And a Semester goes by ...

Yes, it's over. Done and dusted ! Phew ! 

People said Grad school was no joke and that it can be quite tough. People also said that Texas is very hot and on the upside, winters are much more tolerable (for someone used to Indian winters). I realized late that I had absolutely NO clue about the severity of both the things. But then again, I don't think anyone would realize that till they experience it. 

Nightouts in lab, nightouts at home preparing for the mid-term, worse still, nightouts to complete a homework, preparing 'legalized' cheat-sheets for the exam only to find that it was a collossal waste of time, living on readymade powders (courtesy: The Grand Sweets & Snacks, Adyar, Chennai), realizing that we are the only hapless souls sitting in lab at 5 in the morning, catching the first bus of the next day to go home and sleep (for the previous night ???), realizing just how deep is deep sh*t - well, the list goes on and all I can say is that, I have seen 'em all and will continue to see 'em next semester. Phew and sigh !

On the positive side, I took up to playing Tennis (albeit only for couple of weeks before the vicious cycle of the previous paragraph set in :|). I did not realize just how tiring a game Tennis can be. But it is also lot of fun and I look forward to resuming it sometime (I might probably need to buy a better racquet and not settle for some cheap stuff, but I need to be more regular to justify the investment). I realized that not buying the UT Sports Package while in India was a big mistake. College Football is a BIG thing here and quite rightly so. It definitely gets addictive especially if your team is one of the best in the country ;-). The atmosphere, passion and support is just unbelievable. 

There were also plenty of 'Free Food' oppourtunities throughout the semester. Some, really worth it (read: Pizza) and some, a total waste of time (read: grass and other leafy things which I believe should be fed only to cows :|). There were also some hopelessly sad moments when we had to sit through presentation of a Chemical company for the sake of free food. aaah ! the pitiable state of Poor Indian Graduate Students (PIGS, as my friend Sid calls them). 

At least the 'pundits' were right on the cold part. Yes, Texas does get cold, very cold. Heck, it even snowed in Austin on one night ! . But, it is nowhere near as cold as some of the other places. I can definitely vouch for the midwest ! It even threatened to reach zero degrees in Farhenheit in Cincinnati ! 

It's been less than 6 months, but after being roasted in the August heat of Austin, am now freezing in the December cold of Cincinnati. It has been fun, painful, enjoyable, depressing, frustrating, satisfying, relieving et al. Overall, it has been a new experience and am thankful for it.