Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Vacationing ;-)

Almost a year ago, in fact exactly a year ago I was on a vacation with friends for the first time ever :-). Visited California and New York. It was a fun trip [expensive being a student]. I loved every bit of the time I spent but longed to go back to Baton Rouge since I had some work to finish up :-).

This year, now that I am working didn't have the luxury of a months holiday during Christmas. However, made the most of the 4 days by visiting Los Angeles. A brilliant trip and totally unexpected fun in its own way. Day one was just driving through the coastal roads for 10 hours, day two was Universal Studios , day three was exploring Los Angeles other attractions and visiting Santa Monica Beach and day four was a non stop 5 hour drive back home and hogging the much missed home cooked food :-)!!! 

Vacations need not be days long, what makes them vacation is the experience, joy and content of vacationing! I have been lucky to have it for two consecutive years and am making a mental note to follow the tradition in the following years as well :-)


Happy Holiday Season!
Arpitha

Friday, December 14, 2012

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee 2012...........

All excited for 2012 to end and 2013 to begin.. hoping for some exciting and wonderful things in 2013 [ So the rush duh!!! ]... 2012 has been a mixed bag and often times I get caught up with what went good, what went bad, what I did was good/bad/ unjustified !!?!!!......

The likelihood and impact of the events in 2012 has had a Material effect in my life....looking forward to placing some  right controls to mitigate the risks and address the deviations ... hmmm these are the words of the THE EY Auditor :-)... if you get it good if not no worries.....


-
Arpitha Prakash
Advisory Staff
EY

Sunday, November 25, 2012

In Reality...

It will be hard to blog on this though...but let me try...

The financial status of my family has grown from poor (grand parents) to middle class  ( parents
) to "hopefully" upper middle class during my generation. Though I wouldn't say I have faced a lot of financial issues during my lifetime, I would definitely say I have seen, learnt and to a large extent practiced spending on a need basis rather than a want basis [ few exceptions included]. And this has grown over a period of time in me with various exposures, experiences and responsibilities.

Just reflecting on this after a shopping spree during Thanksgiving 2012! My third thanksgiving in US!!

For the first one, I recollect buying nothing for myself except for body lotion for my mom and an electronic camera for Abhijith. Off course I did not have to pay for both of them. My second thanksgiving I was rather more flexible and shopped for a dress and socks if I remember. This time I had planned for a good amount of things, since I had not shopped after I started working. But my budget was very very low due to various reasons. However, I ended my shopping a whole lot [ No regrets[. This is only because I feel I am capable of handling this expense and the reason is also because the shopping items were on the border line between need and want. The human tendency to just break the rule once. I am content and should not be shopping till I plan to visit India next.

However in reality.... ;-)

Monday, November 19, 2012

Balancing Equation!

I am sure this feeling is shared by ALL of us! If not I would think something is definitely wrong with me!!! Not that I know of  it already :-D

If I don't get calls from family when I expected them to call, a wish from a dear one when I felt it was needed, an update about something I think I should know...if any of these things don't happen two things follow:

1. I feel so angry with the person who did not meet my expectation ;-)
2. I feel so alone thinking no one cares for me ;-)

Well it is true and I know both 1 & 2 are just a temporary passing feeling  but still once in a while I get caught up with it :-)

And then there are those days when someone does something totally unexpected:

1. A friend and a student at LSU mentioned my name in his Master's Thesis "Acknowledgement" section. I have no clue what made him do that, but it made me feel good and guilty for having my name mentioned .

2. A random person from Craigslist who has emailed me after 6 months to know  I am still interested in his palce. I was the one who had contacted him 6 months ago and unfortunately he had already picked his tenant that time, He had told me he would get back to me once something comes up!

Well I always say Nature has it's own way of balancing: Some examples are
1. Boys vs Gals :-P
2. Vegetarians vs non vegetarians (Obviously)

And may be the expected being full filled by an unexpected is one of these Balancing Equations !!!



Arpitha

Monday, November 12, 2012

BUSY BEE!

Gone are the days when I could "afford" to reset my alarm in the mornings...gone are the days when I didn't have to set an alarm during weekends...gone are the days when Friday afternoon meant no work...gone are the days when weekend meant no work and finally gone are the days when I had the luxury of TIME!

Well when someone recently told me "BUSY" is the norm now a days I agreed to it completely not knowing the implications it can have on me can be this drastic!!!! I never ever used to accept me being called "Busy Bee" by many of my friends..but I am left with no option but to call myself BUSY BEE!!! I know people say "Busy" means you have prioritized one thing over another..I would not agree to that..At times you do things out of choice, at times you do things to make others happy and at times you do things without a reason :-)

Anyways the whole point is my life is getting busier by the day and the way I justify the fact that I am unable to do many things is not my mistake completely :-)

Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Letting go.....

One of the hardest things to ever do is to let go of things..be it memories, people, things......I have always have a gazillion things which I tag along to and find it hard to let go..in fact at times the guilt is so immense that it eats up the happiness not only from me but also from the people who are with me...Last weekend was one of those days when I was thinking about it and found out that if I really wanted something that bad I would have never ever let it go and if I have let it go means it never was meant to be....

Hmmmmm....

:-)

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

A way to keep in touch....

I have almost come to a realization that there is never going to be a time in my life time when I will be able to stay close and stay with all the people I love, care and want to be with ! True to its words "Better late than never! :-) "

This whole thought process has been disturbing me for a very very long time now!!! With all the failed attempts to find a solution for this, I have come up with my own "solution" yes yes yes it is a custom made one and I think this is the best I can do from my end to make myself feel better... I know I am talking a lot about "I, me, myself"..but can't help....

So if I go back to each of the person I want to keep in touch with  there definitely will be one or more qualities of that person I adore, habits of the person I find interesting or the nature of the person which would attract me ! So anytime I am going to miss someone or wont be able to be there with the person I am just going to pick one of their qualities, habits or nature and try to follow them myself. If you are able to understand this concept well done! if you didn't get it then its OK :-D


Good Luck to ME! With putting my own words to practice :-)

Just a Thought!

Been sick ( cold and fever) for two days now and my craving for homemade RASAM is directly proportional to the downtime of my sickness..... my parents used to place so many dietary restriction on us when we were sick and I  used to wait to break their rules!!! :-D Now I have been acting like an adult and watching over my food intake myself! Under these circumstances a thought crossed my mind......

In-spite of having access to the best food [ What I have understood now!], there was always this unfulfilled desire to be able to buy and eat all the chocolates, ice creams, crunchy snacks and other eatables belonging to this category of food family :-D and now though I have the "ability" to do so I am conscious of having a "balanced" diet filled with the supposedly boring "Fruits & Veggies" :-)..there is a saying in KANNADA.. A person who has tooth does not have the dry nuts and the person who has the dry nuts does not have the tooth for chewing the dry nuts...HOW TRUE!!!

Well well well this was JUST A THOUGHT!



Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Oh this is how it works ;-)

On a lighter note...

Many a times I have wondered how people can be double faced, indecisive or have drastically changed over a period of time! To some extent, I found an answer to this last weekend....

My brother and I had been to Livermore to visit a temple. I have seen it umpteen times before but this time the name of the temple caught my attention. It is named as "Shiva-Vishu" temple. Wondering what's so special about the name?!?!....hmmm..let me explain. Long long ago it was said that "Shivas" sect and "Vishnavas" sect in India didn't get along well and they both have had their firm beliefs and ideologies that they don't want to compromise on. However, as time has passed somehow the devotees of these two Gods have "changed" a bit and now we get to see so many temples where both the Gods idols are present. Once upon a time, people used to destroy the other Gods temple!!!!

Well, when Gods and their devotees can co-exists and change over a period of time why can't the rest of us ? Do we need to always categorize them as double faced fickle minded people ?? I don't think so....

Will try to let go off the bitterness in me against  people who have changed and  hopefully not feel guilty for being a changed person myself...


:-)

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Sad Week!

In continuation to my previous blog.... Not complaining about myself rather feeling sad for all the unfortunate things going on with my friends...how easy it is for me to say my friends are happy and doing great ! While the truth is they are also facing some issue or the other... It does make me feel good that I am not the odd one out but at the cost of their unhappiness it is not worth much ....

Anyways the few good things happening are Mr. Officer ( Suresh ) getting married and Mr. Charmer ( Anoop) in the process of getting "Engaged".. but the irony is they soon may start complaining about what  I think is a good thing!! Hope that doesn't happen :-)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Lone"ILL"ness

History repeats again...

I thought I forgot how hard  it was to leave home and come to US....think of it the initial excitement of staying independent, going to grad school, learning the new life style soon dies down and you are back to being home sick.. it was almost a year by the time I found LSU Home away from Home... may be because I met the "right" kind of people..which I thought would never happen at LSU :-)...

Always was sure moving to San Jose would be a cake walk but was proved so wrong!!! Leaving LSU was as painful as leaving home! And never did I think San Jose will be heard to settle down but once AGAIN I am proved wrong... True I have my brother, friends I have know forever! good Indian food , work to keep me busy... but somewhere deep down the loneliness of a new place is engulfing me... Sometime I think I am asking for too much... there is nothing that could have been better than moving to a city like San Jose...dono if I will ever feel San Jose HOME!!!

I wish I do :-)

Thursday, August 16, 2012

Gone are the days.....

Give me some sunshine...give me some rain...give me some another chance I wanna grow up once again...

Well that's the theme for this blog...after been overly pampered, taken care of and being loved all my life, I am in the transition phase of giving it all back. Yeah true, and how rude of me to crib about it! But who would ever want to be in the giving side after been in the accepting side for so looooooooooooooong!

High time I realize gone are the days................... though I am exaggerating this a bit too much it is still "painful" to compromise on these luxuries in life.............



Wednesday, August 1, 2012

Life's Journey can be Exotic! :-)

I was a TV addict once upon a time. I have browsed through so many channels and so many TV shows. My usual favorites were related to food, be it cooking, food fests around the world, special delicacies of a city or just a renowned eat out shop!

One of those days, I had seen a Garlic Food fest on AXN. I was initially shocked, then curious and finally interested in it. I still remember Garlic Ice Cream and had a questions "Will I ever get to taste it?!" That was like centuries ago and soon time engulfed that memory!

Well, the story fast forwarded to last Saturday when I visited Gileroy (30 mi from SJC) and attended the "Gileroy Garlic Fest". I could not believe I was actually eating THE garlic ice cream. Yes, its one of those times when you just do a recap of where to where you have been in your life's journey. It is true that career progression, wealth accumulation or family growth measures one's life's journey. Nevertheless certain experiences which you thought would never become real definitely  makes life's journey exotic. It could be as small as listening to the sound of water rather than hearing it out all the time or just standing in line for the garlic ice cream and realizing your question is answered!!!

My friends and I hogged on the garlic french fries, garlic bread, garlic ice cream ( plain, roasted almond, pistachio and chocolate ), garlic dark/milk chocolate bars. I must agree after a few minutes I was sick of the Garlic :-D.

Now come to think of it, I still have this wish of trying the Makkan (Butter) served in a Matka (Mud Pottery) in Lucknow. Only God knows if I will ever get to go there and taste.......

Sunday, July 29, 2012

Clean Cleaner Cleanest!

My mom at times phrases me for some of my "good" habits such as been well organized and tidy!!! My friends also who have passed remarks on this and to some extent I did think I belong to a "Clean" person category.

Much to my dismay I have been proved wrong by my new ROOMATE and  LAND LADY .... Her usual one liners are "Your standards of Cleaning and my standard of Cleaning is different...but...." and it ends with how sub-standard my techniques are compared to hers. Initially I was offended by her, but sooner I realized we all have our "STANDARDS" and definition of the word CLEAN. While I think I am the Cleanest, I might not even be close to the C of CLEAN for her.


That explains a lot about her, me and all the people I have complained or admired of been CLEAN people.


However, that does not explain why I still get so ANGRY when I am corrected by her. Only time will tell if I can improve or she will give up on me :-)







Monday, July 9, 2012

PARdesi

Like most of them who come to US on a long term basis [either for studying or working], I always have the thought  when will I return back to my home country for good...or will I ever return?!

People in India say:
1. You are a PARdesi now
2. Once you are there for a long time you would not want to return
3. You are becoming more "Americanized"

People in US say:
1. You will never get the advantages you get here once you go back!
2. Even if you go back you will return sooner or later ;-)

Well, I just had this realization. In my two year stay I have:
1. Eaten Indian Food
2. Hanged out with Indians
3. Used Indian Products most of the time
4. Watched Indian Movies

Funny as it may sound, I have retained most of my Indian Culture & Habits to a very large extent. The only difference I find  is staying away from family.


 The decision to  stay in a place should be looked upon not only from the  benefits you get but how you would adapt to the place and its culture as well. If not I believe I am as  much a DESI & parDESI as anyone else either  back home or here. 




In Deep Thoughts,
Arpitha

Saturday, June 30, 2012

Cycle-Bike(S)-Car

I should have been in 4th-5th Standard when I learnt how to cycle. If I am correct I has a old reallllllllllllllllly old cycle given by one of my mom's cousins. How I wish I has the pictures :-). Anyways, if I am correct I learnt riding a bicycle all by myself [ that's what I claim, that too without falling....] Much to my dismay, the first time I demonstrated my cycling skills to my brother and his friend I ended up hitting a cement block and injuring myself very badly. The cycling days to school started in 8th standard and I had my hero ranger[Pink] cycle with me till my 1st year of engineering. I felt terrible my dad sold the bicycle, though I got the money ;-).

Moving on, my dad bought me a Honda Activa [Blue] while I was in my 2nd year engineering. He taught me how to ride it for 3-4 days. My mom was very disappointed with my learning and one fine evening she told me to go on a ride all by myself. Wow!!! That's a ride worth remembering. Driving through the narrow lanes of Ulsoor->LIDO Theater->Ulsoor Market->Back Home! After that there was no stopping between me and the Activa. I have completely enjoyed it for 6 years in Bangalore.

Now!!!! Since I have moved to San Jose, driving a car by myself is inevitable. Have been practicing for few days now and I only wish I get through learning it and have a pleasant experience like the cycle and the bike. So scared and cautions! God Save me and the ones around me on road :-)


P.S : I have had my stint of riding geared bikes as well. Can mange just up to 125cc in low traffic zones :-).





Saturday, June 23, 2012

Twenty 7

Well in case you are wondering what it is... its my AGE as on 23rd June 2012! mhhhhmmmhhh I am that old or older ;-)

<< 2 year ago..... I was waiting for my last day in SLK software...had an amazing birthday celebration with my team [ hardly knew for 2 months...] received wonderful gifts which I wanted to buy soon and to top it all I was all excited about moving to US for my MBA....its funny that I have a smile on my face right now when I remember the Plans I had and was so sure it's going to work out PERFECT.....

<< 1 year ago...Was 3 weeks old in a total new city....tensed about how I am reaching the client location on time using public transportation..Not a single soul in the office nor in the city knew it was my birthday...treated myself with an expensive Starbucks Cold Coffee.....

And this year...once again 1 week old in a new city....have so many things running in my head...a transformed person [ that's what my near and dear ones say ] and definitely have understood nothing goes as planned ;-).... lets see how this birthday is going to be....


FYI - 27 doesn't feel that old if you know exactly what you have done and what you should have done in the past years ;-)



Birthday Gal!
Arpitha

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Moving On..........

I have been terrified , petrified and what not for a very long time since the thought of moving out of Baton Rouge had hit me hard! [ No exaggeration ]

Well that was the "past" [ I hope so ]. Now if I think of it, my stay here has been so wonderful that asking for more is totally inappropriate. I have completed my studies on time, completed CIA certification, had a part time job [ which reduced my financial burden considerably], had an excellent learning experience, great classes, teachers and classmates, have traveled quiet a bit, did an internship and looking forward for a full time position and to top it all I am a changed person for good [ I think so]. Off course, I have met and made wonderful friends, not to mention how much I have learnt from them as well. Little did I know when I planned to come here that I would get so much of love, care, warmth and happiness from people. It has definitely effected me both for good and for bad. Being an optimistic person I should say its more of good and less of bad :-).

So when it's time to move on to a new place and possibly a new life instead of feeling sorry and sad about what I am leaving behind I want to be happy and content that I was lucky enough that all this happened to me and I got the opportunity to experience it ALL completely! No regrets what so ever [ at least so I don't disrespect what I have received Here in Baton Rouge! Here in LSU! Here in the TIGER Nation ]


Emotional,
Arpitha!

Wednesday, May 30, 2012

MBA Graduation Gifts!

Well the post title says it all but will try to make it a little bit more interesting.

1.A customized T-Shirt ornament gifted by someone special who is "practical" thinking and who probably would never do something like that ever!



2. A Dear Friend shopping LSU merchandise well in advance so I don't have to buy them!


3. A Friend and MBA senior who gifted 2 personalized coffee mugs instead of 1, so even by chance I break one I still have the other ;-)


4. My favorite Sweets - Kaju Burfi :-), by my roomy . That's what I had immediately after graduations. How "SWEET"!



5. A well thought gift, which will definitely be used in the long run and something I always wanted to have!



Gifts are even more special when you understand the trouble and thought process people take before gifting you... I would say they are just Priceless no matter what!!!Thanks to my friends for gifting me such lovely things :-) Always brings a smile on my face whenever I see them!!! :-)

Monday, May 28, 2012

In Love with Michael Scofield

He is the character in the awesome series "Prison Break" :-)


If only he was not a fictional character! :-)

Monday, April 30, 2012

LSU Flores MBA - Class 2012

We are having our last set of presentations in our MBA class this week and I am thoroughly enjoying it! Each and every presentation has its own uniqueness and a personalized touch to it. I still remember the 1st semester where most of us were still inexperienced with our presentation skills.We were having notes in our hands, constantly reading out from the slides, using repaeted words like actually, now, bascially, moving forward at the beginning of each sentence, leaving a ghost image on the projector, showing our back to the audience and last but not the least having a lost expression on our faces while we were not talking!

Now I get to see people who are confident, dressed up! know what they are talking ( even if they don't, they know how to handle the pressure!!), bring in humor and genuineness into the presentation and most of all address the audience with a smile!

Well I learnt how to read a financial statement, calculate the value of a stock, implement couple of marketing strategies, perform statistical analysis and few other business related techniques! But of all things the MBA has definitely helped me groom my SOFT skills. All credits to the LSU Flores MBA Department and my fellow classmates!!!



Cheers to the LSU Flores MBA class 2012! 

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Spring Break 2012- Mixed Bag

Our K-Gang has been planning for an AWESOME spring break trip for close to 2 months. We planned to go to Smokies Mountain, Destine Beach, Arkansas State Park, Mississippi State Park, Texas State Park and last but not the least our very own Louisiana State Park. Then there were plans of going for a night trail in the forest, watch 3-D titanic movie and also the Louisiana special Swamp Tour. No plan fell in place this time due to a zillion reasons :-). So all I got to do during Spring Break was "UN"PLANNED activities.

1. Baton Rouge Zoo - One of its kind and atypical to our Baton Rouge Environment. The group with whom I visited was also different and entertaining. The mishap at the Gas Station, a beautiful "perfect" weather evening and snaking at Sonic.




2. New Orleans (NOLA) - A sudden plan to drive to NOLA in the night and spend the whole night there. A drive filled with Songs such as "Made in India..." & "Dil Chata Hai.."  with friends laughing away to glory! Entering a CASINO for the 1st time ever!!! Gambling as a "Risk averse" group, the dancers "dance" , winning in the slot machines, loosing in the real GAMBLE and at last making sure we get out of there before we are ADDICTED to gambling. Yes, the CASINO visit was again a Typical DESI experience. And back in Baton Rouge having hot coffee in iHOP ;-) and seeing the SUN RISE by our River Levy!!!





3. Houston - Once again a decision taken at the spur of the moment. Booked a car and decided to go to Meenakashi Temple. A 5 hour long drive, beautiful temple with ample time to sit and meditate. Amazing food at Udipi Cafe, a visit to Galleria Mall where we got to see a Fashion Show, man created falls and finally Masala Chai with Cold Chaats! The day was just YUMMY. And off course, I think I "sang" or as my friends say recited songs for 8 hours!!!









4. Ship Island - The only planned item on the list, which turned out to be an unplanned event. The plan was to go to ship island on an hour cruise, rent an umbrella and a wooden bed sit by the beach and read a nice book. Relax with good food and  spend timewith friends. However, all I got to do was to take a short nap along with my friends at Biloxi beach with a mini sand storm! Nevertheless I enjoyed :-).





5. Mauj - Compered for the 2nd time here at LSU for an Indian Fest. Was a descent experience and off course I loved the dinner that was served that night and having good times with friends!





Well Spring Break 2012 was indeed Mixed Bag!

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Uagdi 1992............Ugadi 2012!

My grandma holding my hand and walking me towards the temple opposite to our house...making sure I don't open my eyes until I see God's idol on the first day of new year.....Grandpa not eating until he has fed one poor fellow on the first day of new year...wearing new clothes and trying not to cry on the first day of new year...eating neem leaves and jaggery on the first day of new year (so the year is balanced with happiness and sadness)...Well that was in 1992....

Eating muffin with honey as breakfast..calling home to wish them "Happy New Year"....no new clothes to wear...invited to a friends place for lunch....visiting temple all dressed up in the evening..having dinner at the temple and a zillion things running in the head which makes you forget that it is New Year....well that is  in 2012.......

Time changes everything...so true.....


UGADI PICS

Missing Home!!!!
Arpitha

Saturday, March 10, 2012

Angola Prison















Found in 1800's. 18K acres of farm land, covered by Mississippi river on 3 sides, 6k Prisoners, 5 camp sites, self sufficient in terms of meeting day to day groceries, bears, alligators, bloody dogs, wolves, dog, cat & camel, 1.5k guards, high security prison in US, Converted from the "Most Bloodiest to the most safest prison".

Visiting the lethal injection room - People executed, eat their last meal, allowed to hug their Moms only.

Lunched in one of the dining hall : Food prepared by  offenders , served by offenders.

Dormitory : Snooker table, Foosball table, Television, phone booths, bunk beds and offenders leading a normal life

Chapel : Listening to an offender who has served 22 years in jail. Seemed optimistic about life - Inspirational.

Museum : Artifacts showcased. Goodies sold.


10 seconds of loosing temper - Serving Life Imprisonment
Choose either to visit a Mom in coma now or attend her funeral - Only one visit allowed
Victims family can see the lethal injection execution
Death penalty take 15-20 years before its been executed
Person on death penalty can hug only his mom. This is for the mom sake not for the prisoners sake.
Allowed to eat last meal of their choice
Person served 27 years in prison, was free to move around on campus, attempted to escape - Now in cell for 23 hours a day! 
Left over food , mixed and baked and again served for the prisoners
Rodeo event 2 times a year - A chance for the offenders to earn some money


Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Blurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr


Threshold is defined as a boundary beyond which a radically different state of affairs exists. And once you pass your threshold things get so blurred that you come to think of it as "Reality" when you know that is not how things are supposed to be or are defined as per the norms of the society.

Even so surprising is the fact that you yourself stop caring about things you thought mattered the most! Wow may be that is why it is "radical" I suppose. And when you see things around you which support this school of thought you follow the bandwagon rather than taking time and reflecting on yourself and about things you lived for this LONG! This apparently is the right time when you have to put your beliefs into practice [When it is most needed], but I haven't been able to do that or convince myself to do that so far.

I knew life is full of surprises and I wanted to lead a life filled with surprises...little did I know then that my understanding of the word SURPRISE was so minuscule........... 

Saturday, March 3, 2012

Full Stop......

How much tolerant can one be towards inconsistencies? Well  that's a "qualitative" question and the answer depends on the individual who experiences the  inconsistencies and also who or what is creating the  inconsistencies...

I have become a person who can tolerate it beyond threshold and am Happy about it :-D. Nevertheless, once the threshold has been tested time and again it makes me wonder what I would do! Well the best person to answer this question would be Moms and Dads who have tolerated and will tolerate all the inconsistencies  they face because of us. But again that's because they are Parents. And now that I realize I am just Arpitha and nothing more...may be it is time to put a FULL STOP to tolerating inconsistencies than just blogging about it ;-)


What say ?

Thursday, February 23, 2012

T.I.C.K.F.A.W

 Spring 2012 Mardi Gras Break - Instead of doing SANE things like going to the Parade and New Orleans Bourbon street we did something "UN"Conventional...Visiting A State Park (Tickfaw) and vacationing the  "Arpitha" style.

Celebrating a dear friend's birthday in a cabin midst of forest was also FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUN!



To the K-Gang !

Thursday, February 16, 2012

BTR it is!

Well well well...May be I am blogging a little too early on this....but at the moment I feel like blogging and this is what is in my mind at the moment! :-)

Baton Rouge (BTR) as mentioned earlier has become Home Away from Home. Every time I have left this city, I have longed to come back...back HOME in US! With a few more months left before I might leave this place forever I feel I need to talk about it....

My favs in BTR are :

1. My Room!  [ I have never found another place where I might enjoy my sleep as much ] and over the 3 semesters I have managed to revamp my room and now I feel its PERFECT or rather close to being PERFECT at the least. I have accumulated so many things apart from what I had brought from India 1.5 years ago. It makes me sad when I think I might need to let go of somethings when I leave.......

2. CEBA Classrooms - Knowingly or unknowingly I am in love being a graduate student! Attending classes, working on individual assignments, group projects, group case presentations, sitting with my classmates, professors, business casuals, business professionals, Friday PoBs, quizzes, exams, grades ...you name it and I love it in Grad School.

3. Work - To be very honest, as the semesters passed by my liking for my work place has come down due to various reasons. One being, I don't find it very challenging expect at times. Nevertheless, my work place has helped me learn, make new friends, grow my network and a place I know I can spend any amount of time by myself. It gives me the independence to work when I want to work and the flexibility to learn what I am interested in.

4. SSR & PR Home - Well this might sound funny, but their home is in fact my second home here in BTR. Any day, any time , any second I am sure I will feel more than comfortable been there! I have spent numerous hours and am willing to spend numerous hours there before I leave BTR. I am sure of all the places I am going to miss this the most.

Apart from these, I enjoy River Side Levy, LSU Lake, SSR Lab.............Here it is my world within BTR! If LSU was a city in itself then I think it would be just LSU...LSU and LSU for me :-)

I wish I could move LSU "along" with me when I graduated...May be it always was  "Move Along.........." not "Move on" :-)


P.S - SSR : Sai Sashankh Rao, PR : Pratp Rao

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Uncomplicated ! :-)

Had been for a walk sometime last week near the river side levy close to my apartment block. It is one of my favorite places in Baton Rouge [ Need to blog about my favorite places in Baton Rouge sometime.... ]. 

My usual routine is to walk for some time and then sit on one of the benches facing the Mississippi Rive. It is pretty "Scenic". While I was sitting, I saw a lady mid 40s with 3 different breed dogs. She was playing with them "Hide n Seek" and the whole act was worth witnessing. I couldn't help but stare at them while I sat! The dogs panicking unable to find her, then she calling out for them, they running and coming towards her and at last the HUG they share. The episode gave me a new understanding for the word "Pets" and also made me realize the relationship the lady shares with them is so "UNCOMPLICATED" unlike the ones we share with fellow humans :-). And yeah I had a relaxing time away from my worries which has given be enough cushion to extend that relaxation to date :-) . 

Oh no if you guys are thinking I am wanting to have a Pet reading this blog then you got it so WRONG! 

P.S : A blog braking the taboo of my recent Genre of Blogs! I hope so.....


Monday, January 30, 2012

Why should it be ME!!! "Always"

Blogging to make myself feel better and hope it helps.....

It makes me wonder, why do people have questions like "What is your ambition in life?", "What is success according to you?", "Where do you see yourself 5, 10..15 years from now on?".

The reason such questions have started to bother me is, I just realized in an attempt to make sure I will be "happy" in the future which is the ULTIMATE ambition, success or goal I have just stopped thinking NORMAL! I have no clue if this sentence makes any sense at all...but well that's what I feel....

At the least from my experience, for me nothing ever goes as planned...Never Ever...I am so scared to answer these questions myself and plan for them!!! But I never want to loose the hope that all things happen for good! The mind takes time to understand it but the heart always says "Why should it be ME...always"...well darling that is how it is...As one of my friend said  "When the going gets tough the tough get going"....just planning to put this saying to practice....Bring it on..I am READY! :-D

Friday, January 20, 2012

Playing it safe.......not realllllllllllly....

Putting on my Philosophy Thinking CAP for the 1st time in 2012..... Lets see how it goes ;-)

I have always been a risk averse person - who will look at the safest option possible considering everyone opinions and effects on the decision I make... Well I am a person who bets only if I am sure I will win the bet! :-D
It has been good so far and I hope that it is going to be good even in the future..but at times in life there are unexplained things that happen and it changes or FORCES you to change some things... I think I have reached a point like that in my life and I am or have taken the BIGGEST if not the RISKIEST RISK in my life...

Well for a person who believes that "Everything Happens for ones own Good"...it is  time to put what you think to action..I hope it works out for the best....


P.S - Extremely sorry for blogging so ABSTRACT.... ;-)


Thursday, January 19, 2012

A "VACATION" that wasn't - 2011

Mallu Aunty..SELFISH..Call me when you feel like talking......Dinner Date....Personalized Home cooked dinner....Godiva...shopping...airport rides...Starbucks and biscottis...CALIFORNIATION...Nothing wrong in deserving something better...you are the most selfless person....I am so candid and funny only with you...your reflexes have gone down..too much Baton Rouge influence....rich Anglo Indian business woman...chic...KUMAR'S SISTER...HUG..you are more than a fren..........same time zone!...12 mile cycle ride...Bernie...chaats...madurai idli kadai...Victoria secrets...highway 280...infinite money source...combined studies..mortey..."Love in the air"...can’t comment I have not worked with you..RP..SMOKING HOT GREEK GOD...Sight Seeing...
OMG! Arpitha Cooked!!!!....there is never any age limit for knowledge and that is the only asset you will have with you forever.....80% ENGLISH 20% KANNADA....911 On HOLD...2 in 1....Khoon Bhari Mhang....YEH JO DESH HEIN MERA Swadesh hein tera....40% KANNADA 60% ENGLISH....Royal "Othla"...Remote Village Girl...Biscotti Strike....Russian Spy..Virtual Reality..Anything is ok...NJ Transit..Path..Subway...PITHA...I love you but you have no job so let me stick with my husband...Dunkin Dougnuts....B to the A, B to the A, BABA...Tailor Made Tapori...Half chicken half veg pizza....In MBA does M stands for Money right ?