After effects of 'Rattling off' !!

Posting of my last blog http://pratibhabr.blogspot.com/2010/12/rattling-off.html was worth it. Petu read it and he being a sweet hubby of mine, took me out the next day. The whole day we were out. I enjoyed it so much. Got a much needed break.

We were raking our brains as where to go. Then we went to Mantri Mall, as we had not gone there before. I really liked the mall. There is ample parking, that too with 2 level - there is one car above yours. Ha ha..

Started off with an ice cream, then went to so many shops. Only window shopping. :( But it was fun. Then, there was this french bakery - Au Bon Pain. Petu couldnt resist the temptation, so we went in. Sandwiches looked good. He ordered one of his weird sounding sandwiches, which tasted weirder. I settled for one almond biscotti (which was good). Then, lunch at Pascucci cafe. Thinking it will be a costly place, we entered. But, to our surprise, it was quite affordable. Started off with onion rings which was good. Then, wood fired thin crust pizza (Yummmmm). Look for yourself :D

And for dessert, yummy ice cream + espresso + yogurt + strawberries :) Look look -

And look how i emptied it :D

Then, we went to a play in the evening. That was a whole new experience. This was the first time, i watched a play. It was by Girish Karnad and directed by B. V. Karanth. The play is 'Hayavadana'. The story is complex, but very well performed by the actors.


That was a nice end to a very nice day :) I got an awesome break :). Thanks petu :)


Now, God, u still have to help me with my proj. Pls pls :) :D

Rattling off!!

Been some time since i rattled off here. But, no specific topic in mind. You see, my mind is being rotated, mutilated by openGl.

Just before the last day of my final exams (of 1st sem MTech), i had so many aashayen (wishes) for the holidays. But kaput!!! None of them are returning true status messages :(

First, wanted to enjoy Grace Hopper conference. Well, i did enjoy the first day, looking at pretty ladies and gorging down good food. But the lectures were not that great. Essence was lost to the looks (of the presentations and the presenter).

Second, I was so looking forward to going on a trip with Petu. Kaput again!! Fell ill the same day we were supposed to leave. Another wish down the drain. This is the second time our trip (only both of us) is getting canceled. Not fair at all.

Third, I wanted to read few novels and watch movies. Nope... Nothing doing. Not a moment to spare for these pleasures.

Then, I also wanted to study some technical books to update my knowledge. Well, its kinda happening. But not satisfied by the speed or the efficiency .

Then, there is this project with opengl, which is taking up all my time. I hate it when this happens. Coming to openGl, it is a nice API for designing UI but I am not finding any more use to it. Or may be i have to dive deep into it to actually appreciate it. But vacation is not the time for it.

God, are you listening. I want to enjoy atleast the last week of my vacation. Turn ur magic wand and make my proj work :) Thank you in advance :)

Is life convex??

I was listening to a video lecture by Stephen Boyd and he, being an awesome professor had my complete attention. He was explaining about convex optimization and one student asks 'Is life convex?'. He says, 'to prove this, take 2 instances and their weighted average. That life has to be better than the average of the qualities of the individual lives'. That reply left me speechless.

I mean, I should applaud for the fact that he could come up with that reply at that instant. I am yet so watch his other videos. I am sure, I ll be amazed by such replies of his in all the other lectures. :)

Tech talk in tech col :D

Our everyday lunch / dinner / all-time conversation -

First person - "Hey are you done with ith assignment?".

Second person - "No.. My processor (brain) has implemented 2 threads which are taking care of jth project and studying for kth test. Due to resource clashes, its going in a loop and not been able to complete both."

First person - "But you forgot about lth assignment in mth subject"

Second person - "The assignments in that subject enqueue exponentially and dequeue linearly (*). It runs in time O(ne)"

First person - "O(ne)??"

Second person - "Never Ending"


(*) Line originally by Sudhi :D

Thats how we speak !! In i, j, k, l, m..... Hey we are learning English alphabet!!!

Its all about choices..

When I was big enough to understand the rights and the wrongs of life, I had come to a conclusion that, whatever happens is because of one's actions. And the actions is the result of one's decisions. And these decisions have to be taken out of the choices that person has.

This really made a lot of sense to me and has always guided me in my endeavors. Be it choosing my branch in BE or be it choosing to take up higher studies or be it as trivial as choosing to wear a particular dress for the day. This realization cleared my doubts about "luck" and "chance happenings". Nothing happens "just like that". It is because of one's choices -> decisions, that it happens.

Recently, I attended a seminar by Dr. Sheena Iyengar. She spoke about choices. She put up this concept in a very scientific way and it made a lot of sense. She is born visually handicapped. But she is a prof in Columbia Business School. It was all because of the choices she had to make.

There can be an ugly face to this too. You can label a choice as a compromise when the range of choices in front of you is not exactly the ones you wanted. In that case, it is again left to you to take a decision and choose one among them and be happy with it.

Random thoughts!

Today I am on a roll. Feeling so verbose. This post is about random things. Random observations.

1. 2 months into marriage life. Its great. Enjoying staying with a guy :)

2. Its a new feeling staying at a new home. It was so easy to adjust. Parents-in-law are cool.

3. Enthusiasm about teaching is slowly waning. Its not that fulfilling now. With our beloved HOD gone and students becoming harder to manage, I dont enjoy it much.

4. I find so much of free time in the evenings, now that no more shopping to be done.

5. Friends have become so busy. We used to meet up so regularly but now, hardly everyone is free at the same time. Oh well!!

6. People here are so egoistic. Simple matters make them angry over others.

7. IPL scandals have become more interesting than the matches themselves. Modi had a excellent time making money. Now he ll have a tough time explaining how he earned so much. He he..

8. Orkut has lost its charm. Hardly any posts or scraps. Facebook and Twitter have taken over. :)

Fine, enough for now. Ran out of topics. Will be back shortly :P

Oye!!!

Yesterday Petu and me decided to go for lunch. Without any reason. Just like that. We decided to go to Oye Amritsar!! I hate the moment we decided to go there.

First, the ambiance at Church Street one is not that great. It is a roof top restaurant and they have hardly invested anything on interiors. Anyway, we thought at that moment this is the rustic look which is a 'in-thing'. Fine.

Later, we were ready to order. The manager suggested a platter of starters. We, not knowing the quantity or the price, agreed for it. When it was served, we were surprised to see that the platter would suffice for 4-5 people. Buurrrp. So, we ordered only rice for the main course, which was ok-ok.

When the bill came, it was a shock for us. Half the amount in the bill was for the starters!! Man, did we feel ripped off. Not only did we not finish it, we ended up paying sooooooo much for it.

Then we decided that we ll give some 40-50 years before we visit there again :P

Students of today..

This teaching profession is really a ungreatful one. When i was a student, i hardly realized how much i (we) used to hurt our teachers. Now, that i am on the other side, i am experiencing it.

Even though you are good to them, polite, teach well, it is not enough. Dont know what students expect. Especially the higher semester students.

It is very difficult to handle them, make them sit through one hour of class. You ask them a question, they stare at you as though you have asked them to jump out of the window. You ask them to do an assignment, they get it only if marks are promised. That too with low quality work.

I had actually liked these students last semester. They too would talk to me like a friend. But not anymore. Because, they will be graduating in few months and they are the kings and queens of the college. Wonder how they ll survive in the industry with such an attitude.

I feel the main reason for such defiant behavior is that they are left free at home and at college. Higher management is always on their side. And also, they have lost interest in studying. Engineering is no longer to understand how things work. It is just a degree. Anyone can and will get it. There is no motivation to do well. If you sail through the semesters, it is an achievement.

Meanwhile, the lower semester students are so sweet. They do their work on time, submit it with such dedication. I feel happy looking at them. I know for sure that they will turn into defiant students as they climb higher semesters. Till then, let them be.

With such attitude, higher semester students better be prepared for what is in store for them few months from now. I just wish them all the best.

Our HOD, our friend

She was not just my HOD. She was a friend. After a long run with bad managers, when I changed my job, I found a good person as my HOD. I was ever grateful to god. It is very important to have a sensible person above u in the work ladder.

Last Friday we lost her to heart attack. We, the dept staff, are not able to digest the fact that she will never be shouting out our names to complete our tasks. Or to take us out for treats. Or to tell what was right or wrong. It is heartbreaking to enter her chamber and see the empty chair. We see her scribbling pad and break down. We remember how she used to console us during our bad days and break down. Don’t know when our tears will dry.