If someone said travelling was tiring, waste of time and money, that person is completely out of their mind. Yes it is tiring, I mean how can it not be, but it is definitely worth it. No matter where you go, you need to embrace its existence. Be it a small town, a big town. Everytime I go somewhere, I learn something, well that would be an exaggeration but it definitely gives me a different outlook to life.

I was at San Antonio and Austin this past Sunday. I know two cities in one day but it was awesome! My friend from back home, now a Sun Devils (hehehe Krak had to put it in there), was down in Houston and it was fun! We were reminiscing old school days back home and boy o boy, was it something. We go through these stories every time we talk, but it never seems to grow old. It was definitely a good weekend.

Was in Longhorn Land for about an hour! And boy was I thinking about what would have happened if I were there. Krak, his dad and I were walking through UT land on a day of spring break, and both of us in unison go "Where are the geeks?"- to which Krak came out with a great but very strong answer- " Go back home and look into the mirror, you will find them"... So it got me to thinking, we are geeks on campus arent we? The more I deny it, the more someone or the other points it at me. I have to thank Annie for de-geeking me since I met her....That girl is crazy....Oh yea Annie used to be part of Longhorn Land, before she moved to Cougar Land. So yea before that all I had was school-work-home-school-work-home..and the same routine over and over again. Until Fall 2005, when I met these wonderful crazy people in Linear Algebra, aka, misery. We got to be such great friends, it was perfect. I am so glad we've been friends for a long time now. I might be the youngest among them, but they definitely de-geek me like I said.
So yea I think I have de-geeked myself now too, since I am procrastinating during this spring break...even though I wake up every morning going...I need to do something and then some friend either from India or wherever the time difference is more than 6 hrs, pops up online and talks to me and I forget my misery of being a workaholic. And yes I have been sleeping more than 5 hrs, isnt that awesome?

Oh well I have run out of things to ramble about...
Later!
Shreya

So I wake up on this bright and beautiful Saturday morning hoping, and I mean really hoping that I would not have to do anything that fits in the definition of productive work. But most definitely that could never be true for moi. I had to do so much cleaning, it wasn't even close to being funny anymore. Fungus in the food- yes explain to me that one. How/ when it happened, I have no idea at all. So I am sitting there thinking how to tackle the situation, as if there is some CIA stuff involved in it. But I think I have been successful enough to leave the kitchen smiling....and what's the dealio with laundry....Does it have to be that much....seriously!!!!! Well enough said about my chore choke

I am trying to find something to talk about today and I think I am going to boast/whine about graduation a little more today. I got a letter yesterday in the mail, saying that I have been nominated to be a student commencement speaker , so I have to enter this competition and might actually end up speaking in front of a lot of people. Am not counting on it, but the thought of it kinda sounds nice. So if the university has recognized me after all these years, I mean come on, can no good school recognize me either? Yes I am a 20 year old graduating in three years, but that doesnt mean you can reject me because I am that young. So if I stayed in school another 4 years, meaning a total of 7 years, graduated with a GPA of 3.5 or above, changed majors n number of times, and then finally decided to do something, accumulated all the loans I could have, then maybe I would have had a better chance at getting into a good school? Irony of life....and I hate to put that cliche there, but apparently it is true. You cannot be good enough until you have seen failure. Wow! I am impressed with the double standards!


Spring break has officially started, which means I am mastering the art of SLEEP!!!!!!! So good luck to me on that


Shreya

Oh my gosh! So I finally recovered my account details and everything and am back to blogging.

So a lot has gone down since the last time I on wrote here (as is expected). The big news is I am graduating this semester!!! Yes finally, even though that seems like an irony since I am finishing a year early and should not be using the word finally. It's so nice to realize that you are actually finishing one part of your life. But the other side to this coin- trying to figure out what to do next, is definitely a brain hutter. I am currently in this spot where I don't know if I want to go to graduate school and be a 24 year old with a PhD and no work experience or go into the work field and go back to school after a while. Oh well! These kinds of things are most definitely frustrating but I guess you have to live out of it.

I did apply to graduate schools. Got a conditional acceptance from Oxford- yes the one in England, and not the one in Tennessee, USA. The condition being that I have to have a certain GPA by the time I graduate, and guess how off I am ......done guessing? I am off by 27/1000 of a point. I hate them for it, but I guess it gives me added incentive to study during this last semester! Brown University (up in Rhode Island) and Columbia University (New York :) ) have skillfully rejected me. So this week has been going worse than usual. Surviving it though....atleast I have convinced myself about it.

But I have to go now since I am at work (and hardly working).
I promise I will be updating this place like crazy from now on!!!
Take care!
Adios
Shreya

I don't know what happened to the previous post, I have no idea as to what happened to that font! College started on the 21st, which was Monday(yesterday). I think I had a good first day of school. As in it began at 8 and did not end until 4 and then of course Annie kidnapped me to go to Bennigan's which was the highlight of the day. Today wasn't bad either. All my professors did today were- handed out syllabi and then we were let out. Aa those good ole days. Wish they came back

Then of course I hit the gym. I had to do it. I am sitting on my ass and getting fatter and fatter by the day. It is just not right!

Little tired today, so the post is going to stay small.
Will post later
Shreya

I woke up this morning not knowing what to do and all of a sudden Jon was online. As usual, I began to bug him and he sent me an email with this link ( I am not going to put the link out here)- but it got me thinking about personal liberty. I am going to be a little too extreme about this so please bear with me ( and of course comments are more than welcome).

The website was an online resource of personal information. You could search anyone on that website and get any information you would want. And yes when I say any, I mean it. For a price, you could be entitled to their Social Security Number too, you could do a Search by Social Security Number on that dreaded website ( as if it were an ISBN number or something). It scared the hell out of me in the beginning, but then upon close examination, I did realise that it could be a good resource( I am playing devil's advocate with myself, I am definitely against that website). I am sorry I am going offtrack. Here is the thing, do we need to start a more rigorous regulation of the internet today than ever before? Some people are going to ramble about infringement of personal liberty, of civil rights, but what if we definitely need a regulation because other people are at risk. When the phone tapping incident came out, I was all for getting an answer as to how my privacy was being intruded upon. And yes I was offended, and trying to justify as to how other people were ok with this. It struck me ridiculous. I don't want to be offensive, but that is definitely a violation of my right to privacy.

And even so why are we in a state of racial profiling in the 21st century? Just because we get threats sometimes?Like my friend Jad Elias from Lebanon said in our class once, that we have forgotten the distinct distinction between Radicalism and Islam. What about those who are innocent and are as disgusted as us with the current situation? Why shouldn't they be given a chance to explain their viewpoints?

I don't know...I have to let this post go now, cause I cant write anymore but I will
Shreya

Yes I remembered the promise to keep up. So I know a lot of you guys have been asking me what I have been doing these years since I left India in 2003. I think ever since I have left, I have never been the same again. The first year was the hardest. It took me a while before I could adjust to the surroundings but I did it, and I am damn well proud of it. I was in Lubbock, Texas for a year, where I did my senior year of high school at Lubbock High. As crazy as this sounds, I loved that city. It was such a loveable city, I am not even kidding. That is like my point of reference sometimes. I can go on and on about that city, but I will not.

Well then by a series of (un)fortunate events, we moved to Houston in 2004. Hate the city till date. I did not want to come here, but I have indeed lived here for the last two years. I go to the University of Houston. I am working on my Bachelors of Science degree in Economics with a minor in French. So far, school(college) has been good. The first semester turned out to be decent enough. I was most definitely not one of those lost freshman, absolutely clueless. I had a game plan and I am glad that I have stuck with it. I do not intend to change majors, I am dead set to do economics, and economics it shall be. What am I going to be doing with that degree? Great question!!!! I am a little confused as of now too, because some people have been asking me to go to law school. I must admit that I am definitely skeptical about law school. I am not sure if I have got it in me to be committed to law school, but that is still in the near future. But I am planning to go to the UNICEF(United Nations Children Fund). I want to work with the UN and help third world countries get out of their poverty trap. It is not an easy task and it is definitely one of those young-generation-ideas. But I have decided to do it, failure or success.

I am currently working at the Scholars' Community at UH as a Mentor/Tutor. Some hard core job let me assure you. But the people are awesome. I know I am going to make friends for life over there. I am glad that that egg shell I was in, has finally broken and Washington D.C. is responsible for that. No more scared to do stuff, I have finally taken the step to not be such a wuss.

Umm have I changed? Yes, most definitely. I am still the person you could talk to 3.5 years ago, but I am sure you will find discrepancies here and there. I have become liberal, I do not know how much of it, but yes liberal. It has swung pretty often, moderate liberal and very liberal. But yes at this point of time I am definitely a Democrat. Washington D.C. and all the stuff that goes on in there, has let me come to that conclusion. I did think that I was a conservative in the economic standpoint, but after a lecture at Georgetown on Free Market Economy, I have decided never to hit that road ever again. I don't think that I want to run deficits, but definitely no free market economy for me. Which means Univ of Chicago is out of the question. For those of you who are wondering why, its because it is a free market school. I don't think I can work with the Austrian School of Economics anymore. Yes I still admire Hayek, but I cannot pursue it. Hayek will still be my God for economics, because he was the first economist I read.

I will have to take leave right now. I don't know how effective blogs are, so I am going to leave it at that . I am trying to upload a pic on here, so bear with me.

Adios
Shreya

Well as I wait for the picture to upload, let me remind everyone, whoever has remotely kept up with my blogs, that I was the one that hasn't kept my blog updated like I had promised to. I was on xanga and I decided that it wasn't worth it. I don't know I ended up in this rush to start blogging and all that but now I think I will switch to blogger. Xanga is not appealing anymore to me.

This summer has been great! Those who will see this through facebook definitely know what I am talking about. It's been one of the best summers I have ever had. I think the only comparable summer was the one after the 10th. For those of you have been asking me about what I did, and why I was so busy, it was because I was in Washington D.C.. It is definitely the place I want to go back to in the future, or actually maybe New York , but yes Washington D.C. will definitely see me sometime in the future. Look at that place! THE WHITE HOUSE MAN THE WHITE HOUSE! Its not like I always will agree/disagree with the decisions that are being made that every day, but hey- who would not want to work over there!

I was also at the Federal Reserve Bank of the United States of America- it is where pretty much all the monetary decisions of the economy are made. I was sitting at that Board table, and trust me( yes its a highly biased comment), but that place was exhilarating. That experience was exhilarating. I know I will be there some day, will be a research assistant to some economist, cause that is what I want to do. I can still work at the White House but definitely will have to do this, I am determined.

I don't think I will start writing about what I have been doing these years, ever since I left India. I will in the next post and it is a promise.

I will have to take leave now. I hope I will be able to keep up with blogging.

Peace out(if this gets too cliche, do tell me-will stop it)
Shreyasee(shreya)