Back.... again...

Have been ignoring this site for ages. The numerous drafts lying around remind me of all those false starts which never got completed. Thoughts that just came up and went away as I was distracted by something else. A lots been happening of late. Of late, I've been bitten by the rails bug. Looking at some of the websites on the Internet really makes me itch to produce something nice. And believe me, its not very hard. Ruby is pretty easy to learn and rails makes it really easy for someone to start. UI Frameworks like Twitter Bootstrap are pretty inviting too. Hopefully, I can spend a weekend hacking over this. Anyways, check out maranellored.smugmug.com for some photos that I've shot recently. More updates as I start spending more time here.

An update from the burgh.

Everytime I open this page and set about typing, something turns up or I lose heart all of a sudden. I've never been a frequent blogger but then I did blog atleast twice a month at my peak. But, I hardly blog, once a year now.
Then, I realise that I'm actually paying for the domain, so why not make use of it. The thought of losing 10$ a year seems daunting at first but then heck, its only 10 bucks. Forget it. Thats how I end up losing motivation to put something out.
I have no idea if this post is gonna make it, and if it does, when is it gonna make it.

Well, I figure I might as well post once in a while and if its some random stuff, who cares. Maybe, I can look back after a couple of years and remind myself of how bored and jobless I got at CMU. I got back onto facebook after deactivating my profile for quite sometime. What made me go back? What made me deactivate the account at first?
The site was pretty addictive and I figured it was eating up a bit of my time, especially when I sat and browsed through random profiles just for the heck of it. But, then one really cant stay away from it. A couple of contacts I needed were nowhere to be found except on my facebook list, so I had no option but to get back. I guess I'll be staying there now but I'm gonna tone down on visiting it.

In other news, I've accepted my offer from Amazon. Will move to Seattle once I graduate and hopefully, I'm gonna have as much fun as I did during the internship. That basically puts paid to my plans of jet setting around the country for interviews. I was hoping to interview with companies just for the sake of seeing new places, but I guess its not really worth being so desperate. I hardly have any courses this sem, that make me sweat, and a couple of free trips out to the west coast would have been cool but then that was effectively going to be unfair to a lot of others who do not have an offer. So, here I am taking the moral high ground and staying away.

I did travel around a bit though. I did one interview in Portland, OR with Intel. It was a fun trip, especially since I've got an uncle down there. I used it more as an opportunity to visit him than to actually interview. Mean me :P
And then I did travel to San Francisco and the Bay area. Nice place. Went hiking up a hill near my uncle's place in Fremont and visited the usual San Francisco touristy spots. It was a nice trip. Met them after a long time and it was fun, especially the drive along the Pacific Coast on CA-1.

Oh yeah, I ended up getting my driver's licence here in Pennsylvania finally. Started out to get it as soon as I got here in August, 2009 but took me nearly a year and a half to get one. Boy, am I relieved. The test was easy and anyone who's driven around a bit previously ought to pass with a little caution with respect to the rule book.

Have been hacking the android kernel a bit for a class project and am beginning to fall in love with Linux all over again. Have been trying to get to grips with the memory management subsystem but haven't really succeeded. Will have to devote some more time to it. As I understood Linux and its many flavors, I've just gotten a Nokia N900. The only reason I've bought it and not one of the Android based HTC phones is because it lets me triple boot with Android, meego and maemo :D How much more cool can you get? Well I can also overclock the ARM A8 Cortex proccy upto 1 Ghz from the stock 600 Mhz. Thats way more cooler :D But it just adds to the glamor of owning a tech gadget.

Sleep cycle all messed up. Sleep at 3 PM in the afternoon and wake up at 10PM. what a life? And that reminds, I have to finish some of the stuff for the lab, that I've been stuck with for a day now.
Until next time, signing off.....

I know what i did this summer!

Been sometime since my last post.

Its been a wild ride and a fun filled last few months. Life's looking up too!
Chuck New York. Spent the summer in Seattle. Had a great time. Especially with family close by in Portland, OR. And an awesome bunch of friends who were ready to share the craziness with me.

Finally, earned some money of my own and managed to buy myself a long desired DSLR. A Nikon D90. Spent quite a hefty sum on it but then its something that I've been looking to get for almost 5 years now. Love the camera :D

Spent a lot of time clicking away to glory with her. Work was good. Did procrastinate a bit but ended up finishing it in time. Actually took much more time to finish it than originally planned, but then no one really complained :P.
The weekends were the fun part. Explored quite a few places around Seattle, and enjoyed the sunshine which was a much welcomed relief from the cold and damp Pittsburgh weather.

Also, went out bungee jumping and skydiving. Jumping off an airplane is so much fun. Envy all those guys who get to do it day in and day out. But then jumping out at the same location over and over again, might get boring. Also, learnt swimming in Seattle!! Then, went kayaking and ended up in the water too :P. Extremely embarrasing experience but then it was fun taking a dip in Lake Washington :) Went Canoeing too, but that wasnt as much fun as taking a dip in Lake Washington :P

Spent some time tasting some weird creatures that I never knew existed! Squids, Octopuses-name it and I've tasted them all :) I liked the squid. Great taste!

And yes, if anyone's interested - http://maranellored.smugmug.com. Check that out!

The green and the rain

Its a beautiful evening out there.
Pittsburgh in the rain is quite a sight. Especially in the spring, when you see the empty blank trees turning green and the last patches of snow melting away. They say you can never know what the weather is like in this city. One moment it rains, and the next its sunny. But its the rain that brings out a special charm in this place.

I have always loved the rain. I've enjoyed stepping out and getting wet completely. It is something that brings out the child in me and makes me feel super happy and excited. If I feel down, I'd go step out in the rain and voila, it seems to wash away all my troubles and sorrows. I have a special relationship with the rain and I love it.

Coming back, today as I walk around these quiet neighbourhoods, the slight drizzle and the chilly winds seem to make it the perfect evening. Lazing around in bed for almost the whole day with a horrible headache, this was something that I really needed. The sight of lush green grass, ancient buildings with lawns, a couple of huge great danes and hardly any motor vehicles at all, seem to be the perfect recipe for my recurring boredom. This city is beautiful and as they say 'Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder'. As I walk and appreciate the sights of this place, I'm lost in the wilderness of the trail.
Familiar thoughts seem to be coming back. Another month, and I'll be away in the bustling environs of New York city. 3 months there and I really have no clue how thats gonna turn out to be. In a way, I'm dreading it, as I've always dreaded change. But then I know it has to be done and 3 months there is gonna make me a much different person than I am. But the thought I dread the most is, the scores of people I'm going to be surrounded by. Last week, I spent an hour walking around Manhatten and the sheer numbers of people seem to overwhelm me. I know I'm gonna long for these quiet, serene surroundings. On any given day, I'd take these to the concrete skyscraper world of Manhatten.

Loads of work to do but really have no inclination for it. Just want to sit here and watch the time fly by. Hoping for more moments like this.