2 interesting things happened to me today.
One, take a date for my long-awaited Java Level 1 certification. Second, install Rome: Total war - a strategy game. Whats the point behind fulfilling each? First leads to professional prestige (ABCDs) while I love the second. Comes from the days where I used to sit for hours beating up Age of Empires.
Time to rethink my priorities....
Monday, August 29, 2005
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Chak De Fatte
...has been something that I have been saying a lot recently - on posts, amongst friends, on phone calls, and even dreams. Recollecting back to the old memories, how did this start in the first place? Courtesy goes to my old roommate - Mr. Amanpreet Khurana. Aman moved here last week where he took up a new job in CT, not far from my place. Glad that I have a Desi friend staying closeby - nothing that can be still better than a guy from Kopargaon - someone with whom I stayed for 4 years. Isnt life good to you?
Now thats what I call - Chak De Fatte.
Now thats what I call - Chak De Fatte.
Legally Void
Yet another long weekend and I had pre-decided that this should also not go waste. So I made a few calls and Mahale, Huned, Umesh and Rahul pooled in for this trip. Out 6 of us, the vacation was planned for a New England tour. It included sight-seeing Boston, Cape Cod and the world's renowned whaling capital - Nantucket.
Everyone drove up to New Haven Friday night and stayed at my crib to start the vacation with. It might be the first time that my room was filled with 1+ Desi. Happily, we were all dancing away to glory and having a gala time that night. Lal and myself did our usual dance copy of Amit, Bari, Yatendra, Gujju and Hiren Bhai. There was also a special imitation of ABCD.
Saturday early morning, we headed towards Hotel Marriot up in Woburn, MA singing Kajra Re for a 2-night stay. The check-in time was the usual 3pm and so we spent a few hours driving around Boston. We saw Harvard Square, MIT, Prudential Center, J Hancock tower, Chinatown and a little of Cambridge driving around on a Dodge Caravan. So we reach the hotel, check-in and come back 10 miles south to Boston again for lunch and then go back to hotel - bad planning maybe but the drive was not that trouble at all - 20 minutes maybe...and I was not driving too.
We basically passed around time on Saturday talking and a little bit of chilling out. It was an eery silence before the storm striked. I slept that night at 1 in the morning and was scheduled to get up first the next day at 2:30 again that morning. Now I am not a kind of guy who usually sleeps less than 8 hours...unless its a vacation. Anyways, We got ready and were off sailing on a Flying Cloud to Nantucket. As soon as we reached the land, I saw a shop renting mopeds and bikes. We got three of them and made pairs -it was me urf Jaidev and Laale Di Jaan aka Veeru together shooting for Sholay on that island.
Ghoom Ghaam kar we decided to do some water sports in one of the beautiful beaches - we played frisby. I noticed change in my complexion in less than few hours which meant that I will be spending my next few weeks with a darker version of Sandeep. Day passed by like a snap and I was shooting the breeze in the backseat. Monday being the last day of the vacation, we took sort of easy and were home early evening. Huned stayed back that night and left the next morning for Binghamton. We even caught a glimpse of the 4th July fireworks.
Weekend was great.
Everyone drove up to New Haven Friday night and stayed at my crib to start the vacation with. It might be the first time that my room was filled with 1+ Desi. Happily, we were all dancing away to glory and having a gala time that night. Lal and myself did our usual dance copy of Amit, Bari, Yatendra, Gujju and Hiren Bhai. There was also a special imitation of ABCD.
Saturday early morning, we headed towards Hotel Marriot up in Woburn, MA singing Kajra Re for a 2-night stay. The check-in time was the usual 3pm and so we spent a few hours driving around Boston. We saw Harvard Square, MIT, Prudential Center, J Hancock tower, Chinatown and a little of Cambridge driving around on a Dodge Caravan. So we reach the hotel, check-in and come back 10 miles south to Boston again for lunch and then go back to hotel - bad planning maybe but the drive was not that trouble at all - 20 minutes maybe...and I was not driving too.
We basically passed around time on Saturday talking and a little bit of chilling out. It was an eery silence before the storm striked. I slept that night at 1 in the morning and was scheduled to get up first the next day at 2:30 again that morning. Now I am not a kind of guy who usually sleeps less than 8 hours...unless its a vacation. Anyways, We got ready and were off sailing on a Flying Cloud to Nantucket. As soon as we reached the land, I saw a shop renting mopeds and bikes. We got three of them and made pairs -it was me urf Jaidev and Laale Di Jaan aka Veeru together shooting for Sholay on that island.
Ghoom Ghaam kar we decided to do some water sports in one of the beautiful beaches - we played frisby. I noticed change in my complexion in less than few hours which meant that I will be spending my next few weeks with a darker version of Sandeep. Day passed by like a snap and I was shooting the breeze in the backseat. Monday being the last day of the vacation, we took sort of easy and were home early evening. Huned stayed back that night and left the next morning for Binghamton. We even caught a glimpse of the 4th July fireworks.
Weekend was great.
Tuesday, July 19, 2005
MSG is not Monosodium Glutamate
It is Microsoft Sues Google unlike what you see MSG in Chinese restaurants. Well, I am a Google fan but seems here that Microsoft has a valid argument. What is the whole point of someone signing a contract when they can easily get off the hook? They might get something out of Lee here but from Google - possibly not enough evidence. I am sure Lee can hammer out a mutually acceptable agreement if he gets some legal muscle working on it too.
Monday, June 27, 2005
The winning finally kicks off
I was up in Glastonbury to attend Raj's daughter 3rd year birthday anniversary party last Sunday. We were scheduled for a match against Cognizant later that day. Naugatuck was 40 miles west and I was hoping that we should start off by having to bat first. Yes, no-one was happy to stay outside on a 3-digit fahrenheit scale. We did win the toss and posted 98 on the board. Having them defeated by a margin of 20 runs, I must say that there is a lot to improve finally. I tend to think that cricket is the greatest thing GOD ever created on earth - certainly greater than sex, although sex isnt too bad either. Erik was right, its all about that fucking commitment.
Sunday, June 19, 2005
IBM takes on GE
Desh was looking for his Lagaan 11 to play against GE this Sunday. So I drove this afternoon to Shelton to play for IBM which means I had to get up earlier than expected. Weather became perfect as we lost the toss and took the field. Some time later, it became hot and I was worn out on the field completely dehydrated. Opponents piled up a total of 65 runs in the allocated 15 overs.
Sadly, I couldnt open my account inspite of some powerful strokes and the wicket keeper took an excellent catch by jumping to his left and receiving the ball. We lost by a close margin but had a good exercise. Looking forward to a second round next week.
Wait and watch..
Sadly, I couldnt open my account inspite of some powerful strokes and the wicket keeper took an excellent catch by jumping to his left and receiving the ball. We lost by a close margin but had a good exercise. Looking forward to a second round next week.
Wait and watch..
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Memorial weekend with a SRK fan
For those of you who might wonder what does SRK means, I am talking about a big star who once stood near Marine Drive and said "I came to Bombay to own this city, now the city owns me". Kumar is a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan and a firm follower of all his movies.
Mr. Raj Aryan posing for Ashwariya in Mohabbatein 2
So, long weekend was here and I made plans to visit him in Arlington, VA. Took sort of half day from work and left early to catch a 5:30 Amtrak to Union Station. Luckily, I found an interesting company during the travel where we discussed about techical gadgets, mobile agents and grid computing. Sheila was a sales-rep for Capital Printing in NYC and was also tech savvy. Times flew so fast that I never realized 5 hours have passed by and I was already in DC.
Met Kumar outside and we went home. There I was Friday night sitting in IHop charting out plans for the long weekend. We started off visiting monuments Saturday morning.
Outside Lincoln Memorial - Akaash and Sameer
There was a huge motorcycle rally and you could only see Rockstars and Harley around.
Bike Rally for Memorial weekend
We later went to Ebbott Grill in downtown which is supposedly pricy and sat for 2 hours chatting over Hummus and drinks.
Then came Sunday. We decided to rent a car in the morning and check out beaches around. Ofcourse, I had to make the plan about the location and bookings (kidding Kumar). Both of us woke up close to 1pm and had to rush out to get the car at 2. Kumar took the driving seat and we missed the exit for 395. Finally moving around the area and after getting burgers and drinks, we reached Lake Anna State Park at 5pm. Drive was scenic and there were a lot of farms around. Virginia was beautiful and the place was much more exquisite. There was a quite a crowd with families sitting by the beach and enjoying the space. We hung out for a couple of hours.
..at Lake Anna State Park
Enjoying the breeze
And what am I supposed to pose like?
Ki Ki Kiran - tum kidhar ho
Kumar then promised me to take me to Adam's Morgan which is supposed to be a happening place in Arlington, yes, I mean full of clubs and bars. Missing the directions and taking a long time to find a place to park, we got there at closing time. Not much exciting though since I couldn't drink. Lekin Kaun kambakht bardaasht karne ke liye peeta hai...Its okay Kumar, Bade Bade Deshon Mein Aisi Choti Choti Baatein Hoti Rehti Hai.
Then came Monday and I knew I had to leave that day. I took that day easy and moved around the area and finally left for my town, New Haven. Vacation was well-spent and I was very happy to meet Kumar after more than 3 years. My return travel was disgusting and got home early morning of Tuesday for a yet-another short week. Yeah....
Mr. Raj Aryan posing for Ashwariya in Mohabbatein 2
So, long weekend was here and I made plans to visit him in Arlington, VA. Took sort of half day from work and left early to catch a 5:30 Amtrak to Union Station. Luckily, I found an interesting company during the travel where we discussed about techical gadgets, mobile agents and grid computing. Sheila was a sales-rep for Capital Printing in NYC and was also tech savvy. Times flew so fast that I never realized 5 hours have passed by and I was already in DC.
Met Kumar outside and we went home. There I was Friday night sitting in IHop charting out plans for the long weekend. We started off visiting monuments Saturday morning.
Outside Lincoln Memorial - Akaash and Sameer
There was a huge motorcycle rally and you could only see Rockstars and Harley around.
Bike Rally for Memorial weekend
We later went to Ebbott Grill in downtown which is supposedly pricy and sat for 2 hours chatting over Hummus and drinks.
Then came Sunday. We decided to rent a car in the morning and check out beaches around. Ofcourse, I had to make the plan about the location and bookings (kidding Kumar). Both of us woke up close to 1pm and had to rush out to get the car at 2. Kumar took the driving seat and we missed the exit for 395. Finally moving around the area and after getting burgers and drinks, we reached Lake Anna State Park at 5pm. Drive was scenic and there were a lot of farms around. Virginia was beautiful and the place was much more exquisite. There was a quite a crowd with families sitting by the beach and enjoying the space. We hung out for a couple of hours.
..at Lake Anna State Park
Enjoying the breeze
And what am I supposed to pose like?
Ki Ki Kiran - tum kidhar ho
Kumar then promised me to take me to Adam's Morgan which is supposed to be a happening place in Arlington, yes, I mean full of clubs and bars. Missing the directions and taking a long time to find a place to park, we got there at closing time. Not much exciting though since I couldn't drink. Lekin Kaun kambakht bardaasht karne ke liye peeta hai...Its okay Kumar, Bade Bade Deshon Mein Aisi Choti Choti Baatein Hoti Rehti Hai.
Then came Monday and I knew I had to leave that day. I took that day easy and moved around the area and finally left for my town, New Haven. Vacation was well-spent and I was very happy to meet Kumar after more than 3 years. My return travel was disgusting and got home early morning of Tuesday for a yet-another short week. Yeah....
Tuesday, May 24, 2005
Ceremony 2
Some more pictures posted by Hiren at
http://mscs2005.blogspot.com/
I just booked my tickets to visit an old friend of mine,Kumar at Arlington, VA. Excited..
Pictures at our new work place coming up...
http://mscs2005.blogspot.com/
I just booked my tickets to visit an old friend of mine,Kumar at Arlington, VA. Excited..
Pictures at our new work place coming up...
Sunday, May 22, 2005
From a slacker to programmer
After completing my 12th, I said to myself for the last time "Am I fit to pursue Engineering?" and my conscious spoke to me in binary - I landed up in a rural town called Kopargaon. All geared up to learn bits of programming, life was more pitches in making good friends and simply chill. After all, it was a hostel life.
My 4 years doing Bachelors was a joke - I never took an advantage of my unusual qualities or shall I say talent to sit and learn to code? Even after finishing my BS degree, I still lacked good coding skills. Life went a down hill. Economy struck in year 2001 and I was out on the streets finding a job in a universe full of unemployed programmers. I remembered the time when my father was keen on me to engage myself with a shippe life. I took a step forward and started looking for suitable jobs not necessarily related to my field. Somewhere in Hiranandani Complex, Mumbai; Hiren and myself just got out of an interview from a call centre when we met this aweful or shall I say awe-inspiring person trying to win us over to join a consulting firm focusing on call centres. Initially, it sounded like a good idea and so we spoke about $alary. Package of 25,000 Indian rupees with abso-freaking-lutely zilch is what we should be expecting 5-10 years down the line. We smiled and walked away to grab something to eat. Unable to control laughter on what the lady suggested to two pitiful job seekers, I thought of further education. Narrowing down my options, a Masters degree from US was the best and easiest pick.
Programming still nowhere in my radar, I came to Binghamton, NY for a Masters degree. Life became more challenging that what I had expected. I slogged for 2 years coding and seeing myself turn as one of the regular geeks you must have seen in "Pirates of the Silicon Valley". My advisor got the hell out of me and I started taking pleasures in writing programs.
I completed my Masters last year and was recently up in Binghamton for my graduation ceremony which most of you must have seen in my previous blog. I must admit that I have learned a lot and see myself being evolved as a real software programmer with above average calibre. While still happy with coding, I might be losing my tolerance and patience for mindless rules, regulations and internal politics. I will stop coding when I don't need the money. How about opening a subway?
My 4 years doing Bachelors was a joke - I never took an advantage of my unusual qualities or shall I say talent to sit and learn to code? Even after finishing my BS degree, I still lacked good coding skills. Life went a down hill. Economy struck in year 2001 and I was out on the streets finding a job in a universe full of unemployed programmers. I remembered the time when my father was keen on me to engage myself with a shippe life. I took a step forward and started looking for suitable jobs not necessarily related to my field. Somewhere in Hiranandani Complex, Mumbai; Hiren and myself just got out of an interview from a call centre when we met this aweful or shall I say awe-inspiring person trying to win us over to join a consulting firm focusing on call centres. Initially, it sounded like a good idea and so we spoke about $alary. Package of 25,000 Indian rupees with abso-freaking-lutely zilch is what we should be expecting 5-10 years down the line. We smiled and walked away to grab something to eat. Unable to control laughter on what the lady suggested to two pitiful job seekers, I thought of further education. Narrowing down my options, a Masters degree from US was the best and easiest pick.
Programming still nowhere in my radar, I came to Binghamton, NY for a Masters degree. Life became more challenging that what I had expected. I slogged for 2 years coding and seeing myself turn as one of the regular geeks you must have seen in "Pirates of the Silicon Valley". My advisor got the hell out of me and I started taking pleasures in writing programs.
I completed my Masters last year and was recently up in Binghamton for my graduation ceremony which most of you must have seen in my previous blog. I must admit that I have learned a lot and see myself being evolved as a real software programmer with above average calibre. While still happy with coding, I might be losing my tolerance and patience for mindless rules, regulations and internal politics. I will stop coding when I don't need the money. How about opening a subway?
Monday, May 16, 2005
Time for celebration
Friday the 13th was when the Rubber met the Road. Yes, we (I and Aias) took a day off and left early morning for Binghamton. I took him via Rt 17 which was an additional 30 minutes journey and worth the scenic drive. After touching Binghamton around 4ish, we headed straight to the University Bookstore where I bought the graduation gown plus the hood. After meetings friends oncampus, we went to Nirchi's outside the campus for a quick grab. Ok - time for action. One of my senior was keen on frisbee, so we did some sports oncampus with this lots-of-running and I fagged out. Being tired, we all agreed that its now time to check-in to the hotel. Well, guess what - 7 guys in 1 room with 2 twin beds. Everyone adjusted and stayed comfortable. Who cared about it? Dinner was at Olive Garden. Started with a toast of Tequila shots followed by Sicilian Senegrea. They called it Berry Wine. Wish I had some pictures here.
That evening, we went to the Downtown - did some dancing plus lots of drinks and had a blast. Chris had also joined from Virginia with his 91 model pony (Red convertible Mustang) which I rode the following day. Jeez - that car flies. He taught me this nice trick to drive the car until it reaches 3000rpm on second gear and then you floor the gas pedal. Wooooosh - you are 80+ within no time. Thats what I call a car - it was a machine. Good that traction was in place else I would have just taken off. It was fun driving oncampus with all the girls looking at you while you make that engine noise. I felt great.
Imbibed in fun, I slept around 4 and was up in no time ready to go oncampus at 8:30 for the graduation ceremony. Thats what I am talking about- the day I waited so long. Every international student here in US must be eager to wait for this day. Morning was the Watson School ceremony where I was dressed sharp in my business casual as a mobile agent.
The Concluding Dimension of the Masters Ceremony
Mike & Agent
First to be congratulated by the billboard
Then came the cultural American tradition later at 5pm where I wore the black gown and the hood and walked through the right of passage. It was a mark of my student life to professional life.
After receiving the final ultimatum
It was a pleasure meeting Denise and Patel family that day too. Sunday morning was a bit relaxing. I completed my usual 8 hour sleep and got ready to play some sports. We went to Huned's place first where he made some Indian tea and then headed for Cole's park off Exit 3 on 81S.
Old Friends at Cole's Park
Did volleyball on the beach for few hours. We had strong players on both the teams.
Himanshu with his professional serve
We started off with around 10 players and few more joined us later.
Sourabh, Sahana and Amol join us later
It was 3:30pm and time to depart for everyone. Some had to drive as close to Pughkeepsie while some had to go all the way up to Boston.
A final picture to mark the end of the weekend had to be taken.
The Entire group at Cole's park. Something is missing here...?
I had promised Aias to show him around Binghamton and take him to where Williams (Friendship Family) lived which we did next. The clock ticked so fast that it was time to leave. We got home around 9pm to New Haven and now its time for a yet-another looooong week at work. Oh, damn!
That evening, we went to the Downtown - did some dancing plus lots of drinks and had a blast. Chris had also joined from Virginia with his 91 model pony (Red convertible Mustang) which I rode the following day. Jeez - that car flies. He taught me this nice trick to drive the car until it reaches 3000rpm on second gear and then you floor the gas pedal. Wooooosh - you are 80+ within no time. Thats what I call a car - it was a machine. Good that traction was in place else I would have just taken off. It was fun driving oncampus with all the girls looking at you while you make that engine noise. I felt great.
Imbibed in fun, I slept around 4 and was up in no time ready to go oncampus at 8:30 for the graduation ceremony. Thats what I am talking about- the day I waited so long. Every international student here in US must be eager to wait for this day. Morning was the Watson School ceremony where I was dressed sharp in my business casual as a mobile agent.
The Concluding Dimension of the Masters Ceremony
Mike & Agent
First to be congratulated by the billboard
Then came the cultural American tradition later at 5pm where I wore the black gown and the hood and walked through the right of passage. It was a mark of my student life to professional life.
After receiving the final ultimatum
It was a pleasure meeting Denise and Patel family that day too. Sunday morning was a bit relaxing. I completed my usual 8 hour sleep and got ready to play some sports. We went to Huned's place first where he made some Indian tea and then headed for Cole's park off Exit 3 on 81S.
Old Friends at Cole's Park
Did volleyball on the beach for few hours. We had strong players on both the teams.
Himanshu with his professional serve
We started off with around 10 players and few more joined us later.
Sourabh, Sahana and Amol join us later
It was 3:30pm and time to depart for everyone. Some had to drive as close to Pughkeepsie while some had to go all the way up to Boston.
A final picture to mark the end of the weekend had to be taken.
The Entire group at Cole's park. Something is missing here...?
I had promised Aias to show him around Binghamton and take him to where Williams (Friendship Family) lived which we did next. The clock ticked so fast that it was time to leave. We got home around 9pm to New Haven and now its time for a yet-another looooong week at work. Oh, damn!
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