Babies,
Happy New Year. Wish all of us can achieve our goals for this year and stay healthy. Moreover, one of us left the single's group at the end of last year, so this post will also serve as a placeholder to remind us.... [ when writing this post, it reminds me of one of the posts Jim made in 08 (Sept. 21) LOL
Happy New Year & Good Luck,
Alex
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
RIP, Steve Jobs
While this didn't exactly come as a surprise, it's still sad to know that one of the visionaries of our time has passed away so young. I'm not a big Apple fan, but Steve Jobs' influence on consumer technology is undeniable- he understood that form and function aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Borders bookstore: mourning the death of an old friend
Hey Folks,
I thought I'd write about the tragedy that is Borders closing its doors in the near future, and liquidating all of its assets after an unsuccessful search for a buyer. Borders has always been a place that I've enjoyed spending time, and nearly all of the books I own (and I own quite a few) have come from there. I've always felt comfortable reading books, having discussions with staff, and just perusing for new series there, and will remember the experience fondly. When I lived at Wabash Landing in West Lafayette, IN, I went almost daily to buy and read books, as an escape from the tough times and to enjoy the good times I had during my academic career.
It's truly sad that such a great company has to die, but with the economy where it's been, and the proliferation of ebooks, I suppose it's only natural- though that doesn't make it any easier to see it go. The feeling of seeing a book I've been waiting for on a shelf, and the feeling of opening a brand new book will be sorely missed. It's a pity that very possibly, the medium itself may soon suffer, and those who don't regularly read may one day find themselves without the opportunity to find paper books. Might be better for the environment- but who cares, Mother Nature can take one for the team :).
Anyhow, Borders bookstore, you've been a great place for me to go and escape my troubles, and I will always think of you fondly for that. Cheers folks, Shriram out.
ps- http://www.bordersreorganization.com/ for more info.
I thought I'd write about the tragedy that is Borders closing its doors in the near future, and liquidating all of its assets after an unsuccessful search for a buyer. Borders has always been a place that I've enjoyed spending time, and nearly all of the books I own (and I own quite a few) have come from there. I've always felt comfortable reading books, having discussions with staff, and just perusing for new series there, and will remember the experience fondly. When I lived at Wabash Landing in West Lafayette, IN, I went almost daily to buy and read books, as an escape from the tough times and to enjoy the good times I had during my academic career.
It's truly sad that such a great company has to die, but with the economy where it's been, and the proliferation of ebooks, I suppose it's only natural- though that doesn't make it any easier to see it go. The feeling of seeing a book I've been waiting for on a shelf, and the feeling of opening a brand new book will be sorely missed. It's a pity that very possibly, the medium itself may soon suffer, and those who don't regularly read may one day find themselves without the opportunity to find paper books. Might be better for the environment- but who cares, Mother Nature can take one for the team :).
Anyhow, Borders bookstore, you've been a great place for me to go and escape my troubles, and I will always think of you fondly for that. Cheers folks, Shriram out.
ps- http://www.bordersreorganization.com/ for more info.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Friday, February 25, 2011
Summer Snow
Right, so I haven't had internet for a week or so (at home, anyway) so I decided to go into my repository and rewatch a show that I'd gotten from Alex years before: "Summer Snow". It's a J-Drama, starring Hirosue Ryoko, Domoto Tsuyoshi, Oguri Shun, Imai Tsubasa, and Ikewaki Chizuru. I had started watching it when I first got it, but I wasn't able to finish because I got busy. This week, I decided to finish it, and I'm glad I did. It was a basic romantic story, but was funny when it needed to be. I was struck by the ending though, which showed a twist of Shyamalan-esque proportions (SPOILER ALERT: Hirosue Ryoko turns out to be Bruce Willis (I know! I couldn't believe she was an American man all along either)). Though I felt really bad for Domoto (his sister (17) is pregnant, his parents are dead, his brother's deaf, his girlfriend (Hirosue) has a heart condition), I'm happy that the show ended rather positively, with everyone looking to the future. I found myself happy though, that this was a Japanese series with a run of only 10 episodes; if it'd been an American show, they probably would've tried to stretch a story (which really didn't need stretching) over a few seasons, ruining it. The only gripe I have is the inappropriately happy sounding ending theme, which really didn't make sense to play as one of the characters were crying, closing out the episodes (it starts with "oh eh oh eh, what's up come on"... nuff said).
The story explores the lives of two people, Natsuo (Domoto) and Yuki (Hirosue) and their families. Yuki has a heart condition that will eventually lead to it giving out, and Natsuo is a simple bike shop owner that runs into her. As expected, they fall in love, and start dating. The story also explores the lives of those around them. Throw in some filler episodes to build their relationship (at one point, Natsuo's deaf brother gets arrested for allegedly being part of a gang that robbed a Pachinko parlor, Natsuo, Yuki and Co. stage a sit-in at the police station), and you've got yourself a decent series, which I think you guys should check out.
I would say that the drama is definitely worth a watch, it's not for everyone, but definitely not bad. Note though (and I'm sure Alex remembers), that EVERY SINGLE EPISODE someone (mostly Hirosue) starts weeping openly, and in some episodes, more than one character will cry with her.
Just some thoughts! Cheers folks, Shriram out.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Long time coming- Shriram Update
Hey Guys, I haven't updated in a long time, and most of you are aware of what's going on with me, but I figured I"d share anyway.
1/9/11
The story started with CCS (California Creative Solutions) GlobalTech, who offered me a "position" (basically I was accepted into training) in Poway, CA for the potential position of SQL Server Developer. I packed up my bags and went south to Poway (SFO - LAX - SAN, then cab to Poway) and met the first of my potential roommates. He was a really nice guy, and a consultant with CCS that was just looking for a new project.
1/11/11
My new roommate showed up, and he had just graduated from his Masters program (in Computer Science). He was a nice guy too; but kept to himself, mostly.
1/12/11
My roommate and I went to the CCS office, and I met their program director. He was kind enough to give me a ride back to the apartment building (so I didn't have to keep wasting cab money), but during our chat, something weird happened. He told me that he had no concerns about my being able to handle the work, but was worried about how to add the 5 years of experience to my resume (since I'm only 23). Yes, you read that correctly...That is how casual he was about the whole thing. My immediate reaction was "Wait, I'm sorry. Did you say you were going to add years to my resume?"
I got home that day, and had my first phone call with Dan and Sean (my manager and team lead, respectively) and they asked me if I'd like to come in for an interview ASAP, as they'd heard about my timeline. I booked my flight for the 13th, got the interview date set for the 14th, and said my goodbyes.
1/13/11
I head back to San Diego, and find out that my flight in LAX has been pushed by an extra hour and a half, so while messaging Nut, I remembered that his sister was in LA. I hung out with her for a couple of hours, had some coffee, and went back to SF.
1/14/11
Nervous, I drove to the office (wearing a suit) and had my interviews. Each interviewer was really nice to me, and no one sounded even a little bit annoyed that they were roped in at such short notice. One thing that stood out: when Dan came to interview me, his first words were "First things first, you have got to lose that tie." I met a bunch of people from the team, and I found out that they were discussing me outside the conference room I was sitting in, so that they could give me a speedy decision. By that day, I had an informal verbal offer, which was followed by a formal verbal offer and then a formal written offer the following week.
1/21/11
My H1B application was filed! The lawyers at Immigration Law Group and immigration case manager at Juniper got all the paperwork filed, and I made sure there would be no delay from my side.
1/26/11
The H1B Cap was reached; no more visas given! My application was filed just in time (thank you everyone involved!)
2/3/11
We finally got my approval, and with some magic and sleight of hand on Dan's part, I was accepted to the orientation on 2/7/11.
2/7/11
I had my orientation, but missed out on Google I/O tickets, unfortunately. Orientation was good, and I sat next to Edwin Menor, the Mr. California of the year before, I believe. After orientation, I met the team, got situated, and began cramming my head full of information... and now I'm still doing it, there's a lot to learn :)
Just an update; cheers folks, Shriram out.
ps- I'm moving to Mountain View tomorrow, so my 1.5+ hr commute to work becomes like 30 minutes.
1/9/11
The story started with CCS (California Creative Solutions) GlobalTech, who offered me a "position" (basically I was accepted into training) in Poway, CA for the potential position of SQL Server Developer. I packed up my bags and went south to Poway (SFO - LAX - SAN, then cab to Poway) and met the first of my potential roommates. He was a really nice guy, and a consultant with CCS that was just looking for a new project.
1/11/11
My new roommate showed up, and he had just graduated from his Masters program (in Computer Science). He was a nice guy too; but kept to himself, mostly.
1/12/11
My roommate and I went to the CCS office, and I met their program director. He was kind enough to give me a ride back to the apartment building (so I didn't have to keep wasting cab money), but during our chat, something weird happened. He told me that he had no concerns about my being able to handle the work, but was worried about how to add the 5 years of experience to my resume (since I'm only 23). Yes, you read that correctly...That is how casual he was about the whole thing. My immediate reaction was "Wait, I'm sorry. Did you say you were going to add years to my resume?"
I got home that day, and had my first phone call with Dan and Sean (my manager and team lead, respectively) and they asked me if I'd like to come in for an interview ASAP, as they'd heard about my timeline. I booked my flight for the 13th, got the interview date set for the 14th, and said my goodbyes.
1/13/11
I head back to San Diego, and find out that my flight in LAX has been pushed by an extra hour and a half, so while messaging Nut, I remembered that his sister was in LA. I hung out with her for a couple of hours, had some coffee, and went back to SF.
1/14/11
Nervous, I drove to the office (wearing a suit) and had my interviews. Each interviewer was really nice to me, and no one sounded even a little bit annoyed that they were roped in at such short notice. One thing that stood out: when Dan came to interview me, his first words were "First things first, you have got to lose that tie." I met a bunch of people from the team, and I found out that they were discussing me outside the conference room I was sitting in, so that they could give me a speedy decision. By that day, I had an informal verbal offer, which was followed by a formal verbal offer and then a formal written offer the following week.
1/21/11
My H1B application was filed! The lawyers at Immigration Law Group and immigration case manager at Juniper got all the paperwork filed, and I made sure there would be no delay from my side.
1/26/11
The H1B Cap was reached; no more visas given! My application was filed just in time (thank you everyone involved!)
2/3/11
We finally got my approval, and with some magic and sleight of hand on Dan's part, I was accepted to the orientation on 2/7/11.
2/7/11
I had my orientation, but missed out on Google I/O tickets, unfortunately. Orientation was good, and I sat next to Edwin Menor, the Mr. California of the year before, I believe. After orientation, I met the team, got situated, and began cramming my head full of information... and now I'm still doing it, there's a lot to learn :)
Just an update; cheers folks, Shriram out.
ps- I'm moving to Mountain View tomorrow, so my 1.5+ hr commute to work becomes like 30 minutes.
Monday, February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine's!!
To all masters and bitch, happy valentine's! i send you errr my love from overseas haha hope you guys are all doing well. later then!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Still Alive!
Whats up guys! Happy New Year!!!! I cant even remember the last time I posted up here... gonna try to make it a habbit to update regularly from now on :) It was great to hear from you guys in my last email :) Well.. except Nut. hahaha. So I guess to really update on what I have been doing for the past few months, I spent most of my time working and trying to finish up my thesis in order to graduate. Went to a MotoGP race at Indianapolis Speedway and the Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio and completely geeked out with my camera... Got Evo chan tuned by AMS in Chicago. Evo chan is now making around 350hp and if I remember right 340ish torque. I also went to my first ever track day with Evo chan! Finally putting my mods to use... haha. The event was held at a local Indiana track called Putnum Park Road Course. I have to say the event was a blast and it was really fun running on track with other cars like GT-Rs, spec Miatas, A LOT of S2000s, and Corvettes. I have definately been bitten by the track bug and cant wait for the track season to start again this year! So... since it doesnt seem like a girlfriend is in the picture for the near future I have came up with a list of upgrades for the Evo in order to be better prepared for 2011 track days. I will update the progress here :P As usual, here are pictures!
Photoshoot I did for "Phase" :D
How Evo chan looks today.
First track day! I was faster than some Corvettes and can keep up with spec Miata race cars.
Evo chan being tuned at AMS in Chicago.
Evo chan's engine bay so far :P
Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. I took pictures of the Civic Si for you Alex!
MotoGP at Indianapolis. Man I look good on a bike! hahaha.. jk jk.
Photoshoot I did for "Phase" :D
How Evo chan looks today.
First track day! I was faster than some Corvettes and can keep up with spec Miata race cars.
Evo chan being tuned at AMS in Chicago.
Evo chan's engine bay so far :P
Indy 200 at Mid-Ohio. I took pictures of the Civic Si for you Alex!
MotoGP at Indianapolis. Man I look good on a bike! hahaha.. jk jk.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Happy New Year!
Hey folks, Happy New Year 2011 to you and your families! Hope it's good for all of us, do let me know how you celebrated. I went with my family to visit my uncle in Portland, OR; it was awesome, and I got to play with my cousins (which was great). They live at a fairly high elevation, so we got an interesting top-down view of fireworks. Cheers folks, Shriram out.
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