Make Chai Not War

It's been exactly a month since my last blog post. I've been busy and the perfect example of lethargy for a month now. Thankfully, I got some work done. The abstract for my research paper was submitted 5 hours before the deadline (on Friday, 24th April), after countless grammatical checks and chants. 

This Friday was special though. I was basking in the post-submission era (few hours) and the weekend had arrived. The Indian Graduate Students Association (IGSA) had collaborated with numerous other organizations to host a multi-ethnic stand-up comedy show called "Make Chai Not War". I would have attended this event even if I wasn't the president of IGSA and was living a few miles off-campus. 

The event brought together three big Indian stand-up comedians namely Azhar Usman, Rajiv Satyal and Paul Varghese. Each had their own style and approach towards race and humor. But they were hilarious entertainers. I haven't been at a comedy show in months, it almost made me forget my once-upon-a-time ambition of trying stand-up. 

Someone even tried to videotape the show on their mobile phone, but Azhar caught them. That was funny! She kept the camera fixated at what he was saying, she just wouldn't stop recording. That's when I wondered whether the fact that the show is being recorded or not has an impact on the performers. It's like U2 performing at Slane Castle or Rammstein recording the Volkerball. They made sure it was top notch, or did they decide to record it into a DVD after they had performed?

I noticed that all of them spoke to most of the audience after the show, asking them their names, including me. I wondered if they would really remember everybody. One part of me felt like it was a PR thingy, the other part said that it's normal human approach to want to know who you are talking to. I personally thanked all of them after the show and made sure that I had found a way to stay in touch with each of them personally. The other organizers shared my goal to bring them back next year along with some bigger names. If we manage to get Russell Peters, that would be something big. I even noticed that there were no comedy clubs on campus dedicated to stage-comedy. And so began my thoughts on founding one. 

Going Down

The recession is hitting every part of the world, every industry. But I hear that the public service industry is the least affected. Good times for them! 

One major industry is lying wounded is Aviation. The projected loss for aviation was x billion for this year. But yesterday the projection touched 2x billion for 2009. I've been closely watching the numbers rise and fall. Never seen them go so low. 

After 9/11, the aviation industry got divided into three groups financially. Today's economy is the ultimate test for them.

Firstly, the companies that suffered a minor loss after 9/11, they are still managing to survive today's abyss. They have found a way around the dollars and are waiting for the high tide to wash their tears away.

The second group got hit bad after 9/11. These companies have started panicking today. They are laying off employees, deferring aircraft orders and reducing capacity. They have made tough decisions and found a way to cling on. 

The third group faced a crisis the moment those planes crashed into the world trade center and it's sad to say that they were in crisis up until a few months ago. It just never stopped. Most of these companies have gone bankrupt, Eclipse aviation is the best example, and the rest are heading towards bankruptsy as the months go by. 

Overall, the North American market is better placed if compared to the European market. This is solely due to the stability of the oil prices in USA. 

The way I see it, either the recession will end first or the oil prices will erupt due to volatility. Either way there will be a huge shift in numbers from east to west. How this affects and bothers me is as follows. Three months ago I set out to collect as much data as possible. I read articles, papers, airport data, predictions, projections etc. I had my facts right and numbers circled. But the timing of the recession and my thesis are a work of Murphy. These numbers and projections can be thrown out the window now. There will be new shit everyday and that could potentially harm my research. Approximately 367 papers have been written on the increase in air traffic over the next 15 years. Suddenly, they don't make sense. What happens this year will define the next 15 years of air travel. 

The founding of the Unofficial

March 5th 1803.

Niclas: I just got a call from him. We need to pay up by next month, or else we are all dead. 

Patrick: How the hell are we going to come up with so much money in so little time?

Romney: We shouldn't have borrowed the money in the first place, that too from such a dangerous man.

Patrick: Oh, quit whinning!

Romney: Shut up!

Niclas: How much money do each of you have?

Romney: 35 grand.

Patrick: 20 grand.

Niclas: And I have 30 grand. That means we are still 105 grand short.

Patrick: Why don't we sell our houses or businesses?

Romney: Are you crazy? We won't make that much anyway and we will become complete beggars.

Niclas: He's right, Pat.

Patrick: Well, I have an idea. But it's crazy.

Niclas: Anything will do in such a situation.

Patrick: Well, what if we come up with a strategy which will enable us to earn a lot of money in a single day.

Romney: If you're talking about something illigal, then I must remind you that we are wanted for a lot of crimes in a lot of countries.

Patrick: No, no. Nothing illegal. 

Niclas: What do you mean? Elaborate.

Patrick: If we tell the people that tomorrow they must use products made by us, we can earn a fortune.

Niclas: Who the hell would want to buy so many t-shirts from me? And how the hell will you two make money out of your businesses?

Romney: I don't even want to live in Windsor anymore.

Patrick: We can tell them that tomorrow is a national holiday. They will believe us. They need to buy a lot of liquor and t-shirts. We can have a particular brand of t-shirts made just for this day. We can have this event in different countries on different days.

Niclas: That doesn't sound half bad.

Patrick: Since you don't want to live in Windsor anymore, Rom, you could go to USA and sell the products.

Romney: I'm not sure about this.

Patrick: Trust me. I will supply you with the liquor and alcohol. Niclas will supply the t-shirts. We can target USA and UK.

Romney: Hmm.

Niclas: What would the holiday be called?

Patrick: Well, since I came up with this, I'll call it St.Patrick's Day. Rom can choose whatever name he wants in the USA. But I doubt whether a St.Romney's Day would be appealing enough.

Romney: The USA won't allow such an official holiday. I'll call it the unofficial.

Niclas: Sounds like a good plan to get people to wear the same t-shirts we sell, and drunk for no goddamn reason. This will be our cash-camel.

Aid

One of the biggest decisions to make as an international student is about your future. 

There are those who have taken loans and think about repaying them after they land a job. Then there are those who need to get back home to take care of their parents, because there's no one else. The ones who want to make money abroad and save enough to take back home to start a family. The ones who want to work, live and love away from their homeland. 

As graduation nears, that's one of the questions I will need to address. Even though I keep saying that I'll decide as and when the day comes, I know that at least some planning needs to be done in advance. 

I don't have an assistantship as yet, so most of my decisions are financially motivated at times. I even give out this blog address to my prospective bosses, wherever needed. I hope they find this post. Aid from the university always helps a student. A lot will depend upon whether I get aid this semester or not. My graduation date. My future plans. My next lapdance. :P

One of the courses I’m taking this semester is Cockpit and Crew Resource Management. It deals with communication and utilization of all resources by the cabin crew.

We were shown a video today in class to highlight the importance of following procedure. The captain and flight engineer were old buddies and had flown together before. The first-officer, however, was new to the game. They prepared for approach, and the captain was very slow and nonresponsive. The first officer immediately noticed that they were below the glidepath. He pointed it out to the captain. At this time, the engineer asks the captain, “Hey Jim, what’s the difference between a first officer and a duck?” The pilot seemed to think about it for a few seconds and then said, “I don’t know. What is it?” The engineer then replies with a smirk on his face, “Well, a duck can fly”. They both giggle about it in front of the first officer. The aim of this joke was to put the first officer back in place. They wanted to show him who was in charge.

The plane crashed a few minutes later due to an unstabilized initial approach. The first officer’s last words as recorded on tape were, “I told you so Jim”.

We're gonna be in the Hudson

Date: Jan. 15, 2009'
Origination: New York LaGuardia Airport
Planned Destination: Charlotte, N.C.
Actual Destination: New York Hudson River
Passengers: 150
Crew: 2 Flight, 3 Cabin
flight Duration: Five minutes


According to NTSB Member Kitty Higgins, spokesperson at the on-
site investigation, the timeline is based on FAA radar and audio relays of air traffic control communications related to “AWE1549,” according to NTSB Member Kitty Higgins, official spokesperson at on-site investigation. [Ed: note: “AWe” refers to -America West, parent company of US Airways] Times are local EST as reported to NTSB.
15:24:54 LaGuardia (LGA) tower controller clears Flight 1549 for takeoff from Runway 4, with instructions to turn left after departure and maintain a 360 deg heading. About a minute later, controller instructs crew to contact New York Departure Control.

15:25:51 Pilot contacts departure controller and advises aircraft was passing through at 700 ft. and climbing to 5,000 ft. Controller instructs aircraft to climb to 15,000 ft. Crew acknowledges. Controller instructs flight to turn left to heading 270 deg.

15:27:01 “Ahhh, this is 1549. Hit birds. We lost thrust in both engines. We’re turning back towards LaGuardia.” ATC acknowledges problem and instructs flight to turn left on a 220-deg heading. Crew acknowledges
Radar data from Newark and JFK sites indicate that at 15:27:01-- about 90 sec. after Flight 1549’s departure from LGA--the Airbus A320-200 intersected a “string of primary targets” between 2,900 ft. and 3,000 ft. These targets [interpretation: birds] were not depicted on the departure controller’s radar screen.

15:27:49 Departure controller advises LGA tower to halt further departures because an “emergency airplane is returning to the airport.” When queried which flight was returning, departure control advises, “It’s 1549. Birdstrike. He lost all engines, he lost the thrust in the engines. He is returning immediately.”
15:28.05 Controller asks if pilot wants to land at LaGuardia’s Runway 13. Pilot responds: “We are unable. We may end up in the Hudson.” According to the NTSB, discussion followed as to whether the flight could land at Teterboro (N.J.) airport, located about six mi. off the right side of the aircraft. Pilot responds, “We can’t do it.” When asked on which runway he would like to land, pilot responds: “We’re gonna be in the Hudson”—the last communiqué from the aircraft

15:30:30 Radar data shows aircraft touchdown in the Hudson River. Radar and tower personnel notify U.S. Coast Guard, New York City Police Dept. and other search and rescue groups. Coast Guard replies, “We launched the fleet.”The safety board’s Air Traffic Control Group had completed interviews with seven controllers and air traffic management personnel from New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) and LaGuardia (LGA) tower.

For videos of Flight 1549’s recovery operation, http://www.cnn.com/video/?iref=videoglobal and water landing, http://cnn.com/2009/US/01/17/usair.splash.video/index.html

It's not the occasion.

It's not the people around you.

It's not the atmosphere.

It's not the ambience.

It's not mandatory.

Nobody around you knows.

And you don't want them to know.

You tend to make excuses.

You want it to stop.

It's your choice.

You ask yourself.

What's behind the smile?

What is wrong?

Why do you want to go through with this?

Will it really ease anything?

Why do you really need to drink?

Parity

This is one of the posts that I'd only hoped I would write one day. It was an If..Then scenario. And writing such a post is never easy.

When I got admitted to the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, I was so elated. Little did I know what was in store for me as a grad student. In this country, a grad student is supposed to work twice-thrice as much as an undergrad. A grad student is supposed to sleep for less than 8 hours a night. Every department computer lab and study hall will have at least one grad student in it even at 3am. This post describes it really well. 

The transition from Russia to USA was made really easy by all my friends here and I never really had any problems with food, shelter. I was so used to just showing up for classes and doing research in Russia, that I forgot that there are more things to being a student. 

My first semester was a disaster. Thanks to lots of mistakes on my end. A grad student in my (Aerospace) department needs to maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0. Mine was a 2.22. Yes, pathetic, screwed up, lowly,... 

Probation, was the word that I became familiar with in May 2008 after the results came out. I started asking myself serious questions and understanding what is required to succeed in a particular course. Each course has its own demands and rituals. Some require you to just present 3 presentations in the span of 4 months and you get your grade. Some have 2 midterms plus homework plus a final exam. What I realized is that every course, every professor, every chapter has to be aproached in a different way. I was still on Russian time. 

For the next months, I started understanding what academic probation really means and the different petitions associated with it. I had to get my GPA back up to 3.0. For that, I would need excellent grades in all my courses to get the average back to the required. Failure to obtain the GPA would mean removal from the university.

I decided to take 4 courses, one more than needed, just in case. I have to admit there were many instances where I thought that there is absolutely no chance I could make it. I was against all odds. The person betting hundred dollars on me would actually become a millionaire. Even the look in my academic advisors eyes told me that he wasn't confident enough. Yet, he recommended a few courses. I took two of them but the other two I changed. Little did I know that at the end of the semester I would be looking back at the choice of my courses and the addition of the fourth course with absolute marvel. 

I had a lot at stake and I knew it. I loved this place, the people, the university. My friends had become my family and I had no backup plan in place. I was even the president of the Indian Graduate Students Association. I really didn't feel like losing all of that. 

Hardwork and dedication are mandatory. But even sacrifices have to be made. That's what I did different from the previous semester. Trying to tackle 4 courses along with 2 part-time on-campus jobs became a routine and weekdays became my workout. I just hoped that at the end of the semester I had something to show for.

23rd December came quick. The grades were out and my blood pressure was over the roof. As I checked them with Pragni, Omkar and Pallavi trying to calm me down, I realized that none of what I had done throughout the semester would matter if this didn't work out. And I knew that Pinky too was thinking whether I made it or not while vacationing in India.

3.73 and my cumulative was up to 3.06 

Parity was restored.

It's amazing how the smallest things people say make the biggest of difference, the way they stand by you defines your relationship with them. They affect your confidence and give you added incentive. And every word has made the difference in the past months.

It's been a week since I saw the grades and I still am wondering what I would have done if they had let me down. I started receiving quite some praise which I hadn't heard for at least a year. One of my professors even called it "A terrific achievement" which sounded really flattering, but made me proud. All Pinky asked me online was "In or Out?" and all Pragni said to me was "I never doubted you one bit. Never."

Welcome to the Real World

.... a world where your life can change radically in a split second

... where the smartest person in the world is on a wheelchair and all he can use is his brain.

... where a marathon winner comes home to the news that his diabetes has taken a decision to cut his leg off.

..... where all a hardworking man needs is to come home to his family and remember why his ass is red and his hands are rough.

...... where you could lie on the bed staring at the ceiling late in the night even though you haven't slept for days.

..... where a letter of recommendation can get you into a relationship.

...... where the other line always moves faster.

.... where you realize that you could lose everything you cared for tomorrow, or maybe the day after.

..... where the world will not let you think.

..... where you are as faithful as your options.

..... where you are given two weeks notice.

... where criminals run countries.

... where a three hour exam doesn't show how smart you are, but how slow you are.

.... where the total amount of good and bad follows no proportionality theorems.

.... where you can feel all the pressure in the world....and some more.

.... where every second counts.

.... where time is money and poverty is a viscious circle.

... where viscious is spelt vicious in google, or maybe the previous spelling is actually wrong.

... where one mistake could end it all.

.... where an MIT gold medalist dies of stress and high blood pressure at 26.

.... where you either get rich or die trying.

.... where the originality of an idea is directly proportional to the time you take to write it down.

.... where you live on the basement level in Crap Villa.

.... where your love interest will either sleep with your best friend or not get along with them.

.... where what goes around comes around and around to choke the hell out of you.

.... where you realize that you have been happy all this while, only to think that you're the saddest person alive at that moment.

... where you get dumped for being fat/ugly/tall/short/hairy/bitchy/sterile/obtuse/poor...... 

.... where life kicks you in different places at different times but you can't kick it back.

.... where everything comes to an end.... even this blog post.

You're welcome!

:)