days of our lives...

as i write this, i can't help but think about you, my frequent visitors; readers who, albeit with questionable taste in reading material, are dedicated enough to weekly check my blog for what can only be described as a colorful mix of senseless blabber, and what aspires to be senseless blabber. (thank you scott adams!)

another week whizzed by; was amazing, to say the least. today, i actually managed to get some beauty-sleep (yes mones, beauty sleep... and yes, i use ponds HA HA HA HA ... very funny). am in Redlands, for a change. it's home, yet feels like i've traveled to a friend's for the weekend. maybe i should spend more time here... hmmm. oddly enough, am reminiscing watching judwaa on the telly the other weekend. save the 3 corny jokes that i still laughed on, it's amazing how this was a blockbuster hit. my fav character though is "tony from singapore" LOL... not to take any credit away from bindu! ("Rupa, BAY-BEEE".... go sindhis!)

these past 3 weeks i've been slightly "under the weather", as they say. might be the change in weather (it's hot as hell now), might be work, just might be the sushi i ate ("bad sushi?"... "is there any other kind?") today i attempted eating cereal with milk for the 9th time... this attempt to enjoy's america's standard breakfast, like its predecessors, failed too. tomorrow shall be attempt no. 10... the difference, warm milk instead of cold.

i LUV my weekends... i look forward to 'em with a passion. can't put my finger on what it is exactly: the crazy Fridays where i travel for 2 hours after a 10hr work day, just to begin partying until the wee hours of next morning; maybe its something a lot subtler, like the effeminately long Saturday afternoon showers (hey! that's more for society than myself!); but i guess my favorites are those Sundays... quiet, lonely, thought-provoking... & might i also add, blog-producing! :P most hate such days; forced to confront one's lifestyle in all its bareness... one judging oneself... scary for most. did i mention i'm not really that normal? oh, ok... guess you figured it out yourself.

a day i'm not such a big fan of, is Monday. ugh! Monday morning blues; ever-present, just like that boring "aunty" from your building that you're desperately trying to avoid...(picture yourself, head-turning all around, swiftly making across the building lobby. "damn! is that her there, in the blue saree again??? NO! phew! close call!" ok, lets add some 007 music in the background as well. you head toward the elevator, entering just as the doors are about to close, hit the button where you want to go, barely concealing a triumphant smile as the single drop of perspiration snakes down your forehead... and then, from the back comes her resounding voice, "arre beta, is your mummy home? tumhara graduation ho gaya na? toh job mein kitni pagaar milti hai?". so close.... so damn close! well, atleast shes wearing a black saree today. watever....). but i digress...

what really peeves me, and i'm trying to be very dispassionate in my hatred here, are morning people. especially those irritating Monday-mongers. without fail, the aforementioned Morning-Monday-monger with his/her bright smile, positive attitude, and fresh face, will catch you offguard with a "HEYYY! how are you today???? had a great weekend? wat did you do? had fun?".... and all you can reply is a rough grunt... idiots.

tuesdays are relatively less rougher, while wednesdays for me are generally the "what-can-i-do-to-make-it-through-this-week-without-killing-somebody" days.

thursdays are sweet! you can almost taste the weekend! it's starbucks day... coffee with office people... almost like a small celebration with friends ("WE MADE IT GUYS! WE MADE IT!" *play falsely inspiring music here*). you start looking around your desk, nodding at people, as if to acknowledge a small victory... then its friday again...

sure do luv 'em weekends!

this blog is getting too long.

to be continued...

of visas & the fools that apply for them...

is it just me or is this visa thing getting annoyingly more annoying??? (it's my blog, and i say that sentence makes sense)

after a hectic 3 weeks of convincing my HR ppl to apply for Premium Processing (it gets done faster... think "taatkaal") of my H1 work visa, i had had enough. i was as bored as the dhoom2 audience, yet i felt good... something that hasn't happened in a long, long while. tired, sleepy & frankly, a lil burnt... i still couldn't get that fatigued smile off of my face. come tuesday morning, and i was completely ready to kick back, chill and enjoy my daily dose of mocha frappuccino.... but NOOOOO.... wait, make that NYYYOOOOOOOOO!

200,000+... that's rt fella! TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND PLUS visa apps sent out in 1 day. number of visas available? 85,000.... yes 85,000. brilliant... long story short, we shall now have a lottery system, where they shall RANDOMLY pick apps & process them... the rest can just go open vada pav stalls to support themselves. so after studying in a premier graduate school like USC for 2 years and working for a company that is no.1 in the world for GIS related software, my future is going to be based on a lucky draw. brilliant... bingo, anyone?

so applying with a master's degree via premium processing on the very 1st day possible could mean that i still don't get the visa. in fact, there is a 2 out of 3 chance that none of us even get our papers looked at. hmmm...

whenever life throws such monkey poo at me, i'm forced to think about who i can give a piece of my mind to..... who is the brains behind such incredible stupidity... just WHO can i go to and say, "thank you sir/madam, you're as competent as a monkey with a chainsaw performing brain surgery"... just who?

in a country that prides itself on constantly evolving systems to facilitate & increase customer satisfaction, visa issues have been treated like the step-children of a very, very stupid family. last year, the h1 visas lasted 8weeks for the general public, and 12 for people with masters degrees.... this year... they both lasted 24 hrs.

as i mentioned to my friends today: "who needs to go to vegas, when we can just sit here and gamble?!"

fyi... the visa applications are accepted from the 1st of April onward... april fool's day... coincidence? i think not!