Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend is a long weekend for most of the people living in America. Why most? Because I come in the second group of people who work on the weekends. In a way it is good that I have the weekdays to myself and I can do my school work then. But otherwise it's a pain because I can never do anything on the weekend. Yes, after 6pm I'm free, but can't really go for an out of town trip. Only if I had this Saturday and Sunday off, we would have decided to go somewhere, do something exciting.

The long weekend - as the Americans like to put it - is due to Memorial Day. It falls on the last Monday of May and is a day in the honor of all those who died on the battlefield.

This is something I really like about America. "What?" You may ask. Well, the idea that a national holiday falls either on a Monday or a Friday. There's no set date for them, only a set day - first or last Monday or Friday. Instead of two days to relax, people get three. I doubt that this could be accomplished in India. First of all, if something major - Independence Day, Republic Day, or Gandhi Jayanti - happens to fall on a weekday, schools ask their students to attend the "missed" classes on a Saturday. This is how it used to be a while ago. Eventually, Saturday's became another one of the "weekdays." So was the case at my school - Xavier's, Delhi.

Be it students or employees, everybody in India is pushed to their limits. And it starts early on. Why do they have to work so hard? Why can't they live like their American or British counterparts? I understand, the answers to these questions are Population and Competition. But that certainly doesn't mean that a human would be tested on every corner, in everything he/she does. Huh, and with the quota, things are definitely going to get worse.

Filming...

I realize that I haven't written anything for quite sometime now. I tell people that this is due to being busy, but in reality it is laziness.

I am taking summer courses in an effort to get ahead. Until June 6th, I'll have classes every single day. From the 15th, however, I'll have classes on every Tuesday and Thursday. I'm not working at the Computer Lab until June 7th. Am still going to Fernbank on every weekend though.

A week ago, I helped Suban in filming. Mine was a special appearance towards the end. I don't know if he has edited the entire thing yet, but I'm eager to see it because I also served as the camera-(wo)man for quite a large portion of the film.

I have moved my photoblog from Blogger to Shutterchance. The new URL is www.snapdcosmos.shutterchance.com. Please drop by if and when you get a chance.

exam fever

Exams this week...

Tuesay
12:30 to 2:30 - busa 2106 - legal environment of business
Thursday
8:00 to 10:00 - geog 1112 - introduction to weather and climate
10:15 to 12:15 - econ 2105 - principles of macroeconomics
Saturday
2:45 to 4:45 - cis 2010 - introduction to computer information
systems
Monday
8:00 to 10:00 - spch 1000 - human communication

The Saturday and Monday exams may be moved to Friday and Wednesday, respectively. Most likely, however, I'll give the CIS exam on Saturday. Speech to be moved on Wednesday is highly possible.

luck?
need it badly!

bygone days

The following post is in present tense, just cuz I feel like it...

For the first time in four weeks I'm seeing kids, and I mean groups-n-groups of elementry and middle school kids, at Fernbank. This sight certainly brings a smile upon my lips and forces me to just slide my hands in the pockets and look at the excited bunch for several minutes.

Chaparones are making their groups walk in straight lines, with a partner. Some kids are holding hands, some playing and kidding along with their partners.

Man, I sure remember those days. I can even go back down memory lane and still picture myself holding hands with my partner, getting on the bus, singing along the radio, kidding around and having fun with my classmates.

It only seems like yesterday when we stole Paras Pugalia's shoe on our way back to Xavier's in 5th grade [or what it 4th grade?] and the entire bus with girls and boys in separate groups bursted out singing joote do paise lo... paise do joote lo.

And of course, our hinsaya hinsaya was [and I believe, still is] a classic. Ah! that hinsaya! None of us, and I mean none of the 125 some students that rode on each bus, knew the words to this classic back-to-school-from-picnic song except Sarthak Bedi. He used to sing out the words and the rest of us did our part as the chorus by yelling HINSAYA HINSAYA!

I remember a few words to this classic one, and these are the only words I ever remembered...

alu matar tamatar lo
HINSAYA HINSAYA
sadak ka maal muft mein lo
HINSAYA HINSAYA

memories: evening moon [view]
melodies: chhod aaye hum [read] [listen]
fragrance: mera naya bachpan [unravel]

"the present eventually becomes a beautiful memory and opens the doors to let the future become the present... that friends, is life!"
--Geetali Sharma (ME)

CIS 2010: Test Results

Got the CIS test back. Remember, the one I was late for. The class sessions to this course are 75 minutes long, but tests only 50 minutes. And these 50 minutes start at 8 a.m. and go until 8:50 a.m. no matter what time one comes in. I wrote an entire blog about this event, read it here if you missed it.

So, I got 15 minutes to answer 50 questions. 35 minutes less compared the rest of the students who were present. In spite of such less time at hand, I answered 39 questions and got 37 correct. The teacher, Michael Cuellar, said the following when he reached my desk while passing out the test:

Pretty impressive! Based on that you had only 15 minutes.

I just looked at him, without a smile. While going over the test, I looked at the 11 SQL queries that I did not get a chance to answer. Only if I had 5-7 more minutes, I could have answerd all those and end up with a 90+ score after possibly missing 2 or 3 questions out of those 11 left. After the class, I shared this with Cuellar. To which his response was:

I'm sure of that. I could see that you knew everything. Only if you had a little more time...
When your test came out [of the scantron machine that grades multiple choice tests], I was like "whow! and she did not even answer all the questions."

I ended up with a 74 on this particular test. My grade was probably above average. The 2 students sitting on my either side made a 58 and a 72 [they had the entire 50 minutes].

memories: erin (not lucy) reclining [view]
melodies: truly madly deeply [read] [listen]
fragrance: tu aaya... [unravel]

"the rumba is the vertical expression of a horizontal wish. you have to hold her, like the skin on her thigh is your reason for living. let her go, like your heart's being ripped from your chest. throw her back, like you're going to have your way with her right here on the dance floor. nd then finish, like she's ruined you for life."

--shall we dance? [the movie]

what's next: tba [march ahead]
past text: ye hai STYLE... ye hai style! [turn around]

ye hai STYLE... ye hai style!

Okay... my blog will finally be different... something new is being added!

For the past two posts I've been trying to adopt and establish a new style, a new way to end my posts on this particular blog [not the photoblog or poemblog, this transformation is home to only memories, melodies, fragrance!].

Now, each of my posts will end with:

• a photo recommendation from an online photoblog.
• a song [either english or hindi] with links to it's lyrics, a place where you can enjoy listening to the song, and possibly a link to the video of the song.
• a poem [again, either english or hindi] that I specially dig out on the internet for my dear readers.
• a quote
• a link to the previous and [once I've composed a new blog] a link to the next blog.

The format for the recommendations and other added materials will look something like this:

memories: photo title [view]
melodies: song title [read] [listen] [watch]
fragrance: poem title [unravel]

"quote goes here. it may be long, it may be short. this is just a test to see what it will actually look like."

what's next: blog title [march ahead]
past text: blog title [turn around]

This blog post only contains the details and the template for the new style that I am adopting for my blog. The change will take effect starting my next post.

Ski Trip '06

Although I have a lot of other things to talk about since my post 2 days ago, I'll write about the Ski Trip since I said I will!

This is not latest information since I went on this trip about a month ago. But, it is rare information. Ski Trip '06 will be known as my very first adventurous trip with friends. What was so adventurous about it? Not the actual skiing [although it sure is a part of it], but the way I reached the place and how I remained there and the day I returned and the aftermath. I don't want to go into details because it's secret information, but I will mention that my parents did not know before hand that I was going to be out of town for an entire weekend.

I did enjoy my time there though. Staying up late, dancing, drinking soda, talking to random people... people I would never talk to if I was awake, going on a drive on a mountain that did not recieve cell phone connection, feeling lost, coming across an old, old, really old, gas station... and finally finding the way back home.

One thing is for sure though, I am never going to any such things with ABCDs anymore. No offence to my close AB friends, but these people who organized the thing aren't the kind of people I'd like to hang out with. My answer would probably be different if I was "one of them" ... but I'm not ... so the distinction remains.

I took a whole lot of pictures there. By now they would have been up on evoking awe, but they won't be until I get a new template and a new URL.

Memory of the Day: sun bathed window [see it]
Melody of the Day: paathshala [lyrics] [song]
Fragrance of the Day: is nadi ki dhaar mein [read it]

What's Next (in blogs): TBA

a morning i'll remember forever

Today's morning proved to be one of the most horrible mornings of my life. Some people might know that I am NOT a morning person; I CANNOT get up early. In spite of this raw fact, I am taking early morning classes this semester. Mondays and Wednesdays my class starts at 9am (have only one class on MW) and on Tuesdays and Thursdays my classes start at 8am. Fridays are off, I catch up on my sleep when the rest of the world works.

Today - Feb 21, 2004 - [which also happens to be Sincerly Flattered's 20th birthday] I had a test in my 8 o'clock class. Guess what time I woke up... 7:51am!!! I reached the class at 8:35. Although the class lasts until 9:15, the teacher only lets the students take the test until 8:50, no matter what time one comes in. I answered 40 out of 50 questions in 15mins. Knew the ans to everything else also, but couldn't get through those because the test was multiple choice with a large part of it having to do with digging out the correct answer for SQL queries.

Song of the Day: wo tere pyaar ka gham [lyrics] [remix]
Shayari of the Day: ...Ishq [read it]
Picture of the Day: whoz staring at whom? [see it]

What's Next (in blogs): Ski Trip '06

India's youth, in need of primary education.

Read the article Turning to Gods and Astrologers to Pass Exams and you will be amazed at what today's generation is getting themselves into. Being religious, praying five times a day, and eating after offering food to the gods as an everyday practice is fine. But, turning one's "god be with me" mode simply because exams are at the corner is pure selfishness, lack of self-confidence, and probably a serious condition that should be checked out by psychologists and psychiatrists.

What this article overviews leaves me in disgust. I could never imagine that the students who were taught in schools that superstition is a waste of time and leads to nothing would fall back upon the same crap once it comes to making their own decisions. These idiot 10th and 12th graders, who will soon appear for their board exams, are offering prayers at 6am to some deity before beginning their daily study routine. Others are going to pundits to get their writing pens powered with spiritual powers so they can do well on their exams. It doesn't stop here! Wearing a lucky dress, following a certain diet, departing the house at an auspicious time and any bizarre idea one can come up with ... the future of India is doing it!

I want to blame the youth who's participating in all this superstition, but I cannot. Reason being the family pressure they face when it comes to these exams - boards and entrance exams being the biggies. Parents perception is that these exams either make or break the future of their child. It may be true partially, but not completely. In my opinion what makes or breaks someone's future is their devotion to their work. And one certainly does not need to be a religious devote to be a successful academic or a successful worker or a successful person. One should concentrate on studies, along with engaging in physical activities as a means of stress release, to do well in exams. Don't freakin' waste your time, energy, and money in traveling between temples, consulting pundits, and ruining your diet.

A Realization

Today, I realized that I do not take the Panther Shuttle to Aderhold anymore. When the Fall semester started, I slowly and steadily found my way around the State campus. In the beginning I used to walk to and from Aderhold, because I did not want to take a risk with the shuttle and be late or entirely miss my film class [not that it was extremely important, but I was a student author for that course]. Then one day, I experimented with the shuttle and was surprised to find out that I almost always could avoid the seven-minute walk to Aderhold. But slowly, without realizing, I went back to old school - walking briskly. I propose, it has been several months since I stepped into a panther shuttle, be it to go to Aderhold, The Village, or Turner Field.

These days, I often ride the Tech Trolly. This happens when I decide to go to GaTech's library instead of State's because I think Tech's library is more beautiful than ours.

Words in Bold Grey defined here:

Panther Shuttle: University shuttle that transports students between the dorms, student center, and Aderhold.

Aderhold: Aderhold Learning Center... name of one of the buildings on campus. It is a fairly new building, and definitely my favorite because it has a lot of space and one can see every part of the building while standing anywhere.

State: Nick name for Georgia State University.

The Village: Name given to student dorms. It consists of four buildings - Athina, Ithica, Sparta, and Olympia. A greek theme going on here. Don't know why they named it "the village" ... should have been "the odyssey" :)

Turner Field: Sports arena where major league baseball is played. Their parking is available for free to Georgia State Students.

Tech Trolly: One of the two shuttle services available at GaTech.

GaTech: Georgia Institute of Technology... a technical institute located in Atlanta, run by the state government of Georgia. AKA GeorgiaTech or Tech.

just a thought

GSU library closes at 6:00 PM on Friday. I was there until 5:55 PM and then left for Tech's library. Like yesterday (and unlike usually) I decided to take the westbound train from GSU's marta station and then switch to the northbound train from FivePoints. My get off point was Midtown, which comes after North Avenue.

At the North Avenue station a women wearing a white cardigan got on the train. She looked Indian with her hair dyed brown and tied back. She looked at me with a slight, apathetic smile and took a seat in front of me. She happened to know a guy in yellow jacket, who at first did not notice her. Soon, he started talking to her; rather, asking her everyday questions and she continued to answer all of his question with the same slight and apathetic smile.

Her smile was very forceful, I noticed. It seemed like she didn't want to smile, but was forcing herself. Some of the questions that man in the yellow jacked asked her were as follows:

Q: How are your kids?
A: (smile) Good.

Q: Are you working tomorrow?
A: Yes (smile).

Q: Working seven days a week?!
A: Yes (smile).

Q: How many hours?
A: 74.

Working seven days a week, seventy-four hours a week. Her hours average out to 10+ hours for each day. Doing this for whome? Her kids, I guess. Right now they are probably young, but soon when they get to college they'll want to leave her behind, to live and lead their own lives. Then, she'll probably cry over the thought of "what might have gone wrong?"

Parents live for their kids, and kids for themselves at times.

Fire Alarm

I was going through and deleting all my old emails from my GSU Student Email account and came across the following:

The campus wide fire alarm system is not operating correctly. While the alarms will work properly in every building, the system will not currently notify the police department. Repair parts are on order and we expect to have the problem corrected not later than Monday [3 days from today]. If you observe or hear a fire alarm in a Georgia State University building please call the University Police at 651-3333 or 651-2100.

When I first read it about a month and ten days ago, I found it to be absolutely hilarious. Today, it didn't make me laugh out as loud as before, and it doesn't have the same effect, but still it's pretty funny.

About an hour later, I received the following email:

The campus wide fire alarm system has been repaired and returned to normal operational status. In case of a fire the system will notify the police department.

Quick, I must say!

"Haan, Kishu"

This is what Nana said when he pressed the answer key on his cell phone. As far as I can go down memory lane, I do not remember him calling me Kishu, it has always been "Geetali." Hearing this "Kishu" from him was surprising, but definitely felt good.

Kishu is my nick name. One of those names Indian kids are known by to their family and neighbors; the kind of name that has no resemblance to one's real or formal name.

I don't like it when a family member calls me Geetali. For some reason, I feel a gap between myself and that particular person. I am used to being called Kishu at home, so hearing Geetali feels a little odd. Plus, "Geetali" is reserved for friends, acquaintances, colleagues, teachers, employees etc. I am close to my friends, of course... but the relationship between friends and family is different. Even if I'm not very close to someone in my family, hearing "Geetali" creates another unnecessary barrier.

The reason Nana called me "Kishu" is because I saved my cell number on his phone by the name of "Kishu" not "Geetali Sharma"... unlike how he saves Mom, Ritu Masi, Harshu Mama, Anuj and Neeraj Bhaiya's numbers.

Indians & Relationships

Indians lack greatly in their judicial abilities. When it's about tolerance, middle-aged Indians (on the most part) are no where to be found on the list. Indian parents practice force and for the most part care about two things - good education and relationships. When one reads these two words without any presumptions in mind he or she gets a good feeling, but not necessarily if the word "India" or "Indians" is also present somewhere in the sentences.

I would have been talking about education as well, but being a romantic the topic on relationships makes more sense to me :). Plus, this particular post is based on an article from New York Times and an incident that recently occurred in Meerut, India.

If you are an Indian or have visited India, I believe you have been to large parks full of greenery. Grass, plants, trees everywhere. Sometimes a waterfall or two, a little bridge over a small stream, some sort of edifice at random places in the park for shelter. If you know what I am referring to then I am sure you know the trademark for all parks of this kind - couples sitting together, talking, sometimes cuddling, smiling, laughing, absolutely lost into each other. All this done under an open and clear sky. These couples are an amusement to the school children who go to these parks on an yearly basis for picnics [speaking from experience here :) - as a schooler :D]. But to adults this perfectly natural thing, done under the sun, is a crime. The word crime does seem a little too harsh, but it is the well understood truth.

The kind of scene I described above is seen almost everyday! But every now and then, when the enforcers of the law loose their minds, a beautiful day turns into a nightmare for these young couples. That is what happened in Meerut's Gandhi Park. A force of police officers rushed into the park and started slapping and verbally abusing the couples. They were asked their names and addresses, bombarded with sentences and scoldings like:

Is this what your parents raised you for? Have some shame, some respect for your parents! You come to college to study, not to do all this.

One couple ran away from their house, because all this was broadcasted on television and reported in newspapers [later their parents agreed to get them married]. A girl, who was sitting their alone, was accused of being a prostitute.

Why is India the Great intolerant towards such a natural phenomenon? Why did the marriage of that particular pair of college students in love was fixed after the incident? Why was that girl [who was there with no-one] insulted and verbally abused in front of reporters? Why do these kind of uncivilized acts continue to occur in the world's largest democracy and the seventh most developed nation?

I think the answer is relationships. Not in a good way though. Hindu textures say until the age of 25 one must lead the life of brahmcharya. From age 25 to 50 it's time for a grihasth life. Mind you, that is the only time for a life of love, physical relationship, and emotional attachment towards one person of the opposite sex (your spouse). I do not deny that this is a very good way to go, but I do object on the control that Indian parents like to feel and have upon their kids no matter how old they get.

One should not expect anyone to follow these old textures and/or their parents' ideals and beliefs on every corner. Specially not in a world that encourages self-thought and provides more and more liberty with every new action. Indian adults are scared of their children getting hurt when it comes to relationships with the opposite sex, not realizing that this process of pain and pleasure is absolutely necessary in the growth of a healthy human mind.

There's a time for everything, an age for the birth and death of everything in a person's life. When that particular time period becomes a thing of the past, the individual looses out on the experience and the immense amount of knowledge that was to be gained from that experience. This age is different for everybody. The average may be on the intervals of twenty-five - 25, 50, 75 - but for some it comes early and for some late. I hope someday people will not only realize this but also let others follow their own time-table.

a different me

Read this quote on my "quote of the day" widget, and it brought a smile to my lips. "Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing." So true! Why worry about anything when we are going to leave everything behind and this world will gladly let us go.

All the complications and dilemmas we face on every new step taken is a result of maintaining a certain sort of status in society. When this world is about learning and sharing knowledge, then why limit ourselves in our experiments. Live and let live! But, when it's about your dreams... just do it!

I think I'm becoming more and more indifferent about the people around me. I guess, it's good for me... but not for them :-?

"Be the change you wish to see in the world!" --Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

Let me clear something up before you start reading my post. I am not a pessimist. On the contrary, however, I may sound like one. It probably has to do with my stupid and naive beliefs based on observation. An observation that landed me to the conclusion that this world has unnecessary hopes and expectations with every new thing that arrives. Whether it is buying a new house or moving to a new place, starting a new academic semester or opening a new business log, meeting a new individual or becoming a part of a new family. Every time us humans start thinking that our world is about to see a change, a good change, a change long awaited. I ask you, for what? Just because the entire world is about to put a new calendar on their walls does not mean that the bad days are gone, it does not mean that nobody will cry anymore, it does not mean that the terrorist activities will stop, it does not mean that this world will come together as a global village and smile and laugh and dance together. It does not mean that! What we don't realize, or maybe don't want to realize, is that entering a new year is a clear indication that nothing will stop. The world will go on and all the miseries will continue. An end to this world is what will change everything.

I understand that hope is one of the building blocks of life. Without hope, life and this world will be pointless. There won't be anything to look forward to. But, just the hope for something better is not enough. We need to take actions to actually allow that hope to turn into reality.

Receiving multiple mails from family, friends, and acquaintances and reading the same stale sentences in all of them is really bothering me. I really do not appreciate the fact that everybody is wishing everyone they know an year of new found happiness, new adventures and new experiences, new hopes and new desires, and a whole new beginning. A whole new beginning? What is that supposed to mean? It's not like everything from the past has been erased or that on new year's eve one could decide everything all over again. Then why these false hopes? Why these ridiculous wishes?

The longing for the peace and happiness of all doesn't mean a thing if we ourselves don't try to accomplish what we want. Become active! Achieve goals as a result of hard work, don't expect it to happen just out of hope. Look forward to something different everyday, not because it's a new day, but because you are willing to make it a new day!

On this new year I do not wish you all false hopes, but I wish you the courage and the freedom to transform your hopes and desires into reality. You gotta change your world yourself! No body's gonna come help you out. Each individual is self-made and self-supported. Most of everything else is an illusion!

mujhe bhi... Doob Jaana Re!

Watched Main, Meri Patni aur Woh - a hindi movie starring Rajpal Yadav in a leading role. Not a commercial movie, I don't think a lot of people with like it. I, however, enjoyed watching it. I guess one could say that this movie was somewhat like Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, but I rate it much higher than the Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, and Madhuri Dixit starrer.

The concept was beautiful. Mithilesh's insecurity, possessiveness, and willingness of sacrifice... is justifiable. The songs from this movie are very good as well. "Doob Jaane Re" is not only my favorite song, but is nowdays played 5 out of 10 times on my iTunes.

Title: Doob Jaana Re
Singer: Sonu Nigam and Shreya Ghoshal
Music: Rajendra Shiv
Lyrics: Rocky Khanna

Male:
(aaj maine dilse
baadlo se milke) - 2
sapno ki baarish se kaliya sajake
mahki umango se khushbu churake
halki si boondo mein
lahro ki goonjo mein
gum ho jana re
(doob jaana re
mujhko doob jaana re
tere paas aana re
mujhko doob jaana re) - 2

Female:
(chalte chalte maine yun hi
jaane mere dil se aisa kya keh diya) - 2
(kyun ye mausam bhi hai lagta ab suhana re
dhadkane bhi saath mere gungunati re) - 2
khamosh aanho ke simte irade
masum palko pe sapne sajake
halki si boondo mein
lahro ki goonjo mein
gum ho jaana re
(doob jaana re
mujhko doob jaana re
tere paas aana re
mujhko doob jaana re) - 2

Male:
(badlo se dil ka rishta hai purana re
hai safar anjaan lekin aazmaana re) - 2
maine na socha na samjha na jaana
rukte kadam phir bhi aise kyun chaahe
halki si boondo mein
lehro ki goonjo mein
gum ho jaana re
(doob jaana re
mujhko doob jaana re
tere paas aana re
mujhko doob jaana re) - 2

Female:
aaj maine dilse
baadlo se milke
sapno ki baarish se kaliya sajake
mahki umango se khushbu churake

Male:
halki si boondo mein
lehro ki goonjo mein
gum ho jaana re

Male and Female:
(doob jaana re
mujhko doob jaana re
tere paas aana re
mujhko doob jaana re) - 2

B-E-A-utiful!! Of course, it's nothing unique, yet it has made a mark on me. Such songs, which are not out of the blue, but can still make one smile - not for just a moment but for hours at a time - are the ones that always take my heart away.

It may get added to my (um.. our) playlist titled "humtum ke hontho par".

Business Attire

Had the individual interview for Incept 2006. Of course, had to go in professional attire. Took this pic to upload on multiple profiles.

I don't know what I feel about my performance. In many instances, I don't think I gave an answer to the question they asked me. Haha, twice, in the middle of my answer, I forgot what the question was. God, I feel so stupid and funny about this whole interview thing. Don't know what the result will be like. Am not very positive about it. --Hilarious!

drinkin' coke like water

it got caffeine!

got an exam in 5 hours, then a paper due by midnight. have been studyin' for the exam and workin' on that paper since 10pm. did i sleep? no! ... do i wanna sleep? umm...i wanna see how long i can go. plus, i got my bud with me - caffeine!

god, i hope i analyze that excerpt from that book correctly. gotta make an A in phil. help me jesus, khuda, bhagwan, yahwee, vahe guru... and all the other names the aasman is known as.

I salute me!

Yesterday, I was reading my poems. I am impressed with myself. I don't like the good comments and praises get into my head, but I do feel proud of the fact that every single word writen on that page is composed by me, myself, and I. I am my own fan! All those phrases reflect some aspect of my life, the one's that I like the most are from a time left long behind. That lamha, that moment, will never enter my life again, I won't allow it. The memories, however, will remain in the form of the poems that changed my life, my writing style, and made me into what I am today.