Our life is decided as much by the opportunities that we don’t take as the opportunity  we do.  I’m a strong believer in the Key Points in life, be it that college you selected to join, the first job, the entrance exam you cracked(or not), major accidents, major failure,the neighborhood you  decided to move to,that good friendship you made, the woman you may decide to spend the life with etc. These are various points which if it was different would have given a completely new trajectory to our life.

Musing back life has been good and personally was lucky enough to meet the right person at the right time nd being bestowed with ample opportunity.  My present life  is nothing that I  had planned of, getting a Masters in Technology/Science would have been something I would have been reluctant to consider in undergrad even if I had a gun pointed to my head, but fate had different plans. Life was much simpler in undergrad, everthing was well figured out be ; join the first job, get the promotion, move to that great place, buy that cool gadget> life was simple according to that naive undergrad… though have nothing to complain about, life’s been fair and I am glad to have met the wonderful people whom I would not have met if life had been as ‘planned’.

For all those people who are wondering(the 2 ppl who might stumble upon my blog) I am an international student at US of A.  This is my post after a very long time(after 1 1/2 yrs), I had given up  the blog for dead and had to use the ‘forgot password’ option to revive it now. Hoping to write regular entries here, looking forward to keeping this as a personal experience log in addition to my diary. Hope I don’t bore you with my narcissist rambling.

Saw this video about the international student experience in US of A by some one in Columbia University. Embedded here Part 1 of 4. Check out the rest at youtube. Somewhat true, I had gone through those experience and now see my  friends and roomies going through the same phases.

ChEErs!

The rejection letter at the SIBM(an MBA college)  site. Much better than the plain old ’You are not selected’ letter. Well hoping to crack it next time.

Dear Candidate,

One who has a dream, who dared and will dare again.

Dreams are the stuff of life lived full. Dreams demand hard work and determination, tenacity and rocklike confidence

You know and I know that you have all these in full measure. A setback now cannot blight your future forever.

Trials and obstacles are the motivators that bring out the hidden best in us. May be some where you erred in judging the demands of the test, may be you had other transitory handicaps, may be you were prepared well but nervous – whatever the reason, you have no right to deem yourself unfit forever to be at SIBM. That defeatist attitude will not do.

In case you cannot wait do pursue other alternatives, get work experience or get admission in other MBA programs but do not deny yourself the dream of your life, because of one temporary setback.

The experience of the test you gave this time has given you insights to prepare better and smarter, has awakened your resolve that you can crack the SIBM test.

Remember no one can make you feel inferior without your consent.

I know you will be with us at SIBM next time, because I know you have a dream, because I know you dared and because I know you will dare again with lessons learnt.

You have my best wishes and I look forward eagerly to welcome you at SIBM in 2009.

Regards,

@#$#@$

Director

Today read in the news paper that CPI(M) lauds manmohan for the inroads he have made into the relationship with China.

Does make one suspect, for these are the same people who cry foul evertime India has something to do with USA.and to think China is a country we had disputes with in the past.. It really makes me doubt their sennses..Are a perfect example of ‘Ignorance is Bliss’..

Being from a Communist state in India its really difficult to fooled by their high sounding ethos. Its very common in keral to find posters showing Saddam Hussain, Stalina, Fiedel Castro and Mahatma Gandhi in the same poster as revolutionaries- to think Sadam be considered a revolutionary is completely stupid.. Ok maybe the war is wrong and everything but to consider a dictator who poisoned his own people as a revolutionary on par with mahatma Gandhi is completely unacceptable(that really snapped it for me).  And them coming to the nuclear deal and privatisation- they maybe the only party which completely opposes the deal even though clearly its in favour(Nucleat deal) of the country. Also remember them almost cancelling Dubai Internet City at Kochi.. were do these people come from… and their anti-MNC’s policies have made kerala economically poor even when its nearest states of Karnataka and TN are economicall thriving.

Hope people learn their lessons and keep them out of the center next time.

PS: I am really pissed to even care about the spelling mistakes above.

•  If our constitution allows us free speech, why are there phone bills?
•  If you tell a man there are 300 billion stars in the universe, he’ll believe you. But if you tell him a park bench has just been painted, he has to touch it to be sure.
•  Beat the 5 O’clock rush: leave work at noon!
•  I love being a writer… what I can’t stand is the paperwork.
•  Join the army, see the world, meet interesting people, and kill them.
•  Until I was 13, I thought my name was ‘Shut Up.’
•  I’m not afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens.
•  I’ve never been drunk, but often I’ve been over served.
•  I say no to drugs — they just don’t listen!
•  Marriage is one of the chief causes of divorce.
•  Work is fine if it doesn’t take up too much of your time.
•  When everything’s coming your way, you’re in the wrong lane.
•  Born free; Taxed to death.
•  Everyone has a photographic memory; some people just don’t have film.
•  Smile — it makes people wonder what you’re up to.
•  A printer consists of 3 main parts: the case, the jammed paper tray andthe blinking red light.
•  The hardest part of skating is the ice.
•  The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot; the guy who invented the other three, he was the genius.
•  The trouble with being punctual is that there’s no one there to appreciate it.
•  If you can’t convince them, confuse them.
•  It’s not the fall that kills you; it’s the sudden stop at the end.
•  I couldn’t repair your brakes, so I made your horn louder.
• “Your future depends on your dreams” so go to sleep.
• “Hard work never killed anybody”, but why take the risk.
•  There should be a better way to start a day… Than waking up every morning.

       Some funny insults 

• Why don’t you blow your brains out? You have nothing to lose.
• Let’s play house. You be the door. I’ll slam you.
• What’s on your mind- If you’ll please excuse the exaggeration.
• I’ll swear eternal friendship for anyone who dislikes you as much as I do.
• I need a bookmark more than I need you, so step in front of a steamroller on your way out.
• I don’t know what makes you tick, but I hope it’s a time bomb.
• Next time you pass my house, I’ll appreciate it.
• You have a very striking face? How many times have you been struck there?
• Why don’t you sue your brains for non-support?
• Why don’t you leave and let live?
• You can could make a good living hiring yourself out to haunt people.
•  One should love animals. They are so tasty.

Ladies and Gentleman , reach for the nearest cotton and plug your ears as best possible , for urs truely is now taking Guitar lessoons. Its something I wanted to do for a long time, but time never permitted; alas now me and my friends practice the string, and is seriously testing our teachers  patience. So if u ever pass by vytilla having some cotton might come in handy..

A  viewers comment that appeared on NDTV news channel today.

” The Indian ambassador to the US Ronen Sen should be recalled immediately. He has no right to insult chickens this way.”

Read the story that relates to here..

Been about 3 weeks now since I have left college and got back home in Cochin. I have been itching for long to get out of college and enter into the professional world but now that the college has concluded and the degree received the world has become very insecure and confusing; b4 I was always sure of what I was going to do next and the college and hostels were like a 2nd home, now I very much miss the hostel life and friends..miss friends really badly.

Cochin has visibly changed a lot since my last visit, development has taken root and optimism is in the air thanks to the Smart City and the state reconstruction drive taking place. Bill boards and ads everywhere now announce the impending housing and IT development boom and almost daily new project is being announced. Anyway better late than never, it was long overdue; hope we keep up the consistency. Wow and Cochin is damn hot (temp wise) now, coupled with the higher humidity its like a steaming pressure cooker here, hope its rains soon. See ya.

My biological clock has taken a summer sault and has landed on its head; now I wake up at 3:00 in the evening, sleep at 5:30 in the morning and goes to play football at 10:00 clock in the night, wash clothes at 3:00 in the night; now the lifestyle has become completely nocturnal. Have been spending th last week finishing the formalities for finishing the degree, had to get about 25 signatures for the no-due certificate, including sign from all the lab assistants-who infact seem to b enjoying their week of stardom, people running after them for autographs, u can catch them anywhere but at the labs. Now the students, no I mean Engineers have started to leave for their home bidding their final goodbyes. I to will be leaving day after tomorrow after getting all the formalities in place.