First Impressions !

It has been just a few days since i made it to the United States - with all excitement and expectation. As a stranger in this strange land, I have observed a few things which I would like to share with you.

1. People are friendly and ready to accept other communities

2. Friday nights and parties go hand in hand.. all souls follow the unwritten rule - get drunk and enjoy

3. Vehicles stop for pedestrians unlike in India

4. If you see someone in their eyes, they will surely smile and wish you at least a 'hi' / 'how u doing' etc. And if you do not return their greetings, you are considered too 'rude' !

5. Honking is considered insulting and if you blow your horn, you can mostly see the other party raising their middle finger against you

6. No one is in a hurry, unless they really are !

7. The buses are so punctual that you can even set the time in your watch

8. There is no biasing or discrimination based on someone's job - a server or a company CEO are treated in the same way

9. You take away a life of an american or his freedom.. both mean the same to him

10. Roads and rules reign. Starting from seat-belt to speed limit to parking lot time, once has to follow intricate rules. If not, you are busted

11. Craziest football freaks are out everywhere

12. You name a cool car, you find it somewhere near you. Cars are cheap and the main mode of transport. Surprisingly, trains are least preferred except in some places

13. Most of them work out everyday to maintain their physique

14. Dogs do not bark, crows do not caw and no animals on street

15. Last but not the least.. American chicks are extremely good looking and it is really difficult to pick the most beautiful woman in a group. And not surprisingly, they care a damn if you ogle at them or not !

Welcomed to USA !!!

A first time international trip is always exciting. As an Indian, I wished not to take Air-India and so booked Qatar airways - the cheapest of all. It all started with disappointment when visitors were not allowed inside Chennai Anna Terminal due to Independence Day security reasons. As many effusively sentimental people bidding farewell to their loved ones, my parents were there with tears in their eyes as we departed by 4:45 am (IST) flight.. It was me and Naga together (and that continues till now! And finding a way to stop it).

The flight (airbus 320) took off promptly and sailed like a paper in breeze. Anybody would love the ambiance - the food, beautiful stewards around etc. The transit at Doha (9 am Doha time) was in fact really good. It was a large airport and the first international terminal I stepped in ! The journey to Washington was long & tiring but equally exciting. We reached Washington DullesInternational terminal by 16:20 (US Eastern time) and had our immigration & custom checks ended fairly well. Suddenly, I realized that I was IN US ! I mean.. I have reached my dream land..

When you are on such a high, you can obviously expect an abysmal low. At 18:15, We came to know that our flight (UA) to Roanoke which was originally scheduled at 21:55 was rescheduled to 18:30 giving us an ample time of 15 mins (!) within which we were expected to complete baggage check-in and security check. And as thought, we missed the flight before reaching the domestic terminal with next flight to Roanoke only at 13:30 next day. In such a pathetic situation, there was a rescuer - Nag's uncle, who had come to see us at Dulles to wish 'bon-voyage' but finally had to say 'welcome to Baltimore' ! A night stay at Baltimore was fun, thanks to Neha - a 6 yr old smart, cute American Indian and the last qualifier - Nag's cousin.

Boarding the flight next day, we reached Roanoke by 14:15 and had to wait for 5 hours before someone from college came for pick-up. We reached home at Blacksburg at around 21:00 hrs as planned, but delayed by a day. But who cares, I have been welcomed to United States !

Journey into the dream!

Life is a beautiful journey - just like the one in train. You meet many people, they come and go - the passing clouds, but life goes on. It was my last day in Bangalore and just a couple of days back, I had resigned my job. I was traveling in Mysore Mayiladudurai Express on way to Trichy.

With loads of baggage but no one to accompany and assist me, I felt being lonesome and helpless. The Sunday night at Bangalore City Junction is always a messy scene. Shoving the crowd with heavy bags, I successfully reached my compartment. But soon, I felt the pleasure in solitude. Inside the compartment, I could see the faces of passengers with diverse emotions - some happy of pursuing their dreams (like me), some sad of parting their near and dear ones, some indifferent (may be bcoz of frequent travels).

The iron caterpillar whistled clamorously to signal its departure. People started waving their hand, just as a sign of farewell. It was like all the people in front of my compartment sighed and bid farewell for my journey. That is one advantage when you travel alone. You can enjoy every moment and cherish the beauty of nature, people and life as a whole. I often feel or assume such dramatization happening around me, when I am alone.

It so happens that every time I get into a train alone, I wish some beautiful girl (fine, at least an OK type) should sit right in front of me. My wish list is always unbounded; after all it is a WISH list. I wished that she should somehow be related to me by some chance so that there is a possibility of a 'HI' being exchanged. I rushed through the compartment and checked the reservation chart only to see a 53 year old MAN (named George Emanuel) in the window seat right in front of mine. My wish has always been a wish and has never changed into reality even once. I know, I am no Chetan Bhagat (as in one night at call center) or Surya (as in vaaranam aayiram).

Blaming fate as usual, I started reading 'The week'. The TTE came to check our tickets. As the train reached Hosur station, a girl (needless to say, she was damn good looking and even familiar) showed a RAC ticket to the TTE. The Good old man allotted her a seat right in front of mine. Just then I came to know that the 53 year old George has not turned up (Ofcourse, I thanked God a million times). Suddenly, I heard a voice saying 'Excuse me'. With a thud in my heart, I turned to see the beauty. She brought to my attention my bottle that has leaked water and wetting the baggage area of hers. Oops... Now my turn for an excuse!

In a short time, she called again. I wondered what mistake I have made this time. She asked if I am from Trichy. I replied in the affirmative. She quickly asked if I can identify her. All of a sudden, my brain loaded her history into its RAM.. ‘Meenakshi’.. She had come to my school once for participating in Miss. Campofez contest – a cultural event for identifying the bold and the beautiful girls. We took our engineering entrance exam coaching in the same center. I found my chance for a few words to be exchanged. We started sharing our information. We were deeply engrossed in our conversation when suddenly I heard some voice asking for my ticket. The TTE had just come and the train had halted at Bangalore Cantonment station. My wish has always been a wish ...

VISA power !

All is well that ends well. After slogging for days and having sleepless nights to prepare the financial documents, the D-Day had come.. 29-Jun-09 - the day I had my visa interview. Let me share my visa interview experience with you.

Reached consulate at 6.45 am. Seventh candidate for the day to enter the Chennai consulate first building where security & document checks are done. One cute, lovely, good looking lady verified my documents and guided me to the second building. To my surprise, I was the first (!) to enter there to take my interview. Thank God, there was a tv showing CNN IBN news, which distracted me out of my nervousness. With pukka documents in hand, I went to counter 1 for my interview. The visa officer (VO), a young man in his mid thirties greeted me with a smile.

VO: Good morning
me: Good morning, sir. How you doing?

VO: I am doing fine. How about you?
me: I am doing fine as well.

VO: So, which university?
me: Virginia Tech

VO: Why specifically to that university?
me: Because of its reputation and research facilities. Also, the funding chances are good.

VO: Oh.. Good. What will be the kind of work after you complete your MS?
me: Network Administrator, sir. (This is the best part. There are many better positions for MS
graduates. I still wonder why i told N/w admin.. I suck !)

VO: Fine. Who is your sponsor?
me: My mother, sir

VO: How much money you have in your account?
me: I have XX in my savings account and YY as my FDs.

VO: Great. Your visa has been issued. Your passport will reach you in three days.
me: Thank you, sir. Have a great day. (But.. is that it? I was expecting more Qs and documents to be perused, tho not completely, but at least a couple of them).

I was on cloud nine once the visa was granted. Had it been the other way, my one and a half years effort would have been in vain.. The interview lasted hardly for 3 mins. My financial documents were not checked at all. But that does not matter as long as the show ends well.

To the 'Mother of Presidents' in US, here I come to become a Hokie ! :)

Bye Bye Nokia ...

As I had said already in my older post, the first company is usually the favorite & best for most of us. At the least, it has been true in my case. 22-May-2009 was the last working day for me at Nokia. I have often imagined this separation as the two hands in the logo moving farther rather than otherwise. :)

The agility of time in these two years is ineffable. It has been a fruitful and somewhat challenging experience here. In these two years, I have seen Nokia going through sea change - from a leading mobile company to an Internet company, though my work was not much affected by this change. ;)

The transition from 'student to employee to student again' has indeed been smooth. After bunking classes and enjoying my life to the fullest in college, this professional experience has groomed me as a matured individual to a great extent. People saw me in spotlight which made me look respectable and that pushing me to behave in an adorable manner. I realized my potential at Nokia after a dismal performance in my UG. Yet, I failed to deliver my best here once my MS plans took shape. No man can serve two masters and I was forced to serve my GRE master better (a regrettable act).

My interaction with my team was limited, thanks to the work process and me being a silent observer in most places. Even then, how can one forget the mentoring sessions, appreciations, team lunches & outings, B'Day bashes, T.T matches, wildcraft trident (farewell gift) and last but not the least - 24 x 7 internet ! Keeping all these memories with me, I am moving forward to the next phase of my life at Virginia Tech, where probably more responsibilities are waiting for me.

But before my next challenge, I would like to take a moment to thank my team for the support and wish everybody all the best. :-)

P.S: (long one.. again)
I would like to tell my pathetic performance during my farewell at Nokia. I anticipated a formal meeting where my team will wish me for my career and that I would stay casual, rather bombastic about my dream admit. I wanted to do, in fact, perform really well during my farewell. But the result was otherwise. Actually, all my team mates were totally casual and the most formal fool in the scene was 'me'. It is pathetic about the way I reacted.. in truth over-reacted ! It is still a mystery - why I am being so formal in being social? In my work atleast, is it because of my technical inability or intimidation of corporate life? The question remains ...

Why Blogging ?

The question of many internet users who are yet to enter this world of blogging or have already entered but still wondering why they had done so. I suffered from the same confusion a few days back - after starting vigorously with 4-5 blogs in a week. But soon, I was wondering why I am writing blogs and what draws me into it. This blog comes as a result of the same question raised by my friends and my take on it. 

First of all, it is one nice way to share your experience and thoughts. It is the only medium thru which your ideas reach the public. Look at the cluster maps and see how many people from all corners of the world see your blog. Do you think your friends are gonna listen to you patiently about your opinions on various things? 

You can never get that pride from anything else. It is like publishing books only to a few hundred readers.

I started to blog just as an effort to retain the memorized GRE words in mind by using them often. I believe that your vocab is gonna improve with those abstract blogs, leave alone the reader's vocab. You get the art of writing on any topic. Sometimes, you start on some topic without any plans or definitive idea and end up in a good post. The feedbacks you get are really motivating. 

One good example I can quote is Vignesh. I never knew that he can write such a good blog. I saw a different person in him and his skills getting honed because of blogging. So, you get to know other's experiences and opinions on various issues.

I have read some blogs (including some of mine too) where people try to showcase their prowess in english vocabulary leading to prolixity. This, at times, might be annoying the reader when he has to refer to dictionary many times to understand a single sentence ! :)

Before making my contribution to this area, I thought I can create wonders by writing many topics. But, once I started, I realized my potential - I ran out of ideas soon and understood how difficult it is to impress someone by your writing. 

But, the very thought of building a profile as a good writer is what makes me go on. Hope someday, even I write good blogs and gain the heart of my readers !  :-)

To know some of my friends' opinion on the same question, you can see the following blogs:

Karthik, Naga.

An agnostist's vision

"God is there? Yes, He is. No, He is not". 

When multiple perceptions can sneak up even for a concrete information, it is apparent that people can easily be mislead to pandemonium based on some canard. There are certain things that are beyond man's reach and intellectual ability. Are you wondering what I am up to? Let me throw it straight. "Who created us? What is this super power that controls these known and unknown cosmoses? Do you have religious beliefs?". I am not mouthing anything new. This seems to be the unanswered question since mankind evolved. 

Raised from a pious Brahmin family, I was totally blind for the first 20 years of my life - with great reverence for deities and zeal for Brahminism. I do not know when exactly I moved out of this baseless faith of mine. But this drastic change, I guess, should have come when I started reading 'Angels and Demons' two years back, where Dan Brown had brilliantly described the conflict between Science and Religion. Science requires solid evidence for any claim; on the other hand, religion depends on the magic word - faith. This conflict has been in existence for ages - a fight that never appears to cease. I realized that I am a sort of person who tends to accept those that science approves - in other words, that which seems rational. 

In this context, I should not fail to mention the movie named "Zeitgeist". The first section of the movie explores the origin of God according to various religions. According to the film, most of the Gods like Krishna, Jesus etc., are based on the Egyptian counterpart named 'Horus'. There were other information on how these Supreme beings have many attributes in common - DOB as December 25th, adored by 3 kings, 12 disciples, burial for 3 days, resurrection etc. All these similar traits of Gods seem to have been derived from Astrology. 

The basic principle of religion, it is said, is to enforce moral fear for the good. But the supreme power of religions seem to fuel the conflicts between people and nations than to appease them. Religion & politics - the most deadly combo, constantly stir camouflaged 'holy' wars thereby causing partitions of people. Though their funda is peace, the characteristics of religions are unique - tolerant Hindus, preaching Christians, jihadi Muslims etc. ensuing provocations. Take Indo-Pak split for instance - the differences in religion and its effectuated attributes are the major reason for the division. It is sad that many of us have never met a Pakisthani in our lives, yet we hate our neighbour.

A recent survey has divulged the effect of religion in globalization. Wonder how? Religion has the power to impact a society on its culture, customs, food, ethics, art, literature and last but not the least its politics. Hence, the adaptability of the societies to a mixed culture open by liberalisation depends to a greater extent on religion. That is one of the major reasons why 'some' Muslim countries (exc. Malaysia, Indonesia, Dubai etc.) find it difficult to foster adaptability and adoptability thereby embracing western culture. When it comes to literature, many of the literary work in almost all the languages are devotional. I have pondered how a non-believer of God will be able to appreciate the Devarams, Thiruvasagams & Tiruvaimozhis. 

Philosophies apart, let us think practically. Honestly, how many of us become mindful when sighting girls of other religion (even other caste)? Atleast I do when I look at some beautiful Muslim misses. I always see one image flash by my mind - my dad with a Thiruppatchi aruva. I can never see her as yet another soul in this world who can be a perfect match for me. :-)   

After all these claims, I am sure you would have presumed me as an 'Atheist'. But I am not. I suggest you call me an 'Agnostic' or 'Autotheist' (Anbe Sivam concept). I am still one among the elite group searching for a convincing answer. :)

Note: This is my personal opinion. If somebody is offended by this, please pardon me.