Haiii Kuuuuu

in sorrow we live
a joy that is a friend
makes it worthwhile

It's been a trying few weeks, on many fronts. A one line update - I am now officially a postdoctoral fellow at the nutrition and neurocognition lab at the HNRCA (home to previous rat experiences!). i carry a burden of responsibility that i have created for myself. My mentor Irv is all about stream of consciousness, and inquisitive learning, and i seem to be failing at that. I haven't lived up to my expectations on some fronts, but I am lucky to be surrounded by like-minded people, who have been supportive and encouraging in spite of my stumbling and mumbling efforts ("ya, you are hard on yourself, ya?" - Marge Gundersen). But in the timeless words of Gloria Gaynor, "I Will Survive".
enough about me; what's happening in your neck of the woods?

What happened...

Follow the pictures, and fill in the blanks to create your own magical fairytale wedding story...








And....
Find the needle in the haystack...rather, find the needle and then the haystack...

Coming soon...

... when I have time...
1) Photoblog of "Adventures in Discovery Park" (Not quite Jurassic Park, but it had its own thrill)
2) Lake Washington Kayak-King (Nay, no names will be taken, atleast not in vain)
3) JetBlues a.k.a Return of the Prodigal Son (from Seattle)

Eventful...

...to say the least....

It's 9 pm in Seattle. I am sitting on Kelly's balcony, watching the sun set on Mt Rainier, digesting the quick indian dinner that I made for us (Krish, you missed out on this one but, lose not your heart, tomorrow is our night!)

Big Event No. 1: Pat and Lori got married

Big Event No 2: Pat and Lori got married



alright, alright, the wedding pretty much dwarfed everything else... And to Big Event No 3: I danced at the reception (Yep, all of the two left feet me)
Pat, in his inimitable style, made a presentation of his and Lori's life - funny, poignant, and memorable... and we all featured as the supporting cast; Thanks to our adventures at the Ben Gurion Airport, I got the honor of being represented as a video clip :)
On a related note, the Seattle Times reported that 37000 couples got married on 7/7/07 - i hear that particular day was lucky both from a religious as well as a cultural perspective... I know of one couple who won't need luck :)
It has been a whirlwind visit - Seattle, Redmond, Pasco, Kennewick and Seattle again in 3 days! A shoutout to Kelly, Donna and Krish for making it happen...
I am off to adventures galore, as Krish and I "paint the town pink"(His words, not mine - I prefer the colour red).
Toodles...

Fourth of July

This was my second Fourth of July in Boston, in three years!
Last year, Pat, Lori, Kelly, Char and a bunch of us headed out to the top of the Tisch Library on the Tufts Medford Campus to watch them from afar. Someone had brought a radio and we even got to hear Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture as the fireworks took off.
Since the last fourth of July, my year has been something of a trough on all fronts , plunging down, rising a bit, dipping for a bit and then plunging even further! Pretty much the toughest year of my life, notwithstanding Year 1 (Oh i forget, that wasn't difficult for me, it was hell for my mater and pater!).
I put a tombstone on that year with a fantastic evening with Noah and Dora, Bob joining in as a late guest. Nothing spectacular, we saw a cute rat movie "Ratatouille", sneaked in our homemade popcorn and raspberry lemonade into the theater, made our own pizzas for dinner, and watched the fireworks on TV :) . To top it all, Nikhil is born
Off I go to Seattle, to meet with the ole Gang, and to "ride with Krish"

Oye, friends...

I spent the evening with Amar, he of the Joslin Clinic fame. We didn't do anything spectacular - dined at Rami's in Brookline, watched a movie at Fenway, and talked... mostly talked. That felt nice. It was good to talk to someone who knew where i came from, where i was going... kosh, wither thou? it's been too long . The reason why they did not base inspirational movie scripts on our (Amar and mine) friendship in the med school days was because we weren't particularly close. We knew each other, and of each other, and I was always the "different" (read weird) kid who hung out with the engineers. But ever since my move to Beantown, we have hung out more often than in all of our medical days! And enjoyed hanging out. Amar used to travel across town to meet up. He trekked across every Sunday (almost!) to watch the NFL on my TV, patiently explaining to me that the "reason why they do not go for an offensive game on the fourth down is because they want to play it safe", and more answers to other asinine questions of mine... i still say that the offensive linemen should pull down the quarterback's pants while he is throwing, which sneaky strategy will work to a team's psychological advantage... Our times together involved talking about life, sports, molecular diabetology, and at some point, we watch a movie! good times...
These thought ran through my head when I was talking to my friend J about.... friends... with whom we are in touch... and i was telling her that my first response to a "need to talk" is to dial India! Why is that? Is it that it is a hardwired response? With the time difference, it can get difficult, but i cling to it (in a good way!)... As much as i love talking to folks back home, I also have close friends here that I can talk to just as easily, and I do talk to them... And my mentors are my best friends!! sharing my times of sadness and joy, of failure and success, of paradise lost and paradise regained, I am here now...
Hurrah for Amar!

America's Next Top Statistical Model

I get a call from Jess, who was excited about this idea that has been conceived by her friend Andy. Andy who goes to the Harvard School of Public Health wanted to spoof the show "America's Next Top Model" and make "America's Next Top Statistical Model"!! Given that I am used to making the most pathetic statistical puns, even in Data analysis class, Jess thought that I would enjoy getting my hands dirty with this... and she was right... we sat together one sunny Sunday and made the whole thing!! it was great fun!
Andy got together a class cast to act out the characters and with about 6 practice sessions, they were ready... cool... i added background effects and we were good to go for Harvard School of Public Health's International Night! they were amazing on stage and i loved watching the abstract puns come to life...hahaha

The background of the play:
There are 8 statistical models and the compere, Ion T-test, gives them a task based on which one will be chosen "America's Next Top Statistical Model". The email (ahem..."STATA MAIL") outlining the task:
Hey Ya’ll, I need some help. My grandmother has come down with some serious heartache. I need you to help me lessen her risk. So ladies, it’s time to pimp my relative’s risk. In this challenge, you will each have to build a model that will fill her aorta and balloon her heart with love. Please turn your output and syntax into me by midnight.
In Confidence,
Ion T-Test

the fun begins soon after!

This is not the whole play and it is missing bits, as you can make out, and this was shot with a handheld so the audio is a little screwy, but enjoy it all the same!




It links here

Wow, it's been a long time...

A flavour of soon-to-be-released stories...
1) Vitamin B12 kicks ass!
2) Adventures of Moving Out - A Remote Story
3) Ajanta - the Journey of a 2nd century B.C. to the 21st century
4) Delhi Roundup
5) Aah... to be with family and friends again!
6) Bike Angel
7) Back in Boston *sigh*

A Big Thank You...

...to the Shpais - Girish and Lo, Ram and his deep pockets (and I am not talking about Pita bread), Dinu-saurus and Lachchho...
...for keeping me afloat, solvent... for "dissolving" my pain :)