used to think of what must be going on in the visa officer's mind ( I am even planning to do some research in this area !) , so that I can use it for my interview. Everyday they take hundreds of visa interviews, ask lot of similar questions and get similar answers always. It's not at all bad if someone enjoys pulling the legs of the candidate at the time of interview. When she joked and I replied back by smiling to it, a thought just passed through my mind - 'Maam' how about exchanging our positions? How about me asking you questions and cracking jokes? How about me deciding your fate of being there or not being there in United States... ' I am quite sure, if I would have been sitting at her place, I could have done lots of mischievous things.

So, after a rapid fire interview ( it lasted for around 300+ seconds including my answers, which were often precise except at few places. Later when I calculated the time, the rate of asking questions came out to be 1 question per 2 seconds) , it was a time to hear the golden words, words that I read lot many times in other people's visa interview experiences. ' Alright Onkar, I am granting your visa. You will be flying with your i20 and will get your passport back in 3 working days through courier. Wish you all the best in your master's studies, have a nice time'. I felt great after hearing it, and thanked her for her kindness. After many days, I did something which was very satisfactory.