My movie crisis

Last Friday, I went over to Fremont's Big Cinema with some friends, and watched Ajith's new movie, Mankatha. I used to be a pretty big fan of Venkat Prabhu back in the day, so I went with the reasonable hope that I would be able to digest Ajith's face and enjoy the movie. After all this was my first tamil movie, in some two years. It will suffice to say that that wasn't the case.

It is a commonly known fact that people who leave India, and live abroad, always think of India in terms of the last few indian movies they enjoyed, when they were still in India. Its almost as if they are frozen in time.

I'm now one of those frozen people. Movies like Vaaranam Ayiram, Ayan and Chennai 28, will always be "new" movies in my head. And the music from those will always be my favorite, and the actors and the dialogues will always be the ones most fondly remembered.

The persian joke is on me

Last week I had lunch with two actual Persian guys (co-workers)... Very good looking/intelligent/fun ones at that..... It made me feel pretty crappy about myself for all the Persian-guy references I've included in my jokes, in the last two years ! Won't happen again :)

How did surya and sameera do it?

Two days ago I was chilling on the Golden Gate bridge with some friends, when I ran into someone from work. Granted she was just an intern and a friend at that, not to mention the fact that I was certainly not being proposed to by a stud like Surya.... but it makes you think - if you can run into someone you know in a city as huge as San Francisco, you better not be doing any hanky panky around there eh...
#VaaranamAyiram

Girl code

The other day I realized that I'm the kind of girl that other girls would be comfortable with leaving their boyfriends with.. Does that say something about my unattractiveness ? 

Freebie

This is a formal announcement to confirm that what you read on AJN and MA's Facebook walls are true.. I will be in Troy, NY, for RPI's NSBE/SHPE, from September 29th to October 2nd, 2011.
OK? ok....
October 1st, I will be in Atlantic city, NJ, for my good old friend SM's bachelorette party. I am suddenly wondering if I'm Maid of Honor, or just another Bride's maid... Will have to fight AA, tooth and nail for that position, eh ! Bring it !

I will end by predicting that not one of u fools from RPI, who are reading this, will comment on this post. Hence making my formal announcement seem pretty silly :|

the oh so funny/ scandelous things my co-workers say

on technology
PS: who needs a smart phone? what you need is a friend who has a smart phone and you're all set

on pets
JH: I want a fat English bulldog, that'll slobber all over itself and be so lazy it can't even walk. Then I'd drag it around the neighborhood in a wagon .. we'd be so happy together

on having babies
JH: what would I do with a child ? I'd probably tie it to the desk, and maybe wheel it around like I would my English bulldog ...
DH: no , that's not what you do. you should feed it and sing to it and give it lots of water...

on siblings
AN: I have two younger sisters. They only get dumber. I went to stanford, my second sister is going to the university of the pacific, my last sister is probably going to get a "C" in spanish.

Frunch

HH to me(n other ppl) : Hey, will you to Frunch with me on Friday at Macaroni Grill ?
me (automatically, with great enthusiasm) : sure!!! sounds like fun !!!

(I find out later that Frunch = "farewell lunch" ... oops!)

shhh...

*A loud "HAHAHA" from the neighboring cubicle*

Meanwhile, in our alcove:
DH (in a sinister tone) : its all fun n games until somebody gets hurt
*No one reacts*

The End ...

(yes yes that wasn't so dramatic)

+1

Today, I was generously invited to a party at DD's, tomorrow night, and she suggested I bring a +1, from our 'collection' of mutual friends, which brings to mind, one very serious self-directed expression !
"Oh no ! I'm 15 again" (this is in reference to that party 8 years ago before we left to Goa, on our breakaway trip. If you went to high school with me, you know which one !)
So after we tried(and failed) to lure MV into the party-mood, for a wednesday night, I further grudgingly decided to accept the host herself, in her pity-offering to be my +1.... as opposed to facing a party, as I now face life, as a + ZERO.
Cheers !
(thanks DD :D)

Adele part-1

I have such an incredible girl-crush on Adele. <3

After effects of seeing her in concert on Sunday.
I promised a friend I'd write a long post on the entire experience, but I'm currently getting fried at work, so that will have to wait. I'm all grown up now. I actually have priorities that come before long self-centered monologues about my "run-of-the-mill"-everyday-life! ;)...

So anyway, I'll stop now, and pick up again later..

Caesar + i

This morning I drove my bimmer to work, with loud, beating, bollywood music, through my ipod plugged into my nifty auxiliary stereo input, well above the speed limit... and I thought to myself, "this is the life,........ oh crap ! I'm a Persian-guy !!!"

woes - part 2 (survivor)

Ok that wasn't so bad. Minus the silly shoes and jeans...I had a pretty good time.

woes

Today I'm invited along to play tennis, with a bunch of athletic, well co-ordinated looking, non-desi people from the office, after work. I don't have the right shoes/ clothes on today. My hair is a greasy mess, and most importantly I have not picked up a tennis racket in 7 years.
Kill me, kill me now !

the reason why I'm never going to find a husband...

(this morning on the train to work)

indian boy: how much are you paying for your apartment
me: ...$
indian boy: !!!!
me: y? how much are u paying..? i thought u lived in north park
indian boy: yes but 4 of us are sharing a one bedroom. It works out more economical, no?
me: haha yes yes (embarrassed shrug)
indian boy: you have a room AND a bathroom to yourself ?
me: yes
indian boy: !!!

indian boy: do you bring lunch?
me: no i go out a lot. my team likes to bond over good food
indian boy: oh i dont eat out.. its 7$..8$ each time
me: haha yes yes (embarrassed shrug)
indian boy: dinner also you go out ?
me: umm ya i sometimes meet other friends
indian boy: !!!

indian boy: i won't buy a car. too expensive and i don't need one. insurance, gas, repairs, who will pay?
me: oh umm ok
indian boy: u?
me: ya i'm buying one this week
indian boy: oh !!!

indian boy: honda or toyota?
me: umm neither
indian boy :(faints)

well he didnt faint..but he might as well have !

erik's

MS (over lunch of clam chowder) : I'm on a strict sea-food diet...
HH & I: you are??
MS: Yea I see food, and I eat

LOL... Canadians

Hand

Yesterday I went to get my nails done at a salon, down the street from where I live, at 6.45pm. A 55 year old Vietnamese woman (Hahn) was the only one in the salon.
She was quick to explain that she was working late because of my appointment.
I blushed and apologized for keeping her here so late, and made a mental note to tip her generously.
We got to talking and Hanh (pronounced 'hand') started to tell me about her life as an immigrant in a foreign land, divorced and alone in a strange country, with the heavy responsibilities of a single mother of two.
A refugee from the tribe of the 'boat people', some 40 years ago, she talked about the struggles of being 'traded' in as a virgin bride, escaping Vietnam and traveling to Thailand in the dead of the night. The fears that came with landing in Thailand, the most notorious capital of pedophilia and the sex trade. Evading all of that and finally landing in the US, the land of hope, that promised equal rights to citizens and immigrants alike.
Being discriminated against and forced to bankruptcy at the first business her husband started. Being married to a drunk, and the pain of having to leave him.
Watching her grown up son throw his life away by dropping out of college, and her now promiscuous teenage daughter, who is giving up all her mother risked to bring her to this country, to join the notorious profession of aspiring models.
Then there are the everyday worries of health insurance and bills. I quote Hanh, "I have oyster when there's money at the end of the month, and on other months I eat oatmeal, every month is a struggle". "All I can do is live with the faith that I have been a good daughter to Buddha"
I wont go into explaining her story in graphic detail here, but it will suffice to say that at 8.45 pm, I hurried home, through the darkened streets, wondering why there were so many bad people in the world and if it would ever be safe.

(umm)

(busy at work)

JH to the room: (chuckles) Hey do you know why the chicken crossed the road?

room: uhh...to get to the other side

JH: the other side right? .... whats the other side ??

room: uhh..i don't know , umm hell?

JH: no dude ! death... death is the other side... I just thought of it... that chicken crossed the road to get killed...

room: wow! that's intense

JH: yeah ?

room: yeah !

(back to work)

In reply to FB status msgs about the weather...

you know, I'm much more amazed at the earths ability to sustain life for billions of years than I am mad that its been a few degrees too hot for a couple of days...

http://library.rpi.edu/

And enter my first/ last name

Second, I googled my name, and it took me to

http://www.mendeley.com/tags/network+sciences/

which is another relevant link !

I was soooo excited !!!

Added to my "daily" dictionary ...

this past week, are the following terms

Chinook sprint 2, scrum lead, sanity testing, cdet, dijit, widget, portlet, scriptlet, liferay, rally, hudson, recommendation engine, mainline build, portal-ext...

poking

I like poking people....even though it is sorta stupid...

the ugly truth

One half of the world is filled with tiny little sorority girly, in petite jeans, with loud giggles, shiny hair and permanently active Facebook and IM clients.

The other half is filled with chirpy desi girls, in Disney princess themed, decorated cubicles.

To win, you have to be a man.

lunch

Aug 2009 to May 2011
Go down to the Union. Get yourself a nice Burrito/Sub/something.
Go back to your empty office.
Fire up a nice podcast.
Peace.

June 2011 to Present
Scramble around, look for a new group to go out and have lunch with.
Pile into one car.
Go to a new place everyday.
Order the wrong thing (cause the script on the menu is tooooo small for you to see clearly)
Make a lot of polite conversation.
Come back feeling full and late- to a crowded workspace, stressing about saying/doing/eating the wrong thing.
Blog about it.
Peace?

choices

20th January: this city of that?

10th June: this house or that?

13 th June: this boy or that?

20th June: This roommate or that?

22nd June: this Business Unit or that?

27th June: Authentic chinese noodle for lunch or that?

a life of passion

some people aren't afraid of uncertainty.

they give up their stable jobs, as engineers and go off into the unknown to become publicists, entrepreneurs and musicians.

Trusting their talent to keep them away from poverty.

I sometimes wonder if they have ever felt the feeling. The feeling of wanting what they cannot have. The feeling of poverty.

That's all it comes down to in the end really.

Are u afraid of being poor?

Yes. Very.

YEAH we do !

Artwork from the construction site.

Dedicated to PHAT people everywhere....

Cheers my brothers and sisters !

:D

Road rash

I funked my Road Test today.

what a waste of money/time/ PRIDE...

last look at the bulletin board

Fall 2009, Graduate Assistant days, What pain this picture taking used to be.

Glad I'm not going to be around to see them take it down.

Location: Level 1, Lally, RPI

Maybe I deserve better !

Yea you do.

Story of my life !

Next?

My last class. Today. Done. I had no one to say that to. Sad. Wired.

Last class ever? Probably.

Another thing about growing up is that you realize that you are running out of second chances.

Like a thousand piece puzzle of a clear blue sky..

Night at the Opera

If you saw 'Phantom of the Opera' on Broadway in New York City and put up pics of it on Facebook, titled "Night at the Opera", you are pretty stupid...

the difference

Lately I've been bothered by the fact that 'people' do not seem to know the difference between the words "marriage" and "wedding"...

If this is you, I'm sorry ! ;)

"Please attend my marriage"....grrr !

Ref:http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070616224335AAI4BXQ

The wedding is the ceremony. The marriage is the life the couple leads afterwards.

March 31st

Somewhere, someone is laughing so hard it hurts :)

untitled

when you are all grown up, you will realize that you cannot have everything you want.

The cost of living

It was a little cold. A little wet. A little quiet. The Air.

But what else was left to say?

Anything is possible in human nature after all.. Love. Madness. Hope. Infinite joy.

Of the four things that are possible in human nature, Infinite Joy sounds the saddest.

... Courtesy Rahel....

pangs

10.35 am. I'm proctoring a two and a half hour midterm.

I am so hungry right now!

BC just walked out saying he cant do the quiz right now because his grandfather died on Monday. He probably just made that up.

JS has been smirking frequently. I'm relieved, given that I promised him it wasn't going to be too hard, yesterday at the office hours.

AB on the other hand seems to be struggling as usual. I have no faith in that one.

AZ is sitting with TK. Seems like they're really good friends these days.

KP is alone in the back and looks worried. Typical Indian Grad Student.

monopoly

the curvy one, the fat one, the funny one and one more...

Holly Golightly: Cat! Cat! Oh, Cat... ohh...

Its my parents' 28th wedding anniversary... and they're going to Breakfast at Tiffany's, which is actually the name of a restaurant !!
Trust my mom to come up with something cheesy like that ...

love, love, LOVE it ....!