Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Friendship. Show all posts

Wednesday, 30 September 2015

My First Day at College

My First Day at College

I am sure that most people would remember their first day of most events in their life as each first day is filled with a certain amount of anxiety, expectations, hopes, fears and excitement. I was asked to write about my first day at college and I had to delve into the deep recesses of my failing memory and try and piece together a competent, sane, interesting essay. Going back 18 years was not very easy and it just reminded me of how old I’ve grown, but it’s nice to sometimes sit back and reminisce the good old days.

I do remember it was an extremely hot day, I was running late as I had just come back from my NIIT classes. I rummaged through my cupboard and picked the first thing I saw. I had mixed feelings about not wearing a uniform, as I found it to be very practical and it eliminated the conundrum of choosing what to wear each day. I wore a brown T-Shirt with a swordfish embroidered on it and black jeans. Walking into college, was exciting and terrifying at the same time. I was no longer a child, I would be recognized as an adult and my decisions and actions over the course of the next 5 years would basically determine my success, achievements and popularity.

After spending 10 years in an all-boys school, I was terrified and excited to finally be in the same room as the fairer sex. Most women in my class were twice my size as my pituitary glands were still dormant; I was 5.2 and a size negative 2.

The first lecture started off with a bang, as one macho smart aleck tried to impress the girls by whistling during roll call. Unfortunately the professor was not amused and she made it very clear on the first day that she was in charge, In front of 120 students she slapped him! that slap echoed the hall of the the college.

Pin drop silence; everyone was on their best behavior for the next 45 minutes. Every professor that came to our class post the first lecture was studied carefully for the first 10minutes and was ‘SWOT’ analyzed.

I spent the first day observing who I should approach and who I should avoid. I was able to bucket people into 3 categories, the Attention Seekers, Regulars and the Invisibles. The attention seekers were loud, extremely confident and looked for any opportunity to make an impression, unfortunately some gained attention for the wrong reasons, like the ‘whistler’.  The regulars were people that adjusted perfectly; it felt like they had rehearsed their first day countless times. I was one of the invisibles, I didn’t want to draw attention to myself and I did whatever I could to just blend in.

Being the son of a high school teacher made me even more cautious. I didn’t want to draw unnecessary attention. I don’t remember who I met or who I spoke to on the first day, but the friendships I forged in the first few days at college have been some of the best ones.

Friday, 6 March 2009

Manori 06 03 09



On the 6th of March 2009, my team and I went out for a picnic to Manori (Palm Beach) 

The planning was a mess, but I was determined to make it happen, we had rescheduled too many times. 

Some people did not come for various reasons, but looking back... it did not matter. Everything that happened, happened for the best. 

After work on Friday all our bags were packed and we were ready to go, we were not leaving on a jet plane, but something close, we were going to the Marve Jetty. 

We set out at 5pm...All excited that this was finally happening...2 rickshaws 6 people. 

Rick #1 Gaurav, Adrian, James, Rick #2 Tanya, Maria, Rajesh...we were on our way. Well almost! 

Once you reach Malad Marve ( you come to a T junction and you need to take a right to go to the marve jetty) 

I've been there many times so I should know....But for some inexplicable reason, I did not listen to "Gaurav" a guy in my team and took the left that goes towards the "Resort + Retreat" and 10mins into the journey. We got a call from Rajesh, who seemed concerned that we had not reached, because we had left before them. 

We told them we would be there in 5mins....15mins later winding down some unfamiliar road, our Rickshaw driver was also concerned as he was as lost as I. 

When you have 3 guys in a rick, asking for directions is out of the question. But better sense prevailed on the instance of out rickshaw driver, we asked a local where the "Manori Jetty" was.... 

In the opposite direction was his reply... Gaurav and Adrian did not look too pleased...They failed to find the humor initially. 

I'm sure Rajesh and the girls had the "WTF" expression when we told them that I had made an error. 

20mins later we reached "Marve Jetty" - Sometimes it's best to keep your mouth shut...but since I'm always so honest. 

I told them that I had made this same error last year when were going on a picnic to the same place... 

Apparently I am a slow learner... so they forgave me, at least that's what I thought. If you see the initial pics on the way to Manori, they do not look happy. Courtesy James. 

We reached "Palm Beach" the memories of my last trip came flooding back, peppered with whole gamut of emotions and images. 

The Swimming pool, aka "Tabela" (correct spelling courtesy K) the unlimited servings of "French fries" and yummy Chicken tikka starters. 

The lunch and dinner is not something I really look forward to.. It’s palatable. The breakfast menu is devoid of anything to "My Liking" The coffee, too milky, no cheese grilled sandwiches, bacon and eggs(made just the way I want them) ....but I'm too fussy. 

I can be sure that normal people will not have a problem. 

Looking back at this trip, we did not do anything out of the box, or play any of the standard picnic games. 

It started off as a photo shoot, cause I love photography, my team was not as eager as I but it's ok. I know they will appreciate it. 

We had a few quiet conversations, interspersed with overly accented echoes of my statements. My quirks (bringing a Bed sheet and a pillowcase invited some more comments) 

We had people playing songs on their cell phones.. None of us had thought of bringing speakers or Music. 

I can say it was a very relaxing picnic as most people were perpetually asleep. 

In the morning, we decide to go out for a trek (going out clicking snaps on some of the rocks) It was nice. 

I got to click a lot of snaps and I was happy. We got back and my team had breakfast and I watched. 

A little bird seem to be really friendly and very hungry, not sure if it was a he or a she, because initially with was running after Imran and later on it was fascinated by Tanya. 

It provided us with some entertainment, when it jumped on Tanya's plate... I did not have my camera at that point of time... But it was a hilarious sight. 

The guys played water polo and thoroughly enjoyed themselves, I sat out and clicked snaps. 

The women lazed around in hammocks till lunch time. 

After lunch, we went back into the room and chatted for a while. Sam pestered me to sing and I told him I couldn’t and they would regret it ….their persistent paid off and I sang a song (more than words - 1 stanza) and then they did not ask me to sing again and I don’t think they will ever ask me to sing again. 

Then Tanya sang a song, in Hindi
no idea what it meant but it was really nice. So the next time we go out, she will be summoned. 

Then everyone went to sleep…. Yes again. 

I decided to meet my ex team, they were down the road at Dominica’s, I met up with them for a while and then I went back to Palm Beach. 

We had to check out by 6pm, so we packed and got everything organized and spoke about our next trip in July. 

A few more group snaps and we headed back to our busy lives. 

Every snap I clicked has a story and I’m sure our next trip will be more memorable and fun. 

Till then…take care