Stop Motion

I will keep this one short.

2012-01-19T20:06:00.002-05:00

The thoughts that flow through my mind are sometimes never to return. It flows through stirring up much or sometimes nothing at all, but neither persists. It all ends in decay, like all forgotten thoughts are bound to be.

Then it occurred to me that I can close my senses and let the currents inside me take me to where I want to be, give me what I want. If only I will indulge them. If only I let go of them. If I will just let them flow.

The blabbering mind.

2011-09-20T20:02:00.001-04:00

“Dad”

“Mhm?”

“What if zombies and monsters are real?”

“Why?”

“What if they are real? I mean….why can’t they be?"

He lowered the magazine he was reading to glance at his boy lying on the floor gazing out the porch at the starry sky.

“I don’t know kiddo. I guess they can be out there. Are you scared of them?”

“No….I mean, a little, but I am okay though.”

“Okay. You sure?”

“Yea.”

***

The night that has been, the night that it is, in the shadows I sit and wait for the morning.

***

As she sat down she heard the voices of the past few days echoing off the walls that seemed to close in on her, the shadows from her memories projecting on them like ghosts.

***

“Do you want to step outside for some air?”

“Yea” She was smiling.

Why so mum?

2011-08-21T14:42:00.001-04:00

I haven’t made a post in a very long time. The whole month of July is missing for this blog. Shame! But, it was all for a good reason, I swear! Towards the end of June, my friend Justin made a wager with me. We were to lose as much of our body weight percentage as possible in a month to win. I could use some motivation to get in to shape and I took this wager as one. I started running, and I started biking to work. I also started watching what I eat (for the most part). Between all this running, biking, and playing my dog Rue, I had barely any time to consume entertainment (that is right, I haven’t watched many things on Netflix in months!!). So the time I got online, I spend it reading other people's blogs. Sam & Rita both of whom are friends of mine are far more regular than I am about making posts, so I appreciate having something I know will be there for me to read. Also, I have been reading the blog by Dottie, and some other random stuff that pops up on Google Reader.

End of July, my parents flew in and they are still here with me…probably for a couple more weeks. I enjoyed their stay this time around. They have been really nice to me and understanding of my schedule. So, less frustrations!

June

2011-06-12T12:47:00.002-04:00

June is almost half way over already and I am yet again slacking to update my blog. Yay me! Well, maybe for good reasons. I am easily distracted and distractions are sometimes a good thing. Sometimes.
When my parents left, I was relieved to have some time to myself. In my relief, I decided to distract myself. I chose badly. I chose to shop online and buy crap that I don’t need, crap that has price tags far from what I can afford. So, here is to credit cards! Thanks for making me broke again! I don’t honestly blame anyone but myself and my discipline on these issues. But like I said before, distractions are so easy for me.
The latest thing I bought is a Samsung Galaxy S2 phone from UK. For months now I have been waiting for them to release the phone in US and I have been reading speculations that it is not going to happen till sometime in the third quarter. That is an awful long time for me to wait…and because I am impatient, I wound up paying a LARGE sum (which I am ashamed to specify the exact amount) for this gadget. It has been shipped and on its way. I can only hope that it will provide me with enough distraction customizing that I won’t end up spending money else where.
Another distraction is of course Rue. She is a funny and smart dog, I enjoy the time I spend with her. That I believe is the idea behind pets. She is also stubborn. So sometimes we don’t get along. One of the funniest thing she does which torments me at the same time is…we are watching TV and while we do this, I usually pet her sitting next to me. I am lying down on my couch, petting…everything is well…and all of a sudden she will get up, sniff the spot she was sitting in and walk away from me. She walks to the door and watches me while I realize that that bitch just farted. OH GOOD LORD! She farts some weapons grade stuff! She finds it amusing to see me squirm.
The joys of being a dog owner. I guess I will have many more stories like that about Rue. However, as boring as my personal posts…I can only imagine the dog stories will make it worse.
Other updates…photography. Since I started picking up on this long time passion of mine, I have done ok. I am still a student in the lowest tier possible. I am a slow learner I guess. I convince myself that there is a benefit to being a slow learner. Anyways…through my direct interaction or independently, a few of my friends have picked up the hobby themselves. A couple of Sri Lankan friends from Philadelphia is now including me in their weekly photo assignment group. I am hoping it will accelerate my learning a little.
Also, in the events passed:

Saw Death Cab for a Cutie in concert in NYC with Nicole.
Happy Birthday Rita! One of my closest and best friends! I am lucky to have a friend like her in my life!
I worked through an entire weekend in June.
Went out with Anita. I haven’t really gone out or drank in a long time (since December) and this was my first time out. No, I did not get drunk. Perkin’s run after a night out is my favorite!
Running. I am almost embarrassed to say this because what if I don’t keep up with it? But, I have been trying to lead a more active lifestyle..for me and my dog.

fin.

A bloody long time.

2011-05-23T20:32:00.001-04:00

I am having a hard time drafting a post. I want to convey a lot of stuff that has been going on in my life but with so much thought is also a lot of distraction. My mind keeps wandering off in different directions.

The ‘rents

It is normal for my parents to visit me twice a year and every two years, I make a trip to India as well. This time it was a tad bit different. My parents’ usual visit last about two weeks or three but this time it was a month and a half long. That is long! Not that I don’t enjoy having my parents around, but as I am accustomed to having time to myself, I somewhat require this time for myself. I need to be alone for a certain period of time during a week, and sometimes during a day. Not having this time for my self prevents me to unwind and I am peeking at my stress levels all the time. Fortunately, nothing pushed me over the edge and I stayed composed throughout their entire visit and I must say it was a delightful visit.

Rue

I have been wanting a dog for a long time. I always liked dogs but initially it was my fear that I am incapable of having such responsibility. Then there was getting the blessing of my parents before I took on such a responsibility and finally it was about finding the right dog for me. I have grown a pair to take on the responsibility, I got the blessing of my parents…especially my mom who helped me pick a dog to keep me company. I adopted her from the Camp Papillon shelter in Stroudsburg and even though they called her Summer, my brother picked Rue as her name and now she responds to that.

My parents and my brother have all gone back to India for now. So it is just Rue and I at home. Rue can sometimes be very stubborn. She is 4 years old and I was told she is a Boxer/German Shepherd mix. Everyone sees her thinks she looks more like a Pit-bull than anything else. I don’t really care for the breed, just the dog. She is fun to play with and as far as I have seen really smart although she has a large number of dumb moments…like the times she ran in to the closed glass doors and screens because she was more focused on what was on the other side. She is a nut when we go for walks but she seems to be getting better about respecting my pace and not pulling me down the hills. :)

Other updates….more of a shout out: I am very proud of Sabz on her graduating from the nursing program at ESU. I wish her all the best for a good career and everything good in life! Also, very very proud of Gayle and Megan for completing the Run for the Red marathon this year. 23.2 miles is not an easy task and they are truly awesome for having completed the course.

Work is slowing down a bit, just in time for summer! I hope to get more updates and posts out soon…but it is not as easy a task when you are as lazy as I am.

Catch up…

2011-05-15T19:35:00.001-04:00

I have so much to say, so much to share. An eventful month has passed since my last update and so I am now back. I will update in the coming weeks and hopefully I will remember everything I meant to share with you then! Time to get some rest in the meanwhile.

I can love fiction.

2011-04-16T20:09:00.001-04:00

Lately I have been reading a lot of online comics. Well, “a lot” is a measure compared to myself a year ago. I know of and know some people that spend entire days dedicated to reading online comics. While I was reading one of the comics on Reader the other day, it dawned on me that I kind of develop feelings for them.

This might be my dorkiest admission yet but fiction as they might be, characters developed in a comic strip, colored in by an artist becomes a person in my mind. I guess that is the childhood mind that can see great battles take place between play toys, or have a monster truck rally happen in the their mind playing with a hot-wheel set. I am somewhat glad that I can still do this. Not a region in my mind that I tap in to too often, because I like to ruin every fantasy out there. I can be somewhat of a debbie downer in that way. When someone comes out with the fantastic story or even a bizarre picture, I am the one to yell “fake”, “that is photoshopped” at them to watch their face droop from excitement to dismay.

I don’t fantasize this character, just I like the character. I know it is a character originating from someone’s brain, but fictitious characters are quite open and you see them for their good and bad in panes of interactions with other characters. I suppose that is the pull for me. If I could have an “aside” track for all the moments in life that I pass through, oh man!! A narration of my day will be quiet awkward but at the same time I feel like it opens the door for others to see my side of the story, the way I perceive it. I am sure I am not alone in wishing for this. Actually, everyone might be wanting just that.

Honest Post

2011-03-13T20:47:00.000-04:00

Knowing that I have an audience (however small it might be) has made blogging tougher for me. I used to just have a free fall of thoughts as they appeared in my mind without much censorship, without much consideration or evaluation. For better or for worse, this blog has turned to be an outlet that has a direction now. I don’t write on a random wall to express myself and forget anymore, I write on a wall which is visible to my friends who walk by, knowing that they will pause and look at what I have scribbled on this wall. I better make sure that my scribbles are good enough for them.

a few random thoughts that has pestered me in the new year

2011-02-26T18:57:00.000-05:00

warning: this post lacks structure or sense. this is purely ramblings and purely rubbish. but, this blog is also the space i saved to store my rubbish. so here it goes.

this year has been good to me thus far. 2011. it has given me stability of sorts. i feel far more stable in my steps. i am sure about where i am. i am sure about how i feel. when bizarre things pop in to my mind, instead of it consuming me all the way through, i have been trying to have a conversation with it. listen and talk to a point to understand myself in my ridiculousness.

happiness project. i am a happy person for the most part but unfortunately for me, there are days or hours within a day when sadness or ill feelings dawn on me. the dawning itself is an onset of which i am aware. i know what is happening to me. i feel like i am watching the candle being blown out and the darkness setting in. my eyes and senses adjust to this grim existence and i sulk and ferment a toxic brew of thoughts, which while the flow of it is entertaining, the emotions it leave me with are far too much for my comprehension. to tackle or more like address this, i started "happiness project" to record what i feel like daily and i hope to keep the record for a year.

betrayal. self-worth. i take simple incidents to a far larger scale. i look at the minute incident, i blow it up to tremendous proportions and extrapolate inferences that are just beyond logic. but even the illogical, irrational ideas spawning out of my brain seems to stick, even though there is a loud voice arguing against it.

i wonder: what do i have to offer my friends? i know why my friends are good. i don't know what i am good for them. i wish i was funny, or influential.

the balance of negative and positive. i am starting to think that humans have the capability to remember the negatives in their life more than the positives. or is it just me? it makes sense. for survival, we need to avoid the dangers more than finding resources to sustain our existence. we need to remember how harsh a burn a flame can cause you before you can think about using the flame to cook your food.

bleh. this post is doomed from the start. i stop.

95

2011-01-01T00:00:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

Welcome 2011!

I named this post 95 since this happens to be the 95th post on my blog. Not an impressive accomplishment considering that I have had this blog running since 2004.

As many other posts are on this blog, I want to make this one a quick reminiscence of everything that I should be grateful for 2010.

12 whole months have passed and as part of the learning and growing up process, I was faced with a few disappointments and further anguish this year. To be honest 2010 wasn't such a great year for me. But as they say, it is in the darkest of the darkest moments that you see even the smallest glimmer of light that surrounds you. I was surrounded by lights big and small...my friends near and far who was always there for me throughout the year and my family who I need (preferably in very short intervals, but still...).

So, with a heart full of gratitude, I bid farewell to 2010 and with much hope I welcome 2011!

Random Topic Generator: Taking walks by yourself.

2010-12-12T20:28:00.000-05:00

I wanted to make a blog post today since it has been a while since I have shared anything on here. So, i turned to the internet to find a topic to write on and the topic I got is "Taking walks by yourself."

I thought about the topic for a second...and it doesn't necessarily apply exactly in that manner to me. I do not take walks by myself on a regular basis but every now and then I have done it. I do enjoy taking walks by myself and I enjoy some other things that I do in the same manner. Doing the dishes, vacuuming or mopping the floors are two other examples of menial activities that I enjoy doing.

In all three instances, I enjoy the activity because it frees my mind. While I am mopping the floors or doing the dishes, I don't have to think about what is in front of me, but I can spend that time letting my mind wander in every which way it wants to. This is something good for me. I like to use my imagination and I like to create my own little conversations in my mind and this can happen doing these menial tasks. It is a sort of meditation or stress relief for me.

So there....that is my short blurt about taking walks by myself. :-)

Tots Ma Goats!

2010-09-23T18:51:00.000-04:00

About my friend.

The absolute first time I saw her (according to my brain), she was the girl sitting on the floor outside of the basement class room in Moore Biology Building at ESU submerged in her notes. She might as well have kept the yellow Police tape around her.

The first time WE met (according to both of our brains) was in the first few weeks of work for her. She started in the labs and was always ALL business. I remember walking in to the lab one day and being that this face is somewhat familiar from school, I tried to say hi. She dodged my attempt and quickly walked away. Awkward! Antsy!

We came to talking terms through a mutual friend and soon I was able to just hang out with this girl without too much of the awkwardness. A bunch of breakfasts and breaks later, she became part of the gang. She left the group for a short while but all the while keeping in touch and maintaining our friendship.

Over time, she has become something more than a work friend. She is an awesome friend. What makes her awesome? Everything!

She has this confidence inside of her, hidden behind her shyness, and it is remarkable and inspiring!
She knows herself and I believe that is one thing very important to figure out in life. One self.
She is a very supportive friend. Always ready to listen. Empathetic. A mirror of emotions, be it joy or sorrow, she will be there with you!
She is a bundle of entertainment and yes I pick on her a lot because I feel comfortable doing that to her. Kinda like a kid sis I guess.
She is very playful and high energy and I can't tell you just how much I love that in a person! I admire and almost WORSHIP the excitement and enthusiasm she can muster up!
She makes me feel special in that I belong in her life, albeit in the lonely corner listening to DMB, but I have a place on her brain map! :)
She has great fashion and the balls to sport it and that is impressive.
She can be a geek/nerd if the situation calls for it and me being a huge geek, loves that!
She can keep a secret and to my standards. My secret keeping standards are pretty stringent!
She will hunt you down even if you try to hide from the world and some days that is all I need to stop looking down and look around me and see how wonderful the world is to me!

This list is going to be dragging on if I have to highlight every quality she presents to me, so I am going to stop here for now.

This is a friend that I had to fight to get. I am glad I made it through and I am blessed to count her as my friend. A friend to keep!

To you my friend,

Thank you for being there for me on some days that even you might not have known that I needed you! Thank you for being there for me every day and any day! Thank you for being YOU in my life and helping me to realize that all I need to be is ME! Thank you for being my friend!

I enjoy the little games we play. I know I annoy you day to day. I always have to get the final say. But you never once have pushed me away. Thank you for being my friend! :-)

love,
Jimmy

Childhood Memories

2010-09-02T22:01:00.000-04:00

I remember a time when I was a little boy, I looked in to your brown eyes in such awe!

It was as if I was gazing in to the night sky watching a hundred stars burst in to beautiful colored streaks of light.

I remember the amazement I had when you would spell every word I could think of. You had an answer to all my questions and you never discouraged my curiosity!

I remember sitting on the living room couch while you were in the kitchen making my favorite meals and I would yell out to you the great questions that snuck up on my mind. How do you spell my name? Why is my name this? Why did you name me this? What does it mean? I don't recall your answers but I remember trying to spell my name on the slate with my graphite chalk all the while mumbling these questions out to you.

I remember when I was sick one time. I don't remember how much I was awake and how much I was asleep. I don't recall how many days I was sick...but every time I opened my eyes, I saw you sitting by me with a cold wet towel on my forehead, a smile on your face and I remember the comfort I felt then.

I remember waking up from a nightmare one night, I yelled out for you. You heard my voice but didn't come out to see me. I wish you did, but you kept talking to me through the wall till I was able to go back to sleep.

I remember you brushing my teeth, you chasing me around the house trying to get me in to the shower.

I remember coming to you with a bloody knee, a broken tooth, a dog bite on my face. You didn't like it that I was so careless to hurt myself so much. But even as you screamed at me, you nursed my injuries.

I remember the one summer you were gone away and I was bed ridden in a hospital. There was nothing more I wished for than to see you. I sometimes pretended to be sicker than I was hoping that will make you come to me sooner.

I remember going to church with you and you will sit with me. I get so bored during the sermon, but you were always prepared for me...with a piece of paper and your green pen. I would make up stories and pictures for you to see and you looked at them with a quite pride.

All these childhood memories cloud my mind tonight. It is late and I should be in bed.

I love you mom and I miss you so much!

Take a moment.

2010-08-15T20:35:00.003-04:00

We are often short-sighted.
We fail to remember the past or to consider the future.
Some of us chose this as a lifestyle, some of us fell victim to this as a habit.
If we were to take a minute now, right this second, to analyse for oneself where we stand and where we are headed, we might have better insight on our lives. We will be more appreciative of the small things we do today so we can be sure of a better tomorrow.

For example, if, before I go to bed, I were to pick out the clothes I will wear to work tomorrow : I will consider it an unnecessary chore at the moment. One, I am consciously making myself do to avoid doing it later. I bicker to myself that it is pointless for me to have done the picking now, since it wouldn't have been any worse tomorrow morning. Pause. If i were to think about this a bit more, I will realize (as I do) that it is a bit more than just deciding what to wear, I am starting my day out with a plan. I will know what to wear when I wake up tomorrow morning and this will in sequence set my day in a course that will ultimately be more productive. This is my own personal example and conclusion of course. It might not apply to anyone else, but I am sure as individuals we all have instances that exemplify our short-sightedness.

Whining about getting to work early, we forget that we will be home early to spend more of the day time at our own leisure. Complaining about the work-load we have to bear, we often don't consider the job security that it assures us. Simple moments that might seem negative to us might often result in something positive of a greater impact.
The repeated failures we face in life might seem discouraging, but it is these failures that force us to find alternatives, which might ultimately be the best course of action.

I am not sure if I am able to type out what I want to say...which is basically taking the focus off the smaller negatives we all might face in life to realize the far greater positives we have or are headed towards.

So the next time you run in to that wall...pause, take a breath and carry on!

Argh! Gibberish!

Aspirations.

2010-07-26T19:17:00.000-04:00

I have come to the US more than seven years ago. But, even today I am reminded of it. I am new to this world, as much as I fit in to this culture and being, I am still a foreigner and I am reminded of that over and over again. I don't mean that in a bad way. It is like tasting the familiar foods with a new palette. Like, acquiring the taste for coffee or red wine.

Before I came to the US and even when I came here, I had a very stringent plan. I was supposed to finish my college education, gain some work experience, and go back to college for more education and I am supposed to do that in 8 years. Well, I got the first two parts covered, but for going back to school, I have been procrastinating. Well, I want to go back and hopefully for the Fall semester (but it is getting close to the deadlines, so in case I already missed it, 2011 Spring is my do it or forget it deadline.)

Beyond my goals however, I have accomplished a lot more. I have opened up to a new world, made new friends, had new experiences (sky diving for example) and built relationships which I see last a lifetime. I am thankful for that and I learned from this experience from the seven years.

Lesson: Life is nothing you might expect it to be, and something you might plan it to be, but everything that is supposed to be. :-)

Playing the Part!

2010-07-26T19:02:00.000-04:00

I play the part so perfectly. Elegantly. I leave no suspicion. Honestly. Even under scrutiny.

You think I am lying. I am. You question my honesty. I lie. You believe me.

I am so soft to your feet. You take no notice of me, walk over me. You take pity. I want none.

I see the darkness and want to sleep. I want to sleep with no alarm to wake me up.

No sunshine to shine on me. No merry birds to sing to me. I want to sleep till it becomes dark.

Habits and Happiness.

2010-07-11T19:13:00.002-04:00

Every day moves on by with or without my consent. I am somewhat habitual in my actions. Waking up, morning coffee, working, back home and spending time with some Netflix. Its always the same. Should I try to change my habits to be happier or should I try to be happier with my habits?

Everything happens for a reason.

2010-07-05T09:10:00.000-04:00

A few months back, I took action to find out some answers in my life. Unfortunately, the answers I got was not what I was hoping for. I lost some hope in my life. I believed in a universe that gave me direction when I was lost. Except, when let down like I was, I lost that sense of direction and somewhat felt desperate. I lost faith. I started to act out against the universe in a self-destructive manner. I gave away the principles I held and sacrificed my morals because none of that seemed worthwhile when holding on to the good virtues for so long seems to be a useless and unappreciated gesture in today's world.

I thought I was, for once, going with the flow and going against my own will. It felt wrong but it somehow satisfied me. My actions were nothing I take pride in, but it gave me peace like screaming out in a dark room gives you calm.

Today, I realize that what I believed back then still holds true. The disappointment and the course of actions that I took on immediately after has all finally seemed to connect in symmetry. I see the picture now. Everything did happen for a reason and though unforeseen, I have hope for a future that will yet smooth out the kinks and grant me happiness in my life.

Does any of that make sense? No? Okay...well in summary, the hope/faith has been restored now after 5 months of dark and despair! :)

Happy Birthday Rita!

2010-06-06T16:26:00.000-04:00

To my dear friend Rita:

You have always been so kind to me and in these recent days when I feel alone and so distant from my family, You have provided me with the love and care of a family! You have welcomed me in to your home and included me in your daily routine as part of your family! The times we have spent together, you have given me laughter and joy, insight and wisdom, a perspective beyond mine own, the strength to pursue my own dreams and most of all a feeling of worth that I lacked for myself. Thank you so much!

I am so very excited to celebrate your birthday this year because of all that you mean to me! To me, you have been a great friend, a good role model and a big sister of sorts. In all walks of your life, you have excelled! You are a great wife/friend/partner to Blake, a wonderful, loving, caring mother to Macy, an amazing friend and skillful organizer (The best that I know!). You always know how to bring up the spirit in others!

So, this birthday...I wish you the BEST of the best! From the bottom of my heart I wish you will have a wonderful time celebrating your day! I wish you will have an amazing year ahead of you! I wish you success in everything you attempt and I wish that you will fulfill all your dreams!

much love,

James

Being Sad

2010-06-01T18:17:00.002-04:00

That is okay sometimes!

Sunday Evening Briefing

2010-05-23T20:07:00.000-04:00

My brother has gone back to India. He arrived home safely. Unfortunately, the plane crash in Manglore caused some panic amongst his friends. I do want to express my condolence for all the family and friends of the people that lost their life in this tragedy. Just to imagine watching your relatives you were waiting to arrive at the airport die right in front of them! It gave me a shudder!

I have the house to myself now. It is not back to normal quite yet though. I had the first major trouble with my homeownership the past week. Last Tuesday, the water stopped running in our house. It was a moment of panic for me. I had to do whatever I can to get the water back and running. I called the plumbers and was told I won't have the running water till Thursday. I couldn't even imagine going to work without a shower for two days! Fortunately for me, I have some of the most wonderful people in the world as my friends. Rita and Blake was more than happy to open up their home to me, to have me as a guest...actually more like a member of the family. I took my shower at Rita's on Tuesday. Thursday, after dropping my brother off at the airport, and picking up the mini-fridge for the back room, I was home to watch the plumbers dig up the well and do their thing. I had F/J Hess and Sons replace my pump and plumbing for me. These guys were very good. Timely, courteous and well, understanding of my situation. Professional in one word. Even though I have running water in the house, even now the water is a bit murky and I won't be able to do laundry for another couple of weeks. :(

Another major event this past week is again thanks to the Martins. Friday, I wanted to go to happy hour with my friends. Rita had to watch Macy sooo...the solution, move happy hour from some random bar to Rita's house. And we did! Rita had an amazing bar set up and awesome snacks! I got wasted and hung out with my friends...Kim, Gayle, Rita, Blake and I got to meet their lovely neighbors Drewby and Nancy. Friday was a fun night!! One of the interesting conversations we had was about the Plies song, Becky!

Well, Saturday is the start of clean up. Gradually I am cleaning up my place. Anyways...bored much! You should stop reading. I can't say everything I want to at the moment. Some day in the future it will make for a much more interesting blog! ;)

Have a great week ahead!

The month that was April

2010-05-02T20:49:00.000-04:00

I am back on the blogosphere. I have been off for a month now (I think) because of a very hectic schedule. For better or for worse, we started getting quite busy at work and my parents were in town for the whole month for a visit. To make this situation a bit more difficult for me, we only had one car at home so I was constantly needed where ever my parents wanted to go. Needless to say, I had very little time for myself and I was not thrilled about it at all.

Also in the month of April, I am undergoing some change in mind. I am trying to rediscover what I believe in and what matters to me. I don't understand why I have to do this over again. I do feel a bit lost and at some cross roads. I have to make some decisions that will reflect on who I will be in the coming years.

What are these crucial decisions? For one, it involves how I will be spending my time at home. My parents are already back in India now and soon my brother will be leaving as well. I will be home pretty much by myself and unlike last year I don't have the freedom to just go anywhere and whenever I want to. Those are some downsides to owning a house and having your money spend before you get to count it. :) Well...I will be home and I will be alone....needless to say I will be lonely. I figured the solution to my problem will be to find something to occupy my time and attention. A dog. I asked my parents to pick one out for me...but for the entire duration of their stay, they remained opposed to the idea, till the very last day when they said that I should probably get one. When I finally got them to go along with my plans though, I started questioning myself. Will I be able to take care of a dog? Can I afford a pet financially?

So, that is undecided. I did consider finding a girlfriend. Something very casual. I don't know how feasible that will be either. I want to believe it is possible, but these are situations that might get complicated real fast and I love life to remain pretty simple. Maybe it is just a matter of perspective, but I do like not having to answer to anyone.

Then there is religion. I am a man of faith. I believe in God. I don't believe God in the way it is explained to me though. I look for a more universal God that can only cause humans to come together and not fight each other. This idea of separation because of religion makes me believe that whole concept of religion and God is man-made. I would still like to believe in God. In times of despair when I have fear in my mind, I want to speak to someone and I guess those are instances when I need God. Not necessarily because I expect a divine intervention, but more because the process of me talking it out with a "divinity" puts my mind in ease. Irrational? Yes. Does it work? Yes.

Another faction of my confusion. I no longer know if I feel. Sometimes I feel numb and other times I feel it all. I want to believe it is all normal. However, the notion of not feeling makes me scared. It also makes me feel safe at the same time. Strangely!

Thats a brief update on April. I will try to be back here without too far of a gap.

Until then, keep on smiling no matter what you feel and I leave you with this...

K'naan - Smile

The Fire is Out

2010-03-28T18:03:00.001-04:00

Literally! Last night I forgot to add coal to the stove in our living room and as a result, when I woke up this morning and opened my bedroom door, I felt a strange coolness. I didn't realize what was going on, but, after I had my coffee, I realized my mistake. So, no more coal fire to keep me warm and I am not bothering to light it up again either since the weather forecast calls for only a few more cold days before spring like weather is here. Might as well embrace Spring with open arms, right?

This week past has been good. I am embarking on some new and exciting projects at work! I am always up for a learning experience. Since it is work related, that is about all the information I can share publicly.

In other news...my parents are coming in to town on Wednesday. Spring cleaning time! My brother and I will be busy making sure that there is nothing incriminating in the house by the time they get here.

Also, I started seeing a chiropractor because of my jaw making too much noise every time I open or close my mouth. Sorry to be blabbering in this manner. My head is not working quite well the past few days. I shall get that cleared up soon enough.

For now...enjoy the arrival of spring!

Trouble.

2010-03-21T10:01:00.002-04:00

I am generally a happy person. I am content with my life. But, I would be lying to say that I am happy and content all the time. Occasionally (and at times frequently), I am troubled. I have sad thoughts, I have desperate feelings, I have fear and angst and I have greed and wants. I feel guilty when faced with these emotions. Most people who look at my life from the outside deem it to be good in all way. So the guilt emerges from me not seeing it the same way, at least not all the time.

I don't want to be a Debbie Downer, nor do I want to make a depressing post. Here is me finding the good of the situation...

When I am troubled, I am inspired.

When I am bored, I am led to think.

When I am sad, I have a reason to see what makes me happy.

When I am in despair, I realize how valuable and good my friends are to me.

When I am not content with what I have, I am motivated to go further and do more to be so.

When I am greedy, I am also reminded of the blessings that I already have and those who are not as fortunate.

So, yes, I might be miserable from time to time, but those times makes me a better person. There is ups and downs in life for everyone, and the "downs" remind of the "ups" in the past and gives me hopes for the ones yet to come.

Keep smiling! :)

The Pool

2010-03-16T17:52:00.002-04:00

I am standing under the hot summer sun, looking in to the cool water in front of me. The pool. It is so tempting, so inviting! The problem: it is going to be a shock to make this dive...I am going from hot air to cold water & there is no way for me to dive in and get out of this pool dry...let's not forget that I am incapable of swimming and I don't trust anyone to save me. I want to dive in.

Snow Day

2010-02-25T17:55:00.001-05:00

Yet another snow day has come by! There weren’t much of a question about getting off from work this time. Not much of a surprise, but still exciting! :)

I was texting my co-workers/friends as soon as I got word from my company 5:15 in the morning! I usually won’t appreciate people trying to contact me that early in the morning, but for a good news like this, I don’t mind it at all!

So, I spent the whole day watching movies on Netflix and then I also took a side project. I want to create one of those snowfall time-lapses. So, I set up my camera and has been snapping away for every 15 minutes the entire day! Tiring!

Updates on the recent days? Well, February has been a great month to be honest. The Housewarming party/my brother’s birthday celebration, at the beginning of the month and then the eventful days following that. I feel like I have regained some stable footing since. Then there was Kim’s birthday! What a celebration it was! Four days dedicated to my friend’s 25th birthday celebration! It was really a good time! I guess that’s all the highlights for the month!

I’m ready for March and Spring, although, I won’t mind a couple more snow days in between!

Creep

2010-02-10T16:37:00.001-05:00

When you were here before
Couldn't look you in the eye
You float like a feather
Your skin makes me cry
You're just like an angel
In a beautiful world
You're so fucking special
I wish I was special
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the hell am I doing here?
I don't belong here
Its okay that it hurts
Though I want to have control
I want a perfect body
I want me one of those brand new perfect soul
I said I want you to know that
When I'm not around
You're so fucking special
I wish I was special
But I'm a creep
I'm a weirdo
What the hell I'm doing here?
I don't belong here
I don't belong here
I don't belong here
What the fuck am I doing here?
I don't belong here
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever you want
You're so fucking special
I wish I was special

I shared this video with many of my friends because I absolutely love the story behind. Mustard is a homeless guy that somehow got featured on the Opie & Anthony Show, and he is quite amazing! I altered the Radiohead lyrics to this song to reflect (as far as I understand) what Mustard was actually singing.

The Weather Report

2010-02-09T20:15:00.001-05:00

And so struck the storm much as a disappointment. As it happened in the real world, the predicted 6 inches was less than a quarter and leaves me with disappointment and now a pile to clean up…

I must say (maybe because I know that you’ll be reading this) but my friend Kim means a lot to me today than she ever did before. I know she is there as a safety net…like, I can take a plunge in to the deepest shit pile and she will be laughing her ass off while holding out an arm to pull me out of it! So, to God or whatever force sent her my way, thanks!

Awaiting another predicted snow tonight (real world talk people, no simile here)…hopefully I won’t have to go into work till much much later tomorrow! Sleep in! Yum!

Waiting.

2010-01-11T17:46:00.001-05:00

A storm is brewing. A thought that started about three years ago, and is tormenting my mind day and night to get out. I’m afraid as to what the outcome will be when this thought will finally come out…but it will come out, sooner or later.

For now, I wait.

New Year. New Grind.

2010-01-10T20:18:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year!

The year is starting off just fine. First week back at work was quite delightful. Catching up with friends about their holiday break and how things are going to be for the new year. Fascinating stuff!

This new year is going to be a bit difficult for me. Difficulty might not be the right word to use, maybe stressful! I shouldn’t be stressed but I bring the stress on me worrying about things. Due dates and bills due. Will I be able to keep up? You see, that is my worry. I am sure things will work out just fine, but for the moment I remain with the worries.

Enough of that debbie-downer crap!

Exciting stuff for the new year…I have a new routine. Yes, I am that lame. I clean the house every week…usually on Sundays and for the rest of the days its just wake up, work, come home, take care of the coal and keep going with the sleep and work stuff.

This week, I had visitors…Anita came by and also, Gayle and Megan visited me one day this week. That was very very delightful. I am lucky to have such good friend. I know I say that a lot, but such good people must be appreciated!

For now, I conclude this post with LOVE…and the best wishes for the New year! So take care of yourselves and enjoy each day…before you know it, 2011 will be knocking at your door. :)

Reflections

2009-12-31T19:40:00.001-05:00

Another year, and another decade is coming to an end. It is times like these that many of us think back and reflect on what has passed us by.

Today, I sit on the couch, in front of my TV, inside my house and take a few minutes to reflect. The year is certainly over, and the decade is coming to a close…I say this because I count 2010 part of this decade. So, it is not quite time to reflect on the decade, but nevertheless, I must address the things that molded me.

First, 2009.

2009 started out with me coming back from India. I celebrated the New Year tired and jet lagged. The start of the year was beautiful. I was still lit by the love of my family whom I just visited and I surrounded by loving friends.

The year continued with better opportunities, better outlook on many things. I got closer with some friends and the distance grew in other friendships. I learned to love new things and grew to despise things I used to like. I tried new foods, bought new clothes, new toys. Picked up new habits, new hobbies and slipped out of old habits and pleasures. I moved out of my roommates house and found myself an old and shabby apartment that I called home. I had visitors come visit me in my apartment. I had friends feed me and care for me. I had friends’ mom’s and dad’s look after me like their own child. I had a few good women give me the attention that a man yearns and I had the balls to walk away from it all without too much regret. I had learned to appreciate the love of my mother that keeps her voice calm even as I yell at her over my own frustrations. I learned to listen to my father’s wisdom even though I find them old fashioned. I learned helplessness. I learned hope. I learned to be patient, and learned to be persistent in learning new things. I had many thoughts that changed my life, many that made me good and a those that pushed me astray. I cried and laughed this year. I have felt love and joy this year. I am ashamed to say that I even felt jealous this year and my jealousy has cost me. Beyond these experiences, I have had the pleasure to meet a few good people that helped me buy a house this year. And, the few good people that were there for me to support me through all my fears. I had the joy of spending this holiday season with my family and my dad helped me buy a new car.

A lot has changed for me in 2009 and looking forward to 2010 makes me anxious and nervous. I keep the faith that things will work out for me as it has in the past. That, God will guide me and lead me to what he has intended for me from the start.

I want to take a moment now to thank the people that made me feel special this year! You know who you are, and I may never say this to your face, but without you my life sucks!

Looking back to this decade…I graduated from high school in India. Came to the US after leaving all my friends back home. I learned the ways of this country and went to college. I was exposed to many things…sex, drugs & alcohol but I learned to limit myself to the good things. I found different jobs that taught me different things. I made a multitude of friends, many of whom I cannot imagine living another day without. I am proud to have elected Mr. Barack Obama as my president and I keep being proud about my choice everyday. I also must say that I loved technology more this decade than any other. Especially Google and its products. Facebook, iPhone, Twitter…I have had my hands in all these new things of the decade. I look forward to a good climax to the decade in 2010.

I wish all my friends, family and everyone else out in the world a joyous and prosperous new year! May people find peace a necessity more than the things that lead us to war and violence. May all of you that I have wronged in someway find it in your heart to forgive me. May God bless us all.

Did I lock my house?

2009-11-14T16:51:00.001-05:00

At the moment, I am sitting on the couch inside my apartment. Yet, I am experiencing a very strange feeling.

Has this ever happened to you…you are on your way to start your vacation or driving to some distant destination and after a good distance of driving, you start to wonder….did I lock my house? Or, did I leave the oven on?

Well, even though, those thoughts are not occurring to me, I am experiencing the same feeling in my gut. Some emptiness or void, I can’t explain it.

What it’s like…

2009-09-17T17:51:00.001-04:00

I have a very good life. I should be very thankful for it. There is very few flaws you can see in my life. I am not talking about flaws in me, obviously if you know anything about me, that basket is quite full. I have a very good job. I have co-workers I love working with, who I look forward to seeing each day. I am fed three or four, sometimes even more times within the day. I have friends to look after me. A family that keeps up with everything going on in my life. Yes, I have a good life. One I should be very thankful for.

To my parents and teachers who brought me up to be what I am today, to my friends and family who support me each and every day, to my God who listens to everything I say…Thank you!

we sometimes occur the same thought

2009-08-27T19:49:00.001-04:00

abstract. weird. senseless. this is post is a blabber more than a blog.

its been a cute few weeks in my apartment. it gives me a sense of pride to think that i am standing on my two feet. harsh reality, the hidden truth. i am scared to stand on my own two feet. i want to see the faces and that outstretched hands ready to catch me when i fall. its not a lack of confidence. i might seem like a needy person to you right now…but then again, you probably already knew this about me.

i have kept the bravado up and it is working quite well. i feel the machismo and the manhood settling into my bones. but the little girl inside of me obviously feels lonely and sad. awww! pity me!

work. busy. its been going good. weeks have scheduled tasks and never a break in some ways. it is a great opportunity though. so i should not be complaining. i love my friends at work. they have however found a “new” game, which i don’t quite enjoy. its trying to discover all the ways that they can make me feel uncomfortable. NOT cool!

many things happened. not for you to know. but for me to be reminded. remember what happened in philly last weekend? and then i went to the fingerlakes for a party with my buddy doug. good times. gayle is awesome. awesome.

lucky to have known the people i know. blessed to have the friends that i have.

random: its tough to hold my composure. to keep the cool. the more i buffer. the more i struggle. to keep smiling through the roughest rain and the toughest hills…thats what im striving for. maybe the bunny slopes seem too steep for me. give me a break. im a big baby.

god forgive me for my inconsideration and self indulgence. try and love the people around you. try to see the world in through their eyes. put a smile on their face. and do something nice without expecting it back. spread a little bit of joy!

Bing vs. Chrome

2009-07-09T19:41:00.001-04:00

did you hear about the google OS?
they are coming out with an operating system late next year
its going to be called Google Chrome OS
and it will be streamlined for faster startup and internet use
and in my mind this is how this plays out:

microsoft: you know what...i want your money google.
google: you have enough money...lemme do what i do best
microsoft: no...i want your money too
google: be nice now
microsoft: i raise you...BING.COM
google: check
microsoft: but i raised you
google: fine....i raise you CHROME OS
microsoft: ummm…ummm…

My Review of Nikon D40 6.1 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera 3X Zoom Kit Outfit, with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor Lens - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A.

2009-06-10T21:01:00.001-04:00

Adorama

Nikon D40 6.1 Megapixel Digital SLR Camera 3X Zoom Kit Outfit, with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G ED II AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor Lens - Refurbished by Nikon U.S.A.

Simple & Light Start to DSLR

jaxal East Stroudsburg, PA 6/10/2009

Pros: Good Battery Life, Easy to Use, Great Zoom, Fast Shutter Speed, Good sized screen, Excellent in Low Light, Nice Features and Settings

Cons: Bulky, Poor Image Stabilization

Best Uses: Portraits, Travel, Everyday Photos, Outdoors, Home, Weddings/Events

Describe Yourself: Photo Enthusiast

I have always been amused with photography and have been experimenting with my point and shoot Canon's. My online research showed me that the Nikon D40 is the best camera for me to start on the DSLR spectrum.

Why Nikon D40?

It is cheap!
It is easy to use!!
It produces great picture!!!

The Ups: It is a fully functional SLR settings and tweaks (has everything such as aperture priority, ISO settings, etc) a photographer would like to tweak his art with. With added beauty of the Nikkor lenses to every picture, almost anything looks gorgeous through this camera! I also like that I can keep buying more lenses to enjoy this camera even more.

The Downs: Okay, so inevitable, every beauty has its flaws. There is no major downs to the advertised product. But, when you actually hold this camera in your hands, it does tend to be a bit much. So, use the neck strap and try not to swing around too much. The pixels, if you care, is only 6MP...only?! Well, for me 6MP is more than enough, but I understand, some like the option to magnify through the pixels for a better picture within the frame. You want this, I suggest getting the Nikon D40X or Nikon D60 for $100 - $200 more.

The Lens: The 18mm-55mm Nikkor lens (without VR) is great. It is good for the potrait snaps and close ups. This is the only lens that comes with the 'kit'...although there are many deals that sells you an additional lens as well. The lack of VR is evident when taking low-light photography or if you try taking a picture at a slower shutter speed.

Dandelion outside my house.

: Made with Product

Close up of a garden decoration

: Made with Product

()

Sitting Silly

2009-05-27T20:36:00.001-04:00

So here I am home, still a day away from my much awaited, much loved Nikon D40. I hope and pray this shipment gets to me safe and sound and that I can continue to love this baby for a very very long time.

Random: I am linking this ‘Windows Live Writer’ that I have been using for the past couple of months. Yes, I realize my blogging frequency has been pretty low in these few months, but this does make blogging a bit easier and adds a tiny bit more fun to the process.

Random: People make money out of their blogs?! Why can’t I do that?!!! Oh, yes…I have to write important stuff don’t I? Shucks!

Story: Yesterday. We are sitting at breakfast and talking about the lottery. How did the topic come about? I don’t know. There is $222 million at play for the Powerball game at the time. I am sure, many of you with a bunch of friendly coworkers have done this at some point…or else, the point is yet to come for you….we decided to pool our money into a bulky ticket. And if we were ever so lucky as to win anything, the proceeds will be equally split between the ten of us. Thus, today ten of us got the money together and I bought the tickets. Now we wait and see if there is any luck amongst us.

Life Update: I have been working most of the time. I am trying to go to the gym regularly. It is not working out very well. Exciting things going on for me at the moment will be just the camera that I bought. I might give you a review from the amateur user perspective once I get used to this beauty. I am house hunting still. I saw a few places on Tuesday. I don’t want to rush the process, but would not like to stagnate the hunt either. Its a slow, dragged out, headachy process. But, it must be done. Brother Phil in India. I am missing my inner circle, which will never be the same now with Aarthi gone to India.

I have been using Twitter a lot recently and I think my twitter use might be inversely proportional to my blogging activity. Sad! I know! Anyways….I’ll keep tweeting and updating this blog once in a while like now….and maybe eventually start to make some use with it….like make some dough for instance (only if I don’t win that lotto that is!)

Technorati Tags: update,lottery,nikon,d40,photography

What am I doing?

2009-05-23T14:18:00.001-04:00

I am sitting on my couch at home, in front of the TV that is not on, listening to some random music online. Also, I am doing my laundry which I have put off for two weeks now…that’s quite a load to do now. I am feeling somewhat sorry for myself being that it is a three day weekend (for Memorial Day weekend) and I don’t have any big plans. Just relaxing and taking it easy. This also makes me think that I am forgetting some of my responsibilities. Sure, I will remember these things I never have the time for some time during the busy week that is still ahead.

My brother is in India now. So is my friend Aarthi. They both left just days apart. As little as my interaction with either one might have been, I certainly feel a void now knowing that they are so far away. A sense of loneliness maybe, but more like being lost. I have always had friends and family me to lead my way or at least give me a nod or a shake to agree or disagree with my decisions, choices and directions I choose to live. At the moment it seems like I am the captain of a ship in which only I am the passenger. I can take this baby where ever I want to, yet I am sitting idly in the waters waiting for a current to drag me along.

I am in need for my vacation….soooooooo desperately!!!! Also, to pick myself up, I am going to buy me a Nikon D40 this week! :)

The Crazy busy Updates!

2009-05-17T00:52:00.001-04:00

I am sorry for not having kept up with this blogging business for the past few……ummm….months!

There is a lot going on for me right now! Work is getting busy as I am working on a new development project…yay responsibilities. Then I am also in the process of buying a house, although as more time progresses into this buying process, my excitement level is going down and my worry level is going up! Ugh!

Also, my brother is leaving for India tomorrow, and won’t be back for a whole six months. So, there…if I do get the new place, now the whole thing will be all by myself. :(

Oh! Enough of the self pity and whining. Life is pretty good for me. I feel for the many that are struggling much harder with job loss, poverty, hunger, war and many of the sufferings that this world brings upon mankind.

So…I be thankful to the goodness that is upon me, for the friends that support me, and for another day I am living with sanity. :)

Fool’s Day Celebration

2009-04-06T20:36:00.001-04:00

Being one of the number one fools amongst my friends, of course I celebrate this occasion. I don’t think I have pranked many people in the past….at least not successfully. This year though, I had plans and they worked. At work, I got Kim, Nicole, Stacey, Gayle, Rita and Crystal. Some of the tricks I pulled were repeats and classics but still good. And also, I got ideas from Rita and Crystal as well as Justin.

For Kim and Nicole, I unplugged their keyboard and also went ahead and swapped some of the keys on their keyboard. For Stacey, I taped her mouse to the mouse pad and also taped her drawer shut from underneath so she didn’t see that it was taped. For Gayle, I taped her mouse sensor shut. I did this for Rita as well, but for Rita, I taped her keyboard to the screen and swapped the keys. Crystal got her drawer taped shut as well. Then, as a bonus, I had a washer bottle partly filled with water inverted on the smooth countertop to trap the water in it till some unsuspicious friend of mine lifts it up and drench themselves.

I am extremely proud to admit that ALL of my pranks worked! :D

Kim thought that I had gotten her a different keyboard and swapped it with mine. Tricky! Nicole didn’t think there was anything wrong with her keyboard because I reversed the Number pad…she didn’t realize this till she started entering some data. Evil!! :) Then, Rita fell victim to the water and Gayle was mad enough to text me awake 5 something in the morning telling me how much she appreciated the trickery!! Ahhhh!!! I did feel good….like I told Justin, I felt like I was the Joker….but in a much more sane and cute way!

You think I am done?

Well, two more tricks…both on Sabz. First, I made it seem like Sandy and Aarthi forgot about her and drove away. Then, I told her a story about how I am being sent to France for training, the same time that we were planning to go on Vacation to Florida. She was starting to feel bad and when I told her it was just an April fools joke…I got beat down! Well deserved but well worth it as well! :)

That’s how I celebrated Fool’s day!

Also on April 1st, HAPPY BIRTHDAY AARTHIIIII!!! :D

Getting ready for summer!

2009-03-08T17:12:00.001-04:00

I am really excited for this coming summer. It will be shortly here. Today was day light savings adjustment and it was much warmer outside (like in the 60’s).

Why am I excited about this summer? For one, it is going to be warmer and brighter and who couldn’t do with more of that? Then there is vacations – first one planned being to Florida. There is a possibility I might go to Phoenix to visit Anita, if she gets her internship there.

The Florida vacation is going to be with Sabora’s family. They have a house rented down there and we will be renting a car as well and then we drive! Things I want to do before this vacation….I want to lose weight, not too much, but enough, like 10lbs. Then, I want to buy a Nikon D40 or D40x, if it isn’t too much more pricier. Ahh! Sweet little dreams I bubble up in my head.

At the moment I am going through somewhat of a lifestyle change. I am eating healthier or at least trying to. I downloaded this application called “Lose it!” for my iPhone. It tracks what I eat and how much I need to control it to reach my destination weight. Great app! It is interesting enough and easy enough for me to use it daily. From what I have tracked thus far, going out on a Friday evening for drinks was the worst mistake I made. I have exceeded my calorie budget by more than a 100%! Eeeeeek!! I sound like a chick worrying about the weight issues. I just think it is fun to do this, I really didn’t care about Friday to be honest. I was laughing my ass off when I looked at the app on Saturday morning.

I have also started going to the gym. I started running on the treadmill. I am not very used to it but I have made progress and am able to run for at least half an hour by now. Today afternoon I went running outside, just a loop near my house. It wasn’t too bad, but being sick and a bit lazy, I wasn’t the speediest of runners.

Other things that are going on. My friends Megan and Gayle, who are temporary contractors working with us is likely going to get their contracts extended. On Friday I went out with them for a few drinks and on Saturday I went out with them for dinner at Siamsa’s. After dinner I hung out with Kevin, Kierstin, Screech and Kevin’s sister for a little bit. Then headed home for some rest.

I barely watch any TV anymore but I watch a lot of Hulu. I am more active on Twitter, I read a lot more of Google Reader, and I am trying to stay current in the online world. Lent progress is going good…some 35 days left till easter!! Lord give me the strength!! :)

I am tired. Sorry for the crappy post! Peace!

Jimmy George Defined

2009-03-02T20:26:00.001-05:00

How do I describe myself?!

Well this is not a self descriptive blog…but some things I perceive others think of me.

#1: I state the obvious.

#2: I sometimes say things meaning simple or innocent things, but the way I say it…it sounds far worse! For example, one day my friend Megan said she feels fat and my response: “you are not that fat”…obviously I meant, “you are not fat” and by accidently injecting ‘that’ gave it a whole new meaning. Needless to say, she hated me for the rest of that day!

#3: People think I am smart….psht…I am not that smart!

Using Windows 7

2009-03-01T17:03:00.001-05:00

Now…it must not come as a surprise to any of you that I am somewhat geeky! I am all about Google and now I like Facebook a lot too. When it comes to Microsoft, I am always a bit skeptical, but now that I am messing with Windows 7, I must admit…I am hooked! My computer has never been more pleasurable to use than it is now!!

Congrats to the Microsoft team for improving the OS! Now…I am still waiting for that touch-response coffee table you guys promised me! :D

2009-02-10T20:24:00.001-05:00

Ah! My impatient friend Anita....

As you are my only consistent reader, I guess I should listen to you when you ask me for an update eh?!

The last time I made the post, it was January. My classes have begun and that takes up my whole day on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don't mind my Tuesday class and I am not a big fan of the Thursday class! And both these opinions gotta do with the instructors and not the class itself! Wierd!

The one good thing that came out of my classes is the 'Payday Dinner.' Every week that I am getting paid from work, I will be going out with my friends, Nicole, Kim, Lindsey and Rita for dinner. Well...thus far we had two dinners and for the second dinner Rita couldn't make it.

In January, I had to change the tires on my Civic. It cost me $500, which is a bit more than I can afford at the moment but had to be done! Also this month, I have been making trips to Philadelphia a routine. I am visiting Sabora's family and they are awesome. I always have a good time with them and its like a mini-vacation each time! :D

Now to the exciting part - the weekend past!

TODAY is my brother's birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY ACHACHA (PHIL)!!

To celebrate my brother's birthday, we went to Philadelphia. The plan was thus - on Friday me, brother, Sabz and Sandy to go to Philadelphia, meet up with Vinny and Prince there and go for dinner at the mexican restaurant El Vez. Unfortunately, on the way to Philadelphia, we got in to some trouble. An accident...the brand new Honda Accord of ours is not crushed on the driver side. And beyond the cosmetic damage, there isn't much problems with the car. But it is still sad to see the new car wrecked the way it is. It was a collision with an 18 wheeler and the driver of the 18 wheeler was unregrettably targetting us when he hit us!! He, I would like to describe in words I seldom use, is an asshole!

Forget the accident...we got to Philly and parked our car in a garage. Started walking and with my guadance, walked 6 blocks down the wrong way and all that back when we got a call from El Vez letting us know that our seat is ready. So we headed for mexican and I must say it is the best mexican food I've had in my life.

After dinner, I dropped Phil off at this pub where he met up with his friends. Me, I dropped Sabz to her home before I joined him. Vinny, Sandy and Prince went to Sarada's house to drop of Sandy and Vinny and Prince tried to meet up with us at the club...the time by this point was 1am and it didn't seem feasible for the two of them to meet us up...so they returned to Sarada's.

Outside of the club, after the club was done for the night, interesting things happened. A bunch of slimy dressed girls were walking by and some of the boys in our crowd were yelling out pick up lines, comments and one of them an insult. One of the girls turned around and came up to me and started yelling at me for insulting her, and I tried to explain to her that I said nothing to her. But, she was drunk and kept yelling and so her yelling got to our friend Josh who was standing right next to me. When she got right up to his face yelling, Josh blew the smoke in his mouth out. Ouch! She tried slapping him and he ducked. She went after this other kid and he got slapped. The girl then ran away. But a friend of the guy that got slapped went after her and hit her. She and her friend knocked the guy out. Cops came! Dispersed us. We went to John's house. We slept at John's house.

Next morning, we woke up, freshened up and headed to Sarada's where we met up with Vinny, Prince and Sandy and had breakfast. After breakfast, we went to the Philadelphia Auto Show. The show was good. Not too many concept cars (my fav) though! And of the concept cars we saw, which were two of them - Subaru Chrome Legacy and Jeep, I liked the Subaru the best. It was a nice car. At the car show, my ex Sarada joined us too. Now, she has been hating me for quite a while now, but this time she was acting like nothing was ever wrong between us....I guess that is moving on!

After the show, we went to Banana Leaf for dinner. It was good food there. Yet again I took the whole herd around the block trying to locate this place! I am awesome...more like google maps on iPhone sucks balls when it comes to pin-pointing the spot! ;)

After dinner, we headed to our friend Jay. Here, Sandy, Vinny, Prince, Anita, Paulash, Liddy, Jay, Ben, Skip and Josh came and we chilled for a bit before we went to the club Brasil. We had a good time there and above all brother Phil had a great time there! And so we partied for a whole 45 minutes before the place closed down at 2am...and out on the streets we were. We picked up our cars...Paulash and Anita went back to East Stroudsburg. Me, Phil, Vinny, Sandy and Prince headed to Tiffany's diner.

At Tiffany's we were told that we will have to wait for about 20 minutes or less for a table. The hostess, Chelsea, is the most obnoxious teenage looking hostess I have ever met in my life. She needs some good parenting, if you know what I mean. Phil got into a fight with this girl and eventually had the manager get her to apologize to us. She remains to be a bitch! Oops...harsh truth!

After the diner, I dropped Sandy and them off at Sarada's but then Phil was too tired to give me directions to his friend's place where we were planning on crashing for the night...and the time was already 5:15am....so we stayed at Sarada's...me and Phil slept on the floor. Woke up the next morning and headed to Sabz. Vinny and Prince went back to East Stroudsburg cuz Prince had work.

At Sabora's house, we had some delicious lunch!!! Seriously....DE-LI-CIOUS!!! It was rice with jackfruit, chicken curry (Biggy style), shrimp curry, channa, mango curry, onion pickle....yummm!! After lunch, we hung out for a bit and then I drove back to the burg and this time with no GPS!!! I know....I am proud of me too!! :D

That was my weekend past...and today I had my Macroeconomics final exams. Thats over with...now it is slumber time!! :D

Peace!

PS- Pics from the trip!

2009-01-10T01:00:00.000-05:00

Things I have realized from my trip:
* I am blessed to have the friends and family that I have who love me and take care of me so much. I sometimes feel the love is undeserving (I'm not that good of a person to be treated thus!). So with much appreciation, I look forward to being a better person in the new year to be deserving of the kindness and love I receive!

* My co-workers/white family are really some of my best friends. Maybe because I spent every day with them, I do not realize it as much, but when I am apart from them, I feel the vacuum and I missed them very dearly! And it might be some what self centered to admit that I am somewhat relieved that they missed me as well. My kind friends entertained me from the states with updates from work via email while I was vacationing!

* No matter how beautiful, no matter how luxurious, no matter how rich a place might be, it can never give me the feeling of home. I feel this only when I am at my parents house, in that unmaintained house with many many troubling problems to be dealt with. But, just like anything that is yours (friends/family) you love them as they come!

* I love Sri Lankan food.

* Dubai is a marvelous city and quite amazing that it exists in the middle east with such western advances, however, it is not perfect as they portray it to be. In fact, I feel strongly that the immigrant workers are not being treated fairly by the Arabs, who were already there...even though it is all the immigrants hard work that is pushing the country to advance the way it is!

* State of war is relative. Terrorism is relative. Life is absolute and you live it every day! (If that makes any sense)

* Singapore is a very government controlled city/country.

* Malay chicks are hot! Malay people want your money! But, they will be kind when the situation arises!

* The US Passport makes you a VIP where ever you go! (It is somewhat disgusting!)

* Friends from high school freezes time when you hangout with them! Its like, you never left school! For me...I like that!

* Holidays are mostly meant for money but its enough to be joyous and to celebrate!! :D

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2009-01-03T21:05:00.000-05:00

Ah! A very long break it was. What's my excuse you ask?! Well, I was on vacation...yay! And now its over! Boo!

So I was gone for about a month and got to tour Dubai, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malayasia, and also visit my friends and family in India. It was a great trip. It seems awfully short even though it was a month long...this is mostly because I visited 5 countries in 4 weeks...that is an awful short time, isn't it?!

Well...moving on...I hope to work up enough motivation to write a post about everything I did during my vacation but for now...here I am!

2008-11-09T22:27:00.000-05:00

I had a great weekend...

On Friday, we had our team-building event. It was a bus trip to Philadelphia, to the Ben Franklin Institute and afterward to Dave and Buster's. At the Franklin institute we had a show in the Planetarium and afterward we just walked around and saw the few exhibitions. On the way down, I was sipping from my bottle of Pepsi, spiked with rum. So by the time I got to Philly I had a buzz going on. Good times....except watching the eye dissection made me sick in the gut and I kinda wanted to puke but didn't. I switched groups walking around, first with Rita, Kim and Nicole and then with Megan, Jessica and Ilka.

Once we got to D&B, we got started on our team-building activity, which was a scavenger hunt. It was a great deal of fun and our team ended up winning (even though Jessica's team claims they won!) Our team was...Me, Nicole, Kim, Rita and Shekema.

After the team-building activity, we had dinner served at D&B and then we dispersed for our own fun playing all the games in the arcade. I went with Megan and Aileen and played a few games. Won very few and lost many! :(

Towards the end of the day, I realized I haven't taken full advantage of the open bar so had a beer, rum and whiskey chugged one after the other and that set me good for the ride home. The bus ride back was pretty okay. We had more fun talking and playing games and stuff. Once we got back to sanofi I got into my car and got to the Diwali show as fast as I can. That is where I spent the rest of my night till 11ish when we were done cleaning up and headed home. We had a few people chilling for a bit but I slept and so did Aarthi, on whom I was sleeping. When I woke up, I stayed up a bit longer and then went to my bed and slept.

Saturday morning, Sabz woke me up around 11:30 so that we can go for lunch. So I showered and got ready and headed to Aarthi's. Sabz and Sandy joined us and we went to Chilli's for lunch. We hung out at Aarthi's for the rest of the afternoon and in the evening we went to Starbucks for some drinks and brainstorming to decide what to do with the night. We decided to go to New York.

The four of us headed to New York around 8:30 and we were in the city by 10. We walked towards Times Square when we saw this place called The Pond. It was an ice-skating rink and we decided to give it a go. And so I had my first skating experience and so did Sabz. Aarthi and Sandy had roller skated before so they were better at it.

After that we went to Times Square, where we hung out and took a few pictures. We then went to the Chicken and rice place for dinner. After buying dinner, the time being around 2 in the morning, we walked back to the car and ate a little of the rice and chicken before heading home. By the time I crawled under my blanket, it was 4am!

I woke up today morning (Sunday) around 9:30 and I went back to sleep for another hour. I got up and ate some brunch and then after relaxing on the couch and taking care of the weekly chores, went back to sleep for a few more hours.

When I woke up, I showered and got my clothes for tomorow ready, since I have a presentation to give to the platform tomorow, I had to iron my shirt and all that jazz!

Overall, it was a great weekend and I am in good spirit! Now I shall find more rest! :)

2008-10-30T21:59:00.000-04:00

Eh Shtuff!!

I was at work today and my co-worker Megan was working with me in my lab today. We were listening to music on Pandora and we picked Coldplay for our artist....which made me wonder if I ever explained why I have my blog named Yellow.

There is a song by Coldplay called "Yellow" and I like that song very much.
I like the color Yellow.
It is a unique name for a blog.
When I was a kid, we used to look through these Yellow film wraps that our eraser came wrapped in...it was a way of perceiving things. A different way to look at things and it made you feel different about what you were looking at...and I usually was excited to see the Yellow world!

On other news....there is something wrong with me...as Nicole would coin it, I am a "debbie downer" of late! I don't really know why and I want it fixed!

Third random thing to be thrown into this post...
A: Leave me alone!
B: I feel left out!
(Wick'd cryptic! you say?!)

Finally...
Blogger is annoying me with this word verification thing....they think I am spamming some how with my posts and I already requested for them to review my account but they don't effin' stop!!!!

2008-10-19T14:14:00.000-04:00

The troubles....
A few weeks back I started having issues with my laptop. It is an Acer Aspire 5601AWLMi...when I bought it in 2006, it came with a Windows XP Media Center 2005 installation. I had some trouble with it even then, my attempt to create the Restore Disk (which Acer no longer provides with the computer) failed multiple times. The sound was always distorted and I assumed it to be caused by low RAM. However, even after I installed additional RAM, the problem was not fixed and so I sent the laptop in for repair. That was the first time, and the repair shop had to replace the hard drive and when I got the laptop back, everything was pristine.
The repair shop installed Windows XP Home Edition and I was okay with it. This worked out well for a few months until few weeks ago...as I was saying...my computer started to slow down drastically and all the same symptoms started to show...I called TigerDirect, since I have an extended warranty through them and they asked for the machine to be sent in again for repair. This time it was by a company called micromedics. They repaired my computer again by replacing the hard drive but since I didn't have a restore CD, they did not put any installation on my computer. So I got back an empty computer. I tried to get a Windows installation on it, but Acer wants me to pay $20 for the Restore Disks from them and an additional minimum of $10 for shipping. Just on principles, I don't think I should pay for the software for which I paid for once!
So, now I run my computer using Ubuntu, the linux software. It is not flawless. It is a completely different atmosphere all together and it is quite different from what I am used to. It is much easier to transition to Ubuntu compared to many other Linux packages. I have issues connecting to my wifi, even though my computer should detect the network automatically, it is not happening. However, if I connect my laptop to the network via ethernet and then remove the ethernet connection, the wifi network works! Strange behavior! But right now, I am connected and it is working quite well...the only problem I have now would be syncing my iPhone. Since Apple does not support an iTunes installation for Linux, I am unable to update my phone for a while! I will find a way around! ;)

2008-10-08T18:33:00.000-04:00

I smile at many faces. Many of faces smile at me. I talk to them, laugh with them, spend time with them. I feel apart from them. I fell out of my niche and now I don't know where I belong. It is sad to be out here...it is a lonely place. Many may be here with me, but we are all alone. None of us belongs here.

I don't need to be rescued. I am not crying for help. I feel like crying but for reasons I don't know. I have this longing to be with someone but I want to be alone. A paradox.

2008-09-21T16:17:00.000-04:00

The Scar

So when I was a very young boy, our dog Princess had her first litter of nine cute pups. We gave away 8 of them and kept one of them. We called him Spokey! Spokey got his name because he used to mimic us when we talked or when he heard a song. He would howl and bark and growl trying to make the same sounds we were making. See...he was tryin to speak.
In India, a dog belonged outside of the house. Even the dog knew that. Once Princess got in our house accidently while we were playing and she was chasing me....she stepped in for a second and paniced and ran back outside! She knew her place. Also, dogs took care of themselves for the most part. At least, this was the situation in our house....we would feed our dog, bathe them, play with them, medical attention, but the walks and running and pooping business, it took care of its own.
Even when we play, regardless of who owns the dog that we are playing with, my parents would always caution me to be careful. You never know what they will do! They said...and they were right!
One afternoon, I believe it was a Sunday, and Spokey was still a pup, his teeth still sharp and very playful, I was playing with him on the verranda of my house. I was hunggin the dog and I patting him and to get comfortable I sat down, not realizing that Spokey's tail was my cuishioning!! Spokey yelped and turned suddenly and I got scared seeing him react fast that I turned away fast too, trying to move away from the dog...and in the process, Spokey's tooth got hooked to my face and my pulling it away tore the skin!
I was not frightened of the dog! I was more afraid of my parents finding out. I remember telling my sister not to say anything to my parents....but she was concerned and did snitch on me! :( and So I got a nice whoop ass even before they took me to the hospital! I got punished cuz I didn't listen to their warning to be careful with the dog!
When I got to the hospital, they cleaned my wound and gave me three shots to prevent rabies or any other infections.
The wounds healed and Spokey and I had a good time together, although he did turn out to be an aggressive dog a quite a biter. He bit three different people, who were in places where they shouldn't have been!
Spokey died years ago, but I will have a story to tell about him as long as I have this scar on my face! :)

2008-09-21T04:30:00.000-04:00

It is 4:30AM Sunday morning....I haven't slept a single wink this night....but then again, I didn't wake up until 11:30 or so on Saturday and I didn't do anything the whole day but lay on my bed and watch TV. Actually, that is bit of a lie, since I did go over to Sandy's house for dinner.

So tonight...I layed on the bed and I just couldn't sleep....I don't recall this ever happening to me before but what the heck..it is an experience.

Here is some thing I want to say to my friend but then again I can't really say it...

Dear friend:

I know we are not the same anymore...I feel that you don't look at me like you used to. I am thinking back only a year ago and we felt so much more closer....we just had something between us...a great friendship I very much cherished. Maybe my memory is wrong! Maybe I am only thinking of the sunny past and forgetting the blue days between us! But, if that is the case, I wish I will look upon this day in the same way, to think that we still have something good between us.

Let us say I am right. What is it that is causing us to drift apart? Is it something I said? Maybe...I knew you would not like it when I told you that and I still told you these things believing as friends we can look past the things we disagree upon. I still accept what you hold to be true and fully support you in the matter!

Or maybe it is because I didn't come to you with the problem that I had....that you had to find it through someone else....is that so? Not to be making excuses, but the reason why I didn't come to you first was my worries about how it would affect our friendship. I didn't know what it will do to us. In fact, the reason why I bore with this problem as far as I did was because I didn't want anything to go wrong between us.

I guess my presumptions were always wrong and that leads me to conclude I am wrong again. I hope I can bring this up to you plain and clear and expect you to respond straight forward and honestly to this, but I don't think it is possible.

So now I sit here in my bed bothered by the thought of losing you as we once belonged...and in honest and bit of an embarrassment, I admit, I am jealous of the people that are growing closer to you now while we grow apart!

Sincerely your true friend always,

James

So Anita...I know the vagueness is much much annoying to you, yet again! Why put it up on a blog if you are going to be so vague about things right? Well...my answer or excuse for that is...even though I don't tell the whole story here, I feel like I have conveyed how I feel about things. I think you or anyone else who reads it will appreciate what I felt! I can always hope! :)

2008-09-16T18:09:00.000-04:00

Ze Update...

It is 6:09PM on 16Sep2008...I got home a few minutes ago..changed out of the dress pants..pretty much kept the same polo shirt I got over the weekend and getting ready to head to the gym.

I signed up for Swim lessons at the Elevations gym at Scotrun. Last week was my first class. It was good. I mean...its not packed with kids like me...it is the adult swim lesson and I am the youngest of the four people taking the class...a bit awkward? Maybe! But I am determined to get swimming learned, you know?!

So what has been happening? Well...the Friday before last, my parents came from India. So the last two weekends I pretty much spend it with them.

Work has been a bit hectic, since I have been away for a while...I need some time to reconnect to the groove!

My computer...from which I am making this blog...is messed up! It has slowed down yet again and I am unable to use it like I used to...just adjusting for the moment...next week I am most likely going to call the TigerDirect people and have them fix it!

My iPhone crashed last Monday and I just got it back in order yesterday...

As you can see, quite a lot has been going on..and this computer being messed up thing is not helping me stay updated or to update my blog!

Lastly...my room is a HUGE mess and I need to clean it up.

2008-09-03T21:05:00.000-04:00

The Luckiest Man Alive!

So my previous post was about my anticipated birthday and now it is over. I was expecting it to be a miserable one...well...yes I was miserable at the time I made the post.

A lot has happened in the week past. But let me just tell you about my birthday and how I am the luckiest man alive...

The day before my birthday...Friday, I went to work as usual. The plan was for me to leave work with my friends Nicole, Kim, and Lindsey and have chicken wings at a place in Wilkes-Barre called 'Whiskey Business.' So throughout the day I suspected something was going on behind my back but when I confronted Nicole and Kim regarding it...they made me feel so guilty for even thinking that.

So 3PM and we leave...I got to drive Kara's stick shift Audi in the parking lot before I dropped my car off at the Crossings with Vinny and off we go...

First I was at Nicole and Lindsey's while they ran a few errands and got ready to go out...then we went to Whiskey Business, where I met Kim's fiance, Joe, for the first time. He got carded and had to go home to bring his ID back and I also had to experience racial slurs written on the bathroom wall.

The wings were delicious! I got cajun and hot wings and they were was a lot of it. I couldn't finish the whole thing so I chugged the rest of the beer and we left for Stroudsburg.

Nicole said we were going to meet up with everyone else at Flood's and have a party there but she wanted to stop by the house to drop of the chicken wings too....when she said that, I knew something was up.

And so we ride home and eventually get home...all the while Nicole and Lindsey kept getting calls and texts...suspicious!

When we got home...I knew what was behind the door....it was a surprise party for me...so being the egoistic ass that I am, I open the door turn the lights on and wait outside! SURPRISE!!! I walked in and never felt so much joy and humility in my life.

The feeling of abandonment I had felt a few days ago was nowhere to be found. I felt so loved and very very very lucky to have good friends like I have.

Paulash, Nicole, Anita, Sandy, Sabora, Aarthi, Phil, Vinny, Greg, Marie, Pauline, Kevin, Lindsey, Dave Palladino, Chris Holland, Magnus, Malcolm,...whoa!! There is way too many names to drop....so yes there were a lot of people! I didn't expect half of them to be there but was really excited to see them!

The real surprise of the night was when Kim showed up in a bit with Joe. Kim...who has bailed on me at every other occasion before starting from the ISO fest last year up to Aissa's farewell party at my house and even Aissa's house....and now here she was with her fiance for my birthday party!! WOW! I was surprised!

I had a kick ass time after...and I got a bit drunk and maybe a bit too touchy feely for anyone's comfort...but whatever...it was my birthday! :)

My gifts....many....gift certificates for Thai and Fandango was already there.....a bottle of JD from Crystal and another one from Ashley and Munley. Polaroid camera and a US Olympics T-shirt from the brown crowd and a $400 ESQ watch from my brother! Crazzzzy!!!

I'm rich!

There is more about my birthday weekend...don't worry...I'll tell ya!
soon...

2008-08-20T22:52:00.000-04:00

A Bad Aftertaste...

So in a little more than a week, it is my birthday...and I already hate it!

I don't think I ever liked my birthday too much...it is right after my dad's birthday for one...so it always was a special day for both of us together. I guess it is somewhat selfish of me to want it more than that...

My birthday's bring me more frustrations and loneliness and a sense of moving away from the norm and away from a childhood and past I like more than the present or anticipated future!

So this year...I might end up being miserable for this one day yet again! =(

2008-08-19T18:47:00.000-04:00

I heard this song at the end of the movie 'Disturbia'... One Man Wrecking Machine.

Take a hear...I liked it, and I think it is somewhat like Coldplay.

2008-08-10T19:22:00.000-04:00

I had a wonderful week last week. I was on vacation Monday and Tuesday and so I enjoyed a three day vacation trip to Seaside Heights, NJ. It was pretty fun...for the first time in my life I did boogey board, skin boarding, floating in the ocean, buried in the beach, staying up late in a motel chilling with friends, waking up past the breakfast time and still stealing breakfast, watch Vinny do his firedance at the beach, get a drink with Sabz, go Jetskiing (AWESOME!!), and a lot more.

Then...I had work on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but that flew by. Friday I got to hang out with Marshall since he was back in town and possibly won't be back for a while. Saturday I got to explore Wilkes-Barre a bit, and went to Crystal's son, Jack's first birthday party. It was good!

Then today...I am still in shock after finding out something I didn't expect from a friend. News...but it shouldn't have made a difference but it makes me feel weird...especially in the tummy region! :(

2008-07-29T20:58:00.000-04:00

The Eye of Shakespeare

It is said of the Shakespearean style of writing that he always makes his heroes very attractive in appearance and the villains ugly in thier appearance.

I believe I have somewhat of this effect to my opinion of people....I mean...I am no deep person...so I do look at Physical beauty at first at least most of the time. But after I get to know the person, my view about them changes. I find some of my closer friends more beautiful because of how good thier heart is...or the way it appears to me...and some unfortunately I find are not as beautiful as I thought it was! :(

2008-07-29T20:06:00.000-04:00

The Weekend Past...

So this past weekend was an awesome one! It starts on a Friday...
As previously planned, there was going to be a party at my house for Aissa and Aude, since they are going away. The idea was spawned a few weeks earlier when Paulash brought up the question what the next party should be...and with Sandy and me on the Party Committee it was decided that it will be a Dance party! Now....obviously it wouldn't be a good dance party if only the Indian people got together...we need that African booty of Aissa for one! Plus, she will be leaving for France in a few weeks and this was my last chance for her party at my house.

So the plans were set...and I started to spread the word. I sent out an email earlier in the week to around 50 people at work...but most of all I wanted my French friends, Nicole & Kim to come to the party.

Friday...Its not going to be that good!
Crystal called off from work. Nicole has Rita's bachelorette party the next day and she has to leave eeeeeeearly in the morning around 5am for that. This is becoming a problem and with Crystal calling off and Kim and Nicole already putting thier test on and waiting to coat the 140 plates to coat......DISASTER!!!

Nicole and Kim wasn't able to leave work till 5pm and that meant they cannot come to the party..since they had to go home first and that will be around 7 and by the time they come back it will give them 15 or 30 minutes to chill before driving back and even then they are risking thier plans for the next day.

Meanwhile....I got off from work around 11am. I drove to Anita's picked her up and then we went to Honda to buy the touch up paint for the car (I don't know if I mentioned this before but there is a small scratch on the passenger side rear of the car....some asshole scartched it with thier car and just drove off....waiting for Karma!). After the touch up paint....then I picked up some beer for the party....and then some liqour and grocery...all for the party. Me and Anita got home and we got the jello shots made and then I cleaned up the place...and we re-arranged everything. So now....the place looks amazing! Its more spacious than ever before!

Anita kept cooking....Sandy stopped by and helped a bit too but then she had to leave to go to the mandir with Aarthi. Anita can cook!! Delicious wontons! :) Paulash came home around 6 or 6:30pm with Rita Dave (not the work one). I showered and got ready and people started showing up around 7:30pm...starting with Greg and then Aissa, Laetitia, Marie, Clarisse, Fabian, Omar, Chris, Kevin, Liz, Daco, Sandhya, Aarthi, Vinny, Phil, Carol, Nicholas, Alex, Maud, Valerie, Julia, Aude, Aurelien, Amelie, Seguinde, Aziza, Justin, Lenaig, Cecilia......oh my...I might have forgetten some! But all the people showed up and we chilled, drank, took shots, yager bombs, snacks, danced, played...even wrestled! It was a great time! Everyone had a good time....people left around 2am...last to leave was Justin....who entertained us with some jokes and videos on youtube. Like this one : Battle at Kruger.

Super!

Saturday....TIRED!!

I woke up a bit too early....growing to be an old man I guess.....waking up even while I am tired.....however I took many short naps during the day. Major events of the day....me, Rita and Phil went to the new Indian restaurant on Rt. 209, Marshalls Creek. It was good! The service was somewhat slow but they are just starting up so I give them that. The food tasted DELICIOUS! Indian food ofcourse...so don't be rushing white people!

Also....I started to watch Michael Clayton and fell asleep.....so when I woke up...I started it from the beginning and fell asleep yet again and this time I didn't wake up till 9pm!!! I cleaned up the house.....you know after the party mess....and then stayed up till 2ish cuz I wasn't all that tired anymore!

Sunday....Big Day!
For today...we have people coming over...and by people I mean...Paulash's mom, and her two friends (or relatives), Anita's mom, Sandy, Sandy's parents and Sunita, Aarthi and Manu. Paulash, Anita and Sandy was cooking...Phil had a little bit of input.....and I "helped" doing dishes and burning the rice that Sandy wanted for the fried rice. The menu....Chicken fried rice, shrimp fried rice, chicken curry, spicy chicken curry, shrimp curry, the broccoli stuff, watermelon, wine, and...some more stuff!

When Sandy's parent's came over...I was forced to and I did ask uncle if wanted a cold one....just the way he would ask me. I also packed aunty lunch for the next day...like she always does for me....Sunita was such a joy! She approached me very easily and gave me three hugs and two kisses and even came up to me so I would carry her...and I did!! I love herrrrr!!! :)

Ahhhhhh!!! Once everyone left...except for me, Anita, Sandy and Paulash...we played wiffle ball in the house. After Sandy left.....I chilled....and then went to bed somewhat early! Now there is a whole week ahead of me before I go...skydiving, drive to Philly to pick up Sabz, drive to Wilkes-Barre for Nicole's party, go to the beach with the crew for vacation!!!

2008-07-24T22:49:00.000-04:00

What happened today??

So today has been a grrrrrrrreat day! I had a wonderful time with my ladies (Kim, Nicole, Rita and Crystal as always and with the added pleasure of Lindsey!!)

There was a birthday party for Jaime and after work there was a going away party for Jess....at Brewskies. I forgot my wallet so I had to borrow money from Rita and Aissa and I felt awkward and embarrassed... :(

Me and Aude after Jess's party went to Marie and Clara's for a BBQ...which was delicious!!

And I just got home...a tiny bit drunk!! :$

2008-07-23T21:38:00.000-04:00

Hey...what's going on??

So...for the past few days I have been feeling extremely tired at the end of the day. I am done with work, I come home and I just wanna sleep! It was horrible....cuz then I get cranky and take it out on other people like the asshole Paulash and the poor soul Sandy! (Obviously Anita...I am hoping you will convey this message to that boy!)

Well...today after work I went over to Aarthi's and she suggested I go to the gym even though I feel tired and that I get multivitamin supplements. And the workout seems to be working for me....cuz its almost 10 and I am not that tired and cranky right now!!

On other news...I got invited to Rita's wedding today. I know it might not sound like a big deal to many people....but it touched me in the inside yuh kno'! I felt soooooo warm and happy! It was awesome!! The reason being...she is getting married in August and the invitations were already sent out even before she knew me...somewhat! So, once we became friends, me and Kim used to joke around saying that we are going to crash the wedding. And now she invited us!! Go ahead...say it....AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!! :)

2008-07-21T20:55:00.000-04:00

A few pictures....

Here is my friend Anita....i don't know whats going on with the picture. Anita is one of my best friend....she has been around, in and out, annoying and entertaining, overall great memories with this one gyal! :) I dedicate this post to you Anita...the sole reader of my blogs! lol! (Also, I would like to mention that I feel like I can say almost anything or everything to Anita without worrying about offending her, even if it does! Its awesome!!!)

The above is food from Thai Thai in Wilkes-Barre that my friends Nicole and Lindsey brought for me....how awesome are they!! :D Well the other day....or Sunday past...or yesterday...me, Sandy and Abid went to Thai Thani in Stroudsburg and during our conversation with the owner, Charlie, we found out that Thai Thai is afterall in the same family!! Also...the dinner was to meet with Abid who was gone for a month for boot camp!
My Dirty ReeBoks....I can see many things....one thing I would like to point out is the shoe prints that Sabz left on my shoe while trying to crush my foot! lol!
This is an accident in Philadelphia, apparently at the second most dangerous intersection....the car was flipped over...I don't know how!My mom got this henna tattoo from Aarthi at the Community at the Quad event...pretty sweet....she was nervous as to what my dad might say....so had us keep it a secret!! Shhh!

Another creation of Nicole...she is sooo damn talented!! She made this glove replica of Aissa....what she looked like with her hair braided!

YET another creation of Nicole...although I take partial credit for this one...cuz I suggested it to her in passing one day!
Don't play with your food kids....but you can arrange it in a way it looks awesome! I believe this was the first BBQ of the season at my house....occassion...memorial day?! Not sure...

Thats it!

2008-07-17T20:49:00.000-04:00

like you care...but i feel frustrated and trapped in some way!
but its all nothing when tomorrow is FRIDAYYYYY!!!! :D

2008-07-17T07:36:00.000-04:00

I have been emailing Anita back and forth from work lately...and she has written a few very entertaining emails...so I figured I will share it here:

hahah yeah it was reaaaaaaaalllll good *wink* *wink* . I'm glad you had a good time at the party and that the food was sooo good. Bar at 1 pm huh? This is where you're at now? The tapioca beef sounds weird, and by weird i mean gross. It's probably because my last experience with tapioca wasn't good (see: bubble tea). Well you def. missed out on the grinding loser, though I cant imagine why that'd be good for guys, it's like a tease you know...

Sorry I couldn't reply I wasn't with internet today, hence I couldn't reply.

So I was super-excited for the wedding and now i'm not. Cause i'll be riding around with Corey's gf to the party...whoever that is. Then i'm going with John and PK to the reception,. they're are probably the friends of Paulash I talk to the least. So yeah..fun times. I guess I have to be more outgoing and make some friends. And then the after party is Karaoke, could it get any better? Why yes, yes it can.

In other news, my grandparents came here yesterday along with my aunts and my baby cousin sooooo cute, one month old, farts all the time, but soo adorable. And my grandparents are staying with us until Friday and my grandmother though she cooks great food, she cannot stop TALKING. I mean all the damn time...like she's talking now...about what? I don't know, because I stopped paying attention about 10 minutes ago. She talks so low and expects you to hear her, along with a pretty high voice...Anyway, my parents and the aunts went out to the casino last night at around 12am and came back close to 4am, thereby giving me my excuse to stay out late ;-)

I feel now as if i'm writing a blog...weird. Now she's talking about making chicken and bread...omg, who cares? Am i EATING chicken and bread? NO, so don't talk about it....Don't get me wrong I love my grandmother, I call her Nanny, but seriously...

Anyway, I'll talk to you later, adios amigo

And today she somewhat matched it with this email:

I was on a roll you know, and I kept going. So, this JUST happened....Paulash was going up my stairs with me cause he wanted to see my sister's room (she painted it red) and he lifted up my skirt, and i was wearing a thong, so my ass was hanging out...and you can see everything reflected in the windows! EVERYTHING! and my grandparents and my mom was there and i'm sure they were looking! How embarrassing! So, in addition to that, he fell asleep on the couch, cause of his medication and that he stayed up late watching the stupid baseball. So that was funny, and my sister started taking pictures of him...hello facebook!

I got my dress finalized, it's blue, now I need shoes for the dredding (that's wedding I'm dreading).

So yeah, tell me about your life.

Thats my post! :)
I have become sooooo lazy I am not even writing my own blog! lol!

2008-07-15T19:40:00.000-04:00

The Weekend past...

Two reasons why I make this post...(1) I haven't made a post in a while...(2) I had a great weekend with some awesome people!

Friday I used up all of my overtime and got off at 12:15pm...I wanted to get out much earlier...like by 11 but I didn't have enough hours for one and then I had some tasks to finish. I had a nice morning though...a late breakfast with Kim...walk to the Health Center with Aissa...I got my third installment of my Hep B shot. On the way back we stopped at the Down Under, got myself a delicious machiatto...or whatever the hell the name is! :D

I got off at 12:15...and I got to my car...drove straight to LemonTree for a haircut. I had to wait there for a few minutes before I got my cut but they did a pretty good job. I might have liked it better at El Coqui...but as I have later found out..that place is closed down.

I got home...took a shower and packed some stuff for the trip. Me and Phil then went over to Thai Thani and picked up some of the delicious fried rice for Iraz...and the rest of them.

Next stop was the Sunoco gas station and then in Allentown. Changed the oil for the Accord and once Vipin or "Skip" and Niroop was ready, we left for Philly.

We got to Sabz house around 7...Phil dropped me off and went with the others. I had the warmest welcome in the house. I had a glass of water and a cup of tea....hugs and shakes from everyone in the house....Sabz, Guli, Iraz (putha), Casim uncle and Shukran aunty. Kishan joined us a bit later on and off we went to the Chinese place...Sankee!

It was a delicious dinner! On the way back, just us youngin stopped at the grocery store to pick up some stuff...the plan was to drink....but when we got home...everybody was too damn tired! Sabz had work in the morning and I had to go to my friend Amith's engagement. So we layed around and eventually passed out watching TV in Iraz's room.

Saturday morning...Sabz woke me up before she left for work. I took a shower and got ready and was dropped off at the railway station. From there I took a train to 30th-Market and then to Cornwell Heights, where Phil picked me up....we went to the engagement. It was a fun event with lots of food! Phil sang two songs.

After the engagement, we went straight to Las Margarita's. However, ever since Nicole's party...I don't feel the drinks! So I took it light. Around 3 we left and went to Niroops where I slept for a while before we went to Mallu Cafe for some delicious "Kappa biriyani" (Its a local Kerala dish....mashed tapioca blended with beef curry made from the bones). From there to Skip's crib, where we chilled till 11ish.

We headed to the Old City then....and we were driving around looking for parking for a while and evetually picked a garage. Club Cebu was too crowded and had a huge line outside, so we went to some club across the street. Interesting....the club had flat screen TVs playing porn and a lit board that said "F*cking Tip." There were soo many girls dressed in short skirts and ummm somewhat slutty attire I might say.

Anyways...the usual club scene...2ish.....got the boot...went to Niroop's where we crashed for the rest of the night.

I woke up 9 the next morning...and I woke Phil up around 10. We went over to Sabz house for lunch as invited. But first we went with Iraz and played cricket with Casim uncle, Kishan, Chara, Hassan and his cousin Katab.

It was soooo hot outside. We were dying by the end of the game. The game was two four over sets with Me, Kishan, Iraz, Hassan and Casim uncle on one team playing against Chara, Phil, Katab and Ahmed. Oh yea! He was there too! We lost the first set by 7 runs (we only scored 20) and the second one...Kishan and Hassan led us to victory!

As soon as we got back to Sabz home, we took a shower....I badly needed one! Then LUNCH!!

Its called "Kiddu." Served on banana leaves, its a mix of rice, dhaal, pickles, and beef and some other stuff too...then the delicious Chicken fry and beef fry and the liver curry!!1 YUMMMMMMMMM!!!

We hung out a bit after lunch....Phil took a nap and afterward we said our sad goodbyes and went to Mercy ammama's. We got snacks there and we went to pick up Niroop and Skip who were playing basketball. By the time we left there....it was 9pm.

We got home arounddddd....11ish...after dropping Niroop and Skip in Allentown. I started to update my phone and by the time I was sleeping it was 2am!! :(

I am tired!

2008-07-02T21:47:00.000-04:00

Hello...
I have been "busy" yet again! Well for a good reason this time....I was transferred back to my favorite ELISA 4 lab but now I am moved back yet again to RIA lab.
I was working on a post before...about the time that Sabz's family was visiting the Pocono's and our trip to Dorney...stuff that went on that weekend.
I will eventually get to completing it I guess.

This week has been pretty alright...my favorites were the last two days when we had potluck luncheon...me, Rita, Crystal and Nicole. Awesome!! And today even Lindsey was able to join us! I must say...LOVE it!! :D

2008-06-21T16:31:00.000-04:00

Great Stuff...its time I write another blog.. :)

I think it was during the memorial day weekend that we started talking about throwing another party in our house. Sandy, Paulash and I started debating the ideas for the party. Should it be a dress up party? An around the world party?...well it wasn't easy to reach an agreement between the three of us. But eventually Sandy's idea...a Grafitti Party was agreed upon.
We decided to host the party at our house last Saturday and so it happened. In between though, things started to go screwy! Sandy was going to come to the party under the cover that she will be staying over by Aarthi's. Unfortunately, Aarthi's son got Pneumonia was extremely sick all week long and it was only right that she went to down to Philly to comfort him and look after him. So now Sandy wasn't going to come.
As a coincidence Sabora's family decided to make thier vacation to the Poconos a week early and come the last weekend. Splendid! Now joining us for the party was Sabz, Guli, Iraz, Ahmed, Qadi and Kishan!
Aissa agreed to come and so she did and she brought Laetitia with her. Ok let me stop with the guest list...but most importantly for me...Aissa, Sabz, and Anita was there for the party! And it was awesome! Sandy's Graffiti idea was BRILLIANT!! She showed up a bit later on in the night too...which made it even better!!! :D
Anyways...the party was a blast and I had an awesome time..and so did everybody else there. I might have drunk a bit much cuz now...a week later, my hand is still bumpy and ugly from the alcohol effect!!! :(
These bumps are a small price to pay for no hangovers though!

Sunday...breakfast by Paulash...it was delicious...it was Me, Sandy, Anita and Paulash for brunch. After that Sandy went back home, I went to Sabz's vacation home for some cricket. Cricket wasn't that great for me....I was just plain tired...and wanted to sleep! However, the Samsudeens weren't going to be around too long, so I had to take the time I had with them. After cricket, they insisted I stay for dinner...but I already agreed to be at Sandy's for dinner. So I was trying my best to fight it off but then Biggy fried her famous chicken and I agreed to stay! So here I am not yet done digesting the very late brunch...having fried chicken and delicious Sri Lankan home cooked food.
After dinner at Sabz's I went over to Sandy's for the real dinner. And it was delicious as always!! :D

2008-06-05T21:40:00.000-04:00

Arghhhhhh!!!
I am boreddd!!! Its a Thursday....I wish I was that kid who could go out tonight and have fun but then be back at work tomorrow like nothing happened tonight! Unfortunately I am tired as it is...so I am not pushing myself further! Does that make me an old chump? Maybe...

Hello...Old Chump!!

2008-05-29T19:23:00.000-04:00

Sadness...

I am sure I have mentioned this before...but one of my best friends from work, Kim, and I pretend to be a couple around the lab. Everybody knows that she has a boyfriend outside of work...but inside she is my work wife. This past week she has been an awesome friend to me. I mean...it is kinda sad how I measure "awesome"...she has been bringing me food! Okay...so the way to my heart might after all be through my tummy...but so what?... she got there! So, along with Nicole's baked goods, and Carissa's left overs...now I have Kim's specially packed lunches that she brought me two days in this week.
KIM...You are AWESOME!!

Today's stuffed shells was delicious! Really!
And I had some delicious Chicken with Jack Daniel's sauce that she made from the scratch on Monday...needless to say...DE-LI-CIOUS!!!

The sad part is this....she is having a tough week. She got a ticket this morning on her way to work. She was told by out manager Frederic that there aren't any open positions for her in GCI and that she will have to find another job when her contract expires a month before it is supposed to in early June...thats only a few weeks left! :(

I hope and wish that Kim wouldn't have to leave us...but that is not going to happen. Now I hope and pray that she will find another job within the company at least, so that she will be around, if not in my department.

Hmph!

Other news....Aude is back from her vacation to Peru.

Its been a busy week...I had to test all three days thus far. Friday...Family Day...Tomorrow!! Woohooo!!!

2008-05-25T19:05:00.000-04:00

ATL

Its a Sunday afternoon and I just finished watching the movie ATL. I am seeing it for the first time. Before I saw it, I thought it was a movie about gangs and drug dealing that sort of thing. However, even though that was a major part of the plot, the movie had so much more in it. I liked it...very much. Maybe because I wasn't expecting much from it. But it proved my assumption wrong and entertained me and moved me in some ways!

Surprising though is the role played by T.I. (or as credited Tip Harris). He is the clean one...the kid that is trying to protect his younger brother from the ghetto...from the drugs, and violence. The good older brother who wants his younger brother to "get out of this place" and be something more in life. Is that what he raps about though? I guess have to go over his lyrics again....but I didn't see his ghetto/thug image as a rapper in the character and I am surprised and impressed that he played the part very well!

The part that most affected me in this movie is a poetry narrated by the Rashad (T.I.)'s uncle, George (Mykelti Williamson):

Pleasure turns to the pain, Of the lessons learned from the strain Of the questions burned in my brain, About whether to love is humane in its touch. These thoughts are like salmon swimming upstream in the tears of your deceit. Fighting the current hurt that kills more than is created by the chaos of our intertwined emotions. Chatoic because the anchor of Eros' arrow has been plucked from the vessel of my undying infatuation. Separation not as simple as the distance between us My mind no longer possessed by the demons that had been the overseers of my enslavement to your lies. The seeds of these lies rooted so deeply they have cracked the foundation of what we once shared. Allowing the faith in us I had sealed inside to gush out like a river, Ripping the image of our future together from my thoughts as violently and as brutally as if it were a child being taken from his mother's arms. I'm left surrounded in darkness but I refuse to be swallowed by it. My loneliness like the night air. Invisible to the eye, obvious to the touch, In its cold uncomfortableness Yet if I could do it all over again, I'd do it in the same skin I'm in. To lay down and let love die, Just stay down and let love lie, No, no, not I. I'll stay 'round and let love fly, Even though I have seen its darkest form, deceit. Nothing else could taste this warm or feel this sweet.

(Source: IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0466856/quotes)

2008-05-24T12:31:00.000-04:00

An Introduction to this post...

I started my job in sanofi pasteur on 6^th August, 2007. This is something I wrote on that day. I must apologize for the difficulty you might have following this blog, but it is an actual print of the thoughts that were crossing my mind, so it is somewhat random and incomplete.

06AUG2007
First day of work.

But I should start with yesterday, since yesterday, Sunday, was my last day of “freedom.” I had much fun and I'm going to tell you all about it. [Odd that this was on a Sunday, and Sundays are usually my bad days.]

It started off as any regular Sunday. Had to wake up earlier than my days before...took a shower and got ready for church. We went to church – me and achachen (thats what I call Phil, my brother). It was a good day at church. Happy faces makes everything better. We had to leave before the sermon was over since achachen had work starting at 12.

So, me and achachen left around 11:25 and went to the Crossings, where I dropped him off and I came straight back home. I started to play SimCity4 and got carried away. The plan was to call Marshall and find out about this waterfall and then go there with Shane, Samantha and Anita. But Anita went with Paulash to see the Yankees game. So, it was going to be just me, Shane and Samantha.

Well, 2:30 and I got hungry...so I cleaned up the kitchen and cooked me some eggs and sausage links. After I ate, I called Marshall and got the directions. It wasn't very clear....he said the waterfall is going to be at the end of this six minute trail and the trail starts off at a small gravel parking spot on the left site of Route 209 between mile markers 4 and 8 on the Delaware Water Gap (national park).

Around 3, I got a call from Sandy. She asked me if I wanted to go Go-Karting. I did! I thought her family might be there but when I got there, it was just her and her cousin Shawn, who is from Canada and is in the 6^th grade. While we were waiting, Sandy wasn't sure if they would let me on the go-karts because I was too big! But they let me and so...me, Sandy and Shawn took our four laps around the track. It was fun! I enjoyed it! I wish the track was longer.

After Go-Karting, we decided to get ice-cream and to avoid the Flee market traffic, we went to the McDonald's and got ice-cream there. While we were eating....this family with two small kids sat near by us. The little girl started to cry and scream. So we walked outside and finished our ice-cream outside. When we were done with the ice-cream, we said goodbyes and I went to Penn Estates to pick up Samantha and Shane. Sandy hasn't started studying for her geography exam today as of yet. I wonder how she did! :$

Anyways...so I picked up Shane and Samantha and that when I found out Anita is with Paulash. So we drove back to my house. While Shane and Samantha waited in the car., I got changed into my swim trunks. We then took the back roads to 209 and I remember Shane kept telling that we were getting deeper into KKK territory. We then drove toward the Delaware Water Gap. Stopped at the river access.

We were looking for some signs on the map – looking for better direction. But that wasn't much help. So we kept driving and started to notice the mile markers. Past mile 7, we saw the gravel parking lot with a small trail that looked like one person might have walked on it, if ever. So we thought, maybe that wasn't it, and kept driving past mile 8 and then turned back. We came back to the same spot and said – lets just check it out. So we started walking on the trail.

A few meters in, we were in a forest and completely isolated from development. We kept walking and saw this abandoned stone building which looked like a cave. We could hear the water at this point...so it gave us hope that we were on the right track. And so we walked, and as Marshall said, ended up at the waterfalls. We climbed the steep hill to reach the pool. It was first just me and Samantha, cuz Shane said he is too scared. When we got up there, it was amazing!!! Beautiful and serene!

So I saw this trail going up the hill and I started going up that to see if there is a road connecting to it. But I ended at the peak of the mountain and still didn't see a road. So decided to turn back. When I was walking back down, I heard Shane yell something and Samantha calling for me. I eventually got down and I was sweaty and tired.

Samantha and I wanted to go in the water and wanted Shane to join us. So we went down the Steep hill and convinced Shane to come with us. So he did. We climbed the hill and back up to the second waterfall and the pool.

The water was freezing cold but we weren't going back without getting wet. So we did. We got completely wet.

We got out soon, cuz it was freezing. We walked upo the trail not upto the peak but high enough for a good scenery. We came back down. Took a few pictures. Carved on the fallen tree. Went all the way down. Sam wanted to get on one of the trees that went across the river. So I joined in and we went to the middle of the stream across the tree and posed for a picture. Sam almost fell in on the way back! We got back to the car....still wet!

We started driving and I was using my cell phone. When I turned back to the road, there were two young deer running across. One made it across. The other tried to turn back, but slipped and fell and I drove over its leg. It stayed there for a while but eventually got up and limbed away.

We stopped at the Alpaca farm.

We got pizza and gyros.

Went to the old park in front of Hallet Rd. Ate. We saw an old while we were there. I dropped 'em off and came back home.

2008-05-23T22:57:00.001-04:00

21 days later...

Ahhh...do make note of the side burns...and the tiny curl at the tips of my manstache! Delectable!!
So I ended my three weeks of growing mustache and deleted almost all the hair from my face...and my head for that matter... :)

Why did I shave my head? I really don't have a good answer for that....I think it is extremely "ugly" to have my head shaved...I anticipated it to be even before I shaved my head. But....its an experience I wanted to have and now I do!

2008-05-21T21:21:00.000-04:00

The Mustache Challenge!

A few weeks back I was explaining to my friends Nicole and Kim how having a mustache is the norm for guys in India. Its true! Well at least it used to be...things are changing in India faster than I can keep up with it!
Nicole was intrigued by the idea of me with a mustache. She offered me the five Canadian dollars that she had with her at the time for me to grow a mustache for three weeks.
This Friday is week three!
I have been growing a ridiculous looking mustache on my face for the past three weeks. The picture will be coming soon...

2008-05-17T18:46:00.000-04:00

A picture from last summer...this was when me, Phil, Marshall and Michelle went to Teresa's beach party in Long Island, NY.

2008-05-17T01:40:00.000-04:00

The Escape...

It is Friday night...what am I up to?

Well, there are a few new French interns in town and they were celebrating thier housewarming and the birthday of one of them...I was over there till now....1:45am....I should probably sleep!

Good night folks!

2008-05-06T19:05:00.000-04:00

An Apology to Blogger!!

I am sorry! I have been busy as I have been claiming...what has me being busy compose of?

Well for this week, I am working 10 hours each day for four days so I can take Friday off. That means...I wake up 3:45am, get ready and be at work by 5:00am...work, breakfast, work, hangout, lunch, work, breaks, hangout, work, hangout, get out of work at 3:30 or like I did today at 4:30pm...then I drive home...see if there is a friend I can hangout with...if yes...Awesome! Entertained for the night...if not...come home...maybe blog(? like I am doing right now!)...I should go to sleep soon as well...maybe by 9pm...thats a plan!!

Ok...other than for work...sometimes I go over to Sandy's house...as I have explained in a previous blog...Sandy and her mom takes care of me like family...I should just refer to them as family from now on. A distant Aunt and cousin....I like this! :)

So hanging out with friends and family and work and work buddies...this is what has been keeping me busy!

As a result of being busy...I haven't been much active on the computer side of things...be it emailing friends, keeping up with facebook, myspace and orkut....I haven't been doing much.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO..........

What has been going on? Well I have been working with a bunch of great great great and awesomeeee people!!! Starting with the list would be silly but I shout out to Kim (my work wife), Aissa (makes my days fly...I'll need a whole blog to herself now!), Nicole (the funniest girl on the planet), Rita (the hottest bride to be), Crystal (the sweetest/yowza Mom), Aude, Stacey, Jessica, MaryLou, Jaime, Carrissa, Kara (or as I call her...Care Bear), Lindsey (my Indian Princess)...there is all the French Interns then...anyways.......

I was working in one of the labs with most of these people...but now I am in a different lab, in the same area, but different. Its going okay here in the new lab....I would still prefer to be back where I used to be.

Thats work life....

Social life....still single and quite happy to be. I have been hanging out with my work friends more..."the frenchies" as I refer to them are an awesome bunch and partying with them is always awesome!

Mom was visiting me a couple weeks back. It was a fun time of course...till the day she found a receipt of mine from the liquor shop. Oooooh! She was not happy! I wasn't about to apologize for it either. I do not believe I am doing anything wrong in drinking alcohol every once in a while in a social context. However, my mother and a while back, myself, believes that alcohol is no good, no matter what quantity, or what context.

Mom was okay with me before she left. We celebrated her birthday with a wonderful dinner and cake and gift at Sandy's house!

Another topic we discussed during mom's visit was...my future...in settling down matters. I requested that I be not hitched in my love life....and she was very welcoming of this. So I screwed myself over in a way....cuz now I have to find a chick to marry! Dammit!!!!! :(...but of course this won't happen for another 6 or 8 years! :) I have time!

What is today's blog about? Its finals week....my friends are busy studying for the exams...me myself....got home after work and dinner with Sandy at the Chinese place....I am somewhat tired...but willing to stay up a bit before I pass out!

There....that is my apology blogger....and thank you google for reminding me in English, German and Swedish that my Google Account is linked to blogger and that I have the opportunity to reset my account (since the bot mistakes my inactivity/laziness for idiocy!)

2008-04-12T13:19:00.001-04:00

2008-04-12T13:02:00.000-04:00

I have been a bit busy with my life lately...well I should say, I am actually testing in my lab (work), and also they blocked Blogger at work! Suckers!! Even though I found a way to get around it, I do not want to abuse the advantage I have, in fear that someone might get me in trouble if they catch me blogging! :S

So, here I am...blogging on a weekend. I just got done with my weekly chores...I was cleaning up the living room for the week. Thats pretty much done. Now I wait, to get my laundry done and then tonight I will be going to a French party, for which I am somewhat excited! :D

2008-04-12T12:55:00.000-04:00

Needless to say...you are probably never going to hear the rest of the D.C. story...

Sorry!

I have been extremely busy the last few weeks. Since we came back from D.C., the next project for the ISO (for which Sabz is president), was to put together thier annual performance...the Internation Students Festival. The event was organized for April 5th...and the preparations began. I was part of a play in the show...and I also generally volunteered for other stuff I could help out with, like transportation.

As things start to progress there were so many

2008-03-13T18:45:00.000-04:00

A few weeks back I was helping Sabz with her school work and instead of actually helping her with Stats, we ended up looking hotel rooms online. That is when I found out about the ISO students organizing a three day trip down to D.C. I liked this idea of a weekend getaway and it was totally possible for me to do. When Sabz offered it to me, I wanted to grab on to it right away, but I wasn't sure how the other students going on the trip would feel. So, I didn't decide then. A few weeks later, when we were at Sandy's house, we were talking about the trip again and this time I realized, if I can go with them, I can also be of some assistance in giving everyone a ride around the city. So I was in! So was Sandy. Soon, I extended it to Paulash, who has been talking about a D.C. trip to visit his friend Sharon there. Sandy offered it to Vinny. By Friday of last week, it was Me, Paulash, Vinny, Sandy and Aarthi going with the ISO - Sabz, Anita, Nitah, Eucabeth, Gregory and Jason. Eleven heads.

Transportation and accomodation were the biggest concerns. The ISO has arranged for one car and two hotel rooms. Me and Vinny were going to take cars on our own to help them out. Vinny drove his car and I took the Chrysler 300 that we still had on rental. We drove separately on Friday. This trip...was an adventure!

On Friday morning, I woke up around 8:30 to help Anita with her Physics homework. I was dead tired after working 10 hours for the past four days so I can take the whole Friday off from work and not lose any vacation time or pay. I went back to sleep around 9:30 and by 10:30 Paulash woke me up and asked me to get ready. By 11 we were out of the house and we went to the Crossings to get the GPS from the Civic. We were sneaking around it so Phil's boss, to him he told that he will be giving the car to me that afternoon, wouldn't see us.

So now me and Paulash left for DC. I wanted to leave later on with the rest of the crowd, since that would've been good company on the road. Paulash insisted that we will be stuck in traffic if we did leave that late, and by leaving early on we will be able to go to the Smithsonian Portraiture Gallery. So we left and Paulash drove for the first half of the trip. We stopped at Snydersville to get gas and then a place in Delaware for lunch. Other than that there was no other pit stops.

As soon as we enter the city limits of DC we are welcomed by the sight of a homeless guy throwing up on the side of the road! Ahhh! DC! Where crime rates and poverty are high! Residence to the biggest criminal in power George Bush!

Anyways...we drove past Sharon's house and was figuring out what to do. We were in urgent need to pee, so we stopped at a Japanese restaurant and bar. Since we considered it rude to just use the bathroom and not buy anything, we stopped at the bar and got each of us a drink.

We went to the Portraiture Galleria soon. First stop inside was the portrait of Stephen Colbert. I saw that Paulash was very much into portraits than I was. He enjoyed and felt stuff...to me there wasn't much more than pictures to see....maybe this makes me shallow, insensitive or even not classy enough to enjoy this kind of art, but what the hell, I'm only being honest here. Other than the portraits, there was a hip-hop special going on in the gallery. There was a local hip-hop radio DJ playing current tracks and there was also a middle aged white man moving to the song. Ummm...I didn't know how to react to this...but yes I took a picture and I laughed.

Around 7pm, Rob met us at the Gallery and we went from there to a local restaurant. We were having dinner there...after waiting for Sharon for a while that is...when I got a call from Sabz. She said she was in an accident. It certainly wasn't what I was expecting to hear and it felt like somebody was stepping on my gut. It was strange, certainly not pleasant. She said everyone was okay and that the accident happened when Aarthi was trying to avoid a car that cut her off on the highway.
Should I drive back?! I was contemplating....if I start driving now, I will be there in an hour or less, but it wasn't the rational choice. It would have been a stupid choice, especially since Vinny is driving back the 30 mile gain he had on them to meet them and help them out.

We stayed back. I was in DC while the rest of my friends were on thier way to DC...and we had dinner and went to Rob and Sharon's place. I bought some booze for the night and dropped Paulash, Rob and Sharon and thier friends off at the kareoke bar they were planning to spent the night at, but I forgot the booze and now had to drive back and pick up Rob, go back to thier house and evertually be back on my way to Virginia, where we have our hotel rooms reserved. It was 11pm at night when I finally got to the hotel and we were all getting ready soon after to go out to go clubbing. Smart choice? Maybe not...clubs close at two. I didn't want to be a negative person, but I did warn a few times about the possibility of not getting to the club that night. By the time Sandy and Vinny met up with us to leave, it was 12:45...the drive to DC, where the club is 20 or 30 minutes and that did not sound worth it at that time. So, we decided to go check out the hookah bar instead. We set out from the hotel.

I was following Vinny, and with me was Sabz, Aarthi and Jason. As soon as we pulled out of the hotel, the car slipped and I started to hear a wierd noise. Sabz says, "Thats cool, your car sounds like a jet engine!"
We stopped and changed the flat and finally met up with Vinny at the hookah bar. The Hookah bar wasn't that great, so we decided to leave right away...food? Sure..Taco bell...no chinese...no...McDonald's....just because we passed one. U-turn and now we were outside Mickey D's...waiting in the drive thru looking inside a crowded restaurant at 3 in the morning, we waited half an hour or more to finally get our food. I put some gas in the car from the gas pump next door and we drive back to the hotel. We ate some of our food and soon passed out.

Well...Friday might have been packed with bad luck...accident, delay, no club, flat tire...but Saturday gets better. Check back!

2008-02-29T11:10:00.000-05:00

UPDATE:Singletown/Loserville.

For most of my life I was single. My first relationship started last November 20th. Quite a remarkable date. I was dating Sarada, a trini girl who I met through my friend Sandhya. We started out friends and we talked a lot and eventually had a liking for each other which when we both agreed upon led to us dating. I wasn't anticipating what will happen in the future, since my focus was mostly on the present and I was, as my good friend Kishan would say, "going with the flow."

Our relationship progressed very fast I must say, in a matter of four months we got very close to each other. However....there was a major flaw to this relationship (and very many minor ones). I guess this was my first experience in relationships, so I am not very good communicator.

Its not that I won't talk about anything, when something bothers me...I tend to keep it to myself and not express it very well only because I don't want to insult/offend/hurt Sarada in telling her how she is not making me happy. Many of the things are even silly and not even her fault...I just don't like it and I cannot expect her to sing to my tune since that to me is unfair to her.

Anyways....the issues about her that bothered me started to get a bit too much for me to keep inside and the more I started to get annoyed at her...and I felt sorry that I am treating this wonderful person unlike a way she should be treated.

Last Saturday, I was again off with our relationship, after a fight the previous night. When she called me in the morning, it was obvious to her something was bothering her. I couldn't exactly explain to her what....but she came to deducing what was wrong and she asked me if I was planning on breaking up with her. I couldn't say much but kept quite and I apologized. She was taken by surprise. She didn't realize there was anything that bothered me that much and so when I was considering breaking up with her...she was obviously not expecting it!

I didn't explain much on Saturday or Sunday...but Monday I called her and we were able to talk it through. I guess, I was able to explain everything to her in a way that made sense to her but at the same time didn't hurt her too much.

So four months and three days later, I am single again. I must admit, even though I regret hurting Sarada in this ordeal, I don't think I was doing the wrong thing in ending a relationship which had very little future.

I do not want to play a blaming game, but if anyone is to blame, it will be me!

I was friends with my ex before I started dating her, so it is somewhat sad for me to lose a friend. But I am hopeful, in time, she will come to terms with how things are and be able to be friends with me again!

2008-02-17T19:43:00.000-05:00

I have been living in the Poconos for the past five years now. I have been through at least four winters. This does not make me any expert in the weather conditions as I have heard from the many locals who like narrating the heaviest and roughest winters they have gone through! I suppose it is quite an experience you would want to share...stories of days without electricity or possibility of transportation after the heavy snow storm!
This winter however, as I recollect from my very short winter memories, is somewhat different. I have not looked up any stats or facts to back this up and therefore am not claiming this to be one. Just the first time I am experiencing a winter like this! Its been somewhat mild and warm most of these winter days and then occassional week of extreme cold. The last time it happened, I got a flat tire because I ignored a low pressure warning which I blamed on the cold. Let me tell you...it was no fun changing the tire when it is freezing temperature!
Last Tuesday there was a big winter storm (the second one this season), it was snowing Tuesday night and it turned into freezing rain overnight. By morning the roads and trees were covered with ice.
The shovel trucks didn't come by yet when I called my work to find out if I have to go in at all. Sadly, I did! My work was delayed for two hours! That itself was exciting for me. My friends in college had thier classes cancelled and my friends friends Paulash and Aarthi got to work from home. I was so jealous! At least I didn't have to be in for work till 10am and got to leave by 4:30pm and still get paid for the 8 hours! That was good!
I like winter and snow storms even though I hate cleaning up the driveway and walk way, and heating up the car.
I think the craziest winter adventure I have ever had would have to be last year around February or March. It was Spring break for me, since I was still in college. It snowed all day long and was still snowing around 3pm when me and my brother decided to go get beer since a couple of our friends were coming over. There was a foot and a half of snow already on the roads and the shovel trucks could barely keep up with it. We are driving a Honda Civic and as you might know...it is not the mightiest of cars!
We made it down the steep hill from our house and to the beer store...we went over to help Niel jump start his car, and on the way back we were by some wierd coincidence joined by Abid on the road. We drove and whil going up the hill, the Civic and Niel's old and beaten up Nissan made it up the hill. Abid's Ford Taurus unfortunately was slipping and didn't seem like it would make it up the hill. A passing by truck helped us out and towed his car all the way up the hill to the community gate, where we live. We then got stuck at the gate trying to unhook the cable that was used to tow the car up the hill. A few hours later we finally made it home. With frozen fingers, inside the warm house, we sat around, ate and drank and Anita was with us too at this point. Anita had to go home soon, and so we decided to walk her home since he was really close by and driving was too much of a hassle! So that night under the partial yet bright moon, me Anita and my brother walked to her house, stomping through the snow! Me and my brother came back home and relaxed and enjoyed the rest of the night with Niel and his cousin Robin and Abid.

2008-02-17T18:49:00.000-05:00

It was a Tuesday and I woke up very late in my aunt's house in Philadelphia. Well...waking up in the afternoon being my summer routine...I should say I woke up early! My cousin, Benson, was home today and so we stayed and gave him company for a while. The day was pretty boring! I played chess with Benson and that is about everything that I did at that house. Benson had to go to work by 4pm so around 2 in the afternoon we went over to our other cousin Biju achachen's house. [Achachen is a term used among Malayalees to address the elders] Biju achachen was living in Philadelphia too with his wife and two kids. He was hosting his parents, who came with my parents for a tour of USA. Melissa and Elena were two angels that brightened the whole day. Enjoying just the childish innocence, I was distracted from all my worries and was able to relax the whole while (not that I had much to worry about...but it was still a nice distraction from the boredom!). I was pretty tired though...running around the house playing with the two....trying to keep up with them! {Man! I'm getting old}

Biju achachen had to take his wife to the Bucks County Community college for her evening class. He proposed that he take me and Achachen with him and that we go over to the nearby lake for some kayaking. I immediately grabbed by camera because the lake meant a great photo-op to me. So we started out....the ride was pretty long. Like a good half an hour I would say, but I wasn't watching the clock to know the exact time. After we dropped off Biju achachen's wife, we went over to the lake. It was part of Bucks County Recreational Area or something of that sort. We get there...and as we drive around and park I realize that this was the lake that we were at a year and half before. Back then it was colder weather and we just walked the grounds and that's about it.

Today we are going to go kayaking. Biju achachen and us started walking over to the boat rental shack. We ended up renting a kayak because it would let us seat the three of us and we decided to go around for an hour. The kayak was this aluminum piece of metal, flat bottom and very small but spacious comfortable for the three of us. As one of the boys at the rental pulled the kayak into the water...we buckled up our life jacket and signed the waiver saying our death will not be their fault in case it happens. We walked closer to the water, Biju achachen was letting me get on first.

I stepped into the kayak....making sure I will not wet my Nike shoes. As I was stepping in and the kayak wobbled with my steps towards the back of the kayak.

Biju achachen says, "So u know how to balance the kayak right?"

"Yeah! I've been on the boats back in India," I said not sounding too confident.

Those boats are called thonni in Malayalam and were often moved by one or two men who steered it with a bamboo pole. The poles usually were long enough to hit the bottom of the river or water mass these thonni operated on and were used to thrust the thonni forward. Of course, those thonni were massive compared to the kayak I was on....and all I had to do in them was sit still and not lean over to either sides to cause a tilt. Plus, there were nine others sitting with you on the thonni so the balance issue was never all my problem.

I walked to the very end and sat at the steer position of the kayak. This I now know is the most critical position on the kayak...you steer and balance the kayak from this position. I sat comfortably and Biju achachen walked in and so did Achachen. They both took their seats and the boat rental guy pushed the kayak off the shore. We started to move and the kayak was wobbling and we all rowed one stroke at a time. We were moving toward the floating dock and so I started to row away from that side just like the two in front of me were doing. See...I was good at following the lead. Well....as it turns out following the lead wasn't the smartest move. The balance of the whole kayak depended on what I did and by me rowing on the same side as the two others, the kayak tilted over to left side and before we knew it...

*BLULP*

We were in water! We haven't managed to move the kayak more than 6 feet from the shore...so the water wasn't that deep. There was enough water for me to go completely under it...and then as I rose because of the life jacket...and I stepped on base of the lake. As I was walking towards the shore, I was laughing!

Did i see this coming? Obviously not...I wouldn't have been wearing my new Nike shoes or carrying my $250 Canon camera (just a few months old, my favorite electronic device that I own) in my jean pocket or carrying my $100 Samsung phone in my other pocket.

As I laughed and walked toward the shore I didn't try to get the two items out of my pocket in a hurry. I realized what happened has happened and very much like Murphy's law: what would go wrong has gone wrong. I take out my phone and it had a bright white screen and the flash on, I look at my camera and I see the lens has opened up but the camera was off, there was water inside the camera as I can see it through the open lens.

The two gadgets were damaged. For my fellow kayakers...Achachen was able to save all his belongings which where barely wet since he was closest to the shore...Biju achachen lost his nice pair of shades he was wearing while on the kayak.

This event did not stop us from hopping back on the kayak after leaving all over valuables out to dry. We repositioned ourselves in the kayak...so now I was in the middle, where I could do the least damage. Achachen in front of me and Biju achachen behind me...we set out and went around the lake. However what has happened in the first few minutes in the kayak was a serious blow to our confidence and so we played it safe and kayaked along the shore and didn't go too much into the middle of the lake. We ended up kayaking for about an hour and returned back to the shore without any more mishaps or thrills! After getting on the shore and picking up our stuff, we were still not ready to head back home. We stood outside in the sun for at least half an hour hoping to get dry or atleast stop dripping! I was still wet when we finally quit waiting and climbed into the car and sat on a pile of paper towels.

When we got to Biju achachen's house and I had to go upto my mom with a broken camera, phone and completely soaked but still smiling. She didn't seem too happy about how things turned out! I should have waited for the two things to dry out completely...but I was impatient about my phone because achachen's phone was working fine. So I opened it up and dried it myself...twice! It turned on fine after that..except I damaged the antenna some how in the process and ended up never getting reception on the phone. My camera remained dead for a whole week before it was returned to almost the same state it was in. The lens is ruined with a watermark. I had to get my phone service transferred to a different handset and my address book transferred which took me an hour in line waiting for the five minute process to happen inside the Stroud mall Verizon kiosk!! So things are back to normal now...even tho ugh at the end of that night I was still happy to have been on the kayak as it dropped us in the water and ended up costing $353 in damage!!

I have another story to tell..that's what i thought and here it is!
:D

2008-02-08T14:11:00.000-05:00

Sandy's Mom

She is the best!

So today the lent continues...to keep me away from the computer and the temptation to be online, I am trying to hangout with people or talk to them over the phone...but then I have to also watch out for my minutes. For the past three months since me and Phil bought the new phones with Cingular...our bills have been ridiculous...mostly because of me exceeding the minutes for the month! This month however, the bill is only 25c more than what it should be and its because of the text messages I have sent/recieved! On the minutes side...I have more than I need left over!

Anyways...Sandy's mom...thats the topic!

I think the first time I was meeting her, I was really nervous. I don't occur to myself as someone who will make a good impression with parents. I guess it has something to do with my villainous appearance. Fortunately for me...she liked me...I think!

She has been cooking for me since the time I met her. I have went over to Sandy's house like a 100 times by now. More than the other guy {you know ;)} !
Well...Sandy and her parents are the most hospitable bunch I know. I am pretty sure they consider me thier own kid by now...they have great trust in me and I feel honored to be so!

Since this year started she has been ill due to her knee and is still recovering from it and I have been visiting her frequently and every time I am over there...she will feed me with lots of food! Its delicious!

Sandy's dad is awesome too...he has been offering me a beer in a consistent fashion during my visits.

"You want a cold one there...James..." He'll say with a Guyanese accent. I usually smile and go for it....unless I am sipping on some tea Sandy made me right then. He is into cars and so have been giving me car tips and advices. He even bought me a book of simple fixes for my 2003 Honda Civic.

The other day when I was visiting Sandy....her parents had to go by the hospital ER because Sunita was sick with some respiratory viral infection. Sandy's dad offered me a beer and they both left me with Sandy and I was still fed and entertained by the AWESOMEST of the bunch...Sandhya!

I am not attempting to explain why she is awesome...if you know Sandhya...you already know. If not...you're missing out!

So Sandy...here is this blog to show my appreciation for all that you and your parents do for me!
{blogging is much cheaper than cooking or buying gifts} :)

THANK YOU!

2008-02-06T19:54:00.001-05:00

The Lent

Its that time of the year folks....its time to give up something you like to do/eat/watch/ for forty days. Why? Paulash asked me this...well...I don't know!

I think the way it was explained to me by my parents is...you observe lent to show your detachment to the physical world. As in my faith, I believe in the worldly things being temporary and if am attached to something temporary, me myself becomes vulnerable like the temporary.

Clear? No? Let me clarify...if some day all the meat supply in this world runs out, and I cannot live without meat, I will probably cease to exist myself.

I am not that in to observing lent. I observe the lent for no religious reason at all...but more as a self control challenge! Last year and this year though, I have been trying to observe the lent just to test myself. Can I really go on for forty days with something I am used to?

This year, I am giving up....Instant Messaging. No MSN, no AIM, no eBuddy, or JiveTalk from the phone. All forms of instant messaging. Its going to be for forty days and I should be done by March 23rd. Paulash doesn't think I can do this. Gives me more reason to observe the lent for the full extent!

2008-01-28T09:30:00.000-05:00

On Friday I got off from work earlier than usual, since my plan was to go to Philly as soon as possible. Now this didn't happen. Phil said he was coming with me to Philly so I wound up waiting for him to get off from work.
He got off from work 5ish and was on him way home when I called him. I asked him if he wanted to join me to visit Sandy's mom, who is back home after a surgery to fix her left knee. He passed, since he was yet to pack up and get ready and me was as ready as I could get. So I took the red car and went to see Sandy's mom.
Sandy's mom is AWESOME! She cooked for me sooo many times over the summer and is one of the most hospitable person I've ever known. The food she cooks is, needless to say, DELICIOUS!
I hung out with Sandy and her mom for a while...like half an hour...within which time I had a cup of tea and some food that Sandy's dad cooked! Again...DELICIOUS!
After I left Sandy's I came home, and me and Phil left soon after with the black civic (new one, stick shift...almost always fun!).
Phil was driving for the first part, till we got to Allentown to visit Niroop. There we hung out for a while before I started driving. I think it was around 7:30pm when we left Allentown.
Well there was something very interesting and quite illegal that happened soon after.
I took 22W and soon wound up on Rt. 476S. Rt. 476 is one of the best built roads for now. Its mostly straight roads with not many rough patches and not too much traffic either. I set the car to a 75mph cruise, since the poster speed was 65mph. (I was told by many that the cops won't pull you over for this margin, since its not worth fighting for in court. I don't know if this is true though!) While I am cruising and passing the slower cars in front of me in a very decent and non-aggressive way...another car decided to piss me off!
Now...I am driving a 2008 Civic EX...midnight black....manual shift. A Chevy trailblazer...probably 2000 or so make was coming from behind at a much higher speed than I was going...I was passing two cars and the Chevy was impatient. He flashes me twice and tails me till I passed the two cars. As soon as I moved over to right lane, he backed down and didn't pass me quick enough. I guess this is where I made the unwise/risky decision to give this Chevy a hard time.
I stepped on the gas...pushed the car hard and fast till I passed the Chevy and got in front of him. I sped along this way until I saw another car on the right lane and I slowed down suddenly to keep up with the car on the right lane. The Chevy was unable to pass me. He was pissed. As soon as the car to my right seemed annoyed with me not passing him...I sped up again to find the next car to my right...and did the same thing! The Chevy was swerving and beaming me continuously at this point...I didn't let this bother me. Every time there was a long enough stretch that the Chevy can get in the other lane and pass me, I either sped up or merged onto the right lane along with the Chevy...blocking him all the way. I carried on with this adventure for a good 20miles...which involved speeding up to 90mph and more and slowing down to 60mph in the next instant. I was really satisfied with how much I was able to piss off the car behind me! Not that I believe it made much of a difference in either one of our lives, but it was still something that gives me the sense of accomplishment. Well...one more record was set to the climax of this adventure. Finally, when a really long and open straight stretch of 476 opened up...I decided to act proactively to the Chevy speeding up and sped up myself. I kept on the pedal till my brother stopped me saying ....if you push this car to 120mph...the car is going to stall because of the 'governor'. I looked at the speedometer..it read 118mph! I took my feet of the accelerator and allowed the car to resume to the cruising speed I set earlier.
This is when I paid attention to myself...my heart was pounding hard and fast...I felt the adrenaline all over my body and it was exciting! I probably wouldn't do something crazy like this ever again...but for having experienced it once, I am satisfied!

2008-01-24T15:56:00.000-05:00

I am at work currently...there isn't much going on. For the past two weeks, I have been coming to work and waiting by computers and breakrooms just to get my eight and a half hours of "work" in.

The routine...

I wake up around 5:40am listening to the iPhone alarm. I hit the snooze and turn back and go back to bed....around 5:50am the alarm goes off again. I take the phone in my hand...and turn it off this time. I go online check the weather and see what it is like. Maybe emails...depending on my time and mood.

Once I get off from my bed, I go straight to the bathroom, brush my teeth, take a shower and come back to my room. Now I pick from one of my five business casual attire for work. Moisturizer, deodrant, dress on. I am ready to go!

I take like 5 minutes at this time to read a small part in the Bible...something from the New Testament is in my liking. Then I say a small prayer and leave my room.

I put on my coat, hanging in the downstairs coat closet, I go outside, start the car. I come back in...now I wonder...do I pack my lunch today or do I buy it. Check the fridge....good? no? Ok I pack! I box it up and put it in a brown paper bag and put that in my blue bag!

Breakfast? Depends...I might have a bowl of cereal. By now its 6:35am. So I get to my car and put on my iPhone headphones and call Sarada. While I am talking to her, I pull out and drive to work.

Thirty minutes later, I am work, passing through security gates and finding parking. I walk down to the building I work in and punch in around 7:15am. I sit around in the breakroom till the other members of my group who are still in training convenes with me. Once I've met with them and shared the highlights for the day, I come back into the lab to the computer station I am on right now. I pretty much live here for the rest of the day....chatting to people, shooting emails to Paulash and Aarthi.

11am...I leave the computer lab and wait in the breakroom till the rest of the group comes along for lunch. If I've packed my lunch, it wouldve been in the fridge and I would heat it up in the cafeteria. If not, I will buy something from the cafeteria. A hour, sometimes a quarter more at lunch is very relaxing and enjoyable.

After lunch, back to the grind....I get a cup of Earl Grey Scented tea from the Flavia machine in the breakroom. I finish my tea and then head back to the computer lab and finishes the rest of my afternoon in here till 3:35pm.

3:38pm...I am punched out...walking to the car. Once in the car, since its awfully cold out, I start and wait a minute for the car to get a bit warmer. Then I drive away home.

Once I get home, I take the first few hours winding down, eating some snacks and going through mail. Then, I check my emails....by 7pm, I will be signed on MSN and be talking to Anita, Sabora and anyone else who is online...Sandy doesn't show up till 10:30pm most of the days! I chat and I watch TV through the corner of my eye. I might update my phone of its music list. Then eventually around 10pm, I give a call to my girlfriend...and go to bed by 11pm.

Thats my day for now...its very boring to have a routine...so I pretty much take every chance I get to break the routine...like hanging out with friends...going out to lunch....having friends over....playing UNO! :) Fun days!

2008-01-24T12:08:00.000-05:00

It has been a while since I have blogged. I have been keeping to myself most of my thoughts and life has gotten very busy for me lately. Since 2005, when I last blogged, much has changed in my life. I have accomplished many tasks, set new goals, met new people, new friends, new hobbies, new lifestyle, new residence, new job, new car....so many things are new for me now.

Lets start with what I can remember earliest...in 2004 I was still going to Northampton Community College to complete my Assosciates in Science majoring Biotechnology. Unfortunately, a couple of the classes required excessive travelling and so I had to scrap that plan and transfer to East Stroudsburg University. So, Fall 2005, I was officially a student of East Stroudsburg University. It didn't seem much different I guess. The campus and classes were surely bigger. Lot more students and lot more oppertunities to network. I remained closed up at this time. I did my work at school, remained as a tutor at NCC and then went home and stayed a good boy. This was my life for the first two semesters.

My family was going through a different situation at the time. My dad was already back in India and doing his daily thing with the school, my mom had to stop working for the medical billing company in NJ and started working for Hayward for the interim period, and then she got a really good position as a substitute teacher at East Stroudsburg High. So she was happy about the situation and we were doing very well. My brother was still going to school at NCC and was working for Hayward for the longest time, but once when he had to go to India, his extended leave caused his manager to fire him. My sister has changed the most I believe...she was doing the same as my brother but she went back to her job after being fired and kept working. She was eventually promoted to better positions as the company can afford. She has taken a new lifestyle which shocked my parents more than they could handle. In 2006 after all this was discovered, my mom went back to India as well. My sister moved out of the house. Me and my brother started living on our own. We were able to afford this, because my brother was getting unemployment compensation and my parents were sending us some money as well.

The year 2006 has thus turned into a critical year in my life. Lots of things have turned around for me. I was more determined and focused on completing my task - graduate from college. At the time, I just wanted to go back to India as soon as I graduate. I didn't have many friends I called dear, although there were quite a few from the learning center I used to work at. Nicole, Nick, Rocco, Tim, Barb, Stacey, Vanessa, Elaine, Kamden, Austin...a good bunch of people that was really cool to hang out with!

Over the summer in 2006, I took summer classes at ESU. The summer was really nice. This was the time my brother and mom were both in India. It was just myself and my sister. We managed well. But towards the end of summer, after my brother and mom returned, the affairs of my sister was out and then happened the above mentioned drama. My mom leaving, my sister leaving and me and my brother left to take care of the house. Since I came to the US in 2003, I have put on a good 45lb to my weight to this point.

In the fall of 2006, I was back at ESU and was involved actively in a couple of student activities organizations such as the Desi Student Organization and the Biotechnology club. Through the Desi club I met most of my current friends...the best in the world! In the fall, we put together a show as a club for the community....the Diwali show. We hung out during the preparation and execution of this event and that is how I got to meet most of these people.

During the winter break I was able to go back to India. I met with my friends there...Shameel, Sabeed, Nihas, Jijo, Nithun, Shiju, Vineeth, Anoop, Anish, Rashmi, Jim, Jobin, Jaisy, Shiji....lots more...can't recollect all of them. I was able to go out with them couple of times and spent my time that way. I was in India for only three weeks and I used up most of it with these hangouts and watching movies. When I came back to the US, I went on a raisin bran diet and lost 25lb right away (to date...I have lost all but 5lb of the 45 I gained!)

During the spring 2007 semester, I was able to hangout at the Union with most of the ESU crew I met the semester before. I guess, this is the time we actually became friends and some of them became best friends right away. I used to chat with all of almost daily and it became a daily routine in my life. It was kinda sad that I got my friends only at the last moment...that it was my final semester in college that we got to be so close. We had a great time together.

Thinking back as far as I can, I believe the summer of 2007 is the best I remember. For my graduation from ESU, my parents flew in from India. Then after graduation I decided to take a small break before I start working. Over the summer, I met Paulash, with whom we currently live, Samantha and Shane (Anita's siblings). Even though I've met Marshall before, we hung out for the most time over this summer. We went to the nearby river, played in the waters, jumped from a tree trunk across the river, went hiking in the Delaware water gap, went apple picking in a farm in NJ, went to a few movies, chatted all night long, had a few nice BBQs, parties, cricket, basketball, softball...the best times!! :D

Coming to the most recent events...
In August 2007, I got a job at sanofi pasteur, a vaccines company based in Swiftwater, PA. me and my brother have moved in with Paulash around the same time. I bought a new car a month later in September, during my mom's visit. I met Sarada a friend of Sandy's to me then...and now we are dating for three months! I had plenty more parties and hangouts with my friends making life really awesome for me!!

2004-09-24T22:28:00.000-04:00

Once when I had this thrid eye, i saw it though angles and slices. This is one way to see myself, the side view mirror.

2004-09-24T22:27:00.000-04:00

A line is made of infinite points, a video is made of many picture frames and for me a drive is made of thousand images.

2004-09-21T19:29:00.000-04:00

I don't know what I am doing writing a bog at this time.
I am a college student. The fall semester is already on. I have loads of assignments and exams on my mind but I guess that is no excuse to stop sharing my thought, huh!
I had a good day and it feels okay. I tutor those who need my help and it is really nice doing that. You always get the feel of helping someone and is always increasing your own knowledge about the topic.
So, work hard…and let me.

2004-09-07T21:25:00.000-04:00

Lone force

2004-09-07T21:23:00.000-04:00

My View

2004-07-28T11:00:00.000-04:00

             She was always there. I remember when we were a trio, Jim, Rashmi and myself. We were kindergarteners then. We had fun- some dirty, some naughty and some innocent childish fun. Yet it was always the three of us.
For being with her, I was teased. It was always, “is she your girlfriend or a friend who happens to be a girl?” Whatever the question starts out to be, it always end pronouncing ‘girlfriend.’
             “Whatever!” I would say; but it was always in my heart—an embarrassment in the way that some look at our friendship. I liked being with her.
             Then there was time in between. Even then she was always with me. Not always the focus, not always in the spotlight, but always there in the picture to fill my hearts space. I used to get extra candies from her. I gave her extra ones. But my other friends tensed me in the way they looked at our friendship hence I distanced myself from her. [At times even I had doubts if this was something more; these were rare instances and stayed that way.]
             After sixth grade, when I toured for 3 months a school in the US, I became the American kid or as it might be known popularly the foreign kid. I was now pompous and ignorant giving me very few friends. I was worthless then- cheating on exams, fooling around. I sucked at sports and games and that hasn’t changed much since then.
             More girls came into my life. Jaya was a friend and there were some other crushes and some girls I cared about. Yet she was even then in the picture silent yet narrating part of my life’s story.
             I remember one time reading my diary from 98 or so: it was a weekday, a day before her birthday. Promises were made to please her. I need sweets. Its not just the sweets, its an honor to get more than others. That is how you are being treated special. I don’t know how much you would understand this; but it mattered to me and it mattered a lot.
             It was a time when basketball was new, very novel to our school. Everyone wanted to play basketball. The first couple of months, boys played in the court. Then the cricket world cup came about and the boys were back pitching, spinning, and appealing like crazy. Like I said, I sucked at all games. Except for basketball even though it was not because I am skilled.
             I was tall, an advantage for me. So even when the boys left the court and girls came rushing in to play basketball, I stayed in the court showing a dribble and hoop. I impressed a few! Me being as big as I am gave my team some spirit; it was victory definite and defined clear. I was in glory for once in my life. All of them wanted me in their team.
             The day before her birthday I was not playing ball. I was trying to learn the game from England and the rules in the wisden.
             She did not come to me; I was passing through the court when she caught me. Her team was losing and losing is a disgrace even though it lasted no more than an hour. It was a deal! Seven candies for me on her birthday if I could help her team win.
             No-brainer! Should I play a game in which I suck or a game that promised glory and now 7 candies? Like I said—no-brainer!
             For me it was not just the candies. I was the center of attention here. I mattered and more importantly to the girls! The game restarted with me on Rashmi’s side. I do not remember how the game turned out in the end—we might have lost that day.
             The next day—her birthday or like we senselessly used to say “her happy birthday.” Thinking about how the song became the title for the day it makes more sense than just the mere birthday title. Since it is her birthday, it should be a happy day for her. Shouldn’t it? Just hurrying through our life we forget the importance of the smaller things. I remember when everyone used to wish “good morning” or “good day” but now its just “morn..ng” or “hi!” I don’t need someone to tell me its morning; I know that!!!
             During the break, we sang her the birthday song before she distributed candies. I even remembered to say thank you and wish her a happy birthday when she gave me two candies. I signaled with my eyes that she could give the rest during lunch break. She smiled or in my words agreed to keep her part of the deal.
             Lunch for me was fro the hostel in the same campus. She had hers in her tiffin her ‘amma’(mother) makes for her sitting in the classroom floor or at times the desk and bench. I had to walk to the hostel, a couple hundred feet away from the school, and back. I met her in the playground. She was not hard to find wearing the colored dress while hundreds others wore navy-blue and white uniforms.
             I walked up to her with half a heart, asked for the remainder with all the shame in me drowning. She might have refused at first, maybe kidding. But she extended the bag of sweets in the end. I took seven. I played basketball with gratitude and this time I made sure her team won.
             Rewards, praises and rewards!
             At the end of the day, when I emptied my pocket, there were eleven wrappers. I might have trashed it then. But if this were today, I would have treasured them knowing the friend she turned out to be.
            This is not yet the end of my story. 8th, 9th, 10th and half of 11th grade are over. We were in terms that I find hard to describe. She is still very friendly (to everyone) and many depended on her for support. I used to notice her now and then and as from the beginning she was always in the picture.
             She ran to be class leader or maybe I should say, she was forced by peers and teachers to run for class leader, and won. She is now the class leader of 11th standard. It is a lot of responsibility. She has to manage the class by bringing chalks and other resources for the class, reporting lateness of teachers, and maintaining the class discipline in the absence of the teacher. It was sometimes a pressure for her, when she’ll have to turn in her friends for not complying. It was I once, but I talked sweet and walked out of the trouble before it got worse.
            One day, a very hot one, right after lunch break when we played volleyball and I was awfully thirsty. I would have gone to the neighboring house for some iced-water if that wouldn’t make me late for next period. I was asking around for water. Mini would usually have some for me but not today. There was too much chatter in the class and it was only getting louder.
             Rashmi walked to the front of the class and started writing the ‘List.’ The ‘list’ was one of the most efficient ways to maintain discipline. The class leader would write down the names of those making fuzz in the class and later submit it to the Director sir—the disciplinarian.
            You wouldn’t completely understand the Director influence until you have experienced it. He used corporal punishment and that is still considered the best way to discipline. Anything you do that crosses the line would make you eligible for the cane treatment. When the Director walks through the veranda (an open corridor or gallery), the “watch” of the class would alert everyone even if it’s just a shadow. Pin-drop would fall followed by a hustle opening a textbook and grabbing a pen pretending to be busy reading and learning something.Rashmi had to be strict with her ‘list’. It would apply the same to all from her best friend to her worst enemy, which I suspect she had any. The noise I made asking for water was good enough to be on the list, but out of consideration she warned me about the list. And out of tyranny that many teenagers would have, I asked her for water.
No response!
I begged…
She said “no!”
Can you believe that! She said no to me when I asked for water. I am offended. She was friendly to all; she would give anything anyone would ask her but no water for me!
            She knew from my face that I was mad. I swore to myself that I would never talk to her again [That is how we should protest]. She offered me her water during the afternoon break. I refused to accept even though I was still thirsty.
            Now that means I am serious. She pleaded me to take her water; I refused. I was cold to my heart and yet it ached every time I said no to her.Even now I find it hard to believe what happened next…
            I got myself into the longest holdout in my life. I did not speak to her, I refused to listen to her and I avoided every chance of us coming face to face. I am not sure if I had the proper reasoning for acting like that. It wasn’t as if she did something terribly wrong to me on purpose; she had to say no when her circumstances forced her to.
            Days, weeks and it were three months after I last spoke to her. The day before, there was some function at the school and my sister and mother were there. Rashmi approached my sister and my sister cam to me.
NO!
             It was not that she took the effort; she did something that no one would ever dare to do.
The day:
            It was biology lab this hour. Myself, Selin, Jaisy and Rashmi did not take the Biology curriculum, leaving us free for the whole hour. Just the four of us on our classroom. Rashmi started talking to me. Selin asked me to sort out our problems.What she said, her voice it was hammering the thorns in my heart. She had tears; she asked me to compromise.
             I don’t know where it came from but I said, “Why wouldn’t you apologize for once?” Boy! I hate to admit this, but maybe a tear trickled in my eyes as well.
She said: Was that it! Was three months of silence because I didn’t apologize?
              I was sure she would have apologized a decade ago if she knew that would solve our problems.
             I glanced and hid my face fast so that she wouldn’t see my eyes are wet.“I am sorry,” she said. I was too for doing this to her. “Sorry!” I said.
            It was a great burden out of my mind and the sweetest breeze in my life. We promised never to fight again and to be friends as we are born to be.
            The rest of the year was the most fun, when we passed bits of notes to converse in class. I would have never known and would never have expected it to be—but she is my best friend, the best I ever had!

2004-05-10T12:49:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was mother's day. A day to say thank you for the love that every mother shows for thier children. I gave my mother a hug, a card and lots of love for the day. Not much compared to what she gave me throughout my life. She was freed from cooking lunch and much of the dish cleaning. But the start of the day was very very weird. We wanted to go to church to keep our heads floating above the water of stress each of us are in-- the finals, work load and bill payments would be the general description as to our stress is.
The churhc we used to go was under attack by interbal politics. We preferred to stay away from the violence and say thank you lord in peace. So we picked up the Bible of our community- the yellow book and started looking for an answer. There were many churches around this place and the closest was our pick. We got ready and all of us in the family were having much expectation as we drove to the church of the week.
It was a small church. Perfectly what i would like, ort would have liked. With the firm cathedral like quiteness and prayer image of a church in mind, i stepped into this place which decribes and defines the word "WILD."
There was a disco lamp on the ceiling. Everything required for a rock concert was in sight. As we took a seat something in me churned giving me the advice leave now! But as friendly faces greeted us, we sat and set our butt to rest for the while. Maybe about half an hour passed by. People, very few, were coming into the church one by one as family and as individuals. We were greeted as the new coming visitors of the church. "Hello, Hai" made most of our responses. Then it began, the church!
A moment from the school of Rock cxame into my mind when the deacon and ushers set to the stage and started rocking on the guitar. Hardcore rock. They were jumping and dancing and they were the most joyful lot i have seen. Yet that was not the church that was in my mind and so the unease spread through my nerves. As i glanced at my brother, sister and mother i saw the reflection of my face in thier expression.
"Let's leave! NOW!"
Nope the message is yet to come. The pastor's wife was to lead the day with her message. But very disturbing is the "sbcsldfhbsdkfu" language which they say in between english and claim to be from the holy ghost. So the message started and after an hour of restlessness everyone voted for 15minutes wait and leave.
Five minutes past, my brother stood and stepped out of the church follwing him was myself and my sister and mother came after us. As we got into the car my mother who attempted to pay attention to the message said, so we are satan. Everyone was curious when she explained how the speaker was commanding Satan to leave the church just as we were stepping out and fleeing from them.