Life of a Grad Student

Well I will try to explain the life of a normal Grad Student living in USA in this posting !!!
So the picture above describes the life of a Student like me...

Going to the details

Bed - The primary source of enjoyment, relaxation and comfort in the life of a Grad Student.

Pillows - The serve a variety of purposes, from supporting the head while going to sleep, to supporting the back while watching a movie, to being used as weapons during fights.

Beer - This great drink is what generally keeps the Grad Students going, from providing the much needed carbohydrates, to being a wonderful ice breaker, to being the best socialising tool, this is surely one of the most important tools to bear the ordeal of Grad Life...

I-Pod - I love Apple for this wonderful gadget. It holds all my songs, and still has few GBs left, and I am quite happy with the sound quality. From providing entertainment while going to the school, or helping pass time while going anywhere. This gadget is always a wonderful companion.

Note Books - We need these for noting down all the notes we try to take in class during lectures, and also to tear pages for home work assignments and mid terms.

Papers to grade - Almost all Grad Students sometimes in their school life hold the post of a TA / Reader / Grader. So they always end up grading a bunch of under grad exams / assignments. This is fun sometimes when you come across really innovative ideas & thoughts..

Chocolates - An instant source of energy to an instant source of happiness to just plain fun, Chocolates are wonderful to have in your desk...

Stationary - To keep a record of all we learn, to give a proof of our knowledge. Pens, Pencils, Stapelers, Pen Drive, among the most important accessories for a Grad Student.

Cookies - I dont know about all the Grad Students, but atleast for me its nice having a pack of cookies on my desk, and eat one or two in between the assignments and as an odd time snack..

Quarters - For the weekly / fortnightly / monthly Laundry requirements...

Cards - From the most important School I - Card, to the Debit / Credit card to the Grocery store membership card, some more necessities of Grad Life.

Cell Phone - The most important & usefull tool for communication ever invented !!!

Text Books - From the self owned ones (New & Used) to the one borrowed from the Library, these are the tools which sometimes help in understanding simple topics made very complicated by the Professors lectures..

Bike Helmet - An important piece of armor to protect the very usefull brain, which is already burdened by the excessive work load of Grad Life

So in the end all these things, along with a few more, help us endure the Graduate Student Life !!

I Hung Over !!!

For starters the title has purposefully been made grammatically incorrect…

Well for people who know me, I am a social drinker. I like to drink occasionally, generally don’t prefer Beer (though recently have discovered a Beer which I liked) and generally prefer Vodka (Smirnoff & Belverde to name a few), Red Rum (Yo Old Monk), White wines and few cocktails. Before coming to the US, I badly wanted to try Tequila and somehow didn’t get a chance to try it in India, but I got to try that after coming here, and it sure was good.

So coming to my experience of that day, it was a normal Wednesday, only difference was I was to go with a friend for her shopping trip. So after finishing off with the class I, this friend and another friend of hers, we three went for shopping to a Mall nearby. There it was a typical shopping experience with us hopping in different shops which finally culminated in my friend getting a nice expensive Jeans and some really gr8 (Read more expensive) boots, with some nice spicy hot chocolate in between. So after this shopping trip we went to Ralphs – a local superstore to get some drink for the evening. After lot of deliberations for deciding what to get, where in we both almost finalised on getting two bottles of Vodka, Smirnoff Vanilla and some other Chocolate flavour, it all changed when our third friend arrived. On his insistence we changed our mind and got a bottle of Tequila – “Jose Cuervo”.

We got home, and made some delicious dinner in form of Peas Pulav and some Potato Bhajiyas. And then started our amazing night. After cutting few limes and taking out a pack of salt, we started taking our shots… After 2 shots we all sat down for dinner and talking all along. After dinner we had 2 more shots. By then all three of us had started getting the feeling of being drunk, especially the female friend. So the next time we conveniently didn’t give her a shot and had our 5th shot. In between all the conversations we had 3 more shots and finished the bottle in between three of us. We all finally retired to bed after almost all of us had almost passed out. Though my being able to recount all the details means, I was just drunk, and didn’t pass out :-). So off we all went to bed.

I can never forget the next morning, in spite of all I have drunk in my life before with Srini or at M&M parties I never have had a hangover. And I was very proud of that fact. But that morning changed it all. I woke up all disoriented and hazy. I had a cup of strong extra sweet coffee but that just gave me a head ache. I barely managed to drag myself home and then spent almost the whole day sleeping, missing two of my classes along the way.

So this amazing experience first of all broke my long lasting pride of not getting a hang over and second taught me that 8 shots of Tequila is way too much for any normal human being, and should be avoided !!!

My US Coming !!!

USA – I have been planning to come to this country for my higher education from more than 15 years now. I still remember my childhood talking to people that I wanted to come down to the US for my Masters. Though today I plan not only to pursue my Masters, but also my PhD here.

USA or America as we fondly call it, is a dream for quite a lot of us, especially in Gujarat, with loads of relatives being here and also hearing tales about this land in many Novels and from the many English movies I had seen…

So after close to 23 years in life, I finally came down to this Land. The journey was quite mundane, though travelling for 17 hrs at a stretch in a Boeing 777 LR, was quite an experience and especially after some favourable tail winds over the Arctic Circle which resulted in our flight reaching New York, almost an hour earlier. So after the customary procedures like customs & immigration, I was on the US Soil. The first things I noticed at the airport and also out it was the Left Hand Drive Cars (Obviously), something I had seen & driven in India too at M&M, but here all the cars, trucks & buses were LHD in their natural setting. We then took a connecting flight to Atlanta, and we got out of the airport, and my Uncle had come down to pick us up in a Lincoln Towncar, a typical American car with a V8. It was exactly as American cars were described, big & wide seats, low seating and loads of wastage of space, typical bad packaging. So after reaching her home, which was exactly as what mom had told me about, big and really beautiful, I got to see her Honda Accord Hybrid. A real good piece of technology… I also was shown around the house by my Aunt, the house was completely wooden and had attics and basement full of water / air pipes. I spent a few days in Carrolton, with a visit to Atlanta where I visited the Georgia Aquarium which is one of the biggest in the world, and also the Coca Cola Museum which was quite an experience seeing a poster of Aishwariya Rai and also tasting some 60 Coca Cola drinks from all around the world. Also in Carrolton, I got to taste the first Steak of my life, which was quite delicious.

After 4-5 fun filled days at Carrolton, I came down to Los Angeles or LA. One of the most happening places in the world !!! So after spending some anxious moments at the airport waiting for Di, we finally met her, and it felt great on seeing her after more than a year. So we went out and first saw Di’s Amazing QX 56, and then the best moment, I met Aarav. It was a totally out of the world experience to meet him. My Nephew !!! Then we drove down to Di’s home, and I was totally engrossed all along the way checking out the exotic automobiles… Di’s house being in Rancho Palos Verdes was exactly as described by Mom, and so was the way leading to it.

I then spent some really amazing days at LA, spending time with Aarav, going for countless shopping trips and also going around in LA visiting Hollywood, Universal Studios, Beverley Hills & the LA Auto Museum. Also I ate out at some really cool places in LA, and saw “The Dark Knight” at an IMAX theatre. So after some real enjoyable moments in LA, and also some nervous hours due to my Appt tragedy, I was all ready for my MS !!!

Di and Dad drove me down to San Diego, and here I saw my new Alma Matter, and fell totally in love with the place, University of California – San Diego at La Jolla !!! Now my experiences in school will continue in some other blog posting….

My Stay with M&M

Well it’s been months since I left M&M, and I decided to write this blog. But somehow couldn’t do it. Then the other day I had a talk with SS, and she suggested that I put down my thoughts on the laptop and can upload them to my blog when I get time.

So coming back to the topic, of my experience of some 20 months at M&M. For starters I worked for around 20 months at Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., a maker of Premium Sports Utility Vehicles and Utility Vehicles including Pick-up Trucks in the Engines Division in the Research & Development wing. I was the design engineer for a new 2.2 L Diesel Engine code named the “Eagle”. I was part of an amazing group of individuals who were some of the best in Engine Design & Development in India.

I started as a Graduate Engineering Trainee (GET) in M&M no where with an idea that I would go in to R&D, though I wanted desperately for that. So in the initial days it was a through orientation program spanning 40 days. Starting from presentations from the Company superiors, it lasted with some reviews of basic Automobile Engineering fundamentals to general industrial topics. On the last day of the orientation we were assigned departments, and I was assigned R&D, and it was ecstatic knowing that I was among some of the best in the bunch of 350 GETs.

So after a brief visit to all the plants of M&M – Kandivali (Mumbai), Igatpuri & Nashik, we were brought to the R&D Dept at Nashik. Here we were assigned our first project guides after few restless hours. I was assigned to Engines. So after going to the first guide, I was rerouted to the other guide who was in charge of the Eagle Engine family. Here we were sent to the actual project guides i.e. our direct superiors. Initially among the group of 4 of us, we were given few projects to choose from. After some haggling around with the superiors and among ourselves we made our choices. I decided to work on “Design of Experiments for Emission Robustness”. So after few days of endless loitering around, I had some solid work to do. So I pondered over a few books on DOE for the next couple of days and waited for the colleague with whom I was to work to return from his Sick Leave. Once he was back, I was bursting with energy and enthusiasm to start the work. But after few days of trying endlessly I realised that my work was heading no where, as no one other than me was interested in that work and it seemed redundant at that moment. So after some more haggling around with my superiors, my project and also my guide’s were changed, and I ended up in Engine Design.

So then I started my Engine Design Career. I worked on some small parts like Engine Lifting Hook, some sheet metal parts here and there and some concern resolution at the Engine Assembly Line. After few months of such work, I was assigned to a new Project. This was for making a version of the Eagle Engine for the US Market. Thus I ended up in a very challenging place being the only Design / Systems Engineer. This proved to be really quite a challenge, I learned a lot. From travelling at a hat’s notice to the Supplier to endless discussions with the Cross Functional Team, this job included it all. The experience of interacting with the Suppliers proved really stimulating, getting to talk to people with 10/20/30 years of experience in their field and learning the basics of many manufacturing processes, industries and also parts development. This also gave a major impetus to my Flying Passion cause of the travelling involved.

All this ended in my submitting my Resignation to pursue my MS in the US. I for one had been very open all along my journey in M&M and had kept all my superiors with the knowledge that I was going to leave for my MS. Thus my conscience was never tainted with any impressions that I was ditching any one in the company. The Experience in M&M totally changed my outlook for life. I learnt to live totally independent. Also the experience of living Life King Size in a large house, with totally amazing room partners, having a Car & also a Bike, good Work – Life balance and also the City of Nashik was something I wont forget for a long time am sure, this would surely form good resources to talk to my Grand Children in the future :-). Plus the Confidence I gained working in such an intellectually stimulating environment was a much needed boost I was looking for.

Thanks a lot Mahindra & Mahindra and also all the people I worked with and who gave me such good experiences of my Life.

Flying

Flying !!! Everyboys childhood dream...

Something I have cherished from the first flight I took almost some 20 years back...

The feeling is the same, it always feels exciting whenver I leave the ground and also when I touchdown. Initially I felt that the more I would fly regularly, the feeling would dampen. But I noticed this last week, which incidentally was my 16th flight of 2008 in just 5 months, while I had flown some 12 times in 2007, that the feeling was same as ever. It feels like the Kid in me wakes up everytime I board the plane, taking my seat, fastening my seat belt, listening to the mundane Safety Instructions, and then Voila the plane is ready to 'Take Off". so after some boring minutes, here I would be on the edge of the Runway with the Pilot ready to go full Throttle, and then that ecsatic feeling comes as the plane starts accelerating upto its take of speed of around 200 kmph, by the time I would have been already pressed to my seat and then the Plane lifts off effortlessly in the sky, feels heavenly !!! And then again the mundane routine of eating, reading newspapes, gawking at the Air Hostesses and listening to Music starts. So after some time, here I would be ready to land, and after some brisk descending there is Touchdown, the sudden jerk as the wheels touch the Runway and the plane bounces a bit, and then full brakes with the wing deflectors at their maximum retracted position and here you are back standing still on Terra Ferma !!

So how was the experience, as exciting as ever. Plus flying cuts down the journey time by a great extent, so here I am from Mumbai to Delhi in 1 Hr 30 Mins, a distance of around 1200 Kms..

And this is why I love Flying !!!

Friend - A Nudge !!!

Well this is for a very good friend of mine who lives in Singapore (Guess who)...

Well for starters she was the inspiration behind my finally starting my Blog, and though have not been able blog as frequently as I would like to, still have keep on posting regularly.

Now the problem started when this lady stopped posting in her blog lately, I kept on checking it weekly but didnt find any updates since the last few months. So I talked over it with her today and guess what she had to say, She was not getting time and felt lazy to blog... Now thats criminal, the person who makes me forgo my Laziness feels lazy.

So this blog is to nudge and wake her up. Looking forward to reading more of your Blogs soon !!

Aarav

Hello World !!!

Guess what I became a Mama, he came in this world on 14th (Ya agreed I got a lil late in composing this blog). And also 14th was Mom's B'day, so her first Grand Son now shares her birthday !! Cool Na !!!!!

Its feels really amazing to get a young one, our own young one, no longer looking and playing with other Babies, now I got my Own young Nephew. Hah I cant wait to go to LA and play with him. Its really gonna be nice, and I am gonna spoil him like anything, let Di discipline him...

Plus it would be real fun when he grows up, we all can play and have fun together.

But one thing is that now I am no longer the youngest of the Family (My Dad's Family). So bye bye all the extra attention and benefits, now Aarav is the youngest and he's gonna be the centre of our Attraction. Though it will be quite fun to get him things and have fun (Doing "Lad" as we say in Gujarati)

So in the End, "Welcome Aarav !!! May you Rock the World !!!"

Shopping

So how many of you have ever come across a Guy who Loves Shopping ???? And that also not just for himself, but who also likes going for shopping with Girls !!! Suprising na !! Do they make such Guys ???

For starters I am such a Guy. I love shopping and even like going for shopping with Girls, which may include Mom, Sis, Friends and whoever needs company or a helping hand....

How did this odd (For most normal ppl out there) thing start ?? Well when I was young, I used to many times accompany Mom and Di for their shopping sprees. I would get very bored, sitting with them, checking out their stuff and wishing they could finish it off fast and we could move on, and somehow it never worked out that way. Slowly and slowly I started thinking in a different way, I realised that if I could not stop them, then it would be better if I join them...

So here was a new Raahul, one who instead of getting bored and frustrated while sitting in a shop now took the whole experience in a totally different way. I started getting involved, things like what looks good and what not... I remember getting an advice on Didi once, she said that while choosing clothes for girls imagine what would look good on the person you like, and then take a decision. And one thing I say is that this technique has never failed me. I am now considered quite an asset to take along for shopping, first is I dont crib when it takes too long, second I have quite a good choice and help making decisions faster, and last but not the least I am always the Chaffeur cum Bag lifter (and geniunely who doesnt want one). Plus I am getting quite good in this Art, so good that even when I go some place and get few things for Di or Mom, they like it quite a lot (even things like a Saree)...

So in the end, I would like to say to all Guys in the World that shopping can be really Fun, its all how you take to it. Plus after marriage or with a Girl Friend, you hardly get a choice of not accompanying them for shopping, so why not have fun instead of lamenting all the time, and in this way make it special for them....

Happy Shopping !!! :-)

High

What gives me the ultimate High ????

A question I have been trying to answer since quite long... Is it Cute Females, Drinking Vodka, Dancing, Driving, Listening to Music, Reading Books, Talking to some Intelligent ppl, Oogling at Sexy Cars and many things more...

The other day I discovered one more thing, and man this thing gave me such a high, I surely cannot forget for a looong time !!!

Here I was in the company, at the Engine Test Bed, with a IR temperature Gun in my hands. I had to measure the temperature of the Exhaust Manifold & TC for one of our engines at Rated Speed. So here I was in between two of our Engines, and both of them were at Rated speed - 4000 RPM+. The noise emanating from them was amazing, the feeling - heavenly... Two engines, both developing their Max Power, their Exhaust Manifolds & TCs were Red Hot and I was not even two feet away from either. The thrill knowing the brute power besides me was enough to give me an Ultimate High. Also realising the fact that if any of the engines had a breakdown I would surely have been in a very wrong place... But then whats life without some risk... So after taking all the necessary temperature readings I was out... Surely one of the most amazing experiences of my life...

Such experiences strengthen my desire to work more and more on Engines....

Death !!!

Sorry coz am using a really profound word as my subject today.... I am feeling quite low today, just got the news one of my close family friends Son expired, of a freak accident. This guy was just 20, young and budding. Someone every parent would be proud of, almost like a brother to me.... and now here it is, he is no more. May his soul rest in peace...

Death, how many times have we all thought abt this. I dont know abt others, but atleast I sure can say that have thought atleast some hundreds of time abt this. What happens to a person when He / She dies. Is is like going to sleep, but I always know the fact that I will be getting up in few hours once I go to sleep. How will it be when I am on my deathbed and I know I will never be getting up, atleast in this form. How I would like to know what happens when one dies, when I am living. Science in spite of all its advancements, somehow has always failed to discover this feeling, and its a mystery ever since the advent of mankind.

One thing which gives me some hope against this despair is the chance to live my life. I spend everyday of my life planning to make my life worthwhile. Some where I have a dream, a dream to live beyond my stipulated life, some thing to make me immortal. I want to perform some action in my life, which will make me IMMORTAL. Something after which people would remember me and my works, something which will make my Descendents really proud of myself. But then that means I still have loads to do, which brings me to my Fav peice of Poetry. As Robert Frost pens it "The Woods are Lovely, Dark & Deep; but I have Promises to Keep. And Miles to Go Before I Sleep & Miles to Go Before I Sleep"

So Adios for now, and may my Bro's Soul Rest in Piece !!!!

Visit to Nagaland

Well I got a once in a lifetime chance to go to Nagaland few weeks back. I took the option of going to Dimapur - a major city in Nagaland. Dimapur is the eastern most airport of India, and is close to the border of Assam & Nagaland for my Dealership visit from M&M.

So after 2 flights, from Mumbai, there I was in a realatively big town in the middle of no where. The Air Port was a bare basic one, with no buses and stuff. As it is I went to Dimapur in a small ATR plane. The reception at Dimapur was quite an experience, some politicians had come in the same flight after getting assembly elections tickets and so there were few hundred supporters who had come to welcome them, so after waiting for some time, we got in our pick up vehicel - a Bolero (which was obvious) and went to the Dealership. All along the way it felt like we were in a different country all together, seeing the people, type of houses and also the trees. All people there were with the Mongolion features, talking to person who had come to pick us up, we realised that 95% of population of Nagaland were followers of Christianity and English was the official language of the state, that gave all of us a sense of relief, having the knowledge that atleast we would be able to converse easily with the locals there.

So after a quite eventful journey, which mostly involved observing the locals, and trying to count the Mahindra vehicles along the way, we reached the Dealership. Here we met the Dealer Principal, a real Gentleman, who the guided us to our hotel. So after some lunch, rest and seeing India screw the 20-20 game against Australia, we went back to the dealership for the next day planning. Here we got to know the state of affairs in this state. The condition was really quite critical, few people had been murdered the same day. Due to this, the whole town was supposed to remain closed the next day, so went all our hopes of shopping. We also got to learn that there were close to 20 local dialects in the 16 Districts in Nagaland, due to which the locals preffered the use of English. Also because of the condition of roads and also the absence of paved roads in majority of places, Mahindra vehicles were quite popular there, especially the 4x4 ones. So after being advised against leaving the Hotel after 6 PM, we went back to the Hotel. Here also we experienced the life of the locals, locals had dinner by 8 PM and went to sleep early, so by 9 the whole town was shut off. For us it was quite odd, as our days generally end at 11 PM....

The next day, we went to the Dealership and did some work. We saw the vehicles which had come for service there, observed the regular concerns in the vehicles. We also interacted with many customers, learning about their likes and dislikes about their vehicles. Really quite an enlightening experience, and it should be quite helpfull in our customer centricity approach. After our Lunch, we went around the town, which was closed due to the Band enforced protesting the murder of the people. We got to see the houses, few churches from outsides and also the locals, then again it was the usual, back to Hotel, Dinner and stuff...

The final day, was quite uneventful, we took our first flight to Kolkata, there after spending a few hours with some family friends, it was back to Mumbai. The last flight was really boring, it was congestion as usual at Mumbai airport, so we flew all the way to Pune and came back and finally landed almost 2 hours late, from there it was a cab ride all the way to Nashik...

Looking back at the visit, I have few regrets that didnt get to do much sightseeing or shopping. But then it was once in a lifetime experience. Having the knowledge that you are in a place which has many problems of extremists, no stable government, seeing the tension on faces of all the people was surely quite chilling, plus being referred to as a Main Land Indian !!!!

Auto Expo 2008

Well for those of you who dont know, Auto Expo - a biyearly Auto Show was organized in Delhi between 10-17th Jan. It is one of the biggest Auto shows of Asia and is very good.

I wanted to visit it this year but somehow was finding it not possible, then just on Thrusday I got a call from my Boss saying that instead of a collegue i was being nominated to go to the show !!! Thus I reached the show on Sunday morning after a tiring late night flight....

This year's biggest attraction at the show was the launch of the Tata Nano, the 1 Lakh ($ 2500) car. The car which is believed to change the way people in India travel, a real revolution. Plus there were the usual bells and whistles with the technology showcase by various companies.

After seeing the launch of the nano on the TV, i was real excited to check it out in flesh, and i should tell you, is that i came back impressed. Here was an amazingly cute car, something which was so affordable but still didnt actually feel cheap. Something which people could buy and ferry around their family in, instead of loading their scooters or bikes. I am sure this car will be real hit in the market, and if Tata can maintain reasonable quality in the product, then it can surely sell much more than the Maruti 800.... Here is the Car for the masses, and i am sure it can be sold in many countries like ours be a valuable proposition there.

Apart from the Nano there was not much memorable about the show, the rush seemed much more than my last visit in 2004, which made my passing more time with the cars really difficult. There were some nice cars like the Ferrari 430, Lamborghini Gallardo, plus F1 cars of Renault & Honda and some nice concept cars from GM, Hyundai & Honda. Another major attraction at the expo were the show girls, really pretty bimbettes whose only work there was to pose in their reveaing outfits and keep on circling their respective cars & bikes and pose endlessly for the visitors to click photographs to their heart's content.... Something i didnt enjoy much seeing the frustration on those female's faces !!!!

But overall it was an amazing experience, plus what added to my fun was that this was the first time i was going as an industry insider, as an employee of M&M, I went to many of our suppliers and was really delighted with the response I got, I was painstakingly explained for all the doubts I had, and I also got loads of information for products we could use in our future engines...

So I will now that hope I can visit Auto Expo 2010 too !!!

Cars !!!

Well today am going to talk about something thats been going on in my mind for quite a few years...

For people who dont know me, I love cars, and by love I mean they come first (i.e. before the members of the fairer sex). It gets quite evident on listening to my cries on seeing cars getting destroyed in a movie :-(

I have been in love with them for as long as I remember and for me seeing and reading about beautiful cars one of my life's greatest pleasures, and thats the main reason why I am in the industry right now...

I have always associated Cars with people, it goes like whenever i hear about someone from Mom or a friend or something, the first question I ask is which Car do they own. I then relate the level, standard and everything of that person based on the Car they own.

Over the years I have been trying to compile a list of cars with their owners and find a relation between the type / brand of the car with the nature of the owner. I have found quite good co-relations for the same. Though it does not apply to me as I own a Maruti 800 (a gift from Di) and own and drive it coz of its practicality and also cause I dont find it worth to buy a new one, though I do own a Pulsar which is undoubtedly one of the most desired Bikes in this part of the world.

So coming back to the co-relation, I will list a few of my findings in this post and then will make more entries in the future...

BMW - Generally a very Arrogant person, also someone who is self made.
Porsche - A person who loves Technologies and also quite proud of oneself.
Mercedes - The classical Aristocrat, generally owned by a person who always aspired to be rich and is generally a first sign of his / her reaching the level of wealth they always desired.
Rolls Royce - A perfect Gentleman, also the owner would have inherited his wealth to a great extent.
Toyota - A no nonsense person who generally doesnt have a big image and likes to live a non - descript life.
Honda - A person who aspires for a bigger and faster car but settles for a Honda for practical and financial reasons. High probability of street racing !!!
Ferrari - This person loves it all, speed, attention, lifestyle and glamour.
Lamborghini - Generally this person would look very sober on the outside but has a wild streak and this becomes evident on the wheels of the Lamborghini.

Well enough for today, will write about other Brands in the coming days !!!

Ciao !!!

2008 is here !!!

First of all Happy New Year !!! so 2008 is here and so "Bye Bye" 2007.

Had a wonderful party last night, gr8 music, gr8 food, gr8 dance and loads to drink...

So today had a hang over in office, not much but felt sleepy the whole day. Plus today another first happened in my life.. A lady i asked out refused to come, well for starters it felt odd, somehow it has nvr happened before. But then looking back i have never asked girls who were not my friends and so they never refused, today i asked someone out to make her a friend so i guess its normal to get a "No" for an answer sometime too...

Well one thing is certain 2008 is going to one of the most eventfull years in my life, so i am fully prepared for all the challenges life's gonna throw on me....

Life ! Here I Come !!! Ready to Rock !!!