Dr Wheatley: for being the best advisor I could ask for.. thanks for all ur support thru out this yr…
Aggi: there is not another undergrad in drexel who is as helpful and sweet… he is pure gold… and I am so happy that I met u this yr… have a wonderful yr kid…
Shreyas: his email was the inspiration for the blog last yr… and he has been my one constant RV-kannada-slang connection all thru the year… doubly glad u are in the US now…
Priyamvada: find me another person with that much energy and I will give u $100… awesome fun to talk to always, and a great friends… thanks sweetie… looking forward to meeting you…
Partho: finally met you after 15 months… and spent the best days of my stay in the US this yr in your company and rash’s… NY trip would have been a lot duller if u hadn’t found us accommodation and jus been there thru the trip…
338 bay ridge: staying in NY, a HUGE thanks to the 4 guys whose company we had during our NY trip… whether it was kannada slang or poking fun at each other at the buffet, you guys were extraordinary sweet, helpful and fun… thanks 2 varun and kiran for knowing the places to visit, and more importantly guiding us in getting there, karthik for some incredible pics (and giving me an update abt every1 I know in RVCE-EC) and vinay for just putting up with us while we freaked abt little signs that said “sale”…
Shubha n shashi: for helping bro with his weddin shopping… wow, hats off… u guys did an amazing job at it… n he looked every bit the groom…
Rashmi’s family: it took me exactly 1 sec to belong to your family… thanks for being the most kind and affectionate family I have met outside my own…
Carl: I wanted to skip thanking you coz u have such a bright spot in my otherwise dull year… but guess skipping u wud make the whole thank-u list a no-show… cuz of u, lab has been more than jus work… thanks for everything, including the hot chocolate…
Vas: I have no idea where 2 start thankin u either… but hey, is it ok to jus say ‘hmmm'?
India trip: this has to be the one thing I have been most thankful for this yr… bro’s wedding, meeting every single person in the family… wow, now that was special…
PS: there are still some people missing in this list… but this blog cant go on forever…
Thursday, December 31, 2009
09.. Thanks.. Part 1
Looking back at another year gone by…
It is that time of the year when I thank everyone and everything that has been a part of my life in the year… this year was like no other, but then again, every yr is different and maybe that is what makes us look forward to a new one every January 1.. before 2009 wraps, need 2 look back and recap all the main people/events in my otherwise quite ordinary life…
In no random order here starts…
Roomies: Nandy and Sug are the best roomies anyone can ask for… and this yr established this beyond any doubts… 15 months and still we are close and poke fun at every1 and everything in our lives… there are the people who drift in and out of your life.. and there are these 2 (includes some others 2)… who ll nag u abt your excessive weight-loss, hoist u up when some1 has been mean, laugh with u wen u explain how u goofed up in front of the only guy u like, cry with u when something gets 2 hard to handle for lesser mortals, who teach u to cook, sing, dance, who talk with u till 4 in the mrng coz u can’t fall asleep… to everything thru the yr, thanks dudes….!!
Rosh n Thangu: hehehehehe…. Life wud be less entertaining without u 2 for sure… whether it was Thangu’s innovative entre ideas or Rosh’s many dance imitations of us, it was one exciting ride this yr with u 2 on board… rosh is not technically my roomie, but has definitely been as close as the other 2 mentioned above…
Drexel seniors: for constant advice and fun thru out the yr, special thanks to the Pragathi board who were before us… Drexel would be less fun without all those events celebrating festivals, watching movies, random exchange of gyaan during Nasha or coffee breaks in biomed kitchen (special thanks to Anup, Sankesh, Shankar…) I reiterate that u are the BEST seniors we cud have asked for, and wish the very best for 2010..
Desyphr: Rishi, DK, Adrian, Chandru, David…. I really don’t care who liked u or not during nasha, you are my fav desi- rock band… your jamming sessions (whatever little I came to) were always so much fun… and I’m so glad u guys smiled at my 0-knowledge of ur music, and gave so many fun memories thru this yr…
Shamanth: for always being there 2 hear me go on n on about some1 and every1… and for the email u sent with ur wedding invite… still kicking myself for missing ur weddin…
Cerner gang: going back to the place where I worked, I got the same affection from every1… like I have never left it… a special thanks 2 drunkie for joining me on our cutting-chai sessions durin every visit… special thanks 2 BB too, u are fabulous babes… to quote a cliché.. never change…
Seema & Chin: heheheheh.. deliberately put u guys together… u guys are so awesome… good luck with everything…
Medha aka duck: special thanks little one… shopping with u is always so much fun… thanks for all the endless patience u have… glad u dint cry when I left this time… u are my trigger button… love u sis… good luck with whatever u wanna do in life… know that I ll be there 2 support u..
Rash: you haven’t changed a bit in the 2 yrs u have been here… still the same endearing ol’ rash… so so soooooooooooo happy that we spent time in NY… yay!! Thanks for putting up with crazy antics for a week…
It is that time of the year when I thank everyone and everything that has been a part of my life in the year… this year was like no other, but then again, every yr is different and maybe that is what makes us look forward to a new one every January 1.. before 2009 wraps, need 2 look back and recap all the main people/events in my otherwise quite ordinary life…
In no random order here starts…
Roomies: Nandy and Sug are the best roomies anyone can ask for… and this yr established this beyond any doubts… 15 months and still we are close and poke fun at every1 and everything in our lives… there are the people who drift in and out of your life.. and there are these 2 (includes some others 2)… who ll nag u abt your excessive weight-loss, hoist u up when some1 has been mean, laugh with u wen u explain how u goofed up in front of the only guy u like, cry with u when something gets 2 hard to handle for lesser mortals, who teach u to cook, sing, dance, who talk with u till 4 in the mrng coz u can’t fall asleep… to everything thru the yr, thanks dudes….!!
Rosh n Thangu: hehehehehe…. Life wud be less entertaining without u 2 for sure… whether it was Thangu’s innovative entre ideas or Rosh’s many dance imitations of us, it was one exciting ride this yr with u 2 on board… rosh is not technically my roomie, but has definitely been as close as the other 2 mentioned above…
Drexel seniors: for constant advice and fun thru out the yr, special thanks to the Pragathi board who were before us… Drexel would be less fun without all those events celebrating festivals, watching movies, random exchange of gyaan during Nasha or coffee breaks in biomed kitchen (special thanks to Anup, Sankesh, Shankar…) I reiterate that u are the BEST seniors we cud have asked for, and wish the very best for 2010..
Desyphr: Rishi, DK, Adrian, Chandru, David…. I really don’t care who liked u or not during nasha, you are my fav desi- rock band… your jamming sessions (whatever little I came to) were always so much fun… and I’m so glad u guys smiled at my 0-knowledge of ur music, and gave so many fun memories thru this yr…
Shamanth: for always being there 2 hear me go on n on about some1 and every1… and for the email u sent with ur wedding invite… still kicking myself for missing ur weddin…
Cerner gang: going back to the place where I worked, I got the same affection from every1… like I have never left it… a special thanks 2 drunkie for joining me on our cutting-chai sessions durin every visit… special thanks 2 BB too, u are fabulous babes… to quote a cliché.. never change…
Seema & Chin: heheheheh.. deliberately put u guys together… u guys are so awesome… good luck with everything…
Medha aka duck: special thanks little one… shopping with u is always so much fun… thanks for all the endless patience u have… glad u dint cry when I left this time… u are my trigger button… love u sis… good luck with whatever u wanna do in life… know that I ll be there 2 support u..
Rash: you haven’t changed a bit in the 2 yrs u have been here… still the same endearing ol’ rash… so so soooooooooooo happy that we spent time in NY… yay!! Thanks for putting up with crazy antics for a week…
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
NYC Day 2
Rain was predicted, and voila! the weather website predicted right!! Walked out bundled up for the chill winds and cold drizzle… this was our first day on our own (and I mean it! None of the guys answered our calls cuz they were all busy) and we did not expect the totally damp day would make us cranky and irritated…
First stop was grand central terminal… we reached there just around lunch time, and were positively starved… after a couple of pics here and there, and after giving rash a crash-course in the importance of this place in the movie Madagascar, we headed to their food court… when you are spoilt for choice like here, hunger takes a backseat and eating some fancy takes top priority.. and that is exactly what we did.. 30 min after reaching the place, we decided on pizza (what else?) I ordered the Sicilian pizza (ok! Someone tricked me into believing NY pizza is thick crust… it is NOT!!) with loads of veggies and little cheese… rash had her cheesy Stromboli and Partho doubled his chicken pizza slice… One pic later, we attacked our food… and walked out after a dozen more pics…
Toys R Us was next on the cards… the ferris wheel and my face lit up… what made me happier still was the fact that it was open to ‘adults’… after spending 1.5 hrs walking in the store, and getting lord knows how many pics with the dinosaur, lego toys, cooing about their stuffed toys and everything else they have… we marched to the ferris wheel queue… there we saw that we had to wait another 1.5 hrs for the ride.. my puppy dog eyes did not work on either Partho or rash and we marched out of the toys r us store into macys…
World’s largest store having their biggest sale, and we went right in… it took us a good 45 min to find decent deals even with their upto 70% discounts (oh well, a Michael Kors bag for $150 after 50% off isn’t my idea of discounts)… as rash and I went from aisle to aisle and floor to floor searching for everything from gloves to jackets, Partho was seething.. he called every 5 min to check our shopping status… and our default answer was always ‘give us 5 min’… finally, we found jackets to match our style and budget… and our answer to his call was ‘we are at billing’… 15-20 minutes later rash and I walked out with giant macys bags.. Partho had exited onto a different street… and found telling us ‘I am in front of a hoarding that reads NYC style’ very helpful… after another 10 min walk in the rain searching for the hoarding (and him), we saw it… what Partho did not realize was the magic words for any girl is to mention the next store… in this case, JC Penneys!!
After that we embarked on a journey to Lexington avenue to feast on some masala dosa at Saravana Bhavan… without the address in hand, we went to the subway and got into the train with a vague idea of where we had to get off… surprise! Surprise! We reached the place in one shot… then started the search for the restaurant… I wasn’t too keen on the place coz NJ branch was so disappointing… but my doubts about the restaurant was the least of our problems… we did not know where to go!! Plain and simple… so called nandy who was home, and asked her to read directions from google maps… we got them.. and still missed our way… called her back 2-3 times before common sense prevailed and we simply asked the people around for directions… after heading in the wrong direction for the longest time in tat cold rain, we saw the place.. and walked in!!! ate like we have not seen food in a week…. And paid the bill, and asked the guy at the hotel for subway directions… again, surprise surprise… reached home in one shot… and went straight to bed… each one happy in their own way… Partho coz of his dosa n masala milk n hot wheels car…. Rash coz of her denim jacket… and me, toys r us souvenir and 2 more sweaters!!
First stop was grand central terminal… we reached there just around lunch time, and were positively starved… after a couple of pics here and there, and after giving rash a crash-course in the importance of this place in the movie Madagascar, we headed to their food court… when you are spoilt for choice like here, hunger takes a backseat and eating some fancy takes top priority.. and that is exactly what we did.. 30 min after reaching the place, we decided on pizza (what else?) I ordered the Sicilian pizza (ok! Someone tricked me into believing NY pizza is thick crust… it is NOT!!) with loads of veggies and little cheese… rash had her cheesy Stromboli and Partho doubled his chicken pizza slice… One pic later, we attacked our food… and walked out after a dozen more pics…
Toys R Us was next on the cards… the ferris wheel and my face lit up… what made me happier still was the fact that it was open to ‘adults’… after spending 1.5 hrs walking in the store, and getting lord knows how many pics with the dinosaur, lego toys, cooing about their stuffed toys and everything else they have… we marched to the ferris wheel queue… there we saw that we had to wait another 1.5 hrs for the ride.. my puppy dog eyes did not work on either Partho or rash and we marched out of the toys r us store into macys…
World’s largest store having their biggest sale, and we went right in… it took us a good 45 min to find decent deals even with their upto 70% discounts (oh well, a Michael Kors bag for $150 after 50% off isn’t my idea of discounts)… as rash and I went from aisle to aisle and floor to floor searching for everything from gloves to jackets, Partho was seething.. he called every 5 min to check our shopping status… and our default answer was always ‘give us 5 min’… finally, we found jackets to match our style and budget… and our answer to his call was ‘we are at billing’… 15-20 minutes later rash and I walked out with giant macys bags.. Partho had exited onto a different street… and found telling us ‘I am in front of a hoarding that reads NYC style’ very helpful… after another 10 min walk in the rain searching for the hoarding (and him), we saw it… what Partho did not realize was the magic words for any girl is to mention the next store… in this case, JC Penneys!!
After that we embarked on a journey to Lexington avenue to feast on some masala dosa at Saravana Bhavan… without the address in hand, we went to the subway and got into the train with a vague idea of where we had to get off… surprise! Surprise! We reached the place in one shot… then started the search for the restaurant… I wasn’t too keen on the place coz NJ branch was so disappointing… but my doubts about the restaurant was the least of our problems… we did not know where to go!! Plain and simple… so called nandy who was home, and asked her to read directions from google maps… we got them.. and still missed our way… called her back 2-3 times before common sense prevailed and we simply asked the people around for directions… after heading in the wrong direction for the longest time in tat cold rain, we saw the place.. and walked in!!! ate like we have not seen food in a week…. And paid the bill, and asked the guy at the hotel for subway directions… again, surprise surprise… reached home in one shot… and went straight to bed… each one happy in their own way… Partho coz of his dosa n masala milk n hot wheels car…. Rash coz of her denim jacket… and me, toys r us souvenir and 2 more sweaters!!
NYC Day 1
Going to India mid-term is not technically a holiday… That was family reunion and a dozen other things, but NOT a holiday! So, a 4-day trip to NYC was supposed to be the first real vacation I would take after September 08!!! And, added to the excitement of a) going to NYC for the first time and, b) going anywhere in the US for the first time, was the fact that Partho and Rash would join me… Oh yay!! So starts 4 days of madness…!!
DAY 1
8:30 am: We are at the 30th St station and get awesome seats on our bus… This after we cooked till 1 the previous night, and took nearly 40 pics during a 10-minute walk to the station… The bus started on time (the importance of buses being punctual will be evident later), and we were off… Needless to say, each of us had a list of things to do and see, and mine had 2 very important places: Grimaldi’s pizza and Toys R Us (oh yes, this might come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with my Crayola obsession)… Wonder what Rash and Partho had in mind… Did not ask them (does that make me a mean-person? I aint so sure)…
10:30 am: We reach NYC, and we are already in awe over the skyline of the city…!! We reached Brooklyn 2.5 hrs (estimated time according to Google maps was 45 min) after we reached NYC, after I forced Partho and Rash to get off the right train and hop onto the wrong one, and then changed back to the right one. Confusion over the subway did not stop us from exploring Times Square with our luggage…
Reached Brooklyn… Got introduced to everyone and as usual, I got ‘hyper’ about meeting Kannada speaking people… Just the right amount of slang, with a hint of Bangalore and traces of RV… Bangalore Kannada may not be the best, but that doesn’t stop me from loving the sound of it… forget the city, I could have spent all time, just listening to the guys speak!! But that was not an option (of course) and we set out to ‘walk the Brooklyn bridge’…!! This was on Sug’s must-do list for me, and I looked (and acted) visibly excited… also the thought that Grimaldi’s is right THERE did not help… The bridge is quite something; simple and elegant, unlike the sheer concrete that consist its background of high-rises… The walk was truckloads of fun as expected, Partho, Rash and I hopped rather than walked (and I am still wondering what was going on in Vinay’s mind when we went nuts there)… Pics were lousy becuz some setting was not ok, and no one knew how to set it back to normal… After that, we went to see the Wall Street Bull.. Some pics with that thing and we were off to join the rest of the gang at Rockefeller center… I am not sure how any other Christmas will ever close to this year’s… The tree there was FREAKING AWESOME… Not seen anything quite as beautiful as that… Pics: messy again, this was disappointing… But have memories to last a lifetime (and beyond, if I believe in the concept of rebirth and bla)… Times Square happened too, gosh, such a colossal waste of energy!!! Not sure I liked the place on day-1, esp since Toys R Us was closed…
Dinner was supposed to be this unbelievable falafel-on-rice from a cart close to Times Sq… Just when our turn came after 2 hrs in the cold, they ran out of vegetarian options (grrrrrrrrrrrr)… We went to another cart on the way to the subway and bought their not-so-yum-but-OMG-spicy falafel on rice… After a rather quiet dinner, we hit the sack… Did I fail to mention the squeaky clean house? HOLY COW… The house was spotless!!!
DAY 1
8:30 am: We are at the 30th St station and get awesome seats on our bus… This after we cooked till 1 the previous night, and took nearly 40 pics during a 10-minute walk to the station… The bus started on time (the importance of buses being punctual will be evident later), and we were off… Needless to say, each of us had a list of things to do and see, and mine had 2 very important places: Grimaldi’s pizza and Toys R Us (oh yes, this might come as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with my Crayola obsession)… Wonder what Rash and Partho had in mind… Did not ask them (does that make me a mean-person? I aint so sure)…
10:30 am: We reach NYC, and we are already in awe over the skyline of the city…!! We reached Brooklyn 2.5 hrs (estimated time according to Google maps was 45 min) after we reached NYC, after I forced Partho and Rash to get off the right train and hop onto the wrong one, and then changed back to the right one. Confusion over the subway did not stop us from exploring Times Square with our luggage…
Reached Brooklyn… Got introduced to everyone and as usual, I got ‘hyper’ about meeting Kannada speaking people… Just the right amount of slang, with a hint of Bangalore and traces of RV… Bangalore Kannada may not be the best, but that doesn’t stop me from loving the sound of it… forget the city, I could have spent all time, just listening to the guys speak!! But that was not an option (of course) and we set out to ‘walk the Brooklyn bridge’…!! This was on Sug’s must-do list for me, and I looked (and acted) visibly excited… also the thought that Grimaldi’s is right THERE did not help… The bridge is quite something; simple and elegant, unlike the sheer concrete that consist its background of high-rises… The walk was truckloads of fun as expected, Partho, Rash and I hopped rather than walked (and I am still wondering what was going on in Vinay’s mind when we went nuts there)… Pics were lousy becuz some setting was not ok, and no one knew how to set it back to normal… After that, we went to see the Wall Street Bull.. Some pics with that thing and we were off to join the rest of the gang at Rockefeller center… I am not sure how any other Christmas will ever close to this year’s… The tree there was FREAKING AWESOME… Not seen anything quite as beautiful as that… Pics: messy again, this was disappointing… But have memories to last a lifetime (and beyond, if I believe in the concept of rebirth and bla)… Times Square happened too, gosh, such a colossal waste of energy!!! Not sure I liked the place on day-1, esp since Toys R Us was closed…
Dinner was supposed to be this unbelievable falafel-on-rice from a cart close to Times Sq… Just when our turn came after 2 hrs in the cold, they ran out of vegetarian options (grrrrrrrrrrrr)… We went to another cart on the way to the subway and bought their not-so-yum-but-OMG-spicy falafel on rice… After a rather quiet dinner, we hit the sack… Did I fail to mention the squeaky clean house? HOLY COW… The house was spotless!!!
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