The End in the Beginning

Hello, all!

HaPpY nEw YeAr!!!! : )

Consider it a new year resolution if you will... but here I am, back from the blog-wilderness! On today's menu is a whirlwind random recap of the past eight months of my increasingly awesome UK sojourn...

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Kshitija Rane, MSc

In January, 2009, I optimistically blogged about my expectations from the new year:

"2009 could well be a watershed year for me. Hopefully, in ten months' time, I will have completed my post-graduation. Needless to say, they are going to be, possibly, the most challenging ten months of my life. But the accomplishment and peace of mind that awaits me at the end of this journey makes it all worthwhile."

Here we are, on the other side of those ten months and I'm surprised by the accuracy of my own predictions. I began this arduous journey in September 2008, besieged by self-doubt and an overwhelming sense of responsibility. I even attempted to abort this mission right at the outset. But my wise parents made sure that I stayed on course till the very end. Encouragement from friends back home coupled with the therapeutic company of new-found friends here further powered my support system. With all this support as fuel, I made my way along the long and winding road to post-graduation.

Vivid seasons flipped by... a windy autumn, a chilly winter, a sunny springtime, and a colourful summer. Assignments and progress tests passed by in a blur. The Group Project made rich additions to my set of experiences and friends. Mamma came by for a breezy, morale-boosting two-week visit. Gruelling exams turned life upside down. Vacations sped by all too quickly. The final MSc project and dissertation writing turned my brain to mulch, requiring large investments of sleepless nights and many, many mugs of coffee. But it was all worth it, because it contributed to taking me one rung higher on the academic ladder... a rung named "MSc in Advanced Wed Application Programming". I am now finally a post-graduate.


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My Daddy's Strongest!

Most of you probably already know about the gruesome accident my father was in, last August. I credit his miraculous escape to all the goodwill he has collected throughout his life, helping people with all kinds of big and small things, sharing his vast store of knowledge and expertise selflessly, and generally making a positive difference to the lives of people all around us.
I also admire and appreciate Mamma's superlative handling of that situation. Her calm and steady manner helped blunt my apprehensions. It also slightly eased the inescapable guilt I felt over my inability to help them both in any way.
I often jokingly ask my father if he is superhuman, given the insane number of things he gets done in a single day. After I saw a picture of the post-accident wreckage of our car, I have come to the conclusion that it must be true! But superhuman or not, I am MOST grateful for his continued presence in my life.

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Kitchen Queen... or at least Handmaiden

While still at university, I often felt that I existed in two universes: the unwieldy academic universe and the real world universe. While I had to put most of my focus and energy into my studies, I needed to also take care of myself, eat and sleep well (or relatively well), and do chores like groceries, laundry, hoovering, and such. A pleasant side-effect of this was that I finally learnt to cook! Most of you know (and have probably experienced first-hand) that Mamma is a phenomenal cook. While I may not have inherited her culinary genius (yet!), I did manage to implement recipes she wrote for me before I came here. If I were to grade my kitchen skills honestly, I would say that I used to be a -3, and now I am a +3. Personally, I consider this my next biggest achievement after my post-graduation itself : )


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Battle-ready Quarter Centurion

I turned 25 three months ago... stepping into exciting 'mid-twenties' territory. It was a landmark birthday that I had to celebrate all by myself. I did manage to entertain myself throughout the day with a nice mix of movies, music, pizza, and cheesecake. Tons of good wishes and blessings from family and friends, spectacular cheesecake, and a really long and indulgent conversation with Mamma made the day almost perfect.


All through 2009, even as my mid-twenties arrived, I found myself doing many grown-up things. First, I learned to subsist on my own. Then, towards the end of my time at university, I looked for, and found, a new place to rent. I then made the big move from university to my new place in the London suburbs. Then, I spent a considerable amount of time looking for a job. Recently, I even applied for my post-study work visa. Phew!

I did thankfully manage to find a job, which is by far one of the most wonderful grown-up things one can do. The opportunity came along thanks to me being in the right place at the right time. But I was pleased to realise that I ultimately got the job because of the combination of my work experience, the content of my brand new Masters degree, and my willingness to learn. It suddenly made everything, all the blood, sweat, and tears I had put into this last one year, totally and utterly worthwhile.

When I look back on all of this, it almost feels like an out-of-body experience, as if these are someone else's actions I'm looking back on. But I did indeed accomplish these things. It is indeed me who is living this nice, new, grown-up life.

***

Mumbaikar and Semi-Londoner

I don't live IN London. But I live quite close to it... and this idea thrills me. This city is gorgeous. Every nook and cranny, every corner you turn, every building you lay eyes on... there is subtle and obvious beauty, grandeur, and history everywhere and in everything. It is one of the most famous and fascinating cities in the world, and now I get to live near it.


It was a huge gamble moving here, mind you. It would have been more prudent (and significantly cheaper) to stay back in familiar Colchester. Yet, in the spirit of 'nothing ventured, nothing gained' and powered by my parents' unflinching support, I threw myself out of my comfort zone and brought myself to within touching distance of London. The first two months were not pretty. The lack of any good opportunities or even reassuring faces around brought back the same self-doubt and despair. My conviction in moving to London began to slowly fade. I was even prepared to wrap up and head home. Then, my awesome job came along and changed everything. I am finally on the way to the life I want to build for myself. My world makes sense again. The London 'thrill' is now real again.

Having just raved about lovely London, I have a simultaneous confession to make... I miss Mumbai! It is true that no matter where you go, you always belong to your home town and your home town always belongs to you. I miss my parents, my family and friends, my home, the entire Girgaon area (so much of which I have no clue about but still love!), the seaside and Marine Drive, Churchgate, the little of Mahim/Dadar that I have come to know well, and so much more! Every now and again, I can't help be nostalgic about all that I have left behind. There are so many things here that have influenced the early days of Mumbai, back when it used to be Bombay... red double-decked buses, for example. In fact, almost everyone here knows it as Bombay and knows that it's home to Bollywood, the great Indian movie machine. When I tell people I'm from Mumbai, there's a always a glimmer of recognition, and then they usually exclaim, "Oh, you're from Bombay!", to which I reply proudly, "Yes, I am."

Little Mumbaikar

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The End in the Beginning

I started this blog to write about my new life at the University of Essex. I lived that life to the fullest. In the end of that life was wrapped the beginning of my new one. It is then only fair that my new 'cool new life' gets a blog of its own. And this will be its home:

http://kshitijarane.wordpress.com/

I still have so much to share with everyone. There are little trips I still have to rave about... at least three significant weddings to still gush about... and so many other little and big random things. My new blog will now be the destination for all of that.

On that note, I shall wrap up this would-be whirlwind recap and say adieu. I'll leave you with lines from a cool Beatles song, 'With a little help from my friends'. While they're singing about singing, I find it relevant about my writing. In the course of writing this blog, I have often rambled, cribbed, and even ranted, but you all have still read and appreciated it. That is why I have absolutely loved writing this blog, knowing that all of you, my family, friends, and family friends, are with me on this journey... and I am immensely grateful : )

What would you do if I sang out of tune?
Would you stand up and walk out on me?
Lend me your ears and I'll sing you a song,
and I'll try not to sing out of key.

Oh, I get by with a little help from my friends.


Love,
Kay

Mamma's Baby - Part 3

Hi, all!

Continuing my account of Mamma's UK visit...

Mamma at London Bridge Underground Station

***

Food Paradise and Simple Pleasures

By evening, we returned to cozy Orpington. From then on, it was a series of days filled with earnest studies and lots and lots of fun times. Anu Maushi very graciously gave Mamma complete kitchen freedom. Together, they made me all the food preparations I could possibly think of... I was quite literally in food paradise! We also sang songs and had wonderful discussions on a variety of issues. I gleaned several pearls of wisdom from both ladies, beautiful on the inside and out.

A glimpse of my personal food paradise

Good times

Siddharth dada, despite his super-busy schedule, drove us to London one Sunday. We visited the uniquely splendid Science Museum and also drove past some cool London sights on the way back. We also visited his new house, currently under-renovation but still breathtaking and a beauty-in-the-making. Thanks to him, I also had the good fortune of tasting a delicious Irish cream liquor drink and those super-addictive lime-n-chilly tortilla chips. Our trip-concluding 2-a-team Antakshari session was also rather memorable.

Mamma & Anu Maushi; Us at the IMAX show at the Science Museum

***

Say Goodbye ... again!

Two weeks evaporated into thin air and it was time for Mamma to leave. It broke my heart to let her go. To my credit, I was not clingy or cranky and I did not childishly ask her to extend her stay for me, no matter how much I wanted it. On her part, by visiting me, she had already given me the strength and courage to continue my journey alone, without me even realising it.

And then she flew back home.

Through it all, this Mamma's Baby spent some precious and priceless time with her Mamma and is eternally grateful to her parents for giving her what she wanted most... her Mamma's company.


Signing off,

Kay

Mamma's Baby - Part 2

Hi, all!

Continuing my account of Mamma's UK visit...

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Mamma at the University

Apart from the psychological comfort of Mamma being here with me, I was most excited to show her glimpses of my life here. We arrived at the University in the afternoon. We first went to my room. I was happy to see that she was happy and comfortable in my living space. She loved the view too (who wouldn't!). We shared a nice pizza for lunch, relaxed some, and then stepped out to visit the campus. I pointed at or took her to all the places I could possibly think of... the accommodation offices, the laundry, the campus squares, the library, the Ivor Crewe hall, the lecture theatre building, the places where I eat or hang out on campus, my department, the labs... we even met one of my lecturers... and some of my classmates. Then, we walked to my current shopping mecca, Tesco, taking in the budding greenery on the way and the cool, fresh evening air. We bought some groceries for the weekend and also shared a cappuccino : ) In the space of a few hours, I had taken her through six months worth of my life here. For the first time since coming here, I realised how good I had it here, and it was all thanks to my parents!

Mamma at the University

Meet the Friends

That evening was special too. I took Mamma to meet my family away from family ... Aparna and Abhilasha. They bonded so well that it seemed like they'd known each other since ages... and that was the icing on the delicious cake that was this day.

Mamma with Aparna & Abhilasha

Shopping Spreeeee!!!!!!!!!!

The next day, Mamma and I joined Abhilasha, Aparna, and her friend Yukti to a shopping visit to the retail village, Freeport, at Braintree. The visit was lots of fun. I hadn't shopped for the sake of shopping in a long time and having Mamma there made the experience even more enjoyable. Abhilasha and Aparna also gifted her a beautiful white purse. We capped off the visit with a coffee/hot chocolate visit to Starbucks and returned home.

Fun day at Freeport, Braintree, with Yukti, Aparna and Abhilasha

Meet the Flatmates

On Sunday, Mamma had the opportunity to meet my dear flatmates Nadia and Buthaina, who made us parathas and coffee respectively. She was even more relieved to see that I was in excellent company all around.

Mamma with Buthaina & Nadia

***

Continued in Part 3

Part 3

Mamma's Baby - Part 1

Hi, all!

Many months ago (eight to be precise), I had planned to return home briefly in April for my best friend's wedding. As fate would have it, I was to have my evil final exams at that very time. My best friend, Trupta, was unbelievably calm about the whole thing. She understood that exams, evil as they may be, were important and entirely unavoidable. So we let the thing rest. But it saddened me to know that I wouldn't get to meet my parents, friends, or family for many more months. Then, my genius parents came up with a solution! My mum volunteered to come visit me for a few days... and then she did! : )

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The unbearable wait

When she confirmed her two-week trip, I was beyond ecstatic. I went about grinning so broadly that people must've thought I'd lost my marbles. Our family friends in Orpington, Mrs Anupama Deshmukh (Anu Maushi) and her son Dr Siddharth, graciously agreed to host us for the duration of her trip. At my end, I also made arrangements for her visit to the University.

The stressful spring term ended on the 20th of March and Mamma was to arrive on the 1st of April. I had to also start exam preparations around that time... and trust me, that was not easy! I had to really push myself to focus and not drift off into sweet daydreams of all the fun I would have when Mamma would be here. When I would step out, I would make mental notes of all the things and places I wanted to show Mamma. The days could not go by quickly enough. But before I knew it, the 31st of March had arrived.

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And there she was...

I travelled to Orpington that evening so as to go to Heathrow the next morning to pick up Mamma. Early next morning, I went to the airport. Her flight landed, and the wait was now unbearable. And then, I saw her... my mirror image... older, but far more beautiful. I ran to her like a little kid and hugged her tight. I felt like a weight had been lifted off me and I was filled with that warm feeling one gets when something wonderful happens.

We then made our way back to Orpington. Once we arrived, Anu Maushi welcomed us warmly and we spent the day catching up on this, that and everything, exchanging gifts, and enjoying delicious home-cooked food. That evening, Siddharth dada helped us plan our visits to my aunt's in Norbury, then to the University, and finally back to Orpington. It would be a slightly hectic beginning to her trip, but the latter half of the trip would be a relatively calm one.

So, as planned, we travelled to Norbury to visit my aunt and Mamma's cousin, Nirmal Mantri, whom I had visited in mid-January. We spent a nice day with her; we relaxed, reminised, went out for lunch, did some window-shopping, and then came back and relaxed some more. Early next morning, we made our way to the University.

Mamma at Victoria Station, then at the University

***

Continued in Parts 2 and 3

Part 2

The Other Sun

Hi, All!

During my first week here at the University, I did myself a huge favour by signing up with the Computer Society. I thus got the opportunity to attend several interesting seminars on a variety of tech topics and interact with different people in different capacities. But I was most pleased about the prospect of a visit to the main UK campus of Sun Microsystems.

Jenya, my enterprising friend and Computer Society founder, thought of and planned the whole trip. She was ably supported by the new president of the society, Bogdan Suvar, a dear friend of mine and a real genuine guy.

Early morning on 25th March, a bunch of us from the Computer Society set off for the Sun Microsystems campus at Camberley, Surrey. It was nice of our fellow society member David Snow to drive us there and back.

Welcome to the Sun

The campus was quite impressive... sleek orange-brown-silver buildings contrasting nicely with the lush greenery. We spent the day at one such cool location, Solaris House. After getting our visitor badges, Senior Staff Engineer Tim Graves welcomed us and explained to us our agenda for the day. Kim Austin, the university co-ordinator, also spoke to us about Sun's interaction and involvement with universities across the UK. Sustaining Engineer, John, told us about the workings of this particular Sun campus... attempting to fix significant errors in their clients' systems by reproducing their configurations and mimicking the systems' workings in real time. He also explained to us this awesome piece of smart card-based technology, Sun Ray, which allows Sun employees to work from anywhere without having to actually carry their work around. Pretty cool, eh?


The Future is here

Next, Services Lab Engineer David Cole showed us around the lab. Now, this place totally blew me away! To be honest, computer hardware is not exactly my strong point. But the moment we entered the lab, that didn't matter any more. It was like entering a futuristic science fiction movie... like being on a spaceship... blinking lights, miles of cables, walls and racks lined with shiny speedy machines ... an out-of-this-world experience indeed!

Sun Lunch

After that blast from the future, we all went to the cafeteria for lunch, complimentary from Sun. We got to choose our meals from a colourful array of foods and desserts. It sure was good fun.

Sun's colourful cafeteria

Expert Voices

We then spent a better part of the rainy afternoon listening to talks from experts. First up, Chief Technologist, David Levy, spoke to us about the power of open source software. Then, MySQL's Mark Baker told us about just how big this little database product had become. Next, Jarod Nash let us in on some secrets of the Solaris operating system. Finally, Dave Walker gave us an in-depth talk on a variety of security issues and how Solaris combats them.

Expert Voices: (Clockwise, from top left)
Tim Graves, John, David Levy, Mark Baker, Jarod Nash, Dave Walker

CSoc, Sun, and Rainbow

In the span of a single day, we had seen and heard very many cool and interesting things... about Sun as a company, and also about its technologies in general. But above and beyond that, we bonded as a group and had a really nice time hanging out. All too soon, it was time for us to head home... and on the drive back, as if to top off the day, we saw a rainbow!



***

It's been a fair few years since I've been associated with the field of IT and computers. It's been just as many years that I've known of and been fascinated by Java and Sun. To then be able to visit the Sun campus, that too, one in the UK was a very big deal to me. This day will thus go down as one of the more significant days of my professional life. A big thank you to Jenya, to Bogdan, to David, and all the CSoc members for adding another memorable day to my growing collection.

Signing off,

Kay

Spring Sunshine

Hi, all!

Here's a recap of the ten weeks that made up my very interesting Spring term here...

The Spring term began in the second half of a fairly chilly, snowy winter. The term was to comprise of two study modules, one group project, and the all-important MSc project proposal. I knew from the outset that it was going to be a heavy term, and I have never been proven more right!

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Project matters

Preparing the project proposal was a very important part of this term. Not only would it form the basis of my MSc dissertation project, but it was also excellent preparation for formal report writing.

***

Go, G7!!!!!

One of the most significant things that happened this term was the group project. It is what made my Spring term very special. There are eight of us here at the Uni of Essex who have undertaken MSc in Advanced Web Application Programming (AWAP as we call it), and we were banded together for the purpose of the group project. We were to work on developing a web-based nursing staff allocation system. For this purpose, we held official (and inofficial) meetings, did all the required groundwork, spent endless hours in the lab working on the application, put together all the required documentation, and did our best to submit everything on time. Finally, we presented the application to our assessors and gave them what I think was an unbelievably good demonstration of the system.

In a matter of a few weeks, we went from being mere acquaintances and classmates to becoming colleagues and finally, friends. Initially, it was a challenge coordinating eight different mindsets and work styles, not to mention, timetables! But somehow, over time, everything came together rather nicely. So evident was the positive chemistry and camaraderie in the group that even the assessors and our fellow classmates could not miss it.

As for me personally, I had spent about three years working by myself before this. So, the prospect of a 'group' project made me apprehensive initially. But then as we started on this journey together, everything fell into place so perfectly that the apprehension melted away before I knew it. The whole experience was made up of these little and big moments... burning the midnight oil with Tony over scheduling algorithms... working with Laurence for hours and hours on the scheduling code... Ali bringing us piping hot evening tea as we struggled through some tricky bits of the system... Jane managing work, family, kids et al to make a contribution to the system... brainstorming with Andreas, Maria and Demetra over a million issues we came across ... Andreas' trademark opening statement "Tell me, Kay..." ... Demetra and Maria saying "Kay, breathe!" and randomly checking on me to make sure I wasn't in a state of utter panic :D

It was a pleasure working with this group of wonderful people, getting to know them better, sharing those 'eureka' moments, laughing and joking around with them, and also learning from them. Life will probably take us in different directions from here on. But we will always have this incredible experience that binds us.

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Spring Sunshine

As the spring term progressed, the weather changed too. While we were all toiling away indoors, lush sunshine fell on the campus, and the greenery that had disappeared in winter began to return ever so quietly. Pretty daffodils sprung up all over the place, as did tiny white and yellow flowers all over the lawns. By the end of March, the spring term came to a close, but it seemed like the spring season was only just getting started.

***

Sleep deprivation, anxiety, utter exhaustion, and complete satisfaction... these terms characterised my spring term. I learned a host of new things and made a bunch of new friends. Towards the end, there were moments of sheer desperation as the submission deadlines grew closer and closer. I was more than satisfied with how it all turned out eventually. Also, thanks to the concluding group project presentation, my spring term ended on an excellent, unforgettable, heartwarming high.

Thus, in the honour of our amazing G7 Group Project..... my dear team members - Ali, Laurence, Jane, Maria, Tony, Andreas, and Demetra - I dedicate this blog post to you!!!

Signing off,

Kay

Back to the Blog

Hi, all!

Time for me to come out of hibernation : )

The last time I blogged was at the start of my spring term, some time at the beginning of this year... and lo and behold, half the year has disappeared already! So let me start by briefly listing my goings-on here since then:

• Spring term was super-hectic, tiring, and very special
• I visited the Sun Microsystems campus with the Computer Society
  
• My mum visited me for two weeks!!!!! (woohoo!!!!)
• My best friend Trupta got married!!!! (woohoo!!!!)
• My exams came and went in a whirlwind
• I am now embarking on my final MSc project
• Also, my friends and I took a trip to Norwich in December, which I never blogged about
  

So there... that's what I have been up to in all these past months.

In my subsequent blog entries, I will elaborate on these goings-on. Rather than cram everything into one giant, endless blog post (that puts my cousin Akshay to sleep :D), I'm putting up multiple, relatively small posts this time.

Till then, adios!

Signing off,
Kay