பிறப்பொக்கும் எல்லா உயிர்க்கும்

குளிக்கச்செல்லும் முன் அன்று உடுத்திக்கொள்ள ஆடைகளை ஒவ்வொரு பையாகத்தேடி, கடைசியில் வெகு நாட்கள் திறந்திடாத ஒரு பையைத்திறந்து, அருவருப்பில் தூக்கி எறிந்தேன். காரணம் பைக்குள் மீசை முறுக்கிக்கொண்டிருந்த கரப்பான் பூச்சி. சில நொடிகள் ஆசுவாசப்படுத்திக்கொண்டு, பையை மீண்டும் எடுத்து எப்படியோ அதைப் பையிலிருந்து வெளியேற்றினேன்.குளியலறைக்குள் சென்றால் அங்கும் இருந்தது ஒரு கரப்பான். அறைக்குள் கரப்பான் இருப்பது உறுத்திக்கொண்டே இருக்க, குளியல் மீதான கவனம் குறைவாகவும், கரப்பான் மீதான கவனம் அதிகமாகவும் கொண்டு "சனி" நீராடினேன்.

கரப்பான், தேள், பூரான், மூட்டைப்பூச்சிகள் போன்றவற்றுடன், சிறு வயதிலிருந்து கொண்ட அனுபவங்களின் நினைவுகளில் நனைந்து வெளியேறிய போது, உடலெல்லாம் கால்கள் ஊர்வது போன்ற உணர்வு மேலிட்டது.

ஜன்னலருகில் பக் பக்கிய புறா, என்றும் ஆனந்தம் தருவது, இன்று ஏனொ வெறுப்பை ஏற்படுத்தியது."காக்கை குருவி எங்கள் ஜாதி", என்று பாரதியை நினைத்துக் கொஞ்சம் சாந்தப்பட்டுக்கொண்டேன். சிலந்திகள் மீது கல்லூரியில் காட்டிய கரிசனம் நினைவுக்கு வந்து மேற்கூரையைப் பார்த்ததில் பகீர் என்றது. ஒரு குளவிக் கூடு இருந்தது. அதில் குளவியேதும் இருக்கக்கூடாது என்று என்னை நானே கேட்டுக்கொண்டேன் (கடவுளோ, காப்பர் சல்பேட்டோ, எதன் மீதாவது நம்பிக்கை வைத்திருத்தல், இது போன்ற வேளைகளிலாவது உதவும்).

என் எல்லைக்குள் அன்று பலரும் அத்து மீறுவதாய்ப் பட்டது. அவ்வெண்ணம் தோன்றி ஓய்ந்த மறுகணமே, எது என் எல்லை என்று எங்ஙனம் தீர்மானமாயிற்று என்று எண்ணலானேன். கரப்பான்களை இதற்கு முன்னும் என்னறையில் கண்டிருக்கிறேன். அவை வாசம் செய்த அறைக்கு நான் வந்தேனா, அல்லது நான் வாசம் செய்யும் அறைக்கு அவை வந்தனவா என்று தெளிவாகச் சொல்ல முடியவில்லை. எல்லையை என் அறை என்று வைத்துக்கொள்ளாமல், இந்த விடுதியோ, இந்த நகரமோ என்று வைத்துக் கொண்டால், பெரும்பாலும், இந்தக் கரப்பானின் முன்னோர்கள்தான் எனக்கு முன் குடியேறியவர்களாக இருக்க வேண்டும். எனில், நான் அல்லவா, அவற்றின் எல்லைக்குள் அத்து மீறியவன்? குளவிக்கும், புறாவிற்கும் கூட இது பொருந்தும்.

உருவத்திலோ, புலனறிவிலோ பெரியவன் என்கிற ஆணவத்தில் அல்லவா இது என் எல்லை ஆனது? எவை, எங்கு, எப்படி இருக்க வேண்டும், எப்போது என்ன நடக்க வேண்டும் என்பதை ஓரளவுக்குத்தீர்மானிக்கும் வலிமை உள்ளதால், மனிதன் இந்தப் புவிக்கு உரிமை கொண்டாடுவதுதான், மக்களாட்சியா? இப்படிச் செய்வது தான் முன்னேற்றம் என்று தீர்மானித்துக்கொண்டு, பழங்குடி மக்களை அவர்கள் இருப்பிடத்தில் இருந்து வெளியேற்றிவிட்டு அங்கு ரிசார்ட்களும், ஏவுகனைத்தளங்களும் அமைப்பத்தற்கு ஈடான செயலாகும், குளவிக்கூட்டைக் கலைப்பதும், சிலந்தி வலையைக் கிழிப்பதும்.

தலையையும் எண்ணங்களையும் துவட்டியவாறே கண்ணாடி முன் நிற்க, பின்னால் சுவரில் தெரிந்தது கரப்பான். அதைக் கொல்வதா, வெளியேற்றுவதா, அப்படியே விடுவதா என்று மூளை முப்பது வகையாக யோசித்தது. முப்பதும், ' நான்' என்னும் அகம்-பாவிதான்!

அறையை விட்டு அகற்றவே உரிமை இல்லாத நான் எப்படி, அவ்வுயிரை உலகை விட்டு அகற்றுவது என்று தெளிவடைந்தவனாக, இருப்பினும் உயர்திணைத் திமிருடன், கொஞ்சம் அன்பாக அதைக் காகிதத்தில் பிடித்து ஜன்னல் வழியே எறிந்தேன். அது புறாவிற்கு உணவாகலாம், உரிமை கோரி மீண்டும் என் அறை வரலாம்....வந்தால் மறுபடி விரட்டுவதில்லை என்று தீர்மானித்துக்கொண்டேன்.

படியிறங்கிச் சாலையில் நடக்கையில், சுவரொட்டியில் இருந்த பாரதியாரின் கண்ணைப் பார்க்க வெட்கமாய் இருந்தது.

கற்றபின் நிற்க அதற்குத் தக

அள்ளி வந்த மணலைக் கரை சேர்த்து மீண்டும் வளம் தேடிக் கடல் திரும்பியது அலை. அலைகளை எண்ணிக்கொண்டிருந்தான் சுரேன்; ஏதேதோ பற்றி எண்ணிக்கொண்டிருந்தேன் நான். இருவரின் கவனத்தையும் கலைத்தது "நெஞ்சில்...ஜில்..ஜில்..ஜில்..ஜில்". கார்த்தியிடமிருந்து அழைப்பு.

"எந்த இடத்துல இருக்கீங்க?"

"ரொம்ப கூட்டம் இல்ல...கண்டுபிடிக்கறது ஈசிதான், வா"

பத்து நிமிடங்களில் கார்த்தியும் வந்து சேர்ந்தான்.

"சௌக்கியமா?"

"மிகவும்" - சுரேன்

"ம்..ம்.." - நான்

"இன்னைக்கு நிலா அருமையா இருக்கில்ல?"

"ம்..ம்.." - நான்

"என்னடா ஆச்சு இவனுக்கு?, எல்லாத்துக்கும் ஒரு எழுத்துல பதில் சொல்றான்"

"அதாவது சொல்றானே..இவ்வளவு நேரம் மணல்ல ஜாமெட்ரி தான் போட்டுட்டிருந்தான்"

"ஏண்டா.... நாமெல்லாம் இஞினியரிங் படிச்சு என்னடா பிரயோஜ்னம்" - நான்

"டேய், பஜ்ஜி சாப்பிடலாமா?" - சுரேன்

"நான் சீரியசா பேசிட்டிருக்கேன்"

"பஜ்ஜி சாப்பிட்டா பெருசா காமெடியெல்லாம் வராதுடா, அப்பையும் சீரியசா பேசலாம். நான் 3 மணிக்கு அப்புறம் எதுவுமே சாப்பிடல, இப்போ பஜ்ஜி சாப்பிடாட்டி, என் நிலம சீரியஸ் ஆகிடும். நீங்க ரெண்டு பேரும், திரைக்கதைய ஆரம்பிங்க, நான் வந்து கதை வசனத்துல சேர்ந்துக்கறேன்"

"என்னடா திடீர்னு ஞானத்தேடல்?" - கார்த்தி

"இல்லடா, எவ்வளவோ பேர்க்குக் கனவா இருக்கற ஒரு காலேஜ்'ல படிக்கிற சான்ஸ் கெடச்சு, கவர்மெண்ட் செலவுலயே புத்தகம் வாங்கி, பீஸ் கட்டி, கடசில ஒரு தனியார் கம்பெனில வேலை செய்யறோம், இதுனால நம்ம மக்களுக்கு என்ன லாபம்"

"தெருத்தெருவா வேலை இல்லாம அலையாம, கடன் சொல்லாம இப்படி பஜ்ஜி சாப்பிடறோம் பாத்தியா, அதுவே ஒரு லாபம் தான். கார்த்தி உனக்கு வெங்காயமா, மிளகாயா?"

"வாழ்க்கை ஒரு பர்பஸ் இல்லாம போற மாதிரி இருக்குடா"

"அய்யயோ, வழக்கமா பீச்சுக்கு வந்தா கவிதை தேடுவான்..இன்னைக்குப் பர்பஸ் தேடி வந்திருக்கான் போலிருக்கே"

"ஏன் உனக்கு அப்படித்தோணுது?" - கார்த்தி

"எந்தக் கட்சி ஆட்சில இருந்தாலும் மக்கள் பசிலயும் நோய்கள்ளயும் படாதபாடு படறாங்க. குழந்தைங்கள படிக்க வைக்க முடியாம கஷ்டப்படறாங்க. இதுக்கெல்லாம் நாம என்ன செய்யறோம்?"

"நான் மாசாமாசம் டேக்ஸ் கட்றேன், சிக்னள்ல சிகப்பு விழுந்தோடனே வண்டிய நிறுத்திடறேன், பஸ்ல டிக்கெட் எடுக்கறேன், ஆகஸ்ட் 15 அன்னைக்குக் கொடி குத்திக்கிறேன்" - சுரேன்

"சரி நாம எல்லாரும் சரியா டேக்ஸ் கட்றோம்னு வை, அந்தப் பணத்த அதிகாரிகள் சரியா பயன்படுத்தறாங்கன்றியா?

"மூணு பேரும், அன்னியன் ஆகலான்றியா?" - சுரேன்

"IPS ஆகலாம். IAS ஆகலாம்" - கார்த்தி

"அப்பயும் நமக்கு முழு அதிகாரம் இருக்காதுடா. எல்லாத்துலயும் அரசியல் தலையீடு இருக்கும்"

"இப்படியே சாக்கு சொல்லிட்டிருந்தா, கண்டிப்பா நம்மளால ஒரு சின்னத்தெருவ கூட சுத்தம் செய்ய முடியாது" - கார்த்தி

"நீ ஏண்டா பெரிய லெவெல்ல யோசிக்கிற. முதல்ல நம்ம சக்திக்குள்ள என்ன முடியுதோ அத செய்வோம்" - சுரேன்

"......"

"அங்கப் பாரு, அந்தத்தெரு லைட் எரியல. உன் கிட்ட போன் இருக்கா? என் கிட்ட EB நம்பர் இருக்கு. உனக்கு ஒரு 10 நிமிஷ நேரமும், 2 ரூபா பேலன்ஸும் இருந்தா, அந்தத்தெரு விளக்க எரிய வைக்கலாம்" - சுரேன்

கொஞ்சம் ஆறுதல் அடைந்தவனாக எழுந்து நடக்க ஆரம்பித்தேன். அலை கொணர்ந்த மணலில் கொஞ்சம் காலணியில் ஒட்டிக்கொண்டு உடன் வந்தது.

கார்த்தி - இப்போது - IAS நேர்முகத்தேர்விற்குத் தயாராகிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறான்.
சுரேன் - இப்போது - சில மில்லியன் மரங்களை இந்தியாவெங்கும் நடும் திட்டத்தில் தீவிர பங்காற்றுகிறான்.
நான் - இன்னும் வாழ்க்கையின் பர்பஸைத்தேடிக்கொண்டிருக்கிறேன்..

Bladderful of thoughts (Thoughts full of bladder)

Note 1: If you have a weak heart or appetite that cannot bear words like bladder, urinary system etc., do not continue reading the post
Note 2: I promise not to write about health conditions or doctors in the next 3 posts
Note 3: Even as I was conceiving this post, I realized that "Three men in a boat" still has its influence on me..will soon get over it

I had been to one of my school friends' marriage last week. He is a doctor now and the bride too is a doctor. The marriage hall was full of doctors, been-doctors, soon-to-be-doctors and will-be-doctors. The bride's father is a professor and hence there were many doctors from that line too. Because of that and owing to illness, it seems as if I spent last month with more doctors than engineers.

I have not been feeling 100% bhupeshy in this one month period even after having recovered from a prolonged fever. I decided to see a doctor who had done some higher studies on medicine just to see if all that education helps him really. So, I woke up early this Saturday @9.30 and after checking with couple of sources, went to one of the big hospitals in Coimbatore. I told the doctor my symptoms. He asked me if I had fever recently and if I had shivering in the night. My answers were "yes" and "oh yes". Then he asked if I had discomfort while urinating. I told him, "slightly", now convinced that the education was really helping. He thought I might have stone formation in the bladder. He asked me to get a UltraSound scan of the abdomen and also take a urine test.

Happy that I was now getting promoted from antibiotics and syrups to Ultrasound scans and urine tests, I called my folks and told them about it. My father thought the formation of stone was due to the heat and because I was always in office..my mother felt it was because I was married to my laptop and spent most of my time with it...my cousin thought it was because Irfan Pathan bowled two stupid balls to Dhoni in the Kings XI Vs CSK match. Finally, my sister declared that it was because I repeatedly made fun of how relieving it is to get one's bladder empty and she referred to two of my earlier posts in this blog as examples. That seemed to be the most convincing reason of all. I thought the doctor should be able to figure all that out by seeing the reports and I went to the US scan centre first.

The notice there read: "Do not take food for 4 hours before the scan. Get the bladder full by drinking 2 litres of water or 2 tender coconuts. When the bladder is full, please let the nursing assistant know". The nursing assistant gave me the same instructions again. When it comes to urinating, I am like a dog that raises its legs at every lamp post - meaning - I could do it anytime....but I felt, my bladder wasnt full enough for the occassion at that point and took 2 glasses of water..not convinced, went out and took a glass of water-melon juice...and then one tender coconut. I felt full and went to the scan centre. The nurse asked me to come back after an hour as the doctor had not arrived yet. While I was wondering if I could it hold it that long, she suggested that I should probably get the urine test done. At the lab, I was given a small container to get sample. When I gave back the container, the attendant asked if it had enough for a sample....I said I could actually contribute for the tests of the next 3 patients in queue. She said, such an idea could only come from someone who studied management. When I said, I am an engineer, she felt that explained it even better.

I had one hour now to be passed. I called my room-mate and I told him of what happened. I asked him if he could bring the book I was reading to the hospital for time-pass. He asked me the title and I said "Go kiss the world"...he said a more apt title to read at the point would be "Go piss the world". I applied some time and travel concepts and realized that I will not be able to meet him before my scan appointment and asked him not to bother.

Anyways, I got busy filling my bladder again. I arrived at the scan centre few minutes before my scheduled time. The place had a lot of pregnant ladies for the scan. I hoped they didnt misplace the reports and declare me pregnant. The nurse was calling out names and I had to wait for my turn. It was well past my appointment time and my name hadnt been called. I would not have minded it had it not been for my bladder being full. I anxiously went to the nurse and asked when my turn would come. Then she realised that she hadnt noted down my name at all. I told her that I could not hold long and that to get my bladder filled again would be far more difficult than emptying it. She seemed to empathize with my situation and immediately called out my name. As soon as the scan was over, I ran like a mad man to the restroom.

With both reports in hand now, I went to the waiting room. Before the doctor arrived, I had to empty the bladder again twice. I must have drunk some 4 litres of water. When the doctor looked at the report he said he didnt see any stones in the report. I told him that even if there had been a diamond in my bladder, it would have dissolved in the gallons of liquid I had taken that day. Then he did the routine checks and wrote down the names of some anti-biotics. He asked me to take them for 2 days and made me sign in blood(I fancy that he might use it for some testing), that I will not make fun about emptying the bladder. Ofcourse, I got an exception for this one post.

When I returned to my room and took a tablet out, I was amazed. It was so big that, if it went undissolved to the bladder, it could increase the water levels in the bladder,like how the clever crow raises the water level by dropping stones inside.

Moral of the story: Drink 2 to 3 litres of water a day even if you are a camel, to avoid stone formations. Even though it turned out that there was no stone in my bladder, I was all the time thinking that I may have to spend the rest of my life trying to dissolve it. (On the hindsight, I was also thinking that the amount of coke I drink must be able to erode even a rock).

சென்னை நேசனின் கோவை வாசம் - I

எட்டடி சாலையில் எண்ணற்ற சக்கரங்கள்,
முன் செல்லும் வாகனத்தை
முந்திச் செல்ல எத்தனிக்கும்;
எதிர் படும் வாகனத்தால்
பிள்ளயைப் போல்
பின் பதுங்கும்
--
சாலை நெரிசலில்
மெல்ல நகர்கின்றன வாகனங்கள் -
கோவையும் மா'நகர்'
--
குறளினும் குறுகிய சாலைகள்
உலகத்தமிழ் மாநாடு தயவில்
அதிகாரம் பெறுகின்றன;
வழிந்தோடும் பொருட்பால்
--
cross cut-ல் ஆரம்பித்து
சத்தி road வழி சென்று
100 feet வழி மீண்டும் cross cut-ல் முடிகிறது
என் பித்தகாரஸ் தியரம்
--
பொள்ளாச்சி- வால் பாறை- டாப் ஸ்லிப்- ஊட்டி
தருகின்றன
வெளியிலிருந்து ஆதரவு
--
சுவையூற்றாம், கற்கண்டாம்
இச்சிறு நாவில் இன்னும் படவில்லை
சிறுவானி
--
பெயரிலிருந்தாலும்
கோவைத்தமிழ் பேச்சிலில்லை
'வை'தல்
--
கோட்டம் இல்லை spencer இல்லை பீச் இல்லை
எங்கு சந்திப்பர் காதலர்கள்?
--
திங்கள் தெரியும் செவ்வாய் ஒளியும்
தூரத்து காட்சி மயக்கம்
பெயர் தெரியா மலைத்தொடர்
--
அண்ணன், அக்கா, தம்பி,
சித்தப்பா, பெரியம்மா
கோவை நகர் நடத்துனர்க்கு
எல்லோருமே உறவு

"Doc...what did you make me gulp?"

I wouldnt say this is new to me or you. You have all been there, there and there. And I wouldnt say the below is all true..I dont half remember what happened to me in real life in the last two days; to give a unadultered version of my dreams in the same period, would be impossible and boring. There are stuffs that I have made up.

On Friday evening, I, along with my friends, returned from a trip to "black thunder" (a theme park near Coimbatore). The taste of masala puri taken at black thunder was lingering in my tongue, and, so I took it for dinner too. I climbed the innumerable steps to my mansion room, took bath (to wipe off the chlorine) and scanned through my book-shelf....then scanned through the DVD collection. "Delhi 6" was inviting. I sat with my laptop. Watched the movie, then as usual, read a few facts about the movie on the net. Got reminded of "Pirates of Carribean" somehow and watched a few clips from the movie. That's the point till which my brain cells have a clear record of. Many people in the rest of the story are real life characters, but I dont know what business they had in my dream - especially Abhishek Bachchan.

I was sitting in "Lalkudi" restaurant, waiting for a table, when a guy next to me started talking in Malayalam. I noticed that his forehead had a "KL" registration. I told him, "Sorry, I dont speak Malayalam". He again said something in Malayalam - the only thamizh word being 'Time'. I told him, "Sorry, I dont understand a word of Malayalam". He showed me the TV. Anil Kumble was being interviewed by my uncle and Kumble declared that Malayalam will be Coimbatore's official language effective immediately. I was starting to feel very insecure about myself. These mallu guys already had a very streamlined body like a fresh water fish and had their way with girls with the sweet language they spoke. Now, that being the official language, I had to learn it. Abhishek Bachchan agreed to help me. After all, he had the best American accent by an Indian actor (Kamal Hasan ranking second). "What an idea sir'ji?" - I told him. There was a condition though, Amitabh would take the introductory session. I was cool with anything.

The new woodland shoes started biting. Peter said, "What is the need for a shoe in black thunder...come on, have you ever been to a water theme park?". He pushed me into the water and said "Savvy!!". I laid in the water, for how long I dont know. I was still in the water, but I knew that everyone in the world had left. They did not know that I was in black thunder drowned in the 'lazy river' which is 2 feet deep. I suddenly remembered that black thunder was for sale. May be, people just left black thunder and not the world. Even if they did leave the world, the first one to go would have been a mallu and I knew the official language in the new earth was Malayalam. So, I was happy to be left out here.

I knew I had to wake up, but could not. I felt heat all over the body. May be I was in a fire ride and not a water ride. These guys used to have something called "Volcano". I realized that I could get out of this, if I could finish one of the 3 tasks I was supposed to do.

1. How better could have "Delhi 6" ended.
2. Set up hints for a treasure hunt that we were planning to have in office.
3. Complete the blog post about "Why I am not expressive" - which I had promised to Jai that I would write about.

I had a tough time choosing between the 3. They all seemed equally tough. With my hands and legs tied, with my nose blocked and with a soar throat which made me mute, I could not do much. Suddenly, one of my friends appeared and said - "You never really care for your friends. You care for only the pretty ones". At this, I was very very deeply hurt and woke up with all my might. I picked my phone and messaged her saying "Watch 'Dog day afternoon'. Al Pacino is awesome". She replied immediately saying, "I asked you to watch 'Amelie'. Have you?". "I think I have swine flu or something. Or may be it is just because I read '3 men on a boat', the other day. Will call you when I am fully conscious".

After 10 minutes, I was a little conscious. The time was 10.30am. I had cold. I was having a bad throat - not as cute as Rani Mukherjee's though. I had fever. I searched my roommate's medical box and found a tablet that said "Crocin - Cold and Flu". Gulped it and went down to take break fast. I asked for warm water to drink and it tasted like elixir (no, I havent tasted elixir). Back to room, I had a pile of clothes to wash. I soaked them in RIN (no, they are not sponsoring this post) and surfed the net a bit. You know, I am immune, brave and all that. So, inspite of the fever, I washed the clothes. The power went off. I thought of lying down for sometime.

Peter woke me up and said - "It is already Sunday and you are not doing anything about your fever. Will Abhishek Bachchan come and fill in for you tomorrow?". But I was helpless. I was already outside of the universe. Jai had trans-ported me through digital imaging for his project. May be, I am yet to get used to the trans-porting..and hence the fever, body pain etc. He has promised to get me back to earth during the maintenance window which was on Saturday night EST (Earth Standard Time). I hoped, he remembered that due to Day Light Saving, the timings have changed.

It must have been about time, for someone was playing 'Nenjukkul peidhidum maamazhai' and I could hear it. The guitar's vibration forced me to wake up. I realized that it was my phone. My cousin was trying to reach me. I hid the phone under the pillow and mumbled "I need some oxygen or may be adrenalin. Depends". That suddenly reminded me that I had to meet the doctor.

The time was 3.30pm. I woke up in a hurry. The body started aching. I still didnt have a clue as to how better "Delhi 6" should have ended. I should probably start with the blog post. But, first, Doctor. I shaved as much as I could, for I did not want the doctor to conclude that I was just dying out of hunger and really was not sick. I walked down the 4 storey mansion. There was a clinic just opposite to my mansion. The board read "Consulting hours - 5pm to 6pm". $#*&# (I don't normally swear or curse). To hell with doctors, they dont work half the time the rest of the world works. I walked the street to see if there was any other clinic. There were 5. One was a homeopathy clinic, one for pregnant women, one was an eye-care clinic, one specialized in skin disease and the other said "Dr.X, BSc Medicine" - wait, are you kidding!!.

I had a cup of tea and climbed 4 floors back. The next thing I did was to sleep again. I set the alarm for 5pm and kept the phone far away from me, least I would hide it under the pillow again.

Myself, Peter, my cousin, some doctor and Sonam Kapoor(Peter had a crush for her, but I was Abhishek Bachchan..right? Don't tell Peter.) were running around Black Thunder to find the next hint for the treasure hunt. Peter shouted in Malayalam "Werent you the one who set the hint..why are you running with us?".
"The hints that I had set were before Black Thunder was sold off" - I shouted back in Malayalam..(Wow...did you notice that..my accent?). He seemed confused.
My cousin sent me a message saying - "pls call me". I thought he must have got lost somewhere. But my phone was the treasure we were trying to find. Idiot, how the hell could I call him, when the very thing we were searching for was my phone. Then it occurred to me that if I could read the message, then probably the phone was somewhere near. I woke up and found the phone in my hand. My cousin had really messaged me and I had really read it. Anyways, he was getting on my nerves. Lazy guy, had no work to do on Saturdays and was probably trying to reach me to say 'Hi'. I replied saying - "Hey..I am fine. Coimbatore is equally hot. Black Thunder was disappointing. Will call later. Busy now" and switched off the phone. The time was 4.45 anyways.

Washed my face and went down again. Fever wasn't there now, throat had cleared comparitively...my goodness...I had atleast one reason to go to the doctor - I still had body pain. I was happy for that (!!!). The doctor had no compounder, no nurse, one fan and a poster that said "Swine Flu is curable....blah..blah".
The doc looked like he bunked his medicine classes for the 5 to 6 consulting session. I told him that I had fever. He took the thermometer. I said, "It is
not there now". I told him that I had a bad throat. He asked me to pull my tongue out. I said, "It is better now".

"Do you have blocked nose"

"No"

"Do you have cough"

"No"

"Shivering"

"No"

He looked confused. Probably he thought I was not going to give him the consultation fees.

"But I had body pain and it is still there"..I smiled as I said that.

He checked my blood pressure. He asked me to breathe in and out, while he probed my back with his steth. (Is this guy, just using all his equipments).

"What do you do?..I mean, where do you work"
"In a private firm" (I prefer not to tell that I work in IT field...I might be robbed).

He gave me one of those looks that interview panelists give when they want to say "Could you eloborate that?".

"I am a programmer in a small company"
"Which one?"
"Cognizant" ( I will be robbed).

He scribbled the names of 3 tablets. ( I later found that one of them was paracetamol) and asked me to take rest.
"Fees?"
"30"
"Three zero"
"Yes"
(Wow!!..dude, he is a good guy..you know...not all doctors are like that).

The medicines costed me 97.13 (VAT inclusive).


It was only 6pm. But I badly wanted to give myself a psychological boost. Took 4 idlies, pretending to my stomach that it was dinner and took the tablets. Ofcourse, slept off again. I started shivering after sometime. Started having cough. I had a blocked nose. "Did the doc ask me those questions, to know the symptoms or to give me those symptoms?". I decided to google and check what those tablets were for - but only after I woke up. I knew I was not asleep, but I knew I was not awake either. By the way, "How better could have 'Delhi 6' ended?".

I could sleep no more after 9pm. I felt better, like, a fresh water fish from Kerala. Called my friend and explained why I had not seen "Amelie" yet. Called
my cousin and gave him an account of the Black Thunder trip. Made sure, he didnt talk about it again. Opened the laptop and decided to write about the blog on "Being Expressive"....but switched to an earlier promise made to Arvindh, about writing a fiction and got that done.

Went to bed at 2.30am. Had a good sleep. No dreams...or may be I just dont remember them. Woke up at 6 and logged in immediately to see if there were any comments on the new post. Srikk, Seshu and Subi had declared that it was no fiction and that it was an account of my love-failure in real life. "How better could I end this story?" - I thought. Gave it a second climax..which was more bollywood types - just so that it would sound really like a fiction.

Soon, me and my Appleton friends got into a conference call - a long one. When I got off the call, the power went off. I took my morning dosage of the medicine and slept off. No dreams..or may be I just dont remember them. When I woke up, I had no body pain, no cold...but fever was still there. I was happy that I had a reason to have one more dosage of the tablets (What kind of disease is this? Is this a symptom of swine flu?). Delhi 6 climax didnt matter any more. I finished setting hints for the treasure hunt. Thought "Being expressive" needed more time for assimilation, and instead decided to write about the last 2 days of absolute laziness.

I am going to see what those tablets were meant for. I still have fever. Cheers!

காதலாகிக் கசிந்துருகி

அலுவலகப் பேருந்தில், வைரமுத்து பற்றி ஒருவர் சிலாகித்துக் கொண்டிருக்க, முன் தினம் நண்பனின் தொலை பேசி அழைப்பு நினைவுக்கு வந்தது - "என்னடா இன்னும் கவிதை எல்லாம் எழுதுறியா?". கவிதை எழுத கோபம் வேணும், சோகம் வேணும், குறைந்த பட்சம் காதலாவது வேணும் என்று நினைத்துக் கொண்டேன். சரி சும்மா முயற்சி செய்யலாம் என்று முன்னிருக்கையில் அமர்ந்திருந்த ஒரு சுமாரான பெண்ணைத் தேர்ந்தெடுத்துக்கொண்டேன். ஒரு மெல்லிய காற்று வீச, கலைந்த கூந்தலைச் சரி செய்து கொண்டாள்.

"கலைந்த சிகையின்
அழகுக்குக் காரணம் -
காற்றா காதலா?"

என்று விறு விறுவென நண்பனுக்கு SMS அனுப்பினேன். "அட! இது work out ஆகும் போலிருக்கே!!" என்று உற்சாகம் அடைந்தேன்.

--

பேருந்தில் யார் யார் பயணிக்கிறார்கள் என்பதைப் பதிவு செய்வதற்காக, ஒரு ஏட்டில் அனைவரும் பெயர் எழுதி கையொப்பம் இடுவோம். அவள் பெயரை அறிந்து கொள்ளும் ஆவலில், மறு நாளும் அவள் பின்னிருக்கையில் அமர்ந்து கொண்டேன். கையொப்பம் இட்டுப் பின்னால் என் கையில் கொடுக்க, பெயரைப் பார்த்தேன் - "தென்றல்"!

"உன் பெயரை எழுதியதும்
பதிவேட்டின் பக்கங்கள்
படபடத்தன"

--

இப்படியாக ஒரு வாரம் SMS-ல் கவிதைகள் பறந்து கொண்டிருக்க, அன்று project lead எல்லோரையும் ஒரு அறைக்கு அழைத்தார். நம்ம teamல புதுசா கொஞ்சம் பேர் சேரப்போறாங்க. அவங்கள அறிமுகம் செய்யத்தான் இந்த meeting என்றார். எங்களைக் காக்கச் சொல்லிவிட்டு, வெளியே சென்று மூவரை அழைத்து வந்தார்; எனக்கு இரத்தம் தலைக்கேறுவது தெரிந்தது..மூவரில் ஒருவர் - தென்றல். "What are the chances!!" என்று ஆச்சிரியம் அடைந்தேன். ஒவ்வொருவராக அறிமுகம் செய்து கொள்ள, என்னைப்பார்த்து ஒரு மில்லி மீட்டர் அதிகம் சிரித்தாள். இருக்கைக்குச் சென்றதும், விசைப்பலகையில் என் படபடப்பை டைப்படித்தேன்.

--

ஓரிரு நாட்களில் பணி நிமித்தமாக பேசிக்கொண்டோம் - அவள் அதிகமாகவும், நான் சிக்கனமாகவும். "நீங்க ரொம்ப 'reserved'-ஆ இருக்கீங்க" என்றாள். நான் சிரித்தேன் - மீண்டும் சிக்கனமாக.

"இதயத்தை முன்பதிவு செய்தவள் கூறினாள் -
' நீங்க ரொம்ப reserved'"

--

ஒரு நாள் காலை அவளிடமிருந்து அழைப்பு வந்தது.

"அவள் அழைக்கும் போது செல்கின்றன
vibration modeக்கு
என் செல்கள் அனைத்தும்"

' நான் வர ஒரு 5 மினிட்ஸ் ஆகும், டிரைவர கொஞ்சம் வெய்ட் பண்ணச் சொல்றீங்களா?' ' நிறையவே வெய்ட் பண்ணச் சொல்றேங்க' என்று வழிந்தேன். பேருந்து வரும் முன்னரே வந்து சேர்ந்தாள்.

"உங்க caller tone நல்லாருக்கு - என்ன படம்?" என்றாள்.

"Michael Learns to Rock ஆல்பத்துல ஒரு பாட்டு".

"ஓ! ஆங்கிலப் பாடல்கள் தான் கேப்பீங்களோ".

"இல்லைங்க, நீங்க தமிழ் பேசினாலும் கேப்பேன்".

"அட! உங்கள reservedனு தப்பா எடை போட்டுட்டேன்", என்று சிரித்தாள்.

--

ஒரு நாள் team-ல் அனைவரும் இரவு உணவிற்கு வெளியே சென்றோம். வெகு நேரம் ஆகியும் அவளைக்காணோம்.

"சைக்கிளுக்கு எவ்வளவு முக்கியமோ
அவ்வளவு முக்கியம் காதலுக்கும் -
காத்திருப்பு"

என்று நண்பனுக்கு SMS அனுப்பினேன்.

கொஞ்சம் தாமதமாய் வந்தவள் என்னருகில் அமர்ந்திருந்த அரவிந்தை அடுத்த இருக்கைக்கு மாறச்சொல்லிவிட்டு என்னருகில் அமர்ந்து கொண்டாள். எல்லோரும் என்னை அர்த்தமாய்ப் பார்க்க, " நீங்க மட்டும் தான் நம்ம teamல veg..birds of same feather flock together" என்று சிரித்தாள். "அவங்க plateல இருக்கறது கூட birds of same feather தான்" என்று சமாளித்தாலும் எனக்கு உணவு இறங்கவில்லை. அன்றிரவு உறங்கவில்லை.

--
தேனீர் இடைவேளையில் ஒரு நாள், " நீங்க 'தண்ணீர் தேசம்' படிச்சிட்டிருந்தீங்களே,முடிச்சிட்டீங்களா? எனக்குத்தறீங்களா please?" என்றாள். அவளுக்கு வைரமுத்து பிடிக்கும் என்றும், புத்தகங்கள் படிப்பாள் என்றும் அன்று தெரிந்து கொண்டேன்.

--

ஒரு வேளை எல்லாம் காரணமாகத்தான் நடக்கிறதா? இவள் தான் என்னவளா? இவளுக்கு நான் ஏற்ற துணையா? என் குடும்பத்தில் இவள் மகிழ்ச்சியாய் இருப்பாளா? திருமணம் பற்றி முடிவு செய்யும் நிலையில் நான் இருக்கிறேனா?" என்றெல்லாம் ஒரு மாதத்திற்கு மண்டையைப் பிய்த்துக் கொண்டிருந்தேன். கவிதைக்காய்க் காதலிக்கப் போய் இப்படி மூளையைப் பிராண்ட வேண்டியிருக்கிறதே என்று நொந்து போனேன். முடிவெடுக்கும் தைரியம் இல்லாமல், அவளிடமிருந்து விலக ஆரம்பித்தேன்.

"அறுத்து விட்டதும்
அதிகம் துடித்தது - காதல் -
பல்லியின் வால் போல"

என்று சென்றது நண்பனுக்கு SMS.

--
climax 2(for international audience):
சென்ற வாரம் அவளிடமிருந்து email வந்திருந்தது - அவள் திருமண வாழ்க்கை மகிழ்வாய் இருப்பதாகவும், தான் விரும்பியது போலிருப்பதாகவும். அதோடு, என்னுடனான நட்பு வினோதமானது என்றும் - நாங்கள் தொடர்பற்று போனதில் வறுத்தம் அடைவதாகவும்.

பல்லியின் வால் கடைசியாய் ஒரு முறை துடித்தது.

--
climax 1(for bollywood audience):
பின்னர் கதையில் சில twistகள் வந்து, தென்றலே என் வாழ்க்கைத் துணையானாள். நேற்று திடீரென கேட்டாள் "ஏன் நீ இப்போலாம் கவிதை எழுதுறதில்ல"; "கவிதை எழுத கோபம் வேணும், சோகம் வேணும், குறைந்த பட்சம் காதல் தோல்வியாவது வேணும்"; " நீ என்னைக் கல்யாணம் பண்ணிக்கிட்டதே காதல் தோல்விதானே" என்று சிரித்தாள் - என் மனைவியாகிய தேவதை.

--
(Attempted a fiction, per request from Arvindh. Because of Delhi-6 effect added two climax)

My recent obsession - March 2010

I have already written a post under this title in 2009. So, this one is titled "march 2010".

1. "Vinnaithandi Varuvaya" album - Everyone said the songs were good. I had been visiting "Music World" almost every night that I came from office by 9. Those guys never had it in stock (Dude..why dont you reserve a copy for me!!). Finally, I got it from a different shop on a weekend. On the first hearing, I was disappointed - especially with the lyrics. But eventually...got addicted to the album. As Veeru put it, first 'Aromale' sounded the best, then "Kannukkul"...now "Mannippaya"..Rahman is a genius. All movies for which he composes should be translated in English just to compete at Oscars.

2. Shopping - I have been on a shopping spree ever since I landed in Coimbatore. Had to buy new clothes, shoes..lot of books and DVDs. Using my credit card to the fullest extent..

3. IPL 2010. I thought I would never have any interest in Cricket again. Per Seshu and Srikk's advice, I retired from cricket :) - even from watching it. But we have a fun game at office, where we predict the winner of a match and get points. Just for the sake of it, I have been following the scores....not to the extent of knowing who hit how many sixers, like I used to before.

4. Weekend jobs. Wondering what this is? We have been having some problems with our application jobs that run during the weekend. Since it is a new team, I am having to get involved every week...(once I was in the movie hall attending a conference call!!).

5. Commitment worries - My mom is in the look out for brides. After all these years, I still am worried about getting committed.

6. The Spiritual self - a perennial obesession this is. A recent visit to Isha yoga ashram to visit Suren and Anitha has rekindled my spiritual exploration. (Not to be confused with visting temples, reciting mantras, fasting and worshipping an idol). This is more on the lines of being in harmony with nature.

7. Bikes - I have never been the macho kind that knows about every bike in market..what's the CC and what's the mileage. I have been wanting to buy one and have been reading some reviews and noticing every bike that passes by. Have shortlisted Honda Shine, Passion Pro and Discover. Mostly, will go for Pro..just for the looks.

8. The mountain view from office campus - I am yet to find the name of this mountain. It is on the edge of the horizon as seen from office. There is so much mist in the locality that, the mountain is not always visible. On some days it is visible and some days it is not. Infact for the first 2 or 3 days, I didnot even know that it existed. One morning I was surprised to see that there was a mountain right in front of the canteen(at some distance ofcourse)...it was like how suddenly a mountain pops up in fantasy movies. From then on, I make it a point to see if the mountain is visible that day or not.

9. Food outlets - I have been experimenting the 'Economy' category food joints around Gandhipuram(CBE). They are all good - except for one. My picks are Anadha's and Arya.

10. IPod - Recently I asked my friend Ananth to delete everything from my ipod and load with the ones in his. It has a good collection now including some books. I liked one chapter in "The natural mind". Rest of the book was boring. Yet to listen to the other books. Great thing about Ananth's collection was that it had "Rock On" and "Delhi-6". After Vinnaithandi Varuvaya, all time favorites are "Rehna Tu" and "Yeh Tumahari Meri Bathein"....and "Wicked Games" (purchased from Apple Store - courtesy Siva).

11. There's a 11th one too. I used not to give a single rupee to healthy beggars under the pretext not to encourage lazy men/women. I realized lately that I myself havent contributed a minute for world peace or quantum physics inspite of having no trouble with education or opportunity. So, I am always on the look out for beggars - especially after dinner (ha...ha..roll drums)!

What's up with me!! - Part II

This post was supposed to be a continuation of "What's up with me" after I returned to India featuring my days so far at Coimbatore. When I was half done with it..I realised that it had no 'reader attractive element'. So, decided to skip it.
(It was boring to the extent that even Srikkanth would not have wanted to read more. Usually, he is the one who asks for more).

What's up with me!! - Part I

To the dear and finite souls that continue to read my blog...due to shortage of time and unavailability of net connection, I havent been doing much in the name of writing except for the official emails that start with "Hi" and end with "let me know if you have any questions". So, here is an account of what's been happening since I left Appleton soil (covered by snow for the most part).

Landed in India expecting some kind of vibration, theme music, nostalgia etc...then realised that they happen only in movies. Chennai gave me a "very warm" welcome soaking me with sweat, the moment I stepped out of the airport - at 2am in September. Well..Chennai can't change itself just because one of its Returning Indian is used to sub-zero degrees. Let us cut here and open at Coimbatore airport where my dad and mom were waiting to receive their proud son. As I came out of the luggage area my mother snapped a photo with our old Canon film-roll camera.

Soon I was back on Indian roads, the car being driven on the left. Reached home to a hearty reception by my aunts, uncles, cousins, nephew, niece, neighbours, friends, (no Romans) and country men. The next couple of days went in distributing the gifts and chocolates, and giving accounts to the eager minds, about the food, transport, weather, rent, price of cabbage, pin code format etc in US ("What(surprise version)? No mosquitos in Appleton!!"...."Yes, but we had bed bugs"..."What(shock version)?).

Fast forwarding to the early morning arrival at Chennai - I was received by the taxi and auto drivers whose only objective that early morning was to serve me with pleasure. At Triplicane(according to my friend)/Chepauk(according to the auto driver), I got down and paid 70 Indian Rupess applying Duckworth Lewis formula for distance between Triplicane and Chepauk.

My friend took me to the mansion where he was staying with 3 other guys in a room. Being the guest, I was given one of the beds. I woke up late (excuse - "let others get ready and go to office"). I was going to report only on next Monday, but had come to Chennai earlier to follow up on some pending activities like checking my investment returns (hey, doesnt that sound big), changing the communication address in my bank account, applying for a new debit card ("Sir, there is an annual fee for the card, whether you are in IT field or in the Bermuda's magnetic field"). Visited Seshu at his home. Met some college friends and friends at work ("why did you come back? Recession"..."No I came back for the love of my motherland, to serve this nation and its poor people and to be served by the costly Chennai restaurants").
On the very first day, Seral and Suren took me across the lengths of Chennai, from TNagar to Mount Road to Besant Nagar to Marina.

Finally, went to office to the looks of "who is this phony guys?".."here is the scoundrel who moved my cheese". My seat and task1 was already waiting for me. I had a big list of to-do, the most important of them being to choose, form and train a team that will support from Coimbatore, the applications, for which I was one of the SMEs. Yes you read it right - COIMBATORE - shortly, CBE.

Choosing the team was more like choosing players for Lagan team ("Can I ask you a DB2 question?"..."No Dont"). The first few resumes were very disappointing. As days went by, I had to change my expectations and was happy to have finally found the "chosen few". Let us cut it short with some quick hints..."Srividhya leaves the team - Baskar leaves the team - Ravee leaves the team - BID project construction starts - TPM rewrite project work starts - Still recovering from the aftermath of OTC project - Weekend jobs run late - KT continues - Triplicane is one of the best places to live in Chennai,at least from food perspective, if you leave late every night from office.

Suresh returned from Hyderabad, Macho came to Chennai on vacation, Vinayak got married, Seral was getting ready for marriage, Suren shifted to Coimbatore and got married, Srikk came for vacation and got engaged, Kamesh got married - that was winter of 2009.

Ok, before we move on to Coimbatore (at this point, I decide to add "Part - I" to the title), a short note about my friends at the Triplicane mansion:

Thoughy my stay at the mansion was for a very short time (3 months) and within the 3 months I was in the room only to sleep, the folks around were very nice to me and very friendly. If I had fever(quite a few times), they took me to the doctor, arranged for "rasam sadham", hot water - things that I have not done to my best friends. If I returned early from office, they were more happy than me. The weekend before I travelled to report at CBE, they arranged for a trip to Pazhaverkaadu. We went on a boat to an island which reminded my SFO trip which was the last in US. I missed my Appleton friends, but these guys made up for it.

To Appleton - with love

My flight to Appleton was cancelled due to fog and heavy winds in Chicago. After spending a few anxious hours in Chicago airport watching a couple more flights going "CANC", eventually, I got a seat in the last flight of the day to Appleton. When the flight reached Appleton it was very late and damn cold. I was supposed to call Roopesh to pick me up, but his mobile number was not an Appleton number and hence could not call him using the courtesy telephone (only local calls allowed). I did not have a single cent in change. I did not know where my lodging had been arranged. While I was wondering how to reach Roopesh, an Indian lad walked towards me and asked if I was from Chennai. I asked him if he worked for Cognizant too. We both were glad to have the company of an Indian at that point.

"I am Saravanan. I just got transferred from Knoxville"

"I am Bhupesh. I am...uh...first time to US"

"Where will you stay?"

"I dont know. My accommodation is arranged, but Roopesh knows the details"

"Roopesh..?"

"yes"

"and you are..?"

"Bhupesh"

"I plan to rent a room at Candlewood Suites and also a car. Would you like to join?"

If you have ever been in such a situation, you will understand, how happy I felt to hear that. Saravana rented a car and found our way to Candlewood Suites. "This is the first time I am driving in US"...he said. Having not eaten for more than eight hours, I was absolutely exhausted to say anything at all....I didn't even mind that he was driving on the left - until he realised it himself!! Saravana took me to Wal-Mart. Only after encashing my Travellers Cheques, I got a little easy.

In those first few hours at Appleton, obviously, I could not form any opinion about the town. I slept the rest of the night.

When I woke up on the morning of April 4th, 2007, the roofs of the nearby buildings were all white. 'Some regulation' I thought...until realizing that the whiteness was due to snow. We were in office at 8am. I was introduced to my supervisors and team-mates. ("I am Sarada Kanth. Call me Sarada Kanth!!"). The office looked the same everywhere. Everytime I got out of my desk, it was tough to find the way back to my desk. So, I stuck to my desk mostly.

Due to the uncertainity in Siva's tenure at onshore, I, Jai and Saravana rented Apt #6, McCarthy Creek, 1485 North McCarthy Road, Appleton which was to be our abode for the next 2.5 years and also served as our cricket pitch for about 1 year (even after Jai broke the ceiling lamp while enjoying the follow through of his cover-drive).

Siva stayed with Aravind, Sathya and Ranjeeth. The first few evenings were spent in their apartment - three reasons - 1. They were the only guys we knew 2. They had internet connection 3. Aravind made sure the fridge was filled with snacks, Indian and Western. In office, most of my time was spent in trying to stay awake and occassionally attending some knowledge transition sessions when Esai and Saradakanth did not have time for it. In those days (and probably in the entire history of Appleton), we were the only clowns who walked through Wisconsin and College avenues. Jai started his first accounting task when he calculated the money we spent for taxi and discovered that it would be beneficial to rent a car. We rented a Corolla. From then on he was the finance minister for our apartment and most trips.

Within the first 10 days, I witnessed snow for the first time in life. Well...actually, I witnessed burgers, exits, huge parking spaces, etc for the first time.

It took a while to settle down with an SSN, bank account, internet, microwave oven and a casket for the cooker. We used to go to Ifti's apartment every weekend, watch some movie, take dinner prepared by Mani, Ifti and Ananth. Our other favorite hang out place was fox river mall (others enjoyed, while I usually was very anxious about the production support call, I "might" get).

Soon Ifti got married. Siva went back to India (only to return in 4 months and join us at #6, 1485). Mani shifted to our apartment temporarily. We learnt to cook, shop, plan trips and order pizza by watching Mani. We went to the tennis court regularly (but the only court that Mani showed interest in was "court"ing Geetha over phone).

Regular production support calls, Oshkosh in 20 minutes drive, Milwaukee in 2 hrs drive, Chicago in 3 hrs drive, Dells City in 1.5 hrs drive and with Mani around, weekends were always eventful. As Mani used to put it, we were involved in some "activity" always.

Once Siva and Jai got cars, there were very few places in and around Appleton that we did not explore. Movie halls, restaurants, dance floors, bowling alleys, shopping malls - just to generalize a few. As months rolled, we had more Cognizant folks coming to Appleton and our group got bigger, each one bringing a different dimension to the group.

A big group meant, lot of OC food, poker nights, constant leg-pulling, arguments and discussions (courtesy - Srikk, Seshu and Ilavenil). When the weather allowed, we planned for trips outside Appleton. Overall - great fun.

I was a mini-Gajini in that, I planned to return to India a dozen times, before the management was finally convinced that I could go back, after the OTC project went live. The date was fixed as September 13th, 2009. On the morning of the 13th, Prashanth rang the door bell, sticking to his military precision at 4.45am. I was anxious about being in time for the flight and the luggage weight....and did not think much about leaving the place that I dwelled in for 2.5 years. When I finally crossed the security check and sat at the gate1 waiting area, I felt a chill in the heart...because I was leaving the place where I had a warm stay, in spite of the cold weather. The feeling of seperation was second only to the one I had while leaving the college campus after the 4 years. That was 5.5 years back. Back then, I thought my best friends were the ones I acquired in college....but I enjoyed equally great and greater friendship at Appleton. I boarded the flight with the hopes of travelling again in the fox valley cabs.

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The trips:

My first big trip was the one to Chicago on 27th May, 2007, when I witnessed sky-scrappers for the first time. Can never forget our entry into the city with 'Desert Roses' playing the stereo and the rain drenched walk, through the streets of Chicago Downtown.

Niagara was on the top of my list 'to visist' in US. I was lucky to visit twice...the first time with Bhaskar, Aravind, Ranjeeth, Santosh and Murali and the second time with Siva, Srikk, Kamesh and Jai.

Dells City - the home of theme parks. It is always fun to stay drenched in water, may be something we carry from our childhood. We went two times and both times to Noah's Ark. The visit to the mystery castle was fun. Thanks to Krithika for all the pestering and gathering the crowd.

New York - Our most tightly packed trip. We covered, Times Square, Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge, Wax museum in a single night - mostly by walk and then stood in the queue for almost 2 hours to visit Statue of Liberty the following day.

Nordic Hills - The snow tubing trip at the end of winter, that expanded my friend's circle.

Minneapolis - Hevay snow fall, Christmas eve, Chevy Impala, an excited Siva and the 100mph drive with poor visibility. Add, 'I am Legend'.

Las Vegas - Again a spot that I visted twice - Fremont experience and Stratospehere 'Big Shot' being the best moments.

Grand Canyon - Didnt live upto the expectation, especially because of the exhausting, low altitude flight journey.

Yellowstone - Top of them all. 2 days with natures inc.

SFO - the last and final tour in US. I got to set foot on the beaches of pacific.
Cant forget the 'presidio' that we almost visted :) (the road diverted near the entrance to the presidio and led us out of SFO). We made it to the flight in the last moment.

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A few spots in Appleton, that I wanted to write specifically about:

China Moon - Most of the time we used to start late for dinner on Fridays/Saturdays. China Moon was the only restaurat that was open after 10pm and served likeable vegetarian food. Most times, the restaurant owners were the only people who gave us company there. More than me, Siva will remember me ordering 'Lemon Chicken'. The waitress came with a huge lemon in a bowl and chicken in a plate.

Burger King, Taco Bell (College Avenue) and Chipotle - When Sriram or Srikkanth did not invite us for dinner, and we were lazy to cook (read - "most of the time"), these two places were our fast food choices.

Confucius - Siva's permanent choice because of the Russian waitress there.

Sairam and Indian Darbar - On occassions when Seshu was persistant about Indian restaurant...well...no other choice.

Roopesh' apartment - Roopesh and Sushmitha always invited us for Indian festivals for lunch or dinner. Though I am not a religious person, I did not want to miss the "kozhukkattai", "sundal" or "pongal".

Wal-mart Supercenter (MutualWay)- This was the first store I went to in Appleton and the last but one.

Great Clipps - There were places that did hair-cut cheaper, but preferred my hair to be handled by the same set of people.

Noodles and Company - My personal favorite. One of my goals was to try everything in their menu at least once. When I left Appleton, I still had not tried two of their items.

Olive Gardens - Universal favorite for our group - especially the minestrone soup.

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Claimer: There were more friends in Appleton than the names I have mentioned in this post. I hereby claim that each one of them is important and I cherish them all equally :)