Cereal Bars

I used to like them..then I didn't like them..then I survived on them..and now I hate them.. - Circle of Life???

Pacific!

Adios Vaio...

I was supposed to do this three weeks ago, but better late than never. I did go to Old Town that Saturday. Its an amazing place, full of atmosphere. I dare any girl to go there and not fall in love. I spent the afternoon cooing over the most adorable knick-knacks. I bought lots of little things but my favorite one is the mom and baby chimp. Hopefully I'll remember to take a pic and post it. We'll see.

That trip seems so far back in the past. I feel that way because so much has happened since then. My old faithful Vaio gave up on me. I was in a deep depression for quite a while. But my new Dell XPS, is doing its best to revive my spirits.I had forgotten what a new laptop feels like - an untouched keyboard, an unsoiled screen. But Vaio, never fret, you are,were and will remain my true love. Nobody ever forgets their first laptop.

We've had quite a few adventures - haven't we? The day you fell down at Sbarro, and lost the DVD drive cover, the day you insisted on drinking some of my club soda, the day you started beeping non-stop, the day you refused to hibernate, the day you accidentally made me delete everything off of my ipod - we've been through thick and thin, you and I.

Lest anyone think that you were totally disaster prone, I will never forget the way you kept a lonely girl, who was away from home for the first time, such glorious company. You helped us negotiate a project filled with pitfalls in the eighth semester - us being Meh, Shetty and me. I'm sure they send their goodbyes. We've had some wonderful times together, but now its time for me to move on. Don't worry, I'm not going to recycle you, not any time soon. You're Obi-Wan, to my new Luke. He needs your wisdom, that you have "wisely" backed up. I have also not forgotten the fact that you can still speak through an interpreter - another monitor.

Vaio, our days together may have ended, but in my heart, you will always reign supreme. Au Revoir!

P.S. Too lazy to post the chimp pic!

Exploring San Diego - Part 1

I've been in sunny SD for the last four months, and I'm sorry to say that I haven't seen too much of it. Yes, the obligatory couple of beaches - Torrey Pines, La Jolla Coves/Shores, Mission Bay, Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach..ok, I know that's more than a couple.

I've been to Coronado, and a little around La Jolla, and the Aircraft Museum on Miramar Road.

I should be ashamed of myself. There's so much to see/do in SD. Therefore, here is my mid-year resolution.

Henceforth, every weekend, I shall venture out into this city, armed with a camera, a hat, sunscreen and my new Fossil goggles (I love them). I shall explore as much as possible over the summer and give my faithful readers my "unique" perspective of SD.

This weekend, my destination will either be Old Town or Little Italy, or maybe both. We will know on Monday.

Let me propose a toast - I am boldly going where I have never gone before..Good luck to me..Salut!

PS: I've also been to Sea World..Thrice....

Slow down, step back and enjoy the moment......

The last six years have been very eventful. Actually, make that seven. First comes the so-called "turning point" of your life - a.k.a Std XII, followed by the innumerable entrance exams. Then after you have chosen how you're going to spend the next forty years (I mean - a career, if you can't follow my train of thought), you have to sit through innumerable lectures, bear the torture of umpteen number of exams and laugh at an even larger number of PJs sitting in the OAT. Well, the last is only for PESITians/PESITites..Guys, do we have an official name yet?

Somewhere in between, you get suckered into the swamp of GRE/GATE/placements/CAT - even before you know what it is that you really want to do. The only thing that gets you through is the conviction that better things are beyond, but little do you know what awaits...

Finally, you're past the four years, with a degree in your hand, gleefully looking to the future, already nostalgic about the past. Suddenly you realize, life has just become that much harder - age DOES mean responsibility, your parents haven't been lying to you. You've never really realized how many decisions your parents made for you until you started living alone. Ever thought about how hard it is to pick out every single thing in your life - starting from toothpaste, to food, to clothes, to laundry detergent? Did you ever have to go to the department store every single week, without fail, back home?

By this time, you're dimly aware, the best years of life are indeed behind you.

But then one day, you end up sitting in front of the fire, in a lovely room, with a stranger playing absolutely divine music on the baby grand, and you realize, there's nowhere you'd rather be - than here, now...

Rajshri

For the last couple of weeks, I've been catching up on childhood and teenage memories - the overwhelmingly sweet productions of Rajshri films. So far, I've covered HAHK, HSSH and Vivaah. I'll probably watch MPK today. Its been great. I enjoy these films as much now as I did when they were first released. Maybe its the simplicity, innocence, whatever. It really doesn't matter. All that I care about is that, for a couple of hours, (maybe more :D), I'm transported into a colorful, musical world, where everyone constantly smiles at everyone. I may not like to live in such a world, but I definitely don't mind being a visitor for short periods of time.

My absolute favorite is Vivaah. How can anyone not like this movie? Its just incomprehensible to me. Every conversation that Prem and Poonam have is so meaningful and poignant. And the songs. Any mention of Vivaah is incomplete without recognition of the soundtrack. Mujhe Haq Hai - What a composition! I can hum it forever.

I'm really eager to start seeing MPK, so I'll stop now. Oh, before I do that, two of my friends deserve to be recognized on a public forum. First, Nikku, for being my companion-in-crime, especially for Vivaah. That was a real fun evening. And second, Ranj, who recognized the line that I put as my status on GTalk - you rock, Ranj! Absolutely brilliant. For the curious, the line was - "Jab Sardi Ho Toh Barf Ki Paani Nahin Peena Chahiye". Which, by the way, is a TRUE fact.

2/3 Satan * 100i

This semester has been really fun, so far. Don't know if it'll stay that way after the subjects of this blog read this post. Well, what's life without a few risks?

The title of this blog is my address, encoded in a very "creative" way. A few of the forthcoming blog entries is dedicated to my entertaining new room-mates - Wealth of Kingdom, Auspicious and Suitable, Everything and Song/Hymn.

I was bored, trying to come up with something original everytime. So I decided to interview Everything, a.k.a Nikku. Just so that you don't feel she's a stranger, here are a few MUST-KNOW facts about her - she's an amazing cook, she's obsessed with her curls, she's long, she's the boss and she's an amazing cook. I love her culinary skills so much that I had to write it twice. I am going to ask her to describe the rest of us in 3 words, or less. Here goes:

P: So Nikku, how does it feel to be interviewed today?
N: (Full 32 teeth showing) I feel like a Spanish model. Shall I get my flowers?

(Brief chuckle shared)

P:How did it feel walking the ramp yesterday?
N:It was great, so awesome. The best parts were my red shiny flowers, and people asking me for my autograph.

P: Moving on, describe Gai in three words or less..
N:(In splits) Gai, (thinking) ..."G for Gayathri, G for Genius", my love and dumb.

P: Ok, you took more than three words...
N: Let's make it three phrases...
P: That's a good idea.

P: Bhavya next..
N: Weird, Weird, Weird IT-ni..

P: I should have specified three different words. Never mind. How about Raj?
N: I have no words to describe her. She's always there with me. No no..I have a song - Yeh Dosti Hum Nahin Todenge..

(P: I wish I could record Nikku singing and post it in here)

P: Finally, me.
N: Pooooooooooooooojaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..
P: Is that it?
N: Yeah. That's like a lot. You're not seeing the love in that.

P: Now I see. Thank you. Is there anything else you want to add to anything?
N: Yes. We all rock - shop-a-holics.
P: That we do. Thank you for your valuable time. We'll see what the others have to say soon enough.

Signing off,

(Ace Reporter a.k.a Gossip Columnist) Pooja Kumar

Broken

In one of the episodes of Grey's last season, I heard this song. Googled it and found this. I just fell in love with the song. Following TV shows has introduced me to a few artists I wouldn't have come across otherwise - Roisin Murphy, OneRepublic, The Fray, Nellie McKay, Kate Havnevik, Snow Patrol, Daniel Powter......

Its Diwali time. I gave up the fireworks habit a long time ago, but being here in B'burg, I miss all the noise and confusion that abounds back home. I remember the little contests that all of us used to have back in the good old days - who has how many boxes of which brand of which type of crackers!!!!!!!

What's going to keep me focused through the next couple of months is the fact that I'm going to be going home for a few weeks through Dec-Jan. Yippee!!! I can't wait. I'm already planning every hour. And after that, if things go well, its off to San Diego. The old adages are usually true, you know - Things happen when you least expect them to.

I was reading my old posts yesterday, and I came across this one. I just wanted to let the world know that I have successfully completed No. 10. True, it was a reddish violet rather than a violet violet, but the latter would have necessitated the bleaching of my hair, which I definitely did not want. (Doesn't the previous sentence make me sound delightfully pompous?). Anyway, its only my opinion that counts, and I say that I can mark Item 10 as done. This means that I need a new Item 10. Any suggestions???

For Meh..

For the past month, Meh has been pestering me to write something in here. She's my most devoted fan. Ergo, this post is dedicated to her. In fact, its a letter to her.

Dear Meh,

How's life been in the last six hours since I spoke to you? I hope there haven't been any dramatic changes.

I was just thinking - Meh, you're my "person". Reference - Grey's. You know what I mean. Who's M and who's C, we'll decide later. :)

I just ran around to three apartments 'cos I had to scan this form to send to Appa so that a hold would be removed from my account so that I could access my transcripts. Its 2 degrees celsius outside. Brrrrrrrrrr!

What else? I had curd rice for dinner. And drank fresh lime soda. Am also sporadically studying. Played tennis on the Wii. FYI, I'm pretty great at it. Hey, did you hear about Dada's century? Isn't it great? I was so thrilled when Amma told me.

I can't think of anything else to write right now, and I'm really impatient to call you and tell you about this blog. :D

Best Regards,

Pooja Kumar
Graduate Student
Bradley Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Blacksburg, VA 24060

PS: I've written so many formal emails lately that signing this way has become a habit.

Matlab??????

Where would my life be without Matlab? I honestly don't know. My current favorite command is toeplitz. Yesterday it was awgn. I think tomorrow, it'll be rayleighchan. In fact, I can almost guarantee it. God, I need some sleep...............

A day of remembrance...

We are Virginia Tech...We will prevail...

Have a look...

Come Together

I like American Idol. Since Fantasia's season (what was the number?), I've been watching the show pretty regularly. Shetty and I used to discuss the performances, especially in the labs. (Or am I confusing this with Nach Baliye?) At any rate, we used to discuss it. Remember Ace?

This year, I'm in Blacksburg, a run-down graduate student, without a TV. But thanks to Youtube, I can catch the performances online pretty much the same night. I like most of the singers this season, but actually, this blog is not supposed to be about Idol. I was leading up to the fact that for the first two weeks, the contestants sang Beatles songs. And I've totally fallen for some of the songs that I heard.

My current fave is Come Together. Just love it. Can listen to it all day. John Lennon rocks. Eleanor Rigby is one of the saddest songs ever. And Yesterday, one of the most beautiful.

I totally intended this post to be long, and meaningful, and poignant, and whatnot. But my shoulder hurts too much for me to continue typing. So I bid you all a good night.

Exams...

Exam Season again..Just finished my first final in VT today morning. It was at a quarter to eight in the morning. Left at seven, by the first bus. Haven't slept much last night. Am studying DigComm for tomorrow's exam now, sitting in Torgersen. My iPod just died, so I'm not able to concentrate. Just thought all of these facts MUST be preserved for posterity.

PS: P,R,M&H - we should play the game more often. It was fun.

Enchanted

Yesterday, I went to watch a movie for the first time after coming here. In the theater, that is. My friends and I picked the Amy Adams-Patrick Dempsey starrer - "Enchanted". We went to the Regal Cinemas in Christiansburg, which is about 5 miles from my home.

I absolutely ADORED the movie. Its the ultimate chick flick - targeting chicks from age 5 to 55. Every fairy tale is represented, and there's an adorable chipmunk to boot. The icing on the cake is the delicious Dr. Shepherd, and his cute daughter. The cherry on top of the icing is Amy Adams. I haven't seen any of her films before, and I was "enchanted" by her. Pun not intended. The comic timing is impeccable, and I was giggling throughout the movie. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor.

Verdict - go watch this movie just for the sake of the mood lift that you end up with.

Arthur Ashe

During his battle with AIDS, one of his fans asked: "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease"? To this Arthur replied: The world over -- 50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5,000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach Wimbledon, 4 to the semi-finals, 2 to the finals, When I was holding a cup I never asked God "Why me?" And today in pain I should not be asking God, "Why me?".

For more, go here.

Shoe Addicts Anonymous

One of the first things I did after coming to Blacksburg was becoming a member of the Montgomery - Floyd Regional Library. Totally love the place. I pick up about twenty-five books every couple of weeks and savor every one of them. I think I've taken every one of my friends there, willing or unwilling.

Last week, I picked up Shoe Addicts Anonymous, by Beth Harbison. Totally love the book. [This is the phrase of the blog]. All you guys out there won't enjoy it. At least, I don't think you will. But for all gals who love shopping, and can't stop, this is a good read. Had a lot of fun. I've read a lot of books over the last year, and I intended to blog about each and every one of them. But somehow, it rarely happened. So this time, I wanted to do it before I forgot.

Gotta go now. Leon-Garcia beckons......

To sleep or not to sleep.

You know, Hamlet got it right. Everything boils down to - "To ________ or not to __________". If you can answer this, then you've got it made. My current quandary is the subject line of this blog. I see my room-mates up all hours of the night, almost always studying, and every single day before I sleep, I have this debate with myself. So many decisions to make - what time to sleep, what time to wake up, how many alarms to set, where to sleep, is it too hot for a comforter, does the heat need to be turned up - and all these just related to sleeping. Boy, I lead a busy life.

Before I forget, it appears that Meh was the only person who missed my blogs, so Meh, shoutouts to you. Santa Barbara will never be the same again.

I've been in Blacksburg for a while now. Its a beautiful place. Everytime I've spoken to someone on the phone the last month, the first question they ask me is "Have the leaves turned/changed colour/some equivalent?" I didn't really get it. How different could it be? But in the matter of one week, I see greens, golds, russets, reds, oranges, yellows, pinks and maroons, all in the space of a couple of hundred feet, and I realize, you've got to see it to believe it. Will post some pics soon in here.

Its half past four in the afternoon here, and I've finally decided that I deserve a nap. The consequence of this decision is that this blog is not going to be as long as I had imagined. I'm off no, to sleep. Maybe........................................

Fantastic Indeed...

Ranj and I went to watch Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer today. Both of us were absolutely tired of doing nothing these hols, and we made up our minds that we are going to be watching a whole bunch of movies, and shopping a whole lot before we go our separate ways.

Back to the point..We went to watch the movie, at Inox. My recommendation: Go and watch it if you can. For the 100 odd bucks that you pay, its real paisa vasooli. Very funny, and not at all long, actually just about 100 minutes.

Also saw a trailer of HP5. It looks good. The actress playing Umbridge looks exactly like I pictured her. And finally Gary Oldman has something to say outside the fireplace. Looks good. Can't wait to see it and to read the final installment.

That's all I have time for now, folks. As Johnny says, Flame On....

Good Going...

This year, I couldn't watch much of the French Open. Somehow, it just didn't work out. But I finally managed to catch a couple of glimpses of the final (pun intended..).

I'm a huge Nadal fan. His matches are so immensely entertaining. I don't deny that Fed-Ex is the king, or whatever else my manic Federer fan-friends call him, but he's just too perfect for words. He doesn't need my support to win. When you yell yourself hoarse supporting people like Nadal and Hewitt, you feel like you've played a tiny, tiny, tiny, tiny role in their win. At least, I do.

Anyway, Nadal is still the defending champion at Roland Garros, and Roger has to wait another year for a shot at the grand slam. Congratulations, Rafa, and Good Luck, Roger. Please continue to give us several more years of entertaining and mesmerizing tennis.

Au Revoir..

Entranced...

I couldn't think of any title for this post. Then my eyes fell upon a Nora Roberts book lying on my desk, called "Entranced", so....That's the story behind the title. And speaking of Nora Roberts, a small aside: Ranj, you must be dreaming if you think that I'll give you my collection:-D

We finished our final project demo yesterday. It was ok. Bit of an anticlimax, really. I wonder if everyone felt the same. I had dinner at Dakshin, in Windsor Manor with friends. If you like South Indian food, you should really visit Dakshin. The food's just marvelous.

I'll be heading to Virginia Tech, (hopefully), in a couple of months. If you read this blog, please suggest one thing I should compulsorily carry with me. We shall see who can be the most original..

Going upstairs to watch Mozhi now. Its a Tamil movie. Will review it in my next post.