Batman

What can I say ?
I owe Bob Kane, Frank Miller and DC comics a lot for Batman.

What godfather is for movies, batman is for comics!!

especially the frank miller comic novels!!!

Year One - birth and growth
Knightfall - breaking and rejuvenation
Dark Knight returns - death

I loved the above three sets a lot.

especially the Knightfall series and DKR.

Knightfall is about how batman is defeated by Bane and crippled by him.
Bruce Wayne (a.k.a Batman) then goes through trials and tribulations
including a beautiful training by lady shiva and returns to claim the mantle
of the bat from azrael.

DKR - is about a old bruce wayne who has relinquished being batman
comes back needing the batman just as the batman needs bruce wayne.
he comes back and sets a lot things straight finally leading
to a confrontation with Superman. his confrontation with supes is too good
though i dare say supes was really restraining too much. then in the finally
moment when he is pummeling supes, he has a heart attack and seemingly dies.

But finally, he turns alive and is training a bat army.....

become a frank miller fan ....

Then came the sandman with neil gaiman rocking me...
about it later

Silence and Turbulence

Magnificient is silence
amidst all this turbulence
the silence within your heart
Its beauty can render you apart

Silence amidst all the noises
when peace is one of your choices
hundred thousand watts around you blaring
and you merely stroll or think not hearing

Heart feels as if it is about to burst
Yet you enjoy the moment and do rest
Loneliness is so and so beautiful
I hated it then, now I embrace it afull.

____________________

Loneliness and silence , my companions so beautiful.
To think I wrote a poem about my agony then.
Well, that was then, this is now.
I am just feel numb like in a dream. but i enjoy being numb.
just attending classes , doing things alone...
am not calling anyone much, occasional calls to my friends
in UMN and boston.rare calls to family.


This is peace for the moment.
hopefully, this is not calm before the storm nor the
eye of the storm before all hell breaks loose.

Young Minds

Your mind is like a jet
When you are young,
All seem easily to set,
What did say carl jung ?

Then, I used to whirl through Math
Now,a simple sum leaves me in a sweaty bath
Who am I ? a mere shell of my former self.
Too many hurdles passed leaving a scarred elf.

Never will stop trying to win
not to do so is the greatest sin
Work it out I should
Excel then I could

A stupid poem I now wrote
about my mind to erode
Do not mock me thus,reader
for I am a tired crusader.

Pub crawl

Here at Tepper school at CMU, we have this activity called pub crawl every thursday.

every thursday, all tepper students( not all always) gather at a pub somewhere @10:00 PM in shadyside , drink beer and of course, other alcoholic drinks (based upon what they want), TALK and network ,
just talk about any topic under the sun.

Though mostly MBA s turn up, it is really cool. oppurtunity to discuss with ppl from diverse backgrounds more experience than you have...of course the beer!!!!
night air is cool!!!! somehow i like enjoy it.....

then after spending 1 -2 hrs at a pub, whoever is left move to the next pub......sometimes.
mostly it is the beer :-).

i just dont feel like making this post coherent. will leave it incoherent as it is.

Lectures

I have this diseases called Lectureitisbraindeaditis and syndrome is basically
extensive sleepiness during lectures which are even slightly disinteresting.
Uptil now, i found 2-3 profs great and some Ok. even the best have their offdays.

Of i go sleeping or dreaming about sleeping again or something or reminiscing about some book.especially the 9:00 AM lectures.

But the profs are amazing here. I generally try to understand them. And I do.
however, I always been someone who understands by reading more than a listener (which I do but not on a daily basis). But finance,,, i listen to almost every word.

I like the lectures here. The first time in my life i ever have....hmmmm!!!!

Another definition for Peace

Yesterday at 9:30 PM, i really felt this.
Went to cold stone creamery and bought a strawberry bananas rendezvous.
Went literally bananas.

Walked back home for around 15-20 mts.
Walking down Murray Avenue until Wilkins Avenue and then Wightman Street.
Was great. Silence except for the occasional cars.

Then there was the icecream in my hands and my IPOD blaring my favorite songs
across tamil,english and hindi.

Was just living for the moment.not a care in the world.
didnt matter if i was jobless, assignments to do, whether i would
be alive in the next moment.

i drank in the moment .... the cool night air, the soft music from my ipod,
darkness with occasional lighting by the street lights, the beautiful trees,
the pavement, slopes of the streets of pittsburgh......and of course, every scoop
of cold stone ice cream melting in my mouth. my mind didnt think of anything else
except i just have to blog this. Walking rocks!!!!

Peace

Peace!!!! Millions spend eons seeking you
Alas! Only an enlightened few find you
You are everywhere and yet nowhere
You are nowhere and yet everywhere

Peace ? Nations seek unsuccessfully for ages.
But You are supposed to be in Saints and Sages.
You are like an elusive damsel creating distress
where you are not. You are but an unfaithful mistress.

Yet,one can find you in the greatest of turmoils.
How ? Where ? When ? Whom ? it all comes to boil.
Within yourself, in silence , Within god, some say.
Others say, within nature. You shall come one day.

Until then, millions spend eons seeking you
Alas! Only an enlightened few find you
You are everywhere and yet nowhere
You are nowhere and yet everywhere

Visaka Buddha

Why the name Visaka Buddha ?

Merely because I was born in the star of Visaka just like Prince Siddhartha a.k.a gautama buddha was.
What do I share with him ?
Though definitely not wise as him, there is some in me. but it just does not seem to
work out.
like him, i guess I am kinda a lonely person.
lots of ppl around me.but still lonely.

guess i always have been like that. surrounded by lots of ppl
who are attracted by irresistible charm ;-).
but always felt lonely. maybe with very few ppl i felt at home.

maybe buddha wasnt like that.

I like Buddha very much. Thats another reason.

now you kinda understand the gist. Don't ya ?

Education in U.S

i received an email from a junior in college(undergrad- Sriram Engg College)
about how life is in grad school in U.S.

Just thought i would blog it so ppl can read it. this is a rushed opinion and
by no means comprehensive.

Here, you need to work out things yourselves. some proffs are very good,
some are ok.some are very boring.

i literally slept through 99% of my UG classes except for a few classes esp maths.

however, here proffs dont talk much from the book. atleast they try not to vomit from the textbooks.

they apply industrial problems, current trends and ask us to apply the concepts.

assignments and homework are crucial and essential for good grades ( i never did a single HW /assignment in UG simply becos u just had to vomit from the text book).
and u just cant copy things from a text book. read the concepts throughly, do some research, do some extrapolation/intrapolation, bang ur head on the table sometimes,
nightouts,.... then by a miracle u complete the assignments esp finance.

class is beautiful. students from such diverse backgrounds, ethinicity. i feel
i am sitting in earth scaled down to a class. learning so much about cultures, people. it is beautiful.

what else, of course, the parties, since i am tepper school of business, ( but i am doing a m.S not m.b.a), lot of networking events..parties where u get food ( sometimes free), beer (ditto) where the aim is not to hog but to converse and establish rapport.

its fun and real hard work combined..
i am in accelerated degree where i need to finish the degree in 1.5 years ( 3 semesters plus 1 internship). so really hectic.

gtg... time rushes by...

Orientation- CMU

orientation at CMU was fun.
First there was the internation student orientation starting from
Aug 15, then there was the grad student orientation for 1-2 days.

Tepper school of business orientation was for a week!!!!!

Orientation was really fun. Lots of activities, beer, free food.
Met so many diverse people within such a short time.
So cool. people from bulgaria, russia, countries from europe,africa,
asia,south america.......

radical. i really love this.

Finally, my dream has come true.

thrice I have applied for Master's degree in science...
twice though I got it, i did not take it. not to mention
enrolling into a part time degree which I loathed.
third time however, i just take it with all my heart and soul.

had to work so hard each time, get it and finally lose it from some silly
reason mostly becos of ppl who dont have courage.
third time, i am so happy. i feel content to a great extent.
but i feel the struggle to get here has been so intense that
it has literally sapped my mental energies.

wished i had joined sooner when i was in my prime.
sometimes feel so dull. hopefully should
rejuvenate soon.

struggled so much for this.can't giveup now. can i ?

finance- should definitely get the hang of it.
not like computer science which i almost have in my
blood.

Liberation - D Day --- Independence

Aug 15,2006: A red letter day for me.
I was liberated from the IT profession hopefully.
Phew!! Independence from senseless slogging and slavish
working for nothing.
Maybe millions in India clamour for it and maybe I did
clamour for it once.
but now for the last few months, I was barely able to
withstand staying. on Aug 14,my last day, i literally could nt
wait.
however, i was sad to leave my company ,Cognizant.
Lots of personal history. first job.
so many achievements, personal downfall and then surge to the
top....... hmmmm. life goes on.
Got my admission into Carnegie Mellon University -
Tepper School of Business - Master's in Computational Finance.
http://business.tepper.cmu.edu/default.aspx?id=141030

hip!! hip!! hurray!!!!!!!
magical moment!!!