Graduate

I had my graduation walk and convocation last week. Officially, I am now Masters in Computer Science from Rochester Institute of Technology. In reality, I still have my masters project left. Although I want to get over with it and get the heck out of this hell called Rochester, I intend to prolong my project till the job situation improves. Lets see how it goes...

Speaking of hell, RIT has been one hell of a ride. It has been a journey which has seen some good days, some bad days and some worse days. Nevertheless, it has been one amazing experience. From the day when I left Mumbai and landed in the US, till the day I heard my name called and going to the stage in front of thousands, it has been a fruitful journey. The sense of satisfaction and pride I felt at that moment is something I cannot describe in words. But this has not been a piece of cake.

I was sitting on the couch in the lobby of the CS department after giving the last final exam of my MS curriculum. Reflecting back, I still remember the day when I was sitting at the exact same place in the first quarter and thinking if I can even pass the C++ exam. And here I am now. I think all of this happened too fast. Blame the notorious quarter system at RIT for that. None of this would have been possible without the great friends at the CS department-Bhaiyya, Nana, Gabba Gabba, Manan, 1su, Issu beta....sorry to all others whom I have not mentioned in here. I still remember those nights when people used to get up in the middle of the night and start coding. And those all nighters before an exam or a submission. Or those "Ae code bhej na" wala phone calls and "ok,but change karke submit kar" replies. Or those 11:58 pm submissions for 11:59 deadlines. Or those meals together. And late night drives to nowhere with music blasting and people dancing in the back seat(Ban than chali bolo..... :D). And those visits to Tim ki tapri aka Tim Hortons after the submissions. Those booze and hookah sessions at home or those visits to Macgregors. And those visits to Seneca/Turning Stone (NANA FORCED ME INTO DRIVING HIM THERE!).And much much more. More than all these, I remember the people who have made a difference to my life in many ways than they could have imagined. Thanks for the memories guys.

Congratulations to the Class of 2009. We finally did it. :)