freeyavedu

From Boston, MA to Seattle,WA

2006-10-08T21:40:00.000-07:00

Actually, the title should have been "From Marlborough,MA to Redmond,WA".
Its been some time since I blogged. Lotsa changes.

Changed my co-ordinates from one end of I90 to the other.

For those who don't know, I-90 runs coast-to-coast, east to west. After moving thousands of miles, I still end up driving on the same interstate at times. I do miss Marlborough and the ppl there. If not for the wonderful ppl there, life would have been boring. I wish life gets exciting in Redmond too.

Yeah.. Yeah... Its Raksha Bandhan

2006-08-08T19:41:00.000-07:00

Every year, atleast after the school days, this day was the one which I dread the most.

For a change, this year, the fear is gone. What happened to the rakhiophobia ?

I wish the rakhiophobia returns next year.

Opinions change

2006-08-07T19:57:00.000-07:00

Opinions change !

If you are still sticking to your opinion its because you still haven't found that powerful,changing force yet.

Wow ! The force was too good.

Its a beautiful thing

2006-03-26T20:14:00.000-08:00

What can make a dull commute to work interesting ?
- Seeing a woman driving her truck.

Call it fantasy or whatever, Its a delight to see a woman driving her dodge ram or chevy truck. I enjoy seeing a women drive her truck.

Reminds me of a sticker on a truck bumper,which I saw in Lex long time back,
" A woman and her truck - its a beautiful thing !"

How true !

Pic Source : www.dodge.com

Elixir

2006-03-26T19:52:00.000-08:00

Kurinjiyil piranthu
      Kuthitha kumari aval,
Mullai paayunthu
      Malligai manam veesinaal !

Mangai aval kadanthu sendral
      Marudham sezhipadiyavey !
Neithal sendru kalandha
      Nangai - Aval

Parkamal sendrathal
      Paalai aagi ponenae !
Kavarum en thozhil vitu
      Kalavu poi nindrenae !

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
After reading lot of poems in childhood with ethugai and monai, tried the monai effect here .... :-)

If I am not wrong, "Nirai kavarthal" is the occupation of ppl of Paalai.

2006-03-19T20:28:00.000-08:00

Visit to the temple,
Getting lost between Cambridge and Boston,
Go-Karting,
Hunting for a place to park in downtown Boston,
Syriana,
Watching F1 half asleep,
V for Vendetta @ an IMAX theatre,
couple of restuarants.

Oh my God, Weekend is over.....

For the directionally challenged

2006-03-05T12:41:00.000-08:00

I am planning to buy a car navigational system for my Scion tC. After reading few reviews and also considering the cost, I thought I would go for Garmin StreetPilot C340. Anyone of u guys own a c340 ? If so, what do u think abt it ?

Suggestions about other GPS model are welcome. Please post your comments.

Well, I goto go now. Should stop @ the next gas station for directions.

(Music in the background : "Engey sellum intha pathai... Yaro yar arivarooo !" )

Last Weekend

2006-02-28T15:32:00.000-08:00

Picture Source : http://www.wachusett.com

Whipped Cream

2006-02-03T22:28:00.000-08:00

There is something with whipped cream.
I act like a kid when I see it.

Photo source : www.tastingmenu.com

But, I always resist from buying a full container of whipped cream and eating it to my heart's content. I am afraid that it might have a cloying effect. I don't want to lose my crazy liking for it.

Life

2006-01-29T18:48:00.000-08:00

He had to go through the pain. He had to suffer.
But, he still hoped that one day there will be a cure.
He thought that he will live happily after that.

But, the world thought otherwise.
'Euthanasia'.

They argued. "We can't see him suffer".

2006-01-24T19:06:00.000-08:00

Ok, itha kaetu tension aga kudathu. Thedirnu innaiku thirukural padiakalamunu thonichu. Read some random ones. Not in any particular order. Among those read today, I liked these two.

!@#$%^&*()

2006-01-23T18:16:00.000-08:00

Quote 2

2006-01-23T15:49:00.000-08:00

Read this quote in gmail this morning.

Patience has its limits. Take it too far, and it's cowardice. - George Jackson

PS:
Dei Me, intha postae partha odanae comment ezhutha thudipiyae.

Quote

2006-01-16T11:40:00.000-08:00

"I can accept failure, but I can't accept not trying."
- Michael Jordan

2006-01-10T20:06:00.000-08:00

I need to get back to the habit of reading.
Not for pleasure, but for career growth.
People who are older than me read me a lot.

If tech books were half as fun as Novels,Comics etc,
I would have read a lot of them.

2006-01-09T19:23:00.000-08:00

Damn good ! Pretty late at getting my hands on this one.
I really like some of the conversations.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
"Oliver", Jenny interrupted,"will you stop babbling like a stupid goddamn preppie, and "

"Jennifer," Mr.Cavilleri interrupted, "can you avoid the profanity ?
The sonovabitch is a guest !"

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

"I don't like it," she said.
"What?"
"The fact that I like it."

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

En uyirae !

2006-01-02T15:01:00.000-08:00

Udal mael uyir vanthu ondruvathu eyalbae !

Vanthu serthuvidu ennodu,
Nam padaipom
azhagiya ezhuthugal,
....................varthaigal,
........................vakiyangal,
.............................kaviyangal !

Ethu kadinam alla !
Yennanil..

Udal mael uyir vanthu ondruvathu eyalbae !

random post

2006-01-02T14:58:00.000-08:00

I have changed quite a bit. In the past 10 days, I did lot of things which I had never done before.

2005-12-27T09:15:00.000-08:00

Azhagana porulkal ellam unnai ninaivu paduthuginrana !
Unnai ninaivu paduthum porulkal ellam azhagagathan irukinrana !

Courtesy : 'Kadhal Desam'

Merry Christmas !

2005-12-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

I am excited about this trip. Will be meeting N, S, A and V. The last time I met N, S and A together was about 2.5 years back at THE PARK, Chennai.

And yeah, will be celebrating Christmas after 3 years. I miss the stars that are hung outside the houses. People become creative by connecting a starter to it to make 'em blink. I miss the Indian version of christmas.

- mid night mass
- visiting friends and relatives
- Achu muruku, briyani
- carols

According to ehow.com, you can add a touch of Indian flair to Christmas by these steps.

1. Light and place "diya," small candles, throughout your house.

2. Create floor decorations with brightly colored powders and chalks. Turmeric powder, paprika and flour can be used to create traditional Christmas symbols such as angels and stars.

3. If available, display mango leaves throughout your home during the holiday in place of pine sprigs and holly wreaths.

4. Prepare traditional Indian dishes for friends and family. For example, you might serve tandoori, biryani and curry dishes as a main course and rice pudding for dessert.

5. Dress in festive, traditional Indian clothing to perform Christmas music played on a stringed sitar, drums and cymbals.

For the next 10 days, escapeeeeeeeeeeeee from cold MA.

Merry Christmas !

Quarter life crisis

2005-12-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

Found the following article from this link :
http://www.cds.caltech.edu/~shane/text/quarterlifecrisis.html

Summa putu putu vanchu irukanga..

The Quarter-Life Crisis
by unknown

It is when you stop going along with the crowd and start realizing that there are a lot of things about yourself that you didn't know and may or may not like. You start feeling insecure and wonder where you will be in a year or two, but then get scared because you barely know where you are now.

You start realizing that people are selfish and that, maybe, those friends that you thought you were so close to aren't exactly the greatest people you have ever met and the people you have lost touch with are some of the most important ones. What you do not realize is that they are realizing that too and are not really cold or catty or mean or insincere, but that they are as confused as you.

You look at your job. It is not even close to what you thought you would be doing or maybe you are looking for one and realizing that you are going to have to start at the bottom and are scared.

You miss the comforts of college, of groups, of socializing with the same people on a constant basis. But then you realize that maybe they weren't so great after all.

You are beginning to understand yourself and what you want and do not want. Your opinions have gotten stronger. You see what others are doing and find yourself judging a bit more than usual because suddenly you realize that you have certain boundaries in your life and add things to your list of what is acceptable and what is not. You are insecure and then secure. You laugh and cry with the greatest force of your life. You feel alone and scared and confused. Suddenly change is the enemy and you try and cling on to the past with dear life but soon realize that the past is drifting further and further away and there is nothing to do but stay where you are or move forward.

You get your heart broken and wonder how someone you loved could do such damage to you or you lay in bed and wonder why you can't meet anyone decent enough to get to know better. You love someone but maybe love someone else too and cannot figure out why you are doing this because you are not a bad person.

One night stands and random hook ups start to look cheap and getting wasted and acting like an idiot starts to look pathetic. You go through the same emotions and questions over and over and talk with your friends about the same topics because you cannot seem to make a decision.

You worry about loans and money and the future and making a life for yourself and while wining the race would be great, right now you'd just like to be a contender!

What you may not realize is that everyone reading this relates to it. We are in our best of times and our worst of times, trying as hard as we can to figure this whole thing out.

Diwali

2005-11-01T19:22:00.000-08:00

Iniya deepavali nal vazthugal !

Man, I miss deepavali so much ........ No sound of crackers, no sweets, no festive mood.

Kana kandenadi

2005-11-01T18:33:00.000-08:00

Happened to hear kana kandenadi song from the film parthiban kanavu again.

Dunno why I can't get these two lines properly.

Its like a tongue twister. Well, not exactly. I always mix the words from these two lines.

'Un vizhi muthal mozhi varai muzhuvathum kavithaigal,
agam yethu puram yethu purithathu polae,
kana kandenadi !

un mudi muthal adi varai muzhuvathum inimaikal
suvai yethu sugam yethu arinthathu polae,
kana kandenadi !'

Awesome lines !

The perfect groom

2005-10-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

One of my friends was talking to her mom.

Her Mom : "Serima, Unaku enna mathiri payan pakanum ? "

My friend : "Hmm... (thinking).... He should be outgoing. blah blah.
He should be smart..... blah blah..
he should be .......... blah blah
he should be ........... more blah blah blah."

Finally, she said, "In short, he should make me laugh."

Her mom replied pretty cooly : " Serima, I will ask the guy whether he can tickle you properly !"

2005-10-17T18:30:00.000-07:00

Right from my childhood till my masters , I have always been with ppl of my age.
People who share similar thoughts. People who do similar things.

Today...

I have graduated and work in a place where I hardly find ppl of my age. Its so different to hear ppl, always talking about their kids, their vacation with kids, new born child, real estate prices, green card approval, in-laws visiting and so on. Things that are interesting to them doesn't interest me.

Back with the tag

2005-09-21T16:21:00.000-07:00

-- I wish to do these things. Can't say, that I plan to do them.
Seven things you plan to do before you die
<1> Go on a vacation to a tropical island
<2> Take someone special ;-) to all beautiful places on earth
<3> Do something out of the ordinary
<4> Settle down in India
<5> Own a jet ski,glider etc
<6> Learn to play some instrument
<7> Find that special person mentioned in <2>

Seven things I can do
<1> Talk for hours
<2> Watch any and every tamil movie
<3> Can listen to others patiently
<4> Program decently
<5> long road trips
<6> keep eating south indian food without getting bored of it
<7> get bored easily when all alone

-- Parunga yaruku yara eppa pudikumunu, ethuku pudikumunu sollavae mudiyathu ;-)
Seven things that attract you to the opposite sex
<1> long hair/pony tail
<2> Expressive eyes
<3> Nalla tamizh pesura ponnu
<4> Traditional wear
<5> Vaayadi
<6> Mischievous
<7> sweet smile

Seven things you say the most
<1> Hi da / Hi di
<2> Kalaku
<3> Seriously
<4> freeyavedu
<5> vethu
<6> machi
<7> cool

Seven celebrity crushes
<1> Sneha, Sneha, Sneha - noting to move her from the number one spot in my
list
<2> Angelina Jolie
<3> Nadhiya
<4> Jothika
<5> Jennifer Aniston
<6> Drew Barrymore
<7> Sania Mirza

Avanum ambi than

2005-07-11T18:18:00.000-07:00

Me and Kay had a discussion few days back. The main topic of discussion,
"How we differ from those cool dudes?"

1. Nanga rendu perumae vetthu. Scene podarathu romba kastam.
2. Both of us are not the type who can sport a tattoo on the arm.
3. Introverts to certain extent.
4. Bad at flirting. ( Ppl do say that Kay is not that bad though).
5. Romba nalla pasanga.. ;-) ( vetthu pasanga.. no thanni.. no dum..)
6. Shorta sollanumna anniyan padathula vara ambi mathiri.

and list went on...

Anniyan padathula vara mathiri, remonu oru split personality vandhathan undu. We can't change ourself. Then, Kay suddenly said,
" dei.. Nammaku split personality irunthalum projanam illa.. Avanum Ambiyathan irupan.. Remo agavae matan.. :-("

How true !

Eppo varum next long weekend ?

2005-07-09T12:18:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was awesome. Long road trip, back to back movies, Turkish/Thai/Mediterranean food, Jet Skiing, driving U-haul truck, getting stopped by cop, escaping with just a warning, drive to the lake, losing directions, feeling conscious abt using the fork and above all spending time with your friend.

Once more polama ? Daddy !

Adh nan illengo... Anna, athu nan illanga anna...

2005-06-24T22:26:00.000-07:00

I reached Madison this evening after a boring bus journey. I took a cab. The driver was talking to me about India and Indian movies. He is from Somalia. After sometime, I had to confess that I don't understand Hindi and thats why I didn't watched the movies which he mentioned. This is what happened after that:

Cab Driver : So, what do u speak ?

Me : Tamil.

Cab Driver : Are u from Hyderabad ?

Me : No.. Hyderabad is in a state called AP. I am from a state called TamilNadu.

Cab Driver : Oh.. So u r a tamil tiger ?

Me : !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????

Ularal

2005-06-12T20:23:00.000-07:00

One of my friends asked me a question for which I was not able to answer immediately.

My reply,

"Athu vandhu...."

pause

"Athu eppadina ? "

pause

"Athu enaku theriyala !"

Kaadhil ketavai (3)

2005-06-10T22:32:00.000-07:00

Back in college, we never used to take the CAT( Continuous Assessment Tests) seriously. Almost all of us submitted blank papers. The lecturers had to evaluate these papers and return it back to us.

One of my lecturers S came to class. He was distributing the papers together with comments. Most of us had scored a perfect zero. He called one of my classmates to distribute his paper. This guy was not at all bothered abt his score which was zero.

S got irritated and said, "Enna zero vangitanu romba santhoshama ? Athu kooda neeya vangala, naana unaku award pannathu .."

Falling

2005-05-30T13:06:00.000-07:00

Inspired by Virumandi's post, I am giving a shot to write like that. Eppadi da eppadi ellam ezhuthurenga ?

Falling..................
Slowly,Surely,Truly,Madly.

Happiness

2005-05-23T22:56:00.000-07:00

Time now : 12:57 AM Central Time.

I feel very happy now. A sense of contenment. Feeling sleepy..But unable to sleep for no apparent reason ( Comment ezhuthum makalae thapu thapa purinchukadeenga..). I wish life is filled with more moments like this.

Perungalathurites

2005-05-20T17:08:00.000-07:00

I was busy for the past few days. I didn't visit other blogs too for quite some time. After days of hard work ( Thats true.. Hard work), I managed to find some time to read the blogs.

Happened to visit thalaivar Venkitu's blog. Well, he had posted some 4 or 5 new posts since I visited his blog. One particular post caught my attention. Wow, He is from Perungalathur too.

For ppl who don't know, Its a beautiful place 3 km south of Tambaram. ( NH-45 la pogum pothu... Exit no 000 edudtha.. u can reach downtown Perungalathur.) Oru kalathula TamilNadu's Detroita irundhuthu..( Had a car manufacturing plant called Std Motors). One of the largest zoological park in South Asia is just 3 km from Perungalathur.

I was thrilled to hear that a fellow blogger who visits my blog regularly ( and I visit his blog too) is from the same place. AnnaNagar, Mambalam mathiri areala neriaya bloggers irukurathu sagajam. But, from perungalathur... Thats a surprise.

Dream.... Dream... It might come true some day...

2005-05-14T23:36:00.000-07:00

A peaceful life, loving family and friends, time and money to do whatever you want, home on a remote island, long drive on a winding highway, ppl to care for, playing with your pet dog, meeting good old friends, travel back in time to re-live those moments for which you crave for... The list is endless.

Imagination, unrestricted by reality.

Flick

2005-05-14T23:32:00.000-07:00

Whenever I watch a really good movie, I wish it never ends. Its hard for me to get out of the fantasy world. While playing DVDs, I used to check the time left (The time left for the movie to be over). The very feeling that the movie is gonna be over is a bit disappointing. I get engrossed in the world out there, which is so much different than the real one. I just want to be a part of the that life. Only a few movies can cast that spell on you.

I thought it was over....

2005-05-11T18:13:00.000-07:00

After my 12th std, I told myself, "Freeyavedu, just 4 years. Get ur degree. No more studies." I entered college with the mindset that I will start working after 4 years of college. I dunno when I decided to do my Masters. Man, those were days. I can still remember the way I studied for my GRE. Me and my friend V used to study wordlist all the time. We went to the extent of studying wordlist in the pallavan bus too. ( It was called MTC by then . Who cares... Its always pallavan bus for me)
Can write an entire post about it.

Apram enna second round of torture called MS. I found it a bit difficult during my first semester. Things were fine after that. Throughout, my MS I told myself, "just 2 years. I will be done." Finished my MS successfully.

Ennakum exam ezhuthurathukum appadi oru rasi. Here, I am preparing for my next exam. IZ0-007. Nan sentha vellai athu mathiri. Have to take these exams.
No, Its not over yet. I should be taking 1Z0-147 in another 3 weeks. Ethu ellam ozhunga panna, apram iruku 1Z0-141.

All those Oracle professionals out there, help with IZO-147 ( program with PL/SQL).
Enna padikirathu... etha vidurathu..onnum puriyala..

Blog visitors, ungalil yaravathu
Oracle9i PL/SQL Developer Certified Associate
or
Oracle9i Forms Developer Certified Professional
irukeengala ?

2005-05-04T17:40:00.000-07:00

I will be back soon.... ( probably in a week's time).

Until then, Happy blogging. Do visit after a week.

The Perfect Evening

2005-04-27T00:10:00.000-07:00

I walk towards the falls holding the hand of this angel. She is looking gorgeous. She is wearing her favorite skirt and the dark colored top. As we approach the falls, I could see her face changing colors due to the light reflected from the falls. I listen patiently as she talks about the beautiful colors. The gentle breeze interrupts often and she had to adjust her hair that fell on her face. I wish that there is no tomorrow.

The perfect evening - Niagara at night, with the love of your life.

Nostalgic

2005-04-20T21:10:00.000-07:00

I wanted to write a post titled 'Humble Beginings'. I told Kay abt this sometime back. I thought of writing about this once I move out of Lex and settle in a new place. To my surprise, Venky had written a post on the same title and pretty much about what I wanted to write. Click here to read his post.

For ppl who don't know, Venky was my other roomie. He left to Indiana for his internship. He was the one who introduced me to blogging. Good job, dude. Machi, orae nostalgic memories da. I will write my version of 'humble beginings' soon.

Rose Well House

2005-04-20T15:07:00.000-07:00

I drove to Indiana to meet one of my friends. Had a chance to visit IU campus last sunday. I have read about Rose Well House at IU campus. My friend said, " Vaa Freeyavedu, unoda favorite spot in IU-ku kootitu poraen"

According to IU's site, "The Rose Well House, an open-air pavilion in the heart of campus, covers the original well for IU and was a gift from Theodore F. Rose in 1908. Tradition holds that a female student is not officially a co-ed until she has been kissed beneath its dome at midnight."

Pretty bad that colleges back in India don't have a place like this. Intha mathiri interestinga ethavathu pannugapa. Students will also love coming to college instead of bunking classes. Atha vetutu enga nikathey, anga ninu pesathey etc., etc., Orae torture. Enna ethellam siru pillai thanama iruku. Most of the college girls are not officially co-ed because of a lack of place like this.

Enna solla pogirai ? (2)

2005-04-18T16:34:00.000-07:00

I waited for quite sometime. Then, she came out and told me those golden words,
"Congratulations !"

Yeah, my project was accepted. It was my advisor who said those golden words. I am done with my masters. Course work mudinchiduchu. Project matum than irundathu. Eppa athuvum over. I decided that apr 14 would be the day of the final exam, some 3 weeks back. Previous night thokam varala. Slighta tension.

Etha pathi thanda naan blog pannaen. Athukula ivalo build up kudukeerenga. My advisor knew that I would give my final exam sooner or later. I made sure that I wear neat clothes. Kay asked me to stay cool. My friend 'A' will be giving her final exam next month. Thats y she told, "Enaku irukura tension koda unaku illaiya"

Apr 14 - 2 PM. The time came. Solla vendiyatahu ellam sonnaen. Her friends ( the other committee members) were also there. Once, the presentation was over, they asked me to wait outside. After sometime, they declared that I have passed my final exam.

Yeah....

Thus, Freeyavedu completed his MS successfully and lived happily everafter.

Enna solla pogirai ?

2005-04-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

I decided that this will be the day(Apr 14). Nalla naal vaera. I have made up my mind to tell this some 3 weeks back. I didn't sleep properly the previous night. Slighta tension.

She knows about it. She also knows that I am gonna do this sooner or later. I made sure that I look good on this D-day. Pressed my clothes the previous day itself ( Ethu enaku raasiyana shirtnu yosichitu irundhen).

Kay asked me to stay cool. Dei, enaku avalo tension illada. My friend 'A' was like - "Enaku irukura tension koda unaku illaiya". Actually, I didn't think that it was a big deal.

Finally, the time came. Solla vendiyatahu ellam sonnaen. Her friends were also there. Solli mudicha peragu, I was expecting her to say those golden words. But, she asked me to wait.

Hmmmmmmmmmmm, "Enna solla pogirai ?"

Yahoo.....

2005-04-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

Thanks Indibloggers for selecting one of my post as the 'Blog of the day'.
Thennavan - That was really a surprise.

For ppl, who don't know indibloggers, click here

Oru naal than blog of the day. If you reading this post, days after apr 14, this is what thennavan had there.

Blog of the Day:

"This is a section that highlights one blog each day. Our blog of the day is the one by Freeyavedu. Freeyavedu (the name in Tamglish means "leave me alone") is a blogger from Lexington, who writes on his experiences as a student. His recent post also includes pictures of the blogger meet that was held in Lexington. His posts contain Tamil interspersed with English and that may be a challenge to people who don't understand it but overall, it makes for good reading."

Ok guys, today is an important day for me. Will blog about it in next post.

Cell phone bill yerra... ..

2005-04-12T22:07:00.000-07:00

Fall 2003, US vandha pothu...
Phone was the only way of contacting friends in US. I was surprised to hear that long distance calls are free after 9 PM in cell phones. Orae Kushi. I can remember the torture my seniors had to go through because of this. Avangala torture panni mudicha apram, Venky and Kay bought their cell phones. Seniorsa freeyavetachu. Konja naal ivangala padithinaen.

Apram, oruvazhiya I bought a cell phone. Pattikattan mittai kadai parthathu polla irunthuchu mudalil.

During the first few months, my statement was like this:
whenever minutes - around 600
weekend minutes - around 800
weekday off peak - around 1000

Thirumba India pona appa, felt really bad. I had to pay for the long distance calls. Aaaa vunaaa roaming. Romba pesala. But, one good thing about cell phones there - you don't have to pay for incoming calls. Kay had habit of not picking up his cellphone in India b4 9 PM. His brother had to enlighten him saying " dey kay, incoming freeda!". Indiala makkal SMS la poonthu velaiyaduranga. My brother taught how to use T9 feature which was already present on my cell phone. Evalo speeda msg panranga. I rarely use text msging here.

Dei, Kay nee eppadida 300 minutes vachikitu adjust panra ?
Eppathan nan pesurathu konjum kammi agi iruku.
Weekend minutesnum, off peak minutes kamiagiduchu.

Latest news : I have 3 minutes left and 10 days to go before my next billing cycle starts. ( Not again. Ponna masam than 25$ extra katinaen.)

En phoneku vaai iruntha azhum.

Realization

2005-04-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

I have been pondering over this for sometime now.

I had to live away from my family and friends.Yet, I only remember complaining about missing my friends.I always wondered whether I miss my friends more than my family and even told some of my friends the same.

What made me think so ?
Friends - you meet differnt ppl at different times. You miss them when they go out of your life. Life takes you to different places. Your priorites change. They have very little time for you.

The truth:
Your parents and siblings are always there for you. Their priorities never change. You never feel left out. Wherever you go, whatever you do - they are always there for you. May be, I took them for granted.

I never used to talk much when I was at home (thats completely opposite of what I was at college). When you realize all this, you are miles apart. You wish you had spent more time with them.

Reality strikes.......

The post ended in a way, different from what I expected.

The Unofficial Lexington Bloggers Meet

2005-04-11T20:30:00.002-07:00

We had our Tamil New Year Day celebration yesterday. Apr 14th thana tamil new yr - appadi ellam kelvi kekka kodathu. Inga weekendla than celebrate panna mudiyum. Appa than ellorukum time kedaikum. Event nadakara varaikum orae jolly than. Practice athu ethunu fasta pochu.

According to http://indibloggers.blogspot.com, the following are the bloggers from Lexington.

1.Freeyavedu
2.Kay
3.Muthukumar Puranam
4.Subhashini
5.Venky

Nethu enga bloggers meetunu sollalam. All of us were there.

Me, Kay and Venkat( not Venky) won the first prize in Adzap.

Kay dramala nalla nadichan. Adzaplaium kalakinan.

Subha semmaiya padina.

Muthukumar dramala kalakinaru. Dabbakuthu nalla adinaru.

Venky drove all the way from Indiana. Judgeaa irunthan.

It was a nice Weekend !

Anaivarukum en Iniya Tamizh Puthandu Nalvazhthugal !

PS : Lexingtonaites - Write ur comments without revealing the identities of those in the pics. I am not sure whether everyone in the pics will be OK with that. Hehehe...

freeyavedungapaa !

2005-04-09T20:08:00.000-07:00

All of us love the company of our friends. We hang out together, spend time together, make fun of each other. Oru kumbala irundal bayagara fun. Oru groupa suthuna funthan. Groupa suthum pothu , you do one of the following:
1. Aratai adikarathu
2. Aduthavana oturathu

But, sometimes u need to spend time with each of them individually. Heard this again from my friend Venky, yesterday. U ll miss your friends a lot when u go to a different place. Thriumbi avangala parkum pothu neraiya pesanumu thonum. Hanging out as a group or having a conversation with family members around is not a great idea.

Had experienced this a couple of times. Makkale, eppavumae thondaravu pannathenga. I don't have to give an explanation for each and every action of mine. Venky - anna un groupoda matha friends manasa hurt pannama panradhu romba kastamda. But, I guess u do a good job at it.

Kaadhil ketavai (3) - Failure

2005-04-07T10:41:00.000-07:00

Heard this sometime during school days. Manasula appadiyae pathinchuduchu.

Failures are of two types.
i) Those who think and never do.
ii)Those who do and never think.

Vandhutanya Vandhutan

2005-04-05T19:26:00.000-07:00

I was busy this weekend. I rented a car. I had scheduled my road test for this monday. Weekend fulla driving practice panniyae poyiduchu. Thanks to Kay for his amazing tips while driving. Avanuku weekend fulla orae bayam. He wasn't sure whether he would be alive after the weekend. As an Instruction Permit holder, I need a licensed driver to accompany me during my practice sessions( Qualifying roundsnu vachukalam). The honor went to Kay. I found out that I was a decent driver.

Date : 4/4/05
Venue : Lexington, Kentucky, USA (Indianapolis track kedaikala)
Car : Hyundai Elantra ( Ferrari kedaikala Enterprisela)
Race result : Pass ( Ethu matum than nenachathu kedachuthu)

Latest Update : Kay was last seen polambifying to other ppl, "Vandhutanya Vandhutan"

Pin kuripu : Ethu enoda first attempt. ( hehehehe.....)

Learn to say "No"

2005-03-31T17:50:00.000-08:00

Few years back, I never used to say "No" if someone requests for something( No..not money or any other material possession). Helping others is a good tendency. But, sometimes you accept everyone's request and end up making a mess.

Over the years, I learnt this - Accept to help only if you can really do it. Promising to help someone and then unable to help them - it sucks. Probably I should have said "No" when approached. They would have got help from someone else.

I still have a long way to go. Should learn to say "No" without hurting others.

The only thing that is constant is change

2005-03-29T20:19:00.000-08:00

Its been an uninteresting week so far. Nothing went right my way ( except for my Masters project.) On top of it, I have started fearing about change. In a months time from now, I might be in a different place. I won't know anyone there. I will not have a single soul to talk to. I have to start everything from scratch. I had never felt so bad. Agreed, I struggled initially when I came to US. But, never before in life, I feared so much for change.

All the changes that happened so far in life had been interesting. Atleast I was looking forward for it. Be it going to a new college (my UG college), coming to US, finding new friends... But,this one is scary.

I was talking to my friend Subha about this. She was telling me about how she had to accept change as way of life. She wrote a post about it while I was talking to her. After talking to her, I logged in to read some blogs and here it is. Check this out. I was surprised to see a new post from her in such a short time. Called her and found out that this particular post is for me. :-)

Hey Subha, thanks for writing this piece for me. You are really an inspiration.

All our souls are written in our eyes

2005-03-26T11:15:00.001-08:00

Talking to someone when only their eyes are visible is truly a different feeling. Feels like whatever you say goes directly into their hearts. It gives you a feeling that they give their full attention to whatever is being said. Well, I can't make the person talking to me invisible (with only their eyes visible).

Found an easy way to do this. Want to try this with your friend? Just sit on the back seat of the car. Ask your friend to drive. And when you talk, your friend has to look into the rear view mirror instead of looking back at you. Then, you ll realize what I am talking about. ( Don't try this too often or with your boyfriend/girlfriend. Results could be devastating. You might end up never seeing each other. Car crash agidumpa....)

Read a quote this morning, "My eyes are an ocean in which my dreams are reflected".

PS: No, this post is not about maintaining eye contact. Its about looking just at the eyes and eyes alone. Few of the comments were targeted at maintaining eye contact. Thats not what I wanted to convey.

Kaadhil ketavai (2) - SUICIDE

2005-03-21T21:19:00.000-08:00

First year of B.E..

Mr. S came to class. He was talking about tensions and how it affects the students. Then he said, " Athanalathanpa neraiya paer SELF SUICIDE panikiranga ! ".
Little did he know, if someone else executes it, its called murder.

Kaadhil ketavai (1)

2005-03-21T21:15:00.000-08:00

I am going to give a series of posts under this topic. All of em will be small posts.

My roomie Kay about adolescent love to his friend..
" Machi... 19 vaayasula ennada theiryum..
Yerumai koda Azhagathan theriyum ! "

So true...... :-)

Yet another friday evening....

2005-03-18T17:31:00.000-08:00

Monday morning - I hated monday mornings all the while. ( Except fot the 4 years during my UG). After coming to US, I have started hating friday evenings as well.

Yet another friday evening. I browse desperately to find something interesting, which will help me kill my boredom. As the friday evening casts its evil spell on you... You wonder whether it is all worth it. No one to talk to. No one to meet now. Nothing to do.(Agreed, tht I have to work on my project). Not a single one picks up the damn cell phone.

Life was so much fun during those UG days. Never thought that I have to go through all this. Never thought I would miss people. Never thought you would sit idly in my room. If not for blogging, life would have been even tough(atleast today).

Knock, Knock ( Half way through the blog someone knocked the door). ( ME out of blogging for next 30 minutes)

Its my roomie Kay. appada vanthan... enni avan kita mokkaya podalam. People like him take you out of this mood. You have an interesting conversation and talk about lot of silly things ( and some serious things too).

Entha friday escape aigitaen. Don't know whats gonna happen next weekend. U guys have a happy happy weekend !

The Lady or the tiger?

2005-03-16T21:32:00.000-08:00

I like this story a lot. Its one of my alltime favorite. I guess I read it sometime in high school. Felt like sharing it with you guys. http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml

What would you do ? Girls, just put yourself in the situation of the princess. For guys, imagine that ur girl is in the arena and she can either get married to a hunk or get killed by the tiger. I would seriously doubt if anyone could say without hesitation that they would show the way to the other person who is waiting to
marry his/her lover.

Which one will win ? Love or jealousy ? Lady or the tiger ? I would give 'envy' the first place among the seven deadly sins.

Note :
For those who just read my post without reading the story - Its a good one. Do read it when you have time.

Expressions - Way of Life

2005-03-12T21:40:00.000-08:00

I am not good at expressing what I feel. And when it comes to people, I am unable to tell them, what I feel, how much I care, What I don't like, what I like in them. I don't know whether this is for good or bad. I think I should change. Before, they think I don't care about them. Before they think, I don't consider them close to me. Before they think, I am indifferent.

Athula enna peruma? Both of u get out

2005-03-09T22:14:00.000-08:00

Me and Kay are busy searching for jobs for quite sometime now. We juggle many things at the same time and ended up making a mess, a couple of times.

Scene :1
Culprit: Freeyavedu
What happened?
I had to email a person. I had his email Id which he gave during the career fair the earlier day. I typed in my covering letter which included the sentence, " I have attached my resume .... ". I hit send without attaching the file. I realized this and told kay about this. I decided to send it again. I had to go through the rigor of typing the email again. I filled in the address and subject field and booom.. I hit send. What the hell ! I didn't attach the file again. Can I be more lethargic than this ? Finally, I managed to send it the 3rd time. After sending it, I was wondering what the person at the other end would think of me. After a couple of minutes, all the 3 emails bounced back with the error,'PERM_FAILURE: SMTP Error (state 13): 550 5.7.1 Requested action not taken: message refused'. I am not sure what happened. Should look into it. May be they thought I am spammer.

Scene : 2
Culprit : Kay
What happened?
Me and kay had named our resume as 'resume.doc'. We use each others comp. We had the habit of saving the file on our desktop before attaching it with email. Kay wrote a superb covering letter to a firm saying," I am kay.. blah blah blah... Attached the resume.. blah blah blah...." He is unlike me. He attaches the file properly before sending. Anna oru small mistake: He had sent my resume. Now, what will the person at the other end think. To make things worse, I had to send my resume to the same person and he would have got 2 copies of my resume. I can hear the other person saying,"athula enna peruma. Both of u get out".

I m SVCE-ian - So whats ur problem ?

2005-03-08T22:24:00.000-08:00

I m sure this title would make a few think that I am a braggart. But why ? I was just browsing various blogs until I stumbled on this one.
http://debauchari.blogspot.com/2005/03/svce.html

Atleast ppl like this, who have a wrong opinion about SVCE, might think I am too egoistic to say that I am from SVCE. If you judge a institution by a couple of individuals, I am sorry to say that you are judgementally challenged. Will you a become a totally different person if you go to a particular college ? If yes, is your current behaviour reflection of your alma mater ? I bet you ll disagree, SVCE- haters. But, hey this is not a rare case. I had firsthand experience. I have seen ppl who have got a aversion to SVCE. The reason : 'SVCE ppl brag a lot'. I also came to know that 2 svce-ians talking about their college is enough to piss a non-svce-ian. (Well, I don't say so. This is wat I heard from one of my non-svce-ian friend.) Me and V are from SVCE. WHen we came here to Lexington cpl of years back, we missed a lot of things including SVCE. We ended up talking a lot abt it. But, hey, I didn't pull a non-SVCE guy into the picture and made him listen to whatever I say. But what we talked was enough to create an aversion to some ppl.

SVCE is yet another college. True, that ppl think its one of the best ( I am not bragging here. you thought so) But, we SVCE-ians do the same stuff as the other college guys. We goto classes, bunk classes, waste time during the semesters, slog during exam holidays, travel by college bus, behave the same way with our school friends who were in other college. We are neither IIT nor REC.

And for you guys who still think SVCE is weird : Its not our pride thats causing the problem, its your INFERIORITY COMPLEX.

P.S: Debauchari, do you think whether this might be the problem?
http://debauchari.blogspot.com/2004/11/no-more-mediocity.html Sorry, you have to get out of this situation. We can't help.

Artificial Intelligence

2005-03-08T16:59:00.000-08:00

Flash Back : 4th year of college.

One of our lecturers S is really a funny guy. He had strange mannerisms and accents. I can write an entire post about him. That particular sem, he was our lecturer for 'Artificial Intelligence'.

It was first day of classes. Mr.S entered the classroom. He was trying to explain about AI and how computers can be made to think. He came up with an example,"Imagine if computers were intelligent. How would it be if your computer recognizes you when you sit in front of it and switches on automatically? How can you achieve this ?"

One guy replied nonchalantly, "Seatla switcha vaicha pochu!" ( Just place the power button in the seat).

Sometimes, complex problems might have simple solutions.

US scene

2005-03-05T17:21:00.000-08:00

Before going to India, me, kay and V used to talk a lot about our India trip. We also used to talk about the potential scene ( vetti bandha), each of us might create there. Examples include:

1. Using the words, ' I appreciate it'.
2. Complaining that ppl always drive in blindspot.
3. Using my cool flip phone there.
4. Vetti scene with my Canon A75.
5. Should goto Spencer plaza's subway and ask for the bread which they don't have. ( I guess they don't have Italian herbs and Cheese) . Asking for ranch, only if they don't have it. Asking for a 'to go' box.
6. Flaunting our various credit cards ( With the dialog, " ethu en master card, ethu en Visa card, enthu en discover card and ethu en LAUNDRY card... Ethu neenga accept panuvinga ?) . I don't how we got this stupid idea. After all, I have to pay the bills.

But, actually when I reached India, I didn't make this so called vetti bandha. I got into our own chennai lifestyle. But, few things, which I did ( without the intention of vetti bandha), made my friends say , 'ethhu ellam overda'.

1. We use underground water(well water) in our house in chennai. When I went there, I didn't want to risk falling sick and carried with me a bottle of Aquafina wherever I went. I went to friend's house with the bottle. My mom had called and I had to pick my up my cell phone. Immediate comment, 'Hmm, aquafina.. cell phone.. Dei. V_____ scene podathey'.

2. Another friend of mine A. He always greeted me in my yahoo msgr with the word, ' Wassup?'. So, when I met him, I said 'Hey, wassup ?'. He gave a stare. I replied, 'Dei Machi, Eppadi irukae ?'. His reply, 'Appadi olunga pesu da!'

3. I always wore floaters in India before coming to US. After coming here,I realize that sneakers are more comfortable than floaters. So, I always wore my sneakers there.

4. I met my Dad's friend. He asked me to come to his home. Before I could reply anything,he said, ' Nee chinna pullaiya irundathula irundu enaku theriyum, America ellam nee eppa than pona.. SO, olunga vaa..' I said, "Varan Uncle". Somehow, I didn;t go there. Wonder what he is thinking now.

5. When my dad asked 'What would be the starting salary after u graduate?' I replied, ' XY K'. I got so used to using the letter 'K' instead of word 'thousand'.

6. When talking how much I spent that on shopping, I replied ' Twenty one hundred'. Someone mistook it for 21,100. (21 followed by 100).

Lotsa things like this. Were u actually didn;t want to make a scence. I enjoyed my stay in chennai though. I did of lot of things which I used to do before:

1. Travelling in tambaram - beach electric train.
2. Our famous A18 bus.
3. Eating at Vasantha Bavan, Bhats.
4. My favorite Briyani at the kayendi bavan.
5. Travelling in my college bus.
6. Bed coffee after a long time.
7. Riding my old Suzuki Samurai.
8. Watching a movie in one of the really kaleejee theatres.
9. Worrying about every outgoing call I make. ( Man ! I still think 10 rupees is lot of money while 25 cents is not).
10. Going to Saarang and -------. You know wat. I don't have to complete.

It was a great trip. Did u guys have any similar experience ?

Hemophobia

2005-03-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

It was the day before the Oscars. Me,Kay,A and V went to a theatre. We wanted to watch 'Aviator' coz kay thought that would win the Oscar. Unfortunately, we didn't get the tickets. So, we decided to watch 'Million dollar baby'. No, this blog is not a review about the movie. Its about what happened that day.

The movie was going on smoothly. I liked Hilary Swank. Things were fine until she decided to fight for the title. She got hurt really bad and was hospitalized. In that scene, I was feeling uneasy. I was feeling dizzy. I couldn't watch the movie any longer. I never thought a movie could have such an impact on me. I am always scared of blood. The sight of blood can make me sick.

Few years back, me and my friend Y were travelling on a bike. A small boy was hit by a motorist. It wasn't a serious injury though. He had small cut in his forehead. I continued driving after this incident. But, I couldn't ride for more than half a kilometer. I had to stop my bike. I declared, ' Dei Y, Ennala mudiyathu. Ennala vandi otta mudiyathu '. I stayed there for 15 mins. Only then I had the guts to ride again.

There was another incident during my final year of undergraduate degree. I got hit on the back of my head. There was sharp pain initially. But, after sometime it was OK. But, when I touched my head and realised that I am bleeding, I almost fainted. By God's grace, the cut was a minor one.

Hemophobia is quite scary. Oh no, another phobia. Fear of hemophobia. How do I called that now ?

Ppl be careful. Don't come before me bleeding. But, hey, I managed to watch 'Kill Bill' without any problems. Strange....

Kadhal enna ketta varthaiya ?

2005-03-03T10:14:00.000-08:00

I have been pondering over this for quite a while now. Kadhal enna ketta varthaiya ? ( Is 'love' a word not be uttered ?)

Last month, I went to India. I met my Bro's girlfriend when she came home. After, few days while I was talking about her to my bro, I mentioned her as his girlfriend. This reached his gf and she felt really bad it seems. The reason she gave : Naan unga vetla eppadiya pazhakugraen ? (Is this how I move with ur family members ? ). Bro.. I m sorry. I never meant to hurt her.

Another friend of mine. Well, She is in love too. If you are gonna refer to her boyfriend as 'her boyfriend', she will immediately correct you , saying 'fiance'. No, they are not engaged. ( I m sorry my friend, don't take this blog too personnly.)

Well, Boyfriend illa Girlfriend avalo oru ketta varthaiya ? Guys, cheer up. I personnally feel that you should be proud to say that you have one .

yenna natla pathi paer sollum line enna theriyuma

"Enaku oru girlfriend vendum ada !"

Chennai Sentamizh

2005-03-02T22:05:00.000-08:00

I found this list pretty interesting.

Thanks to Vishi for maintaining this list.
http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~vishi/maddict.html

Aatha - Mother
Abase panrathu/Loot adithal - to steal
Alppam - A Silly/Cheap dude
Allva - To cheat
Annathe - Elder brother
Anni - Elder brother's figure
Appetu - Unsuccesfull
Asathal - Kallakal
Bajari - A not so friendly figure
Bandha - Pilim
Beku - Fool
Chittu or cittu - Figure
Dumeel/Belu - Lie
Desi Gujli - An indian figure in US
Dil - Courage
Dhool - Super
Dhum - To smoke
Davu - Love (verb) lover(noun)
Dori/ondrai - Squint eyed
Figure - (Young/Attractive Lady/Women/Girl)
Freeyavedu - Forget it, take it easy policy
Gujulis - Figures (copyright chinni jayanth)
Guru - Head of the gang
Gujals - Having fun
Gaanapaattu - Rap song of Machis
Gilli, Goli - Traditional games played in Madras
Kenai - Idiot
KikkU / Mabbu - intoxicated/under influence
KikkU / Mabbu - intoxicated/under influence
Jollu - Bird watching
Jilpangs - Gujals
Jute - To get Started
Jotu - Slippers
JuJubi - Easy/piece of cake
Kaattan - Uncivilized
Kadalai - Machi talking to a Gujli or vice versa
Kalaikarathu - Same as ottarathu (usually target one person)
Kalakalls - To cause a flutter
Kamai pakri - Friend of ushar pakri
Katteri - same as Kaattan
Kenai - Idiot
KikkU / Mabbu - intoxicated/under influence
Kindal - To make Fun
kozhai Adikarathu - Putting soaps to someone
Kutti - Figure
Kudumba paatu - A song with which machis identify themselseves
Kulls - A short machi
Laddu - Allva
Machi - Maams
Mandai - A sharp guy
Maams - One cool dude
Mawa/120 - Chewing Tobbaco
Manga - Fool
Mary - Gujili trying to show off by talking in hi-fi english
Naatan - Villager
Naamam - To cheat
Nachunu - Bulls eye
Naina - Father ( courtesy Telugu)
Nambitean - Distrust
OB - To waste time
Ottarathu - To make fun of some one
Pakkri - A shrewd dude
Pampisthanu - A big dude
Peter party - Machi trying to show off by talking in hi-fi english
Pettai - Area
Pesathu - Cheap/jujubi
Pillim - To showoff
Peela - To lie
Ondrai anna - Worthless
Rambo - A manly figure
Sappa - waste, worthless
Sister - Often used by Machis while Approching Figures for the first time or after love failure
Songi - Lazy bud
Suthax - Going around with all mams
Takkar -sooper
Thanni - Consuming Liquor
Thalaivar - Leader
Thalai - Weight party ( usual leader of the grp)
Tin katrathu - Getting into trouble (courtesy Movie Anjali)
Ushar Pakri - Shrewd Guy
Vel Vel - Gali/appetu/outu
Wrong katrathu - Acting indifferently

Enna paer Vaipathu

2005-03-02T21:52:00.000-08:00

Hi,

This is my first post. I took me 2 hrs just to name my blog.
I started with different names. One obvious choice - also a boring one is too name it after my name. But, after reading some many blogs and also about the story of a Google Employee who lost his job coz of blogging, I decided not give personal info in my blogs..
I must be kiddin. I know I will ularify a lot.

After spending few hours, I decided to name it 'blindspot'. En enthe paer. Kay had just uploaded his pic in his profile. He was upset coz he felt he looked like kurutu naai. The word 'blind' struck me . I like the word 'blindspot'. This word is literally non-existent in India(atleast on the roads).
Namma blindspot pakavae vendam. Ppl will always be there, everywhere...

I wanted a name that sounds 'chennaiiiiiiiiiiiish'. I coined a new term there.
I googled and found a few nice ones. One was 'dori'. I gave it to Kay which would be a perfect name for his new pic. I selected 'freeyavedu'. I have used this word so many times. Y didn't it strike me in the first place?

I found another cute little name. Maybe this wud suit my friend Sub better. I gonna call you 'Bajjari'.

Ok...OK.. tension agathey....

Freeyavedu