Everything Manipal

After Manipal

2010-06-01T06:09:00.000-07:00

What happens after Manipal? A lot of us have been wondering the same thing, so here's the basics as of now:

THINC (5th) Semester

Current options

15 weeks of pre-clinical classes in Atlanta, Georgia
6 weeks of Falcon Review in Antigua + 6 weeks Self-Study + 6 weeks pre-clinical classes

USMLE Step 1 must be completed after THINC Semester before students can be placed in clinical rotations.

Clinical Rotations

- Core Rotations

44 weeks total
Subjects: Internal Medicine, General Surgery, Gynecology & OB, Pediatrics, Psychiatry
AUA coordinator assigned to each student will place the student in their core rotations

- Elective Rotations

31 weeks total
AUA will place you in these as well, but you are allowed to apply for these at any hospital of your choosing (**Recommended as it speeds the process**)

- Available locations (GREEN BOOK rotations mentioned)

Derby, CT: Griffin Hospital

Internal Medicine

Washington, DC: St. Elizabeth's Hospital

Psychiatry

Chicago, IL: Jackson Park Hospital

Family Medicine

Louisiana

Shreveport: Brentwood Hospital

Lafayette, LA: Louisiana State University Medical Center

Internal Medicine, Geriatric/Family Medicine

Baltimore, MD

Harbor Hospital-- Internal Medicine
Maryland General Hospital-- Internal Medicine
Sheppard-Enoch Pratt-- Geriatric Psychiatry, Psychiatry
Union Memorial Hospital-- Internal Medicine, Surgery

Pontiac, MI: St. Joseph Mercy Oakland

Cardivascular Disease, Radiology (diagnostics), Surgery

New York

Schenectady: Ellis Hospital

Family Medicine, Foot/Ankle Orthopedics

Brooklyn: Interfaith Medical Center

Pulmonary disease, Internal Medicine

Long Beach: Long Beach Medical Center

Mount Vernon: Mount Vernon Hospital

Internal Medicine

Staten Island: Richmond University Medical Center

Internal medicine, Obstetrics & Gynecology, Psychiatry, Radiology (diagnostics), Pediatrics

Bayshore: Southside Hospital

Family Medicine

Far Rockaway: Peninsula Hospital

Utica: St. Elizabeth's Hospital

Family Medicine

Brooklyn: Wycoff Heights Medical Center

Internal Medicine, Family Medicine

Kingston: Kinston Hospital

Ohio

Youngstown: Forum Health

Akron: Summa Health System

Pathology, Surgery, Emergency Medicine, Orthopedic surgery, OB & Gynecology, Internal Medicine, Geriatric medicine, plastic surgery, Hospice & palliative medicine, Sports medicine, Cytopathology, Family Medicine, Opthamology

Toledo: Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center

Internal medicine, Family medicine, Emergency medicine

San Juan, Puerto Rico

San Juan City Hospital

OB & Gynecology, Hematology & Oncology, Internal medicine, Pediatrics, Pulmonary disease

San Juan Bautista

Following completion of clinical rotations, students must complete USMLE Step 2 and then may apply for Residency.

Updates from MIT

2008-10-04T20:46:00.000-07:00

Just going through the latest issue MIT bulletin. Some updates here.

Laptops to all students: The lecture halls at MIT are today equipped with world-class electronic audio-visual teaching aids and all the students are provided with state-of-the-art Laptops for their day-to-day use.

Digital Library facility at MIT: MIT Central Library is fully renovated and digital library facility is made available today. To name a few are – ACM digital library, ASME digital library, ASCE digital Library, IEE/IEEE online, BIS Standards on intranet, E-Question papers and Science Direct.
Placement at the Peak: Over 96% (institutional level) recorded and more than 75 companies have recruited MIT students in 2007-08. ABB Ltd, Aditi, Accenture, Ashok Leyland, Atkins, BCH Electric, Cerner Healthcare, CISCO, Crompton, Cummins, Deloitte, ECC, EMC2, Fidelity, FSS, GE Healthcare, Hero Honda, HPGIDC, Huawei Tech., IBM, Iflex Solutions, Infosys, IOCL, ITC Infotec, John Deere, L&T Ltd, Lister Tech., Maruti Suzuki, Misys PLC, M&M, MCF, Nokia Siemens, Perot Systems, Philips, Robert Bosch, Sasken Commn, Satyam, SCT Sungard, Schneider Electric, Secon, Sterlite, Tata Elxsi, Tavant, TCS, Tesco, Thorn India, Vedanta, Wipro, Yahoo…. are some of the reputed companies visited MIT this year. Maximum Salary offered is 9.12 lakhs per annum & average salary is 3.5 lakhs per annum.

Did you know ? MIT Growing Mighty!: Today, the total intake at MIT Manipal has raised to above 1,600 in 16 different Undergraduate (BE/B.Arch) courses and above 230 in 20 different postgraduate (M.Tech/MCA) courses. Faculty strength has increased to 450! Among them, more than 140 members are having Ph.D. qualification and another 100 members are carrying out their Doctoral studies. More than 50 subject experts from reputed industries / research organizations have been appointed as Adjunct (Visiting) Faculty in the institute. This year, 25 top performing, meritorious students are given 100% Freeships! Their four years of engineering education at MIT, Manipal will be totally free of cost!

Will be busy soon

2007-12-02T01:22:00.000-08:00

Well I returned from manipal today morning.. i had taken my friend sandeep with me there.. we spent 1.5 days in maniapl and stayed at 10th block.. i needed some letter of recomendaions.. so i had gone to manipal.. was great to see my uni again.. the guys there were so happy so see my again..was fun there.. but we couldn manage to get a ticket but the usual volvo bus i travel in.. so i got a normal AC bus ticket and it was so so cold in there!!!but the irritating thing was that i was told to report for the bus at 3.15 pm which i did.. and the bus came at 6pm! i mean it was so so irritating... Now i am back home.. and looking forward to my new day tom.. new as its my 1st day for my project at Tata Motors car division..it will be so cool to work for the for so long.. so much to learn..and i will be there for 5 months.. and in the evening i will be preparin for my GRE.. attending 1.5hrs of gre classes... startin from 8th Jan..gonna be hectic few months ahead...
but m prepared..lookin forward to it actually!!

Manipal Not for The Weak Minded

2007-10-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

I can divide my life into two. Before Manipal and after Manipal.

Manipal is very big college containing all the streams of engineering and Medical, with its own merits and demerits. I can confidently suggest any person to join the college if he has strong will to learn and to have strength to pull back himself from any negative attractions. Manipal is a college with all the resources which we won’t even imagine. A person can learn anything he wish to learn. Apart from education you will know about outside opportunites a lot because of students from many different regions of the world. The quality of education is same as any other normal college, frankly speaking no college in Karnataka has good faculty, except two or three colleges. If you are good at mugging up it is easy for you to get 10/10 in the college. If you really strive to learn or do something new then the college will be ready to provide anything. Placement opportunities in the college are immense, you have a wide range of choices to make.

Days passing...

2007-05-02T01:38:00.000-07:00

well its kinda weird now.. the days passing.. no real work at hand.. anna left few days back.. was kinda sad.. she was really sweet.. now i realise i may not go for my internship to VW.. makes things worse.. now i guess i ll do my internship at TATA motors in pune. n also work for my gre in the mean time.. mom ll undergo surgery in few days.. we went to mumbai to take the docs appointemnt few days back. after taking the appointement n all we dropped anna to the airport. she is finally back home n njyinf fresh air!!..
thing are bit confusing now.. very confusing actually.. bout my future.. dunno where its really heading.. i have to give shape to it.. chose between USA and germany. heart says germany... but logic(brain) says america. will decide once i have given gre and IELTS.....
for now dats it.. will go to tata motors to finalise the things in few days..
gotta get broadband connection to my house...
n mom's surgery comin up.. on 22nd she ll be operated.. will have to be alone wid my sis n take care of her...
n also think bout other things in the mean time.. so u know kinda messed up.. time ll take care of stuff...

YUP.. Is wrokin time again!!

2007-01-01T01:23:00.000-08:00

well well.. life is busy again now... work has finally started!!!So now i start my day like this.... 6.30 am.. trriiinggggggggg.. damn the alarm!!!yawwnn.. time to get up.. 7.30am.. oh shit i ll be late for my bus... then its travel time.. taken away to a far off world from pune.. to the world of only cars and cars.. all u see is cars around.. heaven for me.. and as anna use to say ugly!!(she referred to wolfsburg)..so i reach my office and start my work at the weld shop.. i have put a pic of the place i work in.. my Weld shop!! yeah its got so many robots to do the welding..and its so so huge.. i mean the factory.. think i ll die one day walking around.. i think they should provide us with bikes to go around.. i ork till 12.30pm... then have the most disgusting food that ll make anyone's stomach cry.. at 1pm its back to work.. if u see my weld shop its like a mini fireworks gng all the time ans sparks flyin all over the place all the time.. n ya i have been hit many time by now..!!at 5pm its time to go home
:):)
and then on reachin home i start packin my stuff for my gre class that starts at 7.15pm...!!i return home by 9.15pm.. n yes.. m totally dead!! kaputt!!
it takes hardly few mins before i collapse in the comfort of my bed...ummmmm
n ya.. yesterday was so so coll.. i did spot welding of Tata indigo car Body side with my own hands!!!!!:):) the spot gun was so heavy.. but i loved it totally!!!! n to imagine that one tata car ll be runnin on the indian roads that ll be welded by me is so great ... hehe
well life is busy and killin.. but m lovin it:)

Prufung ist fertig!

2006-12-05T01:37:00.000-08:00

Fertig!!!! Over!! The exams are finally over.. n so are my college days:(
was a awesome time in maipal.. time flew at the blinck of an eye.. i still cant beleive that my engineering days here are over. fertig!! tomorrow i ll leave for pune.. people are waiting eagerly for me there:):):)
well today i went out wid pu,appu n vignesh, was a treat to them all from me n chopra. also we landed up for ice cream at scooby doo.. then we played Fussball. oh it was so great.. had fun after a really loooooooooooong time....
ummm ya.. TATA motors Car division has offered me internship at pune.. dunno wats takin stupid VW so long...
e really happenin month this was.. November was so busy... n december has started well.. rest n break for now.. finallly.. i need it .. n deserve it too!!!
i ll miss u manipal.. the place that changed wat i was.. n wat i ll be in the future...

Back from Walk from end point...

2006-11-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

M just back from maybe my last walk to end point.. its so weird feelin with the days suddenly coming to an end in manipal.. Today is like maybe the last saturday nite m free.. from tuesday i ll be absorbed in my university exams.. n then it ll be time to go!!! go back from manial!! damn!
Well the 1st half today was quite weird actually... Our uni authorities have gone crazy!!! it seems now we have to make an account with State Bank of India now to get our Hall ticket! its so stupid! i mean its hardly 2 weeks left.. n there is so much rush in the college... to get the free tickets.. no proper human management at all! sometimes its really irritating that u cant really do anything to change the system and all u can do is just sit and suffer the stupid stuff!!.. and these uni fellows .. all they look for is alternate methods to make money!!
N today i collected my BOSCH internship letter from the college as it was still there.. will head for dinner for in sometime.. still not decided where to go.. as usual....
just waitin for the unis to start so that i can go home finally!!!:)

Exams overrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:)

2006-11-27T01:34:00.000-08:00

Yup!!! at last m done with my sessionals..!! the last ones of my life!! no more sessionals.. yipeeee... they went off well.. but the uni exams comin up in 5 days!! from tuesday!! damn.. dats freakin less time.. My coll guys gonna screw us up.. but m sure i ll manage somehow.. always manage to .. lol
its 6pm rite now.. n i still haven had anythn sicne the mornin!! didn get time to! will go for a shower now and then head out to eat somethin.. today is party time.. then back to study maybe tom or day after...
Damn m tired.. physically and mentally.. haven slept for like 3 days!! and m stink like a pig rite now! ...
bu then i won be sleepin early today again..lol.. freakin out the whole nite.. n sleep till late mornin tom...!!!!!:)
feels so great..:) and to think that i ll be done with my engineering in a few days.. its like wird.. i m gonna be an engineer soon!!weird feelin...

Prufung(Exams!!!!)

2006-11-23T01:34:00.000-08:00

arrrghhhhhh.. yuukk.. its exam time again.. but the good news is 4 are over and just 2 more are left(tomorrow)...:) till now all exams have been gud.. today was the most tricky papers of all.. was really screwed up last nite.. was tensed like hell!!! now its ok.. m just back from subway.. had a great meal.. technically my breakfast as i didn bother to eat anythin since mornin!! actually didn get the time to!!
My eyes are closing rite now.. m so so tired.. wil sleep for an hour and get back to studies again... Still waitin for the VW letter!!!damn...
my final exams ll start in few days.. in 4 days time.. so no time to freak out too!!!But the gud thing is that i ll be back home soon and m done with my engineering studies...:) just 15 more days legft and i m a free bird!! M longing to get back to pune this time.. i ll stay back in manipal after my exams to study a bit of german.. i hope the time i invested learnin german doesn go waste....
ok then... time to sleep now.. my books are waitin for me.. Nitez.......zzzzzzzzzz...

Got the Letter from BOSCH

2006-11-23T01:33:00.000-08:00

Today morning i got the confirmation letter for my inernship of 5 months period at BOSCH ,Bangalore.Its really cool that i have got it somewhere now and that too in the company I like!!They asked me to start my project by Feb'07 but i requested them to allow me to start by Jan'07 which they accepted.
But I am still hopeful to get my dream internship at VW ,Germany. I have been really waitin long for that now....
Rest of the day i worked on my Heat Treatement assignment!! Damn it was long!! My hands started aching!!!Maybe the longest assignment i have done in my college!!So SO long!! really freaky.. Tool too much of my time..
Dinner was at Beeneetji's place.His sisters cooked a really nice home made dinner for us which I enjoyed. I ate rice by my hands!!After so many years!!Was a different feeling...
Exams are coming up on Wednesady and the tension is building up now........

Last Lab Exam!

2006-11-17T01:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was officially the last day of my college. I am now done with all the theory classes and yesterday i finshed with my last lab exam. Industrial Lab. Was really awesome. Just Perfect. No error at all. I was asked to make a P-chart which i managed to complete 1.5hrs before the alloted time.So now I am basically suppose to sit in my room at sit and prepare for my upcomin exams. The 3rd sessionals are from 22nd and the finals are from 28th!! Gonna get screwed as i have not started studyn yet and still have to do 2 assignments. Today I went to check my attendance in the college. All is fine. Now just waiting to give the exams and be a free bird!!!! Though bit confused about my internship as m still waitin my confirmation from VW ,Germany. Such lazy ppl!!!The germans at VW I mean.! Indians work so much faster than them!!..lol..
Rite now happy dat no more theory classes and no more labs too!!!:)

Anna and Mareike leave

2006-11-17T01:27:00.000-08:00

Anna and mareke left manipal finally day before yesterday. everybody was very sad. The mood at foodcourst was very dull and sad.Pu ,Appu alomost cried. I coould see tears comin out of pu's eyes. even i was very sad as during these months we all had come very close together. Mareke cried a lot at the food court. Then after havin lunch we all went back to their room.Anna cried a lot and even i was very sad to see her go... We all exchanged goobye cards and some presents.. It was very senti moment actually...

Anna and mareke went to the railway station by taxi.. i took pu along with me to the station. Deva and alok came to see mareike. anna was weepin... we all hugged each other goodbye.. Chopra managed to come after his exam during the last few moments...
I wish these 2 girls are successful wherever they go...

Dinner at Cosmos

2006-10-02T01:32:00.000-07:00

Chopra and me went for a walk in the evening to end point today. Actually i forced him to come with me(I do that sometimes..lol). So when we were on the way to our hostel after our walk.. i told him to stop at Cosmos reastaurant for Chocolate Mousse(which i love). But there we found out that it wasn there so I landed up havin Black Forest Torte(Pastry). There we noticed that there offering Pastas for dinner.. some kinda speciality for that day. So Abhishek,His sis Chicky , her friend Shivani and me all went to have dinner there. There we were suppose to tell the chef how to make it. Tell him the ingredients to be put out of all the stuff available. I asked for a mixture for tomato purie and White sauce gravy with more of white sauce.. And sphaghetti in it...with salami in it.. was tasty... schmeckt sehr!!!!Vignesh Kamath was aslo there by chance with some of his officials so couldn join us.. I called up Pu to join us for dinner but he hadl already taken his dineer. Howvere he did join us with one of his freiend. Was nice there..:)

Manipal in Mansoons

2006-06-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

mansoon has hit Manipal atlast ... late by almost a month ...
It s been raining for last few days. To make the dull day a bit brighter, today we decided to take a walk to end point. It has been a long time i went there, may be more than six months.

End point is favourite hangout for most of the manipalites through out the year. I like the place more so during the rainy seasons. One can see green, green and green in all directions. Malpe beach is more than 10 kms from here, but you can have an unobstructed view of the sunset at horizon with all the clouds and colors from this high point. On a rainy day if you are lucky , you can get to see rainbows too. And if it s dark , watching the starry sky in an open space like that is what you should experience once atleast. At night , you can see Kaup light house also , which is more than 25 kms.

okay , to tell it shortly,this place is nature as it is , natural .

As we were walking towards end point , which takes around 15 minutes from the centre of manipal , i was getting high with my memories linked to end point. This was the road ,where i went everyday for a walk few years back with my friend .. sat and talked for hours together till dark ... we talked about everything including movies, love versus arranged marriages... aquarium , dogs and cats , so on sharing our views ...and realised slowly that we could share everything forever and friendship turned into a bond of love for lifetime ......and my life become more beautiful .....

hummmmhh...coming to the present .. I started observing things around me . I was glad to see some regular walkers and joggers which includes all kinds of people in manipal, students , teachers, doctors , and patients too. There is this old uncle , who comes with his dog for a walk , who was missing today . May be i m late .... Then i see this lady who comes with her husband , who has been operated for brain tumor , and since then has difficulty for mental functions. My neighbour who is a student , with his girlfriend , sitting on a bench romancing .... Some cars parked on road side , playing dish-chaka-dish music ....

we walked nearer to the dead end of end point . From here we could see the sloping hill , and river Swarna . One can walk down here to the river ( around 2 kms) for a trek , and enjoy the boat riding . Lord Ganesha temple at foothills adds to the beauty of the place .

If you have been to manipal , and not been to end point , you have missed the essence of manipal , unpolluted unspoilt nature till now. So if you havent been here, next time you visit Manipal , be sure to enjoy this place .Welcome to Manipal, welcome to End point.

Revels 2006

2006-04-25T20:23:00.000-07:00

I happened to come across an email in one of the Quiz Groups, which had a signature of an MITIAN with this url also as a part .. http://revels2k6.com/main.htm

And what you have already now going through this link , really made me feel good of the same.

Well, thats the power of IT, and I am happy that MITians have indeed gone a long way. Well not to forget, we are the FIRST Engg COllege in INDIA to come out with its Magazine on a CD also ..

More than anything else I was impressed with the Entire Layout of the Website. It was not just done for Namesake. It was indeed done very well. And at the same time I was happy to see some of the snaps which I had clicked during my days in MIT.

Though cell phones are in a huge number in MIT,the phone numbers attached to all the Board Members of the ED group as well as the Revels Group made me remember of the details what we would put on the posters.

Most of the times it would be our class numbers, some time our Hostel Room numbers.. and sometimes even the Bike numbers[ thats what One member of our photography club would do ].

Well I am quite sure that going through the website, would have really made u feel great and nostalgic..

Manipal Univ - Udupi

2006-04-02T01:52:00.000-08:00

I had been to Manipal (Udupi) in last week of november to visit Manipal University. Manipal University town is situated on a small hill near Udupi (app. 6-7Km away from Udupi railway station).

Udupi :

Its medium sized town. It is on Konkan Railway route and about 1000Km from Mumbai. Train usually take 16Hrs to reach Udupi.

Most of the population lives in small bunglow type houses. Town has appreciable green cover. In fact, if we look from Manipal's hill, one might feel there is dense forest down there !! Majority of people are devoties of lord Krishna. There are many Krishna temples, Shrikrishna Mutt being most important. There is even temple of Geeta. We saw portraits and pictures of Krishna in many hotels.

Manipal :

Its huge university. They have famouse life science institutions and couple of engineering institutions. I visited manipal to see MCIS - Manipal Institute of Information Sciences, which runs only PG, MS courses on Medical software, Embedded sys and VLSI cad. This is housed in one of the buildings of MIT(Manipal Inst. of Tech). Facilities at MCIS were adequate. Staff seems to be experienced. Most important is study atmosphere, and I think its gr8. All facilities are easily available for students.

Atmosphere is quiet cool and silent. Being a university town young population is maximum. University itself have many hostels for guys and gal. If one don't get hostel there are many lodges available.

Photo Gallery :

# Udupi railway station

# This is the lodge where we had stayed

#Shree Krishna Mutt

#Shree Krishna Mutt

#Malpe beach (app. 16Km from Udupi)

# Manipal University Office

Have Decided on a New Job

2006-03-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

So am back in Malaysia. I have to start looking for a job eventually, and I guess I will, but I just want to take a break now. Not do anything at all. Does anybody watch the Amazing Race? Well, did you know that they're coming to Asia? I've been trying to convince my sis that we should try and apply for it. Prob is that she's busy studying for her GMAT. So, I don't think that'll happen. But, it would be realy cool, no?

Anywayz, I'm going to be in India from the 16ht of March to 3rd April - first Delhi and then Mumbai. We need to meet up.... Let me know who's where....

Job vacancies at my firm

2006-02-28T06:03:00.000-08:00

where do i begin? jeez, so much has happened since school in manipal. some of you guys i have been in touch. but the rest, i'm so sorry for disappearing. well, in a nutshell, here's the shortest update:

when i first arrived brisbane, australia, i had clearly intended on doing only a 6 month post-grad diploma in digital design and then heading off to the us for m.arch (research) on spatial simulation systems. but then, as life is so full of the unexpected, as i undertook the course, i loved it so much that i decided to do the whole masters in dig. des. at the same time, i was working in a small architectural practice 'raymond barber architects' and gained some valuable experience in local construction technology and managerial skills. on the side, i also got immersed into the film industry and made a few short films, documentaries, animation and music videos. one of my films - 'industrial apotheosis' got shortlisted as one of the top 10 finalists at the 'brisbane international film festival 2003' in the short film category. my roles were cinematographer and editor.

in 2004 i joined 'brand + slater architects' a larger firm specializing in clubs, pubs, hotels, restaurants, institutes, and have been here eversince....., with a 'little divided attention'! in my free time i've been writing many songs- some acoustic folk, some funk but mostly electro-grunge rock. recently i've managed to form my own band and we're currently working on an album, which we hope to publish by the end of this year. well, that was the career side of things- that's enough work to talk about!

work hard, but also play hard........ while we're still young eh! on the playfield - been thoroughly engrossed into theatre, music concerts, music/art and folk festivals and exhibitions. made a few vacations to the us, canada, new zealand. this year i plan to go to fiji and then later, canada again. if all goes well, by the end of next year, planning to take a year of leave and re-locate to dubai for experience, and also to save some $$$! let's see how it goes.

well, that's pretty much on the work and play side of things with me.
now, back to the WORK!

brand + slater architects pty. ltd., a long established practice, which has designed + delivered some of brisbane’s most well loved pubs + clubs, had only 22 employees when i first joined two years ago. in the recent years we have expanded immensely and we now have a total strength of 46 employees (and still counting), including the introduction of a vast interior design section. also, in the recent years we have won numerous prestigous awards, placing our reputation as one of the best firms in the state. this year, we have received invitation to undertake various projects beyond our capacity (and we'd like to say yes to them all!). hence, we're actively seeking experienced cad operators, junior and senior architects, interior designers, to work alongside teams on medium to large scale hospitality / educational projects. we need someone who can show initiative + assist his / her team leader to successfully bring projects to completion on time + within budget. this would involve experience in contract documentation. for the senior architect's position, you need to be an experienced team leader who can run a small team, develop positive relationships with both clients + consultants + successfully run projects to deadline + within budget. autocad experience is not even absolutely necessary anymore as we are now switching to revit. if you don't know revit, no problem, we do train our staff. however, knowledge in other software is definitely a plus point.

i must emphasize that the standard of living and quality of life here in brisbane is great. it has the best weather and the art, music and culture here is to die for. fairly new, it's the fastest growing city in australia and its location is such that you have easy approach to one of the best holiday destinations around australia, including the gold coast, alice springs, cairns, townsville, the sunshine coast etc. we are at a city fringe location in brisbane and are able to offer excellent career opportunities and salary packages. and of course, if you're able to prove your valuable experience and skills, b+s do sponsor foreign nationals for work visa (like they did for me when i first joined). knowing that there are so many amazingly skilled and talented budding archis amongst you all out there, i thought i'd let you guys know first thing, as i can make firm recommendations on your behalf. so, anyone interested out there, do shoot me your cvs and portfolio via email or, if hard copy, post them to my work address which is below. if you'd like to see some of the work carried out by our firm, hop onto the web and look into our site (web ad below). ams and nams, if you have any close friend architects in brissie who has good skills and experience, let me know.

well, that's about it for now. i promise to try and keep in touch with you guys as much as possible (even though i can't keep pace of emails for nuts!)

love and miss you guys lots. wishing you fruitfulness in everything that you do and a great quality of life!

Awesome happenin day!!!

2006-01-09T01:24:00.000-08:00

well yesterday i took off from my office..because I wasnted to go to the International symposium of automotive technology at Automotive research association of india in pune.. The President of India was the chief guest!was so cool .. And all the big shots of Indian automotive industry wre also present.. like MD of Maruit,Mahindra and Mahindra,and many more including foreign delegates..from japan,usa,uk and germany.the Chief minster of maharshtra was also present and so was the minister of heavy industries.. but they weren the attraction as was Mr.President!!The way he spoke for half hr.. was so cool.. he spoke in the technical words we engineers understand... he spoke so well and held the crowd .. and everybody loved him.. he didn talk any nonsense as expected outta the poiliticians!!!! then after he spoke he ws like within 10mins my speech ll be on net.. which i downloaded in pdf and pps format.. and also he was like u can write to me at my site.. i will reply to u within 24 hrs!!!! i was indeed impressed with him...
then in the noon time i went with my sis to the Annual day of her school.. its the same school i aslo attended.. it got back my old memeories.. as always the venue was the armed forces medical college auditorium.. met few of my teachers also.. n there i sat looking at all the kids singing and dancing thinking i was also there one day.. few years back.. and then came the kids singing the school song.. the song me and my friends were the first ones to sing as it was in our time the school song was written.. i surprised myself by landing up recalling the whole song whch i had once sung on that ver same stage few years back in front of hundreds!!!! was a gud experience.. and watchin my sister gettin prize from the principal of NDA for excellence in academics..
then in the eveing i went to collect our new HONDA ACTIVA.. oh god.. its such a smoooooooooth scooter.. i have totally fallen for it.. cant get enough of it.. today even my sis couldn resist it and kept appreciating it.. n i landed up teaching her hpw to ride as she was too freaked out to ride.. anyway ... was a ver eventful.. and to end the day..chatted with anna and mareike.. and few more frnz... now m again online.. n tom is a new day.. new start of the week.. at Tata .. the work ll start again!!!.. time to sleep soon now...

3 down.. 3 more to go..

2006-01-02T01:36:00.000-08:00

So finally me final end semester exams have started.. i think i know how hell feels ... its so suffocating sometimes.. i mean i hardly got any break from my sessionals and now my finals are on. Damn this college....But anyway.. 3 exams are over and just 3 more to go..just 1 more week.. then done with engineering:):) feels so great just at the thought of it..
Its 6.45pm now and i had my brakfast just sometime back.. yeah breakfast!!!..lol.. well had no time to eat anything since the morning as i was so so busy studying...
Seems there is gonna be a big party of my class tonite at some place.. our last weekend as a class.. n i m so sure ppl r gonna go nuts today.. n m in the mood to sleeep.. zzzz.. so tired..
n hey.. finally some news from VW!!! they asked for my letter agin.. from my HOD. those idiots had lost it it seems!!.. dunno how they are managing such a big company.. haha
its so funny feelin in manipal now.. soon i ll be a graduate.. n no idea wat m gonna do next.. i have a job.. but would ne great if i can do my masters at a great uni....
Lets see wats gonna happen.. for now.. peace... m waitin for the uni exams to go off smoothly.. then ll start my GRE prep...

Cough.. cough..!!!!

2006-01-02T01:24:00.000-08:00

i think i am dying.. sneeezee!!! cough .. cough!!!! awwww!! grrrrrr.. i feel so bad.. down with cough..and bad chest and bad cold.. and to top it.. i have to work at the factory like this in this condition.. and its so not comfortable!!!not one bit!!! finally got some medicines today.. today at my gre classes i almost choked.!!! cough was so bad!!! i couldn breathe at all.. but m sure its only for few days now...
well today was again such a busy day.... m waitin for thursday to come again as its my off on dat day.. not sunday.. but hey i was so waiting for today 's work as i had taken enough rest in thursday and my battery was recharged... and was ready to get back to work!!!i was looking forward to work again.. its grat to be surrounded by cars and more cars...
and there is so much work... today i though of takin half day as i have not feeling well at all.. but then i was so busy i forgot i had to take half day!!! hehe.. its really very busy out there..
n today gre class was so so cool.. we did analytical reasoning.. was really interesting..
well today was once again a great day.. except that i fell ill.. and i am waitin for a great day tomooorw now... and work and more work:)
guten nacht..

Manipal Has changed so much

2005-12-31T01:59:00.000-08:00

I left Manipal in September of 2003.
Now I see the pictures and the place looks like it has skipped 50 years in development from the 1950's to the 21st century in the two and a half years that I have been away..I mean I recall the Admin building being an old adobe brick structure, not ugly, more like many Cuban buildings you see, just Prue-modern; and the face of Manipal now is a startling sharp new brick building with the large tinted geometric windows that grace only the most modern of American Offices.There is clearly a great deal of money circulating in that organisation

MIT Alumni Meet on 17th Dec 2005

2005-12-17T20:44:00.000-08:00

On 17th Dec, 2005 @Royal Orchid Plaza, MIT had arranged a alumni meet in view of the GOlden Gubilee celebration which will be in 2007.
This being on a saturday, it was indeed convenient for most of the folks to come. Unfortunaltely for me, it was made a working day and I knew I couldnt make it on time. Still I thought that even though late, I shall make it for the event.

When I reached at 11 am, the hall was filled up with our fellow MITians , and one MITian was at the dias giving the speech. The words were not uncommon. Words like DT, Endpoint, TC , RL were used generously. The other words that would make one nostalgic were ORDI, MERCY etc .. .
Some MITians from the latest Batch ie 2005 passout, said that , this particular day was memorable for them , as they had their last sem exam on this very day, a year ago. In general , and also as expected, most of the crowd was that of the recent batches. I guess the feeling of MIT is more when one has just passed out , COMPARED to others.

One ex-MITian , who had passed out in 1994, had different to offer. His first words with heavy american accent, made an impression on everyone. He was serious in whatever he said, He gave valuable suggestions to all , especially to the organisers and didnt fail to take a dig on others for NOT being punctual for the event.

I thought that he was the oldest among the one who had come, but then there one more student , who had passed out in 1978. Well the year I was born, and apparently he was born the year MIT , rather MEC was born. He will be completing his half century along with MIT's Golden Jubilee.

Finally when our dear K J Kamath came on, he informed everyone that he is 1966 passout....

Well somethings never never change . When the whole show was going on, few of our friends started chatting at the end of the hall, making it noisy and the focus was soon losing.

One of our dear fellow, Prashant from 2003 batch, told the group that he has flunked in Power Electronics , and had secured 12 /100. THE ENTIRE HALL CLAPPED. No wonder, the claps were meant for the old memories and guess everyone was feeling very nostalgic about the whole thing.

The Dear Sight of our profs and juniors , did make me forget everything and took me down the memory lane. Apparently the Prof who took my first class in MIT was also present. [ Sorry I dont remember his name ]

The sad part was that , from our batch ie 1999 passout, we were only 5. Though I very well know that there are many many folks in Bangalore from our batch.

After the main event, we five ie Prashant, Pavan[ who had come down from US] , Nanjappa [ also come down from US ] , Vinay Inamdar [ who basically came to distribute his wedding cards ] and me went to the next door pub and chatted to glory. Asked on the whereabouts of others and got lots of updates from each other.

When we went for lunch, we met KPK's brother, Prasad. It was nice to meet him there.
The lunch was nice and tasty and had a good spread.

Now coming to the point. We as an Alumni of MIT need to enroll ourselves to the MIT alumni. The cost for the same is a paltry 500 INR. Please those who are reading the same , go to the website, www.manipal.edu and enroll your self.

Sunset at Endpoint!!

2005-12-02T01:30:00.000-08:00

Pit stop at Manipal

2005-11-09T20:38:00.000-08:00

Please note the date , 9/11... yes it has been four long years since the terrorist attack on the WTC twin towers... The memories are still fresh in my mind. It was only on the 8th sept that I had landed in NY, and on the way to NJ has seen the twin towers for the first and the last time in my life.. Little did I know that , this place would be creating history in due course of time. Well its been a long time and now there is going to be Freedom tower in the same place.

Well had been slightly off track .. I have just returned to bangalore from Goa, had been there for the Ganesh Festival. On my way to goa , as usual I took the manipal way . But this time I wasnt lucky ... well in a way I was very lucky. The bus reached udupi only at 9:00 am only to make me miss the morning train to Madgaon. But then I didnt mind it . I checked that the next train was at 12:20 noon.. which means I had to kill only a couple of hours more . I quickly rushed back to udupi to Hotal Durga Internation [ I like this new place ,, its much better than our good old kediyoor and at the same time equally cheap , just 300 bucks per day for a non-ac room.] I quickly freshened up, had a nice breakfast, which was the lovely idli wada. Then packed my bags and scooted off to manipal taking the local bus.

Things have indeed changed in udupi as well as manipal. My last trip to Manipal was only 6 months back, but still things have indeed changed.

As soon as I reached TC, I did feel welcomed. The town gave me mixed feelings, a feeling of mine as well as a feeling that it is some new place all together. The traffic signals the fountain at TC, does make the town look good and nice. But the feeling of "ours" doesnt really exist..

Next we hired a auto and asked him to take us around, manipal .. He was sweet enough to take us around , unlike our Auto fellows in Bangalore. Our next stop was at Asha Kiran , the one famous place for the 10:30 break ..

The other interesting thing that I saw here was a Typical MITian checking whether there is any gas left in his bike.. Well everything changes in this world, but an MITian having "ENOUGH" fuel in his bike is definitely the 8th Wonder.

I picked up some alkaline batteries and proceeded towards the college building. As per the rules, no auto's are allowed towards the college building. So I had to walk up to the college to take the pics..

This is the first view one gets as one tries to go towards the college.

There are some new signboards here.. and quite surprisingly I saw some students in white aprons...

This is the view , which is near the flag hoisting pole. There is a beautiful garden down, and in all it does look elegant.

This is the road to Shantala theatre. it is no longer the black tar road, but all dug up :-(

Concidently, I saw some NCC shooting going on. This is just next to the Shantala theatre .
and they had blocked the road there, so that no stray [ maybe NOT really the stray ] bullet hits anyone.

These are the shops that are next to Shantala theatre. Now one can see a lot of Hutch and Airtel Boards.

The entrance to the 9th Block..

Other view of 9th Block. Some new green lawns have come up and bordered by granite slabs.

Our good old Annapurna Mess.

The 10th Block.

The coffee shop at the 10th Block..

The new Basket Ball Court next to 10th Block. In the background you can see the Annapurna Mess and the 9th Block.

The 10th Block again.

The LH. Picture taken from the 10th Block Basket Ball Court.

The Venugopal Temple

Ganesh Temple.

Udupi Station.. The Krishna Statue at the entrance

Udupi Station.

MIT Creates World Record

2005-10-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

GUINNESS ATTEMPT

Become a part of history as we set the record straight and attempt to walk into the Guinness Book of World Records by creating the longest straw link in the world, covering the length and breadth of our University campus. Join hands and straws to beat the 6.2 km record held by the New Yorkers. With Tata Indicom supporting us wholeheartedly in our efforts to make a mark on the world, the Guinness World Record is a goal we are sure to strike. Think you can make it the whole seven kilometres? Be there and find out for yourself!

End Point!!!

2005-07-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

"End Point", Manipal. Where are the leaves?

2005-06-08T20:48:00.000-07:00

Mahe Building

2005-01-31T20:28:00.000-08:00

Check these snaps of the New Mahe Building. These are located near KMC night Canteen.

The Manipal Elevators

2005-01-31T08:54:00.000-08:00

Elevators....

The Library Foyer at Manipal

2005-01-31T08:32:00.000-08:00

shh ...

Coffee at Manipal

2005-01-31T08:31:00.000-08:00

Coffeee...

The inside premises

2005-01-31T08:29:00.000-08:00

The inside premises of Manipal.edu and Library

Getting Nostalgic in Manipal

2005-01-27T01:49:00.000-08:00

That's where I graduated from!!! Well, this entrance was not there in my days at M.I.T. But, nonetheless, looks nice and professional. Though I would like if the glass was not broken in the lower left side...

Again something new at Manipal, this one came up at near the coffee shop in KMC (and as usual)after I left!!!

This is another new landmark that's come up near the KMC greens. Seems like they were waiting for me to leave Manipal before they came up with these beauties. Or is the nostalgia getting too much, so much so that I am liking every thing I see there... Whatever!

Side view of the above landmark. Whatever purpose it serves, it does look sophisticated!!!

And this is the KMC Greens, with the hostels in the background. The gardner is indeed working hard!!! And his work shows in the beautiful design on ground. Mind you, he would not have the privilege of an ariel view.
Does the landscaping look like if its a dart board of cosmic proportions? Well... :)

Given a chance, I would love to be back here and enjoy the nostalgic feeling. But alas, my professional schedules do not allow me the liberty...

Manipal culture

2004-12-02T01:44:00.000-08:00

Don’t even think there’s something of the sort literally. But who’s to say what words you can conjure up or can’t, right? It takes extra effort from my faithful fingers to not punch the dot key thrice after each random sentence; like I’m permanently living on the SMS or Messenger world of informality. Guess somewhere along the way, I too lost parts of me here and there – parts I probably can never pick up.

I guess that’s where I’ll start. Manipal - the land of the free; a home to stoners galore; a haven for the alcohol-thirsty; shelter for every single cell itching for release from the evil constricting clutches of the parent or guardian species. I should point out to whomsoever reading that I have been part of this very community for the last 3 years or so. Very much a part of it I should say. Manipal in fact in itself is quite a paradox. While the ultimate advantage of the place lies in the freedom it gives you, little do people realize that they’re unconsciously still entrapped in a cage; only this time, bigger than before. The so called cage they formidably call Manipal.

My thoughts are all deep down and it takes considerable determination to dig them out. My spade has been idle for quite a while now.

Let me just use this forced opportunity to clear up something. Manipal as a place is pretty much pure. Neither really barren nor completely clouded by the pollution of commercialization. It still remains to be what Mr.Pai probably dreamt it would. An incredible achievement so to speak. Beautifully pushed to a mild altitude, symbolic of standing tall from the rest and still green from all the vegetation, it’s quite the sight. So like I said, it’s not the place that has the problem but the people. Perhaps ‘problem’ is too harsh a word. Perhaps not.

When I speak of the Manipal influence, I speak on behalf of a small conglomeration. Definitely not large enough to raise a voice. For I do not know the opinion of thousands. Surely someone must find out.

Let me first analyse the obvious signs of influence this place has on it’s inhabitant students. It is mainly the abuse of freedom which takes different forms – namely taking to cigarette smoking, alcohol, over expenditure and the more infamous ones like casual sex and weed. There are probably more I haven’t mentioned due to the urgency of this so-called report.

To begin with, Manipal is, by the way, a “No Smoking Zone”, declared so by the Govt. of Karnataka blah blah blue. In reality, it’s no where close. Quite on the contrary, I’ve been noticing for a while now that even kids who considered smoking so taboo that they would kill themselves before that had to take that fateful puff, are now very much part of the larger community; the Smoker’s community that is. I really don’t understand what it is that makes us students resort to smoking after we’ve been brought up to believe it’s gravely forbidden. What is it about Manipal that makes non-smokers smoke and smokers smoke a whole lot more? It couldn’t be just the ‘freedom’ could it? Could it be the unconscious frustration of the larger cage I was earlier talking about? Or is it because of the constant cycle of there always being smokers around you inadvertently influencing you to resort to the same? It could be anything really. And just for the record; it is almost impossible to make a “No Smoking Zone” out of Manipal!

‘Alcohol, my only friend…’, my room-mate once wrote when he was drunk. Did he really mean it, I wondered. I confess here that my first drink was in Manipal. So was my first time pissed drunk. And also my first puke. And the first time I dealt with drunk and passed out people. Alcohol is in fact dirt cheap in Manipal. Like money ever stopped anyone from drinking. But it is a strong factor I should add because even the economically weak can afford a daily drink of two. Does that mean everyone who goes to Goa becomes an alcoholic? Definitely not. So there should be something more then shouldn’t there? Speaking for myself and a couple of friends, we have been through phases in Manipal when we drank literally everyday; some of us drunk, the rest blown. After that pour out the fights – verbal, physical and emotional. Ego clashes, girl issues or simply an accidental or purposeful nudge could break out any of the above. But for the rest of us who do not get involved in any such tantrums or fights, I think drinking isn’t that bad. We just have to watch our ugly livers.

Everything’s cheap in Manipal. Everything right from the food to the alcohol and even autos are all at an extremely affordable rate. Where else would your get a big bowl of Chicken fried rice for Rs.25? I say cheap in terms of comparing it with other student friendly places like Pune or Ahmedabad and also taking into account the luxury Manipal has to offer, both in terms of infrastructure, scenic beauty (Read: beauties), entertainment etc. The humor in the matter is that you end up spending much more that you really should be in such a cost effective environment. And you hardly even realize it until the 16th or 17th of each month when your bank balance is bordering on double digits. Who suffers? Not you. Definitely not me. Quite obviously, it’s the 9-to-eternity working 40-something a month earning dignified but hardly standing dad and/or mom who fail miserably in trying to inculcate value for money in their ‘brought up well’ kids. Wake up guys!!! We’re spoilt!

I read somewhere in the recent past that Indian office scenarios are fast becoming a harbour for casual sex. Why stop there? So are college towns. And a prominent one at that is our very own Mr. Pai’s Manipal. I wonder how many of you would be surprised at this but I’m quite certain that if you were to do a survey on the number of students who’ve ‘done it’ in Manipal, the results should pretty much support my previous statement. Don’t quote me on that; I just speak out of simple observation and from the zillion rumours which take the form of mouth-watering gossip. I personally don’t think there’s anything wrong with pre-marital sex or the other related so-called evil doings in modern society. After all, it’s only a matter of personal choice, right? With so many students hanging around staying in isolated houses and with the hormones pumping like there’s no tomorrow, what’s to stop these meat-hungry kids? The late Mr. Freud called this the genital stage of psychosexual development.

Moving onto the most talked about ‘culture’ spotlight of Manipal – Weed alias Ganja and also known locally as ‘stuff’, ‘maal’, ‘pot’, ‘grass’ etc. But more commercially known as Marijuana or Cannabis. I’ve heard decade old stories of how ‘ganjaful’ Manipal used to be compared to the situation now. With the amount of grass floating around this small town today, I can only wonder how it must’ve been then. Even students smoking up out in the open in the hostel campus was hardly frowned upon in the yesteryear. Grass in Manipal is so common that they even have it named, sometimes after the peddler or even the subtle flavour ( like ‘mango’weed) and everyone’s doing it. It almost a way of life! And shockingly, I’ve hardly heard of any ganja busts on campus. The reasons are only assumable. Weed, however, unlke any of the above topics I’ve already discussed is not something we just simply push off. It’s repercussions are plenty. For more information on that, the net is or playground and wikipedia is only a click away.

Goodbye Blue Skies of Manipal

2004-10-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

"Goodbye blue skies"

Free net phone - v. v. good connection

2004-01-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

Hi All,

This is some serious shit....

Go 2 the link below and download the 'skype' software... it's free and the connection's EXCELLENT, unlike mediaRing, Net2Phone n all that crap... n it works just like msn chat... u can ring up n talk whenever u see ur buddies online...... that too, very very clearly. U'd be surprised how clear it is..... spoke to a friend of mine in Sydney just minutes ago thru it and I was AMAZED. No distortion, fuzziness, or sound lag of any sort.

http://www.skype.com/download.html

Manipal Sunrise

2004-01-04T20:56:00.000-08:00

What's up What's up ??

2003-12-19T14:59:00.000-08:00

Well well, look who's finally decided to grace ya'll with his presence (gee, third time this third-person-talk thrills me).
I wasn't even dead to be 'back from it'. Well, what can I say? I've been kicking it top bottom left n right (thereby avoiding near-death exps.), and pretty much, alive...........period.

Here's a lil self-test- How less can I write? At the same time how more can I convey? I usually land up writing up an epic; not to mention especially when there's this comm. gap and me wanna catch up with suckers like yourselves. Bottomline I get carried away. But nah-nah.... all that's not happening. Dipesh makes small but self-significant history.

De, sorry bout the late response. I wish I could make it to Brunei while u're there. Unfortunately I'm on employer-sponsored residence in Australia at the moment and I'm obligated to stay in the country atleast till July of next year. Once I hit July I could possibly take a 2 month break before renewing my contract, in which case I'm dead sure about visting India/Nepal/Brunei. Gosh, next month, it's gonna be two continuous years of stay in the Down Under and New Zealand. I need a break!

Another sad thing's that neither my parents nor bro's in Brunei at the moment, else you would've had those perfect holiday guides. They're on a month-long vacation in Nepal/India. But when they get back you're gonna be sure about meeting 'em up.

Here's a suggestion: Take out a month-long multiple re-entry visa from the Malaysian and Brunei High Commissions. In this span of 31 days you could drive, take ferry, boat etc. and get over to various parts of Malaysia on the east, west and south of Brunei. Place names: Labuan, Lawas, Limbang, Miri etc. Once you cross the border, you can drink as much alcohol as you like for dirt cheap prices. Plus, you are entitled two bottles of alcohol and 12 cans of beer on your return to Brunei. If you make a number of trips like these in the span of a month, you'll have enough stock to last a long time. That's what we do whenever me n my bro go to Brunei for hols- Four 18+ foreign passport holders X 2 bottles and 12 cans: i.e., 8 full bottles and 48 cans of beer in one trip. As you'd know, getting to Malaysia's not a big issue- it's very near and you're looking at max. 2-3 hour's drive/boat/ferry rides.

Tuneeth, it was great chatting n catching up with you. I do have your contact no. and I will call you sometime shortly. Calling from Australia's very cheap...... only time's a bit expensive, know what I'm saying? Tell ditto to Bellboy.

Warren, you still alive or what? Let's know what's new ay?

Mals I've been reading your postings everynow and then. Only that it's been a while since ur last one eh? It's high time u get down to some jotting n upgrades sista.

Aparna, it was good to hear from you, although what u wrote down earlier's probably history now huh? Let's read some EMAIL.

As for me, nothing's new except that soon after I graduated with Masters in Digital Design about a year ago, I made an art film called 'Industrial Apotheosis' (direction, editting and music arranging) ...... and guess what? I entered it in the BIFF (Brisbane International Film Festival 2003) and it got selected as one of the top ten finalists! Ofcourse I didn't win, but how's that for an incentive into a filmaking career huh? Oh and yes, the original motion pic sountracks that I composed, arranged and used in the film has made it's way to Australia's most popular rock and alternative radio station, 'Triple J'. About a month ago I was also on air for an interview with ABC radio.

Other than that, life's been pretty much the same- been employed as an Architect and Multimedia Artist at Raymond Barber Architects for almost two years now and considering we're a small office, exposure and work exp's been great. Been freelancing on and off as film/audio editor and cinematographer. I've only got about a week's break this X'mas and New Year's so it doesn't look like a long lavish trip's gonna happen this year as it did the year before. Will probably go to some cultural folk festival of the arts and music for a day in the Bush.

Kodachadri (Kotachadri)

2003-12-04T20:57:00.000-08:00

Kodachadri, the place where Shankara attained enlightenment, is one of the most heavenly places I have ever seen. Believed to be one of the highest points in Karnataka, Kodachadri has everything for the avid trekker. The trek begins at a point not too far from the temple town of Kollur, where you get off from a KSRTC bus.

Best time to trek is the night, when a billion fireflies blur the difference between the forest and the skies.

After few hours of walking into the jungle, you will come across a shack owned by a malyalee, which we affectionately labeled "mallu shack." Not much to offer in terms of food, the Mallu shack is where you get mostly "puttu kadle" a dish relished in Kerala.

Few hours of trekking will bring you to a small Mookambika temple at the top, where we camped for the night.

Get up before sunrise and head for Sarvadnya Pitha (or Sarvajna Peeta) or the place where the venerable Shankaracharya attained enlightenment. There is a small shrine dedicated to him at the top.

Sit facing the direction in which the idol faces, and wait for the sun to rise, above the clouds, which are below you, with few mountain peaks looking like islands in a foamy sea.

Enlightenment is just a few minutes away at Kodachadri.

Not That Bad After All

2003-11-28T17:57:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

it's nowhere as bad as I was told. In fact, I'm sitting here, having a drink, meeting good guys smoking classic milds... those I got from home. I wish someone had told me you don't get booze here, but you're allowed to get 2L in if you want.

Too late now. Have to drink whatever these guys have already got here. I'll have to make a trip to KL soon and get drunk with Appu.

Getting out of Delhi

2003-11-27T05:04:00.000-08:00

Hey folks. I'm finally leaving Delhi. It's happening tonight - all very spur of the moment especially by my usual standards. Changed jobs a company called Lifetree. Got a permanent placement in Bangalore... YAY!!!

I'm supposed to go client side on this project first though, so I'm going to Brunei for 3 months (at least is what they've told me) I'll be working on wireless technologies, telecom billing and stuff, so the work sounds like it's going to be good interesting stuff - hey I'm a geek at heart.

Haven't really had much time between trying to get my last project finished before I left that company and getting my papers in order for this one and it's all moving really fast. Finally getting a chance to sit and relax cos there's noone around who can explain anything more about the project I'm going for. All's working out very nice for me it seems... wrong! There's no alcohol allowed in Brunei :(

Imagine 3 months no booze... So Aparna, I'm making a trip to KL whenever I can - and feel rich enough and you can show me some nice places - but then all the places are going to look really nice once I get in the state I'd want to be in :)

Hey Dipesh any scope of you landing up there in the next couple of months? Tuneeth, it looks like I'm going to have to meet you in Mangalore or somewhere cos I'm not going to be in Delhi when you come. Okay folks. Take care. I'll meet most of you guys more often when I reach BLR I suppose.

Wassup With Life?

2003-09-19T15:16:00.000-07:00

I’m back at base right now - Kuala Lumpur - living with my parents. Things were really bad initially, but I guess the three of us just needed time to get used to each other again. Oh! we still argue and fight sometimes, but it's nothing that can't be fixed. Actually, I’m getting pretty comfortable at home. Putting on weight like no one's business. Man, I don't fit into my clothes anymore!!!! Depression ho gaya yaar! It should be a good enough excuse to update my wardrobe, but unfortunately, I don't earn enough to go shopping here. Man, everything's just so damn expensive here!

I can't get a decent pair of jeans that actually fits my wide ass for less than $300!!!! That’s approx. Rs. 3900. I have to shop in places like guess because these are the only shops that keep European and American sizes. All the other shops cater to chinks, so they have these kutti- kutti sizes that they call a large, but look more like a small! Like I said, depression ho gaya. Yeah, so I came back here from Manipal in November 2002. Actually wasn't as upset about leaving the place as I thought I’d be. Strange huh? But, I guess I just overdosed on the place, that's all.

So, I came back, and I went to Egypt for two weeks with my sis. We had a blast! The place is absolutely gorgeous - from a tourist's point of view. We saw all the pyramids there were to see, went into all of them, saw belly dancers (they were a bit of a letdown, they didn't shake their ass / belly as much as I expected them to), had roast pigeon, smoked a lot of shisha, had some really good wine, went for a cruise ... it was just fantastic! You guys have to go there one of these days! Then, i came back, and started work.

Oh my god! I work in a private clinic which is run by a husband and wife team. They have two clinics, one handled by the wife, and another by the husband (obviously). I think they hired me because they wanted to see if I’d be able to handle all the stress, because the thing was the wife was to be on leave for a month then. Man, it was awful. I felt like somebody had just thrown me into a river and told me to kick and splash around in an attempt to tech me how to swim! We were really busy that month, and I barely would have any time to think! and of course, to top it all off, there were the n number of rude patients walking through the doors every 10 minutes saying stuff like - you're not Dr. Bains, we don't want to be treated by a fresher, or you don't look like you know anything, you're too young, or Dr. Bains never did it that way, you really have no idea what you’re doing do you? And the number of patients who've walked out - ayeee! I wouldn’t be surprised if they just broke even that month! But, I made it through, and am now working with them, until my application for my masters comes through. Am applying to the states (like every other Abdul, Muthu and Ram) and Australia. Planning on specializing in either pediatrics (kids) or neurology. Am really not keen on going to the states. I want to go to Australia, but ... let's see.

The Manipal Madness

2003-08-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

Add on the memories and lets hope you get down and dirty and unveil some long forgotten memories :-)

Hangyo raspberry shakes after a smoky day
Jamaal and his 12 rupee burgers at Side Shack
Climbing the tower
Yummy gulab jamuns from the Punjabi Chaatwalla
Bus conductor's yelling Yates Yates Yates Udpi Udpi Udpi
Presscarts: ondhu bun masala and wafer thin chaklis
Swathi...Sheela......Janani.......( the women we frequently haunted)
Fly Lice at that so called Thai place

Narcisstic peacocks during the monsoons at peacock point
The Crater at Peacock Point
Candle séance at the graveyards
Floydian & Freudian nites at Kapil's house
Unplanned trips to the K's (Kudremukh, Kapu, Kodechadri)
Burning embers of a shared toke doing the rounds in the stillness of End Point
My obg-gyn roomie at the KMC hostel narrating her grisly encounters of below the belt kind
Getting caught at the MIT cottages and apologising to that Khadoos Professor (forget his name)
Chusky and his jabbing attempts
Tuneet's namesake Francis, the boatman who lived on the other side of the river Suvarna & fed us coconuts ;)
Bellubi and his lame pick up lines :-)
Shwetang and Aparna's dancedrama at Anoops Christmas party
Mathew flying off the kiny
Long q's at syndicate bank
The cheapest and juiciest of juices
Aparna's Skunk like boots
Qasim and Jumpy's toothbrush
Earliboo walking in on a stoned Jumpy

I could go on but am gonna wait for you guys to add.