25 done... onwards now...

So, last friday was my birthday. And no normal one, it was my 25th birthday!

This means a lot to me, being half as old as my advisor [he is turning 50 this year], not having to pay extra when renting cars, paying less for my car insurance ... and not being picked on by my "older" friends [they know I am talking about them :-) ].

And I got a bunch of gifts too -

• Numerous wishes on facebook and orkut. Thanks to all who sent me those lovely messages. And add to that the number of calls/IMs/emails/SMSs .. I am touched!


• The gang got two cakes at midnight and applied part of it [add some beaten eggs] on my face/head, then gave me the customary "birthday bumps" [oww.. it still hurts!]


• Zack made a carrot cake and we had a cake-cutting ceremony in the group in office.


• Rosine, our division coordinator took me out to lunch to the parkside cafe, the best food place on campus! The Oreo pie was awesome!


• Diane [from our main deptt office] told me that my quals passing papers have finally reached her! Maa, main pass ho gaya! Say hello to PhD. Candidate Animesh Pathak!


• Lots of my friends came for the party in the evening. I made ghughni, which is like chholey, except made with black chana, which is smaller. Traditional bihari dish. Wish mom was here in LA to taste it :-)


• We went to see second nature perform after the party, and after the show, Eddie, their leader said - Today is the birthday of our biggest fan - Animesh!. They also gave me a T-shirt.. how sweet :-).

A lot has happened in the past 25 years, maybe I will blog about the milestones some other time, but a lot is going to happen in the next year - especially in research... I am going into my paper publishing mode, and that will mean less time for blogging.. but all for a good reason.

Thanks to all who have shaped my life till now,
-A

P.S. I was told this morning about the Varanasi bomb blasts! I pray for calmness in the people of Varanasi and elsewhere in India.