-Jashan on Friday was frickin' awesome. The performances were great, the crowd was great, the stalls were amazing. And I just couldn't shut up. I think I did 3 days worth of talking in those 2.5 hours. I wish I could do that more often.
-I saw two Albino squirrels today....one at the Capitol and the other outside the Aerospace building. I wonder if seeing another one neutralizes the good luck the sight of the first is supposed to bring. I definitely hope not.
-Watched 21 a few hours ago. Good movie. Great soundtrack. Also found that discussing a movie with a bunch* of guys is the most useless activity ever. Don't do it. Just say no. Etc etc.
-'Soul meets body' is currently the best song in the world.
-'Very Nice Ways to Say Very Bad Things' is probably the most interesting book that I've read in a long time...and shall leave unfinished. I guess I didn't realize that sometimes things can get really bad. Intriguing compilation though.
-Oh jeez - I have less than 4 hours of sleeping time left. Have to wake up before 6 for some involuntary volunteering. Fun times. :)
*'bunch' is the keyword here
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Victory
Today shall go down in history as the day the author of this blog was victorious. She overcame her hurdles, bulldozed over the competition, crossed the highest mountains and swam across the deepest lakes, defeated Time, shunned the world... etc etc.
Not really. But once I graduate, I'll do all that too.
I actually completed that elusive bouldering route that I'd been struggling with for the past 2 months. With no takes! For all you non-rock-climbers (I pity your miserable existence - you are missing out on the joy and happiness that scaling a wall can provide), it means completing a route in one go, without falling).
The past two weeks have been full of disappointments. So much so that I'm tired of them, am ready to give up and move on. That's why these small things matter so much - if I hadn't been sulking for the past few days, I'd never have been as proud of today's little achievement.
Not really. But once I graduate, I'll do all that too.
I actually completed that elusive bouldering route that I'd been struggling with for the past 2 months. With no takes! For all you non-rock-climbers (I pity your miserable existence - you are missing out on the joy and happiness that scaling a wall can provide), it means completing a route in one go, without falling).
The past two weeks have been full of disappointments. So much so that I'm tired of them, am ready to give up and move on. That's why these small things matter so much - if I hadn't been sulking for the past few days, I'd never have been as proud of today's little achievement.
Saturday, March 22, 2008
The Joy of Aerospacelessness
Today was one of those days when I decided that it was a good thing that I had such a crazy schedule this semester.
After sleeping from 6pm yesterday till about 7:35 am today (with a 2-hour break in between around midnight - when I woke up for dinner/breakfast, called home and then promptly went back to sleep again), I was in a good mood when I went to volunteer today at Hornsby Bend with a group of surprisingly awake and alert engineers. Not knowing what to expect, I was surprised when we ended up at the biosolids and water treatment facility, and learned quite a lot about waste management in Austin. It's amazing what they do - using simple methods, they recycle most of the waste from the city - using digesters, ponds, aeration tanks etc. The coolest (albeit freakiest) thing I learned was that if you fell into an aeration tank, you went straight to the bottom, since it's full of air bubbles, and died. A loong Nazar meeting followed, which was fun - it had more than it's share of light moments. I did stupidly declare that I had a relatively light week coming up - neglecting to mention that included, in reality, the work for a month compressed into a single week.
Holi is being celebrated on campus tomorrow - which is one thing I can look forward to. Not being at home for Holi sucks. Missing Papa's birthday today sucks even more. :(
But at least I get to look like a colorful whacko tomorrow. :)
After sleeping from 6pm yesterday till about 7:35 am today (with a 2-hour break in between around midnight - when I woke up for dinner/breakfast, called home and then promptly went back to sleep again), I was in a good mood when I went to volunteer today at Hornsby Bend with a group of surprisingly awake and alert engineers. Not knowing what to expect, I was surprised when we ended up at the biosolids and water treatment facility, and learned quite a lot about waste management in Austin. It's amazing what they do - using simple methods, they recycle most of the waste from the city - using digesters, ponds, aeration tanks etc. The coolest (albeit freakiest) thing I learned was that if you fell into an aeration tank, you went straight to the bottom, since it's full of air bubbles, and died. A loong Nazar meeting followed, which was fun - it had more than it's share of light moments. I did stupidly declare that I had a relatively light week coming up - neglecting to mention that included, in reality, the work for a month compressed into a single week.
Holi is being celebrated on campus tomorrow - which is one thing I can look forward to. Not being at home for Holi sucks. Missing Papa's birthday today sucks even more. :(
But at least I get to look like a colorful whacko tomorrow. :)
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Breathe in
...is what I have to keep telling myself at moments like these, when the pile of work in front of me is so tall, that I can't even face it (I stopped growing a long time ago).
Percentage wise, I think I've covered 10% of my total work-load, all the way till Friday. Woohoo.
I try to look at the big picture when one of these anxiety attacks is playing hide-and-seek with me. All these grades probably won't matter in the long run. I already have a job offer, will be able to get into grad school if I wanted, or volunteer in Africa or India if I felt like, or if ALL else failed....just get married and do nothing (the questionable privilege of being a girl).
I'm not serious about that last part...but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the world won't come to an end. Which is what I told my sister countless times during our many conversations on the eve of her examinations, when she was on the verge of freaking out.
I think freaking out runs in the family.
Knowing that all this doesn't matter doesn't help. Taking things easy has plunged my grades in the past, so maybe part of it is superstition. Nimisha's Law #4 .... The more you freak out, the better you perform.
A couple of days ago, there was some added stress due to the same thieves previously mentioned (the hospital and book people) - with the hospital people having a blast sending me even more bills, and then making it difficult to pay by not sending all the information, and then sending the bills to the collection agency. (I'm not sure what that agency does exactly, but it sounds evil). When I complained to my dad (I seem to do that a lot - complain - it's probably a good thing I can never become someone's dad), he told me to fight those people if they tried to charge a fine, and to stop being scared and annoyed at them.
Somehow, the not being scared part hit home. Why fear a bunch of mortals... who're probably having trouble walking straight on a Friday night, or keeping cavities out of their mouths? It's easy to associate faces with bills...and voices on the phone with people.
But school work is abstract. And I'm terrified of inanimate numbers and words on paper or computer screen. And future consequences.
62 days left for the semester to end. I keep wondering why I reduce life to a series of countdowns. Counting down to the summer, or spring break, or the next visit home, or graduation.
Something tells me it's wrong. Just like forcing knowledge down my cognitive throat.
But I keep doing it anyway.
Percentage wise, I think I've covered 10% of my total work-load, all the way till Friday. Woohoo.
I try to look at the big picture when one of these anxiety attacks is playing hide-and-seek with me. All these grades probably won't matter in the long run. I already have a job offer, will be able to get into grad school if I wanted, or volunteer in Africa or India if I felt like, or if ALL else failed....just get married and do nothing (the questionable privilege of being a girl).
I'm not serious about that last part...but I guess the point I'm trying to make is that the world won't come to an end. Which is what I told my sister countless times during our many conversations on the eve of her examinations, when she was on the verge of freaking out.
I think freaking out runs in the family.
Knowing that all this doesn't matter doesn't help. Taking things easy has plunged my grades in the past, so maybe part of it is superstition. Nimisha's Law #4 .... The more you freak out, the better you perform.
A couple of days ago, there was some added stress due to the same thieves previously mentioned (the hospital and book people) - with the hospital people having a blast sending me even more bills, and then making it difficult to pay by not sending all the information, and then sending the bills to the collection agency. (I'm not sure what that agency does exactly, but it sounds evil). When I complained to my dad (I seem to do that a lot - complain - it's probably a good thing I can never become someone's dad), he told me to fight those people if they tried to charge a fine, and to stop being scared and annoyed at them.
Somehow, the not being scared part hit home. Why fear a bunch of mortals... who're probably having trouble walking straight on a Friday night, or keeping cavities out of their mouths? It's easy to associate faces with bills...and voices on the phone with people.
But school work is abstract. And I'm terrified of inanimate numbers and words on paper or computer screen. And future consequences.
62 days left for the semester to end. I keep wondering why I reduce life to a series of countdowns. Counting down to the summer, or spring break, or the next visit home, or graduation.
Something tells me it's wrong. Just like forcing knowledge down my cognitive throat.
But I keep doing it anyway.
Friday, March 14, 2008
Pi Day
March 14th is a very happening day. Besides being the day that Einstein, Dennis the Menace, and my friend Saumya were born on, it's also Pi-Day.
One of those Nerd holidays people come up with, to fill up their boring calendars with all sorts of not-so- special occasions (eg. Pancake Day, No-Pants Day, Valentine's Day etc).
Anyway - nerds all over the world supposedly celebrate this day in many ways - making pies tops the list, holding pi-memorizing contests, and yelling 'Happy Pi Day' at 1:59:26.
Yesterday, with nothing more exciting to do than studying for my compressibles test, I decided to give memorizing pi a shot. To see what the fuss was about. A few minutes later, I already had 50 digits after the decimal down - which made me realize that it's not really that hard.
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510
I think the last time I did something crazy along these lines was 6 years ago, when my best friend Medha and I decided to learn the entire periodic table. I think we stopped before element 50.
Or maybe it was 5 years ago, when I decided to memorize the license plate numbers of every vehicle in my neighborhood. That actually caught on - and soon, all the kids in the neighborhood were doing that.
In any case, I have a bad feeling all those numbers are taking up precious thinking space in my head.
One of those Nerd holidays people come up with, to fill up their boring calendars with all sorts of not-so- special occasions (eg. Pancake Day, No-Pants Day, Valentine's Day etc).
Anyway - nerds all over the world supposedly celebrate this day in many ways - making pies tops the list, holding pi-memorizing contests, and yelling 'Happy Pi Day' at 1:59:26.
Yesterday, with nothing more exciting to do than studying for my compressibles test, I decided to give memorizing pi a shot. To see what the fuss was about. A few minutes later, I already had 50 digits after the decimal down - which made me realize that it's not really that hard.
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510
I think the last time I did something crazy along these lines was 6 years ago, when my best friend Medha and I decided to learn the entire periodic table. I think we stopped before element 50.
Or maybe it was 5 years ago, when I decided to memorize the license plate numbers of every vehicle in my neighborhood. That actually caught on - and soon, all the kids in the neighborhood were doing that.
In any case, I have a bad feeling all those numbers are taking up precious thinking space in my head.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
My Sister
My parents called this morning to tell me that my sister had finally crossed the first frontier in her quest to become a doctor. She's officially Dr. Tulika Mittal, M.B.B.S - the first doctor in the family. And this was after weeks of non-stop, panicked phone calls from her, with her whining about how horribly she had performed on her exams, and how many more semesters she would have to repeat, and how she would never ever become a doctor.
It feels strange to realize that we're already here, at this point in time, 4.5 years later. We all knew Tulika would become a doctor the day she got into med school - she's not the kind of person who would drop out or lose interest. But hearing the statement of finality... 'your sister's a doctor now' has a different ring to it. Makes me proud. So proud.
Of course, she has a long way to go. A year-long internship, another few years of residency...and even after that, she'll be 'practicing' for the rest of her life - as the common joke goes. But I suppose saving lives, having fancy labcoats, and cool stethoscopes makes it all worth it in the end.
It feels strange to realize that we're already here, at this point in time, 4.5 years later. We all knew Tulika would become a doctor the day she got into med school - she's not the kind of person who would drop out or lose interest. But hearing the statement of finality... 'your sister's a doctor now' has a different ring to it. Makes me proud. So proud.
Of course, she has a long way to go. A year-long internship, another few years of residency...and even after that, she'll be 'practicing' for the rest of her life - as the common joke goes. But I suppose saving lives, having fancy labcoats, and cool stethoscopes makes it all worth it in the end.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
The Most Roundabout Conversation in the History of Roundabout Conversations
What boredom and procrastination can lead to....
BAM. Back to reality.
Ammar: weddings are over-rated
me: hell no
me: others' weddings are fun. your own never is.
Ammar: haha
Ammar: I dunno .. weddings are intellectually depressing ..
Sent at 8:30 PM on Sunday
me: EXACTLY
that's why they're awesome ![[smile]](http://mail.google.com/mail/images/cleardot.gif)
Ammar: huh .. I assure u .. we are talking about two different kinds of depressing !
Sent at 8:33 PM on Sunday
me: really
Ammar: I assume so
me: what do you mean - intellectually depressing?
Ammar: when I go to weddings .. I think a lot .. the kinda thinking tht ends up with me kind of depressed by the end of the night ..
me: ahh
ok
Ammar: that said .. that does happen in weddings tht I am attending rather IN it ..
me: well - you shouldn't be thinking
Ammar: I try tht all tht time
but apparently I have to use it sometimes
me: next time you go a wedding...i want you to follow these steps...
1. spend a LOT of time dressing up
2. go there - talk to everyone.
even the 2 year olds
3. keep an eye on the food
4. eat a LOT
5. keep an ear on the music
6. dance a LOT
and between all that - you won't even have TIME to think
dancing will nullify the eating...so you don't gain any weight either
Sent at 8:45 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 6. I don't dance ..
5. rarely do they play something I am willing to pierce my ears-drums for.
4,3. not all weddings have food, let alone good food.
2. talking to everyone is the problem .. talking to 2 yr old kids is the only way I coulda survived any wedding.
1. dressing a suit takes up a specific amount of time .. regardless of the intentions.
5. rarely do they play something I am willing to pierce my ears-drums for.
4,3. not all weddings have food, let alone good food.
2. talking to everyone is the problem .. talking to 2 yr old kids is the only way I coulda survived any wedding.
1. dressing a suit takes up a specific amount of time .. regardless of the intentions.
Sent at 8:47 PM on Sunday
me: 1. dressing up is not always supposed to have intentions or ulterior motives - it can be reflective of the mood you're in
2. weddings have plenty of kids - go track them all down
3. critique the food then... take on the role of that bloke in rattatoile (or however that's spelt)
4. see above
5. music's not always great - i agree - but it's a joyous occassion. and the music can be something to laugh at. if not, sing your own music
6. don't be absurd. " i don't always dance is acceptable" - your version of it isn't
Sent at 8:51 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 6. Last time I danced, I was 6 yrs old.
5. It's very hard to laugh at music, let alone singing my own, when it's so loud tht you can barely hear your own thoughts.
4. Eating not good food does not bring joy. It's rather a torturous thing.
5. It's very hard to laugh at music, let alone singing my own, when it's so loud tht you can barely hear your own thoughts.
4. Eating not good food does not bring joy. It's rather a torturous thing.
Sent at 8:54 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 3.Criticizing food is usually a negative activity which doesn't help our purpose here.
2. I admitted to ur kids point!!!
1. There is only one way to put the pants and the suit on. Other than that, it's more looking at the mirror ensuring of details. Which in men's case is that is the tie straight or not!
2. I admitted to ur kids point!!!
1. There is only one way to put the pants and the suit on. Other than that, it's more looking at the mirror ensuring of details. Which in men's case is that is the tie straight or not!
Sent at 8:56 PM on Sunday
me: 1. you should add checking to make sure your best friends aren't wearing the same thing you are.
2. right. kids are your saviors.
3. sample the food. mix and match. throw it at kids. start a food fight. whatever!
4. eat your good food before you leave then - and then spend the evening thinking up excuses for refusing to eat any over there!
5. it's easy to laugh at music. better still, buy some swahili music and bribe the music people to play that.
6. you need to get into your 6-year-old mindset again.
2. right. kids are your saviors.
3. sample the food. mix and match. throw it at kids. start a food fight. whatever!
4. eat your good food before you leave then - and then spend the evening thinking up excuses for refusing to eat any over there!
5. it's easy to laugh at music. better still, buy some swahili music and bribe the music people to play that.
6. you need to get into your 6-year-old mindset again.
Sent at 9:02 PM on Sunday
Ammar: u know we can go like this forever?
me: i take it you give up
Sent at 9:07 PM on Sunday
Ammar: oh no u didn't!
Sent at 9:08 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 6. It takes about 3 Mountain dews to get me back to 6 years old mindset. An amount that leads to complete fatness, which requires three times as much time in the gym, which is not a feasible life style, since I am still an engineer.
5. what the hell is swahili!
5. what the hell is swahili!
me: 5. google it!
Ammar: 4. Centuries of Arabic cultures and traditions has produced an infinite amount of excuses.
me: 6. not an engineer for long...and besides, nobody's getting married before you graduate! and become a non-engineer forever!
4. problem solved!
Sent at 9:12 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 3. Since I became 15, culture and society expects me to behave as an adult. Which does not involve throwing food.
2. Kids are awesome ..
1. Why the hell he buys what I buy! I bought it first ..
2. Kids are awesome ..
1. Why the hell he buys what I buy! I bought it first ..
Sent at 9:13 PM on Sunday
me: 3 you... an adult...BAH
2 . animals are better
1. that's what friends are good for
Sent at 9:15 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 1. They can be good for other things.
2. When I get my Macaw one day, iA, I will try and take it with me to a wedding.
3. Yes .. I am legally an adult.
2. When I get my Macaw one day, iA, I will try and take it with me to a wedding.
3. Yes .. I am legally an adult.
Sent at 9:17 PM on Sunday
Ammar: 4. which problem?
5. Swahili what... u do recognize I am not indian!
6. Engineering is a way of life.
5. Swahili what... u do recognize I am not indian!
6. Engineering is a way of life.
me: 6. a way which you will NO longer be entitled to!
Ammar: don't u have a hw to take care of ..
me: 5. it's african i believe
4. the problem to do with excuses
Ammar: 6. I will have the right to it as much as u do .. we both have the same degree!
me: 3. that's just an excuse not to participate in something fun
6. no you won't
6' - because i said so
2. your macaw will do more talking than you
2' train it to think too
1. yes - friends are good for more things than that - primarily - putting useless thoughts in your head - and words in your mouth
Ammar: 2. My macaw is cool. I can already see it .. I am gonna toilet train him too.
1. and never ending arguments
1. and never ending arguments
me: 1. and finishing your food!
Ammar: 6. so u said .. I been running now .. I am quick ..
me: 2. good luck with that
6. no you aren't
Ammar: 2. thanks ... thas my retirement plan
me: 2. invest in it. IRA has some great money-stealing deals
Ammar: 6. well .. I gots car ..
me: 6. huh?
Ammar: 6. I am quick ... legs not enuff .. I gots car
me: 6. where does being quick come in?
Ammar: 6. u said so .. so what .. I am quick runner ..
me: 6. nah - i'll beat you any day
Ammar: 6. fo shoo
me: 6. fosho is right
Ammar: how is ur hw going?
BAM. Back to reality.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Penn Masala
So I had my first semi-real journalism experience today. I volunteered to go to the Penn Masala (first indian a cappella group - they're pretty famous) show at the Union and cover it for Nazar.
Actual notes from the event.
7:40 pm Running into people I haven't seen in years. It's nice to see they still exist. And don't have piercings all over their faces or shaved eyebrows yet.
7:50 pm The show was supposed to start at 7:30. Damn Indian Standard Time.
8:00 pm I give up. Get systems engineering notes out of bag and start reading. Girl next to me gives me a funny look.
8:15 pm FINALLY - they're here. Only 45 minutes late. Wow - they're early.
No - really.
8:20 pm They're all guys. Hmmm.
9:00 pm Wow. Wow wow.
9:10 pm The crowd's going wild about one of the singers -his hair's really really big. And he has this hunchy style of singing. Reminds me of Sanjaya. Quite possibly, I'm not the only one thinking that.
9:40 pm Encore. Hurray!
Actual boring review - minus the madness.
Simple Pleasures
I got my fourth Explore UT shirt today. Two years ago, I'd never dreamed that I would get sick of free t-shirts...but I think I was wrong.
Explore UT was as big as ever: people were milling around all the buildings on campus, there were games, and information booths, free balloons, candy, educational models, thousands of volunteers, happy kids, patient parents, robots, make-your-own-airplanes, $5 meals in Kinsolving, liquid nitrogen ice-cream, and probably enough activities to keep any individual busy for the rest of his/her life.
This time, I was helping TBP with its trebuchet event - they were throwing water balloons at kids. The kids were going wild, and happily screaming and trying to catch the balloons. It was quite a sight - I was highly amused. Kids are crazy.
Cute too - from a distance. One kid was trying to get the trebuchet thrower to throw a balloon at the ENS building - which over a 100 feet away. He said he'd give him $10 if he managed that. Another kid - who was barely 8 - tried to buy some water balloons from the balloon-fillers. He said he had $80. Another one asked if she could be launched from the trebuchet. The most persistent one was trying to steal the balloons as we filled them up - he tried ambush attacks, sneaking up on us, begging, pouting etc. After his seventh attempt, I decided that he'd make a great lobbyist when he grew up.
A man walking behind us commented on how kids really knew how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
When I got back to the WRW, I ran into Odin. He said that he was beginning to appreciate more and more what Explore UT did for kids.
I agree.
**Honorary Mention**
Ammar was great. He did, in fact, lose his voice for that trebuchet...and definitely had more fun than all the kids put together. The rest of us were going about our own business; loading the trebuchet, getting the balloons ready, but I was amazed to see how one person could make such a huge difference...the kid- crowd was three times as large when Ammar was in charge. He was yelling and cheering - and making the kids do the same. I suppose the parents are either really really thankful to him for tiring their kids for the evening, or really mad at him for making the kids lose their voices, in turn.
Explore UT was as big as ever: people were milling around all the buildings on campus, there were games, and information booths, free balloons, candy, educational models, thousands of volunteers, happy kids, patient parents, robots, make-your-own-airplanes, $5 meals in Kinsolving, liquid nitrogen ice-cream, and probably enough activities to keep any individual busy for the rest of his/her life.
This time, I was helping TBP with its trebuchet event - they were throwing water balloons at kids. The kids were going wild, and happily screaming and trying to catch the balloons. It was quite a sight - I was highly amused. Kids are crazy.
Cute too - from a distance. One kid was trying to get the trebuchet thrower to throw a balloon at the ENS building - which over a 100 feet away. He said he'd give him $10 if he managed that. Another kid - who was barely 8 - tried to buy some water balloons from the balloon-fillers. He said he had $80. Another one asked if she could be launched from the trebuchet. The most persistent one was trying to steal the balloons as we filled them up - he tried ambush attacks, sneaking up on us, begging, pouting etc. After his seventh attempt, I decided that he'd make a great lobbyist when he grew up.
A man walking behind us commented on how kids really knew how to enjoy the simple pleasures in life.
When I got back to the WRW, I ran into Odin. He said that he was beginning to appreciate more and more what Explore UT did for kids.
I agree.
**Honorary Mention**
Ammar was great. He did, in fact, lose his voice for that trebuchet...and definitely had more fun than all the kids put together. The rest of us were going about our own business; loading the trebuchet, getting the balloons ready, but I was amazed to see how one person could make such a huge difference...the kid- crowd was three times as large when Ammar was in charge. He was yelling and cheering - and making the kids do the same. I suppose the parents are either really really thankful to him for tiring their kids for the evening, or really mad at him for making the kids lose their voices, in turn.
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