Monday, July 07, 2008

Boston to Kansas: On the Road

It's been quite some time since I wrote anything on the blog. In fact, I have been running busy these days, that I could not find time to keep in touch with the various tech blogs that I have subscribed to, and more importantly, I have not been catching up with the regular blogs of my fellow blogger friends. Honestly, the last few days have been quite hectic, but now, I am in a settled mode, and all set to turn the online world upside down with my write-ups, hopefully, regularly!

In spite of all the haphazardly organized ways of my life, I found time (rather quite some time) to catch up with, probably, one of the greatest Wimbledon finals ever. I was glued in front of the television set for seven hours, waiting for the intermittent rains to disperse quickly, as my mind struggled to keep pace with the phenomenal racquet speed generated by Federer and Nadal. It was breathtaking tennis, and it was a treat to watch Nadal outbeat Federer, though it was painful to realize that there could be only one winner.

Anyways, on the personal front, I have moved from Boston to Kansas City, since I felt that it was time to move on with a new job!! So, I had to take care the hectic bout of paperwork (transfer of immigration documents) and relocation related stuff to move into a new city. Leaving Boston was tough, but then, at every stage you realize that you have to do some tough things. It is all a part of moving ahead in life. Before you realize what happens, you are in a new place with a new set of people (in this case, the old set, since most of my university school friends are placed in Kansas), and you are already getting used to the new pace of life. Quite intriguing and interesting!!! Kansas is very different from Boston, in the sense that there is so much area in the mid west. Nice, single bedroom apartments are well affordable, compared to the expensive east. So, the life style is altered, but the kind of person that I am, the place does not make a difference, as long as the week days keep me occupied.

I decided to leave Boston, and the adventurer in me told me to take a road trip to Kansas. It is a 1400 mile journey, and I planned to cover the trip over four to five days. So, I took my first pit stop at Pittsburgh, PA which was about 800 miles from Boston. I spent a couple of days with Rama and his parents, and the luxury of home life took me back to Bangalore days. Home made food for breakfast, lunch and dinner made me think more than twice about what I am doing here. The comfort and warmth of home almost took me out of the present, and it was as though I had descended in an heavenly abode. But, life is fraught with practicalities, and soon, it was time to cover the remaining distance of my road trip. I packed sufficient food for the next stop, and I halted at Indianapolis, IN for the night at Holiday Inn Express. I ate the packed Puliyogare and curd rice, and slept like a log. The next day, I covered the last leg of the journey, reaching Kansas City safe and sound, and the talkative man in me, along with the rest of the crowd stayed back well into the night. I also had a chance to catch up with the latest animation movie, Wall-E, from Pixar and it was a delightful watch.  I was lucky to have traveled all along without encountering any difficult situations, since I had no idea even to change the tires of the car. It is a different story that I am well versed with this now!!!

Moving from one place to another is always tough, since a whole lot of things have to be taken care of. The initial phase of moving in is difficult, since the period of temporary stay doesn't allow you to settle in comfortably. So, now that I am all set, I should be able to get back to writing and keeping in touch with what my friends in the online world are upto.

PS: It is cool that blogger has come out with a much needed revamp of the dashboard!!!

11 comments:

  1. Good that you are settled in the new place ! Looks like you had a nice adventure drive across the country ;-)

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  2. Nice to see you back, Praveen. Allow me to wish you a very comfortable and happy time in your new place.

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  3. Ah! Finally!! I was waiting for one of these! Good to see you back, Mr. Praveen!!! great blog. I too feel the same way about moving, you know the tough things 'need to be faced' n all that!! Going through the same phase of settling down, aren't we? Settle down at Kansas, revisit old friends, you'll be home! All the best wishes.
    Lakshmi

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  4. Boston misses the MIT guy....Well I do hope you enjoy Kansas but I can bet you 1 million dollars that it won't be what Boston was!!!

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  5. Suchitra,
    It was fairly without any adventure, luckily, except for the driving of course :-)

    Raji Mami,
    Thanks!! yeah, am back!!!

    Lakshmi,
    Moving is always tough, physically and emotionally!!! Luckily, am through it and now enjoying the new place very much. I am sure you will feel the same too!

    Shubhika
    Wish I was from MIT :-)
    Every place has its charm, and the weekdays here make up for everything back there :-) Kansas is not bad at all :-)

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  6. moving to a new place is like second nature now for me....rolla-dallas-los angeles n right now in lansing,MI....lol....n i also made a couple of trips 2 NY and chicago in the middle...:)

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  7. Congratulations, Praveen! We have to move to get to our destinations, so there should be no looking back!
    Have a good time in your new midwest haunt!

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  8. Hey Boss,
    I spoke to Prasad yesterday. Never knew about your move. Hmmm.. Shows how long we have been out of touch!
    Talk to you this weekend.

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  9. Abhishek,
    Traveling and relocation are different man, traveling is fun, relocation is boring!!!

    Sowmya,
    Thanks! yup, mid west is like getting back home away from home :-)

    Pratapa
    Phone maadthini naale :-)

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  10. like u said praveen..its all abt moving ahead..:) nice one once again!

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  11. People are litrally chatting here

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