The World of my Own

Amazing Praha with great Czechs

2009-10-11T07:19:00.001-07:00

I wrote this when i was in Praha 2 weeks ago during my eurotrip but for got to post it.

The reason for for my euro trip was to get know the country's culture and i got the with 35 km bike to karlsten castle from prague. My ride was hard. Changes in slope, losing my way, running out water, friends with cramps; i face every issue imaginable. I even had flat tire on one bike. But i fixed it.

Anyways, the post is about the czechs. They helped my friends and i every time we were in trouble. Like a fellow cyclist who helped us get to a different to find part of the route. Like the lady in the middle of no where came out of her house to get us back on the right route when she saw that we were lost. Like the bartender who directed me to the next town because he did not have what we wanted. Like the restaurant owner and worker who helped us with some multivitamin drinks and a smile :-)

All these czech people live outside of prague. They were so courteous. Always smiling. even if we did not speak the same language they understood me and helped me.

I have come to like the czechs very fondly after my ride today. Cannot wait to experience even more of Prague and Ceska Republika tomorrow.

Just a cab driver; but an amazing human being!

2009-07-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

It is funny how "not so well off" people end up giving so much and touch your help when you least expect them to.

I was returning to the airport from my hotel in Denver last week. My hotel had called a super shuttle for me. It was bang on time. A normal looking black d00d came out and took my luggage. After placing in the booth of his van, he opened the rear door for me and i sat there in one of the seats. He silently then started driving to other hotels around downtown Denver to pick other passengers. He did not seem to find any. At his last pick up point, there were a lot of people and traffic but non for his van. I knew my hotel was fully booked for the weekend and this one seemed the same. I proceeded to ask him if there was a big event in Denver over the weekend and he told me there were several. This was start of a nice conversation with him.

To make our conversation easier, he invited me to take the passenger seat next to him. I politely obliged as i love to ride shotgun. He told me he was originally from Ethiopia and his family had moved to the US sometime ago. I told him i had been to Ethiopia on my way to Mozambique to see my dad in 2001. He then telling me about his story about how he studied in Pune, India in the mid 1990s. I first thought he was bullshitting but certain details he told me about Pune only person who has been there can know. There is also a possibility that he could be well read. He accurattely mentioned exchange rates, cost of food and transport and places in Pune. He seemed a real nice guy but i saw what an amzing human being he was when we reached the airport. As we entered the airport, one women came to ask him how much it was to go downtown. He said 19$ per person. She said they were 4 people and instantly he told her that they should take a limousine cab instead since it will be cheaper for them. He lost $80 business on a slow day like Saturday. I thought he would expect nore tip from me but when i gave him a 3$ tip he gave me back 2$ saying 1$ was enough tip. Who in today,s world does that? He touched my heart with this gesture.

I hope he gets all goodluck in the world and has a blessed life. I recommend anyone coming to denver use him if u need a ride from the airport and back. His name is Ben and email is bentess4@yahoo.com.

Thanks Ben for showing me that the world still has great people like you. In fact my whole trip to Denver has shown me what a group of people with a big heart can do to help the under priviledged in the world.

iwillteachyoutoberich.com

2009-04-07T10:46:00.003-07:00

My friend Sonal recently recommended to me this blog about personal finance for young people. It is called http://www.iwillteachyoutoberich.com. Sounds like a scam, doesn't it? At first i was skeptical too. Reading the blog and researching it over the web made me realise - this guy can really help me.

The blog is written by a recent Stanford guy, Ramit Sethi. Yes, he is of Indian decent. I think for me, this fact strengthened his genuineness :-)He also recently realised a book under the same name - I will teach you to be rich. I have bought that book.

Personally, i think i am ok with personal finance. I am risk taker by nature.and I have been putting a lot of time into reading about it and learning. I have also taken some advice from a financial advisor for my investments. But I was having problems managing simple things. I needed a method to manage the zillions of accounts that i have currently. Yah, I have managed to do that like most young guys just out of schools. Most of these accounts are credit cards :-(.

So, what i liked about his blog and book( i have partially read), are the tactics. The tactics are very helpful in making things easier to manage - Like automating my payments and transfers. It helped me change my focus from the small things that do nothing to improve my knowledge to things that i will help me enhance my financial and technical knowledge.

I personally, think every young person should read the book at least once. I am sure everyone will get something out of it. There are some chapters of his book online, people can check that out too before buying it.

I do not see book as be all end all of personal finance. As it says "personal finance", it is a personal thing. It depends on What do YOU want achieve in your life? I read many books, websites and listen to people and try to make an educated call and hope that i make the right decision.

Do you support IPL moving outside the country or do you think that BCCI is being selfish at the cost of the country?

2009-03-25T21:04:00.005-07:00

NO IPL should stay in India! Will the English FA allow EPL to move outside the country if a similar situation arises???

Its a tough situation because of the elections at the same time. Fear has been created amongst the players by the terrorism propaganda. I think we should reschedule it with lesser games and still play it in India.. - Arunshankar

Its a sad thing that IPL had to be moved but its better to have it moved rather than cancel altogether. - Chinmay

BCCI is an extremely selfish organization. At some point it called the Indian Cricket team - Team BCCI. but it is shamelessly registered as a charitable trust and it bailed on the country even though the home minister personally asked them to reschedule...because some of the glitz would be lost due to non-availability of players. - Chakkravarthy

Before I start, let me make my stance clear - I am fine with the IPL moving overseas. My reasons, firstly, the games should not stop because our Government cannot provide protection to its people. We cannot give in to the terrorist who do not want anything good to happen in India (or Pakistan). Cricket is one thing that binds our whole country. Canceling any cricket event in India fearing a terrorist attack is doing exactly what they want us do - Stop living our lives. We cannot do that. We cannot give in. Whatever happens - Life must go on. My friend explains to me that I can talk this way because I have never been affected by a terrorist activity personally. He is correct. I agree it must be very very hard for the affected party to agree with me. I am sorry if i am hurting anyone. But we cannot stop living. People who have not been affected need to show that we are not afraid. We will not lie down. We will go on with our lives. We will enjoy it.

Secondly, as Chuck writes BCCI is being selfish. He might be right. The owners do not want to lose money and so does IPL. IPL is one to the avenue in which India show that it is a power in the world that cannot be ignored anymore. It took Lalit Modi all of 3 days to move a tournament of this magnitude to another country. Countries were fighting to host the IPL season 2.
BCCI has used all the loopholes available to it to create this behemoth called the IPL. So many young Indian cricketers have benefitted from it. A great example - Yusuf Pathan. He is more important to Team India than his brother, Irfan.

I just think IPL must stop for any reason. It could been curtailed and rescheduled, but they decided against it, but people did not want to the chance and make a loss in this tough economic times. Fair enough. This year it is in SA. I hope it is in India next year.

Love After Love ..

2009-03-16T14:42:00.003-07:00

My friend Munmun sent this today. I really liked it :-)

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other's welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

Derek Walcott

The World of my Food

2009-03-01T12:44:00.005-07:00

My love of cooking and enjoying it was reignited few night ago. On 25th Feb @ignitephx #3, I heard Chanelle speak about her passion for cooking and eating good food. I realised that in the past few months, i had lost my passion for cooking. It had forgotten how much fun it is to create something delicious and then enjoy eating it. She also emphasised that the food I eat must also look good because I am worth it. Thanks, Chanelle :-)

Since then, I have started to cook more often and enjoy it again. I plan to share it all you guys - my friends. If you are in Phoenix, come and join me any time for some delicious homecooked food(call me first though). If you are not in Phoenix, i plan to put up some pictures every so often. The first ones are here on my new food blog: The World of my Food

Visting South Bombay

2009-01-28T00:29:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, Gordon and I met near Regal Cinema (South Bombay). This was first chance to go to south Bombay after 26/11. My walk from CST station to Regal cinema did not feel any different. The same old crowded streets with people running around, street peddlers trying to sell their wares, cars honking, it felt like my same old Bombay to me. One change that i saw, was the metal detectors at CST station and more police presence. But, i did not feel any tension in the air. It seemed business as usual in south Bombay.

Gordon suggested we have our lunch at Leopold Cafe. This is where all the mayhem started on the 26/11. I had never been to this cafe before. At first look, the place seemed like any other cafe in Bombay except there were more foreign customers than Indians. The bullet holes have not been repaired and apparently they wont be. I saw many people come to the cafe just to see these bullet holes. We were sitting next to a pillar which had a mark indicating that a bullet had brushed past it. The food was actually pretty good albiet expensive.
Again, i did not feel unsafe or threatened. The people around me also seemed to be relaxed and enjoying their food. So much for the people who have tried to strike fear in our hearts.

We then walked towards the gateway of India around the Taj. I could see the renovation work going on on the Taj. It is very comendable of the TATA group to get the Taj Hotel, a symbol of Bombay, up running again in no time. As for the Gateway of India itself, it just the seemed the same old to me. We sat on the ledge near the water. From there i could see the people - tourists, couples, peddlers, friends and even the pigeons. Everyone was back and having a good time there. So did I.

I do not know if this is Bombay's resilience or apathy. Being the person I am, i hope it is Bombay's never say die attitude that was on display. I did not feel unsafe in south Bombay even for a milli second. Thanks to all the people - the police, the commandos, the doctors, the media - everyone who helped Bombay and its people on the 26/11 and days ensuing it. God bless them all and their families.

It is nice to back in Bombay and experience the things I love about my city - the food, the people, the train, the sea and everthing that makes Bombay the maximum city. No one person or group can change that.

A piece of my mind on India's security solution

2008-12-02T10:39:00.004-07:00

The solution to our internal security is not simple. The responsibility of this situation is just not on the politicians and bureaucrats, but on the whole of India. - The people of India. I think we are as much responsible as the politicians and bureaucrats are for this current pathetic situation. The following are the things that are the needs of the hour:

Politicians

Create a separate portfolio for Internal/Homeland Security. Have a really strong minister for it.
Make a division in CBI, RAW etc solely for the purpose of the internal security. They will brief the union minister for homeland security.
Each state has its own state minister for internal security. They are responsible for the security of the states.
Have highly trained commandos in all the major cities including tier 1 cities.
Train the police to handle such terrorist attacks in the absence of the commandos. Also, train them to work under the commando when they are present. Provide all the equipment required to do the same.
Make the hierarchy very clear.
Take steps to reduce hunger and poverty. It is then when poor and hungry people will think about and help the country.
Stop thinking about yourselves and think about the country. If you do that, promise you the country will take care of you.

Bureaucrats:

Stop being corrupt and execute the government’s plans correctly and effectively. Be more accountable. What will you do with your money if you are not alive to enjoy it?
Stay connected with all the agencies and constantly evaluates and adapts to the changing security situations
Support the police and other agencies rather being a hindrance.

People of India:

First and foremost, go and vote for the right candidate every time, every election even the smallest local one
Don’t say we did not vote since we did not have enough information. Seek information. The candidates are supposed to give us information. Ask the candidates for their views in local as well as national issues. Vote for any person who you think will do the best job even if he is not from a major party.
Be vigilant. Report suspicious activities and do not take law into your own hands.
Stop bribing to get a job done. If we don't bribe, the corruption will reduce and stop.
We are one nation – so, we have to behave like that. When Mumbai is struck, the whole India should hurt. All the Indians around the world should hurt, as I am now and will be till we are safe.
Get angry. Do something. Do anything. It does not have to be related to internal security or terrorism. Help more people overcome poverty. It is then when they will think about other issues facing them and India will get more help.

The right development

2008-11-20T11:20:00.003-07:00

This thought came to my mind today morning while riding to work. As countries like India, China and some African countries (in the future) start to develop, will they make the same mistakes that the currently developed countries made during their development. Will these countries and their future generation reinvent the wheel?

I am speaking in terms of the environment. Will they use clean technologies or rather use old non environmentally friendly ones? Will these countries learn from other's mistakes. Will hybrid cars be a norm in these countries? Will they generate less non-biodegradable waste? Will they generate energy using clean sources?

Who is responsible to see that these mistakes are not repeated? The Government, the people or the entrepreneurs?

I wonder...ah?

What a Irony!

2008-10-21T20:01:00.003-07:00

On a day when India is celebrating the successful completion of Stage 1 of conquering the moon, people are being beaten up and public property worth thousands of rupees is being burnt in Mumbai and its suburbs. What a contrast! But that is my India for you.

On one side, people taking law into their own hands proclaiming that they are saving the marathi manoos and hurting people from other parts of country to gain political mileage and on the other hand, 3000 people from all over India are working together to conquer one goal - the moon.

I am sure, of the 3000 people, there is atleast one marathi manoos. Does he care that he belongs the different state than the others working with him? It must not even cross his mind that he is working with an Bihari or Tamilian. He can only see that all of them have a common goal - to put an Indian flag on the moon. He lives, works and shares his life with others without worrying about their origin. He cannot even think of hurting them. He might even love some of them.

And there is the other who says he is the saviour for the Maharashtra. Save Maharashtra from whom, your own fellow countrymen? To add to that, he is not even the elected representative of the people of Maharashtra. This time he crossed the line by killing a student who had come to Mumbai to fulfill his dream, to give an exam which might have probably put food in his family's plate. He says the guy is taking marathi manoos's opportunity. You do not create opportunity for your people by killing others. You do it by creating more opportunities for both of them. Create circumtances and mechanisms so the marathi manoos becomes better and beats the "outsider" by being better than him.

Mumbai is India on a smaller scale and that is what that gives Mumbai its charm. That is what makes Mumbai - Mumbai. Mumbai has given me everything I have today and my ancestors are not even from this state. But I am a marathi manoos and a proud one. The only thing Mumbai asked from me in return is tolerance; Tolerance for other Mumbaikars. It gave me my best friends - a Maharashtrian, a Gujarathi and a Roman Catholic. We do not care that we are all this. All we care about is that we are Mumbaikars and we all love Vada Pav and Paani Poori!

To the people who are say that they are fighting for the marathi manoos, I say please fight for us. But not by hurting my brothers and sisters, but by fighting other evil and practices. Show us the way so that one day every marathi manoos can reach the moon on his own accord and merit.

My 2 Cents on the IPL

2008-05-09T10:18:00.003-07:00

IPL = Indian Premier League. India's answer to the EPL (UK), NFL (USA) etc. I am sure there are zillions of articles/blogs on the web that gives its views on the IPL. This entry of mine came about because of another blog entry by my friend Gordon.

Gordon has an interesting and good analysis on the business strategies that various franchises owners in IPL are using.

Anyways, this is how the franchise system works. It has been around the US (and other parts of the world for a long time). It all depends on why an individual owns a franchise. There can be various reasons -

1. You loves the game so much that you want be involved in it. In this is the case, money comes secondary. You just want to win for yourself and for your team's fans. Once you start winning, more fans, more money. You will break even late but the profits (or losses) will be greater. I think Kolkata KnightRiders fall in this category. Other international examples - New York Yankees (Baseball), Dallas Mavericks(Basketball), Oakland Raiders (American Football). I must add Oakland has not won anything for a long time.

2. You do it as an investment or business opportunity like the Rajasthan Royals. You will be a stable organisation. But, you will never be a New York Yankees in terms of revenue or huge fan base and fame. Eg: Arizona Diamondbacks (Baseball)

3. Third Reason - You have too much money. Big Billionaires in the US own different sports franchises. Just because they do not know what to do with the extra cash, they buy these sports teams. These franchises perform indifferently depending on the people who actually run these teams. We will identify this kind of franchise in IPL in next few years.

Personally, I am intrigued how this whole IPL system will turn out in India and in the lives of my fellow Indians. Sports in the US helps many people focus on something else other than their personal lives. Take time off and relax with family and friends. I hope IPL will provide the same type of avenue for us and people will use it for the right things.

Update!

2008-03-20T12:39:00.003-07:00

Sorry for not updating the blog since my last entry from Dubai. Since then I have been home in India. It was so amazing to see my family and friends after 3 1/2 years. I spent most of my time in India with my family. Two important things I got done while I was back there were my H1B visa stamping and getting my parents and brother their respective visitors visa. They will come to US this year. Yipee! Rupesh-Poonam wedding was great. I met a lot of friends there and also some of my professors from VJTI

It was sad to leave home but I knew i will see them soon in America. On my way back, I stopped at London and met my dear Munmun. It was fantastic to see her. We roamed around London for 2 days and It was so much fun. London is really picturesque city with lot of Victorian architecture. The London visit with Munmun will always be a special one for me.

Back in Phoenix, I got back to work. I got a new job at Malcolm-Pirnie as a Engineer (Grade 2). They also got my visa transferred and I am joining them on the 31st of March. I am so excited about this position. I cannot explain it. It just feels right. More about the job after I join. Till then...

In Dubai…

2008-01-31T09:11:00.000-07:00

It is 8.30am local time in Dubai on the 24th of January 2008. My flight from London reached Dubai at 6.30am. It was still dark in Dubai so I could not see the structures below clearly. I was wondering if I would be able to see the palm tree and world map structures. But I did see a ship dumping sand probably to make more of these fascinating structures. We took a bus from our plane to the terminal as the new terminal is under construction. The airport seemed more crowded than Heathrow. I managed to get a calling card and called dad letting him know that my arrival in Bombay would be on time. This flight to Mumbai will be short one around 3 hours. So I am almost there :-)
As for the previous flight, the emirates service was exemplary and so were the air-hostess ;-) The dinner was really nice and the entertainment system was amazing. The only problem I felt was the seats seemed a little uncomfortable. I did not sleep on the flight at all. I chatted on and off with a lady next to me. She was going to Malaysia through Dubai (for a vacation). She was of a Bangladeshi origin but her family had settled in England for some time now. So she feels London is her home. I watched a couple of movies too – ‘Live free and Die Hard’ and the Hindi movie ‘Partner’.
Drinking my hot chocolate here, I think I am tired and I hope I do not go home and just sleep the rest of the day. I will try to get some sleep on this flight. Just hope I get my bags in Bombay and the customs go well.
Next Stop….Mumbai…..Home Sweet Home!

In the Land of the Queen…

2008-01-31T09:09:00.000-07:00

I reached London around 1 hour ago. Flight was comfortable and empty. I had no one next to me on the flight so I could spread myself and get a nice sleep for a few hours - around 4-5 hours. Since I did not have any one next to me, I have no interesting conversations to report this time. Food was ok – Dinner and Breakfast. The entertainment system was real bad and did not work well. I watched the, starting of rush hour 3, middle part of transformers and end of the Simpsons movie. There was supposedly some glitch in their new system.
The highlight of the flight was the landing in London’s Heathrow Airport. The weather is cloudy here. As my Boeing 777 broke through the clouds, the most amazing sight appeared. Below me was London city with its Victorian style houses and lush green gardens. I saw a few football grounds, cricket pitches and I saw a stadium too, but could not tell to which London football club it belonged to. I realized that the cars were on the right side of the roadJ. The view was I think really peaceful. I cannot wait visit this place on my way back.
I called mom using a payphone here to let her know I am fine. I tried calling Munmun (who studies in the London school of Economics) but cannot seem manage to get the pay phone to call her. I must be doing something wrong. I will try again later.
My next connecting flight to Dubai is scheduled to leave at 8pm local time. So I have around 6 hours to waste here. I hope a book and some music will make the time fly. See you in Dubai then…..

First Stop -- Chicago!

2008-01-30T08:42:00.001-07:00

After an hour long delay in Phoenix where I was sitting in the plane due to snow storm in Chicago, I reached O’Hare Airport around 30 minutes ago at 8.55pm local time. The flight was uneventful except that my cabin luggage just fit into the overhead storage of the McDonald Douglas S80. I do not know what I would done if it had not. I met a person (do not know his name) who sitting next to me. We did not converse for the first half. He was listening to music and I was reading. After the drinks were served, I tried to break the ice by asking him if he was from Chicago and thus started a nice conversation. He was management guy with a company which makes manufacturing tools. Our conversation ranged from his company, Boeing 787 (he knew a lot about aircraft manufacturing) , the financial market (he was an accountant by education), his fondness to golf and of course the Chicago Cubs. Alighting from the plane, I called my friends in Phoenix and parents in India and made sure that I called Nikunj in India. He wants me to call him from each airport I go to before I reach India. My hunger took me to food court there where I filled myself with Chinese food. There is queue of people outside the gate where my flight to London leaves from. I am going to check that out and also see where I need to give I-94 before Ieave the US. Till later……

1280 days hence…..

2008-01-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

I am writing this note from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport awaiting my flight to Chicago from where I will take flights back home to Bombay. Yipeee! I have been dreaming of this day for 3 ½ years now, since I came to ASU for do my masters’. Now, after a masters’, an internship and my first job, I can go back home to see my mom, pop and joo – my family. I cannot easily describe what I am feeling now. There is a real sense of excitement but there is also some apprehension about going back home. I have changed a lot in past 3 years and India has too. I just hope that I am still the same old venkat to my family that left India with big, ambitious and silly dreams. Everybody is real excited to see me in India and I am too. I think it has still not sunk in yet that I am actually going back home. It just feels like a dream. Like any other air trips have taken in the US in the past. But I am sure it will start sinking in when I board my flight from Chicago to London. I will blog again at O’Hare Airport……

Have to be a genius to read "The World of my Own"?

2008-01-07T22:14:00.000-07:00

Blog Readability Test: I found this link from my friend, Max's PseudoForce blog. I do not know how it works. The way this works is that you input the URL for your blog or Webpage ( it even works for a MySpace page) and it tell you the readability of the page. This is how "The World of my Own" fared:

Surprised? I was too. I do not have any rocket science on my blog nor does it have a great design. I cannot write a simple code for God's sakes. I do know what it means, but I think it is pretty cool. What do you guys say?

Lead India....

2007-12-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Amazing Video. Very inspiring. I pray i can lead India too someday in some capacity.

A heart warming story I read on Christmas Eve!

2007-12-24T11:42:00.000-07:00

I read this story on CNN today. It is really heart warming.

How Youssif got his smile back

Click on the above link to read the story.
God bless Youssif and his Doctor!

Once more....

2007-12-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

Once more - a beautiful song and video by one of favourite music artists - Martina Mcbride.

Indo-US nuclear deal - Good for India; but for others?

2007-10-11T08:27:00.000-07:00

Till yesterday, Indo-US nuclear deal had my full support. Knowing the energy woes in India and having experienced uninterrupted energy supply in the US, I could confidently say that nuclear deal will be big step towards India's energy security.

Nuclear deal is good for India. OK! But, Does it affect other people around the world? This question never occured to till yesterday and I realised how selfish I had been while analysing this nuclear deal issue. Yesterday evening, My friend and I went to a free screening of a couple of environmental related feature films organised by the Sierra Club. One of the films (called Homeland) focussed on 5 remarkable native-american activists in 4 communities who are fighting to preserve their land and their culture against multinational corporations looking to extract the mineral wealth of their reservation.

One of the reservations - The Navajo community in New Mexico, is very rich in Uranium reserves. It is one of the bigger known reserves of uranium in the US. In the past, there has been traditional mining of uranium in this area and the native-americans were used as labor to do it. No safety and health norms were followed then and the effects of which are still being felt in that community. After a lot of struggle by the local people, the uranium mining was stopped in the Navajo community in the 1960s. The mining had caused lung diseases in the community and there are still many suffering from it. After the 3 Mile accident in 1979, the nuclear industry slowed down in the US. The energy policy of the current Bush administration promised to revive it. So the Indo-Nuclear deal. So Why should we worry about this and what do we Indians have to do with these native-americans?

Below are some salient points from the Indo-US nuclear deal:
1. Washington will support New Delhi develop strategic reserves of nuclear fuel to guard against future disruption of supply.

2. In case of disruption, US and India will jointly convene a group of friendly supplier countries to include nations like Russia, France and the UK to pursue such measures to restore fuel supply.

3. Both the countries agree to facilitate nuclear trade between themselves in the interest of respective industries and consumers.

4. India and the US agree to transfer nuclear material, non-nuclear material, equipment and components.

5. Any special fissionable material transferred under the agreement shall be low enriched uranium.

6. Low enriched uranium can be transfered for use as fuel in reactor experiments and in reactors for conversion or fabrication

In simple words, the above points mean India will have uninterrupted supply of Nuclear Fuel for its US-made nuclear reactors.

Where will US get this uranium at the cheapest price?- From its own land and places like the Navajo Valley. The US administration had given approval to do solution mining of Uranium in the Navajo Land in 1990s. The local people have fought against this for more than a decade now. Though this method of Uranium mining is safer than the traditional ones, research has shown that this pollutes the ground water for ever. Small amounts of uranium is still left in the ground water which is used for solution mining of Uranium. This will affect the poor community of Navajo in drastic way and they might run out of safe water in a few year. The nuclear deal will make it more imperative that mining resume in the Navajo Vally.

My point here is that India should find out where it is getting its uranium from. If we are getting the uranium from areas like the Navajo valley, India is directly responsible for the drastic effects of uranium mining on this community. That makes India no different from the US that attacked Iraq and Afghanistan for Oil without caring about the people there. They have affected the lives of millions of people just so that US can have its energy security and the oil-giants can make money. India is not attacking anybody but it is indirectly supporting the uranium mining. I am sure our Indian politicians have not thought about this nor do they care. But I think we should. India should never be - directly or indirectly - be responsible for any community getting affected anywhere in the world.

US needs to get this deal through. It will create thousands of jobs in the US and will revive the ailing nuclear industry in the US. India can make sure that we get the uranium we want, from the place we want without having adverse effects on other peoples' lives

I still support the deal. India will benefit a lot from it. But India has to make sure that the deal that will help us, does not affect others around the world like the Navajo community.

NTWD! (No Texting While Driving)

2007-09-21T13:01:00.000-07:00

City of Phoenix today banned texting while driving. It is about time this was done. I myself have almost been run over by drivers texting while they are driving a car. I thought this was a 'no brainer'and I would go even further in requesting to ban talking on a cellphone (without a handsfree device) while driving. Even the so called " developing countries" like India, have a ban on using a mobile communication device while driving. So, why should a "developed country" like the US not do so too? Are drivers in the US much better than other drivers in different parts of the world? Phoenix is one of first cities in US to do this. I hope other cities follow this example and pass the appropriate laws.

In the meantime, my friends please DO NOT call me while driving. Also, I will not attend your calls if I am driving.

Facing Negative Arguments?

2007-09-21T12:25:00.001-07:00

I stumbled upon Robert Greene's blog today. His last post (which is quite sometime ago) is really interesting.

I always come across people who point out why i cannot do a certain thing. In an argument, they point out small insignificant excursions that have no real impact on the main theme. It seems that they just want to find all the negatives in my thoughts and not focus on the cetral issue i am trying to get through. I did not know how to deal with this and was always on the defensive in such situations.

But, this Robert Greene blog entry gives a great insight on how such people think,work and how one can tackle them. You not only stand your ground but also gain some momentum on you opponent.

The link to the fore-mentioned blog entry is here

2 Exciting Weekends?....

2007-09-18T10:32:00.000-07:00

After a long time, I am expecting the next 2 weekends to be exciting and relaxing. My old friend from India, Vikrant is in Phoenix this weekend and we will make a trip to the biggest ditch on earth - The Grand Canyon. Though I do not enjoy the "ditch", it gives me a chance to get out of the city of Phoenix. - Somewhere cooler away from the heat.

The weekend after that, Chak (my roomie) and I are planning to go on a road trip to San Jose. I have never been there and the mere thought of being near the sea and possibly going to a beach really excites me.

Hope both these trips turn out to be fun!

My First Motorcycle Roadtrip

2007-07-01T20:37:00.000-07:00

I went on my first road on my motorcycle( Kawasaki Ninja 500R) to a place called Kingman in the north of Arizona. This was 22nd of June 2007. It is around 200 miles from Phoenix, Arizona. A fun ride it was and was not very tiring as i assumed it would be. I left early around 6am and reached Kingman around 9.30am with 2 stops in the middle at Wickenberg and a some other place just before Kingman. The trip was very uneventful except that my gear lever came off few miles outside Kingman. Stopping at a gas station nearby, I found that I could put it back myself using the tools I had in my bike. Thank God!

After finishing my work, I had short lunch break at Denny's in Kingman. For my friends back home, Denny's is nice diner chain where you get bottomless coffee :-).
I left back early around 11.30am, so I can reach Phoenix before the temperature rises. On my way back, I stopped at a bridge and took a small video. My first personal video taken on my new Moto Rizr. First thing, I realised that I suck as a cameraman. Totally uncreative, unimaginative and very amateur. Next thing I found out that I have acquired a Big American accent in my 3 years here in USA. I did not consciously try to get it. I just acquired it. I had thought that I will not get it. But here I am with an accent which I was determined never to have. I have nothing against it but I wanted keep the Indian touch in my English.

I got back home safely around 3.30pm after some agonizing hot moments in Suncity(30 miles from Phoenix) with slow traffic and rising temperature.

Below is my amateur video. Sorry if it is not interesting to you. Just wanted to share. Comments are welcome and appreciated.

Cleopatra Stratan....So Sweet!

2007-04-26T08:54:00.000-07:00

This video is so sweet. She is supposed to youngest artist and she is from Moldova

Wikipedia has some stuff on her here

A Prodigy…My cousin? and my interest in Classical Music

2007-04-23T16:04:00.000-07:00

Aishwarya Venkataraman, my second cousin is a prodigy. I met for the first time when she came to perform at ASU yesterday. At 13, she is an accomplished and an amazing violin player. You guys can and should read more about here.

I heard Classical Indian music after ages yesterday at her concert and I realized how much I actually enjoyed it. I used to regularly go to some concerts with my parents when I was in India. But, this was my first one since I came to the United States and my interest in classical music has come back again. She gifted me one of her CDs. I have not heard it yet but I am going to hear it today when I go back home today.

I am just a novice classical music listener and I don’t understand the intricacies in them.
It is just that I find them very soothing and melodious to hear and I hope I learn more about it when I start listening to them.

An Out of Body Experience!

2007-03-05T10:31:00.000-07:00

Imagine looking at all of our internal organs, i mean real organs. Seeing just the amazing and intricate network of bloodvessels. I thought I needed to be a medical student to look at these amazing parts of our anatomy.

Yesterday, I went to an exhibition on Human Anatomy called Body Works 3. It has preserved bodies of dead people using a process called Plastination. All the body parts are kept as it is without any decay. This is mainly done for educational purposes for study of human anatomy; the most complex machine we have ever seen but still very systematic in arrangement and operation.

I was a little uncomfortable at first but after sometime i was so fascinated that my friends had to pull me out of the exhibition.

A few things really amazed me like there was a display with just the network of blood vessels. It looked so fragile intricate and reminded me of a fine mesh. There was display of damaged lungs ( due to smoking ) and damaged liver ( due to drinking). This display, every guy/gal who drinks or smokes should see of what they are doing to their organs. It was so yucky!

I was really moved by one display. It was series of display of the human embryo from 1 week to 9 weeks or so. It was so amazing to see that was me ( actually all of us) 24 years ago. It was very moving and it strengthened my belief in the All Mighty even more.

It was really great experience which i think all should have at least once so that we can appreciate our body more than we do now.

I listen...don't I?

2007-02-21T14:50:00.000-07:00

I kinda take pride in myself in being a good listener. A certain incident today, made me think otherwise. Do i acutally listen to what people have to say to me? Do i give a thought to all the advice i get from my friends or elders or anyone for that matter?

I will like my friends who read this to give me instances in which i have not been a good listener or have refuted an advice without even thinking for a second.

I think i might not be listening without realising what i am doing.
Please post comments, i will really appreciate it.

Love is......?

2007-02-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

Since everyone and everything around the world are talking about Valentine's Day aka Lovers' day, i thought why not write something about this very frequently and many times very loosely used word.

A GTalk with my good friend Rahul today, led me to these thoughts about love which is written by Rahul's friend on his blog. He wrote:

I feel there are two different aspects.To love someone.And to be loved.It is said "to be loved" is a natural need.And for me , its a need and not love.As long as you want this person or need this person , you dont love her , you love yourself and want "to be loved".Love is not meant to be a selfish thing.Love is much harder and selfless than that.To love is not to wish for someone to be with oneself , but to give up oneself for that someone.Love is not in sharing coconut water on some beach, but in staying thirsty if it helps her.Love is not in her coming to you , but to care for her when you know she would not come to you.

For me , true love is not about the scene with your lady , where white clouds float around your ankles , and a cool breeze flows across the screen , well fed european guys play violins in the background , and you do a salsa with her and kiss her.For me , love's beauty is in being so consumed with it , that you forget your pains and smile , just because she smiled somewhere , aware of your existence no longer.

Love is not about wanting her , but wanting her happiness , with you or without you

These thoughts exactly mirror my feelings about love. I always felt these feelings but never had the guts to put it in writing as i was afraid of being labelled " romantic fool" or "hopeless romantic". It was good to know that i was not the only person who feels this way.
One of friends was surprised when she saw what picture i had chosen in my Visual DNA
(see the post below).

I am no expert in Love and Rahul's friend's thoughts( and mine too) may sound very goody goody and cliche, but i hope this will be my belief till the end and this world does not change me.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Visual DNA

2007-02-08T10:29:00.000-07:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

....i think this is cool! dont you?

Disneyland - The happiest place on earth!

2007-01-03T09:31:00.000-07:00

Yah I went to Disneyland (California) last week. I was in San Diego visiting my friends for the new year. When we were dicussing where we wanted to go on Saturday the 30th of December, Disneyland came up. At first i thought what the hell i am too old to be dancing around with mickey mouse ( actually i am just 24). but since no one wanted to go to sea world or palm springs, we decided to go to Disneyworld - California Adventure.

Once we reached there, i saw that there were actually a lot of young people like us. I thought there are many crazy people like us. but once we started going on different rides, it felt so good. I felt i was a child again and it was not long before i found myself running around trying to go on all the thrill rides possible. I wanted to eat cotton candies, icecream from the carts( though it was very cold) , do everything i used to love to do as a kid. I felt i was 10 or 12 years old. There was so much happiness in the air - Families and Kids running around, children asking for goodies, scared to get on the rides etc .

To top it all there was disney parade in the end with all the characters. I thought i would not interest me at all. But i sat through the whole parade and i relived all my old favorite characters.

Disneyland is the happiest place in earth and that day was one of my happiest day in the United States.

Preparing to graduate!

2006-11-03T13:31:00.000-07:00

After 2 1/2 years, 5 amazingly unique and different semesters, 11 courses, innumerable projects, one internship, Mr.V(me) is all set to graduate on the 14th of Dec 2006(if things goes as planned) with Masters' Degree in Mechanical Engg

I dreamt of this day for 23 long years. Now that it is here, i dont feel the excitememt and elation that should feel. It has been a fun time at ASU. Learnt so much ( in and outside the class) , made new friends from all over the world,made myself an amazing cook and hopefully become a better person than i was 2 1/2 years ago

Now comes the "real world" . first thing i want do is to get a job and make some time to go back to india and meet my loved ones. The day i left india(22nd July 2004) seems so long ago now.

i dont know what the future holds for me. but i think i am ready for anything that life can throw at me. thanks to my time here at ASU and tempe.

My New Ride!

2006-08-07T17:51:00.000-07:00

It has been ages since my last post. Been busy with my internship. I moved last week and my new address is 1500 E Broadway Rd, Apt#2072 Tempe AZ 85282. I haven't taken any photos of my new apartment. I will upload new ones soon. Around 3 weeks ago, I bought myself a new motorcycle, Yipee! - a sporty 2006 Kawasaki Ninja 500R(see picture)
by the way, that picture is from the net. I will upload pictures of my bike pretty soon. The tech specs of this bike are here

Internship Update!

2006-06-18T11:12:00.000-07:00

Last week was my first week at Flood Control Dsitrict of Maricopa County, I was a fun week with a lot of learning in a very short time. I have amazing collegues which helps a lot. Have not exactly started working on my actual project, i expect myself to start this week.

Even with this internship in place, I am not able to enjoy my life here. There is some unknown fear that keep me back from enjoying my life here. I had a small argument with my roommates on Friday and they were not happy with something i had done. But, now one ever told me abt it and one day all of them start attacking me. It made me really mad but i sucked up my anger so as not to cause a lot of damage

I wonder why people never tell me if they have problems with me. I rarely get angry. but if no one tells me it makes me really mad. so friends, tell me if i am going wrong, i am ever ready to listen.

Confused!

2006-06-07T09:39:00.000-07:00

I was wondering if my friends take me for granted. I am actually confused. Many of my good friends sometimes ( actually many times) dont return my calls or do not reply to my mails. I dont know if i am being a fool hanging on to things or am i overanalysing things here.

I know sometimes people are busy and i can be persistent ( bordering abnoxious) but am i asking too much when i want my friends to tell me that they are busy or cant get back to me now.

I am confused here people, sometimes i start thinking if i was wrong in anyway for them to act like this. Hope i get this clear as soon as possible!

Finally...

2006-06-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

At last, after 3 1/2 weeks of running around for paper work, I got my authorisation to do my internship today. It was such a big relief and i am so glad the now i can start my internship on the 8th June. For the people who dont know, I will be a hydrologist intern at Flood Control District of Maricopa county. The internship is in summer and through the fall semester.

I am really excited to start working and to actually have my 1st experience in working in a corporate environment after 23 long years in school. Wish me good luck:-)

Tavs win it all !

2006-05-11T20:54:00.000-07:00

2005-2006 season belonged to the Tavs- my league team in Arizona. We are the league champs and playoffs champs. Playoffs victory was a cake walk as our openers were in amazing form. They could chase any damn total against any team.

We were awarded the trophies last week at a ceremony held at an indian restaurant here. It was an ok affair with quite a few people around. Here are some pictures:(L to R)Santhosh, Me(venkat),Ashwin,Navin,Murli,Shashi,Karthik,Sriram,Srikanth and Rohit

surgery sucessful!

2006-05-08T07:31:00.000-07:00

my hand surgery was last thursday. According to the doctors and my friends, it went really well. I was totally knocked out so i did not know what happened between 2.30pm and 5pm that day. there was some pain on friday and saturday. but it is gone now. my next appointment with the doc is on the 16th when he will remove the stitches and examine it.

Broken Finga Update

2006-04-27T19:44:00.000-07:00

I should my finga to a specialist today. I will be needing surgery to fix it.
I have scheduled a surgery next thursday 4th of may 2006.The surgeon is the best in phoenix so i am not worried.Just a little scared, never been to a hospital before. But i have amazing friends around me so i am not worried that much.

Hope it goes well...

Broken Finga.... and My season is over!

2006-04-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

My Team Taverners CC are the Arizona Cricket League Champs with record of 11-3. Now, it is the time for playoffs. I get to play my 1st match in the playoffs which happened to be the semifinals against Cavs Blue CC at Glendale, Arizona yesterday.

I was so pumped up for that game that i was diving all around the place during fielding. One of these dives has resulted in a broken little finger in my left hand. It is all swollen up and stuff.
I will post pictures later today. I did not get batting as our openers had a partnership of 185 and we won by 8 wickets.

But sadly, my season is over without playing the finals. This is my 1st fracture and i will going to health centre after i finish work today.

Weird Times!

2006-04-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

Never thought it so difficult to study! It has almost 3 weeks now. I have not been able to concentrate on my research or my classes. I just cant seem to get motivated. I have a lot of time but i just cant seem to sit down and do it. For that matter, i cant seem enjoy doing nething for a long time. Be it studies, reading or work on my SAE project etc. I just feel so lazy. There were times i used to love to study and compete to be the best. where are those days, that vigour, what has made me change for the worse? I need answers and i need it fast.

This must end. I dont know how but it must end and fast!

Just not been myself!

2006-04-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

Last 2 weeks i have not been myself. Too many things on my mind. Cant think of anything to write But i will start writing again very soon. Ciao till then!

Can one complain?

2006-03-20T15:47:00.000-07:00

I just got back my midterm for Micro Fluids class. i got a 45/100. bad ha? The class average was 39. So i think i did ok. The problem i found with test was that i did not make a assumption right, which made some of my calculations complicated and i could not attempt one whole problem because of that and the 2nd question was incomplete. As i came out of my class i knew i could the solve the paper and i resolved the whole thing next day. It took me 2 1/2 hours to do it and i had 1 hour 1omins during the actual test.

Now to the point i am trying to make. As you can see from the average, most of the students did not do well in the test. The complaints from other students were paper was too long, professor had said that there wont be too much math in it and there was, we did not have enough time to think, exam was exactly like the homework but longer, professor is unfair in giving such a long paper so on and so forth. These complaints seem valid to many, but not to me.

When you go to give a test, aren't you supposed to be prepared for anything and everything. We are graduate students now, isn't adaptability and understanding the main thing? Professor himself gave points for understanding and did not get cut many points for the math. So why crib about the midterm? Why hold the professor responsible when you are the one to be blamed? I dont know if i am right but i never blame the person who tests me. I should be ready for anything. I just try to see how i could have done that better. I am not sure if that is lack of confidence or just me trying to make myself better. Can you guys tell me what's going on?

I just think one should be flexible and not blame the situation for failure or not doing well in it.

Formula SAE! Here I come...

2006-03-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

I always wanted to build a race car. I actually dream about help build a F1 car.
Now, my friend Kurt has given me chance to do exactly what i want to do. Kurt has been a member of Formula SAE team at ASU for some time now. These guys have not made a car in last few years due to lack of funds. Now they have funds this year. So we are going to make a car for Formula SAE west competition in June.

Kurt invited me to join the team in January and i gladly accepted . He heads the driver integration team . Till yesterday we had not got any work done. But the chassis team worked hard and welded together a great chassis during the 1st half of the week. Kurt, Chad and I went in yesterday to grind the welds on the chassis and add some welds if needed. It was so amazing to do some hands on work. I never got a chance to do any welding or grinding at VJTI myself to make something important. Now that i have, i will make the most of it. I did grinding and some welding yesterday. We did not finish and plan to finish it today or tomorrow. These next few monthes are goin to be amazing in FSAE.

Snow in the middle of desert!

2006-03-14T20:20:00.000-07:00

I never thought i would see this, but yes there was snow in the middle of desert. On the same day as it rained in tempe, it snowed in north phoenix. Me along with my roommates tried to go east on sunday to see snow but even after driving for 1 1/2 hour we were nowhere near the snow.

Then on monday, my friend Lisa called me and said that they had snow near her home in north phoenix. So she invited me to her place. So i went there via the bus and for the first time i saw and touched snow. It was amazing and it was so much fun to play in the snow. The best thing was it was in the middle of the desert . Look at the picture. isn't it out of this world.

Nico Rosberg: The Next F1 superstar!

2006-03-13T11:55:00.000-07:00

Any one who saw the Sunday's Bahrain GP will remember 3 things:
1. Kimi's great drive from the back of grid
2. The return of King Schumi
3. The emergence of new talent called Nico Rosberg!

Nico is just 2o years old. But on sunday he drove and overtake like he has been in F1 all his life.
He raced wheel to wheel with DC ( 195 races experience) and agressively overtook Klien on the last lap. He also had the fastest lap of the race in a Williams-Cosworth. Sam Micheal agreed that Williams had gone in with a conservative strategy. This coupled with Nico's rookie mistake on Lap 1 resulted in a 7th place for him. After the 1st lap, he was further back than Kimi was at start of the race. He was almost 1 lap down. He was almost pushed into the garage which would have ended his race. But he came back and to give performance like that speaks volumes for his talent and a mature head.

Nico is not only a talented driver but also a brilliant individual. He was accepted in the Imperial College - One of top school in England and probably the world, for a degree in aerodynamics ( yeah baby!). But he and his family decided to go with a racing career. With a former world champion ( keke rosberg) and his father as his manager, he was perfectly set to grow in racing industry and he did it. He became 2005 GP2 champ and then when Williams and BMW split, he was ideally placed to join his old father's team with whom keke won a F1 championship. He scored more than anyone in a aptitude test that all Williams drivers. Amazing!

Now with his debut out of the way, big things will be expected out of him in the future. He will surely live up to his expectations and he will be world champion in the near future like his father,hopefully with Williams.

Go Nico!

Its raining again in Phoenix!

2006-03-11T14:09:00.000-07:00

After a long dry spell that lasted for a record 143 days, it rained in Phoenix and neighbouring areas today. it was such a relief for all people here. We needed this rain desperately. Personally i love the rains, not a heavy downpour , but light continuous ones. The temperature have dropped dramatically and it is welcome relief from the heat which was there during the start of the week.

Getting up this morning to a gloomy, dull rainy day was big change. I could not stop myself from going out and just getting wet in this cold winter rain. I was cold, shivering but i was enjoying. I just wished i had a cone of icecream with me then. Yes , i love eating icecream in the cold rain.
I could not get any then but after we had a hot indian lunch at Pasand here, i got myself a kulfi from our beloved indian store here. I was so much fun to eat an cold kulfi in cold rain.

They is prediction for rains tomorrow too and then a sunny monday. so we have only one more day of this rain. I intend to enjoy most of these rains!

F1 is back!

2006-03-03T11:45:00.000-07:00

It is that time of the year guys! Formula 1 is back and with a whole lot changes too. Renault trying to win another championship with alonso before he joins Mclaren in 2007 and then there are the V8s how will they affect the series. Tyre Changes are back and complicated new qualifying schedule should make March 12 2006- interesting day.

Winter Testing showed Honda to be the best and most reliable team. With Barrichello, a proven race winner in the team , Honda can win their 1st GP in 2006. Renault looks solid as ever and sure are the favorites. You cant rule out schumi in what might be his last season in F1. Mclaren have been very erratic in the winter testing, with mercedez V8 not up to the mark. F1 pundits thinks Cosworth and Toyota have best V8s. This makes Toyota and Williams- Dark Horses in 2006 season. It will interesting to see how BMW does in its 1st year as an independent team.The speed of Super Aguri in 2002 arrows will also be interesting.

Personally, I am very big Williams fan. I just seem to like them a lot. With one of best V8s in them, if they can get the aero right they shud be up there. Testing results are ok. But whos knows how reliable the other V8s are? Cosworth are V8 specialists and that should give williams the edge in terms of reliablity. Webber is great in qualifying and Nico Rosberg is supposed be good racer.

I cant wait for green lights on the 12th March! Hope it is great season

I'm back!

2006-03-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

Hi Guys! someone told me that should restart blogging so i am giving it a try again!
Keep checking this space for new entries now!

ciao for now!

really bored rite now!

2005-08-15T10:14:00.000-07:00

It is more than a year since i came here to ASU. But just seems like yesterday that i left India.
After 3 monthes of doin nothin but reading tech papers, i am eagerly awaiting the start of the Fall 2005 semester. This sem is very different in the sense that i am taking 2 classes about which i dont know anything. They are namely viz digital signal processing and perturbation methods.

i am actually really bored at this time. have not read nething at all today. today was my friend's MS thesis defense. he did well in it and i came abck from there and i ahve not been able to concentrate at all. thought that i walk will refresh me but it did not help. it really affects me thinkin that i am wastin my time in lab instead of readin something. i have so much to do but i dont feel like openin the paper. my friend gordon came online. i chatted with him for something even that did not help. now i am listenin to some music and there is a ice cream party at old main lawn at 500 pm. hope that refreshes me. i plan to go to san diego this weekend with my friends. and i am also goin to meet my friends at purdue durin the long weekend startin for 2nd of july. i am really lookin foward to meet them. it has been a year since i met nebody from my pre ASU days.

these trips shud get me back on track. at least i hope so.

2005-08-15T10:08:00.000-07:00

that's me!

Graduate Tuition Fellowship(GTF) for Spring 2005

2005-03-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

When i thought things cud not get any worse...there comes a ray of light in the form of GTF...this fellowship helps me save $2566, that's half of my fees...it is as if a big burden has been lifted from my head.

Now the next step is to get an assitantship...i am hopeful that i will get one soon...i will notify you all when i get it..

thanks to all my friends for all their support

My Orientation Week

2004-08-24T16:24:00.000-07:00

my First Official week at ASU passed without ne major probs or excitement.we had the normal boring oreintation... only good thing was free may black forest khane ko mila.. unlimited... i also won a ASU folder in the raffle held after the oreintation. The Indian Students Association held an informal gathering at near by indian restaurant that nite. it was just the normal stuff of introduction and singing etc. but was fun. food was patheticthis was on last monday. next day..we had nothin. on wednesday was supposed to be Ice Cream party-- it was meant for socialising and people were only interested in ice creams.. so boring. all of them sitting in there own private grp and no one wanna mix up. so i did the same had my fill of icecreams and sundaes and took a free water bottle and left.on thursday-- my first day of my job. reached the at 1000 am sharp.i was told to report to Sammi ( samuel fragoso) -- a short man probably just afew years plder than me but very nice. he is my immediate supervisor. he helped me out that day with the menu and how to use the cash register.... then straight to the counter. so many people pouring in.. i made some mistake but sammi helped me out. i left early that day as i had a orientation tha day. next day a girl called britney helped me out. she was really helpful though it was not her job to help me. now i am doin gr8 there -- serving almost 450 customers in 4 1/2 hours. u do the math...then we had something called passport to ASU next day... that day everything is free in the ASU Memorial Union and Student Recreation Centre. i got lot of free stuff to eat.. sushi, cookies,icecream, burritoes, etc and lot of goodies like Sundevil posters, CDs lots of them, etci also played pool and bowling from prob 2 hours. .. gr8 nah... my roomie almost broke a bowling lane with his innovative first time bowling... but sab theek tha end may.... we had a lot of fun that day...we had sun devil spirit nite on sunday in wells fargo arena.. the basket ball court at ASU.. there were cheerleaders dancing there also some grps dancing... it was awesome. i also got to shoot some hoops -- 1 out of 5 shots i got.. not bad for a indian...they were also giving away t shirts but it was for season ticket holders only.. bad hah..well this way my orientaion week ended with a lot of flair.. btw i also shifted to my new apartment in this week..u guys see it on my webshots link...http://community.webshots.com/user/venkat2911... go here now and let me know how it is..now that i am well settled.... lookin forward for my classes to begin and do my best in them and make my folks proud........venkee