Look everyone - another post - it wasn't just a temporary fad!!!

As for that racecar competition in Detroit - we didn't win this year but we will be featured in Road & Track magazine so you guys better all get your subscriptions renewed. Detroit is definitely the Hamiliton of the USA. As you get towards it, there is no mistaking that you are close. The pot-holes progressively get bigger, the amount of blown tires along the shoulder is ridiculous and the dark cloud of smog overhead is ominous. Gas is super cheap though. And of course if it rains, you pull out a bucket and collect the polluted water which I'm sure you could also burn as fuel. Kinda reminds me of that Kevin Costner movie Waterworld.

I'm back in Ithaca enjoying quite possibly the only week of my life without a deadline or looming assignment. In fact, there are no more assignments, tests, quizzes, classes or any more exams. That last sentence was very exhilirating to write. Surprisingly, Ithaca is actually beautiful again. I love the pathetic fallacy.

Grrr of the Day:

There was all this hoopla about having to order your cap and gown for graduation ahead of time to ensure that you have it. The best way they said to do this was to order it through this company online. So naturally I did. Of course this company will allow me to pick up my regalia on Sunday morning. My graduation is the Saturday before. brilliant.

Eulogy for my Shivji-mobile

Yes it is finally true, my car has kicked the bucket. She let out one last chortle today and passed on. We took the paddles to her twice but after that I called it off as she was a D.N.R. We pulled the plug. Everyone cried when Old Yeller died, but few will shed tears for her. She now lies in state outside my door at Maplewood.

Through the pot-holes of Dofasco Inc. where sticks and stones withered her body to a brittle shamble, she clunkered on - because I asked. Through the Toronto winters which froze her battery powered heart, she pumped on - because I wished. Through the barren marathons from Canada to Cornell she galloped full speed - because I hoped. She carried so many from A to B without any style and sacrificed her dignity - because they needed it.

Though you were not much to look at, and I'm sure I lost many a woman to your smoke - to me you were a fighter, a saviour and a miracle. Thank you for everything.

Rest In Peace,

Shivji-mobile
(1986-2006)

It hangs in the Balance

Here is a picture of my thesis inexplicably stuck in a giant hole punch 3 mins after the Graduate Office closes. I didn't hand it in today - the admin lady pitied me and told me it wil be ok after we tried for 10 mins to get it out in vain. Good ol' Hardev will hand it in for me tomorrow, tomorrow is the real due date anyway - but I am still in shock. I wonder if my prof will like my thesis with a hole punch attached to it.

Time Capsule

Today I half-stumbled into my Project Management Quiz and winged it cold turkey. After handing it in, I realized tomorrow is my last day of classes ever. Safe to say the rest of this post is plastered with nostalgia.

I can still remember one day in Grade 3, I suddenly noticed that there was a time capsule on the wall of Secord School that was sealed in 1981. Joss and I thought it would be funny if we took a couple of pennies stamped in 1986 and snuck theme in the time capsule - the people who opened them would be like wtf??? I also remember in Grade 8 when the results of a Math Competition came out, being the cocky youngen I was, I assumed I was top of my school again - to my surprise some random named Shilpy Gupta had absolutely kicked my ass. I tracked her down and issued my mini-death threat...we've been great friends since. I remember the Garneau where Hamille and I tried to dodge the smelly hallways. We even made a Garneaupoly (Monopoly parody). Here's a screenshot for old times sake:



And then there was Eng Sci. That damn design project in second year, where Emami picked the most warped chinatown wood so that all the robots would get stuck, and the most shadowy lighting so that everyone's sensors would crap out. Or all those nights we spent copying Winnie's Quantum problem sets. I would always try to do the problems myself - and then at 2am I'd finally give up and copy too.

That stupid Anthro course where instead of studying Thermodynamics we were forced to memorize a hundred different types of platerine monkey. nThose god damn Written & Oral Assignments where Hattie and I would pull all-nighters to finish by Friday morning and then argue in the morning over who had to go to class and take notes for the other. And how can I forget that night Sarah and I stayed up doing a controls lab that was worth nothing but we wouldn't quit because of the principle of the thing.

Of course I didn't feel like I had enough to do so I chaired the ISA too - I dunno how many times I skipped class to drive to markham and pick up samosas. Or how instead of writing my thesis I was planning a culture show with the ISA gang.

And this past year, all of those damn Systems Assignments that have taught me the incredible skill of producing reams and reams of documents without actually doing anything. Somewhere loggers are deforesting to make enough paper to satisfy the Systems Engineering Department at Cornell, I swear there were more trees by Stewart Park last semester! And of course Car Team which has invaded my life and effectively sucked every last juicy morsel of spare time. Kirsten still feels "car team" is my cover for cheating on her. The thesis progress is at 95% for those who are following my MSN names.

So in conclusion of my rant, the school chapter of this story is ending - hand me my $40,000 piece of paper and introduce me to the concept of a "free weekend". Funny I don't remember much from any of my classes, except how to procrastinate them....ok ok I'll finish that thesis now!


Grrr! of the Day:

So when I was told that Cornell was in the middle of nowhere people said it was small town charm, big city feel, I thought of the bright side - no problems with traffic chaos and no problem finding parking and hotels. After all it is Ithaca, 5 hours from any civilized city. Yesterday proved how ridiculous this place is. It took me half-an-hour to get home from campus (normally a 2 minute drive) because there was a ridiculous amount of traffic. We are in the middle of nowhere, there is nothing to do here - why are there so many people and where the hell are they going??? Okay this didn't happen today but I am still grring about it. So my parents decided to finally try to book a hotel to stay in around Ithaca for my graduation. So I called a few places and all of them are booked - this was back in February. One place laughed at me and said they are also sold out for the 2009 graduation. Apparently, people book hotels for graduation the minute they get their acceptance to undergrad. My parents are staying in Auburn, NY, an hour away - because every place in Ithaca is sold out. Big city feel, eh - I suppose I was warned.