You can now call me Master

Whew!
Step 1 is over. I graduated from my Masters Course yesterday. The commencement was fantastic!
Lance Armstrong was the University Commencement Speaker and Prof James Levinson was the Nutrition School Commencement Speaker. Fantastic speeches by both, though Jim's speech was more personal. Photos and Videos will be put up as soon as I get back from Philly.
Summer's on, and I may be seen streaking on the Boston Common!

An Era Ends and Another Begins...

My grandfather, who has been such an inspirational part of my childhood, died last weekend, in Bangalore. He had lived a fullfilling life, and enriched our lives to the maximum extent possible. His legacy remains in the form of his wonderful family. May he rest in peace!
Another day, another milestone! I graduate from the Masters program this Sunday, May 21, 2006. James Levinson is the Commencement Speaker, and I can think of no better inspiration for fresh graduates! Having heard him speak at Marlboro College, I am looking forward to his speech! My journey has only begun! The huge PhD mountain looms before me! Before I start scaling it, I think I need to see more of this country. I start with a trip to Philly next week for a Positive Deviance training workshop at the Albert Einstein Medical Center . After that, the world is my oyster!
Given that my knee could navigate the 20 mile walk for hunger, I have decided to train with F and her friend A, for a 10K run in July. For obvious reasons, they would be training to run it in the shortest time possible, while I will be training to just complete it!
Today is Day 2 of my epic battle with Jerry and Monique's computer, trying to get it to work without crashing, sending weird pop-ups, messing up the display, and generally being a Windows machine!
The struggle continues...

"Time, Ladies and Gentlemen"

As the Chair Umpire announces the end of the break, and the start of the final nailbiting game to decide the Champion at the 2006 Lawn Tennis Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club at Wimbledon, little does he realize that the chain of events that led to that last game began on the sunny morning of May 7 2006. On this day, a brave group of souls from an august institution set out on a journey with 40000 other heroic beings, to raise awareness on the most acute of all human miseries - hunger!
*end*
I hate to leave you dangling, but I trust you will find the thread connecting the two events (pun intended)!!
My Walk was not as body a-aching and mind a-numbing as I thought it would turn out. It helps if you are walking with a wonderful person who has just completed the Boston Marathon and can tell you the hows and whens of stretching and resting. F also shared some of her Marathon secrets, kept me smiling throughout the journey and *poof* 20 miles were over!!! J joined us halfway, and she is also a bright beam of sunshine (not that we needed the sun - it was a glorious day for walking!) and tons of fun to walk the walk!
F, J and I didnt bring our walk sheet; so at each of the 8 checkpoints, we had the back of our hands "checked off". the results are the for you to see



On a different note, I tried my hand at Salsa last week and found out that my mind, body, and mouth do not communicate with one another, leave alone the need for coordination!!! I have decided that I prefer the Jalapeno variety!!

For all you Star Wars Fans...

"The legend never dies"

Enjoy!

If you thought Baywatch sucked...

... you aint seen nothing yet!!!
Ladies and Gentlemen, presenting David Whatsisname

Let us Cleanse our "Collective Soul"

Link to Clip on YouTube

I lost...

... in the second round of the 2006 Tufts Spring Ping Pong tournament
:(

funny stuff!

My friend sent this to me because she though I would find this funny (note the Indian character in the cast!)... and I did find this funny... hilarious... the guys at wongfuprodutions.com are good! This clip is about 15 minutes long... enjoy!




If the embedded video player doesnt work, then follow this link

What A Day!

Have you had a day where everything falls into place?
I got up this morning with a zero balance and ended with a 'full house'! "Cut it out"
I finished my part of the evaluation of the M&E presentation. The big shindig is on tomorrow morning at 8.30 AM!!! I hope I get some sleep!
Sooo, this work which was going to take 5 hours took only 3 1/2. So I was able to mosey on home and take a breather before my match up against the "giant killer" sophomore who was going to take me out of the 2006 Tufts Spring Ping Pong tournament. Looks like I go forward to the second round... live to survive the tale or is it survive to live the tale... or whatever... its a tall tale!! I WON :)
I go home, add finishing touches to the presentation slides that my friends have sent me, and then Bob comes over to play the trivia game at Johnny D's trivia night . SO we are running a bit late... we walk in and everyone is already settled in.... its the third question of the first round as we enter and the song is nearing its end (the time for a question is the length of the song)... we ask what the question is and we are told "unit of pressure that is represented as newton per meter square and which is also a computer language"... i immediately thought of krish, kosh and their struggles with fortran and pascal (while I had my own internal struggles with the anatomy of an earthworm)... and voila, ve vere voff!!!
the picture round messed us up... lead singers and their bands... not our cup of tea... BUT Bob killed the competition with guessing the middle names of ten presidents that were read out... and the best part of it... as the QuizMaster (QM) was reading out the questions, Bob was telling me the answers and i was writing it down... and poof! when the QM finished the tenth name, we had our answers in his lap and he was stunned!!! "This has to be the closest game in the history of trivia night" "This is the first time in my life that I have seen two guys, who came in towards the end of the first round, staged an amazing comeback to win"... Yay! We won a $30 gift certificate...'Pies R Us' Rules!!!
The only blight spot was that I couldnt see my friends F & L finish the Boston marathon! *sigh*... but hey, we cant win them all, can we?
I have broken my unsaid anonymity rule.. because Bob deserves more than one round of applause! Bob Choo, Ladies and Gentlemen!!!!

Explorations, discoveries, serendipity

I am overwhelmed!

My Project Bread Walk for Hunger Walk Page is an affirmation of the lovely qualities of moi friends - kind, selfless, and generous. I have updated my collection goal 5 times, and each time, my friends and family have helped me meet it!!! What about that? Fantastic indeed! :) Talking to, and mailing, some of them, brings up memories that just choke me up. I guess I must also be homesick :) And I found the Menon after a long long time, through the Walk page! Now I have to catch up with him . God (or any other force that one believes in, even if it is your own life force) Bless them!

Among other things, my friends F and L are running in the Boston Marathon with the Tufts Team along with 198 other dedicated runners from Tufts. I have to admire their courage and am looking forward to seeing them come over the finish line!

A-ha, I am also part of the 2006 Tufts Spring Ping Pong tournament . I am drawn against a Sophomore, who, I guess, is faster, quicker, younger (for sure) and more talented than me. She is sure to sweep me out, but hey, I am going to have fun playing!!

My lovely professors, who I work for, and TA for, are amazing. When their good friend, Dr Singhal visited Boston from Ohio, they took him, and F and I for a visit to Walden Pond, and their upcoming house in Concord . Its a beautiful house, on the banks of a pond, and I am promised summer fun there!!!! Woo Hoo!

Bob and I are also doing the Johnny D's trivia night on Apr 17. We need team players, so join us if you can!

Blogthings

Excerpts of some Mass humour from Blogthings ! Follow the Link for more!

"You Know You're From Massachusetts When...
The person driving in front of you is going 70 mph and you are cursing him for going too slow.
You know how to pronounce the names of towns like Worcester, Billerica, Haverhill, Barre and Cotuit.
You think the rest of the country owes you for Thanksgiving and Independence Day.
You have never been to Cheers. (True! Never been there!)
When the words 'WICKED' and 'GOOD' go together.
The curse of the Bambino is taught in public schools.
You own a "Yankees Suck" shirt or hat.
You do not recognize the letter "R" as a part of the English language.(Never a truer statement has been made)"

How many esses are there in Massachusetts?

1, 2 3?? As many as you want to put in? These spelling syntactical and philosophical issues come to the forefront when I look am on the T, and leave the conscious part of the brain the moment I exit the metallic snake.... ah, the frivolous vagaries of fate and faith...
I am taking this very interesting course in my school called "Theories of Public Policy"
Its a very hands-on course in US Policy and I just love the stories that Kathleen, our Professor, has up her sleeve... In the first class, I get asked "Why do you want to take this course?" Without a funny repartee coming to mind, i decided to stick to the boring truth and said,"Because I think it is going to be fun"!!
And fun it has been; in addition to reading about some interesting cases from the field of automotive and agriclutural policy, we paid a visit to the Massachussetts State House, the seat of the House of Representatives and the Senate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to hand our "citizen legislation" on eliminating the use of non-therapeutic use of antibiotic in animals to State Representative J. James Marzili, Jr..
What a hoot!!!

Project Bread and the Walk for Hunger

Every year, Project Bread holds the annual Walk for Hunger, the largest annual one-day fundraiser to alleviate local hunger in Massaschusetts. The 20-mile Walk route weaves through Boston, Brookline, Newton, and Cambridge.
I walked the 20 miles last year and will do so again this year. This is a plug for your support of my Walk and you can do so on my Walk Page . I also want to take this opportunity to thank all those who visited the site and made a contribution to Project Bread.
All of us have altruistic intentions, though not all of us get an opportunity to convert our thoughts into action. The Walk for Hunger is one such effort that resonates with me, both in terms of the purpose and the process. If I am in Boston on the first sunday of May every year, you know where to find me.

PS: I am really excited about, and determined to complete, the walk because my almost-three year old niece is supporting my walk!!!! How cool is that??? She turns three on the Fourth of July!

Pump Up the Volume

Turn up your volume and watch this!

Chicaago!!

Just came back from the Windy city... tons of stories, pics and, a *ahem* embarassing new video clip of me (as I told one of my good friends, its a "family" video...involving me, a spoon and a bowl of chocolate) from my three days there... watch this space for more... winding down with homework and entering spring recess break...

Presenting Kaili

My good friend Kaili is a new entrant to the blog scene, one of the reamining Few Good Women (*immediately hides from the bricks, bats and stones hurled in his direction*)

I am honoured to be listed on her blog. Enjoy her blog as it matures and blossoms!

This weekend, I am headed Chicago way - a reunion that is many years in the making! The Original Three Musketeers - 22/7, Peedus and I - will walk the dark streets, and the light streets, dispensing summary justice to one and all! I will get a chance ot catch up on old friends, WHO allies, and Doctors in the making!

UPDATE: Kaili's blog is offline. Watch this space for more

The Mother of Game Nights

Wow!
The evening of Friday the 3rd February 2006 was a watershed in Mason Street history. At a unique event this day, we had citizens of varying nationality, with diverse educational backgrounds coming together to participate in the largest (to date) Game Night of 23 Mason Street. Gingerbreak cake and baked nectarines hobnobbed with bhel puri and tortilla chips and salsa while Oreo cookies complemented the fantastic Tiramisu. Japanese graciousness and Korean humour kept the night alive while the Filipino brain and the American supercomputer raced to victory. There were taboos left unspoken and pursuits made trivial . It was also the celebration of the day of birth of one of our own - A doctor-to-be, a Mason-ite of long standing. Suffice to say, our expectations (I refer to the 23 Mason-ites - G, L, T and I) were exceeded with nary a backward glance!!
Yesterday my friends and I paid a visit to the new kid on the block and picked up this and this and this. What fun, all this!

Universal Truth: family and friends... You can't do without them!

My friend P turns to me on the T, and says "How is your 'sup dog' doing?"

I look at him quizzically and say, "What's sup dog"?

* One evil grin * later, he says

"Nothin, wassup wid you?"


... i fell for that, hook line and sinker...


We have an ongoing cat and mouse game where we try to sneak into each other's office and scare the heebie jeebies out of the person on his chair by suddenly shouting "Boo" into the back of their head.. I have to say, I have succeeded a few times while he has had me jumping out of my skin, not just in the office but also at home!! The War continues...

... continues on to the table tennis table... My knee is back to being fully flexible and "operational" (pun totally intended) and in addition to the physical therapy exercises, I have been indulging in a few games of TT now and then... Dont tell my doc, he will have a fit!... Thats the problem with docs, they are so busy playing God that they forget that their patients are human... one advantage of being a doc and not being allowed to be a doc is that, at the same time, I can be sitting in, looking out and sitting out, looking in... doubly so if I am a patient!
ah, life is wonderful

On unrelated issues, Dr Nevin Scrimshaw speaks on the urban legend that was the protein gap . My good friend Lau and I will moderate the discussion. All are invited!

Phew!

Its been a hectic holiday! After Vermont, New Years in Boston and North Reading, I had a lovely evening of Tan Dun at the BSO, a good weekend with Chet and Bop in NYC, and now, am in a blissfully ignorant state at the start of the academic term!
New England weather is at its worst! 10 C one day and - 2.5 C the next, one has to "look no further" to see how nature is toying with humans!
Update Snow this morning... followed by bright (but cold) sunshine ... "we are your puppets!"
Whee! I am actually a teaching assistant!! *muhahahaha*
To quote from the site :
"
NUTR 291PD: Positive Deviance for Behavior Change: A Course for Practitioners
Description:
Positive Deviance provides a unique approach for solving problems that require social or behavioral change. At its heart is the belief that in every community there are a few individuals – “positive deviants” – whose uncommon practices or behaviors enable them to outperform or find better solutions to pervasive problems than their neighbors with whom they share the same resource base. Identifying the positive deviants’ special practices/behaviors reveals hidden resources already present in the environment, from which it is possible to devise solutions to pervasive community problems, solutions that are sustainable as well as cost-effective. Students will read and discuss positive deviance and behavior change literature, review and critique studies and programs, and design and carry out positive deviance inquiries in the Boston area. Grading is Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory (S/U). Course enrollment is limited to 12.
Credit: 1
Prerequisites: Graduate standing or instructor consent.
Course Director: Sternin
Day/Time: Wednesdays 1:00 - 3:30 pm
Location: Jaharis 155, Boston Campus
Enrollment Number: NUTR291-PD
Call Number: 03750
"
My first! :-)

"This is the End"

An Era has ended..... here

Another just begins... here