Tuesday Morning Blues

Its 1:30 AM on Tuesday and I don't have time to sleep. I have 2 assignments due this week and 1 quiz tommorow. For the uninitated, student life in America is not similar to student life in India. That coming from a guy who doesn't even have an on-campus / part-time job yet. When you study in India, you basically allocate that time of your life towards studies. If you're working, you quit and join college. You put your 100% time into attending college and/or college related actvities. I can't say you put your 100% into studying because of the kind of life I lived during my bachelors. 

Out here, any kind of study is pretty complicated. Lots of people work and study at the same time. I know three 50 yr old engineers who've come to do their Masters during the economic crisi. Generally, everyone has to refer 2 books, know how to use google effectively and put your mind into studying even if you are going to do so only for half hour. The course scheduling is pretty minimal for the week and almost all the subjects are your choice of what you want to study about. I am not yet in a position to say if this system is better than what we have in India, but its much more effective or effectively run than back at home.

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What is it with accents? I'm trying hard not to develop an accent but its really hard to control not speaking without an accent especially after having seen so many hollywood movies all my life, listening to rap/rock music for about 15 years, watching every stand-up comic on bootlegged videos. When I talk with friends and other folks from India, I speak normally. But that urge to speak much slower and with a slight American accent is getting the better of me when I speak to my American compatriots. Hopefully, I shall make sure my desi accent stays.

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During these recession times, I still see many people buying new things. I don't know how they calculate the bad economy but I don't see many homeless people on the roads. I see people living less lavishly than what they were used to. I see people buying one packet of Frito Lay instead four. 

Demand has come down and people are finding it hard to afford spending. However, things are faaaaaar more, let me get the right word, systematic than what you see in a developing country. I don't find much difference in many things actually. I've seen dogs poop on the road. I've seen people asking me for a 'quarter' (25c) or 'money for beer'. I've seen drivers honking. I've seen cars emitting too much smoke. I've seen bikes and motorcycles. I've seen nepotism. I've seen partiality.

I've seen too much I guess. Gotta hit the books again. Formal languages and automata theory mixed with Standard ML along with a dose of Software Metrics and hot black colombian coffee await me. O' insane world, you continue to puzzle me.