Michael Schofield breakin' outta prison!

With non-stop PRISON BREAK for the past 2 weeks, I completed watching the Final Break of the fourth and last season. Mind's shattering ... emotions spurting ... tears oozing... feels like something ended in this phase of my life. I'm surprised at the extent to which this English series has taken on to me. Accidentally, I found the four seasons on my roommate's hard disc and recollected my friend from office who rushed home after office only to watch it. I always wondered why he did that, so I thought let me give it a shot! On the first two days, I watched one episode per day. There was something unusual the third one did to me, it would not allow me move from my couch!!! That's the moment I realized the reason that drove donV crazy ... On an average, I began to watch 15 episodes per day. The only time I was not watching it was when I was at work (Damn! I had to work for 8 hours every day) and those few hours when I had to sleep to serve for those 8 hours ...

"You've seen the blueprint". "Even better, I have them on me".
"Have a little faith".
"You ready?".
"This is it".
"Alright".
"I'm coming with you" :'( :'( :'( :'(

A character so humble, so intelligent, so emotional, so PERFECT, Wentworth Miller who's existence of I knew not of till before a couple-a-weeks ago ... I cried my heart out when his character gives up his life for the sake of his wife and child. He left no stone unturned, be it for Linc or Sara or Sukre or Alex or for that matter even T Bag!!!

This is not a review on Prison Break, I'm sure there are millions and zillions out there crazy of the BLOCKBUSTER, it's a fact that it became part of life and distracted me from a sad phase and to an extent that it being over now hurts ...

Rockin' Sasians

10th of July 2006
Fac Z,
Inner Ring Road, Bangalore
MS | BSP | KPA | Vicky | Mad | donV | Beer | Krish | Potter | Ankur | Psycho | Michael |KVX863 | Parineeta | Tubelight | Lola Kutti | Choti | Philosopher | God Mother | Johny Bravo

On the dot, when the clock struck 9 - one before the next, they entered Craig Barrett. It was a time when they were all strangers to each other who secured a strong commitment to the cause. The duration for which each one would sustain was unknown, each one had a plan for him/her self. Yet, there was one thing in common to them - the astonishing and mysterious thirty days ahead!

Twelfth day of July 2006 - Mission Aprameyah
The troop set out to accomplish their mission. They were located two blocks away from the intersection at Inner Ring and 80 Ft. Here's some key information from the inside during this period of preparation and training ...

Torture at Aprameyah
The famous lecture by Johny Bravo. It was an elaboration and exaggeration of the "so called" useless activities we did the entire day. After every break, we looked forward to the next one :P

Sasian Bluff TV
A news desk that communicated between reporters from around the world. Breaking News - "A man rescued from a sinking ship; sources said he was provided a life boat due to his special situation!" The weather updates specified a sunny Sanjay Nagar and a snowy Marathalli!!!

Chocorepublic
A planet created by KVX863 and his partner in crime, Psycho. The ministers promoted tourism by chocolate attraction. All that the planet had and was made of was chocolate - chocolate houses, chocolate rivers, chocolate mountains, chocolate trees, chocolate people. They quoted "you need a baby, jus pick up at the river!" ROFL

Dominos
Sure it was a treat by the training institute - try imagining sharing a pan pizza with two other people when you're starving since the break of dawn. That's exactly what we did after which we had to grace the (so called ) favourite "Gangothri" (not like we had a choice!)

Mast Kalandar
It was the first time we were all hanging out as a group, it was a lunch treat hosted by donV and Ankur. Sadly, this also happened to be the last day at Aprameyah. Little had we thought that we would stay this close knit circle for longer than jus' those THIRTY days.

The group split shortly after this and were posted at different facilities. Chuckles were heard again, PJs rolled again, good ol' days at Aprameyah were lived again - it was Party time every time we met for lunch or took a walk or simply recollected the funny incidents from the past. Never had any of us imagined that corporate life would be no different than being a bunch of college kids!

10th of July 2009, it's been three years and yet again we've proved ourselves ROCKIN' SASIANS!!!
As always ~ Keep it Stylish!

In your twenties - Part 2

Recession blues ~

It struck us the hardest! This could be because we lie in that gray area of average or no experienced folks. We constitute the population of fresh grads and professionals with little experience in a specific area or we're among those who switch between jobs. Our qualifications do not promise to meet the industry requirement during economic crises. The 30 or 40 year olds stand a better chance who claim to have better experience. (I really wonder if that is the case!) The fact should not be forgotten that talent and innovation lies in us. Yet, some things are not in our hands (sadly)

We're grownups and it's not that we jus think so ~

The twenties I would say is a transition phase from youth to being a grownup. In our early twenties, we graduate from college and are thrown into the unsecured zone called "life". Initially, we manage it in not the best possible way and takes time with the getting used to it. The issue here is that of uncertainty. It's not a fixed syllabus like in college which is sufficient to meet our goal of passing an examination. The bigger issue is that the syllabus is not even known and changes every single day. Situations and circumstances tune us to life and we jus' learn how to live. I guess at this stage, we have the ability to accept challenges and welcome changes which soon become a part of us. It's not long before you're mentoring somebody at your work place and are being regarded as somebody to look up to. When I started spending time with Ronith, my nephew, it felt different from being with any other baby! The sense of responsibility was different. Yet again, when I came to grad school for Masters, a paycheck to paycheck life (with not an extra cent to spare and believe me I'm not exaggerating) taught me to struggle to survival. I learned more lessons than I thought I would in the last three years and the whole journey feels amazing to be thought about; not so, while being a part of it though ;) A twentite's life is flavoured with exciting stuff like meeting that special someone; either you find one or your folks do and it's time to enjoy those lovely moments ;)

As a twentite, I (and I'm sure most of you) trust my instincts more than ever before and embrace life gracefully. It's a wonderful phase - "The TWENTIES". If you've not realized it yet, it's not too late. Start living today!!!

In your twenties - Part 1

STATUTORY WARNING: Reading this blog if you're not in your twenties might not make sense to you. Proceed at your own risk.

Here's a blog dedicated to all my friends who accompany me in the TWENTIES phase. It's said and proved that a person in his/her teens is the toughest to deal with. We've all 'been there, seen it and experienced it'. Now, when I'm in my twenties I stop to think "Why in the world does nobody make a big deal of being a twentite (I jus coined that lame term and shall use it through this blog :P )!!!" I might begin thinking on similar lines when I'm thirty and then, forty and then sixty (if I live that long) and probably publish another post then if I still secure the continued passion for blogging! Anyway, for now let's peep into our present world of the TWENTIES...

"Living the twenties is a mysterious dream", said by a very intelligent person, let's accept it. I tried to make sense of it and here's my justification - It's a dream because more often than not, we're uncertain of what's happening with us and it's mysterious since we don't know why this happens. I'm sure more than 90% of you who read this will agree with me. If not, please scroll up and double check the warning jus' to make sure you're at the right forum ;)

Jus' out of college ~
Many of us were placed on-campus. We were accidentally drowned into the well of over confidence which showed in our 7th sem performance. Thankfully we realized it and "tried" to focus during final semester and it all kinda fell in place since we had only 4 courses. Soon, we were Bangalored - started yapping around in public flaunting the company ID, the only hangouts being Forum, Garuda Mall and at times Innovative Multiplex. Anybody who felt Hubli-sick (feel free to substitute Hubli with your native place) just needed to visit one of these places. Our dear friends in Mysore had begun to realize they had free recreation facilities on campus only coz they had time for nothing other than mid-term exams, Final 1, Final 2 and I don't know what not! Though, Sasken treated us well. In fact, it was a lil too welcoming and ROCKIN' ;) A few of us were those confused individuals who claimed to be determined and wished to multi-task and pulled it off pretty well. We wanted to make our lives more spicy by the GRE ingredient. I was one among them. A chilled out life there at Bangalore with all your buddies, home was only a night away; yet we wanted go to the US though it involved so much 'ghapla' and 'kharcha' and made very confident statements like "we won't turn into those confused desis" (though eventually we do ;) ) and now, we don't think twice before we address our fellow Indians as "desis". I know, its the tragedy of life. But, does not matter, life moves on.

Jus' married ~
If I look through my inbox, I notice a few frequently occurring words in the subject line - Marriage, Wedding Invitation... This has been happening since the beginning of 2008. Not just there, school friends whom I had not spoken to in ages sent me a friend's request on orkut and the moment I accepted it, I had new updates - ... added new pictures to album Wedding, ... added new pictures to album Engagement; this one was unbelievalbe: ... added new pictures to album "My lil one turns one". I was absolutely dumbstruck! Where were all these people for so many years! Now, they're all showing up after being married. Feels like everybody jus realized that its time we get married and spread the word :) And then, I got a chance to read about the sweet and memorable moments of their life. This one was for all of you who got married or are in the journey from engagement to marriage. Live the precious moments to the fullest!

I can't afford to lose your attention through this blog. So, I'll post them in parts. Hope you enjoy reading them!

Cheesy Chicago - Taboo

10th June 2009 - Taboo

One of the best games I've ever played; 8 of us - Dudes Vs Babes ;) on the eve of Shruti's birthday. She had just cleaned off the Harpic from her hair when we sat down with the game of unspeakable fun!!!

Here's a game in which you need to get your team to guess a word on the card without speaking out any of the taboo words (also included on the card) and using no gestures what so ever; gotta a see a lot of those gestures as the game progressed! We looked for the slightest opportunity to out do the guys!!! It was hilarious how scenes were narrated.

Hats off to the telepathic conversations that Varun and Teju shared; they didn't do much speaking nor even got close to the word!!! Picking on the opposite team's use of gestures led to major arguments. Soon, the guys feared to bring them up since we were on our toes to fight back!!! After a while, Vinay quoted "Array! kab tak darke chup baithenge, hum ladenge".


Shruti had the sand timer between the tips of her fingers to start it even before anybody would be ready and Pushkar finally gathered all his courage and exploded"Usko rakh de, main ready nahi hoo".

These funny incidents get my cheek bones working each time I think of them. The group that night was perfect! The cards were finally exhausted at dawn and as the world outside lit up, Downtown Chicago looked spectacular from the fifteenth floor of Shruti's apartment. The first thing you wanna wake up to see that would promise you a beautiful day ahead :)

Cheesy Chicago - in search of Thai!

6th June 2009 - Day 2

The plan was to drive!!! Where to??? We were not sure :P My dear friends had some places in mind (I was the guest, I was not supposed to make the plan you see!!!) Teju and Varun were the early risers who sincerely went to roger enterprise and rented a car. We realized the car didn't have the required cable to connect the new iPOD that Mad won with her Mac Book and we wanted our trip to be perfect (though we didn't know where we were heading!) and so made sure we bought the cable before we left. Once settled in the car, we finally decided to drive on I90 (hope I got the right Interstate number) to Wisconsin.

GPS aunty!
"In 0.4 miles turn left ... then keep right", she said-I wonder how the guys could call her aunty coz she spelled out with the most seductive voice!!! I really wonder how any guy could concentrate on driving. Aah! now I know why they kept muting her...lol!!! (Seriously guys, this came to my mind jus now, no offense intended!)

Well, I guess after some time aunty got carried away too and started misleading us. First, she directed us to a non existent Thai cuisine in a very pretty residential area. Next, she had intentions of drowning us - she actually asked us to turn into a lake for Thai food!!! Now, we were not so crazy about Thai food that " hum apni jaan pe khelke Thai cuisine khayenge" types! We then passed by a few more restaurants that looked welcoming, stuffed into a parking area and walked out only to find out that they were closed in the afternoon. To flavor it all, the Raingods were smiling and had begun showering their blessings from above. This probably was not the best thing to happen when we had been driving hungrily for over an hour.

Self realization ~ it had to happen and it did! Realization of being a student and where our abode lies! In fact, I would call it a life saver that afternoon aka CHIPOTLE!!! And where did we find it-university street at Madison :) Now you do realize that we students just can't do without a university in our vicinity ;)

This exceptional day had more excitement to it - "Birugali" (the Kannada movie) had turned "Barigalu" (lol) and "Kunidu kunidu baare" was being translated into English. No wonder, by the end of the day, we started seeing structures upside down!!!

I wonder if I'm making sense to anybody other than Teju, Varun and Mad but I really hope I am! Doubts and querries are welcome ;)

Reference to context: Chipotle is a Mexican restaurant famous for Burittos. It's kinda close to Indian food and so we international students enjoy the food here.

COMING SOON - more posts on Cheesy Chicago!

Cheesy Chicago - Prequel

Prequel:

I finally decided I need to do something about the way I had been feeling for a few weeks – dead! I was convinced that there was no way Eye could See 360 before I had seen three important people -

Madhur Agrawal, my closest of friends whom I know from Sasken. We met at Aprameyah (a topic I could dedicate a blog to) where we sat together, (generally in the seats before the last!) started gosipping during coffee breaks and were soon best friends at Fac M. In fact, donV called either of us-half soul. (of the other!!!) Currently, she's doing her Masters at Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

She's one of her kind - does everything she can for everyone she knows, takes intense care of her special someone and I can constantly hear her unsaid NEVER SAY DIE!


Varun Turlapati, a poet by heart (which he forgets at times) and BIG time blogger. Madhur used to be a paying guest at his place in Bangalore and that's how we met. Little had I thought that he would be listed among my closest pals :) He could probably talk at any time of the day and for as long as you wish him to. To beat this is his speed at eating which he seems to be losing on lately ;)

Currently, he's doing his Masters at University of Illinois at Chicago.


Tejaswi Rao, the special someone I referred to above ;) and do I need to now specify how I know him!!! Chicago was the first time when I got a chance to hang out with him and I must say it was AWESOME!!! He was always concerned about showing me around. What comes to my mind right now is "Atithi Devo Bhava" Okay guys, stop laughing! I'm serious!!!

He graduated in May with a Masters from Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago.


I had been contemplating about my trip to Chicago for a while and I knew this was the perfect and only time I could make it there. studentuniverse.com was kind enough to spare me a ticket within my budget. I planned to stay the night at Pittsburgh airport for my flight at 6AM since the first Airport flyer was not earlier than 4.30AM!!! I fortunately missed the last bus to the airport and a friend, Vikram drove me there. This is a time when I would like to thank CMU that keeps us awake at weird hours :P

Cheesy Chicago!

5th June 2009, I landed at O'Hare International Airport, Chicago. Madhur had just left home and would take her at least an hour to get to the airport. Varun was on his way. I spotted the baggage claim and sat there waiting. That's when I started writing this blog :)

Soon, Madhur and Varun were there and they cared to give me a grand welcome as you can see. Good times had jus begun!!!

I don't know how many of you would have the patience to read through every line of Cheesy Chicago so, I'm gonna post topics in parts! Hope you enjoy reading them. :) And by the way, EyeSee360 is the place I work at!

Life revisited

Felt like happiness all over again after nine months. Now, NINE is mere co-incidence ;) I consider this magic - this state of being contented.

Two months ago ... PING on gtalk. "I may come there in a month's time probably" is what the message said. The spirits within me arose! it was just a message on gtalk (not even a confirmation!) This part of my life - I call EXCITEMENT.

A month passed by and there were no updates on the travel plan. My friend feared to get too happy about it since she didn't wanna be disappointed shall she not be able to make it. This part of my life - I call THE WAIT.

August 20th 2008 - her birthday and this year, I received a gift instead of her! The wait was over, she confirmed she's coming. She had to leave in 3 days. (I really don't know how she managed that!) I cannot begin to tell what that very moment felt like... and I call this part of my life - being SPEECHLESS.

August 30th 2008 - a FLASH at Times Square, New York. I could hardly believe it ... probably coz I met her for less than a minute. Before we could realize that we have really met, she had to leave. For hours after that, I kept feeling that was a dream. A short and extremely sweet dream! This part of my life - I call "Mystery - was it really her?"

September 27th 2008 - Pittsburgh airport! Yeah ... it was finally happening. She was actually gonna be there after a lot of ups and downs! I planned an elaborate meal (not boasting) completed my work for the week jus so that I don't waste a single second while she's here. I wanted to live every moment when she was here. This part of my life - I call " living LIFE"

Two days literally flew by ... I've not been this happy in the past 9 months. The reason why I'm writing about this is jus to enhance the fact of how special this was to me. Absolutely nobody in the world could ask for friends better than them. I said to myself, "You're gifted a weekend to LIVE, don't let it go ... come what may". I'm not sure if I'm sounding strange about all this. But, everything I've written is true. I didn't elaborate on what we did together here. Wanted to share the joy I experienced knowing that I'm gonna be with one of them.

There is a magic in our friendship that's kept us together. A journey of 23-24 years is not a JOKE!

This part of my life - I call "SPARKLING 12"

Here's a peek into our sparkling world:
http://geocities.com/catchkav/Sparkling_twelve

No longer a dream but an achievement :)

I saw a dream and it came true today - the 17th DAY OF MAY 2009! Carnegie Mellon University conferred me with a Master of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

I was about 17 when I first, day-dreamed of securing an MS in US! My sis was my source of inspiration and here's how the story goes...

I remember the day when we were driving back home after daddy and me had picked her up from a personality development workshop. All along, she spoke of different activities they did during the day and sounded very excited about it, so excited that she drove my attention to an extent that I wanted to know every minute detail. (I'm generally, not a person who wants to know intricate details) Raghavendra Okade conducted these workshops; (one of which I attended some time later!) he's probably one of the best in Human Resources who could read you, review you and help you transform into a better human being. (be it the need)

During her (my sister) conversation with Mr. Okade, he discussed with her options of studying abroad. He encouraged her to do an MS in USA. In fact, he took classes for the Graduate Record Examination and invited her to participate in them. And of course, his thoughtful words inspired her to go ahead with the option. Next time, on our way home we dropped by Ganesh book store at Hosur junction on NH-4 to pick up a BARRON'S GRE. (Student's #1 choice ;) ) All the while, I was listening attentively to all that she said - about the test, application procedure and everything else.

Soon, she was a part of Mr. Okade's class at Deshpande nagar and gradually, I was on duty to pick her up every evening ;) I remember, once being mad at her when I had to wait since her class was running late and then I raced home, trying to show off like I was the only one who could ride in the world! At times, she would discuss GRE math with me and it was fun solving problems with her. I was in my first year of pre-university at that time and terms like GRE and TOEFL were big words to me!!! Later, I was hit by the TOEFL fever. Watching a video during an exam amused me, talking to a screen like somebody's listening to you - I had no idea how that happened. (I know I was funny especially when I think of the major with I've graduated today!!!)

In the process, I had registered a "To do" list in my mind - 1. GRE 2. TOEFL 3.MS in US. This was a time before I had even taken the Common Entrance Test. (lol) I'm so glad to myself that my interest didn't die with time. What kept me on the move, was Prof. B.L.Desai, who's friend was Mr. Okade. Mr. Okade's words were frequently heard in the air of E&C department at B.V.B. Desai sir always spoke of GRE, MS in US universities and often had guest lectures by Mr. Okade. What more could I ask for!!! Not yapping about it but, I did start my first word list when I was in my first year of Engineering and I was very confident that some day I would do an MS!

And it happened. It was an evening in November 2007, when I had received my admit letter from CMU and I was at the fast food section of Shanthi Sagar in Domlur with a friend. I was procrastinating opening the envelope since I knew my friend was a little upset that I would be leaving be it an admit. Another friend joined us in a while and she engaged him in conversation. I decided to see the letter then. It was a proud moment to hear back from Carnegie Mellon and at the same time, I was sad that I would be leaving :( I don't wish to talk about it since that could drive me into a mood that would not let me finish this blog :)

Well, initial days at school were scary and I dread to think about them today. My first semester here was probably the WORST phase of my life. Gradually, I adapted to way of life and the academic culture. "All's well that ends well". I'm done! I'm a Masters from Carnegie Mellon now and that matters a lot to me. I was touched when Kanchi said "Kav, your dream has come true!". Now, looking forward to go home ASAP to folks and friends :) But yet, there's no free lunch. I can't get away with it easily, a new raaga ... the name's OPT, a whole new topic in itself which I don't dare to touch now!

So, that was my success story to an MS. An inspiration drove me up here and that was MY SIS :)

Life as it comes

I've finally reached a stage in life which makes me wanna start blogging. It has always fascinated me but, somehow never had the right mood or the right stuff to post! A Friday morning at 12.16, feeling a little low for the nth time in the past 3 months; I said to myself there's something I need to do about this and change the way I feel. I write a lot of random stuff every now and then. Going back and reading that makes me feel good. So, I got this idea to start blogging. I hope this helps me feel better and I serve my purpose :)