To Write

Evening at Hermann Park

2009-05-02T18:19:00.001-05:00

Ramji

Swine Flu

2009-04-28T12:20:00.002-05:00

• Swine Flu is a contagious respiratory disease that affect pigs
• The flu virus, including this one – a type A/H1N1 flu virus, is most commonly spread in liquid droplets made airborne by coughing or sneezing.
• When the flu spreads person to person, instead of from animals to humans, it can continue to mutate, making it harder to treat or fight, because people have no natural immunity.
• Symptoms include fever, runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
• There is currently (as of April 27, 2009) no vaccine for swine flu.
• The acting head of the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Dr. Richard Besser suggests " Americans planning to go to Mexico should put off their trips"

Possible Preventive Measures (Suggestions)

• Wash hands with soap or alcohol-based sanitizers
• Cover your mouth while sneezing or coughing
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth
• avoid contact with sick people
• Wear a face mask.

Stay safe out there.

Golden Dragon Acrobats - Miller Theater Houston

2009-04-25T22:11:00.006-05:00

It was a rainy evening and Me, Manasee, Manasee's mom, Ranjani, Charan and Madhu were pleasantly surprised by the "Golden Dragon Acrobats" performing at the Miller Outdoor Theater. I am not even going to try to put my astonishment in words. Here it is...Enjoy.

Disclaimer: Bad planning - Forgot to bring my video camera and hence the poor quality of the videos.

Act - 01

Act - 02

Act - 03

Act - 04

Act - 05

Act - 06

Act - 07

Act - 08

Act - 09

Act - 10

Act - 11

Ramji

Professor Shoots 3 in Georgia

2009-04-25T17:35:00.002-05:00

News about a professor of Marketing and Distribution shooting 3 people outside the University of Georgia campus. "George Zinkhan" a man in his early 50's is searched for killing 3 people. The police department in investigating this and the campus police is assisting the city cops.

RIP

Bull Shit - Sharia in Pakistan

2009-04-22T12:21:00.005-05:00

Yes - that is right - Bull Shit is all I can say about Taliban trying to enforce "Islamic law aka Sharia" in Pakistan. What is the problem with people who think Islam calls to violate Human Rights?

I mean - being an ordinary human being blessed with below par writing skills - I am not able to express my disgust and anger through my words. Who on the face of mother earth gave these guys the right to violate woman. Just because these guys have dicks (or don't have one)- it does not mean that they can treat woman like the way they want to.

ughh - Taliban treating women - the mere thought makes me lose my appetite and makes me extremely angry. What the hell is Pakistan doing with all the military and the artillery they have. When some one calls "Democracy" non-Muslim - it sends a crystal clear message to the whole world - "WE DO NOT CARE ABOUT HUMAN RIGHTS!!!".

All said and done - folks in Pakistan are like brothers and sisters to my kin (my wife would strongly disagree). I am scared for them in my neighbouring country. All I can do is to pray to God for peace in Pakistan.

Peace.

Homicide in Maryland - April 18, 2009 (contd...)

2009-04-21T20:06:00.004-05:00

After some investigation over the last 2 days, the police department has come up with some information about this horrible incident. Christopher Wood had a 460,000 dollars debt in the form of unpaid bills and an unsold home in Florida.

Even though he was earning 97,000 dollars a year, Christopher had huge financial problems and hence lots of stress. As he was extremely frustrated with the situation - he had to resort to killing his whole family and in the end committing suicide also. Looks like he was under medication for depression and stuff.

Death - 5
Reason - Debt.

RIP

Homicide in Maryland - April 18 2009

2009-04-18T16:51:00.005-05:00

In Maryland, Christopher Wood, 34 killed his wife and 3 children on April 18. After this act of mercilessness - he kills himself also.

From CNN - I infer that he was working for a decent sized corporation. While the cops are conducting their investigation in that Maryland house - they have found several weapons and a shot gun also.

Looks like Christopher has left around 4 notes before committing this crime. Whatever the reasoning may be - this is unacceptable.

RIP

Dumb or Not?

2009-04-16T11:10:00.005-05:00

Me and Manasee were at the Abercrombie and Fitch showroom at the Galleria in Houston trying to return a shirt Saye had gifted. We had picked the replacement clothing and were standing in the line.

There was a cute girl from another country in the line 2 customers ahead and she turns to the couple in front of us and she was wondering if she had picked the correct perfume. The shop smelt of that perfume and she was confused if it smelt too much like a man. As I was also listening intently to the conversation - looks like it was a unisex perfume. I did the evil eye hook thing and let it go. Just a few minutes earlier - me and manasee were in the same predicament - now I felt less dumb.

Ramji

Writing for Money?

2009-04-13T18:47:00.005-05:00

Does it take the fun out of it? I have heard 2 things very similar to this and very interesting too. Me and Manasee were watching "Friends" and Phoebe goes - "Playing guitar for money - uughhh - that will kill the fun out of it. Smelly cat got only 25 cents and a condom and the other one got $1.75. I cannot do this!!!"

I was talking to "Jose" from Electronics this afternoon and he is a great cook, from what I hear from my colleagues. Since the work has slowed down in that department he started selling Steaks and he did pretty well also. While we were talking, in complete dejection he said " I think I should open a restaurant and be done with Praxair Electronics". I encouraged him and after a couple of minutes - he said "I love cooking and if I open a restaurant, that will kill the fun".

God spoke through these 2 people and I agree with the fact that "Writing for money" might kill the fun out of it.

Shootings & Killings in the USA

2009-04-11T15:08:00.003-05:00

I am troubled by the recent amount of killings using a Gun in the USA. It is understandable that these are wide spread and are not connected to each other in any ways, but - I am disturbed nevertheless. I am going to try and keep a log of these things to understand if there is any set pattern for these things.

RIP

Damage

2009-04-06T08:31:00.004-05:00

I woke up at 7:00AM this morning and that is late by 15 minutes. Manasee rolls into the comforter and asks me - "What are you going to do now?". I replied, "Just shower up and get ready". That is exactly what I did. As I got ready, the sweetie reminded me of something that I had asked her to remind me and we had to do a lil search which did not take long at all. Got that figured out with a bowl of cinnamon crunch in my hand. They make those cereals really good.

Manasee also reminded me about my morning snack and we got ready to head out. As I left the apartment and stepped outside - the cold breeze invited me and said "Good Morning Sunshine!!!". Loved it and told myself that this one is going to be a decent week. We strolled down the stairs and I walked past my car to place all my belongings in the trunk and I saw it.

A footprint on the right side of the car hood. A big dent on that side and my heart sunk. Remember that commercial where a guy walks up to his car to witness a mess earlier - same feeling. A thousand thoughts fleeted my mind and all I could do was to smile about it to her and asked her to go back to the apartment. I stepped on the gas and started thinking about the damage and I am still thinking about it. Reported a claim and I am contemplating whether to report this to the police.

Is Houston a good Sports town?

2009-04-02T14:25:00.002-05:00

Houston Rockets, Astros, Texans - we have all 3 of the major sports in this country represnted. Are we good? Rockets have been to the playoffs the last 2 years and have lost in the first round. Astros - made it to the playoffs some 5 years ago and that is it. Texans - we are trying to make sure that we end up with a winning season and that is it.

Does this make us a good sports town? May be, may be not. When anyone talks about Sports - all I can think of are the 3 I have listed earlier. What about College sports, High school sports, NASCAR stuff, lacrosse, Golf, Houston Aeros and of course the great Houston Dynamos - I don't even have a clue about all this. Do I enjoy being in Houston with respect to my town's sports - No.

I really want to be a hardcore Rockets fan - But I have been trying for about 2 years now and I am still not there. Why? They are not deep enough to make a run in the playoffs. I am an outsider and for me to be a fan of Houston - They need to prove it, they need to be more exciting and provide a reason for me to watch them, other than - "You are a Houstonian".

I am waiting for that golden era when Houston will be the next LA or Boston.

Calipari it is

2009-03-31T19:10:00.000-05:00

Yes - I am an ardent wildcat fan. I am a bigger fan of Wildcats basketball than I was a fan of the West Indies Cricket team (that is huge for me). Alright, with all the speculations over the weekend - John Calipari accepted the UK offer and has become the hope of the "Big Blue Nation". I spoke with my good ol' friend RB and told him that I was skeptical about Cal, but his argument is valid - the man has done nothing bu to "WIN"

We will return to the dance and rock your world. Billy Gillespie has a soft corner in my heart - I am waiting for a NCAA match up between Calipari and Gillespie next year. Love it!!!! GO BLUE!!!!

40 - 27

2009-03-27T16:03:00.000-05:00

I liked the coach. I am not happy that Kentucky let him go and made a bad decision in different arenas. The man was the "SEC - Coach of the year" last year. He brought in Darius Miller in, who is a great prospect and the coach is recruiting an "All American High School" player this year.

Why does a school have to be so arrogant and think that they know everything. Dude - spend that 6 million dollars you gave to Billy G on funding some education projects. Spend in 6 million other ways rather than throw it away.

All Kentucky had to do was to give him one more year such that he can prove himself. From 2007 - 2008, where did Jodie Meeks come from? Did anyone think that he was going to rain 54 points in one game - not just No but Hell no. Why can't Darius Miller orchestrate the next season as the most required "Point Guard".

Imagine this, 4 players maturing to be a threat in the college basketball arena - Patrick Patterson, Jodie Meeks, Perry Stevenson (has already started to explode), Darius Miller - all you hope for is Ramon Harris to be capable of exploding as a starter.

Kentucky - that is the fab five you need and mark my words - whoever comes in to fill Billy's place, they will benefit heavily from these 5 players next year. If Kentucky goes on to win accolades - the big blue nation will credit Billy G for the recruiting and building these players to the level they will be in. I am hurt - our big blue nation needs a solid basketball coach who we can name our next stadium after. The search is "ON"

Entertainment?

2008-09-18T15:29:00.000-05:00

Entertainment - appidina enna? Cinema paakaravangalukku oru sema experience. Radio kaekaravangalukku oru urchagam. Blog padikkaravangalukku oru vegam, sandhosham, sports paakaravanukku - winning and the list goes on and on.

Everyone needs entertainment and the providers of entertainment get tied up in the idea of satisfying everybody. I love to entertain everyone around me. Try to tell jokes out of nowhere - it is a double edged sword and will come and bite me in my ass. So I try to refrain myself from telling jokes. Making fun of myself - works like a charm. But the self-respect part gets hit. Damn - it is hard to provide good entertainment. That is why - when I get excited about any form of entertainment - I really enjoy it.

Life is too short not to enjoy - folks "Enjamaai" which brings me to this confession - I decided to write my thoughts out while at work - Cheap thrill.

Ramji

Chat - Skype

2008-03-22T22:53:00.000-05:00

I chat with manasee and her mom during weekends. It is fun. Aunty generally takes my side and we try and attack manasee. This is great fun.

Enakku innikku sema thalai vali and I was trying to get some office work done also. I witnessed Stanford beat Marquette in a buzzer beater in the first OT. It was great fun too.

I met Aditya Candadai today which was an awesome surprise. He is the same as I knew him from school. Thalai vali marked my day.

I am even wondering if PST is ripping me off with such a low salary and so much work. But I guess that is what it is...hehehhe..

Blood Relationships

2008-01-28T21:54:00.000-06:00

The only family I have in the US is Deepak Vishwanathan. He is my cousin and lives in Dallas. He is as lazy as I am in keeping touch with people(atleast with me). But the nice thing about us is both of u never ask "Why the hell have you not celled me so far?" We attribute it to the family and joke about it.

The reality is that it feels great to have someone from your own family in the US. I never thought I would feel this way, but I do. I met him and his wife in Dalls this weekend and we had a good time to say the least. We caught up on a few things and I went through his Kalyana Album, saw pictures of my whole family and I almost had a tear in my eye. It was a very good trip, a run down the memory lane and a trip that made me realize "Blood is thicker that water"... Chumma - wanted to end on a james bond style note!!!!

Adios!!!
Ramji

Lots of Action

2008-01-22T23:44:00.000-06:00

It is good that I felt like publishing something after a couple of weeks. I have been doing a lot of stuff in the interim. Work has kept me from doing anything else as I have sucked up all the overtime I could (sadly i dont get paid for those hours!!!).

I had Manasee and 3 other friends visit me this past weekend and it was fun all the way around. Caught up on some nostalgic stuff with saye, sudhir and raghav. Had a great time playing "lit" as we call it from SVCE times and had some alcohol to top it all.

Yesterday, myself and sudhir went to "Taare Zameen Par" - saetril mulaitha thamarai. It was an heart warming experience and hats off to the creator of the movie. Today, Kentucky rallied past Tennesse in a great game at Rupp. It was great to watch the wildcats play a steady game and it was literally a "Super Tuesday".

Why did I feel like writing? I dont know. Good night.

Adios!!!

How is it going?

2008-01-05T20:05:00.000-06:00

It will be almost a year since I moved alone when February hits. I have changed a lot. Lost a lot of my patience and I did not realise I was going through a phase of change. Manasee is the first one to experience it and she tells me that I have chnaged and it is the harsh reality. But, I will try to be the same.

Why am I getting irritated for small things in life? I have no clue. I do not want to be lazy, but I also enjoy being lazy. What am I supposed to do? I do not want to pick up the phone and talk to people and tell myself that I am not bored. No No No. I have become lazy and I am gonna try not being that way.

I get angry very soon these days. At work, I am a little frustrated as I think that I have not contributed anything to the plant. There are too many things that are confusing me and if I was the person I was 2 years ago, I woould have been like - let them bother me and it will pass. But now I realise that, they will not pass if I do not take any actions towards them. I want to take actions and I will.

Wow...I started to write some random stuff and this is kinda turning out to be somthing like "me talking to myself". Nice. Today was painful as Kentucky went down to Louisville under Billy Gillespie. I believe in him and am hoping for October 2008 to be here real soon.

Adios!!!

Its a New Year

2008-01-01T23:02:00.001-06:00

2008 - Here it is. Resolution - yes, I have one. To wake up at the first sound of the alarm. I drove for 13 hours straight yesterday from Florida and I took it real light today. Laid on the couch and watched the bowl games. Michigan put a great show and that was good fun. Felt great to play one line from "Swasame" in my guitar. I am wearing a sweater now and it is cold and I am feeling cozy. Will crash soon and it will be a new beginning tomorrow for another great year.

Adios!!

I like it

2007-12-27T00:25:00.000-06:00

Just because, I feel like writing something I decided to scribble here. I realise that it has been more than a year since I posted something. November 20, 2006 as my last post reads. Coming back to the subject matter - life has treated me nice so far.

I am in Florida for the last days of this year. I am on vacation and am chilling out here. Went to a couple of cities and went around those cities with manasee. Met friends from SVCE and that was a roller coaster ride. That reminds me - I went on a few roller coaster rides and I survived them or should i say conquered them.

Will have to drive back some 850 miles to houston on the 31st. I am sure I will feel " Why did I ever decide to go meet the lady love?" and why should I be feeling like crap when I leave her. That is still a few days away from now. Until then, I shall chillax.

asta la vista!!!!

Look at me

2006-11-20T18:05:00.000-06:00

I mean sincerely, look at me. I have loads and loads of work to do, but I want to crib and this girl who I called is in her class. 2 companies rejected a job offer. One company had given me hopes by saying they have my position on hold, but later I hear from another source in the company that it is a farce. They will not sponsor visa it seems. Good job.

And the next one, calls me down to the city, flies me there and lets me stay in a nice hotel and stuff, interviews me for just 45 minutes and actually asks me about the obvious stuff and I receive a snail mail 10 days later that I do not fit the position. The reality is that they have posted the letter the next business day after my interview. I guess they are unlucky.

Loads of work - yeah right, I am in no mood do them but I can see it changing. Prechanai-s are not nice when they come and slap you, but as always I absorb the slap, sob a little and then go about doing my regualr things. Will try and make sure I do not get slapped for the same reason again. That is all.

adios!!!

What a messy Monday?

2006-10-23T15:40:00.000-05:00

Man,
Today has been bad. Shuffled a bunch of scheduled posters around. 2 of them won't print. Had a class in the evening at 4.00 and forgot about it completely and had posters over them too. Have to work on LTCA stuff and I am messed up here and dont know when I will be out of here from office..altogether what a messy start to the week?

adios!!!

Freshers 2006

2006-10-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

For the sake of it. Freshers 2006 and here is the Press Gumbal sitting in a corner and trying to have fun.

Vidya RDB

2006-09-30T11:28:00.000-05:00


Vidya dancing at the ISC night

Keerai Kootu

2006-04-23T12:24:00.000-05:00

I am becoming a pro in making this stuff. The other day..should be 3 weeks ago, I called my mom after I decided to make Keerai Kootu the traditional way for the first time. I was actually blown away by the details that went on to make this dish. But with the able guidance of my mom, I was able to make something that looked green in color and I had the guts to actually taste it. Wow!!! I have become a good machine...just did what I was asked to and here the result was deadly.

Its been three weekends and I have made Keerai kootu every weekend. I am now getting bored of this and I want to experiment something new. Basically shows my charecter that my interests keep switching always and I thrive to do the best on whatever I do. So I am sure I will search for another dish and hopefully make a good one out of it..

Adios!!!

hahaha..

2006-04-14T13:14:00.000-05:00

Good, it feels good to know that no one actually cares about this space and that is how I wanted it to be. I write whenever I feel like and whatever I want to. No obligations. Writing something interesting, having regular readers and writing for readers and all that stuff is not my cup of tea. But I guess people who really write well, do not write for the publicity, but for their passion.

Whatever, today Veech handled his last lecture of this semester, By God, I have never felt this way in any class so far "Innum konja neram paesungalen..another half an hour of lecture please". This guy is amazing and I wish I will be able to handle people the way he does. "Operations Management" is what he handles and it was an enlightening experience.

Friday, feels really nice. Will get out of job at 5.00pm and no lab today. Will go home and laze around, go to Johnsons and play Basketball, come home and crash. Sweet. Lots of things are buzzing in my head right now but I am least bothered. Wait, no I am concerned about them and I am actually getting ready to have a go at them now.

Adios!!!

What should I do now?

2006-04-06T13:15:00.000-05:00

In office, have one patron adjusting her poster to look the way she wants it to look, have to fine tune my resume today and get rolling on job hunt, gotto think about 5S and visual controls for Bosch project before the meeting today evening at 5:30, have to make a poster on "Circuit board" run, my girl is waiting at home to talk to me..but I do not feel like doing any of these things..I am bored again.

Adios!!!

prechanaiyo prechanai

2006-03-29T13:43:00.000-06:00

Just had lunch cooked by kapil's parents. "Erai thinna paambu" maadhiri, I am lazing around here. Orey prechanai man, OPT eppo poradhunu oru thala vali irukkey, ennakku oyavey oyaadhunu nenaikaren. If I decide on a date to enter OPT after great deliberation, some new obstacle comes up and then I have to do the thinking again.

Gods, it is crazy. I know it will all pass, but will it pass nicely. I have a book to read and the next project in the lab in kicking hot. THose things feel good though and I have informed my bos about my plans for summer. She is cool. I am rambling a lot. thats ok. Hayyo, I need to get the pics from sudhir which were taken in OSU, kadi...Free

Adios!!!

Last event - ISA

2006-03-27T09:36:00.000-06:00

The friday which just went by was amazing. As the president of India nStudents Association, I had the completed the last event of my tenure with my team successfully. We had organised a Dance night for Holi. I guess we used colors on such a high scale for the first time in UK. We had good participation from all community and everyone was dancing it out there.

We were kinda tensed that no one showed up even after 30 minutes of scheduled time. But after some 45 minutes the hall was filled with folks from the univ and we started rolling. People tapped their feet and shook their bodies to the tunes from Rang De Basanti, Bluff Master, Super, Daler, some western Hip Hop for about 2 hours. I intervened and started applying colors on people and the event went crazy.

After the event came the huge thing of cleaning the place. We had a bunch of people helping our committee to clean the place and we actually managed to clean it. Altogether it was good fun and it feels kinda sad to be done with ISA as a president.

adios!!!

Weekend Fun

2006-03-23T14:32:00.000-06:00

Last weekend, Priya left to India. She treated us in Udipi, Cincinnati. Sema joly trip. When we returned, I was guided by Padma to do my driving again. I completed it without sleeping and Padma was "cool as a cucumber" to sit next to me and navigate.

After that Sudhir and I went to Columbus for a ball of a time and sooper fun with Harsha, Chandru, Ambi, Sabha, Raghav. Koothu. Had good food in "Dosa Corner" at Columbus. Came back at around 12.30 in the night and crashed.

Next day afternoon we started to Nashville. Company: Naan, Sudhir, Karthikeyan and Kapil's parents. We went to Mammoth caves in between and it was mind blowing. I loved it. Then we set to have Darshan of "Nashville Pullaiyar". It was a very fulfilling experience to visit him and then we had good food in a restaurant called "sitar". Then I drove back from Nashville from 10.00pm to 1.30am the next day. I was making sure that I will nto sleep and I did not sleep.

And now Sudhir should be back home and I am here typing this thing just for fun.

adios!!!!!

Bored, I am

2006-03-15T09:26:00.000-06:00

Why would I want to write something when I have a powerpoint presentation, 3 paper reviews, two project reports, a quiz and a midterm due in a week's time. I am bored!!! Saye is online and we are talking about my love life and its risks. Avanukku jolya irukku and at the same time he is throwing caution into the air.

Hmm. He is bored too and he left for a dhum. It is freakin cold here and I am gonna make myself another cup of coffee and see if I can get back to work. Seems yesterday was "karadayaan nombu" and Uma is irritating me with the "Adai-Vennai" stuff. Escape now. SUdhir has got his new laptop, good for him.

adios!!

Crazy world

2006-03-14T15:24:00.000-06:00

I have tried to write blogs for ages now. Third time arouond here. No clue whether I will continue doing this. The surprising thing about this blog is that. I had no clue that I had an acocunt and I could freakin publish something like this. Nothing much. If at all I feel like writing something I will be back. Illata ithuvum free thaan.

adios!!!