some competition?

I saw Amanda and Matt at lunch today. Amanda tells me that she will "kick my ass" in racquetball when I get back to Coe..hehe..We'll see about that. I am sure Matt and Amanda will be worhy adversaries soon because they play hard. Amanda has the killer instinct in this game because she doesn't shy away from killing the ball when she has the oppurtunity. You know, they might actually beat me when I play them next month because I will have no practice for a month. I guess it should be interesting because they improved a helluva lot in just 10 days, saying anything else would be an understatement. Me and Amanda give so much of shit to each other, it's more fun that way. Well, I have hit her quite a few times....

Alimento Italiano

I went to bed earlier than usual, ie. before 1 am. I got up at 8.15 without the alarm, I was very surprised. Actually I was kinda scared initially because I thought I have overslept again. At work, I typed up a bit more and I have been waiting for Greg's results section to put in. I emailed Doc yesteday asking him a few questions about the paper. I just sent him another email telling him that I can't find the notebooks or papers dealing with the Raman studies from last summer or NMR studies from Canada. I am waiting to see what he says. I don't want to write about something I don't fully comprehend yet. We had Italian food from Biaggi's. It was good, and I made sure I didn't over eat this time because I still wanted to run and workout in the evening before swing dancing with Kiki. I should be done dancing by 7.45 as far as I know and I will try to complete my packing.

This is for you babe!

"When You Say Nothing At All"

It's amazing
How you can speak
Right to my heart
Without saying a word,
You can light up the dark
Try as I may
I could never explain
What I hear when
You don't say a thing

[CHORUS:]
The smile on your face
Lets me know
That you need me
There's a truth
In your eyes
Saying you'll never leave me
The touch of your hand says
You'll catch me
Whenever I fall
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all

All day long
I can hear people
Talking out loud
But when you hold me near
You drown out the crowd
(The crowd)
Try as they may
They can never define
What's been said
Between your
Heart and mine

[Repeat chorus twice]

(You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all)

The smile on your face
The truth in your eyes
The touch of your hand
Let's me know
That you need me

[Repeat chorus]

(You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all)

The smile on your face
The truth in your eyes
The touch of your hand
Let's me know
That you need me

(You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all
You say it best
When you say
Nothing at all)

            --Ronan Keating

[Listening to: Love Is The Movement - Switchfoot - Learning To Breathe (5:10)]

A must-see

I found this video while randomly going through blogs. You should see the entire video. Amazing, electrifying talent! For all you out there who has ever played Mario. This is bound to crack you up. I watched the whole thing with people watching it around me. We were all in hysteria! Enjoy

http://gprime.net/video/blindfoldedmariopianist2.php/

I am SORE!

I must have been very tired last night because I slept through my alarm in the morning. I woke up at 9.45, and saw that Bhav left me a message but she had already left before I replied to her. I got ready quick and head out to work by 10.15. My upper left thigh was pretty sore. It must have been from the marathon racquet ball I played yesterday. There is a lot of jerking involved and I hadn't played for a while. While Matt and Amanda have been playing every day, and so their muscles are used to it. And they are much fitter than I am. Anyway, I got to work and finished the experimental procedure section of the paper and started on the discussion. I asked Greg to try to finish the results section by tomorrow so that I can include that in. The high point of the day was the video of the guys playing Mario video game's music first blind folded and then takes him blind fold and goes crazy on the piano. I found some more blogs that I will add to my watchlist. My cd player is pissing me off because it doesnt play the last tracks with out pausing. I don't know what's wrong with it. The rechargeables in the cd player lasts only for 5-6 hours on a full charge. It's nowhere close to the advertised 18 hour capacity. I think I will look around for another mp3 player and this time buy it from a store so that i can take it in and get it serviced if there is a problem. I chatted with andi briefly before she had to go to baby sit. I went running at 5.45. I ran for 32 minutes sprinting the last 80 metres!!! Thats 4 miles!! I think I need music while running because after 15 minutes of running, it becomes monotonous and I need something to keep my tempo. I tried doing math in my head but that lasted only for 10 mins. I couldn't lift much because my arms were kinda sore again which was weird. I however did play racquet ball again. I had a good workout playing because I actually had to move to score points. I am still missing shots I don't think I should miss. I got back, watched TV, and started packing. Since I am leaving on thursday, i thought I might get a head start. I have packed all my shirts and trousers/jeans. I will be taking about 20 t-shirts and 4 pairs of long pants. I still have to gather the rest of the stuff that I will be taking. I chatted with Jessi for a while because I haven't seen her in a few days. I will catch up with her after I try out aerials with Kiki tomorrow. Kiran, one of my friends from way back when in hyderabad is moving near Chicago. I will see him on Sunday and catch up with him after a loooong time. This should be fun! Andi messaged when she got back from the baby sitting. She is wiped after today because she was busy all day and had only 4 hours of sleep. I have never seen my girl function offa 4 hours of sleep in the 10 months I have known her. I have actually had quite a few days when I slept for less than 5 hours...

[Listening to: Pink Triangle - Weezer - Pinkerton (3:58)]

A full day I'd gather

I talked to Andi last night when she asked me to call her around midnight. We had a long talk about me and my reaction with Urs. She got very frustrated with me getting pissy whenever I heard she was with him. She explained things again, and this time it actually got in my head and I felt much better. It's funny that she gets pissed and doesn't want to talk to me when I am mad at her. If it was me, I would get to the bottom of the problem. She just avoids confrontations all the time. I keep reiterating the fact that communication is essential in a relationship. I get frustrated too when she keeps things from me and bottles them up inside because she rather not talk about it as the situation might get uncomfortable. She does say the things on her mind, it just takes a lot of patience for me to wait for her to come to me. I told her that I wouldn't call her for the rest of the week unless she wanted to talk to me. If she wants to hang out with her ex, she can because he is leaving in a couple of weeks and the fact that she hasn't seen him for a year since she last summer that they broke up. I know the feeling as I realized yesterday that it was similar to when I met Bhavya in January 2004 at Hyderabad. I spent more than half the time there with her just hanging out. If I am insecure about this relationship just because she is spending most of her time with her ex-boyfriend at home, she could be too because of the amount of time I spend with my female friends and how close I am to them. And the fact that all of them are good looking and physically attractive. I don't know if she knows that I find her absolutely irresistible and thats more than what I can say for my other friends. From what I was told, she had asked people what the deal was with me having so many female friends early when I was getting to know her. I found that rather amusing. Doll called while I was talking to Andi but I didn't take the call because I knew Andi would be pissed if I kept her on hold. I called Doll back after I was done talking to my girl. She called to see if I was feeling better. I remember messaging her in the afternoon when I was vis-à-vis early in the attempt to simmer down. Doll was rather subdued for some reason. I told her that I was fine, and talking to Andi helped. I talked to her till 2.30 because I didn't have to get to work early as Doc was not around.
               I actually woke up easily at 8.30 and got to work earlier than everyone else under Doc. I started on my monster paper which is supposed to comprise of all the information we have gathered about alkali borates made by the solution method. I have realized this summer that what I do is more of physical chemistry and a bit of physics involved in the analysis of the glass. I got through the abstract, introduction and a third of the experimental procedure. I am aiming to finish the procedure and start on results. I hope Greg finishes his data acquisition and tweaking to get molar volumes and packing fractions as well because I have to include those graphs as well. Apart from that, I started browsing through recently updated blogs. I found a lot of blogs that will be on my watch list. I might list them on my blog as well. After I got back from lunch, I talked to Ali for a while. I think she is flirting with me because she wants me to come to birthday celebration even though she doesn't really know me because we had sustained contact at Kevin's party for the first time. I think a girl is flirting if she is being overly friendly and is doing a shit load of smiling. I left work at 4.30 and I don't remember what I did till I left to the racquet center. I got there to find Amanda and Matt playing RB. And I hadn't played for a few days. So, I decided to play with them. Amanda actually likes to play with me now because I play hard with her. She has improved a helluva lot, damn! I actually had to work for my points a bit. She is the toughest girl I have ever played. I like playing with someone who is competitive and wants me to play hard. She is also picking up more of my tough serves. I played Matt after her, and he is quick! We did threes after that. I played for over 90 minutes straight and it was a fantastic workout. I didn't feel like running after that because my leg muscles were tight. I think I am going to keep playing with them because it is helping me getting back into the groove. I am serving hard and low now which turnout relatively consistently. I am still missing shots I should not be missing but I assume that will change after enough practice. I got back from playing to find that internet was down which was a bummer. So I watched TV while eating hot dogs and drinking beer than Dustin got me. The beer was good, it was actually wheat ale I think. I went over to Jon's room and downloaded some of his music and I have been listening to it since then. I read a few of the magazines that I picked up at the mail room. The Maxim issue this month is pretty interesting, it has a hilarious survey and a lot of scantily clad personalities. I will write about the survey sometime tomorrow when I have more time. Although I think I will get some of my packing done tomorrow night because I might leave for Andi's on Thursday. She wants me to go to a swing dance thing at downtown Chicago. I will also be going to the Des Moines swing dance with Kiki on Wednesday. She got her DVDs of aerials. I will go over sometime tomorrow evening and try them out with her. I talked to my cousin and Doll for a bit. Doll still cracks me up sometimes with her protracted innocence about amm..you know..stuff..hehe

[Listening to: Memory - Sugarcult - Palm Trees And Power Lines (3:46)]

Yahoo! News - New Text-Messaging Speed Record Set

Yahoo! News - New Text-Messaging Speed Record Set


One for the text messaging nuts!

I might have a new allergy

Fighting the awkward feeling I have when I call Andi, I did call her. And then I heard that she was hanging out with her ex again at home. The moment I heard his name, my voice choked and I couldn't get myself to talk to her any more then. So, I talked to Carlo since he is leaving tomorrow. It was good to catch up with him and promised to keep in touch by the internet. I actually will try hard to meet him when I go to Italy next summer. He has been an awesome friend, I have never connected with a guy so quickly. I felt like if I had seen him more, I would have gotten to know him very well. It took me over an hour to shut myself down after calling her. I have never lost control of my emotions like this for sometime. I couldn't talk. I couldn't stop the cussing in my head. I paced around in the room listening to loud music for about 30 minutes. After I folded my laundry, I started gaining control. And then soon, I was basically shut down and my head turned quiet. It sapped a lot of my energy out in the process of cooling down. I have realized that I have never felt good on the mention of Urs since she first talked about him. It almost seems like I have an allergic reaction to his name. Seriously, this shouldn't be affecting me like this, and I don't know why I keep feeling like that. It could be the fact that I feel Andi is not making any time for me, and the time I get to talk to her is when she is half asleep. And she has been hanging out with him a lot, geez, every time I have called he is around or she is with him or going to see him. She keeps telling me not to worry, but that isn't making me feel any better. I am finding it very difficult to deal with this alone. I would feel better if she made some quality time to talk to me. Or maybe im me or something. It feels like I am forgotten. I guess that happens when you have friends around but when you are alone, you think about the other person. Doll's surprised that we don't have contact even once a day when I told her that I talked to her every third or fourth day. She thought that's how it went if two people were dating.
            I wonder if I am being taught a lesson. Life's a bitch, deal with it and learn from your mistakes. Andi is the only uncontrollable( and huge) variable in my life now. I control other spheres in my life with the things I do or don't do... But I guess thats life, not everything goes as you plan. I have noticed how most of the things in the past year are directly or indirectly related to Andi, and it's giving her a lot of credit. But its true. My grades are up, I actually made the Deans' list twice with tough classes. Friends I have made or had issues with are also related to her. Dancing classes was her idea, and I loved it. My parents actually realizing that their lil kid is maturing quick, and is capable of making tough adult decisions including relationships. It's funny how she has become the most important person in my life after family.

[Listening to: Everything You Want - Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want (4:16)]

first brunch in a couple of months

I felt like sleeping in till noon since I do it every weekend. But I was going to do brunch with Kristin and some of her friends. So, I had to wake up at 10 so that I could get there by 11. I got there and saw that I was the first person there after Matt. I helped cut the veggies for the omelettes. Kristin made omelettes, Liz made hash browns and Matt made the sausages. It was a good home cooked meal. Kristin does omelettes pretty well. We just stood around talking. It's really funny that when I get along with Kristin and talk to her, he sort of quieten downs. It almost seems like I am a threatening presence around her. But when it seems like we are not talking or something, he gets friendly with me. Another thing I have noticed about their relationship is that they don't touch each other at all. I touch Kristin in a manner of poking or tickling more than Kristin and Matt touch each other. No holding hands, no kisses even on the cheek. The relationship seems purely emotional which is wonderful, I don't ever see that. I know how alone time is good for a relationship, so whenever we are not in a group, I leave them alone. Sunny and Kristin also know how to make sure their boyfriends are not left alone. They were together all day when we were hanging out. I say these guys are lucky. Kristin and Sunny are two of the most wonderful people I have ever met, I am really lucky to have them as friends.

[Listening to: You Wanted More - American Pie - Music from the motion picture American Pie (3:52)]

talking is good!

Britta came online sometime earlier to tell me that she was sick of talking to people on the phone. So, we just chatted for a while. She told me about her time at home since I talked to her last. She is a wild thing..hehe.. She has been having a lot of fun and I dont think she thought it was possible. But as luck has it, the most unlikely things come to pass. Go Britta! She is attending a bridal shower tomorrow, that should be interesting. And then the moment I called and her phone started ringing, she msged me and told me to call her. and talk about coincidences, hahaha.. This is not the first time, its almost like I can read her mind or we are on the same wavelength. amazing. We talked to her for quite sometime and things fell into place. Lately, I really haven't been able to get a hold of her, but its ok because if I really need to talk to her, I'll tell her. I told her about the analysis of my last cell phone bill. I talked a grand total of 1600 minutes out of which Doll was about 500 mins, Andi was 350 mins, both of them forming the majority of the time used when I called them. I have realized that I spend a lot of time in the evening talking to my friends, and its all good! It seems like I talked to Doll every second or third day from my bill. Both Britta and Doll saw the pictures I posted today. I think the website is a good way for people to check my pictures without me having to worry about sending attachments and all. Maybe I will go to bed soon because I am eating brunch tomorrow morning with Kristin and some of her friends. I will get to see her before I leave for Japan. Well, she is going to China and it will be amazing for her. Both of us going abroad the same day. I might get to see her on July 7 because she is flying out of O'Hare at 12.55 pm and I depart at 12.00 pm. That will be fantastic!

[Listening to: A Tendency To start Fires - Bush - Razorblade Suitcase (4:04)]

Kristin and Matt. They look good together. Well, they are actually perfect for each other. I know both of them very well, Kristin from freshman spring and Matt from research and physics classes. 

Kristin giving me the cute smile and Sunny caught unawares at the buffet line in Metro Buffet. 

Thats me, Sunny and Alex in the car on the way to lunch. We are checking out the cool flip out LCD screen on my camera. 

The lovely couple who came down to visit us from Seattle! That's sunny and her boyfriend. 

We ate lunch at the Metro Buffet. From the top left clockwise, Me (joy), Sunny (Mary), Alex, Matt, and Kristin.  

a ray of sunshine

Mary got here at 11 in the morning. I went down to meet her and she looked different. She has been growing out her hair since I have seen her last. I like her look with the long hair, very cute. I also met her boyfriend Alex. He is a cool guy and I liked him from when I met him. He has a strong handshake, not many guys give firm hand shakes anymore. We found Kristin and hung out for a while at the Cosmos office. I saw their spankin' new G5's. They have 3 G5s with 19 inch flat panels and 1 G5 with a fantastic 23 inch wide flat panel display. This is stuff to drool over if there was any thing to drool over. A grand total of $16000 for these 4 computers, baby, they ain't cheap. We then went to Metro Buffet to do lunch. We tried a lot of stuff and we liked the food. I paid for lunch as my treat. It wasn't very expensive for the 5 of us, just $35. It was sunny and her boyfriend, Kristin, Matt and me. We then went shopping to Target and just fooled around. I love these girls, they have so much of kid left in them. They were playing with the toys we bought as kids, pressing tummies to hear the voices. Even Alex partook in this touch based fun. We then head back to Coe and went to the apartment where Kristin was staying since being here. We just chilled and talked and then started the mayhem. We started playing card games which involving hand slapping, ground tapping, vicious grabbing of spoons. We played spoons and 31. Spoons was so much of fun, it was funny how I kept getting in Matt's way to grab a spoon. Sometimes I was so quick that I grabbed two spoons at once. We had so much of fun! And then around 6, Sunny decided that they needed to get back since they were driving back to Rochester. I told her that I would go visit her at Seattle sometimes since she has been down here twice to meet me. I talked to Kristin about trying to go there maybe after she got back from Ireland. We were totally fine today, we laughed and poked and tickled each other. By the way, there was a lot of tickling and poking between me, mary and kristin. felt like old times! So, I am still getting mixed signals about our friendship. I guess I stil have to talk to her and figure stuff out. I got back and watched the Seige. And now, i am blogging. Britta called me but I missed her call. She said that she would call me back after she was done talking to someone on the phone. I think I might call Doll because she called me yesterday and I couldn't talk to her because I was partying.

[Listening to: Pink Triangle - Weezer - Pinkerton (3:58)]

CNN.com - Moore defends 'Fahrenheit' - Jun 25, 2004

CNN.com - Moore defends 'Fahrenheit' - Jun 25, 2004

Say, more heat for Fahrenheit..hehe..get it? What a pj!

buddies!

I woke up to sunny calling me in the morning to tell me that she was on her way down. She should be here anytime soon. And then, I saw Bhavya's messages and got really excited that I could finally chat with her. I also got her reply to the email I sent her. She has been checking my blog out. Her summer doesn't seem any different from her normal college life schedule because she is as busy as ever. If emails and weekends chats are all we can do, I think it's ok since that was primarily what we did during my freshman year. And her mom bought her a digital camera, so she has no excuses now regarding pictures. She wil have to take em and send them to me. I have 1 picture with her in the 5 years I have known her. Pretty amazing, huh? I have been chatting with her for a while..

[Listening to: Cold Hard Bitch - JET - Get Born (4:03)]

crazy night!

Marty drove me over to the theatre where we were going to watch Fahrenheit 9/11. We had to wait there for 30 mins to get in! And we saw a lot of coe people including staff and faculty. Due to the controversial nature of the movie, the manager of the theatre gave a disclaimer and also said that if he didnt get the movie in his theatre, this movie probably would not have shown in Cedar Rapids. This documentary TRASHES Bush, yup..that basically sums up the movie. I am pretty sure that this movie was biased and in some cases, quotes may have been taken out of context. But overall, this was very informational and sensationalist in nature. I don't think a republican could have lasted 5 mins through the movie. People clapped, cheered, jeered, flipped the President, it was all happening here. One of the most interesting parts of the movie was about the enlistment in the Iraq war and where they are getting most of their recruits. And the fact that only one out of the 550 congressmen's son was in the Iraq War. Mike Moore went out and tried to get other congressmen to sign up their sons but they all either refused or mostly ran away. Seems like a cowardly bunch since they are the ones who passes the decision on going to war. This movie was very intense, it made me say "what the @$#&?" quite a few times. However, it showed Saudis in a bad light although they were talking most about their business interests in the US. they apparently have a $850 BILLION invested in the financial and industrial US. they have over a trillion dollars in banks in the US, so if they were ever to remove their money, there goes the US economy. I wonder if Andi would want to see this movie with me, I would like her to give me the other side of the equation.
            I got back and went to Kevin's party. I had a few glasses of wine and some other stuff. And then, when the girls came, the craziness started. We all were grinding for a long time! And girls flashed. Ali flashed me thrice! It was a wonderful evening and night. I got to see Kevin and I went up to say hi to Kristin. I think I will call her later next week and I need to talk to her about stuff and get things straightened out. The reason for the party was because Sean came down to visit Joe and Kevin. How many friends would do that for you, drive 4 hours in the case of Sean and 8 hours in case of Kristin, just to see friends? Mary came down to Cedar Rapids primarily to see me. We are lucky.. I got to bed after 3!

[Listening to: Let You Know - Hoobastank - (3:39)]

CNN.com - Czech company?creates pot-flavored beverage - Jun 25, 2004

CNN.com - Czech company?creates pot-flavored beverage - Jun 25, 2004

This is hilarious! Pot flavored alcohol, what will they come up with next? tobacco flavored beverage for the smokers? This is so outrageous, it's absurd! damn!

postcards?

While going past the library in the morning, it hit that I never removed andi's postcard from the Rule of Four. I had checked it in a few days back, I found out that someone at the front desk had checked it out after me. But he found the postcard and left it in lost and found. So, I retrieved it and got it back to my room. I also got a postcard from Kit today that he sent from Washington DC. That was a nice gesture. I should ask him to send me his snail address so that I can send him a postcard from Japan. I didn't really do anything in the morning because the stuff I needed to use was already being used by other people. I made the 5.0 in the afternoon and it made glass!! I actually go a Tg for this one. I was surprised and so was Doc actually. He doesnt know what's going on in the structure for this trend. He was happy with the results. I talked to him because I wouldn't see him before I left for Japan. He gave me my perdiem check of $1276 for 13 days! I should be saving money from this trip. I should also get a big paycheck at the end of the month. All that is left to do is my paper which had to be a comprehensive account of everything in the solution method relating to alkali borates. That's a huge paper and I am supposed to do it by next thursday and hand in a relatively complete account! I think Greg will be helping me with the data acquisition.

[Listening to: For the Moments I Feel Faint - Relient K - The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek (3:47)]

got some time..

I just got talking to Andi. We talked about what went on during the past two weeks. And like usual, she was half asleep through the last part of the conversation. She admitted that she understood why I felt the way about her and her ex. I sort of told her what was going on in my head because I thought she ought to know. I know it's hard for her to balance her friendship with ex with our relationship. But I think it is normal for me to feel this way given the circumstances. And now comes the issue of when to talk, I am busy till 4-5 with work and then I exercise. So, I am done and am free post 8 but that's when she is out doing stuff or hanging out. And, the idea of talking to her being half asleep is losing its charm.. But if that the only time I can get, that's the only time I get. But then I am getting used to the calls in the night, and there is only another week here. I think what I told her earlier might have made her sad, but I had to tell her how I felt. If I wanted to bottle up my emotions, I probably could. But since we are being honest with each other, communication is good. I don't want her to bottle her feeling either. If she has a problem with anything that I am doing, I expect her to tell me so that we can discuss it. Bottling of emotions is bad, just like a dormant volcano waiting to erupt. But then there are always exceptions to the rule.

[Listening to: Don't Leave Home - Dido - Life For Rent (3:46)]

my mind's a turmoil

Ok..now, I have to sort through my thoughts since Andi has been back. Before she got back, I missed her but I was really good and happy all of the last two weeks. I had a few of the best weekends ever, even the setbacks at work couldn't get me down. And I got Andi's postcard the day she was supposed to get back, and that the euphoric high. And since, my mood being going sorta downhill. It started with her call at midnight when I got to bed. Her phonecall that woke me up was fine..and then she told me that the first thing she did was run with the younger people at home and go across town and see her ex-boyfriend. And then, they hung out at a sports bar. And the time she got to call me was past midnight. She got back early enough to atleast have called me and told me that she was back in town. I was actually waiting for her to call. I realized that they had been back when I saw her mom login in to AIM. The mention of her ex-boyfriend set it off. I couldn't really talk because I was on the verge of sleeping and my mind was mostly offline for the night, and I couldn't concentrate on the conversation. So, next morning I emailed her and said hi properly this time. I got back from work early and called her because she told me that she was free during the day. Only to find out that she couldn't talk to me because she was leaving to go and hang out with her ex-boyfriend. And then there was a party that she was going to with him. All the activities isn't what is bothering me because if it had been anyone but Urs, I could care less. And then she hung out with him all evening from what I got out of the short conversation I had with her just now. He is over at her house now. Now, the thing that is bothering me is that I haven't been able to talk to her properly since she has been back. and she is spending a LOT of time with Urs. I know he is there for a month but the gray area with ex-boyfriends is very thin. I trust her but when ever she tells me that she is with Urs, it makes my chest feel tight. I just wish she made time for me. I know I would have for her. If it came between talking to andi if at that point I hadn't talked to her for a while, and hanging out with a friend, it would be a no brainer for me. I want her to hang out with her friends and have fun. But this now just doesnt feel right to me. She told me about her ex-boyfriend and related stuff especially about the breakup, and thats the reason my mind's not at ease eventhough I trust Andi. Something to break trust can happen in a split second. I know that pretty well, so I try to stay away from such situations if possible or be careful otherwise. I am now worried about my stay there before I leave for Japan because Urs will be around for sure. And I know its going to be awkward with him with Andi around, although I am curious to meet him in person. I wonder how she would react if this was happening to her. I have noticed that Kristin and Matt chat or talk everyday even if it's for 10 minutes. I called Andi and sounded pretty bad, and I felt crappy because of the way I sounded.

[Listening to: ben folds five - selfless, cold and composed - Ben Folds Five - (6:10)]

busy bee

After work, I played racquetball with Jon. It was a good warmup for the rest of the time at the racquet center. I then ran briskly for 5 mins and sprinted about 280 metres in 40 seconds. I then walked the 280 metres and saw that I made it in 2 m 20 secs. I can normally do that running in 1 m 10 s. So I think I do a good pace. I then played with Amanda. She is a tennis player and her skills come into focus when playing RB. I have never seen a girl kill the ball the way she has. It's been one of the most intense couple of games with a girl. I think if she keeps playing, she will be a very capable player. I did however win both the games because I serve hard and low and then haven't been able to come up with a good counter yet. I hurried back because I had to shower because I met Jessi to go the movie. We met Jenna there and it was really good to see her. Kill Bill 2 wasn't as gory as the first one. Jessi was very impressed with Uma Thurman and now is her role model. The three of us talked and then I saw Marty there. So, I talked to him for a while and then heard they were watching Fahrenheit 9/11. So, I went and bought a ticket for tomorrow. I think it will be a good movie/documentary. I wonder if it will make me as sad as Bowling for Columbine. I got back and went over to Jessi's for a while. I then felt like talking to Andi so I left. I called Andi sometime back and her ex-boyfriend was over and they were hanging out. So, she says she'll call me back at 11.30....

[Listening to: Last Train Home - Lostprophets - Start Something (4:03)]

Found this on a blog!

"Women might be able to fake orgasms. But men can fake a whole
relationship."
Sharon Stone

"There are a number of mechanical devices which increase sexual arousal, particularly in women. Chief among these is the Mercedes-Benz 380SL."
Lynn Lavner

"Hockey is a sport for white men. Basketball is a sport for black men. Golf is a sport for white men dressed like black pimps."
Tiger Woods

"Clinton lied. A man might forget where he parks or where he lives,
but he never forgets oral sex, no matter how bad it is."
Barbara Bush
(Former US First Lady, and you didn't think Barbara had a sense of humor)

"Ah, yes, divorce, from the Latin word meaning to rip out a man's genitals through his wallet."
Robin Williams

"According to a new survey, women say they feel more comfortable undressing in front of men than they do undressing in front of other women. They say that women are too judgmental, where, of course, men are just grateful."
Robert De Niro

"There's a new medical crisis. Doctors are reporting that many men are having allergic reactions to latex condoms. They say they cause severe swelling. So what's the problem?"
Dustin Hoffman

"It isn't premarital sex if you have no intention of getting married."
George Burns

so close!

I made the 4.0 in the N2 environment glove box and it seemed like it made wonderful clear glass and lot of it. But then when we ran the DSC, it didn't give us a Tg. So, it didnt make glass. Apparently the 4.0 wants to make crystal more than glass. I will be trying a 5.0 just to check but somehow I don't think that will make glass. We also did a 2.0 and got a good density result. I am now in a work mode, because I stayed till 12.45 doing density instead of going to lunch at 12.

Jessi called and asked if I wanted to go see Kill Bill Vol.2 with her and Jenna. I want to see the movie so I think I am going with them. I haven't seen Jenna in a while so I get to meet up with her.

maybe that was rude

I think I might apologize to Jessi for talking to Britta while I was at her place. The reason I talked to Britta then because she started watching a movie and I had seen it before... I wonder if that was rude or ok..After I was done talking, Jessi went to bed rather quickly. That is what prompted the thought last night.

8 more days at Coe

Since I slept before midnight for the first time this summer, I got up at 7.30 effortlessly. After I got to work, I checked up on the solution that I had made before the softball game. It was still bubbling, so I had to wait for that to dry out. This is the last glass in the borate family to make because I don't think even this composition can make glass. And compositions beyond R=3 was attacking the platinum crucible which was a bad thing. So, I switched to the carbon crucibles. We had chinese food for the wednesday luncheon which was great. But then food is good on wednesday anyway. Mario and Matt talked about their trip to China. It was a fun talk because they showed us a lot of pictures to places they had been and its history or significance. And after that Doc had a meeting where he wanted us to show the results we got so far. We are now almost done with the alkali borate family and are moving on to alkaline earth borates. He also gave us the friday before July 4th weekend off. So, I can leave early friday if I want to. I cleaned the crucible which had the green stains from reacting with the precipitate and found that it lost .08 g which is quite a lot actually.
I got back from work at 4.30 and tried calling Andi but she had to leave to hang out with her ex-boyfriend. I called Britta but couldn't talk to her then because her mom was expecting a call. So, I napped for about 30 minutes before Jessi called me to tell me that she was on her way from work. I got ready and went down to Gage to meet her. We ran for 17 minutes again at the same quick pace and I was pretty tired at the end of the run. We lifted weights for a while and talked. I introduced her to Matt and Amanda after she reminded me too. That's because we seem them exercising at the racquet center everyday and I talk to them and its the courteous thing to do. I got back and took a shower and ate. I watched X2 for a while before Jessi headed over to the Writing Center to work off her hours. I went down there and hung out with her to give her some company and I didn't feel like being alone. So, we basically talked again.
I have realized that she is the only friend that I had since freshman year that I haven't had any problems with. We have always been open and frank in our friendship. She asked me why marijauna was illegal while cigarettes and alchohol was legal. She gave me a convincing argument for the legalization of marijuana. I couldn't think of anything to counter it. Although, she thinks marijuana could be made legal, she is personally against doing any form of drugs herself. She draws the lines at drugs at marijuana. Weed apparently is not habit forming, cigarettes are more habit forming and dangerous to health. Alcohol had the same numbing sensation as weed yet it's legal. I want to talk to someone against the legalization of marijuana and hear their counter argument.
Britta called me while I was at the writing center and I called her back when I was at Jessi's apartment later. I talked to her for half an hour because she had to get to bed early. She had to take her mom to Wichita for a doctor's appointment. She is having fun there and it's good to hear. I'll call her sometime in the next few days again. I got back and went to talk to Matt and Andi called when I wasn't in the room. When I got back I saw her missed call and message and called back. But I think I woke her mom up and felt bad about it. I left a message for her anyway. I watched the rest of X2 because I wasn't sleepy at midnight.

miss my girl

I am still working at peterson but I feel like talking to Andi. Unfortunately, I still have stuff thats going on that I can't leave..damn..I might call her before I go running if she is around. She called last night but I couldn't talk to her properly because I was half asleep. That's a complete reversal for the first time EVER because she is usually half asleep when I talk to her in the night.

searching for cerulean

I was always curious to about the meaning or definition of cerulean. My interest was partially due to a screen name and then I also noticed that Trillian was developed by Cerulean Studios. This is the definition I found when I searched Yahoo!. Cerulean is Cerulean2485's favorite color. It makes sense now.

cerulean
SYLLABICATION: ce ru le an
ADJECTIVE: Azure; sky-blue.
ETYMOLOGY: From Latin caeruleus, dark blue; akin to akin to caelum, sky.

lotsa sports!

Today's research was pretty mundane. The 3.5 didn't make glass because the DSC did not yield a Tg. So, we are going to try 4.0 the last and then move on to alkaline earth borates. We emailed Kodama to see if he had the details about the starting materials to use. I guess we wait for his reply to move beyond lithium borate. We got our asses whooped in softball yet again, a 10-1 defeat which seemed better than the ass kicking 24-3 we lost last summer. I got to talk to Kiki for a bit because she played for the economics department. And then, me, Greg and Jon played quite a few games of racquetball which was awesome. The last two games with Greg were the best of the lot because I actually got a workout. I think I will be playing more with them from now on. I will try to convince Amanda to play with us as well because I know Matt wants to. I haven't seen any girl kill the ball the way Amanda does, although its her tennis techniques coming into play. I tried running but I couldn't because my sides started hurting. It was probably due to the fact that I ate barbeque stuff an hour and a half before attempting to run. I did do weights though. I got back and watched some TV. So, this day has been good so far. I called Britta to see if she was around, but she wasn't. I also think Andi gets back tonight, although I don't know when. I'll probably get to talk to her tomorrow.

[Listening to: Open Your Eyes - 12 Stones - 12 Stones (3:11)]

I got mail!

I got a postcard, I got a postcard, from my girl! I feel special and happy all over, yaayyy! Makes my day all better:).

Doll read cerulean2485's monologue. She thinks that cerulean2485 really cares for me and has a fun humor streak . I concur. I really care for cerulean2485, a LOT! Who is this mystery person?

[Listening to: shelter - Sonicflood - Cry Holy (4:25)]

the souvenir on my butt!

The 6 inch gash on my butt from the hiking at Jessi's still hurts. If I sit awkwardly, walk or stretch, it stings. I somehow feel worse for the pair of jeans that I tattered due to the slip because they weren't mine..

[Listening to: Turn the Tides - 38th Parallel - Turn the Tides (2:49)]

slooooow!

Damn! I slept through the friggin' alarm again and woke up at 10.15. I showered and tottered to work to find out that Greg got to work late too. We spent all day working on a single glass sample. We were trying to find the temperature at which the precipitate melted. We however got really good density and Tg measurements. I stayed over late because I got to work late. I then went running with Jessi. We took my route but our pace was quicker than what I normally ran at. It normally took me 20 minutes to run in my circuit but with Jessi, we did it it 17 mins. I was out of breath by the time I was done. It's a good thing that I can keep running and pushing myself to go farther than I normally would. I played 3 player racquetball with Matt and Amanda. Both me and Matt played hard while Amanda didn't. I talked to Matt later and he told me that she didn't have fun playing. Maybe if I play with them again, I need to slow my pace down. I think the best way to play is 1-1 so that noone gets left out. I was out of most of my food, so me and Jessi did a grocery run straight after exercising. I replenished my supplies and got back and showered and ate. I am planning on finishing my meat mix before it goes bad. I had to throw away half of my loaf of bread because it had fungus. I talked to Sagnik for a while. And then Jessi came over to return my keys and we talked for a while. And then I talked to Doll for a couple of hours about life, love and everything in between. I went to bed at 2 again! I am functioning offa 6 hours of sleep during the week. But thats not going to stop me from talking on the phone with the people I care about. I can always catch up on sleep during the weekend.

[Listening to: Won't Go Away - Vertical Horizon - GO (3:52)]

A few pictures from my weekend with Jessi. It was one of the best weekends ever!

The making of a bale 

Me with the calf 

Jessi on her calf 

Jessi and Dustin with their horses 

Me with one of the horses 

contact with bhav finally!

I checked mail in the morning to find an email from Bhavya replying to the ecard I sent to her on her birthday. It had been a couple of weeks since I had talked to her. She seems to be awefully busy and having internet problems. So, for now email should suffice she can't come online and chat. This is good.

what a weekend!

I got up in the morning to Jessi calling me and telling me that she was headed down to the writing center to start her 150 hours of paid work. I got ready and was about to head down there when she called again and said that she couldn't take it anymore down there. And then asked me to come home with her out of the blue and asked me to get ready in 25 minutes..lol! I got ready in about half an hour and we were on our way. I carried a book and my camera to try out there and basic necessities.. This would be the second time that I was going to spend a weekend on a farm. She lives about an hour east of Cedar Rapids. We got there around 2 and I noticed that the house and the surrounding garden and lawn was almost like that of Kit's. They had a wooden front porch with a swing. I got to meet her whole family then. I had seen Luke, her older brother before at Coe. The last time I saw Dustin was at one of his cross country meets which Jessi took me to. We had Sheik kababs which was pronounced Sheesh Kebabs. It was really good. I enjoyed the wholesome home cooked meal of the kebabs, corn, potatoes and the dessert, strawberry pie. She showed me around the house and then around the farm. She showed me her cows and a calf. I tried taking a picture with the calf but the picture turned out fuzzy unfortunately. I saw how a bale was made for the first time. If people want to get tanned, they should farm because all the guys in the house were brown! Jessi is tanned, but she is pale in comparision to her brothers. I took a picture of the bale coming out of the tractor that made bales. I then went along with Jessi and her brothers and father to de-pole. It's removing poles from the ground so that the fence can be extended. We also had to remove barbed wire off the poles before we could get the poles off the ground. I got stratched from the long grass and weeds and from the barbed wire..hehe.. It was very interesting to say the least. They also rent lot of land around which is currently on ten-year. They have a cabin by a river and she took me there to show the recent beach due to the flooding from the river. I also met her horses and pet em' and took a few pictures with them. We went to a graduation party for dinner. And then from there, Jessi, me and Dustin went to one of Jessi's better friend's home. We watched American Wedding. That movie is HILARIOUS! I couldn't stop laughing throughout the movie and I have seen it several times. Doll called me when I was there but I hardly had any reception there so I couldn't talk to her. I had little reception in her hometown.
The next day, Jessi woke me up at 10 instead of 8 because all of them woke up late. They were "supposed" to go to church..hehe.. Her mom made strawberry pancakes which were wonderful! And then, her dad opened up all his father's day presents. And then for the father's day activities, we went cave watching. We hiked around in one of their rented lands. Pretty early in the hike, I slipped on the slope and tore the jeans I was wearing. I slipped about 4 feet and broke a tree that would have been useful on the climb up..oops.. My butt hurt after that, I think it cut my butt and I touched around to see if there was any blood. I think there was a bit but not a whole lot. I was ok. Hiking is thrilling because I don't want to slip, so with my heart in my mouth, I was extremely careful. I think I was slowing them down because I was paying a lot of attention to my foot and handholds. It was a fantastic experience like the one I had with andi and her family. This was just a level higher in thrill factor. Jessi's lil brother was watching out for me which was good becuase he was the one who broke my fall earlier. Her mom's an avid photographer, so she was taking pictures of us hiking. After that I got back and showered. And then headed over to her grandparent's house for dinner. I met her extended paternal family. She apparently is not too close with them. We shot hoops outside till the tacos arrived. And then we ate. I sat there and watched her family talk. It reminded me of my extended family back home. I don't know if they have ever been around an international student before or not because they kept looking at me. Especially one of the 16 year old cousins. I noticed that she kept looking at me but wouldn't come forward and talk..strange! The funniest part was that they thought I was Jessi's boyfriend. I don't know what would have given them that idea because Jessi told them I had a girlfriend. I just laughed when Jessi told me that. We head back to Coe around 8.30 and got back to my room at 9.15. I finally called Doll and talked to her for a bit. And then I went upstairs to talk to Matt, Amanda and Jill. It's fun talking to them about different things.

[Listening to: Not Of This Earth - Robbie Williams - Bridget Jones' Diary OST (4:41)]

a fun night out!

Friday was our most productive day yet. We made 3 glasses and ran Tg's and densities on them. We got really good results. The 3.0 turned out to be more crystal than glass but since we weren't sure we just ran a Tg because having any crystal would screw up a proper density run. We also made another 2.5 for a combined density and the Tg for the 0.2 to make Doc happy. So I had a relatively busy day at work and didn't really get to read my book a whole lot. I left at 4.30 because I got to work early. I went running for about 25 minutes on a longer route which had more uphill runs and it seems like i can run faster than what I thought because I ran farther than usual. And then I found Jon at the racquet center and played racquet ball with him. It felt nice to play again because it had been over 3 months since i'd played it last and I like this game. I did weights there as well because the fitness center closed early on friday. I got back and showered.
            I found a message on my phone from Jessi and called her back. She asked me if I wanted to eat out with her and I thought it was great idea. So, we decided to go to Olive Garden since I had never been there before and Jessi loves Olive Garden. I dressed up a bit because I was always in casual attire. I got there and saw that Jessi decided to dress up as well because she hasdn't made up for quite some time. She looked wonderful, but then she looks good anyway. It was really funny because we were both dressed to go out. She had to drop something off at American Eagle so we first went to the Mall. She was thinking about buying a swimsuit and we looked around for some. I laughed when I saw some poca dotted bikinis because that song for the yogurt came to mind with the poca dotted bikini. She picked up a diamond ring brochure from a shop on the way out because she was looking for a ring for her father. So right before we entered Olive Garden, she suggested jovially that we say we were engaged and try to scam a free cheese cake. It probably would have worked because she carried the diamond book in to browse. We got seated and the guy who served us got me some wine even without asking for my id..hehe.. and then we got soup and lots of breadsticks which were awesome. I got the fettuccinni with steak in it because it was apparently new on the menu and it was also one of the most expensive meal on the menu, i thought about it for a sec and then realized that I was earning and could spurlge a bit. It was great, although I couldn't finish it. It was a $20 meal which really isn't that bad. We talked a lot and I found out that she liked diamonds "Princess Cut" or square cut. She already knows what kind of ring she wants for her wedding..wow! We left and went back to her apartment to watch movies. I wish I had my camera so that I could have taken a picture of us dressed up since that really doesn't happen a lot..shucks! We first watched Kill Bill Vol.1 because she hadn't seen it yet. She liked the movie and we might go and see Vol. 2 sometime this week because I want to see the second one too. And then we watched Bowling for Columbine. Damn, I am not an American and that makes me feel really sad. It's regarding gun control. I want to see that movie with Andi sometime. After watching the movie, Jessi was nearly in tears and so we talked about that and then went on to other issues. We share a lot of the same viewpoints on issues because she is pretty liberal. The only thing that creeps her out is the cloning issue, which I admit is creepy when it comes to human cloning because I don't see anything good in the long run from it. Got back at 2! This was one of the most fun nights I've had and I got to know Jessi a lot better..life and love.. She has the hots for a guy in the army rangers. I hope he writes her soon..

[Listening to: Change Your Mind - Sister Hazel - Bedazzled Soundtrack (3:58)]

a lithium high?

I inhaled quite a bit of the airborne lithium borate particles because the powder is very light. And when I told Doc about that today, he said that lithium is actually good for the body and it is a food additive. Don't know if it helps in the energy level of the body or not because I wasn't tired after yesterday's run and workout.. maybe I need to sniff some more..hehe..just kidding. I am wearing a face mask while working with lithium precipitates now.. Time to go make my glass. Trying to see if the 3.0 lithium makes glass or not because Doc think 2.7 is the glass forming limit. I guess I have to wait and see..

This is an awesome picture with all but one of my cousins on my mom's side. This was taken at Udit's house, my cousin's new hubby. I had such a wonderful time in India:-)!! 

found the web site for the diamond stuff I was looking for

I was browsing to look for website that talked about the possible upheaval in the gem industry due to Apollo and Gemesis. I found the parent news article.
Wired News - The New Diamond Age

time @ speed of light

I got to work and started making the next glass. Chris gets there before me but forgets to switch on the furnaces. That means that I have to wait the extra 30 mins to put my sample in. The molten glass was like water and not a bit viscous and when I roller quenched it, I poured it all out. And because it fell in the same spot, I think it pushed the rollers apart by just that much and a huge chunk of crystal was formed. So, we didn't have a good yield for density but had enough for the DSC. So when Greg got in, I gave him the glass and he did the DSC runs. Today's values were pretty close to the literature ones. But the one we made yesterday, the 2.0's Tg was off by almost 20 degrees. It's a matter of slight concern but I think it also has to do with the glass making procedure and starting constituents. We don't have any carbon dioxide retention in the glass but the trade off at higher alkali content is the hygroscopic nature of the glass. Doc told us that the glass making range stops at 2.7, but we will try doing our 3.0 in air and if that doesnt work, then in the glove box under nitrogen. We also have to get a Tg for the 0.2 glass, apparently Doc thinks that results could be important. I guess we will see tomorrow when the precipitate is done. We were going to make a glass after lunch but I couldn't find any crucibles. Plus we had a talk at 3 that we were supposed to sit and listen to. So, we didn't make a glass in the afternoon. When Doc heard about that later, he was kinda pissed even though we explained the problem. And then he heard about the crucible situation and he blew his cap. We walked around and accounted for all the crucibles. So, we found 13 and Mario got out the 2 new ones. So now we have a cumalative of 15 crucibles worth $800 a pop. I am the crucible "guru" apparently and essentially am responsible for 15*800=$12,000 worth of pure platinum crucibles. I wish there was a way to tag them to keep track of them better. Doc will have a talk with everyone tomorrow about the right procedures involving the crucibles and hoarding. I also finished the first job of action as the Physics Club secretary which was the Annual Society of Physics Students Report for the Coe College chapter. As I was writing it up, I realize we do a shitload of stuff for a small school. Damn!
         I have to talk about something that Mario showed us during the presentation. There was diagram of electronic transitions and its common knowledge that photons have quantised energy and they jump from one energy level to another. But apparently they found something strange happening quantum mechanically where the photon ws going half way to the next energy level and then returning to its original energy state. Apparently this happens in the order of atto seconds (10^-18). This is incredibly minuscule amount of time but due to that, this phenomenon falls between the range of the Heisenberg Uncertainity Principle involving time and energy. This is just mind boggling because for that minute amount of time, the law of conservation of energy is violated. If this has actually been tested, then this strengthen's my belief in the Big Bang Theory because the only thing I was unable to understand was how the theory worked with the conservation of energy. I remember Doc telling me about the big bang theory, conservation of energy and the uncertainity principle all tied in somehow. Now it make more sense. I talked to Doc about the big bang theory because I was talking about it in my Science vs Religion paper for my honors composition.
         I got back and ran the same circuit I usually do in lesser time and I wasn't wiped the way I normally am at the end of the run. I did try to maintain the same speed through out the run. It makes me feel so good, my stamina is increasing I think or maybe I need to run faster. I also did a lot of weights. Slowly but surely my strength's also increasing. I feel awesome after the workout, albeit while showering I can't lift my hand too far over my shoulder because the arm is so sore..hehe..I talked to Kevin for a while because I haven't seen him for a few days. He is spending time with his girlfriend who is visiting him from Seattle. He is really happy, I am glad for him. They talk all the time and its nice to see so much of love in a couple. He also asked about Britta and how she was doing. He calls her a "baby girl". lol.. I laugh because I know better..hahaha.. She is now under our protection, like we are the mafia or something, you touch her and you die bitch. God, me and Kevin crack each other up. And we also talked about the same thing Komal brought up in April. It is a bit disconcerting... I wonder if I need to do things differently. Something to think about...
         I had a lot of energy after my workout even with my arms being sore. I wanted to play racquetball, so I might play with Matt, the guy next door or his girl friend if she wants to. I finished the left over indian food and watched TV. I chatted with some of my friends from India. They have another couple of weeks of summer break. Atleast I got to talk with my parents last night after telling 3 people to call my parents and tell them to call me..hehe..

[Listening to: Tea and Sympathy - Jars of Clay - Much Afraid (4:51)]

i miss my parents!

my parents kept sending me text messages to my cell phone and I replied but i don't think it reached them. I don't know why I can't text message outside the US with verizon. And they called me just after I left to pee. What luck! I text messaged two of my cousins so that they could tell my parents to try calling again. I don't know if yahoo messenger sent the messages through or not. I hope it did. Well, I guess I just have to wait and see. I think I will call verizon customer support and talk to them about the international text messaging.

[Listening to: Last Chance - JET - Get Born (1:52)]

looking for signs of buffness

I got to work early today and made a glass and ran tests by myself. I was very relaxed in the morning, I don't think I have been so relaxed in the morning before. I didn't get anymore sleep than usual, I went to bed around 1 and woke up at 7.30 pretty easily. Greg came in at 10.30..woke up after a 16 hour nap! thats quite a nap alright. We had the Wednesday lunch today which was indian cuisine. There was a lot of food and people here really like indian food because it has a lot of tasty veg options. I stuffed myself yet again. As I am writing now, I am not hungry the least bit.
         The talk along with the lunch was about Diamonds which was very interesting. Apparently a company called Apollo has a method that makes immaculate artificial diamonds upto 3.5 cts. This is amazing because it is indistingiushable from naturally occuring diamonds. It's also flawless. De Beer's is so threatened by this that one of their top executives threatened someone high up in Apollo with a bullet hole in the head. Smells like a revolution in the gem industry specially the $7 billion diamond industry. Looks like De Beers might lose big money and their shares might plummet.
         I spent most of the afternoon updating the report for the Society of Physics Students since I am the current Physics Club secretary. And then I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at grad schools which have nanotechnology research because thats been my intended field of speciality for a while. Lets see how that goes. I was looking at Vanderbilt, Duke, Brown, Purdue and Cornell so far. These are really tough colleges to get into. I have to do really well at school and the necessary examinations prior to applying. I think I am going to find literature on nanotech to read. I got back and Jessi called me telling me that she was going to Walmart and I could go and work out on my own. I ran on the inside track because it seemed like it could rain. I did 26 minutes straight and then double sets of all weights. I am tired now! I am blogging early because there is nothing on TV. I might watch one of the movies I have to kill time.
         I am taking a break from the Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie. I am kinda dissapointed in myself because I finished only 66 pages in the past week. I usually gobble books in a couple of days. This book is not pleasurable reading, it's something you would do for a literature class. As the title mentions, all the text in form of verses which makes it hard to read and there is a lot of allegory and hidden meaning to every single sentence. It's just too intense for me now. I might start that up at Japan or on the flight there. But I started The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. It's hyped to be on the lines of the books by Dan Brown. It's good so far. I started that today during work and got through about 25 pages. I might just keep that for work because if I start reading now, I'll finish the book tonight.

[Listening to: Last Train Home - Lostprophets - Start Something (4:03)]

something different

I got to work at exactly 9 again instead of the planned 8. I seem to be snoozing from the time I hear the alarm to 8.40 precisely which is really strange. Doc was late by a few minutes so everything was cool. He was happy with the steady progress during the time he was away. I tried out the R=5 sodium borate which is almost 80% metal in the glass. But the higher speed roller quenching didn't do much good because I got more crystal than glass. So I am now done with the sodium family and we have moved on to lithium. We made our first glass today and got good results. During the time Greg was doing the glass, I was engaged in my visa application process. I got a letter from the consulate saying that I didn't have a financial statement. I faxed my W-2 but that wasn't legible. So I scanned and sent the email. They checked it and told me that I didn't earn enough money for them to be confident about my financial status in Japan. So Doc framed a letter with all the money specifics and I faxed that again. This time they told me that it was good enough so I went ahead and mailed it. MTV's Boiling Point cracks me up..
            I got back and just chilled and watched TV. I was waiting for Jessi to call so that we could go running and do weights. We ran for a mile, reduced to a walk and stretched and then ran another mile back. We ran for about 15 minutes which was shorter than I normally go. But I also did a sprint and weights after that. I got back, showered and ate a sandwich and finished my V8 smoothies. I talked to Britta for over an hour and a half. It was good to talk to her again, she tells me that her parents are driving her insane and she has been there only for 9 days! And then I told Matt to come over after his shower and we talked as well. And now, I am chatting with recently married cousin. She really misses her hubby who is at London for work.. I know what she is going through, been there.. I haven't talked to Andi for about a week. I miss her.

[Listening to: Mary - Sarah McLachlan - Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (3:55)]

She was my first American female friend at Coe. I got to know Jessi and roomies really well since first semester freshmen year. She's really cool and a special friend at Coe! 

I got mail!!

Well, I talked to Doll last night and the conversation ended around 1 PM. I needed her input on certain questions I had. It's been hard to get a hold of her because she talks to one of her friends around the time I try to call her. We talked about how to get around that as well. In the process of heading towards the restroom to brush and got to bed, I saw the next door open and people talking. So I popped in and introduced myself. There was a guy and two girls. I ended up talking to them till 2.30! I didn't even realize that it had gotten that late. I have never before met younger people so intelligent and well-informed about issues. One of the girls was very vocal and I talked to her more that the other two. But one of the reasons for that was that she wasn't really give them time to respond to my questions. But, I have a feeling I might get to know them more in the summer because I am usually free and like have people to talk to and hang out with. They are Carver scholar kids who will be doing research in the science departments. They have given one student per research faculty member. They have interesting times ahead.. I'll try to help them on the way if they need any help.
         Woke up to my alarm but didn't wake up till 8.40. Damn, I thought I could be in at work at 8 and make more glass. I got there and 9.15 and realized that there was a safety meeting at 10. So I couldn't start stuff until after that. Greg made a lot of solutions which should hopefully be done tomorrow. I then checked the tracking on my camera and found out that it had been delivered. Headed straight to the mailroom and got my package and deposited the cheque as well. I had been waiting for the cheque for about a week. I saw a hilarious hidden camera show on MTV where the show sets a time and whoever lasts that long gets $100. The funniest one was to see how long a girlfriend could last without lashing out when made jealous.. I laughed my guts out! I called verizon when I got to work and they answered my questions about the roaming minutes. And I also talked to the Japanese consulate and they need a financial statement and I will be faxing them my W2. Got back from work and went running. I did a different circuit which was 10 minutes uphill, 3 minutes downhill and 8 minutes flat terrain. I also sprinted about 50 metres at the end. Rob helped me do weights today evening. I had a longer weights session and I tried new exercises and stretches. I stretched a lot after running so I am not as sore as I normally am. I hung out with Jessi most of the evening. I just got back from watching 21 grams with her. That's one weird movie where they keep flashing back to the past and then going to the future and then to the present. It was pretty disorienting. There was a scene when someone was doing self multilation which made both me and Jessi gag. I ate some pasta salad with her that she got from home. I am going to run and do weights with her tomorrow evening.

[Listening to: Singing In my Sleep - Semisonic - Feeling Strangely Fine (4:30)]

This is Bhavya, my best friend from Hyderabad, India. She has seen me through some tough times.. 

A new addition to the crazy macher_jhol clan

We found out last week that my aunt/sis is going to have a kid next february. I am very excited about it because I might actually be the one of the first people from the family to see the baby since I live in the US. I will definitely visit her sometime after her baby comes. I talked to her today and she seems positively buoyant about being "preggy" as she calls it. She has already started looking and shopping for maternity clothes. Tubldi and Anil have interesting times ahead. And apparently, I will be helping with the diapers because she told me that I was going to do it. I talked to mum and dad and some people at Gurgaon today morning. I wish I could talk to them longer than a few minutes. I also want to talk to Robi. I finally chatted with Britta since she's been home. I might get to chat or call her tomorrow evening. And god knows where the hell bhavya is. She has summer vacations but she is unable to come online to chat. ****!

[Listening to: Not Enough - 3 Doors Down - The Better Life (8:05)]

This is Komal, a sister if I ever had one at Coe. I've been told that we look like two spoilt rich asian kids. That cracked me up! 

Two drop dead gorgeous babes. This is how my girl and Britta look when all snazzed up. And oh, this was at Voorhees before we headed over to homecoming 2003. 

That's Inga in her new car. I like the color..almost pinkish red. She is a wonderful person I got to know when she was a semester long exchange student from Landau, Germany at Coe. I was her diplomat. 

This is Kristin at Presidential Ball 2004. I danced one number with her that night. She looked really good and had a lot of fun. Happier times... 

overcharged!

I woke up in the morning and checked my account to find that I was overcharged by Genghis Grill. I immediately called my bank and found out that the restaurants add the extra charge but debit only the amount thats on the receipt. I was told that the superflous charge was normal..I deposited komal's cheque and replinished my account. My account's biggest nourishment is on it's way. I hope it gets to me soon because I have to pay off my dues...

[Listening to: Send It Up - Vertical Horizon - Everything You Want (3:41)]

a productive day

Another early day and for a change I woke up without the alarm promptly at 7.15. And then snoozed for another 10 minutes when I heard my phone vibrating. My parents called in the morning but before my brother got on the phone to talk to me, the call got disconnected. damn.. I got to work around 8.20 and got started on research. The day was pretty productive because we made 2 glasses and got density results using the other pyc. The reason the micropyc is not popular is due to the fact that its manual and not automatic like the ultrapyc. One thing good about the micropyc is that the time involved in the measurement is shorter by half. With Doc gone, everyone was relaxed. It was evident when half the researchers turned in late. I got out of work earlier than usual because I didn't have anything else to do at work. I got back. I was contemplating not running because it was absurdly humid outside. I also decided to carry my cd player on the run which turned out to be a bad decision because cd players skip like hell. So, I ran only for about 10 minutes and walked the rest of the way. I might buy a flash memory mp3 player for the exercising. I ate out with marty at Genghis Grill for dinner. It had been over 4 months since I've been there. I love that food! and their chocolate cake is soooo rich, yuMMMy! I just wish I had loaded the bowl up more. But it was good because I normally overeat there and this time I had the right amount I think.
         We then watched Day After Tomorrow and movie hopped to Chronicles of Riddick. They were 2 good action movies. I enjoyed both the movies. I wonder how plausible most of the science in Day after was but it was entertaining for sure. We thought Riddick was going to be horrible but were pleasantly surprised to see that it was fun. I will try to search online to see how much of the science in Day after is bunk. But the movie was really funny at times because it made several political snipes at the US administration which ranged from environmental non-policies to illegal immigration regarding Mexico to third world nations. I don't think many americans would appreciate the political direction of the movie but people who live in developing nations can relate to the movie. I still think the US not signing the Kyoto Protocol which deals with emissions of greenhouse gases is extremely negative. It clearly shows how much power the industries have behind the scenes in the policy making. This is particularly bad because US is the largest producer of greenhouse gases. The movie was sensationalist in nature but global warming will happen pretty soon at the rate we are going. There was a hint of the possible future which seems dark for mankind unless we do something about it.

[Listening to: Somewhere I Belong - Linkin Park - Meteora (3:33)]

fatigue!

My alarm didn't go off in the morning. A direct consequence of my fiddling around with it before falling asleep. I forgot to change PM to AM when I was done playing with it. But luckily, I slept early last night for a change and was awake by 8. It took my eyes 40 minutes to open up fully which was rather strange. It felt like there was a layer of something over my cornea which was preventing me from focussing. I felt much better after the shower though. I headed to work at 8.30 because Doc wanted to meet with us at 9. The meeting was another hour yet again with my day dreaming through some of it. I got reprimanded for not being there when Greg was putting the solution into the drying oven, that was funny because it sounded like Doc wanted me to babysit him through the whole process even the transportation of the solution to its day long resting place. I also asked Doc why he split $4200 42 ways because me and Ben will be there for a total of 27 days, which means the $4200 should be divided 27 ways. Anyway, he told me that the grant was made for 3 students going for 2 weeks each. I am good with the amount he is giving me although more is always good. ahh..the greediness comes out in the open.. I wanted to make more glass today but people were using the glove box and the pycs. So we just made more solutions today for precipitates. Today's weather was rather dreary and it was pouring most of the time. I got my Japan visa app stuff mailed today. I attended a talk giving an introduction to spectroscopy which was 80% a physics lecture which was hilarious because the speaker was a chemistry proffesor at coe and 20% of demonstration involving a blowtorch and UV tubelights. I left work at 4.30 because I was going shopping for a bit at 7. I had to exercise those 2 damn donuts i ate in the morning. I don't know why I had 2 because I normally have just 1. Ten minutes into the run I felt like stopping, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of burning off the calories. I ran the same circuit in the humid weather. I also did weights for 35 minutes. My muscles are sore and tight everywhere. I tried the stretches that Marty showed me. I think they did help a bit. But I still do the owws while sitting and standing and climbing stairs. Marty gave me a ride to target and bestbuy to shop. I bought microwave safe dinnerware. I wanted to buy Corelle but target doesn't carry corelle unfortunately. So instead of buying $30 dinnerware, I bought a $10 set. I followed the stereotype of students and went cheap. And god damn, rechargeable batteries are expensive. I bought 8 batteries for $27. I bought a compactflash reader at bestbuy and looked for an universal adapter to use in Japan. I have to find out what kind of plug i need before I can buy it. After getting back, I watched music videos on yahoo and I really seem to like Lostprophets. I might have to buy their cds.

[Listening to: Chap Stick, Chapped Lips And Things Like Chemistry - Relient K - X 2003 (disc 2) (3:10)]

This picture was taken by Pat Cook at Presidential Ball 2004. A bit too bright but good nonetheless. 

what a day!

I talked to Doll late last night after talking to sunny. It's really funny that Doll's older than me and I seem to be educating her in the ways of ahem...you know.. since I know some about it from varied credible sources..hehe.. Getting people out of their shell is loads of fun...hehe..:) She also knows about all facets of my life which no one else knows. And she talks to me about everything. It's so good to talk to someone without thinking because there is nothing to hide from her.
            Yeah..the late night caused my ears not to respond to my alarm. I think I slept through it again because I was supposed to be in at work at 8 and I woke up at 9! I got to work an hour and a half late. Doc wasnt pleased but softened when he heard that I had alarm issues. I also realized that Chris now has an independent project which means that he can't assist me anymore. I talked to Doc and got a new assistant. We had the Wednesday lunch today and we had food from Pancheros. I was expecting those large burritos but I was dissapointed to see make-your-own small burritos. However it was good food nonetheless. I dozed through the talk and was thinking about Andi..lol.. I really miss her already. They must be half way through to Yellow Stone. I made a lot of good glass today and saved nitrogen. But alas, a waste yet again because the pycnometer was acting temperamental. I kept trying for an hour to get it to work but it didnt give in. My glass had absorbed water so I couldn't save the sample. I have to do it all over again. This is beginning to get frustrating!
            But the thing that brightened my day up was when Doc told me how much of per diem he is going to give me. $100 a day for 13 days!!!! freaking hell, I can save so much of money, things don't get sweeter than that! And I also jogged for 25 minutes again and weights for 30 mins. My muscles are all tense but I feel good! I stretched but the muscles are still tight. I need to learn a few new stretches to go after my run. And I have been eating healthy too..Makes me feel happy all over:). Although evenings are still pretty boring here...

[Listening to: Ironic - Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill (3:49)]

sunny!

i talked to sunny for a while tonight. It was good to talk to her and catch up. She is going to visit me June 26! I am really excited to see her because I haven't seen her for about a year. Good times ahead!

[Listening to: Anthem - Blink 182 - Enema Of The State (3:36)]

my exercising regimen has begun!

My day began really early because I have to get to research at 8 in the morning. It gives us first dibs at the equipment which means we can make more glasses. Well, it works well if everything goes according to plan. Pycnometer was erratic today because it is very pressure sensitive and apparently someone had fiddled with the pressure gauge on the helium tank. So, we got bad results which in turn caused a higher density for the glass than the literature values. But thankfully Doc was happy with the results. We would have made another glass but Jon's sample jammed the rollers up and un-jamming them took the rest of the afternoon because the panels of the glove box had to be removed. They are a pain in the ass to reassemble. I also learned to use the Raman photospectrometer which was pretty cool. I have used it before at Iowa State. Both my meals were from the groceries I bought yesterday. I had roasted honey nut peanut butter and jelly and sandwich with a meat mix. And I had burritos for dinner with baby carrots and spicy ranch. I also ran for 25 minutes straight without stopping... I was so happy! Plus I lifted weights to end the exercise. Albeit I was dead tired but it felt good to start jogging again. I talked to Kevin for a while when I was at the fitness centre. But god was it humid and hot out today! And I have been chilling all evening. Chris came by to see if could buy some wine but I told him that I didn't want to risk getting caught so close to my 21st birthday. I think we will do the wine tomorrow. I talked to Andi for a short period of time but for the first time she didnt pay attention to me on the phone. It was really annoying even though I knew she had to pack. I wish she paid attention for even 5-10 minutes. But it's ok..she was busy and I got to talk to her mom and Carlo. I need to talk to Doll when she eventually gets off the phone. I need to talk to sunny about kristin. The Kristin issue is really bothering me and I need to talk to sunny which I am trying to do now.

[Listening to: It is You - Newsboys - (4:25)]

an ordinary day

It was tough to wake up at 9 today but the chat with Doll was interesting because I realized a lot of things about myself and my expectations. It's amazing how much I have adapted myself to function better here, my expectations keep getting modified. Day at research was ok.. We had a long meeting with Doc and we figured a game plan for the rest of the june since I will be gone in July. Hopefully we can stick to that and have a uneventful period at research where things get done systematically without bloopers. I got my fedex billing fixed because I was overcharged by about $110. I also got the cashier's cheque for the visa. And then I went grocery shopping. Jessi called me as I was almost done with shopping but she told me that there was a cheaper place to buy stuff. So I put back everything I bought at Hy-Vee and went shopping with her for a couple of hours. It was good to get out..My meals today cost $3 which is pretty amazing. I also talked to Andi for a long time and we talked about kids which was a stimulating conversation because I have never before discussed kids in that much of detail with anyone. All of us have that at the back of our mind, I think about it sometimes when I think about my future and the direction it is taking.. I still think our futures are uncertain because circumstances change our choices and our life is based on the choices we make.

[Listening to: Waldorf Worldwide - Good Charlotte - Good Charlotte (3:19)]

Technologically challenged..hehe

Making fun of the computer illiterates out there. Seems like most of
these customer situations are in India. Enjoy

http://www.rinkworks.com/stupid/cs_obvious.shtml

contact with my girl FINALLY!

After a weeklong period of no communication, I finally got to talk to her after leaving a couple of messages. She attended a lot of graduation parties today. She made me tell her about the thursday night at iowa city..hehe. I also told her about the stuff that went on during the rest of the week. One of her friends, Felix is visiting them and will be getting there tomorrow. They are going to YellowStone National Park on Wednesday. It seems like there will be a communication blackout when she leaves for the camping trip. Anyway, I hope she sends me postcards:). Going on trips with Andi's family is a lot of fun because the spring break trip was awesome! She has a fantastic 2 weeks ahead of her.

[Listening to: Fair - Ben Folds Five - Whatever And Ever Amen [UK] (5:57)]

I haven't talked to Andi for about a week since she went back home. It's been quite a while. I thought she was going to call me friday but I guess she got busy. She emailed me to tell me to call her tonight but I was out. Anyway, I think I might call her on sunday if she is around.

[Listening to: If I Could Be Like That - 3 Doors Down - (4:25)]

Harry Potter Mayhem!

I went to see Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban tonight with Britta, Ben and Theresa. I think it was a sold out crowd because we had to wait forever to get into the theatre. They kept us out till 5 minutes before the scheduled time. And then when we got in, we had to sit through 6 previews! The movie was cool, although they did change a few details but it didnt seem that bad. It was over two hours long though. I wish Britta wasn't so grouchy and moody tonight. I always happen to be there when a girl is having a rough day, and all the anger and frustration comes out at me. Her swings compares to Komal's and I had to watch everything I said so as to not provoke her. It would have been so much better if she hadn't been so pissy. Anyway, I know girls are like that but I am still coming to terms with it. I was warned not to disturb her tomorrow. That was really odd because I wasn't going to wake her up or anything of that sort due to her lack of sleep the last few days..

[Listening to: Life For Rent - Dido - Life For Rent (3:41)]

Swing Manna

hehe..that may look like me and Andi are making out while dancing..but, that's just a swing lift..lol. It also is the best looking lift among all the photos I have. What can I say, it's perfect. 

finally no more caf food!

I can finally eat my own food whenever I please. I can start exercising and it's about time I did. Although this also means that I need to get groceries for food and all. I also slept in till noon. It felt soo good because i got more than 7 hours of sleep last night. I was also wondering what Britta was upto because I hadn't seen her since thursday evening and we finally made contact today. She came up to tell me about her adventures in the last 48 hours. She was on a sleep derived high..lol.. The Relay for Life was fun apparently.. and then we just talked for a long time.. I also seem to have a calming effect on her because she sobered down. She is hilarious when she is on a sleep deprived or caffeine high because she laughs at every thing. I am also jealous because her boss took her out to eat the last couple of days and she has been eating well while the other mortals here were stuck with cafeteria food.. It was also lonely eating by myself. The last couple of days were the first times that I actually ate by myself. While talking to Britta, she told me that I seemed like a jerk the first time we met, and she thought I was very possessive about Andi because I was paying a lot of attention to her. She realized later that I was quiet because I didn't know anyone in the group watching the movie apart from Andi. It's always interesting to hear what my friends thought of me the first time they met me...

[Listening to: Saathiya - A.R.Rahman - Saathiya (5:57)]