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Good morning. The title's lame, I know. but that's what happens when you return to blogging after an eon and have no idea what to write about or even why the hell you're here. oh well. lets see...school, work, life.

Part 1: School

When I first came to johns hopkins, as you can figure from the previous post, i nearly chickened out. and then,i upped the game, leveled the playing field. Although the first semester wasn't really what i'd call ideal, although it facepalm-ed me, I wasnt worried. because that's like a tradition. I have a long history of messing up the first semester/year and then, like a protagonist in a drama movie,i realize the challenges, and rise to the occasion. pfft. So yeah, the first semester nearly screwed me up six ways to sunday, and the second semester was unbelievable different. I started being more open, focused, and attentive. I put in more work than I did in the first semester. It was probably the despair that made me give up in the first semester, but I'm over it. back in control. I still have a long long way to go, but I've come a long way from where I was in the first sem. yay!

Part 2: Work

Thanks to my equally-lazy roomie-buddy,I got a job at his office. Love the place, Love the people. an excellent place to work for, wonderful people, mostly women over mid-thirties,the yummy chococchino, hanging out with friends during breaks and lunch, the kind Indian colleague who's nice enough to treat us to indian food every occasion she gets, which is like at least once a week, well..things are perfect. they only feel even more awesome when everyone, starting from your colleagues to your supervisor like you and are happy with your work. well, thats one crisis solved.
Part 3: Life

Anti-social? Asocial? well, whatever image i project onto people.. things are changing, bit by bit. I'm socializing in the most unconventional ways, hanging out by the mechanical bull with friends during spring break, waiting for the free pizza to arrive, long walks at ungodly hours, friday night movies...weird,isnt it? no wonder the band Blue got it right.. "It's kinda funny, how life can change. can flip 180 in a matter of days.." yeah it did flip 180. I am in a better place now, some good friends, some CRAZY friends, some wise ones, and me. I'm becoming a better person. which is supposed to be a good thing. but there're still inner demons i'm fighting off. and yes, seemingly, i'm winning. maybe on the next update, i'll let you know how this battle goes.

Epilogue:

for some reason, i noticed that my writing got SLOPPY!!! interesting. My semester ends this week, and most likely, I'd be working full time at the university. Lets see what happens.and like Truman Burbank says... "In case I dont see ya.. good afternoon, good evening and good night" \m/

The Johns Hopkins Experience

Dear Reader,

I return after a long absence, one which has been an incredible journey with its twists, turns and tales. The last post I wrote was in India, and I'm writing this post in USA. So you might get a brief idea that some things have changed in my life. I'll go explain the flashaback in forthcoming posts, but for now, let me tell you about "The Johns Hopkins Experience".

I applied for, and got into, mostly by dumb luck, into one of the world's greatest universities. Dont ask me how, I ask myself that same question everytime i see the university campus or even think of it. The transition to Baltimore has been smooth, but things went downhill the moment I began my semester. The classes were scary, the work experience of my classmates made me want to get the next flight and return back to India, and the assignments...ugh....dont make me open THAT door.

Overall, the first one and a half month at the prestigious Johns Hopkins made me feel depressed. And it was probably my darkest hour. I was even forced to speak with a counsellor, and probably talking to her was one of the smartest moves I made after coming here. Maybe it was the much needed emotional support she offered, or maybe the unbelievably creative and amazing presentations my classmates made or I dont know what it was, when I decided that I was going to give up, they made me think about it again and helped me form a new resolve. Not to give up. And as the night is darkest before the dawn, my persistence paid off, and there was dawn. Things improved... not much, but there was improvement nonetheless. And this is hopefully, the first of the many steps I'm going to take now on. The journey's going to be long. But like Mr Frost says, I have miles to go before I sleep.

Cheers!

My Addictions

its been four months since i've written in my blog. i've been busy trying to figure out what to do with my life and it kept me busy for four whole months.now that i'm clear with the path i've to take,i've begun appreciating other things life had to offer me: books, movies, soaps, music, relationships, cool breeze, mild rain and my own company.the past one month has left me with such joy and sense of satisfaction that i had to wonder why i didnt experience those before!I'd like to categorise my addictions in 3groups: movies,soaps and music.

I've watched movies at an unbelievable rate: masterpieces like The Dark Knight,Ratatouille, romantic movies like Sleepless in Seattle,Serendipity and also totally violent/action movies like Hitman etc...all in 2days.

Then,i became addicted to the greatest sitcom ever: Friends. I loved all the character,but Chandler with his wisecraks and his legendary wit totally became my favourite!Then i went on to watch series like Prison Break,How I met your mother and Heroes.I have no idea how many sleepless nights i spent watching them,not because it became an addiction,but because i lost track of time.i almost smashed my PC when Friends came to an end after 238 episodes.

My third addiiction...and the greatest addiction is music.

The Question and The Answer

What do you call someone who's simple, yet complicated in ways unimaginable? What do you call someone who likes being with a group,in a group...yet, solitude is what he loves? How can you describe someone who wants to achieve dizzying heights, yet wants to remain unnoticed and anonymous, hidden among the crowd? How would you attempt to define someone who loves cloudy weather, yet doesn't want it to drizzle? What do you call someone who wants to love and be loved by all, but just ends up being hated the most? What do you call someone whose goal is clear as daylight, but his path is clouded in doubt and uncertainty? This is what I am... nice to make your acquaintance....

Horror that India witnessed

India braved another attack of terror... an attack on the innocent,on the righteous and the simple-minded...an attack by cowards, by extremists and religious fanatics who defame their God,religion and themselves by massacring the innocent. I have friends from all religions and we do talk about the ethics our respective religions teach us. Though Islam never sounded like an extremist religion,it is sad that most people hate it,but with a good reason. fanatics intend to destroy the lives of simple people in the name of religion, but they should know that a man's beliefs die with him. How do they expect their God to welcome them with open arms for murdering others,thus defaming his name? All that's going to get us through this period of hatred and war is...love. Spread love...love heals all wounds,tames all spirits and leads us out of this HELL.

The exam,the tension and the realization

I had an exam,which I partly screwed up. Since a few days,with no apparent reason,my Bp's shot up like hell and I've begun to lose self-control and composure right before the exam. Today was no different..and after I came out of the exam-hall,I felt a tad better. On my way home,I began to think why I'm beginning to lose composure before the exam,and I realized that the fear of not succeeding and and the fear of not meeting others' expectations were the main reasons.in that very moment,it hit me - the Realization: If you live up each moment as if you're gonna die in a few seconds,and you're damn sure that no matter what u do can change that,you're gonna enjoy each of those moments...even scorching heat,all the burden in this world,and any other trouble seems to melt away...when you realize each moment is precious and worth living. Today is a gift...that's why,it's called PRESENT. I live to make my dreams come true,but not to hesitate every single time before I take a step towards that dream...