I am Write!

For the past two days, and a night for that matter, I have been trying to fit the broken pieces in my head. The pieces of what I DID this Sunday. If I am not drunk, I have a reasonably good memory when it comes to numbers and how my day went. And for that matter, I wasn't drunk this sunday.
I don't know if it has happenned to anyone else, but on some days, I get these dreams. Dreams which mix with reality to create a pseudo-real world which is somewhat better, but very much similar to what we reside in. With the same people in there, playing very similar roles to what they play on the world stage. But relax. I have these dreams when I sleep :)
Hmm... so coming back to the point, I have only a little idea of how I spent my Sunday. I know I woke up at sometime in the afternoon, about 11.30-12 I guess. Then was on the computer for about 2 hours. Made lunch. Ate it. And then slept while reading some thing. And then it all goes into a dream-reality issue. Don't exactly know what happened. I do remember seeing a friend at night. For some reason. Not sure what was it. Guess will have to ask her the details. Duh! Now won't that be embarrasing?

So here's my online plea: Anyone who has any idea what-so-ever, of how my day went, please do notify me, 'coz till I don't figure it out, I doubt if I'll stop thinking about it!

-aashish

chillax (v): chill out/relax, hang out with friends

This word features 4th in the Top Ten Favorite Words (Not in the Dictionary)!

A word, that as a student from Delhi, and the prestigious and now world renowned D.P.S., R.K. Puram, I got into using more than anything else! Something that is a part of me even though I use the IITian lingo and translation more often now: lukkha. Though I don't think chillax exactly translates to lukkha but still, chillax rocks! Well, thats just what I happen to do every weekend, be it before or after the exams! OR for that matter anytime of the year!
Other than 'chillax' I have no idea why I am typing this blog. My hands are freezing cold, fingers stiffer than anything rite now ;) and the lab temperatures are dipping below 15 degrees :( Can't even work on my rig. Need to wait till we have atleast 18-20 degrees. Then I can say 'room-temperature' is approximately achieved :D:D

So, ciao.

-aashish

Yup! All you IIT-Bombay folk read it right! This is the same Malèna, that most of us in our freshie years saw it as a piece of porn, as an amazingly hot Italian female showing us her body, and a stupid teenager, who played a role like that in Ek Chhotisi Love Story. Till now all that one saw was the figure, and the body, and all that shit in the movie, coz the movie was in Italian, and not one of us knew what was being spoken. And with no subtitles, the movie was an amazing piece of porn!

Well, last night the channel SBS showed this movie, and thank heavens! it had sub-titles. I decided to miss the State of Origin Rugby match and watch this movie, with all the IITian instincts that I have, still alive!! :)

Though this movie started with all the vigor and sensation that it has always created in me, whenever I have watched it, last night was different. With me having a chance to understand the movie, and follow the story to the end, my taking to it completely changed.

Malèna is a beautiful and deeply touching film. It is a masterful combination of sites, sounds and colors. The two leading actors (Monica Bellucci and Giuseppe Sulfaro) are simply excellent at what they are supposed to convey in this movie. Apart from her truly majestic elegance, Monica Bellucci invests her character (Malèna) with an aura of tragedy, of some profound and unrelenting emotional trauma and pain which remains unspoken throughout the film and reaches its climax at the very end. Malèna's stunningly beautiful eyes remain constantly downcast, and her face -- tense and pierced through by psychic pain (she rarely raises her face, let alone speaks words). Renato (the teenage boy) plays his role to the lit by showing his incredibly pure and valiant love for Malena (this affection he carries in his heart for several years). She becomes his muse, his courage, his sense of honor, his whole rationale for confronting difficult and disruptive life of the war-torn Italy. The finish to the movie, with Renato (played by Giuseppe) saying his first and last words to Malèna (Monica Bellucci) which mean 'Good Luck, Segniro Malèna' is awesome! This single phrase just captivated my thoughts and the way I percieved this flick before last night happened!

Living in Sydney surely has changed my perspective to foreign films. Even though they are bolder and more livid than their Bollywood counterparts, they have so much more meaning that what one gets to see in the crappy hindi movies. Surely, they make better movies than us, even though the Indian movie scene is second only to Hollywood!

Well, for the past few days, I guess nothing much has been happening in my life in any aspect other than the dinner scene. Monday, was no different from the weekend, with Hitesh and I ending up in the city. I was in need of a new pair of shoes, and a cap, and Hitesh had bought a pair for a bargain the Saturday before. We went to the same shop, and viola! I had a new pair of shoes for $10!!! The best bargain I've got in Australia! I hope they last me the final 2 months in kangaroo-land! Other than that, I also got a cap, for a partly $6.95, which I would call a bargain too. Dinner, ofcourse was taken at the city, and so one more day gone without me cooking :)

Come Tuesday, and it all changed. Hitesh and I decided to cook a 'good' Indian meal, comprising of all the basics: Daal, Roti, Rice, a curry, and poppadums. And we managed that all, with some help from Indrie, a friend of mine. And after the almost 2 hour ordeal (I had expected it to not last more than an hour), the meal was awesome!! Loved it :D Other than that, nothing much is happening in this really slow paced life of mine, and I sure need something/one to boost the speed.

Any help?

-aashish

This is strange. For the longest time that I haven't cooked my dinner has occurred this week. When I first landed at this place, I thought, like a true Indian, I shall cook my own meal, and save infi cash from the allowance that the uni. is giving me here. But then, coz of the laziness that has been in me since ages, (I guess its been in me since I was born!!!), I have always been an eater outside. But till this weekend, that would be limited to once a week. At the most, a couple a times a week. This week was different though. I didn't have much to do, and so was eating and trying out the different restaurants in and around cleaveland street. But all this happened on Friday.
before Friday cometh Thursday. And it all started when I got my paycheck for the last two weeks. he he:) that just cleared my bankcruptcy to some extent!! So, I went to Eastgarden Westfield, but first decided to do some really boring grocery shopping :( But then came the good part. Hitesh joined me and we went on to have two 12inch subs each from SUBWAYS!!! Generally I would be ordering a single 6 incher, but due to some reason that I don't recall, I agreed on two 12 inchers. :D:D After that, came the good old Friday. the end of the week :) And on an impromptu decision, Hitesh and I set out to taste and grade all the Indian restraunts on and around Cleaveland Street!!! Starting from Maya Da dhabha, to Sagar Sweets, Mehrey da Dhabha, Holy Cow (that is such a sick name for a restraunt!!) and finally finishing at Maya Sweets :D:D That was one awesome trip. But yes, our pockets were a lot lighter than what we started off with. (actually justmy pocket was lighter, Hitesh used his Credit card :D:D). Yesterday, I was in the city, with a group of friends, and had a large pizza off Pizza Hut! And in the night, went for the international dinner. So that aint any cooking either!

And then cometh today. Am sitting at a friend's place, using her laptop to write this blog while she cleans up her 'really really huge' room! (this room is 6-7 times my tiny IIT cublice :O;) ). And it ain't that dirty either. But, explaining that to girls isn't a good proposition!!! That's what I guess. Dinner may or may not be at a restraunt, but the latter is looking more hopeful rite now ;) Lets see what comes, as the night falls!!

Haven't been keeping well for the past few days. The Sydeny weather has surely hit me hard. Cold winds, and rain. They just don't make me feel at home. :( Have a bad cold, sore throat, and a slight fever. Damn. This is no good. Just when I was thinking that I am enjoying life, I have been struck by the might of God. And complicating all this is the matress that I have. Being an Indian to the core, I enjoy sleeping on hard mattresses, and they are not to be found anywhere in Australia. That is bad. All they have are the springy mattresses, the Sleepwell kind on which I can't sleepwell :( Couldn't get a proper sleep last night, or the one before. Have been thinking all the time.

But before that, it was Bhavani's (Vaibhav Gupta) b'day this Tuesday. And Shaggy, who is doing an internship with him, didn't know about it :O But then I came into the picture. While chatting with Shaggy, I told him about this great historic moment, and viola, Bhavani got bumps from the complete office crew :))) Awesome!! IITians rule everywhere :))

Also, I realised that when I talk to my family, I have nothing to talk about. And then in a space of 5 minutes, my mom/dad would've asked me atleast half a dozen times, "so, how are you?". Now that freaks me out. :O Never know what to tell them. How to increase conversation. :( I guess I'll need inputs from everyone I know to improve my conversation building skills with my parents :) And then, I was talking to friend a few days back while having coffee. And she burnt her tounge to our dismay. And, I mentioned, that me burning tounge hasn't happened since a long long time. Then came the bombshell. Burnt my tounge last night :P:O Guess I must keep a control on what it blabs now :))

Other than that, I have no idea what-so-ever as to why am I writing this piece :) So, I shall get back to work, and hopefully should be able to get something out of the day!

-aashish

I have created this page for all the panorama pictures that I take. I don't think they should be put on the photoblog, but still are gr8 to see. So here they are!

Panoramas by Aashish Vishnoi

-aashish

For the past few weeks, I have been thinking of what am I doing. And what I plan to do. Man! This is so sick. I have ZERO interest in Chemical Engineering. Even though this is the first time in life that I am doing anything interesting to me, I doubt if I'll make a career in this field ever.

For a long time, I have preached that live life a step at a time, don't worry about the future (unless its exams!), and don't worry about what happened in the past. I did happen to follow this rule till quite some time in my life. But, till today I have been unknowingly worrying about a night that changed my perspective to life. And in a totally opposite case to my thinking, the result of the night still lingers in my head. But then, I guess it turned out to be good. :) As we all can see, I am in Australia, living life to its full, at the bachha age of 20 :D:D

But yes, coming back to what I'll be into 2-3 years from now, I have no idea. I hear from all my seniors that job interviews have questions like "where do you see yourself in 5 years time from now?", and I have no answer to that! All I know, I don't want to be a Chemical Engineer. That's off my slate. And then I have this queer habit. I analyze my day after it has passed. I think, if I had done that, that way, then the day would've been better. So, I presume the best thing for me would be some kind of analyst, with being a part of a committee that would analyze stuff and realize how to change things to improve the scenario. Hmm.. Now what does that mean? What am I supposed to be doing?

BTW, what is the job profile in a consultancy? I have no idea. And I guess half of IIT doesn't know either. But, all want a job in McKenzie, Capital One, BCG, and what not. Though I guess not many know what their job profile is. Its just the name, the money, and the fame. That's all that counts when one is in IIT. Who got what job, what uni. In US and/or whether he/she got through IIM. Even when one applies for a PhD. to the universities in States, not many look at what they want to do. Its more of in which field will they get a schol. That's all that matters. No thinking on as to whether you would actually be interested in putting 5-7 years of your 'prime' life into studying and committing yourself to something that you were never interested in the first place. Some know what I am speaking about. Others will say, that's just how life is. Man! That's the worst thing to be spoken ever.

If I ever learnt anything at IIT, its that you are the one who makes or breaks your life. And that is all this great institute teaches to the cream of the nation. When most students apply for a PhD., its more of the fact that they are scared of going into the 'real' world, and prefer staying a student for some more time. It's a way of buying time to mature, maybe not for all PhD. aspirers, but for most of the crowd. Its a way of saying that the next 5-7 years of your life are 'settled'. How many actually think of job prospects, or their future after the 7 years have gone by.

Surely, this internship has been a very learning experience for me. I realised that chemical engg. Isn't that bad, as I felt :) but it also made me sure that I wouldn't like to do a PhD. in this field. Atleast that's what I think right now. Don't know if 2 more years of courses, and another internship would change my mind, but as of now, I am looking for a career change from engineering.

Oh Damn! I left my membrane in the fume cupboard. Shit! Have to run... else the membrane will decompose :O

-aashish

I have lost access to my homepage. Due to some fool in IIT-Bombay, I am unable to upload/edit files to my account. So, for the remaining 2-3 months, I shall not be putting up any pictures onto my homepage. Shall update it as soon as I get back to IIT though. And that shall not be before the end of July. All those dying to see my albums, please wait :D
Other than that, had an eventful weekend. I finally saw a movie at the Spanish Film Festival! I saw The Weakness of the Boleshevik.

As the review on the site says, Luis Tosar turned in an amazing performance! And even though I don't speak Spanish (duh!), the subtitles were great. They were surely better than most of the ones on Indian flicks, where the meaning in Hindi and English is a lot different occasionally. (I can say that mainly because I was sitting next to a Latin-American chap, and he confirmed this fact :D). And of course, María Valverde looks sensational.
Sunday was when I was thinking of going around the city. But with no company, I changed minds right at the bus-stop, and went on the 4km walk from Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach. With strong cold winds, and an awesome view of the sea, I took the normally 1 1/2 hrs walk in 3 1/2 hours!!! And yes, took over a 100 pics. So, that was a revelation!
Today, was bad. Got up at 4 AM, so as to be on time to pick up Bansal. A batchmate from IIT, had to pick him up coz he was getting me some notes for my kind perusal on my behest :( . And after dropping him off to Central, went back home, got dressed, came to lab, checked mail, and left for the airport again!! This time to pickup Avnish, a buddy from E-Cell. He was getting some eatables for me :D:D. After getting my booty, I dropped him to Central, and avoiding the rain successfully I scrambled back to Uni., and slogged my arse out, to cover-up for the morning that I missed. :(

So much for the day.

-aashish

...well, I don't have anything to write. But, since I promised my self that I shall put an entry here atleast every two-three days, this is for the past 2 days. Nothing much is going on. I am running in a -ve cash flow. So, have nothing much planned for the weekend. But, I shall make a trip to the Spanish Film Festival, that I have been talking about for the past couple of weeks :). Hopefully that is!

Other than that, I had plans to go on a photoshoot in Sydney, but still haven't planned it. So, I doubt if I'll do it this weekend. My work a'int going great. Still out of membranes. No progress there.

So lifes boring. And monotonous.

cya, till my life has something to talk about :(

-aashish

In the past 3 nights, I have seen 4 movies. Two on the silver screen, and two on the computer screen. And with all this in my head, I have been doing little progress at my research project! Just when I was thinking of working and reading papers on sunday, a friend called to ask if I was free for a movie. Now that aint a question to ask someone who has devoted his time to acads! :)
OFCOURSE I AM FREE!!! We made it to the last show of Kingdom of Heaven (*ing Orlando Bloom). The movie was nice, but the same can't be said about the acting of Orlando. Not impressive :(

Next, over night of monday, I saw two back to back hindi flicks on Hitesh's comp. Don't even remember what the name of the movies were! Just saw them.

And fianlly, yesterday saw a 3D anim, Haunted Castle, at IMAX Cinemas. To be truthful, saw the movie coz we had free ticket coupons for the Cinema ;) No other reason. And then I got a great chance to take pictures of the darling harbour by the night! Shall put some pics on my photoblog soon.

Coming back to work, my membrane's over, and I have been told not to expect it to arrive for atleast another 5 weeks! So, I have no worries. My project is as good as over!!

BTW, if someone has extra cash, can you give me around AU$200? I want to skydive, but am short of cash! :((

-aashish

This is bad. I wrote a really big blog entry on Chauffeur and all of that got erased, as I published the entry! So much for writing blogs. I ain't finishing that entry anymore.

and now I'm going for a swim!

-aashish

That's what I did for the complete part of the 1st day, and that too, without a car!

Two batchmates from IIT, came today, on internships in universities in Australia. One, in The University of Newcastle, and the other in

:((

Winter. Thandi. Sardi. 冬天. Invierno. Hiver.Inverno.冬。겨울. Got this all with the help of the Google Translator.

Weekend winter. That's the worst that can happen. With temperatures only reaching a meagre 18 degrees, it might be summer for the English, but definitely not for the Indians. I could feel the chill in my spine, when I walked from the library back to my house, at 2 in the afternoon yesterday. And that was enough to call off my plans for the weekend. Have no mood to get into chilly weather so soon. Hopefully, will get adjusted to this over the week. And then shall go out. But, this meant that I won't be able to go to the Spanish Film Festival this weekend. But then, its on for the complete next week, and closes next Sunday. So still have a chance to make it!
Got a hand to this amazing software. Autostich. Read about it on Gary's blog. AutoStitch is a free program and there are no complicated things you need to do. All you need is some pictures that have some kind of common connection to one another to create a panorama. I had a set of pictures of the bookfair, that I made a panorama of, using MsPaint :)) (Don't have photoshop in a Chemical Engg. department... and I thought, I'll edit it when I get back to India). And then this software came along. And it set the pace.

Here is the output using MsPaint (took me a little over an hour to get to this):

And this is using AutoStich (took the tool a little under 3 minutes to get to this!):

Any soul can see the difference!

Other than that, I have been reading a lot this weekend, not books, but papers. As in doing some mindboggling literature survey. So, that is getting to my head. Lets see, what I finally pen-down in my report :)

-aashish

With nothing much happening in life, I have to get back to doing work. And then, when you are so pumped up to do some research, nothing goes your way. Today, my supervisor makes the best of all statements. Check the conductivity of the permeate for water-flux experiments! Now, if I am running pure distilled water, how in the world will there be conductivity?!? I, am LOST. This is so stupid.

And then, I am feeling homesick. 4 months here, and its getting to my head. Life's sick, and it plays really stupid games with you (or for me for that matter!). And then, I have begun reading this philosophical blog, Free Congnition, which just leaves me in a tinge. Don't know what to do. Other than that, I am still looking for company for the Spanish Film Festival. Anyone interested?

Guess, its enough. No more of stupid blogging :P

-aashish

Well, I had mailed the helpline, asking for permission to watch the show, and to my disbelief, they (or just she) replied :P:P

What am I saying out here?
Read the article, and you'll understand :)

Apples are good for health. So, that is what I have begun to have for lunch. (why? Refer previous post)
Checked the Sydney Fashion Week site, non-professionals from the industry aren't allowed to see the show. So stupid!
Then checked out the site of the Spanish Film Festival. A host of amazing movies being played. Will hopefully watch a few. Other than that? Lifes sick. And monotonous. And boring. And nothing much is happenning. (did I need to write this?)

So, I am leaving to watch the Survivor, on TV.

adios!

-aashish

Money, Money, Money, the root cause of all evil. Though we had unearthed this amazing thing :)

money=sq. rt. (evil) ... (1)
We all know that,
time=money ... (2)
and, women=time * money ... (3)
therefore, from (2) and (3)
women = money^2
and, using (1)
women = (sq. rt. (evil))^2
or, women = evil

I know this is a very old one, and I had first heard of this one when I was in grade 6, but still thought its worth a mention, considering the title I have today!

Now coming back to life. With not much time to go, I have been checking on my expenses in the past months. Having said this, I don't think I'd need to elaborate as to why am I feeling the desperate need for money!
Its highly obvious, that if I spend about a $100 a weekend, I won't be keeping enough to cover the complete trip, that is the cost of the ticket and the visa (which in Indian Rs. is expensive enough for me :(( ).
Lets see, hopefully, I should scrape through just even, if I manage to maintain a tight leash on my expenses from here on (but then again, that ain't possible :( ).

Other than these worries, life's no good. Went swimming yesterday, and thats just about all that I did, other than visiting the computer fair. And, I guess I made a fool of myself by missing the African Film Festival, that Tomas had invited me to :((. Would've been a good time, I presume. Today, I was reading this article, The rise and fall of the retrosexual man, by Bachi Karkaria. She writes the Erratica column for the TOI. I have always been a reader of Erratica and Jugular Vein (by Jug Suriya), and now that the compilations of best of Erratica and Jugular Vein is out, I'll get myself a copy as soon as I get back to India. Would be a great read. Now, coming to the article, one should just read it to realise the piece is amazing :P An excerpt from the piece:

"...Come to think of it, women must thank Saamna. While apparently forcing them into a sartorial straitjacket, it actually complimented them. It said that women have to dress soberly because they are the only ones who can exercise self-control. It said categorically that men, poor things, cannot. It suggested that the minute they see a female who isn't covered from neck to toe, their eyes pop out of their sockets and they seem to be carrying a gun in their pocket..."

For the unknown, Saamna is the journal of Shiv Sena, a fundamentalist political party, based in Mumbai. Shiv Sena, under the able guidance of Bal Thakrey, has always been in news for its radical, and orthodox views.

Next, coming to todays happenings, mallu (a.k.a Suraj) asked for some help, and coz I respect this chap, for all that he's achieved in his life so far (other than the fact that he got into Civil Engg. :P:P), I shall try my best to do so. Lets hope he gets what he deserves. Other than that, I came to know that CLP, a batchie from Civil Engg., has got an internship in a company in NZ. Now, don't ask me what does CLP stand for, though I can tell you that his real name is Saurabh Kumar!

-aashish

As the title suggests, I saw this movie. Amazing one, must say! Was laughing my heart out all the time. Rated a 7.4 by IMDB, I saw this movie with Lars, a German practicummer, at the Greater Union, Bondi Junction. The second time I have been to this cinema. And when I came back, my wallet was another $17.5 lighter :((. That would be 11.5 for the ticket and another 6 for the drinks that we had to kill the 40 minutes that we had before the show to start.

But before this plan, was my lunch with Indrie, at Maya da Dhabha, Surry Hills. Had a paneer makhani (will never have that again in Australia, they made it sweet, and though tasted nice, wasn't exactly what I would have liked) and Punjabi Baigan!!! Yup! That's me. Living in Australia is just getting me to eat all that I have despised all this time in my life. But before I sat down for lunch, I had just about 4 samosas for my breakfast, which was just an hour before this feast! After lunch, we strolled down to the city, Indrie leading coz I was lost! She needed some tickets to some boxing match, which didn't go down with me very well :P.
So walking in the city, and with the person leading you knowing the way around, made me miss my camera, I feeling the want of it after every crossing that we went by. Going into China Town and then through the Paddy's markets, made me realise the great opportunities that I missed. But then, I'll learnt a lesson. Always carry a camera when you go out with a local. It helps :) As we got to the Ticketek counter, we realised that it was closed, and that made the trip, in a way worthless. And then Indrie had plans of shopping with another friend, and I had taken permission to take pictures at the bookfair that was on in the Uni. So we parted ways, and I made my way back to home ASAP, picked up my camera, and my swimming gear, and headed for the book-fair. After taking some nice pictures, (will be posting soon), I swam for about 45 min (the longest so far in Sydney.. I am improving, after the 7 year layoff!).
And then the odyssey of the movie show occurred. That was good!

Today, I was at the computer fair, mainly to check out the prices of a DVD dual layer Burner, that lambda has requested for, and an iPod that I have been craving for. But, I came out with another thing, that I was expecting to be expensive. A 512 MB xD Picture card for my camera! So, now I have the freedom to shoot!

-aashish