University Auditorium

I attended my first concert at UF. It was a typical concert like those shown on TV. With a conductor and his entire troupe clad in black suits and the formal demeanour. It was the UF Symphonic and Wind Orchestra. Conducted by a couple of guest conductors.

It was in this auditorium which had a rather elaborate and archetypal roof. There were dim chandeliers beaming down from hooked carvings from under the dome shaped wooden roof. It was made of deep brown wood, the type that is found in medieval churches. Complete with a couple of balconies on either flanks of the main body overlooking the stage.

The Orchestra consisted mostly of students from the School of Music and Arts at UF. The entire assortment of musical instruments decked the stage. Among them was also the piano, the various wind instruments, the xylophone and various gongs, the bass guitar, percussion, flutes to name a few.

Initially, there was loud clamoring and a discordant rush of notes that were extremely cacophonic on the ear. It was surprising since the concert was free for UF students and I couldn't spot a single fellow country-mate!

Suddenly, all the instruments played a single note in harmony. Then, the conductor arrived and the entire auditorium quickly froze into complete silence with a warm applause to greet him. With a courteous bow, the conductor soon took his position in front of the orchestra.

The lights dimmed and the stage shone bright. The wand was raised, and a rather wonderful assortment of notes in utter harmony flowed out.

The next couple of hours were sheer bliss! Most of the pieces were
based on truly American composers. The style of the music played
showed in the types of nuances that were on display. Most of the other pieces had a latino/South American influence. It was both amusing and surprising to hear some of the typical instruments used in the dances of South American culture blend in with more traditional instruments of the Orchestra.

After each piece was played, the audience was roused into an extended round of applause and every single musician that was part of some nuance in the piece played was conjured up individually by the conductor to be greeted by another round of applause. And so, the routine continued on until the end of the event.

And then, I had some nice cake arranged for by one of the Sorrority
houses near campus and here I am composing this email. The evening was truly refreshing! :)

Marston Science Library

Every science library should be called the Marston Science Library. I mean, how often does one run into a SCIENCE library called something that nice? It's always a serious sounding name, or a big city kinda name. I don't have many examples to put in here, but you could think up what the science library in your town is called. For a place like Gainesville, Marston sounds perfect!

It's a quaint old spot where all us jobless people (in the days we didn't have our laptop) would come to hang out at. Lots of computers arrayed in rows, and lots of interesting people. A very nice structure about the ground floor. It's a SCIENCE library! You just know it when you see it!

God, I am in love with Marston Science Library. The name, the ambience, the computers, the books, the convenient location of the rest-room, the notice board asking for suggestions to improve the library, the nice people writing stuff on a piece of paper to help me locate my java books. And I got my first print/copy card here. That's used to take xerox or printouts.

Landed in the US, and this was one of the first places I saw. Btw.. In the video, the "French Fries" or "Alachua" separates the library and the CS department. Show and tell part 1 over!

Gainesville

It's a small town. People here are very courteous. It's simple, yet it has a very American undercurrent about it. There's a Winn Dixie across the street. And I am supposed to use a public laundromat to get my laundry done. The university has pretty red buildings. The kind of red that's brick color, slightly orangish in appearance. Every single building appears to be molded from it. And the trees! They are everywhere! Looks like they've seen ages of students, gotten bored and grown long long beards.

There are dedicated walls to spray grafitti on, there's a krishna house with locals performing the kirtans and another native taking over discourse-discharging duties. The Bank of America (SBI of America) does not have a security guard at the entrance! And you got to keep your eye on the alert else you could miss it on t=your way down the street. It's a quaint and lovely little building. Haircuts start at 6$. Bananas cost around Rs. 15 each. Tomatos, onions, around $1.5 for half a kg. The bank accountant wants you to talk to her so she doesn't feel bored!

I am here, the land of dreams, and this is it! God bless America, and every one of her inhabitants. :-) After India, of course ;-)

Last day at IBM

So I enter the coffee room for that one last cup of latte. The machine reads "Bin full". Scowling, I turn around and express my angst to Karthik, Lisha and Divya, only to face a whole bunch of smiles (Karthik with the customary flash of teeth, Lisha with the usual all round dimple in the cheeks, Divya letting her eyes do the smiling of course and Aditya conspicuous by his absence). A cool greeting card, a pen-in-a-box that I know I'll preserve for as long as I can and a Reebok tee-shirt later, my mouth/tongue decides to take the luxury cruise to Florida already. I blabber something about friends in college telling me to think about higher studies, then with a silly grin say thanks all around and show them how red my ears can get.

Security wont take my ID card, insisting I keep it. Ashwin already starts casting worrisome glances at my querulous looks, extends his hand hesitantly and before more is said, quickly accepts the badge AlongWith the tag. He'll have to give it to the manager tomorrow.

I know I have friends here. Ashwin managed a little smile to seep through the corner of his face having taken my ID. Praveen fixed the latte machine to do its thing. And Divya mentioned how she'd remember whenever she yawned about excel worksheets on friday evenings..

I'll miss you guys! Hope this blog can remedy that. You have made these two years colourful. Thank you!