Literally, speaking of the weather, it has been rather strange. We’d adjusted to the 35-40 highs over  the past few weeks, and suddenly it was 70F, which had everyone wearing summer clothes. And just as suddenly, it’s dropped back to the high 40s. Yes, it brought about the whole argument of how I don’t exactly like the sun – this supposedly because I listen to black death heavy trash metal according to a friend. Apparently happy people don’t listen to stuff like this. *Thinks*

I can’t wait for winter break !! My grandparents will be here, and I get to trim a Christmas tree – missing the star that Dad made a few years back. I still have to book my tickets, though – maybe tonight. I feef somewhat confident whipping out my credit card for this, now that I’ve got my first salary – in USD . I should also get Christmas presents…Gosh! So much to do and so little time. This semester has just flown by!! Yikes! I need to be doing all the final touches for my courses!! Already registered for my spring courses, even that’s going to be a bit of a hectic semester. Looking forward to it!!

We’ve been around the city a little bit, now that I go downtown every morning. I walk eight to nine blocks everyday surveying the city, taking in its sights and sounds. I’m a city girl, so yes, it’s nice. Went up Willis Tower two weekends ago. Standing on a glass deck 1343 feet off the ground, looking down upon the vastness of this city I call home, was enticing. I felt good. I love heights, maybe I’ve mentioned it before, maybe not. It felt awesome. Strangely powerful, in a way that only someone who isn’t prone to acrophobia and can appreciate architectural as well as natural brilliance can understand. Loved it.

Took a tour of some of the famous places around downtown last weekend – very delighted to have seen Lincoln’s statue in Grant Park, the Tribune Tower, Daley Plaza, the Cultural Center, and some filming locations of one of my favorite movies of all time – The Dark Knight – saw Bruce Wayne’s penthouse, Wayne Enterprises, the final showdown, Harvey Dent’s office, the bank robbed by the Joker…others would include Willis Tower, Navy Pier, Metra Station and some others that I’ve already visited before. Walked around for almost three hours before heading back home. It was a Saturday well spent

OOOH!! I’ve installed, or rather had one of my French floormates install, Windows 7 on my laptop, along with Ubuntu because he loves Linux. Pretty cool. Experimenting with a lot of other development software in the process. Chelsea won against Manchester United (1 – 0) over the weekend *jumps with joy*. Whopped and celebrated after Terry’s header allowing Chelsea a 5 point lead on the table at 30. And just recently discovered that Christiano Ronaldo’s antics of diving haven’t left the Premier League even though he has – N’gog of Liverpool is proving to be a very good contender for the title after yesterday’s match against Birmingham City. Hehe!! I was laughing the whole time!! Just imagining my sister’s delight at knowing that Ronaldo is at least a little more dramatic!!

In other news, I’ve been feeling a lot of positive energy of late. Keeping that contained so I know where I’m headed. Also gives me an assurance. More on that when I actually have an answer to the ‘what’, because I already know ‘why’.

So, off I go, with the flow… Corny? I know!

I’m a romanticist. Hopelessly so. I love period-dramas. I love the happy endings. I love the daring heroines of the 18^th century and I love the arrogant, stiff lipped upper class men they fall in love with. I love the simplicity of the romance woven into these novels. I can’t get enough of them.

I’m obsessed with Richard Armitage. I watched North & South and tripped. It’s re-awoken the romantic in me and I long to go back in time. *sigh* I pulled out my DVDs of all the BBC dramas, that I own, and went on a period-drama marathon and swooned, swayed and almost fainted. I dreamt good happy dreams. I love those authors and their characters… I would even wear a corset. I would dress up. If only I could go back a century or so. Oh, the wonder of being a girl. *No, I still do not like the icky-sticky girlie love stories…I prefer the romance of the previous century. That’s it.*

Anyway. As the men in cravats, white shirts, waist coats, long coats and hats sizzle in my brain as if they were real, I must mention that I did a little bit of burning myself. All I wanted was to heat up a pop-tart last night – chocolate fudge. So I put it in the microwave in the lounge and forgot. Twenty seconds later I see white smoke lacing through the door of the microwave. I opened it and I freaked. I’d burnt the pop-tart. That, however was not my primary concern. The fire alarm. We threw open the windows, which wouldn’t open fully since we’re on the first floor, and the door, and tried to dissipate the smoke out of the room without it reaching the smoke detectors. We just sat there holding jackets at the detector, hoping and praying that my carelessness didn’t set of the alarm – ‘cause it’s gone off three times in the past month, not my doing, and we’d love to beat up the people who set them off. I didn’t want to be one of the people whose blood the rest would be after. Thankfully, nothing of the sort happened. It just smelled of burnt food for hours after that, but no fire alarm. I’m not touching the microwave again.

Diwali was last weekend. My first away from home, and it was a little saddening, because after three years mum and dad were at home and I wasn’t. I still got to watch the poojai online, and I also dressed up in ethnic clothes to go down to ‘India Town’ later in the evening. Had some sweets, too sugary, and ice cream…it was nice…it felt weird not trying on new clothes, lighting lamps around the house, and setting off fireworks for once. I missed it. But it’s one of those things that I had to give up for the time being. I could’ve gone home and come back…but…

I feel no qualms in going shopping now and pulling my credit card out for whatever rate the register rings up. I feel a little secure…just a little, that I’ve a job here and don’t need to depend on my earnings of the last year alone, a fourth of which is still lying dormant back home. I guess it always feels better when you know that you’re earning. Must buy things for my sisters and brother…maybe I can send it over for Thanksgiving itself. Hmm.

Thinking of dressing up as a vampire for the Halloween party this weekend. Must get the fangs. Have I mentioned that Richard Armitage would make an awesome vampire? Guy of Gisborne…Lucas North…John Thornton… *hits self on the head…concentrate…drools…looks at desktop…drools…* Here are some of my captures of the absolutely delectable Richard Armitage as John Thornton in BBC’s adaptation of Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South. I had to put them up.

I hadn’t realized how much I missed working till I sat in front of the computer two morning ago and looked at code. I loved the feeling it gave me!! I felt somehow complete. Wholesome. That I was doing something productive after a two month hiatus. Kind of the same feeling I had when I started attending classes and doing homework after a year. I’m enjoying the five hours of work every morning. At least that way I don’t oversleep, since I’ve to have breakfast, catch the shuttle to the downtown campus to be at work at 9 am sharp. I also get my daily dose of exercise when I walk some seven blocks to the train station to come back to school, have lunch, study, do homework, have dinner, attend lectures… by the time my day is done, I’m bone tired so I’m out by eleven on most nights and I end up getting a good eight hours of sleep <reduced from my earlier requirement of 9 hours>. And it’s just been three days.

I read Elizabeth Gaskell’s North & South, after realizing that Richard Armitage played a role in the BBC adaptation. I loved the book. The characters *sigh John Thornton*, the storyline, the love story… And I just rented the DVD as well, so I’m quite a happy camper watching Mr. Armitage put life into Thornton so beautifully I almost cried – I still have the last two episodes to watch. He reminds me so much of Colin Firth’s portrayal of Mr. Darcy – read my previous post for that rant – that I need to talk about it with someone who understands my obsession of English gentlemen from the previous centuries. He’s so absolutely deliciously hot! *insides melt* M and I – I need you guys to watch/read North & South !! PLEASE !!

I’ve begun making a list of the things I would like from home since my grandparents will be here for Thanksgiving !! *favorite corduroy trousers included* I’m planning to go on a music buying rampage as soon as I get my first salary at the end of this week or the next… Bought two pairs of awesome black gloves for winter… boots still pending…

*drools…Richard Armitage…he should play a vampire in the 18th century… I would actually swoon and fall off my chair if he did…actually*

Here’re a couple of songs currently on my playlist which have been in-sync with my mood of the past few days.

Ayreon’s Day Eighteen: Realization – the music is simply captivating

Ayreon’s Day Eleven: Love – the chorus and the personification…

Dream Evil’s The Chosen Ones from the album Dragonslayer – it’s catchy… stays within my metal boundaries well enough for me to enjoy the vocals, lyrics and the arrangement

It’s the temperature, nothing else. 30 effing Fahrenheit !! -1C !! I’ve been in these temperatures before, but I don’t remember it. *it’s the same as me remembering that I went to Ruby Falls after visiting the aquarium in Tennessee ten years ago, but I don’t remember the location of it* It was cold. And dark. And there was a half moon hanging like a piece of delicious cheese in the clear sky. My breath was mist-ing in front of me. I wasn’t all that greatly wrapped up – just my favorite black coat, blue and black Adidas scarf *yes, I like Adidas *, ear plugs in, my Reebok shoes and Nike socks *yes, I like them too* *OH! And my Puma belt*

It was a beautiful night! I had about 40 oz of delicious hot chocolate owing to the chill. Thick creamy dark hot chocolate. The ultimate winter treat. Ok. It’s not ‘winter’ yet. But Wisconsin begged to differ. It snowed somewhere in the Kettle Moraine State Park in the morning and we missed by a good few hours. Somewhat ironic, since this was a site from where fossils from the ice age were recovered. We drove around bits of the forest, admiring the brilliant colors of the fall. Still a lot of green fading into yellow, darkening into sunlight orange and then the deep deep red. The trees, the roads, the paths…Maple leaves everywhere in their pretty patterns. Delectable sights. I was one with nature again! *I feared stepping on a snake…I would’ve bolted off a cliff or into the lake if I had* There were red barns and I saw neat cows and sheep and goats !!! We went on a hay ride and picked orange pumpkins – that I promised I would carve or paint over the weekend. We stopped at all the places I shouldn’t have eaten – Subway, McDonald’s and Papa John’s. *So much for losing weight, huh?* Surprisingly, when I stepped on the scales this morning, I was down by another pound !! *does cartwheels in head* !!

Tagged: -1, cold, fall ]]> http://srutsaragorn.wordpress.com/2009/10/11/30f-isnt-so-bad/feed/ 0 sruts http://srutsaragorn.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/the-point-being/ http://srutsaragorn.wordpress.com/2009/10/09/the-point-being/#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:56:04 +0000 Sruts http://srutsaragorn.wordpress.com/?p=598 ]]>

Apart from my congested chest, sore throat, blocked nose, drops popping, throat spraying times of the week, I’ve actually gotten quite a few things done. Two assignments submitted three hours before their respective deadlines made me feel a sense of accomplishment. Sitting for a quiz I studied ten minutes for left me feeling satisfied. Rushing to the downtown campus to get my documents ready to apply for my social security number gave me a feeling of purpose. I felt good. I had bad dreams – not nightmares, just bad dreams – and found myself knocking on wood a little more than often in the past week. I’ve been sleeping well, and seem to have lost a few pounds as well – I still don’t fit into some of my favorite pants, that I used to fit into with ease barely two months back – and have decided to swim at least four times a week starting next week. And then I realize that I start working from the 19th, so I cannot spare enough time…working towards finding an alternative…

Grandpa’s extra proud that I got a job. It’s not much, really. It’s just an on-campus job, and one knows that it doesn’t pay much, but it’s there. It’s a big thing in my family because we grew up with an independence of spirit. We always had people to do things for us, but the greater things in life were all us. Decision making, path choosing…we did it on our own. Isn’t that enough?

I don’t believe in asking for opinions. I don’t like to take or give advice. The only persons that I will ask would be the ones that I trust who know me and know what’s best for me. But even then I procrastinate while I weigh my own personal choices. I never jump into anything blindly. I want to know what’s in it for me. I’ve said that I don’t always think of the consequences of my actions, and I stand by that. It’s complicated to explain what I think the consequences would be – because whenever I make a decision I do think of what the outcome will be, I just don’t think of the damage control that could be called for. There’s always someone to pick me up from that. I know. I’m being independent. But I’ve got my back covered.

Did that make sense? No. I think not. I can’t make sense of it either. I understand what I was trying ot convey but have left out quite a lot of background information.

I guess there wasn’t really a great point I was trying to make in this post. Just wrote randomly. Touching something.

My n’s and r’s sound like d’s, I can’t smell the normally overwhelming male perfume in my hallway, I can’t taste the cheddar jalapeño flavor of the Cheetos, and I can’t sing even a little bit of ‘Run to the hills‘ currently playing on my media player. I have been struck by the common cold, set on my sore throat induced by the dryness in my room because now the heating has been turned on in the residence halls. It’s all connected. I promise you that. Always connected. Hopefully this bout falls into my yearly routine… *knocks wood*

I still haven’t finished any of the books I’ve borrowed from the library this time – includes a kind of sultry sequel to Pride and Prejudice – owing to the two assignments, three mid-terms and a few quizzes scheduled in the next few weeks. And also the two jobs that I interviewed for…I got both…accepted both…then refused one…20 hours dedicated to that from next week… WOW! I’m getting back to the busy person I like to be. I like lazy too. But sometimes busy is good. I won’t feel so guilty about spending now that I will be earning !! It’s not much but it’s good enough for me. For now. I’m glad.

Fall break is this weekend, and I must study hard. I’ve begun to understand the deeper meaning of things, makes me a better person. Learning a lot from those around me – different cultures, some with sane outlooks, others just have issues, and yet others don’t know the extent of their personal beliefs. It’s maddening sometimes, but I have the advantage of having a very silent ‘me’ time.

The heavy nose calls for attention, and my black sheeted, black comforted bed beckons . Starting to go to the 40’s in temperature now…can’t wait for it to snow!! Delightful !!

Before I begin my rant, I must say this – here we go again.

I’ve been keeping fingers crossed for a week now. No. Maybe since I started my classes. I have too much of free time. It’s not good. I get to read a lot, but I also get to be lazy more often. And though I generally welcome the notion of being lazy with nothing much to do, I ‘ve recently learned that I cannot stand a four day weekend every week. I’ve three classes to attend this entire semester – two core courses and one elective – on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 18:25 and 21:05 hrs. That’s it. The rest of the time I’ve nothing to really do. It’s my time. It was fun for the first few weeks, when I was still exploring and finding things to do, but now it’s annoying. I wake up early *Lord knows why! ’cause I go to sleep only at 12 am* and feel like a different person because I never wake up that early and NEVER hear the alarm – I don’t hear it now either because though I awaken at 7 am I doze off and get back up only at 8:45 am . I have breakfast and then I study – after my usual half hour Skyp-ing with my mum – before I go for lunch and then study some more, have a few conversations with my aunt – my godmother – my sisters and brother, have dinner, go for class, talk to mum and grandpa, read and sleep. Blah. I was overcome by this profound need to be doing something, because I think I function better when my day is packed and not so devoid of activities. My brain doesn’t work enough, I think.

I spend a lot of time pondering unnecessary things, which I probably wouldn’t do if I were employed – working for a year has done this to me. The need for work. The want for something to keep my mind occupied at all times. Deadlines flashing at me. Research to do for the work, etc. I like that. I may complain about it at times, but I would still love to do that all over again.

Right now, I’ve two interviews. One already done and another scheduled for tomorrow. Both on-campus jobs, which gives me the security of having a job and a constant pay. Hopefully one of it clicks well enough for me. One is a system administrator kind of job and the other is a web development based job. Both within my knowledge boundaries and well within my technical reach. Of course, I’ve had to take some ten refresher text books from the library and sit myself down to actually get into my head all the technicalities of the things that I’ve studied, used and since kind of forgotten. I do believe, however, that I should pull an all nighter and go well prepared for this interview ’cause this seems to be a more serious position than the one I was interviewed for on Monday. Nice way to begin and end the week I guess

Still, I’m stumped.

Fall begins to set in !! The temperature ranges between 40 and 60 Fahrenheit now – yup, I’ve gotten used to the different scale – and the wind billows about us. It’s calm and cool, with promises of getting colder. Might be nice to experience all wrapped up in coats, scarves and mufflers and shoes, but having to rush out at 2 am – because the fire alarm went off when some mad person burned popcorn – in pajamas and night clothes, stand in the cold night for twenty minutes with the lawn sprinklers on is simply ANNOYING! It was a false alarm. Yes. But as per protocol we had to rush out, grabbing a jacket and our ID cards. Even that some people forgot. I had time to grab my spectacles, without which I would’ve been bat-blind, and mobile phone. Of course, we all cursed our way back in, vowing to beat up the one person who caused two fire trucks and a few cops and half the campus security to rush to our aid. Bloody maddening it was. I was out like a light the instant I was let back in, though. *Brings to mind that one actual fire alarm at Bosch…about three thousand people had to clear out *

Homecoming week was the whole of last week, wrapping up with the block party, parade and carnival over the weekend. It was fun, and our soccer team won their game that afternoon. T-shirts, flip books, pictures, dog-tags…just some of the things we got. It’s getting rather hectic though. Quizzes every week, mid-terms approaching, assignment deadlines hovering too close… *still managed to get an A on my first quiz, a good start if you ask me*, preparation for an on-campus job interview *hopefully I get it – it’s interesting because it concerns web applications and the library*. I’m reading again, quite happily so, and I’ve begun to delve into the serious books now. The October Horse and Anthony & Cleopatra by Colleen McCullough, Tamar by Mal Peet, and some sequels to Pride and Prejudice (which I’ve put on hold) are on my list as of now. My deadline – mid of October. And then I begin a new set!

And between all of this I manage some pilates, controlling my diet *really, trying to avoid meat as much as possible*, planning my winter trip to Atlanta, hoping that it snows here in Chicago before I leave, decorating my room, still spending nights in the hallways, or watching movies in the lounge with my floormates, and keep my fingers crossed that I will finish this semester with A grades. Yes. I’m aiming high. No choice.

So I enjoy the marvellous weather, take advantage of the CTA and revel in books and music once again. I’m back to being me!! I love it!

Here’s my musical update for the current phase I’m going through. This time around it’s Apocalyptica. Them guys with the cellos fusing the orchestral and classical elements to create the bombastic metal sound which makes them unique and damning-ly addictive.

Starting things off, the sound with which they first rose to fame, an instrumental version of Metallica’s Nothing Else Matters. The only thing missing is James Hetfield’s voice, but it still is awesome.

One of their more recent songs – I Don’t Care featuring the aggressively brilliant vocals of Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace.

The musical elements of this piece just blow my mind. It’s perfect.

S.O.S. (Anything But Love) feat. Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil

This post isn’t as strange as its title indicates, but it is promisingly entertaining.

A month gone by, it feels like a lot more than that, and there’s things that’ve happened and not. I will try to wander through the various things that I’ve been doing more than my exact thoughts for the time being, respecting sentiments and beliefs for just a bit till I get into my full mood of being myself.

So far I have visited very few places in the city, and have been scoffed for it – my point being that I will be here for at least a year and a half so I’ve got the time to look about the city at my leisure! I’ve attended an opera at Millenium Park – which was beautiful, with the exception of ‘the Bean’ which I found rather intriguing more than beautiful – walked through the streets gaping at the skyscrapers lit up brightly against a black sky to the Water Tower, visited Borders – my heaven, Ghirardelli’s and Hershey’s blessing the person who thought to have chocolates stores right next to a bookstore – so I was literally in my heaven. I also applied to a couple of places for summer internships – and was told very politely to visit their respective websites in the winter and apply again. Quite happily and freely visited the Adler Planetarium over the weekend before I studied into the night and then spent eight hours painting on windows (graffiti and real drawings) in preparation for homecoming week – which is the week of September 20th. So. I’m having a gala time. I did mention the boat cruise earlier, didn’t I? And I also have had the wonderful pleasure of playing football (I staunchly refuse to refer to the game as soccer…but it might change, eventually) in the hallway, watching the Champions League matches live, cheering for my school’s football team, go swimming every other day (till I pulled some muscle between my shoulder and chest), listen to guys swear and greet each other every morning, join in the fun… Yes, a gala time.

I feel comfortable because the sarcasm with which I usually speak is considered normal here, when back home people would just blink blankly at me. Strange. Because now I’m really normal. But in some other way, and I can’t believe the reason for it, I’m kind of not so normal.

I’m not that much of a fashion person, I just wear what I’m most comfortable in – jeans and a t-shirt/shirt or formal attire – and I don’t really care all that much for make-up. But I’m girl enough to visit the saloon and get a wax or shave off unwanted hair, and when I do this I normally start off with the eyebrow plucking and my arms. Strangely enough, most of the women I see here don’t remove the hair off their hands! Legs – oh yes. Hands – nope, not at all. So while one – here, guys – would enjoy seeing hairless legs in shorts strutting around, it’s a little creepy to see hairy hands! And I’m not talking about these mild stubbly like growth. I mean the full fledged carpet of hair covering the arm. Yes. I can see you cringe. It’s not disgusting. It’s just strange! I asked one of my friends about this, because I burst out laughing once at someone who showed me gorilla like arms, and she merely shrugged in reply – no one really cares all that much about their arms! I can’t really say much about this – but I do remember the look of horror on one of closest friend’s face when he saw the hands of an ‘eye-candy’ girl that he would blush for at work. We had a conversation about it, and actually compared my arms – no hair, his arms – little hair, and her arms – OMG hair. It was a hilarious conversation I will say no more on this subject.

My cryptography homework and science of programming quiz beckon my well deserved attention. I must indulge them Waiting for the homecoming parade and block party this weekend !!