B-School and Boston

Life in B School is kinda formula1  race. You race for everything. Not like a competition but to see yourself on the other side of the finish line. Just to reach the other side of the finish line on time. And the next one starts as soon as you start breathing heavily at the finish line. And this cycle doesn't seem to end any time soon. Endless loops of work.

As mentioned in the previous post yours truly started doing everything on this own. Cooking, laundry, housekeeping.Trying to juggle with so many things is a huge task. I have become a better cook I must say. Even though my dishes may not taste perfect like my mothers, I am liking the way I am cooking. Initially I messed up with some of the dishes but as time passed by it only got better and better. 

My first impressions about Boston weren't so good. Coming from Singapore, this city seemed to be very substandard.I thought Singapore is a expensive city. But Boston beats Singapore black and blue. Everything is darn expensive here. Food, housing, groceries everything. The only thing that is cheap is the MBTA transport. That is because it is so lousy compared to Singapore's MRT. 

One thing that surprised me is the running culture in Boston. Here at any point of time you can see at least one person running on the streets. Noon Sun doesn't challenge anyone. May be its because it is cooler here compared to Singapore. I did my first 5K last week and it surprised me that I barely sweat! Winter has barely started but I am already feeling the shivers. Scared to even think of January now. I already started hating winters. It is making me so lethargic that I cant even wake up to my alarm. 

Sometimes miss all the little joys of Singapore. The Kopitiams, the NTUC's, Mustafa, the every 2 min MRT train, the pasar malams, the close knitted society and the easy accessible malls. 

And yes, need to finish off my next assignment soon! 

Adios Singapore

In the final year of my undergrad I was not sure what I was going to do after my graduation. The countless tests that I wrote only added to my confusion. None of results offered any bright prospects. So it was down to two options. Either accept my placement offer or join my parents and sister in Singapore for my Masters. Looking back I am glad I choose the later. Of course I needed to forgo some but the experience of living with my family and love I received in return is priceless.

I came to Singapore on 20th July 2007. Six year after living away from my family, I finally joined them in a different country. The first year of those six was tough but as time passed I started changing myself for the better. My engineering life was really smooth and it made me more independent. So the transition to Singapore was way too much. In Singapore I no need to do anything. No cooking, no laundry, no house keeping. Everything Mom does. She is a super woman. All I have to do is enjoy my family's presence. 

Five years down the line everything is going to change. Its back to square one. Except that it is not in India, not in Singapore. A new place sans my family. I need to do my own cooking, laundry and house keeping. 

I never felt more loved than the 5 years I spent in Singapore. Living with parents in a foreign land is a privilege of very few. My parents and my sister are more than enough to make me feel happy and satisfied. They made me realize what I missed in 6 years of my stay in India. They are everything to me. I will miss them in the new place. Love you all. 

P.S I have scheduled this post to be published when my flight takes off. 

P.P.S "Hello World!"

Last Day

When your graduation nears the first thing in everyone's mind and your mind is how the job search going to be? That was at the peak of the financial crisis and I didn't expect to get the job any time sooner. Luckily for me that was not the issue as I got my first job even before completing my final exams. When I first stepped in the office for the interview I seen some scribbling on the board. That was someone discussing baud rate, voltage and all the electronic stuff. As an electronic graduate I was fascinated by that  sight and realized that I am at the correct place. 3 Years and 7 months down the line I quit the same job and going back from where I came - to the university.

It was really a great 3 years at the company if not the best. I went in with almost minimal knowledge of coding in embedded systems. Now if I look back the three years seems like a light year experience. The initial days were tough but with some of the colleagues really made it easy. I would be thankful and grateful to them. Over the years I made some wonderful friends. Someone asked will I be missing JVC and colleagues? Well I can say I cannot forget some of the people over there. 

The last day went of in a jiffy. Couldn't say last minute byes to some people but nevertheless they made my last day special. Cheers to the new beginnings. Some really cool gifts. 

Sundown Marathon 2012

There were two first’s in this race. Firstly, it was my first night marathon. Secondly, never before it rained during my official race. And since it was a night marathon I was expecting an easy finish now that I am better trained than my first marathon. But it turned out to be tougher than what I anticipated.

I had finished a half marathon less than a month ago and did couple of 20’s after that, which gave me pretty good confidence. I tried to increase the distance to 30’s but it was difficult because of the absence of good hydration. Nevertheless I expected half marathon to be a reasonable gauge for my full marathon. When I trained for my first full marathon the maximum I did was around 25 KM. So 21 should be good enough I thought. It proved OK physically but mentally was very tough to say the least.

I clocked 10k in 58 min. 20k in 1 hour 59 minutes. It seemed like a breeze. At 23 mark though I was not physically tired, mentally it proved challenging to run at that time. My mind was in the dormant mode ready to enter sleep mode as soon as possible. With much difficulty I pushed myself till 27^th KM mark when it started pouring not drizzling or raining. In Singapore it is unspoken norm not to walk in the open spaces when it rains. So following the norm I took shelter under a roof. To my surprise everyone seemed unperturbed by the rain. I then continued and as the wet drops splashed my face the endorphins suddenly multiplied out of nowhere. But the rain soaked my shoes so much that it became difficult to lift my leg. Gingerly I continued running, avoiding the puddles. At the 33^rd Km my right calf muscle gave up as usual and my mileage further dropped. I wanted to beat my previous best of 4 hour 48 min. But things went from bad to worse and in the end I just kissed the 5hour mark.

Marathon is like a 5 set Tennis match and 10 or half marathon, a 3 setter. You might do well till 21K but beyond that is the real test. If you can overcome the 21 to 35 mark then the marathon is a breeze. Probably my last marathon in Singapore. But one day I would finish the marathon under 4.5 hour mark if not 4 hour. 

HappY Birthday!!

Happy Birthday to me! This birthday is significant. I may not be having the same people around for some time. Getting older and hopefully wiser. It’s the beginning of the end of somethings and cheers for all the new beginnings. This year promises to be exciting and looking forward for the August.