Think Green... Go Green and Gold

Its the big game day, for USF-Bulls in the Bigeast Conference. Its 7.57 Eastern Time and the biggie is going to begin now: - No 18 South Florida Bulls vs. No 5 WV. Ticket sale for the game started on Monday morning and there goes- the 12500 of them got sold out the same day, 500 of them which again opened on Thursday also got sold out.
Mayor had declared today as the Green and Gold day, and even the Sun Trust Building in Tampa, one of the tallest in our downtown will be lit in Green and Gold. The entire city supporting the bulls spirit - and helping the team achieve its goal.
Traffic started building up on the Interstate since 3 pm, towards the Raymond James Stadium and people left office early to support the game, thats the spirit of football.

A new day everyday !!!

Been over a month since I started my new job, and life has been so different all these days, like I posted in my last blog, (well I try to come back to write atleast once a month, though I would love to write more, its the same lame excuse) same routine; work's not hectic at work, but time consuming, and I still hate this interstate driving, and guess I'll keep cribbing about it... Traffic is certainly getting bad in Tampa and the rest of the nation

I was reading an article this morning on msnbc on Smart Cars; whether the Smart cars were a dumb idea to introduce in this "fat nation" where BIG is Better !!! This 8.5 feet x 5.5 feet cutie comes in handy to make those swerves and turns and move fast with over 40 mpg, but will the SUV loving nation prefer her? ( I've done a lot of research as part of my project at school, and have seen that the love for SUV is taking a toll on this nation, in every aspect.)

Well, here's a glance at our beauty, meanwhile I have some tips...

In this regard, I have some small tips for interstate work commute, I've been making more than 50 trips now, and guess I have the experience to share what I feel:

1. Never expect the same day everyday - Initially I tried leaving home around the same time everyday and never felt that the traffic was the same, yes its never predictable
2. Prepare to listen to some music in the morning, and if you are someone like me, who's just out of the bed, dont sleep off, so take some fast numbers
3. Take a book or even a newspaper additionally, incase of worst back up... lol
4. Never go to the leftmost lane- Though the left lane can be faster and help you drive for a longer distance, it doesnt work in the mornings
5. Never let anyone overtake you, or even speed ahead of you, coz no one lets me in before him.. Its not about aggressiveness, but about ethics which you almost forget on the road, during the peak hours
6. People are rude, so be prepared for that- I wasnt initially and used to feel bad
7. Experience a new day everyday and enjoy the ride :)

Experiencing The Fun

All the while I have been wanting to drive on the Interstate System, a marvel in the field of construction, a perfectly designed system, created by the Americans in the late 1950s with the intention of traveling across the whole country without ever having to touch a traffic light or stopping. So doesn't that sound like an adventure, traveling all over the country, swerving and sweeping all along, and never having to stop, except for gas breaks and such obviously. For that matter the Interstate System just celebrated its 50th year in 2006 adding miles of road networking more places.
So here I was, driving for over a year, with the intention of enjoying a long ride all by myself ( even though I have traveled a lot with family and friends, I always wanted to DO IT myself, drive and enjoy the thrill)... And lo and aho here came the fun. I got to go on my beauty, my gorgeous Red Altima. I got a job ( yes another thing to be proud of) and a car to drive all by myself.
Its been only a week since I started doing this, and how much fun it could be? Well, I don't feel it fun anymore.
Here's what I hate; Reasons (not excuses)

1. Getting up in the morning. Atleast now its sunny and bright even before 7, but what will happen in a few months?
2. Having to hurry to work, keeping up the time.
3. Warm my car and heat my engine; wait (those frustrating 1-2 mins)
   
4. After all this trouble, the traffic
5. Interstate is never predictable, you'll take an hour to reach work no matter what time you leave the house, so there's no set peak hour traffic, its always peak and an hour.
6. Work, Work, Work, no lunch break (that way I can leave early)
7. Still the same story on my way back, only adding to it is the tiredness.

Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy more trips other than work trips, and get to feel the speed and the thrill. Here goes for myself and all- DRIVE SAFELY

A day to reckon

Whats about July 21st, my best friend's birthday, mine?
No its the day which created a day in History worth remembering, coz its the day when the Legend, the person who created a wave, a story almost worth called as an epic (next to only Ramayana, Mahabharata and the Bhagavat Gita) was released... Yes it is the Harry Potter final series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows release today. One of my friends was asking me, "Isn't Harry Potter last book releasing this week, or is it the next week?" C'mon any true muggle is supposed to know that its the biggest thing happening around...
I was never an ardent fan of this series until recently, and all the hype it created during its pre-release rekindled the interest in me, and made me feel like a teen, eagerly awaiting to lay my hands on the book to know the ending, the fate that decides the life of Lord Voldemort. So here I am waiting to get the book, while in line in a local Barnes and Noble bookstore, trying to click some snaps, and enjoying the final countdown to the event... Patiently waiting till I can explore it myself, unless there are no spoilers around. I've pledged to keep my silence though...

Why Fear this day?

Paraskevidekatriaphobia : - Fear of Friday the 13th!!!

In Greek, Paraskevi means friday, Dekatria means 13 and Phobia means fear of something... Obviously I dont know Greek, just read it somewhere...

I have heard about the superstitious fear of Friday the 13th, and the reasons behind it in Christianity, since Jesus Christ was crusified on Friday after the Last Supper on Thursday with 13 people. For that matter, people are afraid of the number 13, Dekatriaphobia, itself is another phobia on its own.

So here I come to work just like any other day, and start my routine checking of emails and browsing the internet, and there I see the date.. oops... Then I start wondering is it really unlucky, discussed the same with collegues, just checking the year planner for the past two years, and see it has already occured thrice since last fall, October 13, 2006, April 13 2007, July 13, 2007, and again going to appear next June, 2008.

Wonder what the frequency is, it is 688 times in about 400 years, more than any other day... Believe it or not !!!

Do you feel LUCKY?

Ask yourself this question today, because today is 777, which is one of the most luckiest days in about 100 years. Hundreds of couples would be crowding Las Vegas to tie their nuptial knot, and many other lucky places to tie the lucky knot today, atop the roller coaster, by the beach, Niagara, and many other fun destinations. Superstitious gamblers are believing that today is their lucky day, getting drinks for $7, lucky watches for $777 and even suites in Las Vegas and other casinos for $7707.

Reasons to choose this day as the wedding day,

• Adding the number 777 as a jackpot to celebrate their newly found luck in love.


• To have their life long commitment blessed with luck. As one couple iterated:"you can never have too much luck."


• Many individuals and couples consider number 7 their favorite number.


• Biblical reverence of number 7. The most common reference was to the 7 days of creation and that God blessed and rested on the 7th day, so that still today our week contains 7 days.


• Of great importance was also the fact that the 7th of July falls on a saturday so close to The 4th of July holiday allowing for a weekend long enough for guests from far away not to have to rush home. A weekend long enough for relaxing, un-hurried destination weddings.
  777 looks good on their invitations


• A date so easy to remember, so that no one forgets their anniversary, and also time to take off from work.

Anyway, just enjoy your day!!!!

Curiosity Killed the CAT !!!

iPhone seems to be the "coolest invention" ever. A phone, a PC, an MP3 player, an entertainment piece, a pride, all in one. Apple Inc reports that almost all the manufactured pieces were sold within the 1st 4 days that the product was launched, and Apple Inc, is planning to sell of about 3 million of this gadgets by the end of this year. The product launch was eagerly awaited by its fans in almost 165 stored within the country, waiting for it @ 6PM on Friday, the 29th of June...
Was it curiosity or hatred which killed the iPhone? Within hours of the release of the most awaited and anticipated iPhone, while ardent fans became the proud owners of this wonderful piece of electronics, people who detested it, tried to scramble it and bring it down to a meer junk item... Why did the fate of the new iPhone turn out to be like that, the reason, well, just curiosity; to know what made it most wanted, why was it so over-priced and what was in it? So silly that I remember an old fable about a person killing his duck which laid golden eggs. Of course, he was greedy to get everything, still the end result is the same. While the duck keeper couldn't find any golden eggs in his duck, our iPhone owner was able to see some electronic circuits and ofcourse an AT&T simcard.
Thus somebody turned out to be the 1st to get into the iPhone and has been receiving responses as another groups of enthusiasts want to find out the reason. So, maybe I should've changed the title of my blog to "The Curious Cat Killed the Rat!!!"Funny isn't it? Check this out...

Flowers say it all !!!

Just a pretty gift from someone very special for a very special occasion.... another year with promising dreams and hopes. I read this somewhere today, not quoting it since I dont remember exactly what it was and where I read it... It goes, "Dreams just occupy as much space as that occupied by the brain cells unless they are fulfilled." So dream and make them come true. Count the number of flowers and you'll get my age !!! Hey do not count them all ;)

How boring can boredom get?

Ever wondered how relaxing and joyful would it be if you didnt have to work? Do you get TIME TO DO ALL THE NOTHING YOU WANT? ( i found this on my fav t-shirt) I have always wondered who took away my time, why is that I dont get time to engage myself in my favourite passtimes and hobbies.

The truth is people have become so lazy because they think they are over-worked, while the truth is that people are not spending quality time in their office-work and they dont do any physical activity while working. The result, lack of sleep, lack of energy and less productivity... and the end result hard working people eventually become "Zombies".

So I started this blog talking about boredom and not hard-work and lack of sleep. But the point I am tryin to put is the level of activity people have today. People take vacation to relax coz they need a break from their work and give their brains some good food. Thats leisure time activity. How about classifying leisure as active and passive, sounds logical. Now describe passive activities:-

• Watching television
• Spectator games/sports
• Shopping/spending money
• Gambling/betting
• Getting drunk/hogging on food.

If you agree with that, then think whether they give our brain some relaxation, yes they do, but do these feed the brain well and make us energized? Then the answer is no. Research (not mine) has shown that 90% of Americans today are active but passively...In the 1930s and the WWII people used to spend time reading, going outside, visiting friends and picknicking, dancing to pursue their interests after expending their activites doing manual work during the war times, but now lazing around is all we do in the name of relaxing. Kill the time, but do it efficiently; relax but enjoy outdoors; cherish moments, but challenge yourself !!!

What people search for?

Google, Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Ask, the most popular search engines, but what do they all do? What do people want to find over the internet? Did you know that Archie has been claimed to be the 1st search engine started as early as 1990. Later technologcal advancements made them obsolete and the evolution of technologies led to the now popular google and such search engines. There is also an internet site maintaining the rankings of the popular search engines website, which claims Google to be the leader with almost 50% of the search engine share. So what is that which makes google the top in search engines, its nothing but the "Pigeon Cluster" technology, which made is so popular ever since its launch in 1998... unfortunately a sad joke by Google for April fool's day in 2002. In fact it uses a different technology called page rank...

I was just trying to "google" the most popular searches in internet and the most common mistakes people make while searching, and found this. http://www.portalmix.com/english/searched.htm

Finally why did I write about this subject, well the title of my blog is itself something to share, and I wanted to share it...

How do I describe this?

Even wondered why it feels so beautiful, why it brings a special feeling, something really refreshing and pleasing?
So what is that I am talking about, its the nostalgic smell of the wet earth after the first rain of the season. Its June 1st and there is the official monsoon season. Global warming did change much of nature and disturbed her a lot, but still nature continues her cycle. Yes it is here in my place, drop by drop it was building up in the clouds all this while and then it started to give way...

I was always thinking of how to explain the feeling you get when you sense the smell, its neither sweet, nor unpleasant and I couldnt find a better ajective to explain that smell, but I found a whole word to explain it, "Petrichor " from the greek root "petros - stone" and "ichor - the fluid believed to run in the veins of Greek Gods". So why do we feel it so special and what makes it so distinct? Well it is coming from the soil of course, due to the oils and other chemicals absorbed by the vegetation. Well scientists have conducted much research and coined the word long back, in the early 1960s, and I'm not going into the chemical details of it... for the moment just enjoying the drippetty droppetty rain and her dance in the wind.

Cricket Fever !!!

Cricket is happening NOW!!! For those like me, who follow up regularly on the matches, it would'nt be a matter of life and death today, India vs. Srilanka. For others, I dont know how many would have opted to stay back at home and "work from home" as well as try to get updates on the match. Well as I type now, the match is halfway through with Srilanka successfully completing an innings of 254/6 and India ready to take the batting battleship. Way to go India, this is your Judgement day !

Hmmm on this context, I found an interesting photo from one of my friend, and decided to sneak it and use it to blog. I love the caption particularly, so I though I could share it with everyone...

Sunshine State !!!

I am presently living in the Sunshine State, aka Florida, USA. Its been a little over a year that I've been around here. Its a beautiful place, and in some way similar to my nostalgic God's Own Country aka "Ende Kochu Keralam"/ Kerala, India. Of course Kerala is much prettier with its ancient heritage well preserved, its lucious green trees and abundant Coconut Palm Trees. We also have places like the famous Munnar Hill Station which was once the British Summer Resort and their coffee and tea plantations estate, the Kovalam Beach Resort, with its endless stretching beaches along the East Coast of India, and many private/public beaches along the coastline, the peaceful Kumarakom Lake Resort only to name a few, all rightly contributing to the name God's Own Country. Tourists could pamper themselves with the warm weather, serene atmosphere, and a very different cuisine. Believe it or not, Kerala breakfast is supposed to be the healthiest food, and a tongue tingling taste. Oops ! I think my blog is becoming more of a Tourism Promotion for Kerala !!!! Demand Advertisement !!!

Well, there is really much to write about my Kochu Keralam, coz its the paradise on earth, for tourists. Yes I need to specify that. Life might not be smooth for permanent residents though, a quite life, not much activities for an "adventure craving person", and a slower growth rate in terms of economical growth. Do the "politicians" allow any new development atleast? Ok enough said...

I was here, starting to write about my present Paradise Sunshine State, my Florida, with its abundant beaches, fun and adventurous theme parks and its wonderful weather. It never snows in Florida, and no need for heavy jackets, and other winter clothes. On an average, a Floridian could manage all year round with a sweatshirt or a light denim jacket. Isn't that amazing, being here? And there's sunshine all though the year round. No wonder its called the Sunshine State.

Enjoy the warmth and indulge yourself in some fun!!!

Waiting
I am waiting for my friend...
My very close friend....
A close friend who has gone to visit those who are waiting ...
I am waiting for my dear friend to return...
Return so that I get to spend sometime...
Sometime talking and talking and more talking...
Talking since its the only thing we can do...
We can do because we are so far away...
So my friend, please come soon...
I miss you...

To all inquisitive friends!!!

Inquisitive:- Defined as
1. given to inquiry, research, or asking questions; eager for knowledge; intellectually curious
2. unduly or inappropriately curious; prying.

So why the definition and what is this all about. Well, this is in connection to my most recent cause of worry or rather frustration. It all started with Orkut.... So, what about it? Orkut is a wonderful community as in it helped me get my old school mates, friends from 1st standard, long lost neighbors or aquaintances whom I would have never got to meet if not for this wonderful online community linking people by common interest. I cannot think of any possible chance of meeting half of these people if not for orkut. But then all attractions bring trouble in many forms.

Whoever I meet after a long gap want to know my latest whereabouts, and thats an apt claim too. Of course thats what friends are meant to be, ask about the wellbeing of their old friends. But something I dont understand. What makes people so inquisitive? Why they want to know everything about me, my present occupation, my marital status and personal questions even beyond this. If there's something I want to make public, I'll do it. And if there's something that I have to announce I'll do it. Thats an advantage of the internet and the orkut community, but questions even beyond that is what I dont understand. I dont want to entertain strangers, there's a big difference between those of whom I call friends and mere aquaintances.

Well coming to think of it in the end, who am I to change the world? What I preach is not going to make a difference in anyone else, nor the attitude of people. The world's a stage and I'm just an actor in it, a poor little irritated girl trying to convince...

Return of spring!!!

Seems like its exactly a month since I posted my last blog. Well, am not sure how many readers visit my blog, and I dont have a particular theme or topic to blog. I write whatever I want, enjoying the spirit and freedom of the webworld, freedom to speak and write.

I was busy last month with my exams, and as a Masters student I have to be busy during my exam week atleast, and then it was holiday season, visiting friends and family, hmmm this Xmas just visiting old friends. I really enjoyed my vacation to Baton Rouge, to visit my undergrad friends, tho i didnt get much time to spend with them. Anyway thats all gone now, another new day, a new week and the start of yet another spring semester. I enjoy the spring semester particulary, though there's more holidays in the fall semester. Spring gives a whole new start to me, and a burst of energy for the whole year to come.

Enjoy the spring !!!!!!!!!! Good luck all.