Licensed to drive in the US.
I got my driving license now. Got to get a car, and get mobile. I am planning to get a car from my friend Abilash Nair. A chevy. Heading full steam on the life in America, the land of opportunities.
Yeh Jo Desh Hai Tera!
In India, in most households, parents take care of all the things for the children. Food, clothing and whatever. I am one among those spoilt Indian kids.
We are spoilt totally, that we cannot take care of ourselves. At least, I was never into the kitchen to cook food, till I was in India. I have never washed dishes, rooms, etc. Everything my mother used to take care.
I would help her with talking her to the shop on my bike. But it was she who would do all the shopping. I have never wished to learn how to shop for groceries, vegetables, etc. I think that is the case with any kid who grew up in towns of India. In the villages, kids are to an extent independent. This I can say, as I see a lot of my friends from the villages, know quiet a lot than me.
When I was left alone, that is when I realized, the world is too big. Getting things together, cleaning, washing, cooking, making the bed, everything seemed to be an area of study for itself.
I am turning independent. It has its own thrill.
This is going to be a musing… A rant, a self confession, a analysis.
WARNING: Boring rant ahead.
I have never been to the kitchen at home, in neyveli, or in chennai. I was just as worried, when my company offered me a H1B visa and wanted me to work from the client’s location. I am a foodie. I can’t live without tasting the great Rice for at least one meal a day. But things have changed quiet a lot now. I am cooking my own food here. What has changed?
Is it love? Might me. My girl helped me pack all the luggage for me. She got me two good books on cooking. She wanted me to help myself so that I don’t miss home food. She packed up everything I would require. It was very nice of her to do it. Also my mom did the final touch ups. It must be that I am in love and I end up doing something to please her?
Survival? I am reminded of the film ‘Puthupettai’. There are two songs ‘Oru naalil valkai’ and ‘Nerupu vaiyinil oramai’, two of my all time favourite songs. The theme of the film is ‘Survival’. When you are pushed to the limits, you tend to fight back, face the reality, tend to move forward. The simple ‘Darwin’s principle for evolution’. Not perpetuation, or theory of natural selection, I am not going scientific here. It is just the ‘Survival of the fittest’.
Just analyzing on the same subject, we tend to perform or succumb when we are pushed to the limits. The is a comedy in a film that I watched recently, where the comedian says ‘I am cornered’. This has nothing to do with this post. Is it survival or love or desire or just a new learning? Questions unanswered.
Hey why am I ranting. Actually cooking is good. So why this post at all in the first place. I have time to kill!
Here is more update on my life in America. It was hard finding an apartment here. Office is in Downtown area. I don’t own a car. So I had to consider that fact too, either, the office must be reachable by Public Transit or walkable.
I found one. A nice and a beautiful apartment (That is how anyone from Chennai will feel about any house here). I am now a resident of Downtown, Richmond, VA. After the apartment hunt, then comes setting aside enough money to furnish your apartment. I had to buy a bed and a few kitchen utensils, the minimum requirements to stay in any apartment. With no car to get to places to shop, I resorted to shopping online.
In India, we just buy a bed (wooden or steel), then we order a mattress or we just leave it off. Here, we have more. First you have to get a bed frame, then a box spring, then the actual mattress. Still, I have not gotten used to not tracking dollar conversion to rupees. I have asked my stupid mind to stop counting it. And there are 4 sizes to choose from, King, Queen, Full and Twin. That is when my college friend, Abhilash (Nair as I call him), came. He was the friend in need. He has been here for sometime now, he dragged me to the omnipresent Walmart. And that ended all the shopping.
We also made it a point to visit the local Indian Restaurant ‘India K Raja’ and the Indian grocery store, ‘Lakshmi Palace’. It was good to do a bit of shopping. Now I have moved to the new apartment. It is just 5 mins walk to my office. Also the SSN application is over. I am getting settled.
I arrived at the Chicago, O Harare Terminal on 20th October. Just like any other first time traveller to the United States, confused, excited, wondering, awe-struck, I entered at Terminal. My flight carrier was Lufthansa. It was a long day for me, I started from Chennai, India at 1:45 AM IST. I landed on Frankfurt airport at 8:29 AM German Local Time. Then the connecting flight landed me in Chicago at 12:26 PM CT. What a long day with 4 meals already done.
Immigration and Customs were a breeze. I brought 2 huge check-in luggages, one with all items to wear here, and one with all groceries, equipped to run a Indian Grocery Store. Well packed with goodies, and love of my lover, mom and sister. I had my domestic flight that took me to Richmond, VA only at 4:49 PM CT. I waited all that time in the domestic Terminal 2, flipping through “2 States” by Chetan Bhagat. It is a nice book. (More about it in a separate post)
There was Manoj here to pick me up. A nice colleague. He took me to a grocery store, restaurant and then to my apartment. He even took pain to see that I got myself comfortable in my apartment. Thanks Manoj, if you are reading this. Jaswinder Singh was there with him. He is my lead here. It was in his car, that I got to the Apartment.
Till now, everything was fine. Then, I wanted to open a bank account, get a phone connection and all these wanted a SSN. God! Everyone and every service wanted to know my SSN. I am brand new to America, and I can’t survive without an SSN. The SSN application can be done only after 10 days, after my immigration information and I-94 forms have moved to the office. I was stuck.
I work out of Virginia Retirement Systems office. It is located in the downtown area. Got used to the place now. I have started cooking. The second day, I cooked rice and ate it with “paruppu podi”. The next day morning, I did Top Ramen’s Noodles. Simple items though, this was my first try at cooking. Day before yesterday, I did “Pongal (Ven)”, it came out well. I was very happy! Today, I wanted to try more. So I cooked “Venkaya Sambhar” (Onion Sambhar). Though it came out with little salt, it turned out to taste good.
From a software engineer, America turned me into a cook. Those in Richmond, looking for room mates, who knows to cook, you can look out for me. More ramblings in future posts! Watch out!
And people out there, recommend me if I should take a separate apartment or go for a shared one with a room mate. Also, I hold a valid Indian License, will you advise me to buy a car and start driving now or 6 months later!
United States, Here I come. With lots of dreams, awe, fear, feelings. I am now an amalgamation of various feelings. I am about to get into a country, that had transformed dreams into reality for many, changed lifes completely from riches to rags and rags to riches. People chasing dreams, money and pleasure. A land that I have always wondered about all these years, Here I Come!
Dreams of what is in store… Computers, People, Music and Stuff.
Awe of the single name… United States.
Fear of what is yet to come… How is America going to treat me, A lone traveller in a stranger land.
Feelings of leaving home land, leaving home food, leaving my beloved here for a while..
Questions about life….
America! Here I come!
What a month!
Started off, being sick on the very first day! Loose Motion! Very loose I must say. I have not been having any junk foods recently. But then, I am having a running stomach now. It has been so for the past two weeks.
Doctors! Wow! First when I visited, they gave me two tablets to stop it. Ya! it stopped! But then again it has started in two days. With it now the situation is quiet complex, I have fever, cold, cough and this loose motion stuff!
Visited another doctor yesterday! She says that I have Stomach Flu (rhymes well with Swine Flu, she must have caught that term from there, marketing fellas wake up, now you have a new kid on the block). She says a Bacteria might be the cause. Yet she has prescribed medicines for three days, after which she says she might take the motion test.
Another three days!!!! No Spicy food! No Oily food! Bread and Idly! Hope I get better soon!
This is just an account of what happened in July and August, the period I have been passive on the internet. July 2 saw me turning into a Photographer at my friend’s Soms marriage. One event that I have been looking forward too for sometime. The wedding and reception were good. Special mention to the food served there, a buffet with stalls for Panju Mittai (What do they call it in English?), Pop Corn and Sweets. A different reception altogether.
Then I received my first ever proposal, from a girl whom I have known so long, but have talked to very little in the recent past. A moment to cherish forever. That kept me busy for the remaining part of the month, deciding!
Computers saw a sudden set back in my life, after nearly seven years! Cell phone took over a priority. Most of the evenings spent and late night chit chats! Life is beautiful! I went on a trip to Athirappalli on the first week of August with Maarshal. It was a really nice trip. The second week I was sick at home. The third week went on visiting beach, giving parties and cinema halls.
Between the wiring and painting work in our rented house is done. Now it is habitable, really nice interiors and colors. Wonderful lighting! Do visit! I promise a nice dinner or lunch to anyone visiting us.
Have seen Ice Age 3, Nadodigal (thrice), Malai Malai, Aachamundu Aachamundu in these two months. Right now back in Neyveli, to have Kollukattai for Vinayaka Chathurthi.
Somasundaram weds Aishwarya, on a fine thursday morning. One more member in my friend’s circle is happily married. To a girl of his choice, his first love, the only wish he had for some time now.
Somasundaram – Met this guy during the second year of my college life at MIT. He was transferred from GCT, Coimbatore. He had the typical ‘Palam’ look in him. But he was ready to shed it the immediate instant he joined MIT. He could never speak more than a few sentences to any girl. No one ever imagined, he would fall madly in love someday, and never marry the same girl whom he loved.
Life is really a interesting piece of mystery! When it reveals itself, you are a bit surprised. And really we were, when he revealed that he was in love with his team mate at his company. She, Aishwarya was in the testing team, and Soms was in the development team. When he announced his love to us, we would comment, “Instead of fixing the bugs that she reported, you fixed her”. An interesting person, he was, the comedian of our gang, the rocker who never listened to Tamil songs, till he found his lady love.
I am reminded of the speech that Shahrukh Khan delivers in “Om Shanti Om”. “Happy Endings – If it is not happy, then it is not the end”. Here is one such really happy ending.
Wishing Soms and Aishwarya, all the wonderful things on earth. Let them be blessed and ever live happily. For all those who missed the marriage occasion, here are some of the moments.
Today, I complete three years in the professional software industry. I thank all who have lent their helping hand in making the journey possible for a guy with little knowledge in software to what I am now. There are still hundreds of miles to go. This is just a small step.
Three years. Why is this special? With three years experience, you are no longer considered a newbie. People start to have expectations out of you. You are supposed to have atleast some basic understanding of how a professional software project setup is and how it operates. You are given more responsibilities in the projects. You also qualify for most next level positions in all the job search engines like Naukri or Monster.
So what have I learnt or unlearnt in these three years? I should say a lot. They may not be big things, but they surely are something that is really needed.
Things that I have learnt:
More to learn, more experience to gather, more to everything. Yet again, I am forced to quote, “Miles to go, before I sleep…”. Will be sharing the experiences here on this blog with you, as and when they happen.
