Last night..

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I had no idea the amount of people who read my blog until I stopped posting for a week. Tons of family and friends who don't leave comments! sent me an e-mail LOL anyway thanks, Daniele, Niro, Acca, Shankar, Amit, Aarthy and you for your input; So anyway last night was fun filled and crazy per the usual. I have no time it seems and the time I do have it's like I am cramming everything I can into it. I took my brother and a friend to Ziki, Japanese cuisine. The menu has a very nice variety of appetizers, entrées, and a wonderful assortment of desserts. You can dine at the bar, which we chose to do as the restaurant was packed. Good food, good times :) We were thinking about going to the Hookah bar in DC right after but had to slip back in the house just to feed my loving pups. And things changed right from then..

Then I was going to go to Sals' birthday party at the Napoleon Bistro & Lounge in Adams Morgan. But, it was all very last minute: getting a spot at the photography conference I had been coveting, which included the night in a posh hotel away sans bro as well as the birthday party offer. My initial response to all of it was a resounding YES! Then, as I got the spot for the conference, I began to second-guess myself.

What am I thinking? I' can always go to the hookah bar with my bro and friend, Sal would not miss me too much with all the gals and fun at the lounge ;) And I need to get myself noticeable in the photography field where I hope to make a name. So, a big sorry to my bro and crew and Sal.

The conference itself was well worth the night. I am glad I had the opportunity to go.

Last night..

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Sunday, April 11, 2010

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Tag : I, Perspective, Share

Happy Birthday Mother!

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Happy Birthday Mom;
Wishing you a day,
as sunny as your smile,
as warm as your heart,
a day as wonderful as you are!

Though I fight with you at home,
You are the one to whom I share everything.
Though you still treat me as a baby,
and scold me when I do something wrong to you,
you are everything to me ....
I Love You!!!!

Happy Birthday Mother!

Posted by : Jegan

Date :

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Tag : Adore, Birthday, I, Perspective, Share

Students?

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Al right folks, as promised here is my view on the Student loan legislation that Obama signed recently. Before that just sharing something that I think about student loans; I feel that like the current mortgage fiasco we are dealing with, this is another big big problem that the US is going to have to deal with at some point, likely sooner rather than later. But that's another topic... The real issue is that the "loanees" (AKA students AKA generally young and naive and with generally little true financial acumen) carry a burden that few other borrowers face - the inability to discharge your debt via bankruptcy. So my point; no loan is a good loan! Trust me I know!! I am dealing with a few myself.

Basically this legislation takes away the student loans from banks and funds it directly. So many would be happy to know that the money borrowed from in college will be the lenders they pay every month to. No need to worry about loans being sold and resold. But like are any other legislation's obviously there are good and bad. So, let look at the Pros first:

Basically all schools starting this 2010 summer will be offering "direct lending" which cuts out the corporate lending middleman, meaning a lower interest rate! This legislation also reduces IBR (Income-Based Repayment) to 10% of above-line income instead of 15%, and forgives non-PI (Private Investor) loans after 20 years instead of 25... but this part will only apply to loans initiated after July 1, 2014. Nobody currently in or applying will benefit from this part of the reform (although it will definitely benefit the future generations). This makes me sad face, as a few I care about are currently in schll.. lol

Now the bad part; The biggest losers obviously would be the middleman, banks. So banks' easy profit off of these student loans while the government bears the risk would now be gone. Which also means there is no competition. It also means banks would now be down in profits that is used to lend back to the community. So this might create a slow but a clear way for a few banks to go down.

So the bottom line; though waste will decrease, I doubt and will be very surprised if the program becomes more efficient and has less problems. Here is another perspective for you guys to think about; How are college graduates supposed to juggle student loan payments with the realities of an imploding job market and family members too caught up in their own financial turmoil to help out? With all the attention focused on failing banks and government bailouts, the very legitimate panic felt by such graduates risks getting lost in the shuffle.

There you go my two worthless pennies ;)

Students?

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Friday, April 9, 2010

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Tag : Education, Essential, I, Perspective, Share, Support Obama

Open!

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Recently I read a paper entitled “Open Access: Why should we have it?” As someone who promotes open thinking, open source software, open data formats and other forms of openness, it is rewarding to see that there is tangible evidence of the value of these practices. Although the paper focuses on open access journals/articles in the physical sciences, I think that it is safe to generalize the results to all areas of academic research.

Talking of academic research, I had to do a statistic analysis report recently.. whew! I don’t miss my school days at all!! LOL Well, this specific article I was given to report on was a disaster! Personally, I'm not very much of a "stick to a diet" for health benefits kind of person. I believe in eating what appeals to me but in the right quantity. And a good mix of exercise would do the trick for a healthy life, no need for any Cocoa/Tea diet!!

I am all about being open and clear with my thoughts and ways. That does not mean I am going to discuss my life history with everyone who comes around. Rather, I am someone who values open communication of my thoughts with the people that matter to me. As many of my friends would agree, it is dangerously easy for anyone to get the wrong idea about me and my intentions without talking to me. I am not to be blamed for it too; I do carry myself with pride. Nothing wrong with that in my book, though, I will agree that it can intimidate many. Egoistic some call, hard headed others say, vein some murmur, full of your self many joke.

But those of you who have had the opportunity to know me would (hopefully) agree otherwise. And honestly it does not matter if they (the one who knows me) agree or not ‘cause I know what I am and that is all that matters! Et voila, a brilliant finishing statement to the above paragraph! Lol

In other stories I recently got my second!! ticket for not wearing my seat belt!!!! It was a spell cast by my angel, who was only wishing me well. I have promised myself to always wear my seatbelt from then on. So, if I am with any one of you guys and not wearing my seat belt, please remind me and I promise not to argue or ignore.

I have not forgotten the take on the student loan post that I promised.. so look out for it soon :) Also check out Kurbaan, a Hindi movie which was quite interesting. My review to follow..

By the way, start being more open to your thoughts of me, with me! Please..

“asamyatatmana yogo
dusprapa iti me matih
vasyatmana tu yatata
sakyo ’vaptum upayatah”

Open!

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Monday, April 5, 2010

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Tag : Adore, Education, Essential, I, Perspective, Share

From the White House

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The post below by Kal Pen representing the White House triggered enough interest to be re posted here :) I will be posting my view about it soon.. till then read on..



Making Higher Education More Affordable
Posted by Kalpen Modi on March 30, 2010 at 12:00 PM EDT

The President believes that for America to compete in the 21st century, we’ll need a highly educated workforce that is second to none. But one of the things holding us back from this achievement is soaring tuition costs at colleges and universities around the country. Too many students and families struggle to make ends meet just to fulfill the dream of a college education. And when students are unable to afford access to higher education or graduate with a degree, our economy suffers.

That’s why President Obama signed today a historic piece of legislation that delivers real reforms and critical investments to our higher education system. By strengthening the Pell Grant program, investing in community colleges, extending support for Historically Black Colleges and other Minority Serving Institutions, and helping student borrowers manage their student loan debt, we will make college more affordable and enable more Americans to earn a college degree.

Lifelong educators like Dr. Jill Biden, wife of Vice President Joe Biden, know how important these reforms will be to our higher education system.

This legislation means $40 billion more dollars in the Pell Grant program to ensure that eligible students receive an award, and that awards increase to keep pace with rising tuition. And a $2 billion investment over four years for community colleges to develop, improve, and provide education and career training programs. Students will be able to choose to limit their student loan payments to 10% of their income, with any remaining balance forgiven after 20 years. And public service workers can have their loans forgiven after 10 years.

Because special interests have been benefiting from taxpayer subsidies for too long, we’re cutting out the middlemen by ending government subsidies currently given to banks and other financial institutions that make guaranteed federal student loans. According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, ending these wasteful subsidies will free up nearly $68 billion for college affordability and deficit reduction over the next 11 years. So these investments are not only paid for, but they’ll reduce the deficit in the long run.

Because of the legislation enacted today, we’re finally undertaking meaningful reform to our education system and making college more affordable and accessible.

For more information on these federal student aid programs, please go to http://www.studentaid.ed.gov/, or call 1-800-4FED-AID.

Kalpen Modi is an Associate Director for the Office of Public Engagement

From the White House

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Friday, April 2, 2010

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Tag : Education, Essential, Perspective, Share, Support Obama

Life in A .. Metro

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Inspiration drawn from "Un amour de femme" and "The Apartment", Life…In A Metro doesn’t quite manage to make a statement specific to its title (perhaps Mumbai city itself could have been used as a stronger character), it is a charming film that enthralls and emotes, leaving you with a smile. It falls in the grey, untapped area between mainstream and parallel (no pun intended) cinema – a film that dares to be real and filmy, dramatic, and funny, without overdoing it. Kudos to Anurag Basu for making an intelligible film that should be accessible and appreciable across a diverse audience. If we cannot appreciate this quality effort, we lose the right to crib about the dearth of quality in Hindi cinema.

Music played a vital role in the entire show.It's comeback of Rock in the form of beautiful Hindi lyrics. Also no group dance and foreign locations, and sans female voice makes it an offbeat movie. Cheers to Pritam Chakroborty.

Life in A .. Metro

Posted by : Jegan

Date :

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Tag : musically, Perspective, Review, Share

Mapping..

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I did not sleep last night, just a couple hours of rest with frequent trips to the bathroom. No, it was not because I wasn't sleepy but because my head is clogged with mucus!! Sigh!

Mapping Memories

"Dream and Destiny are two separate dimensions of life, but it would be a ” FANTASTIC ” combination when they finally meet.." said an old friend; I believe in making my own destiny, by believing in what I do. But then there are times when I have to remind myself not to make someone a priority when they only make me an option..

Well, we were talking about our primary/secondary school days together and the things we used to do when we had no worries or commitments. I miss those times! I miss cutting class to play soccer in the wet and muddy field, our first glimpse of playboy in the technical class, the secret (still!!!)trip we made after our literature class, the "who is macho" fight we would have behind our school buildings, silly and retarded things we used to do to impress girls.. good times!!

I was not the top scorer in academics but never the less I liked and did well in Literature (I loved to analyse the characters portrayed in the stories), English (it challenged my communication skill), Geography (it gave me the opportunity to learn about the world and instilled my desire to travel) and, of course, Chemistry (it offers me solutions and made me who I am today!) and more because I loved my chemistry teacher, she had the most brilliant sense of dressing and she always smells good.

I remembered that when I was 14, I was confronted with the decision of my life. I had completed my lower secondary studies and I knew that choosing the subjects that I would be studying in upper secondary will determine my path in life. The truth is, what I want to do cannot be taught in textbooks. I wanted to be a world traveller. Yes, I want a career as a world traveller. Many people have dreams to travel around the world, I simply want to travel for a living.

Today, I realize that I have in a way achieved what I desired, I have travelled to many parts of this world thanks to my father who still travels due to his profession. Confirming my believe in making my own destiny. Though I have in other ways deviated from my childhood desire I still know that I am not far away from achieving it. Hope fully soon enough, I would find my way out of this temporary confusion and be united to/with my desire/soul mate.

As they say everyday is special if we think so..every moment is memorable if we feel so..everyone is unique if we see so..life is wonderful if we lead so..

"Ab To Aa Bhi Jao Na Janam"

Feeling the love from a wonderful woman who unfortunately is married, but still truly loves me.

"Poagum Paadhai Dhooramae
Vaazhum Kaalam Konjamae
Jeeva Sugam Pera Raaga Nadhiyinil Nee Neendhavaa"

Mapping..

Posted by : Jegan

Date :Thursday, April 1, 2010

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Tag : Adore, I, Memories, Perspective, Share