SlishaCrazy

'And' is such an interesting word. At a people management course, I was once asked to replace 'but' with 'and', and suddenly things that you disagreed with became things that you could potentially agree with if improvised upon. Now Gillette is asking us to replace 'or' with 'and', and you no longer need to compromise. This post is a part of  #UseYourAnd  activity at  BlogAdda  in association with  Gillette Venus . When I decided to write about my journey from OR to AND, I thought about it and I couldn't come up with a story. And then I realised that, I had shut my ears to anyone who told me that OR was an option. It wasn't. I had been taking the route of an AND since I was a child. Schooling defines who you become. I absolutely love my schooling and my school friends. It is the place where I grew up and learnt to have confidence in me, to speak in front of people, to lead people. I owe my school a lot. But it was not always the...

No, my name is not Pranav! No, it wasn't my birthday. And I'm far from 3 years old. Yet the cake was for me. You can imagine it was a big surprise! My birthday fell in the summer hols during my IIT life. More like the monsoon but nevertheless, holidays. So I never celebrated it with my little gang of girls. Actually we didn't have many campus birthdays. Only one of us has a birthday during semester and we celebrated hers. For the rest it off the sem yet somehow it happened that over the four years we celebrated everyone else's once. Except mine! On my very last day on campus, and I have never gone back to campus since so truly my last, my friends came into my room with this cake, apologised for the spelling mistake in my name and celebrated my non-birthday to make up for four birthday's I never had with them making it the most memorable day ever. And most importantly the most surprising. Actually I had to act surprised. They couldn't really keep it a s...

This should have come last weekend but I got caught up. But anyway here goes: Aug 1st. Exactly 4 years ago. I was registered into the B.Tech program at IIT Madras to do my mechanical engineering. I was stepping out of my home. I was just a little scared, a little excited, a lot elated and much more confused 18 year old like everyone else was. July 31st Exactly 4 years after the above incident. I was awarded my degree. And by then I had moved into another institute as confused and as excited and as scared and not so elated. Pretty much nothing changed except I was no longer 18, I was 22. And in the 4 years that passed i picked a lot of friends and a lot more memories. Some good, some bad, some just unforgettable (definitely not ugly). Now, that all of us have moved on to different parts of the world, some working, some studying and some just loitering around somewhere. It would have been my last chance to meet some people or rather most until life with its many twists and turns brings y...

Incidentally, Last summer this time, I was interning in Tata Steel. It was the beginning of their Centenary year. When I came back to IIT Madras, in July, we inauguarated the beginning of our Golden Jubilee year. As I pass out now from IIT Madras and enter IIM Calcutta, I m entering into IIM Calcutta Golden Jubilee year.

I went over to one of my school friend's place to catch up with her. We were very close back at school and we often hung out at each other's place. This was a long time ago. And a long time ago she had a dog called Tibbu. I was shit scared of it. And before I left for my undergrad studies, she got a puppy called Matty. It was cute and tiny, after all a puppy. But I was still shit scared of it. After all these years I went over to her place and Matty had grown older. but it's one of those dogs that have short limbs and a long body (I have no idea and never did nor will about the different kind of dogs in this world; a dog is a dog) so it still looked cute. It always runs up tot he door to see who's come. It escorted me to my friend's room and I went along with it pampering it. As I sat on the floor I tugged at it and played with it. This is how IIT transformed me. I m no longer afraid of dogs (though I get irritated by the ones in front of my hostel back there) or ca...

I miss it :(

I woke up vaguely at 6 45. Mom was around. When did she come? What is she doing? Ah! Mom's washing clothes. I m totally dreaming *** I woke up at 7 30. Mom is still washing clothes and saying something about buckets. Yeah I m dreaming. No wait she came by didn't she? Oh yeah I m not dreaming alright. And I m leaving tonight ain't I? Wait a minute why is she washing clothes; they may not dry by tonight. MOM!!! *** It's 11 damn it. I have too much work. I need to be at lib! I can't get off. I wish I was dreaming *** 9.30am. Whoa I was dreaming the last time. I curl around even more. Mom is in room alright. Finally get off bed at 10. *** First time I felt senti was when I handed over my iCard at lib. It was sad, really really sad. Unlike others I didn't even take a colour print of the card. What's the point. I can barely see my face on it. *** I went to my department to see if I got my BTP grade. I got an S. yeay! *** Dropped in my lab to gen pu...

I just watched Gossip Girl episode of the prom. And it ends with Serena and Blair on the stairs. And here is our song that was the background score for our pics in our hostel night video. We sang it all the way back in the cab from BBQ. Pranava: You're a part time lover and a full time friend The monkey on you're back is the latest trend I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else But you Sirisha: Here is the church and here is the steeple We sure are cute for five ugly people I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else But you Athula: The pebbles forgive me, the trees forgive me So why can't, you forgive me? I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else But you Deepa: You are always trying to keep it real I'm in love with how you feel I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else But you Srinitya: We both have shiny happy fits of rage You want more fans, I want more stage I don't see what anyone can see, in anyone else But you All: Du du...

My daily horoscope for today: Loved ones will give you much happiness today as you go out or celebrate an occasion together. The on and off and on and off and on and off dinner is finally on :) A Saturday night dinner at Barbeque Nation and just the five of us girls - a perfect way to celebrate friendship and bid farewell as from tomorrow day by day we shall trickle down to none at the place we lived four years together. Updates: The call taxi was here on time. A bunch of five girls were running down the stairs of our hostel. Nitti and Deeps ahead of me both holding their footwear in their hands. Me running behind them with all their cell phones and purses and a bag. Athula running behind me. Siri screaming that she is coming. And so we tumbled into the call taxi. That guy went round and round T Nagar before he found BBQ Nation. We hogged on starters and dessert. (Was there a main course?) And again we tumbled into a call taxi and came back to room. In between there were some photogr...

And miles of signatures before I leave.. Many that I m trying to get Many that I have been trying for a while Many that I cannot get And many more that I am unaware of And so I had to cancel my Bangalore trip

I started my presentation. I was asked to speak louder (an extremely rare statement). I spoke louder, I felt weak, I got nervous that I feel weak. But I managed Actually, I don't think I just managed, I did pretty well. It was good. I have a few changes in my thesis which need to be done. I think my prof was happy. And half hour after my presentation, my changes are done. I just need to reprint and rebind and submit. But now starts the hunt for the no dues forms. The number I still dunno. I have ticket for a train bound to Bangalore early tomorrow. If I manage to finish everything here that doesn't need my presence on Friday I shall leave. SO now I am a graduate with a Bachelors in Technology in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Madras ( I just need to hunt proof for that :P ... here I go on the run... )

Today is the first time I watched someone feed the fish in the aquarium in Tifany's (or even Guru for that matter). It was nice to see bunch of fish (I think it is a school only if they are all similar fish) rushing towards a single point (or a bunch of closely spaced pointed marked out by the presence of the food particles). Yeah, this is what happens when I try to blog half an hour prior to my viva ( I start explaining everything technically and in detail). OK. So the fish were fed, so was the grass with water from the sprinklers, the breakfast was good and the morning sun was pleasant yet bright. It was a beautiful morning and it made my terrible headache go away (with the help of a couple of tabs) and my sickness subsided. I feel good and again. I never wanna see the sun go down, today...

Passing by life, things don't always go the way we planned. I was very excited about an IIMC get together with seniors and others in/from Chennai on Sunday. But my condition got worse and I couldn't attend the meet. Forget about the meet now I m worried about my project viva this coming Thursday. I'm sure the doc at the insti hospi didn't understand what I was trying to say. I just hope for the best. And it's sad that my last days in IITM I'm sick and down and I can't go out and eat :( My entire wing is in community living in the ac of the comp room and I m in no condition to stay in ac-ed environment. Yeah I m full of cribs. But I do make some good time. I have spent the last one hour on my presentation for Thursday and put in some incredible animations :)

This an old Bryan Adams' song with a silly little puzzle. Kinda cute actually. The words are pleasant The whole world could change The suns gonna shine Shine through the rain I've been a little sick lately, and very sick last night that I was unable to sleep. I have a coughing throat that sends pain through my shoulder muscles and down my esophagus, but it's a bright new morn that's got the sun shining and I have incredible work to do today which I shall blog about once it's done! And I really can't wait. Now for some breakfast.... so On a day like today Ya never wanna see the sun go down Ya never wanna see the sun go down

I consider this the most beautiful picture I have ever created:

Thesis ..........to be done. Abstract ............to be submitted. Packing ............to be done. Tickets .......... to be booked. A new life ahead... It's kinda fun, yet scary, and obviously crazy....

I invited 12 second year girls and 2 third year girls for a dinner treat. The turn out was exactly half, 6 second year girls and 1 third year girl. Plus me. 8 of us sat comfortably in two autos (unlike a bunch of guys who we ran into who bundled into a single auto only god knows how) and went to New Yorker, Nungambakkam. Trips: We changed table once. All 8 fit into a table meant was 6. We ordered original New Yorker nachos with cheese sauce which we never got We ordered 8 main course dishes and then canceled two since we thought it might be too much. we got a wrong order ans we realized it was wrong only after we finished half of it. So he said we ll get that for free and we got our original order as well. Then we got 2 nachos with some vague stuff and no cheese which are supposed to be "starters". We were then billed for the extra unordered yet received main course dish. Then we were un-billed for it. We came back again peacefully in two autos before which I took a head coun...

Yeah, I went in on time. But I didn't have a watch and no track of time. The paper looked lengthy. So I got psyched and started scribbling, took additionals 3 times and then when I realized I finished the paper I had nothing left to do so I left. I was the first one to leave and I was out within 2 hrs when it was a 3hr paper!!! I hope I didn't go overboard and really screw it up :P

The saga continues. Basically because I m bored and cannot get myself inspired enough to mug continuously. What happens when you have dinner as fast as you can so that you can crash in on your bed and slip into slumber and actually do that and wake up in the morning hungry? The problem was that I woke up at 5 and realized I was hungry. And as usual I have nothing eatable in my room accept for a bottle of mayonnaise. So I waited till 7 in the morn before my mess opens for lunch. But if I eat at 7 with my appetite I'll get hungry again at 10 or 11 and that's in the mid of my exam that is from 9 to 12. So I had to stuff myself in. After a very heavy breakfast and the sunny side up on the sky with picturesque lawns between mess and hostel, it was automatic to pick up Economic Times sit and the entrance and read. (Unlike everyone else, I didn't take notes with me to mess and I stopped getting ET for a loooong while now). Feels good. Now I need to go through two more assignments ...

Today is my last exam. Only in IIT Madras though! My next is already scheduled to be on June 30th (probably). Something called qualifying mathematics. Yeah, IIM Calcutta asked me to come prepared for it and sent me a syllabus sheet as well! Coming back tot he point. Yes, today is my last exam here. And I never knew that I can sleep before 10 and wake up by 5 and study for an exam. But that's exactly what I am doing for my last exam! It sounds surprising to me. (But of course I shall skip the part that the reason I was able to sleep by 10 into dreamless sound sleep [why do we say sound sleep? Aren't we like soundless when we sleep??] was that preceding that I had been awake for 34hours) So yeay! Anyway wish me luck.. I'll need all I can get Aaand I don't really feel so nostalgic about the whole thing :|