Meanderthal

$11,312,777.39

2008-04-09T00:13:00.005-04:00

Sigh - my shipping budget was $11,312,777. Oh well.

New York!

2007-10-31T20:26:00.000-04:00

Yes - for those who have mistakenly stumbled upon this blog - I'm out of a self-imposed blogging hiatus. It's in vogue, and I'm in great company - Nawaz Sharief and Benazir Bhutto. Of course, the fact that Nawaz Bhai was thrown out of his native land, and that Bhutto madam survived an assassination attempt does not deter me from my return.

And this is what I have done in the 461 days after my 'Orkut' post:

Aug '06: Completed my internship (yes, it's time to stop reading this blog)

Dec '06: Graduated with an MS in CS

Jan '07: Visited India

Feb '07: Moved to the NY (working)/NJ (living) area

Jul '07: Family visits Uncle Sam's land

I would like to mention that getting my mom/dad/sis to the US was absolutely a dream come true. It was my proudest moment in life, period. And that's enough emotion for one post.

This post is not a New York tourist guide. It's an FAQ section - questions I'm asked virtually every other day about New York. It's about the stuff that you will not find in any of the 687 million results that Google returns for the term"New York".

Disclaimer stuff: When I say New York, I'm actually referring to Manhattan.

Do you like New York?

New York rocks. ROCKS. Did I mention, New York rocks?

Do you have a car?

I have a car - long pause - NOT! (Borat joke). I don't have a car, and I don't plan to buy one anytime soon. Public transportation in NY is terrific.

[Ah, so it is like Mumbai, India]

Yeah, except that the trains here have doors, and no seating on the roof (Sigh, I miss India..).

I think New York is a dirty place. How can you like living there?

Someone from Chennai asked me this question.

So cool man - working on Wall Street and all (and all what??). Full money only, no? Life set.

No man - all money goes in tax only. Life not set - only upset. No wall, no street.

But why man? You are living in New Jersey. Cost of living much cheaper there, no?

Definitely, man. If you live on the street, or share a room with 10 people.

Nothing beats California weather, and work culture. You should consider moving to the west coast.

Yes, yes, and about the move - let's see.

So you are earning in 6 figures, eh?

Actually, I do. My yearly gross income is $0xx,xxx.

There must be a lot of Indians in the NY/NJ area, right?

Infested is a much more apt term.

NY is so crowded - so many people..

I get this a lot from my 20-something friends, and I always wonder why they ask me this. All these 20-something friends in question are Indians. These guys/gals lived in a country of 1 billion people for 95% of their lives, and they crib about people numbers. No one is asking you guys to retire in New York, for crying out loud.

And finally, why does NY rock?

The sheer hustle and bustle.

The sheer diversity - where else will you find, in one train compartment, people from India (of course!), China (really?), Korea, Germany, the middle-east, Pakistan, Australia, England, and yeah, the US?

The highly criticized, yet amazingly co-ordinated subway system.

The liberty to jaywalk.

The never ending masses of concrete mammoths (a.k.a buildings)

Central Park..

That's enough poetic influenza. Also, I think I did mention - NY rocks! And for those of you jumping to conclusions already, I am not going to settle in New York, or in the United States. Why? That's another post altogether.

(Happy birthday to my little sister!)

Orkut..

2006-07-27T13:39:00.000-04:00

Its been 6 months since my last post. Time flies. Laziness, however, stays as firm as ever.

Q. What is Orkut?
A. One heck of a way to kill time, that's for sure.
Orkut on Wikipedia

This post exemplifies how people can be humorous, being completely oblivious to the same.
Also, this post is a total violation of copyright - I have not asked permission from any of the people who came up with these 'words of wisdom' for posting rights. So sue me.

These are 10 sample scraps, collected painstakingly over a period of 30 minutes, after browsing through numerous scrapbooks:

1."sorry for not lifting your call."
That's ok, dude. I will lift your call the next time.

2."Btw, The hint was just so that u r not left hanging in the middle air."
Well, this was my scrap, and the humour was intentional. However, I did not come up with "hanging..air". I'm not that creative enough.

3."hi.. saw u while scraping badminton community".
The typo that drives me nuts. Orkut's most popular typo. They should incorporate auto spell check for this one.

4."wat remains is wat remains n wat gets deleted gets deleted!"
What is self explanatory, is self explanatory.

5."i wanna ask u 1 think do u like friendship to me if u dont mind if u like plz call me 09827599080"
I dont 'thing' any'think' is wrong here.

6."hi im ***** n im realy a friendlly guy n use to make my frenz realy laugh alot so can we bcom gud orkut friends as i aassur eu tat ur ealy had great time friendship with me on orkut soo um adding u don mmind but i aaassur eu tat u had great time with me on orkut so plz do add me n scrap me backk cyaaa"
My all time favourite. Literally rolled on the floor. This is definitely the product of genius. Breathless, no punctuation, with the power to crash any spell check program.

7."those were nice days...hope its gone be back some time soon"
What??

8."so u r also memeber of arkut".
'A' is nowhere close to 'O' on the keyboard.

9."Well, before he boards his BA flight, I thought of giving him a nice gift! My cute little testy!....."
Guess he had one to spare. Selfless act, I must admit.

10."forgot my orkut password for few days!"
Clear case of selective amnesia.

Of late I have developed a deep respect and addiction for Arkut (mood: sarcasm, typo: deliberate). CNN-IBN called it the opium of the internet masses. I must admit, its a loose way of keeping in touch, and getting to know what's going on in other people's lives.

I have not had much to do at my internship this week (a little longer than that, actually). Hence my enhanced respect for Orkut, and a rare motivation to put up a post. Wonder when my next post will be.

Food in the United States of America..

2006-01-06T01:41:00.000-05:00

I have been itching to type out something on American grub from the day I landed here. I guess I should have included this as one of my reasons in my first post ,"Why I have started to blog.. "

Part I:
Let me start off my listing out the best part about the food here - There's none. That's an exaggeration, but for the most part of it, it stands true.

Part II:
The not-so-great things:

-No, the burger is not as scrumptious as it looks on that television commercial.

-Every edible item in every supermarket in the country will fall into one of the following categories:

Fat-free.
Sugar-free.
x% reduced fat.
0 (zero) calories.

Give me a break! How do you expect people like me to put on weight?

The closest thing to "fat-filled" milk I have found here thus far is some 'Vitamin D' milk. The only reason we bought it was because it did not have any of the above mentioned 'categories' on the container.

-Gravy is almost a non-existent concept in the West. And so is spice. (Thank heavens for Devon Avenue!)

So basically, food here is bland, expensive (actually, everything is expensive when one's a student) and does not "fill your stomach"!.

There are not too many eateries around here. In India, I was drowned in choice about where to eat. Here, it's hard to find a good place to eat. I have found that I do not particularly like any cuisine other than Indian or Chinese - hence these places are what I would classify as 'good'.

I'm resigning myself to having one of those Subway sandwiches every other day for lunch.

Oh, and I pity vegetarians. This country is tough on them, because meat rules!! A lot of veggies I know have fallen prey to the "cheeseburger", which actually has ham in it. And some who did not know what pepperoni was. Simply put - meat, in any form, is the staple diet of any red-blooded American.

Salads. I didn't want to get started on this topic, but it deserves a mention. $5 - excluding tax -for some pieces of raw vegetables and leaves in a plastic container. Enough said. Pizza's.. they are good for a change, and I have them once in a while when I get fed up of eating Subway merchandise.

I will also mention here that I'm a huge chocolate freak. I love ice cream as well, but mostly of the chocolate variant. And in this regards, the United States has proved to be heaven. It's in fact, the only thing that I do not see the price tag on before making a purchase.

Bottom line - I miss home food. There's some packaged Indian stuff available at the cafeterias on campus, but it reminds me of airline food.

I'm now at a stage in my student life where I prefer my own cooking (note: I do not enjoy the process, it is merely a preference) to eating food outside. The flip side of cooking is the dishes piling up in the sink, but I'm not going to talk about it. At least for now.

Coming up: A post about Hindi movies I have watched after coming here. And about dispelling another myth - about how people back home assume that I do not keep in touch with Indian news.

Damn.. I just cannot sleep before 2 a.m. Luckily, this is not on my new year resolution list. There is no list, anyway.

Ganguly vs. Chappell..

2005-12-24T03:11:00.000-05:00

For the erstwhile crowd who is cricket ignorant, Ganguly is the ex-captain of the Indian cricket team, and Greg Chappell, an Australian test great, the Indian cricket team's current CEO/coach.

Having an NDTV video subscription (for those who are interested..it's really cheap.. $5 for 500 mins of 100k live/recorded streaming per month) helps me follow the state of affairs in India far better than reading articles online.

I was not surprised to see why Ganguly's exclusion from the team raised hell in India. But what indeed surprised me was how today's BCCI meeting for the selection of the Men in Blue turned into one of the most hyped events of the year! The entire nation and the barrage of media-persons.. all of whom were waiting for just one important outcome of that meeting...

"Will Ganguly be a part of the squad to Pakistan?"

I pity Greg Chappell. Had he been the coach of any other cricket team in the world, he could have reasoned his way out when it came to the inclusion/exclusion of any deserving/undeserving player. Sadly, in India, "logic" is rarely in the picture. A lot of external factors come into the picture, such as Jagmohan Dalmiya (ex-ICC president, ex-BCCI president, but Ganguly's godfather - for ever!), political headweights, caste, creed, reservation, number of cricketers per zone etc. Chappell finally succumbed.. and as a result, the answer to the question above..is Yes!

The entire situation is simply disgusting. Yes, I'm strongly in favor of Ganguly's exclusion. Granted, he has done a lot for Indian cricket, but remember, he is a player first, and then a captain. It's been ages since he has come up with a match winning performance (I don't judge by the number of centuries or the average).Moral of the story.. poor performances must and should cost you a place in the team.

Another thing which disgusts me is the attitude of certain cricket fans in our country. There was this group of people who were on a hunger strike outside Ganguly's residence in Kolkata after the "shocking" decision to drop Ganguly for the 2nd and 3rd tests against Sri Lanka.. and now rejoicing at the fact that "Dada" is in the team...

If I remember right, Ganguly's inclusion for the first test against Sri Lanka was when Dalmiya was the BCCI president. And then came Sharad Pawar.. Exit, stage left, next 2 tests, Mr. Ganguly.. Coincidence? Chappell wins round 1...

And now, momentarily, Ganguly has won round 2. Futuristically speaking, I don't see Ganguly playing the 2007 World cup, and neither does Chappell.

Just for kicks: This is what Greg makes as ringmaster of the Indian squad:

"Indian cricket chiefs say they have offered ‘each and every thing’ to new coach Greg Chappell, including an annual basic salary of between $175,000 and $185,000 on top of a pile of perks.The former Australian Test captain, who last month replaced New Zealander John Wright as India’s coach for two years, will be given a daily allowance equal to that of a player during matches, the Times of India reported Tuesday. Chappell is scheduled to arrive in India this month to prepare the team for a triangular one-day series in Sri Lanka in August. Wright was preferred to Chappell in 2000 reportedly because the Indian board felt the Australian was too expensive, but Mahendra said the new coach would be getting “the same package which we had for Wright”.Chappell will receive an annual travel allowance not exceeding Rs 860,000 ($20,000), a share in logo money, communication expenses when with the team, a flat and 70 days annual leave. The former Australian batting great will be also be allowed to express his views through a newspaper column or a news channel."

Source (out of courtesy, of course) : The Daily Times.

Lastly, Mohammed Kaif... His exclusion from the squad is a dampener for Indian cricket. He's been in the wings for so long now.. We talk about giving youngsters a chance, but these lads don't remain young forever..

The good news amidst all this.. my sis smashed both her lab exams (externals) !!

Snip Snip Snip..

2005-12-04T17:50:00.000-05:00

Haircuts..

Yeah, you dont often see posts on mundane topics like haircuts, but then again, I just could not resist..

I decided to go and finally get one yesterday (on Dec. 3, 2005.. this is just in case blogspot screws up the current date/time) braving the cold, the wind and the snow. An activity that I had put off for quite some time, since I'm always finding myself short of time during the semester.

I guess lesser people cut their hair in winter, as their "delicate heads" need protection from the cold..

I have to digress for a moment here. There are a lot of people here, who think that having hair on their head will protect it from sub zero temperatures! Amazing.. every single person here wears a winter cap, irrespective of whether they are bald or have a flowing mane! And yet, I cant figure why people are so hesitant to cut their hair in winter.

Example idiotic replies that I have encountered:

"I want to let my hair grow and see if this new look suits me".

"Man, it's better to have some hair during the winter!"

There's a limit to saving money. And a limit to being plain lazy. That's all I gotta say about that (ala Forrest Gump..)

Coming back..This was a rare weekend, considering that I had no assignments, and one final to study for, but that's on Wednesday, and no sane engineer will start studying for a Wed-exam on the previous weekend!!
(My tense in this sentence seems to be awkward.. but anyway..)

Bottom line, I had time for a haircut! So off I went to "Supercuts" on Roosevelt Street at 5 pm. My 2nd haircut in the USA.

So I enter the "salon" (vs. saloon in India) , sign in my name on a register (more like a wait-list), specify if I have come in only for a haircut or a haircut/shampoo combo, wait for around 15 minutes (the first time around, I had waited for over 30 minutes.. ).

And once my turn comes, the "hair-stylist" (a.k.a barber) calls out my name and "offers" me a shampoo service. Coz if she didn't, the haircut is free.
(yes, "she".. News Flash! Most barbers here are women.. at least @ Supercuts)
Can you believe that? Imagine such a concept in India..

And the haircut takes 30 minutes minimum. At the end of which, you shell out $10 , inclusive tip!! A tip... I would get the same service, and in half the time, in India for 50 cents - Rs. 20 - and without giving any tip.

But I must give credit to these "hair-stylists" here. I started chatting with mine, and she says that she had to undergo a 1 year training course, before she became a certified barber! Part of the course involves "socializing" with the customer. She's from Lebanon. I was getting my hair trimmed by a Lebanese woman in the United States...

I thought that it wouldn't take me more than 15 minutes to write this out. It's taken me well over 45 mins! Man, I'm one slow blogger..

I have another final on Thursday, but it's optional, and I'm going to waste the rest of my Sunday thinking about whether I should write it or not. I most probably won't, when the alternative is to submit an "assignment report" (on deployment of Enterprise Java Stateful/Stateless Beans) that should not take more than an hour to prepare, considering I have a laptop and Google on my side.

Time to start breaking myths...

2005-11-29T02:08:00.000-05:00

Weekends in the USA...

To say boring would be an understatement.. People back home reading this might be surprised, but it's damn true!

I used to think that getting up at 10 a.m was late enough....Sadly, graduate life in the US has pummeled my sleeping habits into oblivion! The earliest I've woken up on a weekend is 11 a.m. Sometimes I wake up at 12 noon, skip breakfast and head straight for lunch! I guess waking up late helps to delay the boredom to come ahead..

..

This is a rule of thumb for a computer science graduate student with 3 courses - "There will always be an assignment on every weekend for each of the 16 weekends in the semester".

Next rule of thumb - "Each of these 16 assignments will never be done on any of those 16 weekends..they will be relegated to the coming Monday."

..

Yeah, I do not have any relatives in the US...atleast in this sense, I stand out from the local crowd here...the lone ranger from my family!!

Man.. every Indian student I know here has some form of near or distant relative in the US. I guess their sole purpose of coming here is to meet them, and not for graduate studies. The topic inevitably slips into every other conversation...

Me: "What plans for December?" (December.. winter break)

X:"I'm going to meet my aunt in California."

Y:"I'm going to stay with my sister for a week."

X,Y: "What about you?"

Me:"No relatives , therefore no plans."

X,Y(In unison!): "You don't have relatives here? Wow..".

I love the fact that I'm all "alone" in the United States. Miles away from home, fending for myself, funding my way through college.. It's been a tough experience, and it's been worth the risk.

Meandering on...

Most students (please interpret as Indian graduate students) here live like monks .. No television, no newspaper (sigh.. I miss both..) . ..completely unaware of what is going on in the country that we are residing in!

We hear the 'headlines' or 'top stories' only by word of mouth, in this era of the internet! I'm seriously considering purchasing a TV.. (although my dad vehemently opposes the idea!) Electronics are cheap in the US .. especially if they are refurbished goods..yeah, the US lingo for "second-hand" or "used stuff"..

I see that most of the post content was hardly related to myth breaking.. But then again, "Meanderthal's the name, and meandering my game..."

Networks final tomorrow...Long way to go before I can consider myself prepared..

Posted on December 1, 2005... Heaven knows what's wrong with blogspot's timestamp mechanism...

Brrr..

2005-11-19T03:28:00.000-05:00

Had my first brush with negative temperatures 3 days ago..Also, happened to snow that day ( November 16, 2005 - had a C++ quiz - nothing memorable about this day, and I realize how sad graduate life is when I'm using dates of quizzes/midterms to recollect landmark events! ) .. the first time I saw flakes in life [not really ;-).. I know a lot of "flakes"..and quite a few are also friends!.. I really wish I could mention names...].

One thing that really irks me is how people here in Chicago come up to me and ask - "So how does seeing snow for the first time feel like? ". Now that's fine, but here comes the irritating part - after my reply, they go "It's gonna get worse man" ,"You've seen nothing yet" ,"The refridgerator will feel warmer"(Ok, I made up that last one!). Thanks for all the warnings , but no thanks!!

For a man who's lived his entire life (almost!) in the tropics , experiencing sub-zero temperatures ( -11 deg C , and dropping!) was a revelation.. I was relieved to find out that I could actually withstand this chill!

Another pain in the butt is getting ready to go out. I'm that kind of guy who takes 60 seconds to dress up...This figure is impossible to reach when you are going out to face the cold.. first comes a sweater, and then another (and maybe another), and then a jacket, and then the gloves, and then a cap.. man, I'm already complaining .. Wonder what state I'll be in when the refridgerator starts to feel warmer..

Hell.. it's 3 a.m in the night... Am not yet asleep..common sense seems to have drained out of me when it comes to sleeping early!

"If looks could kill.. I should have been in jail!".

Good night!

Of things to come..

2005-11-11T01:25:00.000-05:00

- My blog will not be an autobiography ( was about to type "autobiography of my life.. ha ha ha!! for those who didn't get the joke, this should probably be your last visit to my blog. ).

- Behind the scenes - A Master's program in the US..

- How food in the United States sucks! I will devote lots of blogspace to this for sure..

- Stuff I miss about India

- Miscellaneous/Etc.

As of now, I'm stuck in the middle of a networks course assignment. But I'll be back..

Also, my postings will be arbit/meandering/not at all to the point. This is w.r.t both inter-postings and intra-postings.

Good night!

Why I have started to blog..

2005-11-11T01:01:00.000-05:00

Please note: All my blog titles will end with the '..' Don't ask why... idiosyncrasy, i guess.

(Forgot the spelling of idiosyncrasy.. Googled it. How? Typed in the wrong spelling, and got the right one from google's infamous "did you mean..")

Coming back to why I have started to blog:

1. I am too lazy to create a website of my own (Yeah, shame on me! I'm a computer science engineer after all! ).

2. Just felt like blogging today ( Nov. 11, 2005.. I know.. the timestamp is up there! But I know there are some people who will not observe that. Also, there will be some people who will not know what a timestamp is.. ).

3. Can't think of a third reason.. so watch this space!