A quarter that went by - Fall 2007

UCLA - a place I dreamt to be in, the dream university to most graduate aspirants from India. Ranked in the top 10 univeristies of US, one of the best in computer science field. It was really wonderful to see an admit from the university you dream to be in.

The whole of UCLA campus is on a mountain, may be I should say a hill; you can see buildings all around but still find wonderfully maintained gardens and walkways. Despite the infrastructure, people complain of occupied rooms and running out of space. Thats because the university has everything from a to z, from 0 to 9, medical, engineering, sciences, law, management school, health sciences, and what not. I am sure I missed a couple there :).

The quality of professors, and more importantly knowledge levels of graduate students at UCLA is flabbergasting. The best part is that every professor is a master in his field and they have a real plan laid out for themselves on what they are going to research for the next couple of years. Everybody if focused perfectly and tuned to the direction they love to research on. A place full of wonderful opportunities, its all up to the person to pick and use what the university has to offer.

One of the nicest things that you will find with the people here is their quality to thank, appreciate your work, and when you work for them. No matter how small help it was from your side they give due recognition immediately.

The entire system of teaching is awesome. With just 10 to 11 weeks for a quarter, time literally flies. Classroom sessions are well organized, questions pour from both the faculty and the students, active discussions on the problems, on the fly solutions to problems, and the best of all is the well structured lecture notes that have been collected and refined over the years. If we are not with any assignments due on hand then there is some serious issue, or it should be vacation. Assignments make you think, apply, and work our brain with what you have learned. I guess its the best way to learn; its hard to forget something when it is learned that way or at least you would remember it when you start thinking on those lines.

It was a wonderful first quarter to me. I learned more on the general life front compared to that on the acad side; some tossing, and running helped me learn quite a lot :). Looking forward for a wonderful second stint on the acad side :)

Initial lessons at US

The foreign land has a lot to teach to each person in one way or the other. I had my lessons too, learned both the hard way and by time.

First of those lessons was patience. Everything on this world takes its time to happen. When its the right time, elements of this world line up for the things to happen. There is a greater test for patience when you are all by yourself and settling things around you. Waiting for things to line up does not mean you have to sit down and things will lineup to happen. There is no free lunch.

Being enthusiastic. It is easy to lose enthusiasm and the energy to keep things going. There should be a greater motivation behind why you are here to keep things going the way you want it to go. Motivation shall be tested by time to its full. Though keeping the energy going may seem a easy task from the outside it is actually not once you are in a foreign land. Push all the enthusiasm that you may have into each and every day of your life and you shall see the positive things coming up and surround you. If any of you had watched "The Secret" you will understand that what has happened and what will happen are all consequences of your thoughts. Spread the positive energy and nice things shall happen out of nowhere.

Planning. It is really really important to plan everything beforehand which helps you build a layout and work upon it. It did not come easy to me. It had to be brought by practice and feedback loops. Once you start to layout things and work, simple things like a task completion itself shall bring great amount of energy that shall drive your next task. There should be time allocated for yourself apart from the whole bunch of other things like work, assignments, etc, because we are living is a world of flesh and blood; you need some time to relax.

Have as much backup as needed. This was one wonderful lesson that i picked up here from my brother. I am a techie guy and I am best when I put things technical: Single threads are history, multithreading is the need of the hour - this is not just with computer but with life too. Though each of the process/task in itself should be taken one at a time, try to mutli task the given task. Backup any plan or decision with alternatives that shall work. Settling down with one single solution never works, at least here it does not work. You will be lagging behind the crowd.

Learning things the hard way. When i was at Motorola i went to a workshop conducted by iDiscoveri, an experience that shall long stand in my memory and all of those who made to the program, I was taught there that humans learn best when they are out of their comfort zone. Its proven and beyond doubt that it is true. You will have to see it personally to accept the fact. I learned to learn things the hard way when it came on me. I told is so easily, but when you are really in the middle of it it will drive you berserk. The outcome shall be good and by the end of it you would have learnt a lesson worth taken for the rest of your life.

Cooking. Cooking should be a passion, pass time, and a mode to relax your mind out of the busy study schedule. It should be your passion or you should make it your passion else you are losing health, and you have ever thought why you study, work, etc., it shall boil down to the basic need s of food, shelter and clothing. No food means no energy, no energy means no health; then what on earth are you working for? Lots of people tend to forget these simple facts of life.

Most of these things I learned it from/through my brother for whom I am grateful.