Too much has happened..

..in the one week that I've been in the US. Yes, it's been that long and no, I can't believe it either.. The first couple of days were spent in running around, getting all the bureaucratic stuff done.. Registration, trips to the International student office, to HR etc.. Then, the bone chilling cold set in and I was paralyzed.. The blizzard that swept the whole of mid west brought the temperatures down in this town to the 40s.. But the sun did come out today and I've had a nice day.. Since so much has happened and it would be tough for me to get into details and document it all, let me just list some of the new experiences I've had and some new things I've learnt.. Because at the end of evreything, it's what you have learnt that counts..

1. On the 1st day, it took me half an hour to get to my building. I've now discovered short cuts and it takes me five minutes.

2. I've learnt the routes of the uni shuttle but I don't really need them 'cos of 1.

3. I've become acquainted with people who are willing to take me grocery shopping when I need to, which is very important since I don't have a car and have to rely on people who do.

4. I've learnt how to credit money to my student ID card and don't have to carry cash around and be afraid of being mugged anymore.

5. I've learnt to buy food at stores and to operate vending machines.

6. I've learnt how to do my laundry.

So, basically, I have learnt how to survive, how to be independent and for the first time in my life, to exist without having someone take care of me all the time. It is a heady and scary feeling all at the same time. I know I will make mistakes and fall but I also know I shall pick myself up and dust myself off.. because I have to and because there will be no one to pick me up. I do wish I wasn't all alone and my beloved was here with me but I'll have to wait another three months before I know if he'll be joining me. In all, it's going to be one hell of an adventure and no matter what happens, I'll always have the satisfaction of being a pioneer.. The first in my family to do a PhD and the first to study abroad.. Well, here's to good beginnings and better continuations..

Image from here.

Overwhelmed..

Although I have been in the US for only two days, so much has happened that it feels like ages and my half dazed, jet lagged state in the evenings is no help either. I cannot be grateful enough for the fact that my bro stays in a city that's only about a 3 and a half hours drive away from my University. What would I have done all by myself in a foreign land where so many things are unknown to me if here were not here? The idea scares me.. but the Arien in me whispers.. I would have been OK.. it would've been tough but not impossible.. Those who have no one looking out for them have God looking out for them..

There must be so many international students who arrive in the US without having anyone in the country.. Feeling much more lost and confused than I'm feeling.. I would like to help them.. Maybe the next semester, when I have settled in and have begun to grow roots, I can help them begin to grow theirs..

Image from here.

The Arien soldiers on..

What do I do when the world looks too bleak for words? I read this..

When the body is too weak to care,
The spirit shall soldier on..
When the mind is too feeble to dare,
The spirit shall soldier on..
When the heart is in despair,
The spirit shall soldier on..


Wonder why no one told me, that light at the end of the tunnel is on a long vacation?


Image from here.

Horoscopes

I am a huge believer in Sun signs, horoscopes and the like.. Can you tell? ;) Anyway, I just read my horoscope for the month and for this week.. There were some really good things in there. Success in all endeavors for students and jobs on the cards for the unemployed.. I hope this is it.. The month I'll finally be able to update the 'Employer' status on facebook.

Horoscope wise, my beloved will not be doing so well this month though. I have noticed that either both of us have bad times at the same time or one of is having a bad time when the other is having good ones.. I wonder when we will both be able to enjoy the good times together..

Second article

A first and a second in the same day.. Either I don't blog for weeks at a time or do two posts at once.. Am I an Arien or what? :D Anyway, I submitted my second article for publication an hour ago and feel totally great about it. I badly want it to get accepted and soon. This article has been three years in the making.. Not the actual article of course, but the whole process that led up to it. I began working on this project during that fateful month of October 2007 and though the project was completed just six months later, in March 2008, work on the first article took time and it was finally published only in April 2009, nearly one year later. And almost one year after that, I sit here, talking about the submission of the second article. Time is slipping from my hands and I have nothing to show for it yet. The only possessions that are truly my own are my certificates- my degrees and those of various competitions I have won and my only treasures are my beloved and his love for me..

I just noticed that the first anniversary of my blog has tiptoed past me. My first post began with this poem of mine- 

When the body is too weak to care,
The spirit shall soldier on..
When the mind is too feeble to dare,
The spirit shall soldier on..

When the heart is in despair,

The spirit shall soldier on..

I'm glad I read it now.. I truly needed to awaken the Arien inside me.. The one who never gives up.. Sigh ('cos never giving up gets a little tedious sometimes..)

Poems at midnight..

The best time for me to come up with poems is late at night past everyone's bedtime and definitely way past the time when I think I should be asleep if I don't wanna wake up groggy and grumpy the next day.. Last night was one such night.. I had been trying to come up with the perfect opening to my statement of purpose for the PhD applications.. Finally I decided it had to be a poem and last night, I managed to compose it.. Here goes..

Beyond the glass doors, I see

Such endless possibilities

Paths waiting to be tread

Lives waiting to be led

On my way, I hope to be

If only, I can find the key..

I admit it is a little cliched but I liked the line about lives waiting to be led.. Because I sincerely believe it.. I believe every action or thought of ours reveals infinite possibilities about the next action or thought.. And life may turn out to be completely different from what it would have been before we initiated that action or had that thought.. Even though that knowledge can be overwhelming, it is also comforting to the Arien in me.. that

I always have another chance to make things right.. To make things go my way..

Because, after all, tomorrow is another day :)

Another poem I composed yesterday is titled anger, the failing that tops my list of failings..

My heart is pounding in my head

Blood is rushing, crimson red

Eyeballs bulge, muscles tighten

Teeth clench and nostrils whiten

My anger no longer can I control

No anger management class left to enrol

No more peace, no hope of deliverance

I have crossed all limits of endurance

What I am inside, I shall never be outside;
The inside is seen by none,
the outside is seen by all.

I am proud to be an Arien and given another life, another chance, I would most definitely choose to be one again. I sincerely believe that Ariens are among the few genuinely happy-go-lucky people in the world. They are always right there, up front, on top of things, in the middle of the melee, leading the march.. They are loud, opinionated, loud, aggressive, enthusiastic, loud, big on ideas but a little short on the follow through and did i mention loud? All in all, love them or hate them, you certainly cannot ignore them, simply because they refuse to be ignored.

I owe the awareness of my Arienness to the one person I truly admire, save my mom.. And that's Linda Goodman. It is only because of her that I know who I am and why I am the way I am. I wish I knew how she gained that amazing insight into people and their characters. Long live Linda Goodman in the minds and hearts of her fans..

When the body is too weak to care,
The spirit shall soldier on..
When the mind is too feeble to dare,
The spirit shall soldier on..
When the heart is in despair,
The spirit shall soldier on..

Being an Arien, my motto in life is, Tomorrow is another day.. Which simply means that no matter how bad the world looks today, it is sure to look better tomorrow. Don't get me wrong and believe that I look at the world with rose colored glasses.. In fact, I am the pessimist's worst nightmare but with me, the doomsday mood never lasts.. One good cry and I'll be up on my feet again.

This is the reason why, even though I had a terrible row with two of my classmates today (I apologized though.. Ariens are always the first ones to..) and even though my Sunday is going to be as bad or even worse than the last four, (four hectic weeks plus no fun Sundays are enough to drive even me over the bend) I'm still pretty ok..