urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:djebar djebar djebar 2005-01-30T15:13:20Z urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:djebar:986 2005-01-30T15:13:20Z 2005-01-30T15:13:20Z maja bantu, maja bantu. Mugambo maatra khush aagbeka, naavu aadvi !! Started walking towards the railway station in the cold at 6.30 pm yesterday evening. 8 guys - 4 veterans and 4 newbies - reached Manhattan, fully excited. 2 veterans did not prove "veteranish" with their sneakers and a denial in Copacabana. Branch welcomed us all. Boring initially, Milan was out soon. Good and large crowd, small and neat place. 3 hours of non-stop "good" dance and still not enough. Enjoyment unleashed to the max. DJ should have been better though. But full paisa vasool. The thrill of Manhattan, in the dead of the night, when the city is still awake, will stay in the RAM for a long time without being swapped out. We have learnt a few steps or learnt to behave better or whatever. End matters...<br /> Walk to Times Square at 4 am in the cold. Hail Starbucks !! Back at Stony Brook at 8 and again a long walk back home. Writing an entry here without sleeping is an achievement. Really? Result of enjoyment unlimited. urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:djebar:584 2005-01-24T07:49:33Z 2005-01-24T07:49:33Z Last day of the winter break. We had a nice potluck dinner. Got to meet a lot of new faces. Amazed at the decisions of people who have worked 2 years to pursue their masters afterwards. I had assumed (or was I made to assume?) that once somebody goes into a professional working environment, the urge to get into a full time course goes into the backseat. But for the few people here, all have previous work experience. See the change in the trend? I guess the job market in India has improved. You get a job before you get a degree. Why not see how it is to live on one's own money? But I really feel this is a good trend as the graduate studies environment is not a 5th year in college, but a more mature atmosphere with people having corporate experience working together in a school environment.<br /> I remembered the days when I first came here with a lot of apprehensions. Getting funded atleast in the second semester was my first goal. Took courses with Profs who were known to fund students. Screwed up the grades in their courses, but finally got something to work in my favor. Now the new guys are in the same state. It feels good to explain to them the experience I had and the thoughts that crossed my mind at that time.<br /><br /> After all these with one and a half feet of snow outside, my email shows that I have been made the toast of my primary school egroup. Just because I had some fun at a few friends' expense, they have raised me on to a pedestal. Friends from school are so good that if they can't achieve something in life, they try to see the same being done through their childhood chums. An analogy with what parents try to do through their children. Having been in the US for almost half a year now, I know how difficult it is for a desi to date a white girl. ABCDs find it difficult, what can one expect from a normal desi. btw, everyone thinks I am dating a white girl, but none know that I am not dating just one white girl ;) I love being a topic of discussion... urn:lj:livejournal.com:atom1:djebar:283 2005-01-23T21:01:43Z 2005-01-23T21:01:43Z One foot of snow outside, nothing to do inside. My first entry here. The semester will begin tomorrow and there ends the good times. Watch out how I make boring days interesting...