The New Year Begins

I watched Ghajini on the first day of the new year and really liked it despite the violence and just okay music (except Tu Meri Adhoori Pyas). I had a mind to write a review of the movie but I just read a post by Chandni, who is one of my favourite bloggers. She wrote a review of RNBDJ and it was plagiarized word by word by a certain Ms Salty Sea Breeze who posted it on her blog as her own. I feel offended for Chandni and that kills the mood to right a review now. I will write it some other time.

Anyway, the other day I read some lines by Vikram Seth that really touched my heart. I will dedicate them (even though they are not mine :-)) to The Unsung Psalm whose writings I enjoy. Here goes:

Some men like Jack and some like Jill

I'm glad I like them both but still

I wonder if this freewheeling

Really is an enlightened thing,

Or is its greater scope a sign

Of deviance from some party line?

In the strict ranks of Gay and Straight

What is my status: Stray? Or Great?

A few years back I read A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth and found it unnecessarily stretched out with irrelevant details although the plot and its setting were really good. There were many things that I liked about this book but the unnecessary length killed my interest in it when I had managed to read only about three-fourth of the book. It was the only book of my life that I had not been able to finish and I blamed Vikram Seth for that. However, when I read the above lines of poetry by him they salvaged his reputation in my eyes :-). Also, I found that Vikram Seth did his schooling from my hometown Dehradun (Welham Boys and Doon School), so that kind of settled the fact that I would definitely read more books by this author :-)

Luckily, the day I watched Ghajini I found that there was a Sale at the Om Book Shop in MGF Mall at Gurgaon. A sale and that too at a book shop is too tempting to ignore and so I went inside telling myself that I would not buy anything but would just take a tour. I already have around 5-6 still unread and good books lying around at my home and I had told myself that I would not buy any more books until I finish those that I already own. However, the shop offered a great bargain on many books and the shining hard covers of books had an almost lusty appeal. I think everyone would understand if I say that I finally did buy books but only 2 of them. One is of course by Vikram Seth (An Equal Music) and another is a collection of spooky short stories :-). It has some stories by authors like Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens and has a beautiful cover, hence I bought it.

I got these two books for just 500 bucks, can you believe it? Such beautiful, hardbound, original books together cost just 500 Rupees!! Wow what an amazing start to the new year :-)

GMAT Done

So GMAT fever is over!!! I scored 680 and I still can't get over the shock. Everybody has been telling me that it's a good score but I am not satisfied. What happened to the 700+ scores that I was getting in all practice tests?? My score breakdown was 48 in Quant and 34 in Verbal. My overconfidence in verbal was the cause I guess. How could I screw up where I expected to do really well? I even considered taking the test again because I know I can get a 700+. However, I don't have time, because the application deadlines are fast approaching. Anyway, the good news is that B-Schools consider Quant scores more than Verbal, and a 48 in Quant is really good.
Next steps are TOEFL and essays and I have no intentions of screwing up anymore.

On the day I took GMAT. Were the Red Heels unlucky??? Still wondering....

I reached Dehradun today and so did my cousins. There are14 adults and 3 kids in my home at this moment and I am having a great time with my family. We have some fabulous plans for Diwali :-)

My Life at Dehradun

Abhinav Bindra won a Gold for India at Beijing, and we Indians are so proud of him. I wish we win more medals at Olympics this year.

Meanwhile, blogging has taken a back-seat since I am at home. All the special treatment one receives while at home with parents tends to make one happy and content even without blogging. I wake up everyday with a cup of bed-tea and then sip on it till eternity. I then get lazily out of my bed, fresh-up, and pick my books to sit at the dining table. I declare everyday that I will skip breakfast because I am gaining weight but then Mom supplies information about what has been prepared for breakfast and I immediately change my mind. I munch on my breakfast moodily and flip through the pages of my book, or surf the internet, or just look out of the dining room window at the overgrown plants in the lawn (I will post pics of our lawn soon, I don't have my data cable with me).

After finishing breakfast I get energized enough to study, which I do till around 12 when Maahi comes home from her play-school.

I chat with her and then we lunch together and I resume my study till Namit and Neha (my cousins) come home from their schools. I then chat with them following which I take an afternoon nap. I wake up in the evening with a cup of tea and repeat the ritual of picking my books and moving to the dining table. I surf the internet now if I have not already done it in the morning (like today). I then study till dinner time.
Whew, what a life!!!! I feel like Garfield these days (except when I am studying). I eat and sleep and do absolutely no work around the house. I will miss this time when I will go back to Noida, where I do everything around the house. I fix my own meals, tidy up the rooms, clean the bathrooms, blah blah.

Writing from Dehradun

It feels good to be back on Blogger; I so missed my blog. I came to Dehradun on 5th August, and dutifully caught cold on the same day. I write 'dutifully' because it has almost become a ritual that I should be down with fever and cold whenever I visit my hometown. The change of weather from dry and hot to wet and cold did the trick. It's raining everyday in Dehradun and the proximity to Mussoorie brings cold breezes into the Doon valley. Our lawn looks like a forest and I don't dare venture out on the grass for fear of strange and ugly insects [we even had a snake once during monsoons :-)]

My studies are going on surprisingly well. I had not expected that I could concentrate in the presence of my cousins and Maahi (my sister's 3 year old daughter). I am very happy with the first TOEFL practice test that I took; I scored really well. I am simultaneously preparing for GMAT and TOEFL as well as doing assignments for my HR course.

Today is Nitu's (my favourite cousin) birthday, so we will visit him in the evening and celebrate his birthday. I need to finish my study targets for today before that. Whew!