I used to be indecisive; now I'm not sure... - 31st July

Thats pretty much my headline now - at the verge of deciding my courses; and still being vague in deciding what to choose and where will that lead me to..

The day went pretty good - had been on a "guiding mission" a.k.a T.A in C++ programming and Unix environment for first year B.Techs..  - Reminded me of my first days of programming :-)

Things are getting busy and more rigorous with academics - and I am yet to pace myself for it..

And well, the rest of the day just happened to run away in deciding the course - confusions leading to more commotions in mind !

Rainwalker - 30 Jul

The only big thing today is perhaps the rains - its pouring beyond Cats and Dogs !!!
Just as Srikanth sir had said earlier - Its raining in sheets here :-D

And I am out in this rain - maintaining my health by walking....
           - Thanks to the loaded Tumtums !

Learnt one more thing today - converting your backpack into FRONTpack - to save laptop and looks from the rain !!

And had a roleplay session today - that of B.Tech freshies; trying to execute C++ programs of hello world; and getting used to simple unix commands...
This rehearsal would be the staging for the actual action tomorrow..

Yet again had a LAN disruption !
Its pretty much like a power-cut now - hope the addiction drops down !!!

Using DC++ - a very useful local lan data sharing tool....
Downloaded 'Double Dhamaal' movie - and watching it past midnite ....

Guess today's diary entry involved no philosophy or funny stuff - may be due to the bleak mess food effect :D !!!

Confessions of a late latif - 29th Jul !!

Today's blog roll is slightly different - atleast thats my feeling at the start of it..

Was just reflecting about myself - how quite often I was late to the experiences and pleasures of life...
Late to understand that life means fun
Late in learning common things like a bicycle, computer..
Late in getting to know the fun of hanging around with friends..
Late in driving a 2 wheeler..
Late in interacting with girls ( just talking, dont get ideas :P )
Late to apply for a PU college..
Late entry to the online world of virtual existence..
Late realization of the importance of people skills to get along and get ahead in the world !!
Late in deciding what to do with my life ( frankly; I havent completely decided that yet! )

But all this 'Late'ncy has a pleasure of its own - that funny realization of "you could have done this a lot earlier" brings a smile on the face :-)
Personally, I feel a lot of things are better off in the "Slow and Steady" mode ...

On the contrary - there are other things that have happened rather fast and in haste....
Early placement/internship - something that I was so very pleased about #cisco..
Decision to take higher studies rightaway - was it a right choice ?
Spectacles - well, that was unavoidable; and brought over the whole geek look !!

All such happenings just left me pondering - Is it really necessary to have everything happen fast and speed in life ???

Getting Positive, and Getting Night-ward - 28 Jul

Things are getting better unexpectedly...

I sense the depression intensity going down, even when I talk about it with my friends..

May be the effect of classes !!

Bunked AI again - and with the ongoing reviews and suggestions; might as well drop it ( Champ will feel so bad about this :-S )

And nothing is flowing inside during the Network Flow sessions in Algorithms and Complexity :-D

Embedded systems reminding of the Freescale competition at IISc, where we had hands-on experience guiding a robot :-)

And the Prof. of Embedded is a huge fan of Apple - right from the macbook, iPhone to the "Apple mantra" ample times during the class; wondering why he did not take up 'Embedded Apple systems' course :D

And had a Fundae session with the seniors; with candid reviews on different courses and teachers - quite fun and informative.

Time: 8.30PM(started - Past 9; Indian Standard Time Compliance ;-))

Went all the way until 11PM - Can say that I am having my share of night life in this regard :-D

Had a long lone walk for it; both to and fro - in heavy rains on both occasions !!!

Funda of the Fundae session was to clear the confusion in our minds - my results are however on the contrary :D

Last note: Having some of my self-misconceptions resolved - but guess that can make another post by itself.....

Time to get serious - 27th July

Morning was all free - thought thats how the day is going to be..

Had the first software lab - and saw a host of software tools that are to be 'mastered' over the sem;

right from simple HTML, to Latex, graph plotters, figure sketchers, unix tools, python, version management, debuggers, source code parsers..

And some old favs - web applications, lex and yacc, shell programming.

That will probably keep me busy over this whole sem !!

Later had a session on the TA work for CS101( C programming course) - sort of a lab coordinator and mini-teacher role :D.

Realized the importance of the TAship again - but sad that I may have to stay around longer and not just run back home when holidays begin; owing to this !!!

Met another senior from PESIT - Gokul Ramaswamy doing his MTech here..
Feels nice to talk to a person who is in some way relate to you - language, college, city..... :-)

And for a change - had my favorite Pulao at mess for dinner; but alas it got over soon and I could not get a second helping :(

Also, the accompanying raita was made sweet - totally unmatching !!!

But well, atleast I am happy things are improving in some ways !!

Soon, you can expect posts where I would be cribbing about over work ;-)

Sleepy Day - 26th July

Slept through all 4 classes that I attended today..

And then doing almost next to nothing by being online now.

Hope things change - and for the good !!!

Being ethically self-questioned about what I am doing in such a place :-(

Totally weird day - 25th July

Talk about a total unpredicatable day - and totally obeying Murphy's law...

Started Bunking - Missed the first slot of AI due to heavy rains( and by heavy I mean heavy - its not just my lazy self speaking here.. )

A Look back into past - Next went to the computer architecture to travel back in time - Evolution of computers explained using OHP sheets - in a room that had the great ancestor of present day ACs...

Then came back to the room to learn that the only other class scheduled to the afternoon session had been cancelled !!

-- Perfect script for a post lunch slumber :D :D !!

Its back!!!! - 2 days of sunshine was all in my luck; rains are back - and better than before :-/

Power Cut,Lan Out - Got that experience as well; no power for 3 hours; and no Lan even after it was back for some time; owing to some infrastructural issues..

The dark, creepy room is unbearable with either of them !!!

Late night talks persuading to pursue research - At 10 in the night !!

All perfect for my researcher friends - but for me its a definite discomfort ;-)
Now that was all that I wanted after a total weird day :D

Language is the second mother - 24th July

Lazy Sunday

Made me realize how easy it is to have your thoughts flow, and speak in your mother language..

Listening to songs, watching movies of Kannada - to some extent drives away my homesickness !

Noticed one thing though - people are quite reluctant to speak to you in Kannada, even if they also speak Kannada( well, the feeling is mutual - I am equally bad at that.. )

Just discovered that my Tata Photon had been deactivated - owing to some address verification issues - so almost 2 days without Internet..

Wondering what Internet is to me(and many friends of mine) - A basic luxury; or an affordable need ??

Needed some positive motivating talk in the evening - got a total heavy dose of optimism from Susheela :-))

Went out with my Kannada Friends to Mantra Restaurant for dinner to break the hostel mess monotony..

Not an Ordeal, but an Experience... 23 July

-- As said by my friend Umesh, and trying to put the same into my being here..

Saturday went quietly well - went to my cousin's home to spend some homely time...

Discussed all sorts of things related to busy and mechanical life chosen by many people in Bombay..

Talk about sudden change of seasons - its sunny and sweating here !!

Heard Bangalore is in rains now..

And finally some South Indian taste for my tired tastebuds :-D

Illusions Delusions Realizations... - 22nd July

Second day of classes

Had a Deja Vu of some undergrad courses while sitting and listening to some classes..

The train of thoughts kept running..

• What if I go back ??
• Why should I even think about quitting without trying !!
• What are my chances of getting back to cisco; if I go back now..
• How the hell can I do research - spanning 1.5 years for the MTP(M Tech Project 8-O)
• Should I face this ordeal - by spending 2 valuable years of my life ??
• How is a quitter treated..
• Convocation function to be held at PESIT in September..
• The realization of how important things are in your life - once you are missing them...
• Mumbai - not my kind :( ??
• Monotony v/s Non-explorative attitude..

and many many many more...

Some good news - Got a 16GB pendrive @1000; needed for the software lab...

Now that I am in anyways in - remembering the classic Kannada proverbs:
"ನೀರಿಗಿಳಿದ ಮೇಲೆ ಮಳೆಯೇನು ಚಳಿಯೇನು"
"ಈಸಬೇಕು, ಈಸಿ ಜಯಿಸಬೇಕು"

Also realised what is wrong with my approach - Went to PESIT to gain knowledge, and came to IITB for placements - totally wrong way of looking at it !!!

Had lengthy chats with Karthik and Umesh in the evening/night; and also with a lot other friends too :-)

Listening to Youtube songs till midnight - until the LAN Ban comes into effect....

First Day of Class - 21st July

The day started off bright and sunny - first time after I landed in Mumbai...

Went to some sit-through classes - Artificial Intelligence, Algorithms and Complexity, Program Analysis, Embedded Systems

-- A mixed bag; some were interesting; some were not..

And saw curds at hostel mess for a change - albeit sour and tasteless.. :D

Slight fever driving crazy thoughts in mind - Quitting, MTech project, Home, Friends, Cisco, and what not !!

Finally found a fruit shop and got some fruits - trying to regain some health :-)

Probably now I understand how a girl feels to leave her home after marriage and adjust to a new place - 9 days and I just want to run back home !!!

Sick and Homesick - July 20

First signs of getting SICK - slight cold, and feeling feverish :(

And of course the form continues with being homesick...

Had a broad overview of all research facility available in IITB - phew; it was one long session with rapid slideplay and fast presentations !!

Most of the day went pondering about the courses and the weird timetable - its unlike anything I had seen before..

In the meantime, saw an inspirational video of Vijay Mallya speaking at IITB - one that truly changed my opinions about him; and was momentarily inspirational :-D :-D

Sitting overnight and still deciding what to choose as a course - with different perspectives - placement(of course ;-)), research(really :-P), workload(obviously towards the lesser side :D)...

In a small anticipation for the proceedings to begin tomorrow - my first class of M.Tech :-)

Missing Home - July 19

A totally event-less day

Went to department thinking there is a lab visit - but alas, its not for today..

Bank was closed by the time I went to open an account for the TAship.

Wanted to make the day worthwhile somehow - and here is the result: This blog..

More of an online diary for the significant happenings that happen in everyday life of mine at IITB...

So far it seems that it is going quite negative - lets hope a change comes in soon..

And still in confusion regarding the course choices !!!

Beware: This blog is not for people with mood upsets - it can send you into depression !!!

I am of Assimilation Learning Style - July 18

Had a Teaching Assistant Orientation...

Got to know about the concepts of Bloom's Taxonomy and had an interesting pencil and paper session that determines my Learning Style..

My result - An assimilator, with more inclination towards Abstract Conceptualization ( something that many of my friends already know :D ) - Typical IIT material :-D

There are numerous websites/questionnaires that assess your Learning style - here is one that you can try out: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

Try it out - its fun ...

Then had a video on responsibilities of a TA - as a lab instructor, as a student companion, as a guide and as a support for the junior B.Tech students...

The video ended with an inspiration to all - the DEW principle

D - Do well

E - Enjoy Life

W - Work Hard

A simple principle from Prof. Pathak to have a great life :)

Later on - Was in my old times of being online for no apparent reason in the evening :D

Did Skyping for the first time with Prashanth in the night - too bad it went one way because I could see him, but he could not see me...

Something to find out for the following day...

TGIS(Thank God Its Sunday) ?? - July 17

Finally an Eventful day

Not really awesome - but it did not go as a total waste either...

Got up very late, for my usual standards - tasted hostel breakfast and lunch( no comments... )

Then visited Gateway Of India, and the Taj Hotel( from the outside of course .. ) - after a long walk from CST ....

Met Senior from PESIT - Sampreet Sharma in the late evening

- A meeting that cheered me up to a great extent !!!

And also got the LAN settings - can now dive into the virtual world when in need :)

First Day(and Night) at Hostel -16th July

Finally faced the inevitable - Stay at Hostel !!

Found out pretty soon that its impossible to stay here for long !

Had a ID card photo session; and did a lot of loitering around to avoid the hostel room !!

Out of Roaming hazzles - Got a local Vodafone sim( Probably only operator with good coverage in entire campus..)

In the process of adjusting to hostel life, and more importantly - lonely life :(

Another Orientation Day - July 15

Another long day....

Came alone to college - didnt want to get Dad bored too :D

Start of Lectures !!!

Even talks about college and rules seemed like lectures !

One more evening session talking about Research and support for research at IITB ( Obviously it does not involve the provided hostel :D - or those people have never ever come across these places !! )

Went and persuaded the Hostel hall manager to get my room partner changed to Amit ( Mr. Dharwad a.k.a Mr. ISRO ;-) ) - Happy that it was done...

Headed back to Cousin's place to send Dad back home..

Already in the feeling of Homesickness.........