Getting ready for the fall semester

I signed up for classes on Tuesday, and though I'm pretty sure I'll get the classes that I've not offically signed up for, I'm not done with it.

 

They have freshman restrictions for Earth and Atmospheric Science class that I'm taking (once that's done, no labs for the rest of my time at Tech) and the special problems class for Industrial Engineering, which I need a permit signed by Dr. Tovey. I attended that class last fall, unofficially, as I got to know about it much later on as a pledge in Delta Sig.

 

But yeah, going ahead with 21 hours, if I manage to get everything. It's kinda scary, as it is the maximum load any one person can take. Thankfully, one of the classes, International Affairs, is a pass/fail class, so I can afford to step back for that one class. Even then. I should probably have figured out from last semester that taking anything more than 18 is going to be pretty hard, but since I've really learnt time management, I'm gonna give it a shot.

 

I was talking with Sandesh about the possibility of taking classes while working, and I've looked up some classes that are offered. Fortunately, an accounting and a material science class is offered at 4:30 onwards. I could possibly bring the idea up to my supervisors and see if they approve, as it will enable me to cut down on my class loads, and if everything works out, I might not have to study for the last summer session and graduate in Spring 2008. That would be fantastic. I was thinking of taking online or night classes in some other university, but I'm essentially a registered full-time student at Georgia Tech while working, so I don't think Tech will allow me to be registered in two different places at one time. First off, I have to ask my co-op advisor if that's possible, and secondly, I have to ask RubberNetwork if they're okay. I'll probably take few hours off from normal working hours for the days of the classes, but I'll put those hours back on the days where there aren't classes. Since major bulk of the work is done in the morning, I'm pretty sure that will be fine.

 

I'm pretty happy that I've managed to catch quite a lot of films over the past few days. Let's see, I completed watching 'Kama Sutra,' 'Psycho,' 'The Passion of The Christ' and 'La Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful).' All of them were class acts. I really liked the original 'Psycho' and to think it was made in 1960 is amazing. 'Passion' was rather painful, due to the torture scenes, and I can imagine how Christians felt when they were watching the film. 'Life is Beautiful' was very well made as well, and I was having problems getting the subtitle file to work, but found out that the downloaded movie was an English dubbed version, so it worked for me.

 

Surpringly, I have 5 movies left to watch that are stored in my laptop. But almost all of them are ones that last for at least 2 and a half hours. However, all of them are considered one of the greatest film of all time, and if I'm not wrong, all of them are ranking in IMDb's top 50, if not the top 100, so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

This week somehow passed by a little faster than I expected. 2 more weeks til work ends. Sheesh. Next week's going to be a pretty important week, as we have a major meeting. Oh, and yes, I'll be working as a 21 year old from next monday onwards. No more restrictions on anything, for now, I guess.

 

I'm such a sucker for books, when I buy them, I buy a whole lot. But I make sure I finish reading them. I bought a number of books related to Supply Chain Management off from eBay, maybe around 8, all A class books, and it so happened that 4 of them came all on the same day on Tuesday. It's not something that needs to be read urgently, so I'm gonna take my time and read each one of them over the course of my time at Tech. I'll be sure to have a great awareness of how the industry functions and whatnot. Six Sigma, Lean Manufacturing, Supply Chain Strategies and whatnot.

 

Also, I got the two books on 401(k) investment plan. A colleague of mine who occupies the cubicle opposite mine told me some things about investing in the retirement fund and showed me this spreadsheet which calculates how much things you accumulate over the years, and it was fascinating. He advised to start investing from now, as the portfolio I build from such a young age will prove to make such a difference when I'm over 55, I saw it in black and white. Though it was only an estimate or a projection, it was pretty clear that I'll be the biggest dumbass on earth if I do not do anything about it. Millions are losing out by starting way too late in their careers and it does not make any sense or benefit for them, but if I were to contribute a sizeable amount, I think it would be greatly beneficial. Since I don't really spend, I could contribute quite a bit from my pay, starting from next working semester. I have until then to read the two books, learn about the facts and make sure I'm knowledgeable before I put my funds in.

 

I've picked up many things from this semester. I wish I could pick up more, but theres a time and pace for everything. I'm gonna be learning how to use a major integration software next semester, which is exciting, as when I go and get a job after graduation, these knowledge and skills could come in very handy.

 

Alright, time for me to go for today.

Me and my pulled neck muscle (or shoulder, whatever)

I woke up yesterday, and as I was going to brush my teeth, I pulled my neck muscle. I don't remember swinging my head quickly, so I was surprised as how that was strong enough that it pulled the muscle. Whatever it is, it hurt like hell. I've had this before, and it usually went away in a matter of few hours.

 

Not this one. I hope it isnt a tear (if it could happen, I honestly don't know). It sucks, coz now its painful no matter what I do, whether its sitting, standing, even laying on the bed. When I went to grocery shopping with Francesco, I felt like a retard, hunched over somewhat, trying hard to reach stuff in the shelves of the supermarket.

 

I thought's it'd go away after a good night's sleep. Turns out, it got worse. I'm the type that has to move from one side to another and it was extremely difficult due to the pain. I think, somewhere along in the sleep, I stopped doing so, and as a result, I felt like shit when I woke up, I felt as if I hadn't even slept.

 

And when I tried to brush my teeth, or try to change, it was just a torture. It's gotten slightly better as compared to how it was in the morning, but it's still there. And it sucks, coz now, because of the way I position my body and my head to minimize the pain, it's putting a lot of pressure to my shoulders and that hurts as well. And there's no way to rest my shoulders, except to go to sleep.

 

Dammit.

 

Watched 'The Replacements' and 'Rules of Engagement' yesterday, finally starting to watch the movies that's been stored in my PowerBook since Spring semester. I'm clearing out the lower rated ones before the longer and the better ones. I wanted to watch 'Friday Night Lights' but it was of horrible quality, I'll go download it from BitTorrent and see how that goes. So I started watching this English Indian film that my cousin had mentioned and recommened few months back 'Kama Sutra.' It's not like what the title suggests, it's actually pretty well made, by the time I got to the hour mark, I felt it was pretty late, so I'll continue with the second half after I get back today. It's a rare Indian film as it contains nudity, and as it is well known, there is never nudity in Indian films. Well, except for artistic ones probably.

 

I think it was some American Indian film where this guy was talking about the irony of Indian films, as he brought up the fact that it was India that came up with the Kama Sutra, but in their mass entertainment films, the leads never kiss eachother on their lips, let alone show any sexual scenes. It's considered a sin. As a matter of fact, this film is banned in India and Pakistan as I know it due to its explicit scenes. It wasn't too long ago where a theatre was burnt down because a film themed around homosexuality was screened.

 

It's all for art, and for art's sake, I don't have a problem with it, if the scene or the theme is necessary to convey the point. I've seen some really screwed up films, but the nudity sometimes makes me question if its needed, because sometimes, it's pretty evident it's not necessary. However, I think, that the environment is such that it's become part of the film culture. No matter how insignificant the scene may be.

 

I gotta go, I don't want to be missing the hourly bus. I don't want to be walking to the rail station with my strained neck.

Dubnica 1 Newcastle 3

Final score from Mestsky Stadium (in Slovakia):

UEFA Intertoto Cup 3rd Round 1st Leg

ZTS Dubnica 1 (Slovakia)

Lukas Tesak (42)

Newcastle United 3

Michael Chopra (4)

Alan Shearer (6)

James Milner (70)

Season off to a great start, especially for the young guns, Chopra, N'Zogbia and Milner.

2nd Leg to be played at St. James' Park on the 23rd of July.

At the Weezer gig

I went for the local 99x radio gig that they set up this weekend for
Weezer at Underground Atlanta today. Initially, I was rather hesitant
about going, as I wasn't too much of a Weezer fan, let alone know any
songs by them by song title except for Buddy Holly. Second, I just
felt like sitting in my room and watching some quality movie.

However, the bunch of us just relented, and we went for it. The place
was packed to full way before they played. We decided to go and look
for places to eat before coming back to Underground. We spent like an
eternity trying to food, as the fast food places weren't good enough
for my friends, and if that wasn't the case, everything was closed
after 7 or 8pm. I'm so used to being able to go out at anytime and
find a place to go in Singapore, it just pissed me off. First off,
its a Saturday, you're bound to have business in downtown Atlanta.
Second off, there's more likely chance that it will be a more
successful weekend as compared to the rest of the week. Especially
during the night.

And I kinda got pissed off as we were just walking and walking, and
even if we found a place, it seemed none of the others were willing
to compromise to the situation at hand and decided it wasn't good
enough for us to go. In the end, we ended up walking all around Five
Points area and we walked by foot to the CNN Headquarters, where
there were decent stuff to eat, but once again, not good enough.

If there's anything you can count on, then the chances are that you
can always depend on a Mexican, Waffle House or a Chinese place.
Chinese places are the only ones that seem to be open and available
at any given time. There happened to be a place right next to CNN, so
we ended up going there. Afterall, who can say no to Chinese in the US?

I haven't had seafood for a really long time (well, I had that double
lobster in Boston, but let's not count that, since that was in Boston
and not Atlanta) so I picked a seafood dish, which was kind of
pricey, but since we walked around for almost 2 hours and I was
fucking hungry, I decided to go for it. The initial reaction upon
being served was that I picked a bad dish, as it clearly seemed it
wasn't worth the money I was paying for. However, it kind of got
better as I kept eating and forgot about the minor points, I was
pretty full by the end.

So we ended up going back to Underground. Further disappointment to
follow. The concert was pretty good I guess, I recognized about 3
songs. What made it bad was the people. I've never actually gone to a
gig among so many people. Well, since it was free, it was obviously
the case. What made me pissed off was the normal teenagers/college
kids just making a fool out of themselves. If not for the beer and
the cigarettes, it would have been a perfectly fine concert. People
weren't there to appreciate the music, everything was like a 'show,'
meeting with people, socializing, screaming incessantly, doing stupid
things like throwing empty beer bottles to other people in the front,
etc, etc.

Has society become such that everyone seems to be suffering from
Attention Disorder? Is life so bad that now people need an excuse to
drink and have fun? I noticed this when I started attending the
football games at Tech. It seems like every single event is a social
event, which kind of makes me sick. Sure, it's good to have fun with
your buddies and catch a game or attend a band, but leave it at that.
Sometimes it seems like the sport or the music does not make any
difference, they're just there for the sake of being, convincing
themselves that that is an excellent opportunity to just drink, do
stupid things and get wasted.

This is a serious issue. I can't go anywhere and find people not
doing stupid things. When I go to a game, I want to watch people
play. When I attend a concert, I want to listen to the band. All
these people around me that just drinks and makes a lot of noise and
making a fool of themselves are distracting and just utterly stupid,
at least in my mind. Do it somewhere else.

People dressing up to go to concerts. Why? To meet people,
socialize,impress them and maybe get laid?

Please. Don't make it seem like life is so boring. You're just not
using your time right. Everything is boring to you, but its not like
you're doing anything useful with the luxurious amount of time you
have in your hand anyway. It's just another excuse you need to get
drunk. That is the bigger tragedy here.

I don't have problem with people wanting to have fun, but I have a
problem with how these people go about 'having' fun.

Wedding Crashers

'Wedding Crashers' is one of the funniest flick I've seen in the
theatres in a long while. I haven't laughed like that since watching
'The Incredibles.'

It's R-rated, but I truly believe that didn't prevent the movie from
providing audience with guilt-free laughter, more adult oriented, but
it was just plain hilarious for some of the scenes.

We debated whether to catch 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory' or
'Wedding Crashers,' but we relented since it seemed like we needed a
solid comedy.

Anyway, it proved to be the better choice and what a way to kick off
the weekend. I probably needed it, afterall, I've been watching way
too many serious movies, it's nice to just kick back and indulge in
some brainless comedy.

3 weeks to go

It's been pretty slow in the office, not much activity going on, so I've been working more on the long-term projects. There's going to be a big meeting in few weeks, which is pretty much the last big action I'll see before I end my work term and head back to Tech for Housing Staff training.

 

For some reason, I don't feel like going back to school. I really liked the working life. But then again, I want to get more classes done as well. I've been having a change of heart regarding my management certificate. All these while, it seemed like I was going to pursue the Finance certificate, but I've noticed I can take more interesting classes, which are offered more often, and end up getting the superbly interestingly named 'Engineering Entrepreneurship' certificate. Though I am not creative and original by all means, I'm not sure if it will be helpful in the long run, but since I am thinking of going back to B-School for my MBA, I thought it would be appropriate (since 1 in 10 Industrial Engineers end up being some sort of an executive board member, be it CEO, COO or CFO). Getting the Finance might get me interested in concentrating on Finance for my MBA and I could end up doing Financial Engineering, but then again, it's way too early to tell these stuff.

 

I'm just comforted by the fact that I will have plenty of time to make the decision. I'll see about my Material Science & Engineering classes. I know they probably will be the hardest classes I will take at Georgia Tech, and if I'm doing well and my interest sustains, I'll continue to progress for my Minor. If not, I'll stop short and obtain a Nanomaterials certificate. It's the least I can get using my electives, which are required anyway. I just don't want the extra classes to get the minor to hurt my GPA.

 

Talking about classes, I might end up taking the full 21 hours next semester. I took 19 last semester and it wasn't that bad. I was lucky that most were freshman/sophomore classes and they didn't require that much time. But then again, considering I was going for an interview or two for co-op every week for the second half of the semester, juggling two activities, dealing with James, having enough time to catch at least 2 movies every week, going out, managing to get at least 5-6 hours of sleep (I've not done an all-nighter at Tech yet) and getting a superb GPA, I think next semester, I have less things to distract me from taking 21 hours. I'll be living by myself, my own room, no job interviews to worry about, no one to distract me (unless they're residents) and one of the class is a pass/fail class (I just need above C to get credit) and one should be a discussions class, I really don't think it will be that bad. I've heard Environmental Science class is pretty easy, I've done a little of probability before, and Calculus 3 is an extention of Calculus 1 (just that this time it will involve differentiation/integration of 3 dimentional formulas), the main thing I need to be concerned with is dealing with Java and Materials Science. Doesn't seem too bad. I think I'll still have enough time to get my weekend movies to keep me alive. Housing shouldn't be too much of an issue.

 

Next year will be crucial. Really crucial. If I get past my second year the way I want it to go, my third and final year will be a breeze.

 

Managed to catch the Clint Eastwood 'The Man With No Name' Trilogy (also known as The 'Dollars' Trilogy). I'm not a big Western movie guy but they were pretty well done. Not something that blows me away though. I also caught 'Stigmata,' something I've tried to watch since god knows when. That was freaky, yet, kind of interesting. I like part mystery part religion movies that go into some myth and hidden message-oriented stories. Better on novels, but 'Stigmata' was interesting enough.

 

Newcastle's season starts Sunday at Slovakia against FK ZTS Dubnica in the Inter-Toto Cup. We've gotten rid of few players and recruiting some exciting talents. Maybe Souness might be able to turn things around. I better not be too hopeful, of the close to 8 years I've been supporting, I've seen enough that that is unlikely.

 

Nevertheless, it's great to get the footie season rolling yet again.

lets set the record straight...

i meant to address this issue before my trip to the northeast, but since i have some time in my hands, i might as well do it now.

the question is regarding how i answer when im asked where i am from.

now, if you know me well, you'd know that's an extremely hard question for me to answer. primarily because its such a general question as well. i usually respond by saying, where do you mean? where i lived the longest? where i was born? yada yada ya.

of course, there are many ways to answer this simple question for me. i am bangladeshi by origin and nationality as of yet. my 'home' town should rightly be divided into two, my home by birth, which is kyoto in japan, and singapore, where i spent a vast majority of my life.

however, when i have to fill in forms to indicate where my current permanent address is, it becomes naperville in illinois, USA. so there's the complication, coz i've now stayed in atlanta, georgia longer than i have stayed in naperville, illinois. however, due to my status as a full time student, it doesnt count, as living as a working adult, paying for your bills by yourself accounts for your rightly 'address' and not where you stay doing whatever that you do. even though i will accumulate about to a full year's worth of working experience with the co-op program, it still does not account for it, as i am technically classified as a full time student.

let's take that to another level. when i support countries in sports, what do i do? i usually go along with whatever that the country is known for. bangladesh, is one of the test nations in cricket, so i follow them. for soccer, japan has been doing pretty well since the last decade. but so is the US men's team. by defining a set nation, i'll have to stick with one nation once and for all. what do i do? do i support japan, which is my home by birth, or US, which is now my adopted home?

i think ive reached a conclusion. since by law, it is defined as the place where you can be contacted and you essentially reside, i'll make it simple for myself by just stating naperville, illinois as my answer, unless that changes otherwise. i know by doing so, im implicating myself into having to decide another answer once i graduate and move to wherever that my job takes me to, as then i can't answer once again. but i guess i'll deal with that when the time comes. since i expect that i will be here for some time, maybe surpassing the time i spent in singapore, i might as well prepare for it. that means i will now support the US national team, or whatever. it shall be my adopted home and like the other immigrants who embraced america after their move, i guess i will do so too, but with less vigour.

its weird, coz the question that always messes it up is just with the use of the word 'home.' its not my home town, but it is in some ways. or am i supposed to go and explain my life story? only if they ask. its only added surprise for them. and if they dont, no loss, it'll be some time before they find out about it anyway, its inevitable.

i just caught 'hero.' i didnt get a chance to see it before as it was a last minute notification to which i could not go along with. but that was a really great movie, the cinematography, score and the overall feel of the story was choreographed perfectly.

i have just uploaded another bunch of songs into my ipod and now i have like slightly less than a gb left. i guess after listening to some of the stuff i have, i'll go ahead and delete the ones that i don't listen to.

oh, and a shout out to pamela. good job. goooooood job. i'll be patiently waiting til august or september, if she indeed has the deal on for me. its weird, but exciting. i trust her to know what she's talking about.

some pictures from boston

since my digicam was lost along with my bag during the majority of my time spent in boston, i couldnt take much pictures. however, my cousin nabeela took some pictures which had me in it. there are more, but my other cousin, sharmeen, prefers to take on film rather than digital, so that will take more time before it gets in my hands, if, at all.



Nyla, their cat. She doesn't seem to like me too much.



my cousin, nabeela. she's always on the run, and she disappeared the second after taking this photo.



my other cousin, sabriya (center) with her friend... err.. damn, im so bad with names.



the eldest of the cousins, sharmeen suggested i try on heels, so i tried. i couldnt even get my foot inside.

The tale of another delayed flight, a found baggage and an extra night in Boston (when I should have been back in Atlanta)

So...

 

Til that evening on Tuesday, I still had no news from Delta regarding my bag. I talked to them on Monday night and the guy asked few questions regarding the contents in the bag and its possible locations. He said it should be in Boston but wasn't sure. After nearly 90 hours, they better have found out.

 

Anyway, I spent pretty much most of the later part of my stay in Boston with family members from my mom's side. It was great spending more time than usual, as in the occasional visits over the last 4 years or so, we would stay in Boston for only an night or two. This time, I was all by myself, with all the time to do what we want.

 

I bought some clothes on Sunday, after realizing that I wasn't going to get my bag anytime soon. There was a GAP store near my cousin's place and I just bought 3 basic tees and 2 shorts, as it was really hot in Boston. I met Pamela earlier in the morning, before she flew off to NY with her family, and it was really great seeing her after such a long time.

 

Anyway, when I reached my aunt's place, they were getting ready to go to some girl's graduation party. There I was, barely wearing a plain tee and shorts, and to top it off, I was wearing flip flops, while the others were dressed to go. Since nobody was going to know who I was and I had a valid excuse, I decided to go on like that. My cousins assured me that I will be introduced to the '10 hottest desi girls in the community' so I was queasy about it, but then I realized later on that that really didn't matter (I'm not trying to imply anything here)

 

Later that night, two of my cousins and I went to catch 'War of The Worlds.' I don't know where to start with that movie, honestly. Since no other movie wants to compete with that that weekend, that was the only thing to watch. It's not bad, but I had some questions that need serious answering, but other than that, it's something that's good to catch. Just a little disappointed.

 

The next day we really didn't do a whole lot, but the highlight of the night was catching the fireworks for the 4th of July celebrations. Imagine, firework effects coordinated with music for almost 30 minutes continuously! It's definitely one of the best shows in the country and it was well worth the wait and all the walk from where we parked, since they closed off most of the roads. Hopefully I'll get to catch the other ones in Chicago, Philly and NY in the near future.

 

On Tuesday, I bid farewell to everyone before my cousin took me for a good old tour of Boston. Harvard Square, Back End, Fenway Park and North End were great places to see. It's been good 7 years since I went to all the touristy places in Boston and things have really changed. I really like the city, more than any other, and maybe, just maybe, I would want to be here if I do decide to go to B-school. It's definitely in the top of the list, especially as it has two of the best universities in the world - Harvard and MIT.

 

Anyway, after that, we went to the airport, and as I found out, my flight to Pittsburg was delayed! It was all a deja vu of what happened on Friday. Only this time, I actually had to line up in the general section before I could be attended. After nearly an hour, I was told that the only flight I could take to was to good old Charlotte, the place I was directed to on Friday. I really hated the sound of that place and I had an uneasy feeling that with the thunderstorms going on, it was going to be delayed and I would miss my connecting flight to Atlanta. The next best thing was to take a 7am direct flight and that seemed like the best and the safest option available. Not only that, I got the chance to stay another night in Boston! We happened to have some guests over for dinner and I got to get some great food that my aunt cooks.

 

Oh, and guess what. I took a walk down to the U.S. Airways baggage claim area just to see what they would say about my bag. And miraculously, I saw my bag! It had been sitting there since Sunday and no one notified me for 2 days because a lost bag claim was filed with Delta, but not U.S. Airways. It was insane! Thankfully nothing was missing from the bag and I got everything nice and easy. I think I'm gonna type up a compensation request anyway, it's worth a try.

 

The only problem with the new flight was that I had to reach the airport at 5:30am to make sure that I get that flight. Which meant I had to wake up at 4:30am. Despite knowning that, we ended up staying up til 1:30am catching an Icelandic film 'Noi' which was pretty interesting. Oh, and I also caught 'The Machinist' the night before, which was very well done.

 

So after getting about only 3 hours of sleep, my cousin took me to the airport, only to find out, I was placed on a seat request ticket. This was too much. When the guy gave me the new flight option, the least he could have done was to guarantee me a seat. I had a hunch that I would not make this flight either and that I would never make it to Atlanta. And I had to take another half day off, which kinda pissed me off, as I was missing work for no good reason. Thank god I got the PTO priviledge as a co-op student.

 

I rushed back to my room, dropped my bag off, changed my shirt and ran back off to work. Since I had slept for only 3 hours, I felt like shit. But I got over it, as there wasn't a whole lot to catch up, unlike what I had expected.

 

I realized there's only 4 more weeks to work left and the time seemed to have passed by way too fast. At the same time, over this 5 day spent in Boston, I really appreciate the holidays as a working person more than ever. I should do this more often, but this time with friends, over 3 day weekends, we'll just take a flight out somewhere, to California or New Orleans, and just explore uncharted territories for us. I bet it'll be immense fun.

 

I'm glad I've experienced a new light of travelling and interacting with relatives, as it is very different from the last time I was with them. It's a sign that I'm also getting older, and as I close in to turning 21, I think it's all for the better. The last year has taught me many things I would otherwise not have imagined going through, but it's all been excellent training for what is to come in years to come.

Updates

Just an update, I got back safe and sound, with my bag intact this time.

Because I had to get up at 4:30am to go to the airport for the 7am
flight, I was really tired as I landed at Atlanta and rushed back to
work. Thank god there wasn't too much to catch up to.

You're not gonna believe what happened on the return trip though.
Details will follow soon, sometime between tomorrow and Friday.