Good Bye Ithaca

And so it was, the end of an era. Though too short to call it so, it was packed with enough substance to qualify as one. The thrill of the ending of examinations transforming into a deep sinking sickness over a period of few days had a tumultuous ride. The weekend after was quite relaxing although my mind was occupied with devising the exit plan, exit from Ithaca. But before I did that, the next few days were going to be really amazing, sort of a flash back of the last 9 months coz my family was going to pay me a visit.

I picked them up from Buffalo and before our departure we made an impromptu visit to the Niagra Falls. I had been to the falls last during my internship in Toronto and so it was from the Canadian side and it was with those memories that I was looking forward to the visit. I remember the liveliness that engulfed the region defined by curb-side restaurants, kids' attractions, junk and souvenir shops, ice creams, sweet balls, hot dogs and children running in the huge gardens amidst families picnicking and people walking their pets. All this was nowhere to be seen on the US side that consisted of just a small mall that showcased a disappointing collection of cuisines and a sort of dull garden. Nevertheless as the area opened into the falls the whole mood switched.
I had rode on the Maid of the Mist last when I was 12 and though I couldn't conjure it as something exciting it indeed was a pleasant experience to go right till the foot of the falls and witness the enormous rage.
We had got a bit late on our way back and I must say that driving in the countryside at night had its own share of fun and fear. Notable was the moment when I turned off ALL the lights in and out of the car that felt as if we were tearing through darkness in the middle of nowhere!

When back to Ithaca I gave a "crash course" to my family in 3 days of what I knew about the town in 9 months. We first went to Cayuga lake and although I had thought of buying food there it struck me to pick up something from the Hot Truck that we passed while taking a tour of the North Campus. It skipped my mind that Cornell ran Ithaca and with the end of the semester it wasn't just Cornell that took a break but many businesses cut down their hours, including the places by the lake. Thankfully we had food and we got a nice place and I cannot describe the eternal peace of mind I felt while eating besides the placid lake and nice bollywood tracks playing from the phone. We then went for a walk at the Taughannock falls and then on the way back stopped at a vineyard a number of which span the surroundings of Ithaca.
The next day was fixed for a tour of the University, by foot! I had given a glimpse of what the daily walk towards the campus looked like and it was time to experience it first hand. A lunch buffet at Mehak was hence tactically planned right after the first leg of slope. I should take a brief moment to point the transition lately from Sangam to Mehak as we rediscovered the delicacies it offered at the same price. Maybe we appreciated the change or maybe Mehak did bring about an improved change in its cuisine but we had been frequenting Mehak about weekly during the last month and never got tired of any monotonicity. After relishing the sumptuous meal we scurried off to make it through the time window for which the clock tower is open, to get a splendid view of the entire town. Then we went in a few buildings where my parents appreciated the disparity between the modern facilities that a top Indian university provides and here. The concept of "break out" rooms for student groups to study took them by surprise as even I remember that IIT didn't come equipped with any such provisions. After enacting a few lectures and trapping those moments on film we went back home to dress up for a dinner at one of those curb-seating restaurants in downtown. Honestly it was the second time I went for fine dining at a curbside place in Ithaca and it was really refreshing. After fully loading ourselves we strolled around the Commons and then went back home.

The next day was relaxing and consisted of packing all the stuff and I must say that it was really hard to assimilate all the items that I had piled over the course of two semesters and organize them to be able to discard most of it. More than the physical effort, each item brought with it a different memory and it was tough to throw it away and erase its existence. It felt like the whole life that I had built throughout this time was falling apart and it was unsettling to think of all that I wanted to but couldn't accomplish in this "golden period". I had met some amazing people during this time and although we would stay in touch there was an uneasy feeling of the connections breaking away and our lives transforming to the next phase. I still had one more semester to go but as I imagined and realized it would be a whole new story and no where the same. Nevertheless what had to be done had to be and I am glad I had my family to sail with during this time. As I packed all the belongings and stripped my room to its original state my first week here flashed before me and  all the fun/hard/pleasant/anxious/excited/drunk/hot/cold/loud/crowded and amazing times crossed my mind. All good things do come to an end! Next stop - NYC.

Powerless...

US is known to be a country that has a 24hr supply of gas, water and electricity but what I missed was the underlying fact that one has to pay for them and, as I came to know, one has to have them on their name first.

10^th August, Wednesday, is the day that marked the beginning of a struggle, a week long struggle. I came back around 4 pm and saw my landlord with some other workers engaged in some sort of repair work. It turns out that our building’s gas was leaking and they had to come to fix it. I walked up to my apartment and saw that there was no electricity and I attributed it to the repair work that they were doing. It was only when the landlord came up to witness some minor fixes that I had asked him to look into that he told me that they hadn’t shut the electricity off. He said that I needed to call up NYSEG and have the electricity put in my name. I had tried doing that a couple of times before and they always used to ask me my 11 digit account number before they could proceed but, coincidentally, when I tried today it got through and they took my request. They said that my electricity would be restored by Thursday… and I thought it wasn’t so bad, just a day more… the 18^th of August! I was spellbound. I asked them to repeat and I had heard it right – 5 business days which meant at most by Thursday, the 18^th of August, because of the damn weekend the 5 business days translated to 7 calendar days! With that they gave me the information that my brakers need to be in the off position without which they would be unable to restore electricity and hence their visit would go in vain.

And thus began my ordeal of dark nights! I, at first, couldn’t imagine how I would pass the day and I thought of taking shelter at some place till the problem got resolved but I then decided to take the situation head-on. It took just about a day for the eatable in the fridge to begin spoiling and it was then that I considered myself fortunate and thanked my Mom for stuffing the readymade food into my bags even when I insisted otherwise. My meal, for the next few days, was to be bread and some warmed up dish! I began waking up in the morning and spending the time reading, something that had got neglected in the past few months and that I enjoyed doing a lot. I went over quite a few prerequisites that were a must for my course and made good use of the morning time. It was on the second day that the dying battery of my phone begged me to nourish it longer and, considering who benefits, I caved in. And so I came back at about 2 am on Thursday when my phone indicated it was completely stuffed!

In a couple of days I had formed a routine until 12^th August when my first roommate came. As soon as he came we ventured out to take a stroll in the Campus and I showed him the Libe Slope and he was instantly awed. The Libe Slope is one of the most peaceful (or the noisiest, depending at the time you go) places on the Campus and the sunset at this place is breathtaking, i.e. if you can see the sun in the Ithaca sky! We then went to the engineering atrium which is a huge hall where you’d find students working over their academic challenges in groups, some sitting in solitude with headphones to break out of the daily routine, a few squatting on a single couch taking a quick nap while others munching a quick bite at Mattin’s. This is the place that has been home to me for the past couple of days and would be so for the coming few days as well. After empowering our devices in the atrium, I can’t recall but I think, we headed over to CTB. I showed him the most happening spot in Collegetown which is further highlighted for it being the first joint one encounters when exiting the university. We fed our stomach there itself since we couldn’t have made much in the dark and upon reaching home we… well, what else, fell asleep!

The next day was going to be a packed day. We had to go get my room mate’s phone and I had to go shop for my suit because we had to wear one during our orientations the coming week. The MEng program in ORIE is one of its kinds that have a week long orientation called MEng Connect that is aimed towards professional development of the candidates, but more on that later. So we went to the commons in the afternoon and looked at different options for him to get a phone. We inquired at the store called Cell Connect that is the place where most of the students buy their first prepaid connections, if not phones, from, primarily because of the low price and a good signal. We then wandered a bit more eyeing for another store that could provide us with competitive prices and at the same time I was looking out for outlets that showcased gentlemen clothing. I came across a store called trade something and it attracted my attention. As soon as I stepped into the store I could see different sections for different kinds of apparels, and that too a huge stock for the size of the store, with people thronging the entire vicinity. It soon became reminiscent of the janpath or linking road with all the stalls aggregated under a single roof. Essentially it was a trading platform where people could sell their apparel at 40% of its resale value. I did find a tie that looked neat but I didn’t have a suit and I didn’t want to start by buying a tie. So I ventured out and bang in front of me was Benjamin Peters, supposedly the only gentleman clothing store in Commons. I went inside and found the prices to be more than my budget and more than what, I guess, I would normally find in India. Nevertheless I strolled through the store and fortunately found a clearance section. Being an average 5”9” and the corresponding waist size, I have never been lucky in a clearance sale but I guess today was different. Today, I was in USA. I was in the land where my built fell below average by a margin, as I just came to know, and today was the day I was going to take the full benefit of it! I found a good deal on a suit and tried it well enough to conclude that it was a good fit. But I still was in a double mind as to whether I should go ahead and look up Walmart since it is known to have cheap options for everything under the sun. At the end of the day, I couldn’t order the suit I saw and had to wait until the next day to purchase it.

But this wasn’t the end of the day. We bought my room mate’s phone and we scurried off to our place as he wasn’t feeling too well. At first it seemed like just a normal cold and weakness but it soon developed into a fever and with no power it was a tough situation. I went to the Wilson Farms, which is one of the very few well equipped grocery stores in the vicinity with others, like Wegman’s, being a few miles out south, and got some fruits. I then managed to ask my fellow building-mates to allow me to use their appliances and edible items to prepare a simple dish that I could then give to my room mate to serve as a supply of essential nutrients.

The next day I went to Benjamin Peters, purchased my suit and left it over for altering. On my way back I bought a bottle of orange juice and picked up some paranthas from another friend’s that we could eat at home. Fortunately, as I reached home, my other room mate also came with his sister and her husband and they had loads of food packed with them to last a couple of days.

I do not remember very distinctly how the rest of the few days went but I received my perfectly fitted suit on Monday. On Tuesday I had my first day of orientation and both Tuesday and Wednesday were going to be really occupied for me and we were going to get power back on Wednesday. My first room mate seemed to be recovering slowly and he seemed to be in good shape by Wednesday. With God’s grace and the promise kept by NYSEG, we were back in power by the time I came back on Wednesday. As a part of the MEng Connect, we were working on a group project and I took leave from my group since I had to check the situation and take action if it wasn’t remedied, but thankfully it was!

Life had actually become a routine during that week and we, at least I, had adjusted to the same. It was because of this sudden change that I could focus on activities I earlier, and for that matter even later, used to ignore. I spent more time reading and talking to people and I realized how computer centric our lives have become. I felt that it wasn’t a bad way to explore, rather go deeper, into other activities by abstaining from the ones that occupy the most of your time!