Books!!!

while i worked at cerner, my biggest indulgence (much to the shock of parents, colleagues and friends) was an insatiable thirst for books.. not from the footpath mind you!! had to be a quick stop at gangarams or blossoms to check the latest list of best sellers and splurge the month's salary on crisp new books..
my partner in crime was mostly bb.. and we sometimes ate our lunch early so that we had enough time to leisurely see through books.. and man! watta way to spend money.. now, did i read everythin i bought.. no...!! but did i try? yes!! 08 was THE year when i took to reading like my life depended on it.. no tv show was as important as gettin my daily dose of reading.. the most rewarding thing to do..
i dunno if there is any such thing as 'the art of owning a book'.. but owning a book you love is essential.. not now, but after 30 yrs, and im retired, these books would always bring back all the memories associated with it.. and well, it wud be a kinda legacy..
i have been to kp's dad's lib.. and he has some of the most amazing books i have seen.. kp has gotten into the habit of reading coz of the books that she is surrounded by.. :) omg.. i wud do anythin to have a book collection that is probably 1/4th of what uncle has!!!
ow, my obsession to own my fav books started coz of a gift tat bro got from a patient.. gregory david roberts' shantaram.. a whole 900+ pages that took me three months to finish.. (cuz some days i read jus one paragraph and start thinking of what the author meant or how profound the sentence in the book was!!!)


in this age of ebooks, hardbound an paperbacks still rule.. for quite a number of reasons...
a) the smell of the book... old or new, all books have a characteristic smell to it.. and it lingers on for a few hours..
b) u can use bookmarks!! (silly reason but im equally obsessed with bookmarks)..
c) some books just WERE NOT meant to read online.. like nelson and cox or bruce alberts!!!
d) books are more portable than comps.. no battery hassles, no concern about viruses while gettin the book.. and most importantly, i can present a book to some1 special and write a personal message on it..!!

my books are right now scattered among family and friends.. :( i have no clue how to add more books to my collection while im here.. but will try my best to..

here is a list of my fav books:
non-fiction:
1) India: From midnight to millennium - Shashi Tharoor.. a fantastic book covering aspects of the indentity of our country.. explained in an absorbing manner, the author's patriotism screams out of the pages..
2) every second counts - lance armstrong: prefered this over the 1st book.. my cousin summed up the book in a single sentence 'after reading a few pages, i can push myself to run a few more miles'.. guess tat is how inspirational a book can get!!
3) romancing with life -dev anand: funny, sweet and just a hint of megalomania.. but the book is a breezy read.. and its quintessential dev anand!! his story in his own words.. nothin more that a fan could ask for..
4) marley and me: dont own this book.. but is definitely on top of my buying list..
5) a short history of nearly everything: watta gr8 book.. :) i wanna read it again and again..
6) a long way gone: eeery.. but enough to shake u up to wake up to the world of violence and how children are affected by war..

fiction:
1) shantaram: enough said about it.. worth every bit of time spent on readin it..
2) riot: tharoor's genius take on communal violence.. written so well, that it cud define un-put-down-able!!!
3) the hungry tide - amitav ghosh: hats off to him! sheer genius.. i dunno what he has described better.. the locales where the story is set.. or the unsaid love that exists between the main protagonists.. (i prefer this over the glass palace cuz that book lost it towards the end)
4) the reluctant fundamentalist: wow!!!
5) the kite runner: its a best-seller for a reason!!! absolutely love this one..

owning and reading books is so addictive.. hope that people will discover the joys of reading... even with playstation, youtube etc etc etc.. and grad school... :D

The Inspiration for the series....

Here is the text of the email that started the Thanks blog posts!!! Your thank you email made me wanna thank everyone who have made a difference in the last year.. :) THANKS again!!!

Subject: A special New year Wishes from me :)

Email message:

Arch..

In one sentence..

Thanks for everything :)

@ drexel..

drexel pretty much consumed my 08 like nothin else.. after gettin the admit letter in feb sometime, it has been the one thing that i constantly thought about..

it took a lot out of me to let go of friends and family an come here to philly.. trust me, there are still days wen i think i did a mistake by coming here.. bangalore was my home.. and will always be.. a place where i felt protected even at the weirdest hours.. where i studied, where all my closest friends lived, where my whole family stays etc etc.. (but the decision to do an MS was all mine.. and i came here with a single aim: convert MS to PhD!!! now tat is not likely to happen.. )

yikes.. there i digress.. so, decided to come here.. so far so good.. but visa was one nightmare.. i still feel so overwhelmed by all the emotional support i got from everyone who wished me luck and later, congrats...

comin here also meant leavin cerner, my 2nd home for almost a yr by july end.. on the last day of work, i chatted with the most incredible person i have met in chilly philly.. :) some1 who is soooooooooo superlative sweet that he exudes sweetness even on google talk!!! anways... my stint at cerner (hee hee) ended.. and my life took a turn on sept 10.. (for better or worse i am yet to find)

and for 3 months.. drexel has been my life.. and these 3 months have been so much fun.. thanks to a whole bunch of new people.. from different backgrounds, different languages and differen age group (good lord.. feel like an aunty tat im here with a yr's work exp!)

anyways.. this is the blog dedicated to all those people who made drexel a gr8 place to be.. startin in no order..

shankar: thanks! you are the nicest guy here... always ready to help.. i know i can always come to you for help and advice no matter wat.. and i really really appreciate tat..

anup: good lord.. can i jus skip wat a fabulous person u r.. :) u know tat and i wont embarass you further.. wat say?? just a whole bunch of thanks for helping.. from india all the way here..

sug: my disciplinarian flatmate.. math genius.. hardest worker... fastest tamil-speakin person.. my tam slang tutor... and above all, a great friend.. drexel wud be so dull without thou.. adi-pha-vee!!!

nandy: skip skip.. talkative arch is speechless at the girl u r..!! jus wonderin why she aint carryin a 'beware: i speak 2 much' tag on her forehead.. :) she is my entertainer of the year... thanks babes...

manj: oooh!! the strong n silent types.. makes me think why i call myself a nerd wen she is around.. hee hee.. :) ever so hard-working.. and my cookin-partner.. thanks for gettin me used to some andhra food.. never known spice like tat before.. ;)

rosh: my almost-roommate.. the most genuine piece of honesty, sweetness, goodwill, helpfulness i have seen in one person.. and wow, extra ordinary culinary skills (pl sign me up for some cookin classes before i leave).. sluuuuuuuurp tat brownie.. i have no clue how u cook so well.. and can be so sweet.. and be so helpful.. and always be so full of life... :D THANKS!!!

vishal: please smile whenever i am down.. thanks.. :) tat should do a lot to lift my spirits.. thanks for..... wait! too many things.. but mostly for always hearin me n not judging me..

pavi: yay pavi!! gotta know u quite late.. but am i glad i gotta know u.. :) u fall into rosh's bracket of genuine helpfulness n sweetness.. glad to welcome u neighbour.. :) thanks for being so much fun to be with..

rishi: the little boy who everyone adores!!! and is currently obsessed with giving me advice abt not to count calories.. thanks for always findin time to chat.. despite ur 5 courses n co-op and God knows wat all u under grads study..

there are many tat i know for a fact i missed.. but i am thankful to everyone.. :)
here is to hopin 09 is jus as much fun..

Cerner: Thanks!!!

This is DEFINITELY in random order

Saj, Ananthu, VD: You were with me in college and at Cerner as well… Cerner would not have been the same without the RV BT connection… Thanks for reminding me that I am not sooo innocent with all the jokes… All the college-talk made me forget that I missed class… Saj n Ananthu, a special note of good luck to you guys… I know for a fact that you will shine wherever you are…. VD: What is FB and Gtalk for… And you’d better thank me 2…

Shamanth: I miss you more than anyone else could ever miss you… All the pani-puri, arguing about the most mundane stuff, my Kannada lessons, all the advice, all the common-sense that always seem to stuff into my brain.. No thanks would ever be enough... You are one of a kind... A truckload of thanks to your Santro too…

Manoj Kumar: Dude… For all those people who think I have a nice smile, guess they have not even seen your smile!!! Now I can safely tell you: your smile and good morning always made my day at work… Probably haven’t seen anyone whose smile radiates so much happiness and warmth… Sooooo glad you came home before I left… Miss you sooooo much… Good luck with everything…

Bhavya BB: Thanks for making a bookworm out of me… Convincing me that dogs are the best creations of God… Coffee would be so bland without you discussing Sudha Murthy’s latest or Shashi Tharoor… I dunno if I should thank you for introducing me to Marley… The book made me cry 2 days or more… Babes… Miss you so much!!! Your house will be the first place I will come when I come to Bangalore…

Sagar: You and I can set a record for the fastest to become close-friends…. I don’t even know where to start thanking you… You have always been the most perfect gentleman, be it pulling chair for me or holding door open… And all the conversations over a half-chai… You know wat I really wanna thank you for? For not being judgmental that I wasn’t a girly-girl… And accepting me as I am… Drunkie… Miss speaking to you for hours… Hope to meet you soon….

JT: World’s best fun-loving manager!! Been a piece of cake working for you… All the jokes, all the last minute work… Aniket and I always discussed how much fun it is working for you (yeah, we spoke behind your back! But chill, nothing mean)… Missed you on all team-trips though…

Shetty: Vikk!!! Bro… Cerner would be such a dull place without you around… You are the wittiest person I have ever seen… dunno from where you always have the right dialogue for each occasion… Stay the same cool self… And thanks for all help, with Doc and otherwise… (no thanks for starting rani…. Grrrr)

DOC STE: Jammy, Harshita, D, Santosh, Harish… Thanks for making Doc the only team I ever wanted to be a part of… You won’t believe the amount of fun I had being a part of it… More than anything else, thanks for being such sports and hanging out so often as a team… Wish everyone all the luck in the world for everything…

DOC ENGI: Uday, Smaran, Sam, Shashi n Sagar: Thanks for being the best bunch of developers any testing could ask for… You rock!! (too cliché na?) Oh, thanks for introducing me to ROCK music… The real kind!!! Should I still be thanking you for all the SRs??? Guys…. Not in my blog also!! Pleeeeeeeeeeease… OK, thanks!!! THANKS THANKS THANKS… Here is wishing you loads of fun this year too… Oh btw, thanks for all the mails… You know what I mean…

TEAM: WAT A TEAM!! I am proud to scream out loud that we were the best… and guess we still are!!! Thanks for all the team-trips and including me even after I left Cerner… Team outings were the highlights of last year… Be it wonder-la or kerala or go-karting… Had the most fun, coz I was with the best group of people I have known so far… Ever so helpful… And always so much fun… A simple thanks would never convey all the gratitude I have for my team… But here goes… THANKS!!!

Shuba, Harish, Vivek: Thanks for all the lunch convo… And all the food too… Miss you guys soooo much…

Aks: Dude, BEST HR EVER!!! Thanks…. For believing that I was capable of working hard… And thanks for always having the most relevant advice, when I needed it… Stay the same… You made transition from college to Cerner so easy… Hope you continue to do that for a looooot more people…

Thanks....!!

2008 was easily the best year of my life… And it would not have been so happy, exciting and fun-filled if it has been for some extraordinary sweet and special people… who made each day great!!

I will inadvertently miss some people from the list… But please please forgive me for that…

Here it goes, in no particular order… (sounding like some announcer of a game show.. yikes)

COLLEGE FIRST:
PS: these ar much shorter coz they were written first

Partho: Always been there, always will be… Forever grateful for that…

Ads, Divi, VD: Fall 08 MS as our sole goal… Thanks for keeping me on my toes, for recos, transcripts, deadlines etc etc… Glad each one is now happy where we are…

Rashmi, Sanky, Gu, Rao: Thanks for all the advice about applications admissions process (more importantly, thanks for keeping me off PhD programs) and prepping me for life in US of A.

KP, Viru, Nitty, Sin: For all the CCD get-togethers that I sometimes made to… And sometimes missed… PS Viru: I might not mail so often, but you are still a dear friend an I miss you… Good luck guys for everything…

Priyamvada, Shruthi, Shreyas: For trusting me with your SOPs… Hope I gave relevant advice… Sorry about not being helpful every time…

Uncle Pai: For always being the first to wish on my birthday, for calling and wishing me luck before I left… Miss you so much…

Chotu: MAN UTD cap!!! For being my most favorite little brother outside family… You are much more than wat is in the testimonial I wrote… Continue towards making the world a better place…

Rajesh, Vini, Shinde, Arshad and rest of class: Thanks for being there for me, as part of RV BT 07!!! We rule…..

Ravi 007: Shall always be your sister (remember you told me that on my last day on college)… Good luck with everything… Will always pray for the best for you….

(PS: Ananthu n Saj: see under Cerner)