Goals for 2013

Goals, or rather things I want to do. Not resolutions as such, which tend to increase stress levels. 
I am going to keep in mind the hyped up placements, preparation, CAT, TA work, courses etc. This time it is going to be a lot about balance, spending time in activities which I love, and yes, a break from the innumerable series that I watch. Well, not a complete stop to the series. That would be insane. 
I am pretty excited about going to Bengaluru for 6 months. Maybe I can refine the way I speak Kannada. I have heard a lot about the place, would like to explore and visit a few places. (@wingies-plan the weekends!) 
I plan to run 500 km, that comes to like 10km per week, which is generous. Without the injury, I managed to do 20k in some weeks. (Only run, not run walk)
I want to read 15 books. Reading Challenge 2013. Just like last year. This time I will write the reviews. Coming to writing, around 40 blog posts would be my target. 
I want to volunteer for an NGO, hit the gym, relearn swimming(I know there is no such thing, but yes), lose the fear of riding a bicycle on the main road(gives me heart attacks!).
I hope I can accomplish them. The regular stuff is always there, grow as a person, try not to bother about simple things, minimise expectations(from everyone, everything)

Another year nears an end

2012 nears an end. Pretty happy with how the year went.
Saarang was fun with friends. I had lot of time as I was not a coordinator this year. I participated in some competitions(Face Painting!)
Then came the placement treats from seniors, some still pending. The most awesome Summer Internship as a Teaching Assistant followed. My article about the awesome internship was put up in The Fifth Estate here.

Once the sem started, we guys were unable to believe that we were The Fourth Years! Ah, so many treats, dinners, "Choreo Nite", much awaited domino's one plus one offers and the list goes on.
I tried Hapkido classes for 2 weeks. Packed that as I could not give time to running. I signed up on www.dailymile.com. Logged 176 kilometres till date. Got high on running several times(yes!). That was one awesome feeling!  And then, overtraining led to an injury. That got me pretty low. I was depressed often. Also, as the sem began,  Preeti and I started conducting training runs on Saturday mornings. We organised 3 5k races in addition to the innumerable saturday runs throughout the semester which got so many people into running. I also helped her and the Chennai Runners in organising The Wipro Chennai Marathon. They are awesome,down to earth, studmax achievers! We would be expanding the activities of insti runners club even more in the coming semesters.

The reading challenge was something which I took up in September end. 11/15 books done. Inspiring books I came across.
Some people were inspired by me. That feeling was great. 
There were some issues in my personal life which tormented me and I broke down many times. But they ended up making me a stronger person. I think they are meant to do that. I ran 10k in TWCM, thanks to the injury which miraculously vanished a day before the race.
And then the placements of my batchmates. They rocked! Those few days for sure gave me jitters about the next December.
It was an eventful year. Happiness and tears, highs and lows, surprises and letdowns had their share. But that's how life is right?

Reading Challenge 2012

Challenges! I try to challenge myself every now and then to keep myself occupied.
I came across Reading Challenge 2012 in September. Although pretty late, I signed for it. 12 books by December end. I am halfway through already. I am currently reading autobiographies or books mostly related to sports. They never cease to inspire me.
The following are the books I have read so far:
Open(Andre Agassi)
It's not about the bike, Every second counts (Lance Armstrong)
Turning points (APJ)
The white tiger (Arvind Adiga)
What I talk about when I talk about running (Harki Murakami)
http://www.goodreads.com/user_challenges/508159

I will be heading to Amdavad for 1 month, the early morning after TWCM!.
Hoping to complete the challenge in December.

P.S: Currently, I am in awe of Anu Vaidyanathan and Ann Trason.
Also, Happy Diwali! Have a joyous, bright, Crackerfree Diwali :)

A small effort

As cyclone Nilam(however it is pronounced) hits South India, we were plunged into darkness for almost an hour. And that is when the cribbing began. We crib about our pending work, about how cold it is, about the mess it has created and so on.
The thought of 14 hour power cuts in so many slums left me disturbed. These people live in messy areas all their lives. Well, they might have got used to it. The cold?  The cyclone? Were they prepared? Is it right on our part to sit and crib while enjoying the luxuries of life?
We need to realise our responsibility. 
I feel I am what I am today because of what the society has given me. I feel it is my duty to give back to the society in how many ever ways I can, however small they might be. 
Buy a meal to the old lady on the footpath or give one of your t shirts to that guy near the bus stop. Smile at people or just ask if they need help. Teach a kid something. Well, if you can't come up with ideas, there are hundreds of NGOs waiting for help. Volunteer. Let us be pro active.

Clueless

Cross roads. Confusion. Clueless. It feels like I am still waiting to know where I am headed to. This surely does draw a lot of frowns from many people.
There are so many things on my mind. I feel that there are many people who are definitely better engineers than me. I want to do something for the society. Not necessarily right now. But that is how I want to be known to the world. I have had people telling me that I can earn money and give a part of it as charity. That somehow does not gel with me.
I have this feeling that I can survive with lesser money. But then, I do want to enjoy luxuries of life.
Conflicts.
At this point, I am just hoping that I would do what I really want to do and not be in the lot that does things for the sake of doing them. Luckily I am blessed with highly understanding parents and close bunch of motivating friends.
Life goes on..

The running fever

Just like many others, I began jogging(walking?) to lose weight. Running a kilometer would be a big deal. I have the best faculty advisor(SJS) anyone can ever have. He motivated us to start training for an upcoming event. Somehow I saw myself signing up for the Marg Chennai Runners for a 10k, Nov6th 2011. And thus began 2 or 3 jogs a week. The highest I had run-walked till I went to the start line was around 4km. My friends, Keerthana, Tejaswi and Sharath were there with me at the start line and the atmosphere was all charged up. It was in our beautiful campus. It was just awesome. For the first time I was witnessing a race. Old ladies were walking at great speeds with so much enthu. Half marathon guys were amazingly fast. The volunteers and the runners were cheering us whenever they could. And within, 1 hour 35 minutes, I saw myself at the finish line. A cute li'l girl gave me a medal. :')
Thus began the journey. I signed up on Dailymile, a site to keep track of your workouts. There were(still are) Saturday runs in the campus. Thanks to Adhokshaj, Shankar sir and Preeti.
This August, I started running on a li'l serious note. Suddenly I noticed, my pace was way better than what it used to be. It kept motivating me. I logged around 14k a week. Stretched and did some workouts.
One day, my brother, the famous Rudra, suggested that I should keep pushing my limits. "Run a little more each day and unknowingly you will find a new threshold." The very next day, I did a 7.2k and was so so high(Runners high). I love that feeling. I feel high after every run. I tell myself that each run has to be better than the previous one. Credits to Manivannan(who motivates me a lot) for that chain of thought.
Well, obviously there are highs and lows. A weekend filled with junk would bring down my pace. My flat foot would ache sometimes. I did a lot of reading. I love reading. I am not a great runner. I know that. But I am happy with my progress. I feel restless if I don't run for 2 days. It is now a whole new world where I am finding my way through my slow progress.
My parents are still surprised with this new "hobby".
Crazily, I have signed up for a 10k in Mysore. Oct 7th is the date. It happens to be my dad's birthday and the run would be my gift to him. (He doesn't get the funda though).
Still fingers crossed for Dec 2nd, TWCM where I am planning to do my first half marathon.
Running has brought so many changes in me. I feel  Just a suggestion: Try jogging. Leg pains etc are common. It is a sign of laziness leaving the body. Lot of benefits otherwise.

You don't have to like everything you take up!

I joined Hapkido classes 2 weeks back. I somehow found myself uninterested in it as time passed. I spoke to my mom. She just had one thing to say," Do what interests you. It is not necessary to like everything one takes up. Sometimes there is no choice. But here you have other options". My goal was to shed all those extra kilos so that I can run better. Well, there are more ways to do that and I finally decided to choose something else. I just need some more time maybe to get over the feeling that I quit something. I am happy that the 2 weeks were demo classes and people were allowed to give it a try with no compulsion of continuing. I just did not think I would fall in that category. Hopefully, there are better things in store for me. :)
I was thinking about how people would react. Blah! Life is a lot about just moving on. I will update you with some better stuff the next time. Have a nice weekend!

The summer internship which made sense

The summer internship after my second year did not make much sense to me as I was not assigned any project in particular. The output was good though :) A collection of 50+ sketches.

Then I decided that I must do something else next summer. I was lucky to find a teaching related internship. 

http://students.iitm.ac.in/thefifthestate/2012/08/internship-stories-bindu-duke-tip/
The above link would give you a glimpse of the amazing experience I had.

Well, I happened to show the Duke TiP Book to two of my professors and they were pretty impressed. (Doesn't mean I will get good grades) 

I hope more such programs happen in India. It would give a lot of exposure to the kids. Ha! I can not stop talking about what happened this summer. So let me end it here. This is getting random. You might as well take a hint that I am in good spirits today!

On a totally different note, I was just happy that whatever I teach can make sense to people. 

So, I am once again on the thinking mode about my future. Primary education needs a lot of attention and I think I will work for that. Rest in next.

Questions

What do I really enjoy doing?





Who do I want to be around?


How can I make a difference?

Conclusions

Well, interns are a fun experience and I am having loads of fun. :) Designing physics experiments, teaching a bunch of intelligent kids, talking to them when they are homesick, helping them build catapults, popsicle bridges is simply awesome \m/

I am a teaching assistant(TA) for the course- Design Challenges: Physics and Engineering. My students are class 8 kids.  Instructor is a stud prof from Duke University. It is a summer studies program for 3 weeks. :)

Location: Infosys campus, Mysore.

Observations:

• People come to conclusions so easily. A lot of us do. Being on the receiving end is irritating. I hate it when some person just randomly says: IITians are like this etc etc.. x-(
  Well, I can get back and make my point. But I somehow feel that ignorance can't be cured!
• Assuming things is what many of us do so many times. We never realise how we might be hurting someone with that. 
• Sarcasm is not good if you are not with your close friends.
• When someone is your enemy, whatever they do looks like a mistake. Everything is mocked at. Irrespective of the fact that you might be doing the same things :P 

It also feels great to be told by people that I am very patient, understanding etc. The best thing someone said was that if they had a teacher like me, they would not have hated maths as much :D

Rejection..

.. by people, teachers, friends, family ( and sometimes clothes). Rejection is painful. Greater the importance you attach, greater is the pain. It may be piercing-the-heart-pain or watery-eyes-gone-red pain. PAIN is pain.
We can’t do anything about how others imposepain upon us. YES, we can do a lot about how we take the pain :) How we react.
There are a lot of solutions out there. A LOT.  Jot them down and you will realise how creative you can get!
Give up the problem and enjoy whatever you have or fight back and get what you want. Speak up. Share or simply, write. (Just the way I am doing) :)
Well, reactions depend on the situation. I agree. And yes, being on the receivers end teaches a lot. What not to do, what not to say etc. Above all, how not to hurt others. It helps us in transforming to better individuals.
I shall forever keep in mind that I will never reject people the way I have been (Interviews, team formations etc)
I will try not to put people in the situations I have experienced.
Lessen the pain, Increase the joy. Pump up your enthu!
This is the least you can do for yourself :)

Something which my mom always says and which is true in many situations:

There is something better always in store for you. It is all about how you see it. :)

[wrote it on the day I was rejected for an intern. Later got a call from the same place and they took me in :) ]