Abu Dhabi Ahoy

awrighty folks!! It's paartee time.
yep.. 33 hours after I left my aunt's place in Chicago, here I am in the city of Abu Dhabi.. safe and sound.. and EVEN ONLINE!!! yayy for that. Not that it has been completely uneventful


first of all, when I went to the airport to return the car, I realized that the firm that I had rented the car from (enterprise) wasn't available at the standard airport location. Not knowing the location, I parked at a reasonable spot and called the 1-800 number to be given the local branch's number (This being Memorial day, not many people were up and working in the US :-S). But darn it.. calling the branch only sent me to this voice mail that said the branch was closed. DARN IT. My flight was in 2.5 hours!!! (I had started a bit early.. giving me plenty of time...) I called up enterprise 2-3 times. I guess that there were like 3 people working all the phone lines. One time, I got hung up on.. another time, I was told to just find the place as it was shown as 'open'. So, I parked the car at a hotel parking lot on the way and asked a cabbie. This guy, a sweet eastern european guy (I guess...from his accent), told me the way. So, off I went.. and his directions being so good, I managed to find it pretty quickly. The shuttle driver that dropped me off was also very nice. He actually refused a tip from some people (Now now now...I am still a college student!!! don't expect me to give tips like that!!) And he helped ppl with their luggage. All in all, a good experience.

now... came the fun part. Travel!!! Checking in took no time... the first flight went by pretty quickly too. This high school girl sat next to me.. she wasn't much of a talker...but she did chat a bit just before we landed. maybe she was scared of my moustache.
ooh... then came a 7 hour layover in Cincinnati. 7 hours!!! for a while, I sat in an empty corner of the terminal. I mean.. there was almost NOONE there... as there were no flights there for a few hours. All this time, I has some good company in Dumas' "The Three Musketeers". Then.. an 8 hr flight to London Gatwick. This was kinda painful..I did think that Delta had better aircraft but this one was slightly cramped. The guy next to me was this tallish Oriental guy who looked even more uncomfortable than me. A quick halt in London Gatwick where I decided to walk rather than use the moving sidewalks. It was a long walk but good exercise between sitting still for ages. Emirates was a nice flight from London to Dubai. The flight got a bit delayed.... but not by too much. I was bout 300 pages into the Three Musketeers now (out of around 700). And to top it off, sitting next to me was this really charming old British couple.. coming to Dubai to visit their son. Very friendly, jocular and helpful. It was nice. And really sweet to see them. The gentleman was telling me as to how emirates was one of the best airlines he had flown in, and considering his age and the places he mentioned that he travelled to, I am sure that he was well qualified to make that statement. And I agreed. There was plenty of leg space, even more than I remembered from earlier. I watched "In Good Company" for a while and then was sleeping on and off.. and eating food..and reading...and before too long, was in Abu Dhabi. was out of the airport in around half an hour!!! That WAS quick. Drove down to Abu Dhabi.. and here I am.

I love flying for one main reason. The views can be spectacular. I got a window seat on my flight from London to Dubai and it was so beeyootIful. We flew over green cities... quaint towns with plenty of houses... seas and rivers....small undulating hills...sand dunes stretching for miles... seas bordered by yellow strips of coastlines... rivers. Then there are the majestic clouds. But my best memory is that of another aeroplace.. zooming through the sky.. flying towards us. The speed is just so incredible. You can see the stream of water vapor that they leave behind them... and you get a good idea of the speed of aircraft from that angle. Oh My. Thank goodness that the aeroplane was flying at a different altitude. It was Lovely.

now, I better go freshen up...

moments... that's what life is made up of... moments and experiences

moments... that's what life is made up of... moments and experiences

well..today had it's share of moments .. and experiences. I spent some quality time with the tv. And then came a distant cousin...so out to dinner. Then on to meeting another friend. By the time I got home, it was pretty late. Well, anyways.. the moments were all in the meetings. The experience came later. I got home.. put the car in "park", started taking out the books that were in it (a road atlas and a book I bought for the journey... "The Three Musketeers". And I lock the car.. step out.. and close the door..realizing a few seconds later that the car was still running and that I was locked out. Luckily, I had the garage door opener out too..so I come in, call up enterprise (where I had rented the car from).. and they sent a guy over...to unlock it free of charge!! (or maybe it was free as I had taken out the insurance....something like that). Anyways.. it was really nice. And it was an experience. I now know how it's done. But the scary part was how easy it was to unlock the car. Just a wedge, and a little lever... and voila.. the car's open!!!(under 30 seconds....!!!)

and I leave tomm morning. Yay!!

I am a DOG

Yeah... I am a dog..or atleast I must have the tracking abilities of a dog. I mean..how else can u explain this. I wanted to eat Burger king for dinner (yummmmy onion rings). I was in Lisle and I had no clue where the nearest Burger king was. So...I head out... along a main road.. and take a random turn onto another main road.. (after crossing a few main roads in between).. and woah....I see a Burger King by the side. I am like... wooooow...groooovy. I mean.. I didn't even make one complete circle...
So..I went in and got the onion rings (Ohhh THEY ROCK!! especially with the zesty sauce). Then... bought some stuff to take back home, came back, packed.. and here I am online,... relating my experiences.

I am also such a fool. I drove down to Purdue.. expecting someone to be there. I call ppl once i reach the place... and noone answers..so..I hang around for an hour. Really get bored.. and head back before it gets too late and I am too tired to drive back. On the way...ppl call saying..OOoh..sorry...:-|. Oh well... am back in Chicago now. Did manage to get stuff done. and am now dead tired
must sleep early.. must not die.. must sleep early.
Awrighty ppl...gooniite

Travelling and trekking

I am heading out on Monday for India..my homeland.. and the land of my dreams.

I want to go trekking...travelling... seeing things.. smell the sweet stink of home sweet home.. and enjoyying myself with family, friends and others..

Well.. just wanted to post a quick post but my mind is too blank. As usual, I packed at the last minute (though I kept everything ready....beforehand). Now.. just a little more work.. and I can head back.

count up...count down...count up...count down....count sheep...count lizards...count bleh... enough. Babyeee. Gotta sleep early and be up earlyyy

more random posts

from Twisted View, I got a hold of this random book quiz..
yeah... it's random and tells me what book I am

You're Love in the Time of Cholera!

by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Like Odysseus in a work of Homer, you demonstrate undying loyalty by
sleeping with as many people as you possibly can. But in your heart you never give
consent! This creates a strange quandary of what love really means to you. On the
one hand, you've loved the same person your whole life, but on the other, your actions
barely speak to this fact. Whatever you do, stick to bottled water. The other stuff
could get you killed.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Embarrassed?

Yeah... today was kinda embarrassing. I went with my nieces to this place where they were dancing. It was supposed to some Indian people's event.. and I was thinking it was like one of the other one's where my nieces had danced at. Plenty of Indians... dressed casual-semi-formal.. And since it's been a while since I had done my laundry...I was in a round-neck T shirt and jeans. Yeah. T-shirt and Jeans. And guess what I saw the moment I entered there. It was a "special" thingie.. with tickets (donation?) at around 35 bucks and most people wearing suits and all. And the secretary of state was the chief guest (A Mr. Jesse White:-S~). Ahh.. felt so overdressed;). Yeah. Oh well.. I very well could not go back and change. I should thank the family-friend for going out of his way to make me feel comfy. Yeah.....

but my nieces danced well and it was fun. They got so hyper that they continued dancing on the floor all through the food. Speaking of which.. the food was goooooood. And after a potluck lunch... Oh man..I'm growing a fattt!!! :-S. Gotta controlll ..keep those oreos away from meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Mo Solo (The lonely goatherd)

Ok..

My last few posts have been pretty dry

but some stuff has been going on in my life ... so..first.. the updates

I managed to get admitted to Purdue's grad school for a masters. Now, I do not have any aid.. but what I do have is an admission. So, I intend to travel to India for my cousin's wedding, travel around a bit, get back and work my a$$ off. So, I leave this month end for India. It's going to be an interesting trip. I am keeping my fingers crossed and hoping that things go well. The way that things have gone in the past, I don't expect anything to work out smoothly. I will have to adjust and see how things get along. But all said and done, things should get along well.

So, the past few weeks... what have I been doing? I went to Purdue a few times... worked on getting the paperwork done so I can return to Purdue, applied for various TA positions, etc. I am still applying for jobs. What can I say...I have hope... but one never knows:)

Today was an interesting day. I needed to go to across the city to Devon Avenue to sign for, and pick up my tickets. I thought that it would be too much work for my cousin to take me in the middle of the week, the place being a good one hour drive from her home. So, I decided to explore the city by myself. Of course, I knew that a train went pretty close there...so it wasn't really heading out into the blue. So, I took a book (very appropriately, I am currently reading "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer". Aye, it was an adventure that I set out on. Though I initially planned on leaving at 7am when my uncle left for work, I stayed up too late (reading) and also decided that it wasn't worth it to push my way along during rush hour. And since the baby sitter would be around all day (even though the nieces went off to school), I decided to just relax and ask her to drop me off at the local train station.
So, I set off around noon. The first train dropped me off at Downtown Chicago by around 1:30 pm. It was a longish ride (being a slow mid-day train), but I read a bit and mostly dozed off. There were also some good looking women on the train that managed to keep me occupied when I was awake;)

Then, I started for the next train station, around 5 blocks away, at a brisk pace. As I was walking, my stomach rumbled a small complaint and I decided to look out for a good place to eat at. And Voila...I passed by a Jimmy Johns (one of my favourite sandwich places). However, the sandwich that I ordered wasn't how I liked it....bah. Well, onwards ho to the subway train station. I reached there, figured out how to get a ticket, and walked in (with some minor difficulties at the entrance to get in ..) The...ON the subway... wheeeee!!! another half an hour (while the subway went from below ground to being suspended above ground)... and I was almost at the end of my journey. Now to find my way to Devon Avenue. With my book firmly clenched in my hands, I set out...
walkity walkity walk.... hum ho walking I go.....1 block...2 blocks... 10 block...I walked for half an hour... and reached the end of my journey. I entered the room to meet my travel agent... she wasn't exactly how I had pictured her from her voice.. but hey..I'm just a kid right? What do I know?
10 mins later, ticket in hand, wallet empty of a few hundred dollars, I set back...this time I did not waver... nor did I have to ask for directions. My way down, I kept looking at buildings to figure out the building number and figure out how far away I was. (A trick that I learnt in India when I was exploring new places. I would look at store signboards. Most places included the address below the name of the shop... which let me know the name of the locality). But now, I just walked like in a trance. Just thinking random thoughts.. and just wanting to get back in time for my cousin to pick me up....and back on the train...reading..and waiting... walk walk walk back through downtown...(rush hour pedestrian traffic).. back on the train to the suburbs (express train this time).. and by 6pm was back!!!

another day gone by...in a rush...

Hmmm.. enough said for this post

wonder who reads this anymore...you shld leave a comment or something:)

nothing

yeah... see.. nothing going on...so nothing to write..or something like that

will be updating soon enough:D

noses and more

Okies...
I HAD to blog about this. Some people might find it gross.. but oh well. People find many natural things gross:-D

Well.. coming to the point,

today, I was looking at myself in the mirror and noticed this humongous hair in my nostril. And when I say Humongous, I don't mean that it was loong. it was a bit longer than the rest.. but it was FAT and BLACK and ... really really stiff. So, i cut it off and took a closer look at it. Sheesh. it scared me. It was as fat as 2-3 of my normal hairs.. even thicker than my moustache hair. I mean.. it was THICK. Oh well.. now that aberrant hair has been put in it's place.. and my nostril looks a bit .. cleaner.

Well, back to my normal life.. I went to Purdue to see off some friends... and find out stuff about my admission
I drove back Indian style... dropping 2 friends off at the airport with all their luggage (ended up filling one side of the back seat with suitcases.. the trunk was packed.. etc etc etc)
I also managed to catch a cold/cough. So.. my cure... any phlegm.. spit it out first thing. This clears my throat and nose... faster... So I sorta feel better today. And of course, eat well no matter what. As my mom keeps saying.. "Feed a cold and starve a fever

Other than that... just hoping/dreaming of my India trip.

more personality tests

I was sitting here... getting bored.. especially as noone seems to comment on my blog anymore. Anyways.. I was sitting here and I thought.. why not take some personality tests...

here's what it said

Advanced Global Personality Test Results Extraversion |||||||||||||||||| 76% Stability |||||||||||||||||| 80% Orderliness |||||| 30% Empathy |||||||||||||| 56% Interdependence |||||||||||| 50% Intellectual |||||||||||||||| 70% Mystical |||||| 30% Artistic |||| 16% Religious |||||| 30% Hedonism |||| 16% Materialism |||| 16% Narcissism |||||||||||||| 56% Adventurousness |||||||||||||||| 63% Work ethic |||||||||||| 50% Self absorbed |||||||||||||||| 63% Conflict seeking |||||||||||||| 56% Need to dominate |||||||||||||||| 63% Romantic |||||||||||||| 56% Avoidant |||||||||||||| 56% Anti-authority |||||||||||| 50% Wealth |||||||||||| 50% Dependency |||||||||||| 50% Change averse |||||||||||| 50% Cautiousness |||||||||||| 50% Individuality |||||||||||||||| 70% Sexuality |||||||||||| 43% Peter pan complex |||||||||||| 50% Physical security |||||||||||||||||| 76% Food indulgent |||||||||||| 43% Histrionic |||||||||||||||| 70% Paranoia || 10% Vanity |||||||||||||||||| 76% Hypersensitivity || 10% Female cliche |||||||||| 36%

Take Free Advanced Global Personality Test

Stability results were high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic..

Orderliness results were low which suggests you are overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense too often of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment.

Extraversion results were high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

------------------

But the most important was this
trait snapshot:
messy, disorganized, social, tough, outgoing, rarely worries, self revealing, open, risk taker, likes the unknown, likes large parties, makes friends easily, likes to stand out, likes to make fun of people, reckless, optimistic, positive, strong, does not like to be alone, ambivalent about chaos, abstract, impractical, not good at saving money, fearless, trusting, thrill seeker, not rule conscious, enjoys leadership, strange, loves food, abstract, rarely irritated, anti-authority, attracted to the counter culture

thought I pretty much answered the questions directly...

lets see...some more tests?

Advanced Big 45 Personality Test Results Gregariousness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 82% Sociability |||||||||||||||||||||||| 78% Assertiveness ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Poise |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Leadership |||||||||||||||||| 54% Provocativeness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Self-Disclosure |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Talkativeness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Group Attachment ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Extroversion |||||||||||||||||||||||| 72% Understanding |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Warmth ||||||||||||||| 50% Morality |||||||||||||||||||||||| 78% Pleasantness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Empathy |||||||||||||||||| 54% Cooperation |||||||||||||||||| 58% Sympathy |||||||||||||||||| 58% Tenderness ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Nurturance ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Friendliness ||||||||||||||||||||| 64% Conscientiousness ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Efficiency |||||||||||||||||| 58% Dutifulness |||||||||||||||||| 58% Purposefulness ||||||||||||||| 50% Organization ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Cautiousness |||||||||||||||||| 54% Rationality |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Perfectionism |||||||||||||||||| 54% Planning |||||||||||| 38% Orderliness |||||||||||||||||| 58% Stability |||||||||||||||||||||||| 78% Happiness ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Calmness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Moderation |||||||||||||||||| 58% Toughness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Impulse Control |||||||||||||||||| 54% Imperturbability ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Cool-headedness ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Tranquility ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Emotional Stability ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Intellect ||||||||||||||| 42% Ingenuity |||||||||||||||||| 54% Reflection |||||||||||||||||| 54% Competence |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 90% Quickness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 78% Introspection |||||||||||| 38% Creativity |||||||||||||||||||||||| 78% Imagination ||||||||||||||| 50% Depth ||||||||| 30% Openmindedness |||||||||||||||||| 57%

Take Free Advanced Big 45 Personality Test

and the key is

Factor		low score	high score
Gregariousness	82%	quiet, reclusive	engaging, socially bold
Sociability	78%	withdrawn, hidden	warm, open, inviting
Assertiveness	70%	timid, gunshy	controlling, aggressive
Poise	74%	uneasy around others	socially comfortable
Leadership	54%	stays in background	prefers to lead
Provocativeness	62%	modest, plays it safe	bold, uninhibited, cocky
Self-Disclosure	86%	private, contained	very open and revealing
Talkativeness	74%	quiet, stealthy, invisible	motor mouth, loud
Group Attachment	70%	loves solitude	prefers to be with others
Understanding	74%	insensitive, schizoid	respectful, sympathetic
Warmth	50%	disinterested in others	supportive, helpful
Morality	78%	break/ignore the rules	play by the rules
Pleasantness	74%	aloof or disagreeable	gets along with others
Empathy	54%	out of tune w/ others	in tune with others
Cooperation	58%	competitive, warlike	agreeable, peaceful
Sympathy	58%	socially inconsiderate	socially conscious
Tenderness	66%	cold hearted, selfish	warm hearted, selfless
Nurturance	70%	self pleasing, me first	people pleasing, me last
Conscientiousness	70%	reckless, unscheduled	careful, planner
Efficiency	58%	unreliable, lazy	finisher, follows through
Dutifulness	58%	leisurely, derelict	strict, rule abiding
Purposefulness	50%	inattentive, undisciplined	prepared, focused
Organization	70%	relaxed, oblivious	detail oriented, anal
Cautiousness	54%	impulsive, spendthrift	restrained, cautious
Rationality	74%	irrational, random	direct, logical
Perfectionism	54%	careless, error prone	detail obsessed
Planning	38%	disorganized, random	scheduled, clean
Stability	78%	easily frustrated	calm, cool, unphased
Happiness	70%	unhappy, dissatisfied	self content, positive
Calmness	74%	touchy, volatile	even tempered, tolerant
Moderation	58%	needs instant gratification	easily delays gratification
Toughness	74%	hypersensitive, moody	thick skinned
Impulse Control	54%	lacks self control	maintains composure
Imperturbability	66%	highly emotional	emotionally contained
Cool-headedness	62%	demanding, controlling	accommodating
Tranquility	62%	emotionally volatile	emotionally neutral
Intellect	42%	instinctive, non-analytical	intellectual, analytical
Ingenuity	54%	lacks new ideas	innovative, novel
Reflection	54%	unreflective, coarse	art and beauty lover
Competence	90%	slow to understand/think	intellectual, brainy
Quickness	78%	intellectually dependent	intellectually independent
Introspection	38%	not self reflective	self searching
Creativity	78%	dull headed	synthesizer, iconoclast
Imagination	50%	practical, realistic	dreamer, unrealistic
Depth	30%	lacks curiosity	mental explorer

Take Free Advanced Big 45 Personality Test

A series of unfortunate events

"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place. But believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. And what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact, be the first steps of a journey. "

Saw this very interesting movie. A bit depressing at times I should say.. but the movie ended on a positive note. Having 2 nieces, i do know that there are 13 books in the series, out of which, 11 have been written. I don't think I can begin reading the series till all 13 are written. Oh god, the suspense would kill me. Not that I cannot handle it.. but the movie is just written (yeah.. the movie IS written) in such a despairing tone, that it kinda makes one cling onto every ounce of hope, and you know.. that kind of sad stories are not for me. I mean, this is not the right time or the correct place. I mean, I have a bunch of serious, possibly thought provoking movies that I have yet to see, but have not only because of a strange foreboding that watching such movies will not be too good for me.

Speaking of which, i was trying to read "The Scarlet Letter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne.. and the first few pages kept putting me to sleep. However, hope abides. I have found "The Godfather" at the local public library. A book that I have been intending to read for the past many MANY years, but which was never available at Purdue (Their copy was stolen.. those darned *&^$@&^%$ socks?). So, yeah... that's going to entertain me for a while. I also went to the mall this weekend and bought myself some books. A book collection for my kids (and myself) that I have started today. Not exactly today and not exactly for my kids. These are books I have wanted to reread (or read a non-abridged version of) since god knows when. I know that I only got into reading because there were so many books lying about the house (and having parents that encouraged reading helped of course). So, I bought "The adventures of Tom Sawyer", "The Count of Monte Cristo", "The Call of the Wild" and "White Fang". Well bound books, all for the good sale price of 20$. (buy 2 get 1 free hehehehe). And I had purchased a few books last time (though not as well bound.. and not such great books... but good books nevertheless:
"The Great Gatsby", "The Scarlet Letter" (That I will get down to reading eventually), and "O'Henry award winning Short Stories for 2003" (or something like that).

So, that's a start. Lemme see.. what other books do I have. "Siddhartha" and "The Alchemist" gifted to me by a good friend, "Allan Quartermain" (the continuation of King Solomon's mines... that I brought from India), 2 books of short stories by Isaac Asimov gifted to me by my sister, another Sci-Fi book gifted to me by my friends for a birthday (and another Asimov book too I believe.. they did gift me two books... don't recall it that well...bleh..sorry folks). Hmmm.. what else... "Lectures in Physics" by Richard P Feynman gifted to me by my profs at college, I E Irodov (ahh that classic book of Physics problems)... I think that is about all the books that I can care to remember.Oh.. Wait.. I Do have Mahatma Gandhi's "My Experiments with Truth" brought from India.. and a copy or two of the Bhagvad Gita (both gifted to me after I came here). I should also have a copy of the Hanuman Chalisa..and a few other books by Swami Vivekananda and Swami Ramakrishna Paramhamsa. Well well well. now I am beginning to really get boring.

Books.. I simply love books. But there is one thing I will never forget. Each and every exam, I would suffer from a severe case of sniffling, sneezing and nose-dabbing. At least for one day. It was like a known fact. I figured out the reason only recently... Dusty Books!!! Hehehe. I bet my parents will want to kick me now. But I never did too badly.

and I end with the quote from the movie "A series of unfortunate events" with which I began this rather bizzare and random blog

"At times the world can seem an unfriendly and sinister place. But believe us when we say there is much more good in it than bad. And what might seem to be a series of unfortunate events, may in fact, be the first steps of a journey."

Kal Ho Na Ho

Listening to: "Kal ho na ho"

"Life is like sunlight, changing shape every second.
Sometimes it is dark with shadow..another, it is too bright and sunny
But savour every moment here on this earth....
For one can never be sure of a tomorrow"
(my personal translation of the first verse of the song)

I want to blog something. But my mind is simply too broken to think of anything worthwhile. Maybe the fact that it is almost 6am has something to do with it. Well, it still is going to be a nice day. When I wake up.

well, since I cannot think of anything else, how abt another song that I like?

Johnny Cash: Hurt

I hurt myself today
to see if I still feel
I focus on the pain
the only thing that's real
the needle tears a hole
the old familiar sting
try to kill it all away
but I remember everything
what have I become?
my sweetest friend
everyone I know
goes away in the end
and you could have it all
my empire of dirt

...
Lyrics

another of my fav songs

Glen Medeiros: Nothing's gonna change my love for you

If I had to live my life without you near me
The days would all be empty
The nights would seem so long
With you I see forever oh so clearly
I might have been in love before
But it never felt this strong
Our dreams are young and we both know
They'll take us where we want to go
Hold me now, touch me now
I don't want to live without you

Lyrics

Another one...

Frank Sinatra: Strangers in the night

Strangers in the night exchanging glances
Wond’ring in the night
What were the chances we’d be sharing love
Before the night was through.

Something in your eyes was so inviting,
Something in you smile was so exciting,
Something in my heart,
Told me I must have you.

Lyrics

Yeah... enough for now:-)

(p.s. I soo love robert miles... I was driving to that music today...so SO SOOO lovely but that's for another day)