It was a wonderful evening today, as i was looking through the window, darkened clouds raining over the east point lakes. By the time I returned home from office, clock showed 7 am. Last night we had a party, fun amidst of pervasive work that we have doing since January. Dont know what happened after 8 am and I only opened my eyes to see my Roomie having his lunch at 12.30 PM. Just 4 hours of incomplete sleep, got onto my feet and started realizing that its already Sunday afternoon. 2 days off gym as well.
Just went to my friends home nearby where a big feast was welcoming me. 1 meal a day and that'll be enough for you. Happened to see Aladdin movie and started feeling nostalgic how oriented I am to the Cartoon movies - wish life could be more imaginative. When the movie ended, the clock is already showing 7.58 PM Sunday. I love rain, it gives me so much peace looking at the rains. When you look at the lakes and its raining, thats when I thought of having Aladdin's wish to stop the clock and let the present moment stay with me. No luck! Hoping for next weekend :)
Sunday, May 2, 2010
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Day 1 of Getting the best shape of my life
Some events, good or bad should bring in some change to your life.
Many interesting events have happened today and as I am pondering at them, I am trying to interpret things in a new way.
Today was the last day to take our annual certification and How I cleared the exam in the last minute is still mysterious to me. It might be because of chance but chance favors the prepared mind. I wanted to clear, I dont want want to flunk, coz I never did. Before even starting for the exam, one part of mind was always convincing me to skip the exam because of poor preparation. But the other part was insisting to give it a shot and I did and I cleared. The same was the feeling before I started for driving test. Just be cool and give it a shot, You'll get what you deserve.
Another event is totally because of my stupidity as I jumped into Great clips and asked the lady for 2 on the sides and 4 on the top. She did give many alarms and asked me whether I am sure of what I wanted. I strongly nodded and within minutes what I saw was totally pathetic. A round shared head sitting like a mammoth showing me more obese that what I think I am. Ooooooh!!! I couldnt believe my eyes..Is this the same me landed 5 months before.Oh my ghosh!!I didnt say anything and I dont want to insult her for my mistake. Thats ok! after all its hair and its gonna grow. My hair grows faster and I dont have much complaints with it. I have pretty much less hair fall complaints than my friends of the same age group.
I am totally depressed or went into so much of thoughts of how I look fat now. I have been trying all ways to keep myself fit...to get back my normal shape atleast... but I was not regular and I was in gym only for Half of the days I spent here. So....here's the biggest resolution of all.......this is day 1, I went to Gym right after my haircut...and following is what I worked out
310 cal burnt in stepper under endurance mode
50 upper abs - crunch
50 oblique abs - crunch
50 lower abs crunch
more than ten sets for chest exercise
side abs - with dumbell crunch
I had 2 totilla roll and a small cup of noodles...
All I have tomorrow is to go to Gym, have total control in my food and count my days before June 1st when I will be travelling to India with not just getting my normal shape back but striving to get the best shape ever in my life...
God, Please stay with me!!!!!!!!!
Will see you soon!!!
Many interesting events have happened today and as I am pondering at them, I am trying to interpret things in a new way.
Today was the last day to take our annual certification and How I cleared the exam in the last minute is still mysterious to me. It might be because of chance but chance favors the prepared mind. I wanted to clear, I dont want want to flunk, coz I never did. Before even starting for the exam, one part of mind was always convincing me to skip the exam because of poor preparation. But the other part was insisting to give it a shot and I did and I cleared. The same was the feeling before I started for driving test. Just be cool and give it a shot, You'll get what you deserve.
Another event is totally because of my stupidity as I jumped into Great clips and asked the lady for 2 on the sides and 4 on the top. She did give many alarms and asked me whether I am sure of what I wanted. I strongly nodded and within minutes what I saw was totally pathetic. A round shared head sitting like a mammoth showing me more obese that what I think I am. Ooooooh!!! I couldnt believe my eyes..Is this the same me landed 5 months before.Oh my ghosh!!I didnt say anything and I dont want to insult her for my mistake. Thats ok! after all its hair and its gonna grow. My hair grows faster and I dont have much complaints with it. I have pretty much less hair fall complaints than my friends of the same age group.
I am totally depressed or went into so much of thoughts of how I look fat now. I have been trying all ways to keep myself fit...to get back my normal shape atleast... but I was not regular and I was in gym only for Half of the days I spent here. So....here's the biggest resolution of all.......this is day 1, I went to Gym right after my haircut...and following is what I worked out
310 cal burnt in stepper under endurance mode
50 upper abs - crunch
50 oblique abs - crunch
50 lower abs crunch
more than ten sets for chest exercise
side abs - with dumbell crunch
I had 2 totilla roll and a small cup of noodles...
All I have tomorrow is to go to Gym, have total control in my food and count my days before June 1st when I will be travelling to India with not just getting my normal shape back but striving to get the best shape ever in my life...
God, Please stay with me!!!!!!!!!
Will see you soon!!!
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Missing home, so i blog again
I'm back. May be late, but i am back.
It was so refreshing to read my blogs which i wrote more than an year ago.
As i read it, I was living each and every moment of it. Life has totally changed.
Now I am in US, writing this blog from my Blog while it snowing outside.
My first flight travel, my first thanksgiving purchase, my first snow bowling, my first beer, my first vodka, my first shot and i stopped there :)
Had been through difficult times expecting that a day would come where i am left with so much space in my mind to think about, well nothing. I meant peace :)
Now, for the first time i am away home and managing my own things. Now, for breakfast its corn flakes instead of amma's coffee, for lunch its Veg burritto instead of thayir satham. Life is different and i always look at it with a wonder and take it as it comes.
Whenever someone asks how my life is at US, i tell them that its 5 days of hectic work and 2 days of total fun. Theres a whole bunch of friends to get together at someones apartment and enjoy the weekend. But as the days move, amidst all these work and fun, i couldnt force my mind to think about my home. But the heart alone travels thousands of miles and proves me that i miss home definitely.
Life is comfortable here, you dont need to move any muscle unnecessarily. Its just the perfect place where everything is in order and runs as expected. Whew! my mind loves this place. But the heart is silent and it needs something else. Its been months, i realized yesterday after a long time i chanted Pullayars name. No friends, just neighbors and colleagues. Neighbors because, we live in the same community and we dont know anyone else so we get together :) Mind calculates every single purchase in dollars into rupees! Gone are the days when i wont even find a single rupee in my wallet and the calendar shows 26. Now i dont even have to think about money, i have more than what i need for a month. My mind has become void. So i am stopping here. Will be back very very soon.
It was so refreshing to read my blogs which i wrote more than an year ago.
As i read it, I was living each and every moment of it. Life has totally changed.
Now I am in US, writing this blog from my Blog while it snowing outside.
My first flight travel, my first thanksgiving purchase, my first snow bowling, my first beer, my first vodka, my first shot and i stopped there :)
Had been through difficult times expecting that a day would come where i am left with so much space in my mind to think about, well nothing. I meant peace :)
Now, for the first time i am away home and managing my own things. Now, for breakfast its corn flakes instead of amma's coffee, for lunch its Veg burritto instead of thayir satham. Life is different and i always look at it with a wonder and take it as it comes.
Whenever someone asks how my life is at US, i tell them that its 5 days of hectic work and 2 days of total fun. Theres a whole bunch of friends to get together at someones apartment and enjoy the weekend. But as the days move, amidst all these work and fun, i couldnt force my mind to think about my home. But the heart alone travels thousands of miles and proves me that i miss home definitely.
Life is comfortable here, you dont need to move any muscle unnecessarily. Its just the perfect place where everything is in order and runs as expected. Whew! my mind loves this place. But the heart is silent and it needs something else. Its been months, i realized yesterday after a long time i chanted Pullayars name. No friends, just neighbors and colleagues. Neighbors because, we live in the same community and we dont know anyone else so we get together :) Mind calculates every single purchase in dollars into rupees! Gone are the days when i wont even find a single rupee in my wallet and the calendar shows 26. Now i dont even have to think about money, i have more than what i need for a month. My mind has become void. So i am stopping here. Will be back very very soon.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Every attempt to improve my English!
I cannot carry anymore the feeling of being developed in a village background as a reason for not speaking better English. Having received my H1B and waiting to travel shortly i am revisiting my English-speaking skills and trying everything possible to improve it better and better. I am confident that i am string technically and sound in the process of learning things technically. But a poor English will be a give huge set-backs even to a technically sound guy. Earlier, when i was in my college, i attempted Cambridge University's BEC vantage exam and cleared it with a C grade. Really an achievement for me.
Since our offshore development center is located in south of the country and the people i interact with are mostly the local people, there is virtually no opportunity to explore your communication skills. Even if you come up talking in english, it would be strange and would not fit into the situation. With all these in mind, i am strongly implementing things to improve myself on this regard.
To speak better english one need confidence. I have it in abundance and i got it through 50 plus seminars i took voluntarily in College. Next area of improvement is the accent. Yes, as i know, you need not exactly imitate other's accent but i am sure i should not sound strange and funny. Hence i am rehearsing few words as the dictionary automated voice pronounces.
A very good move is when i started listening to CNN radio and for a while i believe this would aid you to fit in the environment very well as you are listening it continuously it grows in you without your knowledge. You can connect to CNN radio through this link http://edition.cnn.com/audio/radio/winmedia.html
Next step is to find certain topics like Food, Climate, Movies and talk about that. Now i have started listening to Pop music and started to listen to it after going through the lyrics. Hope i will get better and better as i practice things very hardly and consistently.
Since our offshore development center is located in south of the country and the people i interact with are mostly the local people, there is virtually no opportunity to explore your communication skills. Even if you come up talking in english, it would be strange and would not fit into the situation. With all these in mind, i am strongly implementing things to improve myself on this regard.
To speak better english one need confidence. I have it in abundance and i got it through 50 plus seminars i took voluntarily in College. Next area of improvement is the accent. Yes, as i know, you need not exactly imitate other's accent but i am sure i should not sound strange and funny. Hence i am rehearsing few words as the dictionary automated voice pronounces.
A very good move is when i started listening to CNN radio and for a while i believe this would aid you to fit in the environment very well as you are listening it continuously it grows in you without your knowledge. You can connect to CNN radio through this link http://edition.cnn.com/audio/radio/winmedia.html
Next step is to find certain topics like Food, Climate, Movies and talk about that. Now i have started listening to Pop music and started to listen to it after going through the lyrics. Hope i will get better and better as i practice things very hardly and consistently.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Cleared H1B Visa interview amidst the hymn of early morning birds
Enough of the words i heard from my non-IT friends and relatives, as 2 years have gone, being in a Software Company, why haven't i flew onsite?
Sometime back, i too went to the verge of frustration after knowing that my H1 Visa application got missed in lot. Also there is no visible opportunity for non-US countries too. I took it very hard with myself and looked for a better job half-heartedly. There is a mixed of feelings going around and i corrected myself here and then. Believe me, to a guy who always tasted success most often, failed almost in all interview from small companies to Biggies. Having completed SCWCD, i was made to attempt a question, "Tell me 3 types of Session tracking mechanism?". To which i came up with 2 types (Cookies and URLRewriting) and expecting him to tell me the third. He mumbled as "HttpSession", i was taken aback and told, "No, Its an API, not a mechanism!". Game over and i am out with a sigh relief. Left all hope in getting a job and financial recession is now at its peak.
I must thank my mind as it handles me with care nowadays. Clearly, the onsite picture i got, is an illusion and it's noway going to help me grow. I concentrated more on the skills i want to acquire ranging from frameworks, design patterns, operating systems to behavioral competencies. Now i am well on my track and progressed slowly and steadily and i am watchful.
Time flew quickly and it was the day when i got the news that its a data mistake and my visa application got filed successfully. No excitement! i am watchful again. Then followed a series of tests and assignments which made me fatigue and think back 'Why i need this!', sigh.
Sorry, i had to tell all these stories but coming to the point, the day was arriving. I was given the appointment time as 7.00 AM, very early, i was also satisfied that i could get early to home and do some useful work (writing a blog like this etc.,).
H1B Visa photo is different from ordinary passport version and guidelines strictly told that the photo should match the specifications, otherwise the re is a possibility of rejection. I am not confident about the photographer near to my home, i did a bit of surfing and found 'Foto India' at Nungambakkam High Road near Gemini Flyover is the best. I took 8 photos (only 2 was needed but 4 was advised) since 4P costs 75 bugs and 8P costs 100 bugs. Photo session took just 10 mins and i am back to home comfortably.
All documents are set, took some photocopies as it was advised by the immigration team and i woke up very early by 4.30 in the morning. Had a good shave, pressed my shirts and polished my shoes. Had a 1 round of make-up, thanks to my brother and his cosmetics he bought. Well, i could see him with a deep snore and even the wild spray of scent dint woke him up. With a refreshing Mom's cofee, i was out by 6 and managed to catch an auto nearby. He charged me 100 bugs, without second thought i had to get in and directed him to VFS situated in Sadasivam salai. When i landed up there, no one was around and i astonished and pondered, "Is this a place where my interview is scheduled?". Actually it's a Stars and Stripes lounge which can accommodate people from outside Chennai. Now the clock is ticking 6.30 AM and i am on a safer side. I again caught an auto from there to reach Consulate. Its 50 bugs now. How stupid i am!
I was greeted by a crowd of decent looking guys waiting outside the consulate and managed to spot my friends. Then we were asked to stand in a queue and allowed to go inside. Two very important points to note down here is, you must not (strictly) carry any bags, sealed covers and well, cell phones. You will have to give your interview letter and passport at the entrance for verification. After that, i had my personal interview with ease and i am out with satisfaction.
I was again greeted by a bunch of nice hearted auto rickshaw guys giving all directions. One guy was holding a bill book and told that he will give a bill for what i pay. "Oh, My God!, i dint get the bills from previous auto", i even hadn't the idea of re-imbursement. Anyway, caught the auto and made my way back to home. Now sitting at ease and watching India-England ODI.
Flashback
Sometime back, i too went to the verge of frustration after knowing that my H1 Visa application got missed in lot. Also there is no visible opportunity for non-US countries too. I took it very hard with myself and looked for a better job half-heartedly. There is a mixed of feelings going around and i corrected myself here and then. Believe me, to a guy who always tasted success most often, failed almost in all interview from small companies to Biggies. Having completed SCWCD, i was made to attempt a question, "Tell me 3 types of Session tracking mechanism?". To which i came up with 2 types (Cookies and URLRewriting) and expecting him to tell me the third. He mumbled as "HttpSession", i was taken aback and told, "No, Its an API, not a mechanism!". Game over and i am out with a sigh relief. Left all hope in getting a job and financial recession is now at its peak.
I must thank my mind as it handles me with care nowadays. Clearly, the onsite picture i got, is an illusion and it's noway going to help me grow. I concentrated more on the skills i want to acquire ranging from frameworks, design patterns, operating systems to behavioral competencies. Now i am well on my track and progressed slowly and steadily and i am watchful.
Time flew quickly and it was the day when i got the news that its a data mistake and my visa application got filed successfully. No excitement! i am watchful again. Then followed a series of tests and assignments which made me fatigue and think back 'Why i need this!', sigh.
On the eve of interview
Sorry, i had to tell all these stories but coming to the point, the day was arriving. I was given the appointment time as 7.00 AM, very early, i was also satisfied that i could get early to home and do some useful work (writing a blog like this etc.,).
Visa Photo
H1B Visa photo is different from ordinary passport version and guidelines strictly told that the photo should match the specifications, otherwise the re is a possibility of rejection. I am not confident about the photographer near to my home, i did a bit of surfing and found 'Foto India' at Nungambakkam High Road near Gemini Flyover is the best. I took 8 photos (only 2 was needed but 4 was advised) since 4P costs 75 bugs and 8P costs 100 bugs. Photo session took just 10 mins and i am back to home comfortably.
Nov 14, Visa Interview
All documents are set, took some photocopies as it was advised by the immigration team and i woke up very early by 4.30 in the morning. Had a good shave, pressed my shirts and polished my shoes. Had a 1 round of make-up, thanks to my brother and his cosmetics he bought. Well, i could see him with a deep snore and even the wild spray of scent dint woke him up. With a refreshing Mom's cofee, i was out by 6 and managed to catch an auto nearby. He charged me 100 bugs, without second thought i had to get in and directed him to VFS situated in Sadasivam salai. When i landed up there, no one was around and i astonished and pondered, "Is this a place where my interview is scheduled?". Actually it's a Stars and Stripes lounge which can accommodate people from outside Chennai. Now the clock is ticking 6.30 AM and i am on a safer side. I again caught an auto from there to reach Consulate. Its 50 bugs now. How stupid i am!
I was greeted by a crowd of decent looking guys waiting outside the consulate and managed to spot my friends. Then we were asked to stand in a queue and allowed to go inside. Two very important points to note down here is, you must not (strictly) carry any bags, sealed covers and well, cell phones. You will have to give your interview letter and passport at the entrance for verification. After that, i had my personal interview with ease and i am out with satisfaction.
I was again greeted by a bunch of nice hearted auto rickshaw guys giving all directions. One guy was holding a bill book and told that he will give a bill for what i pay. "Oh, My God!, i dint get the bills from previous auto", i even hadn't the idea of re-imbursement. Anyway, caught the auto and made my way back to home. Now sitting at ease and watching India-England ODI.
Friday, March 21, 2008
Welcome!!!
Welcome to my conscience for its going to speak here truly!!!
Welcome to the Blade to his Personal Diary !!!
It is this place which gives Blade sat-chit-anandam , the Eternal Bliss...
Welcome to the Blade to his Personal Diary !!!
It is this place which gives Blade sat-chit-anandam , the Eternal Bliss...
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