Gujurat trip part 2

Our second trip to Gujurat is about to end. This time we hired a driver from Mumbai to drive to Bilimora (my mom's hometown). There we stayed at my uncle Prakash's place (my mom's cousin). I remembered my childhood memories of that town. It was fun hanging out with my cousin Ankit. Then we left from there this morning for Surat (FYI: my Animal Crossing town is named after this town!). I got to meet one of my dad's sisters there (aunt Madhu) and I also got to meet another one (Aunt Ratna) on our way to Bilimora. We met lots of people in Surat and everyone insisted we eat or drink something :P Its just the Indian way... never let the guest leave without feeding them something even if they might throw up :D Now we're in Navsari at my other uncle's place (Uncle Anil). We'll be leaving for Mumbai in the morning. I'll probably get internet again next weekend before leaving.

-Me
(backdated)

Choo choo again

I'm on the train again on my way back to Mumbai. Our trip to Gujurat was a success. It was fun to go to the famous temples and visit the villages. It was really nice to go out of Mumbai finally and see another side of India. It was also great to be able to bond with my aunt Usha (my dad's elder sister). Kunal and I both got along with her really well. After our road trip we stayed at my cousin's in-laws' place in Rajkot. They had Wi-Fi there but it stopped working when I tried to upload pictures today. Oh well, I'll get another chance later.

Theres another thing I did in Rajkot before we left. See below


-Me

Gujurat trip part 1

Yesterday went pretty well, we did lots. After arriving in Rajkot we went to my cousin's place. Shes married now with a son but he doesn't get along with new people much :P Then we drove about an hour to Virpur to visit the temple there. then we drove to Gondol to the B.A.P.S. temple. They have rooms for people to stay in (as long as you have a reference) so we rented two rooms (free) for the night. After that we went to another temple and then to the Bhuvaneshwari temple. We spent most of our time at that temple because we had to wait for the prayer session to start at 7pm. I sat cross-legged for about 15 minutes straight and I thought my legs would fall apart! But I endured and prayed. The big deal about this temple is that the bells hanging above the statue of Goddess Durga shake and vibrate during the prayer ceremony ("aarti"). I think its probably because of the loud drums, but it could still be magic ;)

Then we went to eat at the "Parotha House". Wow. That was awesome, I had Butter Paneer, parathas (like thin naan) and buttermilk ("Chaas"). I truly felt like I was on vacation.

Now we're on our way to another temple in Saranpur, we'll eat lunch at some place along the way.

-Me
(backdated)

Choo choo 2

That went pretty fast, only 2 more hours to go now. Until the train arrives at Rajkot. They serve breakfast (for a fee of course) and tea (Rs. 5/cup). Not bad though, it was good breakfast. Now we just have to wait...

-Me
(backdated)

Choo choo!

The train is pretty nice, at least in first-class. We have a plug, cup holders, and best of all air-conditioning!!! I'll read some and then go to sleep. We're not sure if they serve food or not, so we quickly ate some sandwiches. They weren't all that great but better than nothing. Oh well, sleep tight.

-Me
(backdated)

Moving

We just moved out of a temporary flat in Kandivali (West) and are getting ready for the long train-ride to Rajkot. Its about 9 hours on a train! But thankfully we are in the A/C first-class compartment. I need to take more pictures. I plan on doing a photobiography of the places of my childhood. We'll see if I get to that.

-Me
(backdated)

हिन्दी update

Current mood: बहोत अचा

मैंने अभी देखा के इस में हिन्दी में लिख सकते है। में अभी "कैश" फ़िल्म देख रहा हूँ। अभी तक टू बुन्दले लग रहा हैं ये पिचुर।


एसीहा अब मैं रक्त हूँ, बादमे बात करूँगा

-प्रियेश

Lots a pitchuz!

Current mood: good but sick

As a wiseman once said, "pics or it didn't happen". So here ye go:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=39652&l=c66b4&id=646355347

I got sick in the past few days, had a sore throat and cold. The sore throat is pretty much gone now, but I still have a cold. That should go away too soon.

I went to see a movie yesterday, I watched "Bhoothnath" in the Adlabs cinema in Mumbai. Its a huge multiplex with a food court and bookstore inside. Its pretty awesome, I highly recommend it (both the movie and the theater). They have english movies too, I don't think they were showing the hindi dubbed versions. I really want to see Iron Man in hindi :P Its called "Loha" (iron in hindi).

See you guys later,
-Me

India se dusra update

Current mood: awesome

So far this is an awesome vacation! India is definitely different.. not really any different than last time I came here though (6 years ago). Mumbai is definitely a huge city though, I never realized just how big it is. And I have gotten used to the way people drive here, I still couldn't drive here :P but I don't freak out anymore. In fact, I really want to make a game where you can drive an auto-rickshaw. I think it would be awesome :P like Crazy Taxi but better! I was also thinking how cool it would be if GTA4 had been set in Mumbai instead of New York. I know this would never happen, but it would be cool.

Anyway, I think I'll play some more Phoenix Wright 3 and then go to sleep
Good "night", though its afternoon in Charlotte :P
-Me

India se pehla update

Current mood: awesome

I am now officially in India. The trip was kinda boring, 15 hours in a LONG time on a plane. Though they did have free movies-I watched Juno and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Both were enjoyable, but Juno was awesome. Baggage claim was crazy... 8 bags is not fun. Once we had our bags, my dad's friend picked us up and we were driven to my aunt's place. The driving... how should I put this :P

Imagine how an expert drives in a GTA game (going around red lights, squeezing through in a 2-lane road), now imagine if every car drove like that and the roads are PACKED. Thats Mumbai driving! Lane markers mean nothing, cars drive anywhere there is room. But to their credit, I witnessed no accidents in my 45 minute ride.

Today's plan is to relax, the plans start from tomorrow. But by the time you read this, the rest of the entries should be done. So read on!

-Me

Meh Aah Raha Hoo! :D

Current mood: great!

Today I am flying to Mumbai, India! I will try to post some from over there but I am definitely going to twitter during the trip. I'll have to check what the text messaging situation is when I get my Indian cell phone card. You can see my twitter updates here. I also syndicate twitter on the sidebar of my blog (not my livejournal).

In the meantime, enjoy these graduation pictures!


Just me and my silly outfit!


My brother and I!


My family and I with Dr. Youngblood.. my advisor and the reason I am a game developer today (well in June, but you get the idea)!

So thats it for now, keep an eye on twitter and wish me a safe journey :)

-Me

How youse doin'

Current mood: excited

I have come to another point in my journey where I can see the tracks changing. This Saturday (May 10th) I will graduate with a Masters of Science in Computer Science with a certificate in Game Design and Development. I remember when I graduated two years ago with a Bachelors and imagined what it would be like once I finally had my M.S. degree. I was a bit scared and uncertain about my future after that, finding a job was a scary thought. At the time, I didn't really think I would get a job in the Game industry. I thought I would end up doing computer graphics work at some Visualization center or something.

But that graduation was not really that life-changing experience, because I knew I was just going to get back to school the following semester anyway. No, the moment the tracks started shifting was when I met Dr. G. Michael Youngblood. I was taking his Artificial Intelligence in Games class just because it had "game" in the title and I knew I would like it. But then I found out he had some really cool research ideas that seemed as though they were made just for me! Then I found out that there was going to be a Game Design and Development certificate and I could get it! But wait a sec... if I had this certificate... I could ACTUALLY get a job in the Game industry!!!! WHOA! It was a huge revelation and I have never been so excited!

So I talked to him about how I wanted to do a thesis (an extensive research paper outlining what you did during your Masters) even though it was optional to do so at UNCC. He told me about this project that he wanted to do that visualized a player's activity in a game world. As soon as I heard this, I knew this was it... this was for me! It combines my two biggest passions: games and information visualization. I knew I had to do this and I could already see how big it could be. This work is now pretty much finished and you can read my thesis if you so choose here or watch a five-minute video summarizing some of my work here.

During this last semester of my college career, I was searching for a job along with finishing my thesis (who am I kidding.. writing my thesis). I started by searching online and submitting my resume to game companies that were looking for programmers. Most places required at least one shipped title so I avoided those most of the time. Then I had the chance to go to San Francisco in February for the Game Developer's Conference (GDC). This was an excellent place to meet with recruiters and find a job in the industry! I learned a lot during the sessions and handed out plenty of my resumes. But none of those prospects from GDC worked out in the end.

One day in late March I was checking my email when I saw the title "Game programmers wanted" (or something of the sort). It wasn't an email.. it was a targetted google ad! So I clicked on it.. and it was legitimate. TimeGate Studios in Sugar Land, TX was looking for software engineers. The requirements listed matched my experience almost point-to-point! So I applied online and continued working on my thesis. Then all of a sudden I get a phone call from a 281 number. I was shocked to realize that it was actually TimeGate Studios calling me about my application! So a survey and phone interview later I was flying to Texas for an on-site interview. I saw some cool stuff while I was there and met some great people. I knew I would love working at this company and felt confident about my interviews.

A week later I had my first offer for a job as a Game Developer! I accepted the offer and I will be starting on June 23rd. I had to wait until then because from May 12th to June 9th I will be in India. I remember the last time I went to India was after graduating high school in 2002 and it was a similar transition period for me. So six years and two degrees later I am going back. Its going to be quite interesting to see how things have changed (or haven't).

I will try to update from India as much as I can, though I am not taking my laptop so it won't be happening all the time. I will probably use twitter some but I'm not sure about the texting charges :P

Hope you enjoyed this long update.. because its probably going to be a while before I do another one :D Maybe once I'm settled into Texas and have some time.

Bye
-Me