Thanksging

Arguably second most celebrated festival in US of A. It's about giving thanks to everybody. So here I go. Thank you Mom and Dad. Thank you God. Thank you all my lovely friends.

We have 2 days in semester holiday (which is scarce in this country) and don't have nothing much to do with them. Although I would have liked to go out somewhere but I didn't. Partly because of the big exams Monday and rest of the week and partly because I don't know how to drive. :)

It is a funny world. You don't know where it is headed but still you have one of your own. I too have a world of my own.

I dont wanna publish this but I will. Just for the fun of it.

In praise of idleness

In the shaky economic conditions around the world, with occupy movements everywhere and wars for power in many nations, it would be nice to reflect on this essay by Bertrand Russell. I read it today. One can only wonder how wonderfully has he argued in favour of idleness. The starting first few paras seem to be on lighter note and take you into hilarious state. And then he starts talking about how, although funny, these things about leisure and work make sense to compare. And just when you are enchanted by the flow of sequentially convincing arguments he will sneakingly pass a statement somewhere that modern machinery after industrial revolution have made it possible for us to do less work, which was something I could not buy. But as he explains his case well to justify the statement if you are flexible on your definition of 'work'. His example of manufacture of pins is presented very well. Although it doesn't work that simple. And the reason is that we haven't let it
The last para concludes that if we learn from idleness then how wars can be prevented because then all of us will have plenty besides the face that lazy people will not be willing to fight :D. He talks about war more than once in the whole essay which is understandable considering the timing of the article; it was published between the two World Wars. All I want to say that it is a very nice read and his discussion of work vs. leisure fits very well in today's society where the 'work' is virtue-ed too much and 'leisure' is considered to be bad for ones life. I can make the above statement with authority because I have worked in corporate for a year and most of my friends are still there. I will quote few lines from the text and hope it serves as a motivation to read the full text. Even if you get bored and dont read full text read the first few pages because they serve as humour and the last few pages because you need it.

'I enjoy manual work because it makes me feel that I am fulfilling man's noblest task, and because I like to think how much man can transform his planet. It is true that my body demands periods of rest, which I have to fill in as best I may, but I am never so happy as when the morning comes and I can return to the toil from which my contentment springs.'

First of all: what is work? Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relatively to other such matter; second, telling other people to do so. The first kind is unpleasant and ill paid; the second is pleasant and highly paid.

The notion that the desirable activities are those that bring a profit has made everything topsy-turvy.

Broadly speaking, it is held that getting money is good and spending money is bad. Seeing that they are two sides of one transaction, this is absurd; one might as well maintain that keys are good, but keyholes are bad.

[Find full text: pdf version, html version]

It has been close to a year since I started this whole writing-on-me business. The post in retrospection looks so apt. I how I feel some stuff when I think of what I felt at a later time. Does that happen to most of us? May be if I'm not a unique, endangered human species, which in all probability I am not.

Cometh the winter

The big exams are around the corner and I seem to have dropped back in the preparations it seems. Anyways I have a weekend. Hopefully I can use saturday and then go biking on Sunday. Probably the last biking tour of season before Minnesota gets buried in 'the white'. The wind outside has started to kill. Winter chill is setting in. Forecasts say that 11 Nov will be the first snow. Oh how I hate the winter but now there is no choice. Biking on the snow can be killer. Waiting on bus stops is so damn bad. The bright side is there will be ice for skiing. May be Sunday will change from cycling day to skiing day in the coming months :). Welcome to the infamous Minnesota winter.

On Thursday (was): A birthday treat from a friend and Malaysian cuisine! \m/

Hard way

Some times I like to do it the hard way. There is no reason for it. Is it okay to do it sometimes? I dont know. It really pushes you to the brink sometimes to the limits of frustrations. But somehow it seems ok when you wind up everything and what they call connect-the-dots.

Happy Diwali

Happy Diwali to all of you. Hope you guys are celebrating this day live-on not video-conf.
Ate a lot of cookies in the department seminar today in the name of Diwali sweets. But to my good I have befriended a very nice guy who knows to cook all kinds of sweets on his own. So I got one full sweet box tonight. I am obliged to him for innumerable times he has offered pineapple halwa, sweets, cakes.

You can get ankle sprain while jogging, running, playing and so on. Did someone ever get ankle sprain while studying? I did yesterday when I was studying for exam and having an apple for breakfast. The trash can was some stairs up and with the book in one hand and apple core in another fell down the stairs somewhat. Slight ankle sprain. Not much

exam

How does it feel when you fall behind in schedule. It feels like not to make scheduled task ever. Whatever. I need heads out of computer and heads-in on books. So much to plan. So little to turn out. How could I change!

I had exam after almost 2 years. Two months shy of two years. But it was good. The exam. Not me in the exam. 2 out of three questions.

Finally after much hunting and speculating I have my advisor and research topic in place. I will be working on thermochemical reactors to produce fuels from Solar energy. I hope we make this technology work some day and make it cheap. I am fed up with oil debate of all kinds.

Bar

Bar in America = Railway platform in India.
Except with a lot of sleaze. Or with a lot of 'freedom' in an another perspective which lot of us would like to have. Interestingly they call them The Library. Best trick for teetotallers that I learnt online and which matches my taste was to ask the bartender for 'non-alcoholic non-carbonated drink'. And the closest I got was lemonade which happened to be carbonated. And it did not match my taste for sure. No mock-tails, no soft-drink in the menu. Heck! Wrong bar for starters!
I liked it for the same reason as I like train journey. It is so rare to see crowded places in USA. When I recall my initial days, it would look like Section 144 in our place. This is the second time I saw this large crowd in this country. (First was in the state fair). After an initial interval T it became more monotonous than lively. So I was kind of bored and enjoying both. And sleepy too. So teetotallers should not go to bars or should not stay after time T.

On an unrelated note Rahul Dravid said in an HT interview: "I try not doing things that I’m not comfortable with."

Very well said

“If you are never scared, embarrassed or hurt, it means you never take chances”


"If you have embarrassed yourself and are going to laugh about it someday, you might as well start today.”

Busy living

Four weeks pass by quietly since the semester started. Did nothing much really. Attended all the lectures.
I will tell you what. I wrote that previous line last few weeks and then stopped writing. Now again only changed two to three, then four. I didn't mean to change it to four.

Two bike trips, as many movies in theater (at University), a lot many assignments. Suddenly lots of things are happening. It is good to get busy living. Better than having nothing to do. I've also bought a new squash racquet and pair of shoes. Saturday is squash day. Meanwhile studying a lot too. And watched a movie named Dasvidaniya, which reminded me of my own list at 43things.com.

Eleventh one

I had half a score of them already. And it's yet another academic semester of life. This one is towards the so called highest level of education. At the time of writing I feel that I am among the very few opportune people who have a chance to reach this level. What percentage of people back in our country get to go to high school? and then undergrad school? and then grad school? And then another grad school?

Anyways, the point is I am studying it bit too far :D. The semester has only started and I feel like its going to be hectic workload. Professors here have the habit of giving non-copy-able assignments every week. And coming with master's degree I am supposed to take oral pre-Ph.D. exams right in first semester which means November end! So its 3 more subjects for orals.

So far the start seems good. Haven't started studying much :) Place is very campus like. Like the one I had been previously. But unlike in many aspects. Lots of bars and drunkards around. A walk to campus from my home on friday or saturday night tells the tale. A particular Saturday night while returning from university, two un-shyly dressed, drunk girls proceeded towards us and mumbled something. We were waiting for walk signal at lights. Luckily we got the pass just then and started walking hurriedly. Recollecting, they were asking 'Is chilly billy open tonight'? Chilly billy is half blocks from university main entrance. Anyways the point is there are many drunkards around. And they love to throw bear bottles from the cars. So we have punctured tyres following week. So you see being rich doesn't solve the problems. It only changes your problems.

I have met as many people in last 12 days that I haven't met in 12 months! Heard my name pronounced in scores of different accent and ways.

Hanging around the world

Life seems pretty easy and relax at the moment. But I know this is gonna change suddenly when semester begins. In an honest way I dont very much like it this way. And I am eager for it to start all. In spite of the warnings that it gets very hectic and all Im in a way waiting for it to come. Eagerness mixed with a pinch of something cloven fear.

The most active part is the international get togethers. Firstly it was International student orientation. And today again it was a kind of outing organized by M.I.S.A. It is a nice feeling to know people from different nationalities. Like all the world coming to one floor. All of us together represent 35 countries! On Friday I met a Greek dude, a Vietnamese girl couple, of Chinese guys(actually a lot of em later), an Indonesian, Korean, two little Japanese undergrads.Today also met a Sri-Lankan guy - he was a funny man, a Shanghai girl in utter sobriety, two Dutch blondes, a Danish from Copenhagen, a Malaysian, a nice guy from Uganda, a church official from America, many other guys from China.
One thing I got to know out of it. The Chinese people have very high regards for IITs of India. Contrary to all the conspiracy theories running in the market I have found that Chinese are nice people.

ज़िन्दगी

ज़िन्दगी गुज़र गई बस इसी कशमकश में,
प्यार मुमकिन नहीं, ना है मेरे वश में|
मैं नादां चला जाम चाहत का पिने,
था मीठा ज़हर उस रश में!
ना खबर कुछ मुझे, न पता कुछ मुझे,
घिर गया इस तरह यादों की बहस में|

--Unknown

Minneapolis

The first guy I met at airport (after all security checks) here was very helpful. I asked him the way to super shuttle parking and he walked me all the way down to parking and introduced me to shuttle staff for further help. After waiting for about an hour the university van picked me up and dropped to my friend's place. I was surprised to see this undergraduate girl from university driving a big van, quite as big as mini-bus. Is driving that easy. On the way it seemed that city of full of lakes and some waterfall. Aptly it is called city of lakes.

Amsterdam

Last two days were pretty much memorable. a huge family outing dinner. we stayed late night and loads of photos and all. memories-from-childhood thingy. We clicked photos in the same pose as in a long back dated photo.

The day also happened to be my birthday. And I didn't post on my birthday! Okay it was a busy one. It kind of added to the showdown. Then on the next day it was my flight. I was seen off by many of my family members and a friend. I don't know why but the whole time till I got into plane I was sweating like a real pig! So much so that during immigration check at IGI the guy at the desk was inquisitive about the reasons Im sweating. Then he checked my university I20 form and all and asked some lame questions about whens and whys and wheres. I gave him lamest of all lame excuses to him that I used to live in Hyderabad and it was not so hot over there and I could not handle the heat here. I laughed at myself. (Anyways, I do sweat like hell at times.) Like a pig. Like I had never been in this kind of weather. For the record many times my hometown Allahabad is much damp and horrid and hot than Delhi. Talking of weather, weather at Amsterdam is quite nice this day. Lots of clouds, of all types, to be seen in the sky. Temperature is within 20 I guess (since it was still 6 am when I landed). In only a full sleeve I could just feel the little chill but not so chill to need a sweater. Like October morning in Kanpur. Only with lots of clouds in the sky. I really feel like home in this weather. Only with lots of around-the-world people.

Back on the Delhi airport mini incident happened. One of my elephant baggage was over weight by few kilos. I picked 2 high density books and 2 eateries packet out of it and there was nowhere it could be done away with. I asked the airline girl to tell me better ways than dump these in dustbin. I thought I dint want to start my graduate studies by throwing away books :). Although I dont believe a lot in symbolism. Anyways I dint want to throw away anything. So I just stood by the counter with the books like adamant fool. :D. Then the girl said that I could keep the books in my carry-on luggage, in which I still hand some half a kilo limit left, and eventually I did carry those in my cabin luggage. So at the end or it I was carrying the max limit that can be carried. Gave the eateries to an airport worker. Talking of eateries Im starting to feel my stomach. And thirsty too. But I really dont feel like start walking. Not that Im tired or something. I just dont want it. Because I like the view from the place I am sitting and the crowd is coming in. :)

I just now went back in time! By three hours. By my watch. I think I will sacrifice the view and take a stroll.

Amsterdam airport is huge! And lots to spend time with. Only if they had more than one hour of free internet.

Countdown

Counting down from today there are exactly 10 days left in my home country and 8 days at my home. :(

Home

The time to stay-at-home is almost over and there is nothing much to write about it. Only that it was one of the longest nothing-to-do time. There is nothing to glorify because as a friend said vellapa(nothingness) can never be glorified.

But still I loved it because its HOME.

a month

One month into my vacation and it dint feel like a month! Only that I visited 3 cities in between.
I saw Kolkata - city of joy for the first time and wondering what it would have been n century before. (n=1,2,3,4). I think in one day I got the vibe :D. The history of Calcutta gallery in Victoria Memorial was the high point. It is much like a city which is depleting than a developing one. Much like kanpur where I stayed for 5 years.
Then visited Bhopal to see some folks. And then to Delhi to some more folks. And the big fort built be Emperor Mogul Shah Jahan in 17th century. And the famous Delhi market Chandni Chowk. And some eateries. It made me believe people in Delhi have very strong immune system.
Since vellapa cannot be glorified I am also learning something during this time. To swim. I started on to pick up things nicely only to reinstate in initial learning stage by a 2 day break :( Looks like swimming is not an easy exercise. More so at the noon-past timings. When it is laziest time of the day. On a second thought other times of day are lazier too.
Recently enough my eyes started to hurt badly. Not in the way as if something hurts you but like itching and uneasiness. Then for the second time within a year eyesight further depleted. Cylindrical correction in both eyes now. It is very bad to have cylindrical glasses. Spherical ones you can do without glasses on many times but cylindrical is worse. Even bare 0.5 will screw badly.