And then they blog...

I dont know why I am suddenly on a spree writing blog posts. Is it because I have so much to do this week, that I am idling away?

However, I just came across a couple of blogs that I would have never come across( or atleast enjoyed as much) if I were still in India. There is an entire set of blogs written by fellow Madrasis( I follow the Tam-Brahm subset of these more closely) which I can identify with so well, it is almost like deja-vu.

Some speak of Tam-Brahm customs, their lingo, their experiences in the USA, how they react in this setting, how they interact within their community. Some even have amazing videos embedded and narrate common place scenarios in amazingly funny lingos, regional dialect spilling all over. I have not laughed so much for any stand-up or sitcom ever.I have blogrolled a few of them, if you must see it to believe it.

I am hooked, but only just. Coz I still need to keep my head above water, to navigate the dangerous waters during these recession times.

Ah, I have so many blogging ideas now, someone gimme some more time puhleez!

Missed it, did I?

I did not make it to my B.E. graduation day. Now, were I in India, I would have cribbed about having to go to college to attend it. Since I was unable to, I thought I missed it.

Though I consoled myself that I would atleast be receiving my Masters degree in person(if all goes well, that is).

Now is this what they mean when they say the grass is greener on the other side?

Finally-The close of the longest,hardest and most hectic academic term of my entire life!

The fact that my last post was like aeons ago goes to prove the same.

So, finally my first semester of Masters studies came to a close.My final grades are pretty decent considering my state of mind a few months back.I must say that Masters here is by no means a cake walk.Hordes of students come here for their Masters which gives us the impression that it must be easy, if everyone else is doing it.How untrue!You are made to slog out the entire semester.Right from the word go, assignments, homeworks, PROJECTS, midterms, finals, extra credits and labwork keep you on your toes at all times.This coupled with an on-campus job can literally ruin you sleep for the entire academic term.

Another new routine for me was studying in the library.Never before in my life have I spent so much time in the library.I think the latter half of my semester, I stayed more at the library than at my apartment.I even slept over at the library on one occassion.And for two of my final exams, I went straight from the library to the exam hall-after a night out and without sleep.Then the punishing OPNET assignments-takes you hours to do and if you are lucky you will get the expected tutorial output.Else, keep at it for days together-the tables might just turn.

Of course, the reversal of the biological clock.Here, we work all night and grab a few quick hours of early morning sleep. I had a punishing 8 AM class two days every week and to have to attend that(merely because it had surprise quizzes), walking to the Engg Bldng in the early morning sub-zero, windy, Winter cold-nothing can beat that.Thankfully, all my classes next semester are after noon!!Phew!!

And of course, in between all this, we have to squeeze in the time to cook once every four days, clean and other personal work.

But the bright side of all this arduous work is that I can say with confidence that I have learnt in these 4 months more that I probably have in my 4 years of undergraduation. And at the end of it all, you feel a little proud of yourself.For having made it through all this. It is frightening, that you have to endure one more year of this to emerge with a Master's degree-but hopefully, we shall manage.

Now, it is time to unwind, relax and catch up on lost sleep and that is precisely what I am doing.I am composing this entry right after 12 straight hours of sleep.Back to routine now.It feels so nice to be able to sleep at the right time and get up to see the sun rising -rather than the other way round. You have the entire day ahead of you to do what you please.This I like!!Went to an Udipi South
Indian Veg Resto here and gorged on super yummy food-a well deserved treat, it was!!
The climate here is so unpredictable.If it is rainy the temperature goes up-otherwise, it is too cold to venture out much.Anyways, much more to look forward to these hols.I will be getting my SSN, visiting my aunt and begin preparing for the next sem.All in all, a thoroughly worthwhile journey it has been so far!!

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Back again

I had two midterms yesterday.My first formal exams under the US educational system.It was different from the exams I've sat for while back in India.In fact,totally different.There were no descriptive questions, as expected.Totally application oriented solutions.It was nice for a change.

Now the fall break has begun and am liking it.Looking forward to my first American football game and some Diwali celebrations, that are lined up.Besides that, life just moves on.Still have a lot of academic work that need to be completed and submitted before this month.So, lets see how it goes.

On a sabbatical

Not finding enough time right now to compose a sensible blog entry.Even if I manage to gather enough thoughts to write a blog entry, I am just not in the frame of mind to actually put it down.Perhaps, a writer's block. Anyways, this is just to inform those who read my blog to patiently wait for atleast another one week.

See you all then!

Random ramblings of a harried soul

I heard of the Delhi bomblast from one of my friends and I realized I had barely been tracking the news back in India. When I finally did check it out, I realized that i had missed out on a lot.For starters, the new season of Jodi No.1 is up and though the current season is more of a rehash, I miss all the melodrama and action:P.Next up, Chennai news. The power holiday has been a topic of contention among many and I am glad I did not have to face it this time around. Power cuts for a few hours everyday in the Chennai heat is unbearable. I still remember how I had a major power cut before one of my semester exams and I was in such a mess.I ended up studying under candle-light as even the battery in the emergency light drained out. You know how all the bad things just have to happen together.

This was exactly what happened here 2 weeks back.None of us had expected a power outage here in the USA, but to our shock we had no power at our apartment complex for few hours that night. I had an assignment due the next day and my laptop was giving me trouble. I called up the Dell call centre and got it set right, but meanwhile the charge drained out and I could not contact anyone online. Finally, camped out at my neighbours' for awhile and finally the power was restored.