Tagged..

...Twice! After a long gap I am back and here are the last five books I read:


1. The Inscrutable Americans- Really cute and funny. A must for crzy goons like me who like to laugh a lot.

2. Da Vinci Code- Well almost everyone now has read this book. Amazing amount of research put in but I'm looking forward to reading Decoding the code to know where the line between fiction and fact is.

3. Autobiography of a Yogi- Some call this a "spiritual treasure". Have started reading it just a while back so cant write much. Whatever lil I have read- its worth a read. They have an online version too.

4. Kiss Kiss by Roald Dahl- A collection of short stories with spooky ends. A must for people who like macabre stories.

5. The Testament by John Grisham- Love his books but this one left me a lil disappointed. Became a drag after a while- if you can give it a skip, you won't miss much.

I am tagging Tiny traveller, 07mba4me, embracethechange, Le voyageur and Kita.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Where I have been for so long?

"Survival of the Fittest" from AG's blog is exactly what my state has been.

Top this with lots of work, lots of emotions at work (the worst thing EVER), shopping, getting clothes made-since I have put on a lot of weight at the wrong places ;), tickets, housing, aggghhh the list is endless.

Here's a link of the Cornell India Association for all desi's going to Um-reeka. Mostly basic things but helpful. (http://www.rso.cornell.edu/cia/getornot.html)

VISA Interview

Apart from the LONG LONG LONG wait, the visa interview was a cakewalk.

1245 PM: Get in the line for my screening.
145 PM: Moved a few inches (yeah it feels like inches in this CRAZY Delhi heat)
245 PM: Get my screening done and move inside to another line to give my finger prints.
300 PM: Get into another zigzag line for my visa interview. There were 5 people taking the interview. Only one was smiling and laughing with everyone. So here I was praying that I get to interview with this grandfatherly person with an infectious smile but instead I got a really strict lady.

“Papers PLEASE”

Now I am a tiny person and was carrying a huge packet of documents for over 2 hours. So I took a few seconds to keep that load and I got to see a really IRRITATED look. Well so it wasn’t a great start.

“Have you ever been to the US before?”

Me: “Yes I have- for an official meeting”

“How many schools did you apply to?”

Me: EIGHT

“You have your visa good bye”

Thank god I didn’t open my big mouth and say HUH…You don’t want to see my papers?

I have spoken to some people and they all have had similar experiences. Except one where the interviewer heard some other university name instead of the name mentioned on the I 20 and grilled the person to ensure that he was telling the truth. So just speak clearly and don’t try and hide anything and you’ll sail through it.

Here’s a checklist that has been doing the rounds:

* TT Services appointment confirmation page

* DS-156* DS-157 * DS-158

* I-901 Confirmation of payment of SEVIS fee

* I-20

* Bank Statements / Proof of Funds

* High School / Degree / PG certificates in original

* GMAT and TOEFL scorecards in original

* Passport* 50mm x 50mm photo (Name and Passport # written on back)

* Cornell Welcome Letter from the Welcome packet

* Two demand drafts for Rs.441 and Rs.4400 (Name and Passport #written on back)

Additional Notes:

* The DS-156 is best filled online as opposed to downloading the formand hand-filling it. Filling it online generates a bar-code which Ithink helps visa processing.

* All forms can be downloaded from: http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/forms/forms_1342.html

* If you've got Adobe Acrobat (not just the reader) you can use it tofill out the other two forms too (so they look neater!)

Best of Luck!!

Looking for a roommate?

That is a line that is catching my attn these days. Well, I did manage to find a roomie and she is also as crazy as I am...so I am not sure if that's a good thing or not.

This roller coaster doesnt seem to end. GMAT felt like this huge mountain I needed to climb after which the applications were like crossing this never ending ocean and not knowing which island I would land in...and now the logistics involved in relocating to a new country.

Got my I20 and now just have to go and get my visa :) I have got a whole list of questions to prepare for from all my friends who have already interviewed. Will post them soon.

Well, its way past my bed time so me of to neeni. Sweet dreams

Cornell it is :)

Its amazing how you land up at places you least expected to be at. Yes a lot goes into researching a B-school and what is important to you, but Is it all really in our hands?

When finalizing my B-school list I bumped of Cornell thinking that it is in a remote area and I was looking at a BIG city experince. One day before the deadline I thought - Its a great school..lemme jst apply I dnt HAVE to got there if I dnt wnt to.

Six admits later....Cornell just seemed to be the obvious choice. I guess at some level it really does come down to being a FIT. I jst used to wonder how people sitting so far away could judge whether school A was a better fit than school B but when you really come down to it...the choice becomes OBVIOUS.

Sometimes I wonder whether it all really is about destiny. Am I meant to meet this group of people and learn and grow from them? Is it all written for me?

Whatever the case may be...I do feel its an opportunity of a lifetime for me and I am going to make the most of it :)

Acceptance Packages

How much does the acceptance package really mean? I mean apart from the info (which is online anyway), does anyone really care what the aceeptance package looks like?

I have got six such packages. The best one would undoubtedly be Yale SOM's with a classy travel mug and lots of interesting information. Lots of pictures about the campus, life in New Haven, etc etc. CMU's was a BIG RED box and it came one day after valentines so I was hoping to see some yummy chocs :(( Though there were lots of loose papers, the information was comprehensive and there were deails about everything. A huge book on the city, one for apartments, travel, maps, etc. There was also a luggage belt-BRIGHT red with Carnegie Mellon University written all over it. Cornell's was a tiny binder!!!

BU and Babson were folders with limited information. I guess they don't feel the need to give us any information about the city. Well you can't blame them. EMory's Binder was also really classy.

The point I am trying to make is that How much did the acceptance package influence your decision? If I had to go purely by the package, I would be at Yale this fall.

Its amazing how all those corny quotes that we have known from childhood ring a bell of truth...

"All that glitters is not gold"

Dil hai Hindustani :)

As my deposit dates get closer...my heart starts sinking even more. It saddens me to know that I am going to go and leave sada INDIA :(

In November I went to Boston, Philly, Pittsburgh & NY. It was nice but after 3 weeks all I wanted to do was come home. See my cows on the roads, the crzy traffic, people honking, bargaining with anyonee and everyone. " Bhaiya KYA KEH RAHE ho aap-ITNA ZAADA" doesnt really work anywhere in US. To top things the food there...I just always felt hungry.

I have promised that i wouldn't crib anymore about going. Its a great opportunity and I need to learn and GROW (HMPF)!!

Well Visa trouble is going start soon. I have got ALL my documents ready (now am I not efficient :)...CA statement, Details of property, Bank acounts, blah bha..I just now need to decide my SCHOOL. I knw people usually finalize THAT first but I guess we sardars work differently :)

I dont believe this- I have a BLOG!!!

If you cant share the knowledge that you have... you are wasting what you have learnt.

Hmm...well I have spent the last TWENTY minutes trying to figure out what to write on my FIRST post. Then I realized...this is MY blog and I can write whatevr it is that is on my mind or NOT!!

Here, I would like to mention Simba, AG, ClassyNFun..You guys have dne a GREAT job. I have got lots of info from your blogs. Classy I mite see you in Cornell :) Still debating between Yale & Cornell.

Here's to lots of useful info and fun for everyone...Cheers.